Without any one having been personally applied to for anything by me, the sum of £133,528, 14s. has been given to me for the orphans, as the result of prayer to God, since the commencement of the work, which sum includes the amount received for the building fund for the houses already built and the one to be built. It may also be interesting to the reader to know that the total amount which has been given for the other objects since the commencement of the work amounts to £51,777, 14s. 11d.; and that which has come in by the sale of Bibles, since the commencement, amounts to £2,530, 4s. 5½d.; by sale of tracts, £3,546, 19s. 1¼d.; and by the payments of the children in the day schools, from the commencement, £2,304, 18s. 9d. Besides this, also, a great variety and number of articles of clothing, furniture, provisions, etc., have been given for the use of the orphans.
Day after day, and year after year, by the help of God, we labor in prayer for the spiritual benefit of the orphans under our care. These our supplications, which have been for twenty-four years brought before the Lord concerning them, have been abundantly answered in former years in the conversion of hundreds from among them. We have also had repeated seasons in which, within a short time, or even all at once, many of the orphans were converted. Such a season we had about three years since, when within a few days about sixty were brought to believe in the Lord Jesus; and such seasons we have had again twice during the past year. The first was in July, 1859, when the Spirit of God wrought so mightily in one school of 120 girls, as that very many, yea, more than one half, were brought under deep concern about the salvation of their souls. This work, moreover, was not a mere momentary excitement; but, after more than eleven months have elapsed, there are 31 concerning whom there is full confidence as to their conversion, and 32 concerning whom there is likewise a goodly measure of confidence, though not to the same amount as regarding the 31. There are therefore 63 out of the 120 orphans in that one school who are considered to have been converted in July, 1859. This blessed and mighty work of the Holy Spirit cannot be traced to any particular cause. It was, however, a most precious answer to prayer. As such we look upon it, and are encouraged by it to further waiting upon God. The second season of the mighty working of the Holy Spirit among the orphans, during the past year, was at the end of January and the beginning of February, 1860. The particulars of it are of the deepest interest. A very profitable pamphlet might be written on the subject. I have prayed again and again for guidance how to act, and have at last come to the decision not to relate the details, lest the dear children, who would recognize themselves in the description, should be injured; for my experience of laboring twenty-six years among children, and of having had to deal with so many very young believers, has led me to the full conviction that it is injurious to make them prominent. If God makes them prominent by using them as evidently he is using children in these days, we have only to admire and to praise; but this is very different from ourselves making them prominent. I must therefore content myself by stating that this great work of the Spirit of God in January and February, 1860, began among the younger class of the children under our care, little girls of about six, seven, eight, and nine years old; then extended to the older girls, and then to the boys; so that within about ten days above 200 of the orphans were stirred up to be anxious about their souls, and in many instances found peace immediately, through faith in our Lord Jesus. They at once requested to be allowed to hold prayer meetings among themselves, and have had these meetings ever since. Many of them also manifested a concern about the salvation of their companions and relations, and spoke or wrote to them about the way to be saved. Should the believing reader desire to know how it has been with these children since the end of January and the beginning of February, our reply is, we have, in most cases, cause for thankfulness. The present state of the 700 orphans, spiritually, is, that there are 118 under our care, regarding whose conversion we have full confidence; 89 regarding whom we have also confidence, though not to that full degree as concerning the 118; and 53 whom we consider in a hopeful state. To these 260 are to be added the 14 who were sent out as believers, and the three who died in the faith during the past year. It is to be remembered that very many of the children in the Orphan Houses are quite young, as we have received them from four months old and upward. During no year have we had greater cause for thanksgiving on account of the spiritual blessing among the children than during the last; and yet we look for further and greater blessing still.
APPENDIX.
Mr. Müller is constantly receiving not only contributions in money, but a great variety of useful articles, which are regularly sent to a shop provided for their sale. The following list of such articles, given anonymously during the first six months of the year 1859-60, will not be without interest to the reader, as showing by what an endless diversity of means resources are furnished for the work in which Mr. M. is engaged:—
June. A bead bag, a bouquet-holder, 6 gilt brooches, a gilt bracelet, a waist-buckle, and an agate heart.—5 pairs of knitted travelling shoes, a compass and thermometer, a court-plaster case, a guinea piece, 2 half franc pieces, a copper coin, 4 rings, a brooch, a gold pencil-case, a pair of earrings, top of a seal, and a gold waist-buckle.—A silver watch guard; a small brooch, a breastpin, and a ring.—12 pairs of garters.—A sofa tidy.—A small stereoscopic box. 6 frocks, 6 shirts, 4 pocket handkerchiefs, 2 pairs of socks, 2 nightcaps, 12 kettle-holders, 2 pairs of wristlets, 4 thimbles, 2 brooches, steel slides, a bracelet, and waist-buckle. A bead mat, 2 bags, a penwiper, 3 book-marks, and a scent-bag.—A pencil, 2 pairs of spectacles, a smelling-bottle, a pocketbook, some gloves, stockings, combs, and various articles of clothing, etc., together with a half-sovereign.
July. An old silver watch, an old metal watch, and an old shilling.—2 coats, 1 jacket, one waistcoat, 1 pair of trousers, and 1 pair of garters. 5 dresses, a body, and 2 shillings.—9 penwipers, 4 babies’ shirts, 9 mats, 1 pair of baby’s boots, 2 nightcaps, 6 pinafores, 2 pairs of watch pockets, 1 ribbon mat, 1 pincushion, 2 needlebooks, and 3 book-markers.—2 dolls, 2 dolls’ hats, a pair of bracelets, a pincushion, a needlebook, a shaving cloth, a sampler, 2 pairs of cuffs, a kettle-holder, a penwiper, a pair of baby’s shoes, a book-mark, a bag, a watch-guard, a pinafore, and a pamphlet.—2 buckles, a smelling-bottle, some mock pearls, 3 hair bracelets, a hair ring, and a wig.
August. Some fancy envelopes.—A ring, 2 shirt studs, and a watch-hook.—A pattern for a collar.—A ring from Stroud.—12 new bonnets.—A brooch, a bracelet, a book-marker, some cuffs, a pattern for work, and some trimming.—A frame for ladies’ work.—“From the friend at Devizes,” 2 skirts of dresses, a jacket, and a shawl.—Some pencil lead for polishing.—Some knitting and sewing cotton.—2 old wedding rings.—3 balls.—8 book-marks, 4 postage-stamp cases, and 6 pincushions.
September. A parcel containing some worsted, some brass thimbles, bodkins, and needles.—4 black ostrich feathers, 1 white ditto, 4 colored drawings.—3 pairs of socks, 6 pairs of stockings, and 2 waistcoats.—A pair of patent renovators (or flesh gloves).—A small work-bag of silk and straw.—A guinea piece, a lace habit shirt, a pair of lace sleeves, and a French cambric handkerchief.—3 collars, 1 pocket handkerchief, and 1 pair of sleeves.—2 flannel petticoats, a table cover, a silver wine-strainer, a silver marrow spoon, 1 sugar spoon, a punch ladle, 6 chemises, and 6 pinafores.—A small hamper of books.—1 alpaca coat, 1 check waistcoat, 1 pair of trousers, 3 pairs of shoes, 1 travelling cap, 1 pair of spectacles in case, 2 pairs of boots, 2 muffetees, 1 pair of gaiters, 1 pair of boots, 8 copper pens, 1 pair of slippers, 1 black leather bag, 1 pair of new boots, 1 coat, 1 waistcoat, 5 pairs of gloves, 1 pair of braces, a necktie, a dressing box, 2 brushes, 3 razors, a stiletto, a pair of spectacles, and 2 pieces of teeth set in gold.—12 book covers, 7 small ditto, 1 small box, 4 ditto in one.—A large box of toys.—A collar.—A large tea chest, containing 160 articles of ladies’ dress, etc.—A dress, 3 bodies, 3 berthas, a waistband, a pair of cuffs, a feather, an ornament for the hair, some artificial flowers, some whalebone, and some pieces of ribbon.—A cloth mantle, a velvet jacket, and a muslin ditto.