Personal Experiences of S. O. Susag

by S. O. Susag

That meeting was a real success. Brother Masters, for a number of evenings, had offered a brand new eighteen dollar Bible to any preacher, professor, presiding elder or bishop that could come into the pulpit and prove that we were not preaching the Bible. He gave them five minutes to come to the front. One family belonging to a certain denomination sent for their bishop and he came. After the service was over and the family had taken the bishop to their home, they asked him why he did not get up and prove that we were not preaching the truth so as to get the Bible. The good man answered, "After those two men were finished speaking there was nothing to say. They preached the Bible." Brother Masters spoke on the "White Horse of Calvary" and used the blackboard to illustrate his meaning.

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Brother Peter Peterson of Hoboken, New Jersey and I held some meetings together up in a newly settled district of northern Minnesota. Our offering for two weeks services was one round fifty-cent piece.

While there we had a call to go to the insane asylum, at Fergus Falls, Minnesota to pray for a Brother Weegan who had lost his mind. After entering the institution we were locked in the cell with him and on bended knees with our hands uplifted toward heaven, we began to pray and all of a sudden he was restored to his right mind. We knocked on the door to have the attendant came and let us out. As we were going out of the door Brother Weegan pushed his head between us and the attendant and said to the man, "You might just as well let me out, too, for I am as rational as these two preachers now, and I will not hurt you any more."

Then I asked the attendant whether there was a man in the place by the name of John Lukesen of Irving, Minnesota, and he told me there was such a man there. I told him we had ten minutes to spare and asked him whether we could go in and see him without first having to go to the superintendent's office for permission. The man lifted his hands and said, "You can see anyone in this institution since this one man has received help from you."

He then proceeded to give us information about the one we wanted to see. He said, "When Mr. Lukesen first came here we had to have him in a padded cell and he got so bad that we had to tie him to his cot and now he is like a wild cat and nothing but skin and bones; he won't be long for this world."

When he opened the door to the cell, there I saw my neighbor lying on his cot and he surely did look like a wild cat, as the man had said! The compassion of the Lord Jesus came upon me and I lifted my hands toward heaven and called aloud to him, "John Lukesen, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom I serve, makes you well!" And he was well! Shortly after this, he was sent home.

We planned to go from there to Hereford, Minnesota. At Evansville where we had to change trains, we inquired of the station agent when the train for Hereford would be leaving. We were informed that there would be no train leaving for that place before Thursday at three o'clock. We were told that only two trains a week went from there to Hereford and this was Tuesday—a long time to wait!

Brother Peterson said, "Let us go out and pray." After we had prayed we returned to the depot and asked the agent when the train for Hereford would be leaving. He answered gruffly, "I told you Thursday afternoon at three o'clock." "All right," said Brother Peterson, "Let us go out and pray." After praying we went back the second time and asked the agent the same question; and this time he was really gruff. And he surely informed us that there would be no train leaving before Thursday afternoon at three o'clock. Again, Brother Peterson said, "All right, let us go out and pray."

We went out once more into the grove to pray and Brother Peterson did the praying: "Lord, the President can get a special pullman train any time he wants it and he is only the president of the United States; and here are we, Brother Susag and I, Thy ambassadors. We are not asking Thee for a pullman car—we will be satisfied with an old caboose—the distance is only 30 miles; so Lord, won't you please talk to the agent?" We both said AMEN.