B ible I nstitute A ctivities T H E M O N T H ’S R E V I E W
[n j'II....................... Illlllll..HIHI......I... .
......... Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllil............
WORK AT LOS ANGELES HARBOR
Oscar Zimmermann, Supt.
I T WAS a day which will never be for gotten, and one that holds a very sweet story#the day that God was with us on the' “ Seioyo , Maru” (a Japanese vessel bound for Lima, Peru),'when the'worker and a Japanese market boy were used o f God in a very remarkable meeting, with very blessed results. Here is the story: First a disappointment, when the'usual worker failed to appear. This “ His appoint ment” was seen when a market boy arrived with th e, word that he came with liter ature so as to explain the failure o f the others to come. Arriving on board the big vessel we. noticed that everything seemed ready for a good service, and every body—men and women—looked expect antly at us. A meeting had been announced the day before and tracts distributed to every one o f the passengers. The market boy said he had never spoken in public, and the worker could not speak Japanese. What-was to become o f the hungry hun dreds? Could we dare to let them go? Yet what could 'we do? Then.help came through Him who once fed the 4000 and the S000, and who saw that o f ourselves we could do nothing for them. In the third officer’s cabin, while waiting for the passengers to eat their noonday meal, we prayed, and were impressed that the little market boy was to be interpre ter. It was all new, yet we had faith in God and found that He had given us the third officer—a heathen—to be our helper. It touched our hearts to find that he had had the big open space fixed up with benches, had put a large table down there for use as a pulpit, and a sign telling them o f our desire to preach to them. That was the first-surprise, and then the crowd filled the room, 'sitting on the benches before us,
standing in the “aisles,” and far back in their bunks were seen men and women, hungry for the old, old story. The officer then took off his cap and addressing our audience o f three hundred men and women introduced us, which caused the whole congregation to rise and bow to show their appreciation. It made a profound impression upon us to' see these heathen people, who had never"heard the Gospel, show such a regard and grati tude and reverence for it. No wonder the worker’s heart Was running over, and that the message came. The quiet, market boy was altogether changed. God’s Spirit was present and one sentence .after the other was given and interpreted, and the faces before us, oh, who could describe them ? The message had to be very plain and very simple, and nothing but the Gospel was given. Then came questions, pointed and o f deep con cern to the inquirers. The invitation called for a definite decision to accept Christ then and there. Oh, the joy-to see about fifteen lifting their hands! It was a happy, happy time. Then the people expressed a desire to thank us ‘for the visit and the message, which they did by rising and bowing their heads. Surely, the heart o f Jesus must have been glad. Who can say, as he reads this, that he needs a greater call? Who could dare to face God if he has been dis obedient to a call to one field or another ? And now comes a sad chapter in the story, sad enough “to break one’s heart. The worker hears all over the audience a strange word, repeated again and again, while a look o f expectancy lights up the faces. “What do they want?” he asks of the interpreter. “ Bibles; have you any?”
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker