THE VIRGIN OF THE ANGELS
The people worship many different kinds of idols. Sometimes they walk hundreds of miles to do penance to some stick of wood or piece of stone which has been set up by the priests.
We met one young man who told us he had crawled three hundred miles, carrying a golden dish, valued at ten thousand dollars. This idol to which he crawled is in Costa Rica, and is called “The Virgin of the Angels.” The people have been made to believe that this little image of black stone, three and a half inches high, can perform all sorts of miracles such as opening blind eyes, healing the deaf, and driving away evil spirits. The temple in which this idol is kept was built at a cost of one million dollars. Once a year this “Virgin of the Angels” is carried to visit all the other santos (saints-idols) that she may bless them, and give them more power for the ensuing year. This immense temple is literally lined with gold and silver dishes and cooking utensils brought there by the rich inhabitants of the country, with the hope that the image would bless and heal them. Just outside the temple are stacks of corn, bananas, coffee, sticks and stones, which the poor people have brought that they, too, might have their sins taken away and their diseases healed.
They are begging for the Gospel. Their call comes to you and me,
“Come over and help us!”
and God asks, “Who will go for us?” Isaiah 6:8. Who will leave home, friends, and loved ones, and go out, not knowing whither they go? They will have to eat native foods that are unclean and unwholesome, and which may cause fevers and various sicknesses. They may have to sleep in old dirty native huts, where mosquitos, scorpions, bats, and vermin will attack them. Nevertheless God is calling now, as He called in Isaiah’s day, “WHO WILL GO FOR US?” Jesus is Coming Soon! The message must go forth regardless of the cost.
As we went aboard the ship, the Lord said to me,
“Cast thy bread upon the waters.”
Many dear souls were reached by the tracts on the different vessels upon which we traveled. To God be all the glory! Eternity alone will reveal the number who received the Gospel in this way. Passengers and crews alike read the tracts, and called for more. People from all parts of the world have taken the little messengers with them and as they have grasped our hands with a hearty “Good-bye, and God bless you in your work,” our own souls have been blessed and refreshed, for we have seen the Word of God, that liveth and abideth forever, finding its way into the hearts of men and women.
People who were sick and afflicted, traveling in search of health, have heard the message of healing through Jesus Christ, and have been healed, as we told them of the body of Christ that was broken for us, and that by His stripes we were healed. Souls who had sought comfort and rest in various religions, hearing the story of the cross, and of how Jesus died that we might live, have accepted Him, and gone on their way rejoicing.
“Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.” Eccles. 11:1. We know that when we reach the pearly gates of Heaven we shall see many who have been redeemed from sin, because they read and heard the Bread of the Word, which we cast upon the waters.
While we were giving out tracts and Testaments to the people who came to sell fruit and birds in one port in Mexico, we met a Mexican who had never heard the Gospel, or seen a Bible or a missionary before. I gave him a tract, in his own language, on the second coming of the Lord. He looked at the tract, then at me, and then said, “What is this for?” I told him it was a tract telling of the soon coming of Jesus back to this earth again. I could not speak or understand much Spanish. He said, “I will read it, then bring someone to interpret for me, for I want to know more about this.” He went away, and in a few minutes came back with a young man who could speak English, for his interpreter.
He asked me where I heard the Lord was soon coming back again. I said I had read it in the Bible, and that God was pouring out the Holy Spirit upon the earth in these last days; that thousands were receiving the Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit is revealing to the people that Jesus is coming soon.
He then told us he had been going all over Mexico, Central and South America, visiting idols and saints, walking several thousands of miles, carrying heavy loads of gifts to these idols in the attempt to get peace of soul, but had not found it. At last, sick and weary, and in despair, he gave up.
He was wondering if there were a God and had asked that if there were He should make Himself known to him in some way. Then he said he saw a great, strong man coming up out of the sea, so powerful that he could make every nation of the world bow to him. This man destroyed the Pope of Rome and the Catholic Church, built a great church for himself, and sought to compel all the world to worship him, but there were many who would not do this, so he made war against them, killing them all, and the earth was covered with blood. The people called on God to stop the terrible war and take away this man from the earth. Then Jesus came on a great white horse with many angels following him, destroyed the wicked man, and set up a beautiful kingdom of peace, in which everyone was so happy, and the whole earth became a great beautiful garden.
A Native Village
Then this Mexican said, “I felt very happy in my heart, and had such great peace of mind.” He had prayed God to send someone to tell him more of this way. He said he was very astonished to find someone giving out tracts on the ship. Always before when he made his trips he saw only gambling and dancing, but this time he found people preaching the Gospel.
He went away happy, to tell his people he had found the Bible and the Way of Life. He talked to all the Mexicans on board, telling them how God had answered his prayer.
One man, who owned a gold mine in Mexico, and had been in the United States and was returning, told us, as we were giving out literature to the people, that we were the first missionaries he ever met coming that way. He said he had been in Mexico forty years, had made many trips back and forth, but had met no Christians in those parts before. He himself knew something of the Gospel, and was glad to have the papers, and told us of the great need among the people there.
Oh! shall not we who have received this great outpouring of the Spirit, cry, as did the holy ones in Isaiah, “Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts!” till the whole earth be filled with His glory? As I write in the hot state-room of the ship, my soul is full of glory, and my hands are being moved over the typewriter by the power of the Spirit, while He tells me that Jesus is coming soon, that we must work fast, and open our souls to Himself until we are filled with His power and glory, so that the people with whom we come in contact will know we have been with Him, and learned of Him.
A young man came to me and said, “I heard you praying in your state-room this morning. May I come in next time when you have prayer? I want to know about the Gospel.” We had given him a Testament. The next morning he came and knelt with us and prayed to the Lord to save him. He arose, with his face shining with the glory of God, saying, “Won’t you come to my country and tell my people about Jesus? My mother has been making long trips to worship ‘The Black Christ’ in the great temple on the Honduras border, but she hasn’t found peace. Won’t you come and tell her of this wonderful salvation?” We corresponded with him later, sending him tracts and papers, and he is going on with the Lord. Won’t you pray that God will raise up someone who will go to them with the Gospel before it is too late?
As I have already said, Central and South America are opening their eyes, and fast turning from Romanism. They are accepting Spiritualism, New Thought, Christian Science, and all kinds of false religions, because the true Gospel is not being preached to them. Shall we not awake, rise up, go forth with the message of the cross, and reach these people before they are destroyed with these awful things?
A man from Honduras, who had been in the States studying New Thought, was returning with several boxes of books to sell to the people. This dear young man had never heard the Gospel. He said he found that Rome was keeping the people in ignorance. Having met some New Thought teachers in his country, he had been to the States and studied New Thought for a year, and was now returning to teach it to his people, who, he said, were anxious to have him do so.
We gave him a Bible, the first he had ever seen, and he read it every day. We talked and prayed with him until he was saved, for the dear old Word of God always wins its way into the hearts of men. He threw the New Thought books overboard and went on his way with tracts, Testaments and Bibles for his people, rejoicing that he had found the true God. Let us pray for this precious soul, that God will greatly use him. He is a finely educated young man, whose influence will tell on his countrymen.
Oh! how glad we were we had been led to take that boat, and had had the opportunity to give the Bread of Life to that hungry man! God had led us on that very ship, and certainly we were blessed as we cast the Word of God forth and saw many people running after it. There is a great ministry on the ships, not only to passengers, but also to the officers and crews. They spend all their time on the water, and do not have any opportunity to hear the Gospel, only as it is taken to them.
Another man, a Jew, was very sick, had been for a long time. He was traveling for his health. As my husband spoke to him about the Lord and told him God could heal him, he said, “Well, I will come right into your room now and have you pray for me. I am suffering so, I can’t live until I reach my destination if I do not get relief.” He came in and we prayed for him, and anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord, asking God to touch his body. Instantly he threw up his hands and began to say, “Glory! Glory! Glory!” The power fell on him, and he was saved and healed. As he left the boat he took with him some tracts and a Testament, and, best of all, the glory of God in his soul.
He declared he was going to preach the Gospel, and he began right on the ship. He was so filled with the power and glory of God he could not keep from telling it. Here was one more poor suffering soul who received the Bread of Life that was cast upon the waters, and who went on his way rejoicing, to tell the glad news to other suffering ones.
Let us not be weary in well doing, but rise up in faith and go forth in Jesus’ Name, casting our bread upon the waters, for we shall find it bringing forth life.
A woman that I spoke to became so interested that she came every day for tracts and papers to read. I also gave her some good books on the second coming of the Lord, and on salvation. She, too, was saved, and went away with her suitcase full of the Word of God to give to her people.
“With this blessed hope before us,
Let no harp remain unstrung,
Let the mighty heavenly chorus
Onward roll from tongue to tongue;
Christ is coming;
Come thou blessed Prince of Peace.”