Arriving at the station we bade our brother good-bye and got off the train. It was now quite dark, and raining, and our funds were down to twenty cents. We stopped under the shed of the depot long enough to pray for leadings from the Lord, for it was late, the agent had gone, the depot was closed and the brother had told us that he thought most of the saints lived out in the country. As we looked to our Heavenly Father to guide us He directed us to a store on the hill. The owner was just closing the door as we came up. My husband asked him if any of the mission people lived in the town and he said he did not know. As we passed down the street we heard some one say, “Well, ‘Praise the Lord!’ Where did you come from?” It was dear brother Armstead. We had met him and his wife in some meetings in St. Louis, but did not know they lived in Stanton. Also others were there whom we knew, having met them in other places. We stayed about ten days and had blessed meetings. The blessing of the Lord came down upon our souls, the dear little band of faithful saints were refreshed, and the altar was filled with those seeking the Lord.
A remarkable incident occurred here. A woman across the street from where we were having the meetings became very much incensed at us because she thought we prayed and sang too loud. She sent her children over to throw rocks and sticks at us, while she sat in her house and made light of the shouting. One night the power fell in a wonderful way and the people were very happy. This woman was sitting barefoot in her bedroom reading the evening paper, and felt something cold touch her foot, but did not give it any attention at first. Feeling it again she looked down, and there was a very large snake coiled ready to strike her foot. She sprang away and screamed, then ran to the meeting crying for some one to come and kill the snake, as it had gotten on the bed where the baby was asleep. Some of the brothers went over, found the serpent on the bed, and killed it. After that the woman felt different toward us and our shouting and praising the Lord. We had been praying for her and the Lord had told us He would take care of it all. We find the Lord uses different means to bring people to Himself.
From Stanton we went to Rolla, Missouri. We knew no one in Rolla, or anything about the place, but the Lord had told us to go there, so we went. We just had money enough to get there. As we stepped off the train a brother threw his arms around my husband and said, “Well, Hallelujah! My wife told me to come and meet this train, for the Lord was sending some one on it to help us in the meetings we have just started, and here you are, just in time.” They had opened a little work there and had been asking the Lord to send someone to help them, so He had sent us, bless His dear Name! He also sent the Holy Spirit, for we had a wonderful time. One of the hard fighters of Pentecost received the Baptism, and many others were blessed in their souls, and some were healed in their bodies.
From Rolla we went to Springfield, Missouri, and stayed over Sunday with the dear saints there, having a refreshing time for our souls, and a rest for our bodies. From there we went to Everton, Missouri, where we had been led to hold some meetings.
On arriving in this little town we found that the only building there was for the meetings had burned down the day before. We spent the day in a grocery store praying for a door to be opened for the Gospel, for we had been told it was a very wicked town and that the Pentecostal message had never been preached there.
In the evening we went out to see about getting some rooms where we could stay while there. Going to a certain place we met the Presbyterian minister. When he found that we had come to have revival meetings he hastened to open his church to us and insisted that we begin the services that night. He told us that he had been praying for a revival as they had not had a convert in that town for over thirty years, and that he hoped we could do something to stir the people up. He had not asked us what we were preaching, as many others do when we arrive in a new place. If he had known how we would stir up things in that dead town and that fine Presbyterian church I don’t know whether he would have been so quick to invite us in.
He rang the church bell, we went in and began to sing and pray, and soon the crowd came. Such a hungry-looking lot of people they were, yet they looked like they were ready to run if something happened that they did not understand. As we prayed and testified the glory settled down over us. Each night the people moved up a little closer to the fire, and some dared to come up in the rostrum and help us sing. Once in a while we heard a faint Amen from the dear old pastor, and one night, after the Lord had met us in a very sweet and wonderful way, he came and said, “There is something so different about you people from what we have ever seen in others. Why,” said he, “it is no trouble at all for you to pray and testify, and there is something about these meetings that fills my heart with joy, and I want you to pray that I will get this blessing that you have, for we need a great spiritual awakening here.”
I felt like jumping up and down and telling him we had the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and it was that which made us different from other folks. O Hallelujah! But I knew we must use wisdom with them, so left it to the Lord to work out in His own way and time.
The next night the power fell on Sister Hagg, and she went up and down the platform singing in the Spirit and speaking in tongues. We were wonderfully anointed and had a blessed meeting. The dear people had never seen anything like that before. They looked so hungry.
The next morning the pastor and his wife came to our rooms and he said, “I want this blessed experience. Pray for me, and pray for my wife’s healing.” She was deaf. We had a sweet time praying together, the dear old pastor calling on God to send the Holy Spirit into his life and into the church.