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.