it h in a stone’s throw of the Bible Institute of L o s A n g eles, a low brick building has been for years stretching its full length, with calm unconcern, between the fitful activity o f a park ing lot and the cramped s e co n d -h a n d bookstore.
of shoes, and a dollar and a half had fig ured. Prayer had been explicit, practical, reverently trustful. No one but the girls themselves and their Heavenly Father knew that they could spare only enough from their entire capital of a dollar and a half to have one pair of shoes repaired—and that two pairs needed it badly. They had no idea from what source help was coming, but they knew it was on the way. “When ye pray . . . your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” It was decided that one pair o f shoes should be repaired—the shabbiest ones, and that one of the girls, the shy, dark haired native of New Brunswick, should go at once to some near-by repair shop. Crowded
d ig n ity o f a Outside, several signs o f antique style and origin proclaim this a “ first-class shoe repair shop” ; inside, one large clear-cut motto in black and white, neatly framed, makes another proclamation, at once bold and blessing-laden: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Even a fleeting glance at the shop or a mere fragmentary conversation with its undemonstrative Scandinavian pro prietor is sure to reveal that the main interest here is not soles, but souls. A friend of the Bible Institute entered the shop early one Saturday morning. “ That was such a splendid thing you did for those two Bible Institute students,” the conversation began, “I mean the two girls who were planning to go into Daily Vacation Bible School work under the American Sunday School Union near the Mexican border, and who couldn’t have gone, probably, if you hadn’t helped them. I wish readers of T he K ing ’ s B usiness could know about it.” Embarrassed, the wearer o f the leather apron, with a half mended shoe in hand, drew back a little with short, nervous steps. “ Oh, I think you’d better not. No S n o t that—not about me.” “ Not even if it would exalt the Lord?” Again the timorous steps, bringing him nearer, uncon sciously, to the framed message on the west wall. He glanced up, brightening. “If it—could.—do that—S h is usual soft tones were lower still. “But I don’t see how it could! Yes, exalt Him, that’s all I want, but never mind about me.” That is why his name is not mentioned in this story, lest
Photo by Adelbert Bartlett
into a single block are four such establishments, each ap parently doing a thriving business. Which one should she choose? The mild-mannered Scandinavian ran rough, accustomed fingers over the worn oxfords that were held over the counter to him. He did not know their owner. He guessed she was a Bible Institute student; her womanly manner and radiant face suggested it. He could not tell why, but sud denly, something (was it not rather Some One?) impelled him to ask, all in one breath, what she planned to do during the summer, and if there was not another girl for whom he could perform a similar service, without charge. Faith has many surprises—breath-taking delights. Simply, beautifully, her wide eyes glistening, the girl told the whole story—o f her two years’ preparation at the Bible Institute, of the recent prayer meeting, o f the scanty purse, of the neglected community waiting for the gospel, of the urge to go “ to the otherwise unreached,” o f her hope to return to the Institute in the fall for postgraduate work. The account was interrupted. “I will give you Gospels,” her benefactor cut in. “ I have only about 150 now, but I will get more.” He might have added that she was not by any means the first lover of the Lord Jesus Christ that he had befriended, and the proffered gift o f Gospels was not the first that he had made. From his slender earnings he had purchased, since Easter, 1,000 Scripture portions for wise distribution. In offering them to this young woman, he knew he could
even so minute a thing as this should rob the Lord of any glory that is His alone. But the circum stances that found a setting in this diffident shoemaker’s shop a few weeks ago are shared eagerly, for they magnify the grace of God, and exalt His name. There had been a prayer meet ing in which two girls, two pairs
trust a Bible Institute graduate to be utterly true in the teaching of the Word, and to be “instant in season and out of season” in prac tical evangelism. Thirteen years’ business experience within a half block o f the Institute had con firmed him in the opinion that any investment in such young [Continued on page 288]
L ifif
The shoemaker (above) made an investment. Here are some of the returns— boys and girls at Lincoln Acres and Jocumba, Calif., who have come to love the L o rd and H is W o rd through the ministry of Bible Institute students.
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