GEORGIA.
The Work——Temperance——Superstition.
REV. J. R. M’LEAN, NO. 1 MILLER’S STATION.
Miss Douglass’ coming here has been a blessing to us all, and a great help to the work. Through her we have been able, as we hope, to get money enough to finish our church inside. Our congregation has not been so large as we think it ought to have been, and yet our work is felt by all the other churches. The Sabbath-school has been larger this year than at any time before since I have been here, and we have seen indications of the good it is doing. God’s word will accomplish that which He pleases.
The day school has been good all the time. We have on the list about 55; it numbered a month ago 41 daily. Some of the larger ones have gone out of school to work on the farm. We have had a strong religious spirit in the school all the year. Some twenty or more have, as we hope, been converted; five of that number have been received into this church.
Five of the members of our church, who spent at least a dollar and a half a week for strong drink when I first came here, have left it off altogether and say they do not want to smell it now. One of them yesterday, at our communion, would not partake with us. When asked why, he said: “I wanted to take it the worst kind, but I was afraid it would make me want to go to drinking again,” and tears ran down his face as he spoke these words to Miss Douglass. You can see from this that some of the people are trying to leave off the habits of slavery, but it is done with no little effort, for the habits seem to have become a second nature.
A man who is a Jew, and cares nothing about religion, said to me, the other day, that he had been here thirteen years, and had never seen such a change as recently among the people. I am not able to say what has caused it. I feel sure that much of it has come from the labor of Miss D.; she has gone to see them in their homes and read the word to them, and prayed with them, and given them good tracts to read, and the blessing of God has been with her in the work.
But there is a dark side to my picture. We have so many Atheists here that it is very hard to do anything. The man who denies God’s word is just as much of an Atheist as the one who says there is no God. We find only a few who believe God’s word. They say the Bible does not teach us the way to come to Christ, but that He brings us to Himself through a dream interpreted by some old ignorant godfather or godmother. These foolish ideas have led many of the hopefully converted ones to doubt and caused many of them to go in darkness for weeks, and some of them do not see the light yet. Some of those who gave their hearts to the Saviour in our meetings, (and such changes were seen in their actions, that no one could doubt their being Christians,) before they could join the old churches must go off and dream, and hear the little voice say, “Oh, my little one, go in peace, and sin no more.”
I find many of those who have joined this church much worse than they were before they thought of becoming Christians. The cause lies in the fact that they have been led to trust in forms and not to trust Jesus. A knowledge of the Bible is the only thing that is to save the thousands of my people. Their ministers teach the same foolish ways of which I have spoken. Nothing but the grace of Almighty God can lead this people in the way everlasting.