A Glance at the Field at Home and Abroad
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SOUTH AMERICA. The territory in Brazil untouched by evangelical missionary work is equal to three-quarters of the area o f the United States, and has a population of 22,000,000. According to police records, there are 5000 abandoned children on the streets in Buenos Aires, and their principal occupa tions are gambling and smoking. This is another proof o f the field which South America offers for the Sunday School. SPAIN. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the beginnings o f religious toleration in Spain. A representative o f the American Board in Bilbao, Spain, writes: “We have begun preparations to hold a congress in Madrid in October, 1918, large enough to attract attention generally. We have lit tle to' show in numbers for these fifty years o f effort. But the Protestant work, even aside from its strictly religious bearing, has yielded the “by-product” o f a deeper long ing for true liberty, not only religious, but political and industrial as well. Thousands and thousands o f persons sympathize with us, although, they fear to join us.openly. God grant that they may come, if not now, in the future, after these terrible times are past!” CHINA. When some women in China were asked whether they were willing to keep Sun day, one o f them said that her husband was not willing to let her rest one day a week, but she told him that if she could go to church Sunday, she would work all night to make up the time. A special committee on religious educa tion in China aims to have a home-wel fare week to emphasize daily Bible reading and family prayers.
A missionary from Kiangsu, China, writes the follow ing: “The long continued drought has been a great trial to the farmer, and the wheat crop is considerably injured by it. In some places they will hardly reap anything, and the corn and beans have withered off. You would be amused could you hear some o f the funny things people are saying about us. Last week a large fire broke out six miles from here and they said we foreigners had put medicine on the roof which caught on fire in the sun. Rather longer ago a quan tity o f seed, which no one seemed to recog nize, was scattered broadcast for miles around and it was said we foreigners had paid Chinese to scatter it; that it was for eign opium seed and they would all be pun ished. How little do they realize that we have come to help them and not to injure them. And yet in spite o f all, the Gos pel is being preached and souls are being saved. This month one man and three women have put down their names as inquirers and next Sunday another man is going to. For these we praise God and pray that their future life may, in each case, be' a witness for the Gospel in this place.”—China’s Millions. The government o f China has sent- all o f its forestry and agricultural students from Peking to the University o f Nanking, a union missionary institution. This is a great step o f recognition and this Christian school will have a great influence upon these fine young Chinese leaders, many of whom will go into government service. Although a non-Christian, a certain edu cated gentleman in Peking purchased 2300 Bibles o f unusually good binding as New Year’g presents for his friends. The Word of God is being read more and more in all parts o f the world. Wherever the Word
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