October 1928
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
599
Where life is not com plicated by Subways, Aeroplanes or Radios. Market scene in the native quarter o f Freetown, Cap ital o f Sierra Leone, Africa. Freetown, itself, has been greatly enlarged since the completion o f the Cape to Cairo Railroad. It serves as the Atlantic terminal.
Keystone Yiew Co.
At six o ’clock I was there, and was gratified to meet about twenty Cantonese-speaking Christian men, and about half a dozen women. For over three hours we talked together about the Lord and His work, and at the close o f our meeting each one o f the brethren led in earn est prayer. The. substance o f our meeting was this :-S “ W e have a Cantonese church here, but we have no worker or leader. The Methodist Church at the end of last year discontinued its connection with us, and we have no way to secure a suitable Chinese worker. W e have no connection in China. Can you help us?” M ust F ind W orkers or F ail One brother faced me earnestly with this question ■J-f. “ When you started on this trip, did you know that the M. E. Church had dropped us?” I said, “ No.” “ Then|| he said with increased emphasis, “ the Lord has certainly led you here to help us at this crisis hour. If we do not succeed soon in finding a worker, our church will soon fall to pieces. Can you help us? W e feel we are able to support a worker if you can send us the right man and take a little oversight and interest in our work.” They drove in a car back to the hotel. It was after ten o ’clock before I had my supper that night. I was feeling very weary after a full day, and realizing that I had to rise at 4:30 a. m. the next morning to catch my train, I lost no time in retiring. I instructed the boy to call me at 4:30, and had just fallen into a deep sleep when at 11:30 I was awakened by a rap at my door. I arose, I fear, not in the best o f spirits, prepared to scold that “ boy,” ' but whom should I find my visitors to be, but two of the Chinese brethren. They had left me and gone home, but could not sleep. They had returned to ask a few more questions and make one more appeal to me to send them a worker. They further handed me an offering o f fifty guilders towards my traveling expenses. We talked till after one o’clock. As they pressed me with regard to a Chinese worker, I finally said, “ I know a good man who might come. He
is an experienced worker, and Spirit-filled preacher. He has a wife and seven children. [I found out later that he has only five.] Could you as a Church undertake their support ?” They said, “ We believe we can. We will pay his' fare. We will pay the one hundred guilders head-tax to the Government, and will do our best to give him a good salary.” ;On my return to Wuchow, we prayerfully considered this urgent call, and our friends will be glad to know that our first Chinese missionary to the South Sea Islands, is leaving shortly for Surabaya and Makassar.1 W e trust that other Chinese missionaries may soon be sent. There are a score or more o f other large cities, with thousands of Chinese, where churches could be organized almost from the beginning on a self-supporting basis, provided the right man could be found to take up the work. The next morning I left for Batavia. In my next article I hope to tell of the Lord’s leading there, and to lay before praying friends at home a more comprehensive view of the needs of the South Sea Island field as a whole. gfe gfe The Dean At Seattle'and /Tacoma The Bible Conference conducted by Dean Maclnnis at the First Presbyterian Church o f Seattle (Dr. Mark A. Matthews, pastor), held July* 22 to July 29 inclusive, was largely attended and proved one o f the most helpful conducted there, according to letters received at the Insti tute. Congregations on the last Sunday were unusually large for that time of the year and the response on the part o f the people was most cordial. A number of young people expressed their purpose to come to the Institute as students, some o f them planning to come this Fall. Dr. Matthews and his associates are doing a great work for Christ in the Northwest. Large congregations also greeted the Dean at Ta coma, First Presbyterian Church, on August 5.
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