King's Business - 1918-12

1061

THE KI NG' S BUS I NESS

tongue. Wherever it has been intro­ duced it has been received with enthus­ iastic interest and the young people of the schools are especially eager to learn to read it, which they"do quite readily. The ministry of the Word of God and the ministry of healing are effective weapons against the Indian medicine men who hold the people in bondage to cruel superstition, causing them to suf­ fer both in mind and body. The Word of God shows them One who has power over the evil spirits of whom they live in dread, and the work of the physician and the hospital show them a surer method of healing than rattling gourds, antelopes’ toes and cranes’ heads. All the night through and for many nights in succession the chant of the medicine men is heard, but the time is coming when the songs of salvation shall make the night glorious. Every year in August the mission­ aries with their converts and with Christian people from over the state gather at Camp Eldom near Flagstaff, Arizona, a beautiful, grassy tract of sixty-two acres, under the pines on the Coconino Forest Reserve, at an altitude of seven thousand feet, far from the dust and the heat of the desert. Inex­ pensive buildings have been erected by the missionaries and others in which they live during the Conference period. Assembly Hall and Dining Room with seating capacity of two hundred are provided and a delightful season is enjoyed here each year,' resting the bodies and refreshing the spirits of the Lord’s workers. The names of the teachers who come to open the word of God to us will read­ ily suggest to the reader something of the spiritual feast that is spread from year to year. Brothers Gaebelein, Tor- rey, Tucker, Haddon, Ironside, Sher­ man, Prichard, Farr, Horton and Smith are all on our list of speakers, and all beloved for their generous and helpful ministry. The Conference just closed was one

Albuquerque, New Mexico to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in A ri-, zona, and in places nearly two hundred miles north and south. Much of this region is absolutely barren. It is cut up in some parts by rugged and formid­ able canyons, again it is diversified by grassy valleys, cedar clad hills and on the higher mountains by pine for­ ests. Owing to the entire absence of water some parts of it are only used in the winter when man and beast use snow in place of water. There is a delightful understanding amongst the Christian forces at work among these Indians and a fine spirit of comity and fellowship. Broadly speaking the Christian Reformed Church has made itself responsible for all the territory east of the Arizona- New Mexico line, that church having a school and five mission stations. In Arizona the Presbyterian Church largely occupies the field though some work is done by the Baptists and the Episcopalians. So far the best results have been obtained among the young people of the Government and Mission schools, a very considerable number of these hfcve an intelligent understanding of Gospel truth and many of them have definitely accepted the Savior and entered upon the new life in Christ Jesus. A few are offering themselves for training in the Bible Schools at Phoenix and Tol- chaco and we confidently expect that in addition to the Christian interpreters we have already there will soon be raised up a native ministry to care for the native church that is slowly but surely being gathered out from this great tribe. With painful slowness the mission­ aries have reduced the difficult langu­ age to writing. Six years ago a hand book for beginners was published and later a considerable part of the Scrip­ tures translated. This latter work is of untold value since the people may now learn to read God’s Word in their own

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