"There has been a great deal of sickness this summer, especially among the children. But I have been enabled to do some good by taking these little ones and their mothers into the country. Among them were several Roman Catholic families. They expressed surprise that we should do so much for them, saying, 'It was more than their own people would do for them.' In visiting one of these women soon after, she said her husband had told her she had better take my advice and read the Bible. He said she had better have one, for it could do her no harm. I took her the Gospel of Matthew, which she has been reading attentively, and her children learning verses by heart. She gave me fifty cents, asking if that would be enough to buy a Bible.
"To several Catholic families I have lent Bibles, and they now wish to purchase them, paying for them in small sums, as they are able. One man, who has led a very wicked life and abused his family, is now so changed that when he comes home he asks his children to read to him. He does not go to church, but says he does not know why his people are not allowed to read the Bible.
"A poor woman to whom I gave a Bible handed me one dollar, saying she wished she was able to give more, as it had been such a blessing to her in her sickness and poverty. I have been much encouraged by the gratitude expressed for my reading the Scriptures in some families. A Catholic woman was in great distress for her husband. She begged me to pray for him, and calling her five children about her, we knelt in prayer.
"I have a mothers' meeting at my house, at which several women have desired prayers for their husbands. Visiting in a house where were some Jewish families, I asked if they would allow me to pray with them. They said they would not dare to kneel, but would stand and listen. On my leaving them, they shook my hand, with tears in their eyes, and said they liked to hear my prayer. Another Jewess said she would be sorry if she thought we would not meet in heaven. I begged her to pray God to show her the true way, and read to her in Isaiah the prophecies concerning the Messiah. She, too, promised to think, and pray for light.
"I have good hopes of several intemperate persons. They have abstained from drinking for several weeks, one has joined the Temperance Society, and another has promised to drink no more. They asked for a Bible, which I took to them. We have opened our Sewing-school again, and have the hope of accomplishing much good this winter among the children."
Gladness in Coming to the House of God.
She continues to write thus: "Some of the women who attend my mother's meeting have never attended any place of worship, and it is encouraging to hear them speak of reading the Scriptures, which they have never done before, and of the pleasure they take in going to the House of God, and in listening to His Word.
"A Jewess, to whom I spoke of the Saviour, said, 'Your religion must be very comforting, when you have something to rest upon. I would like to go to your church, and hear about your Saviour.'
"I found a family where the mother was sick; the father without work, and four children to be fed. I obtained assistance for them, and after doing what I could to make them comfortable, I read a portion of Scripture to them. As the woman lay listening, the father came into the room and said, 'You are reading the Bible; it is a good book; my children love to hear it; they learn in the Sabbath-school what will do them good, but the times are hard; I can get no work, and everything seems dark.' His wife said, 'God has sent us help just when we needed it the most.' I urged him to trust in our Heavenly Father, and pray to Him; he said, 'I will try.'"