“Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not.” I have been led to feel the force of these words with somewhat of the surprise of their author, within the last two or three weeks. My work among this people has been, I confess, a little discouraging; but now the Lord has smiled upon us, aye, He has showered upon us blessings from heaven. Brother Thompson, from Helena, has been with us the last four weeks. We have worked together, and God has crowned our feeble efforts with success. In our conference we decided to hold a series of religious meetings, intending thereby to stir up, if possible, the members of the church to greater activity. These meetings were commenced, and, as they continued, the interest deepened, both Christians and sinners being impressed. Many rose and asked the church to pray for them. To our great surprise and joy, sinners have come flocking home, backsliders have been reclaimed, the church has been made alive, and many out of Christ are inquiring. The manifest result of our season of revival thus far is, that six have been added to the church. Four young ladies, all under twenty-three years of age, joined by the profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. One who had backslidden came and acknowledged her sins, professing her belief that God had forgiven the same, asked pardon of the church, and was received back again into the fold. Another came, by letter, from the Baptist church. He was formerly a member of this church, and, as he said, he “only came back again.” And let me say, that these meetings were not characterized by excitement; not the least “shouting” was manifest during their continuance, but there was a deep seriousness shown upon each countenance. The colored people here are so wild and physical in their religious meetings, while our church is so quiet, that they speak skeptically about our Christianity. An A. M. E. minister asked one of our young converts to-day, when she was converted. They are still looking through Elijah’s wind, earthquake and fire for the appearance of God, and but few wish to receive Him through the “still small voice.”
Our financial condition is not what we could wish, but in the circumstances I do not think it could be much better. The members failed this year to meet their pledges; they are fifty dollars short. But this was caused by having to meet unforeseen expenses. We enclosed our church lot just before Christmas. I advised them to do this, as the edifice was so much exposed. The carpenter’s work I did myself, and charged them nothing for it. My Sabbath-school is quite prosperous, but it is not so large now as it has been. Children need something to draw their attention. I find that they are wonderfully attracted by music. We need an organ; but we are too poor to buy one. Will some kind friend send us an organ for our Sabbath-school? I am sure that great good could be done with an organ in attracting the attention of children and drawing them in from the streets. There are numbers of children strolling around on the Sabbath. Children here are allowed to go where they wish. If they want to come to my school, they come; if not, they stay away; and parents have but little influence over them in this respect. I would like to capture such, and I think I should be able to do this with music and papers.
Cannot some of the friends of the missionary cause send us their old Sabbath-school papers when they are done with them, remembering that God will bless their beneficence?
TENNESSEE.
Material and Spiritual Value of the Yellow Fever Fund.
MISS HATTIE A. MILTON.
Various sums were sent to our treasury for the relief of the yellow fever sufferers. This little fund has been distributed in New Orleans, Memphis and Mobile. The accompanying letter from Miss Milton shows the manner of its distribution in Memphis:
“Most of those whom I found worthy of relief were people who were suffering from the effects of the fever, and could only make money enough to pay the rent. To such, a few barrels of coal or some provision and shoes gave a start, so that they could get on very well alone. We have had an unusually cold winter, and people have consequently needed more fuel, the sickly ones often having to remain in bed to keep warm. A pastor of one of the colored churches has been a great help in this work, by reporting needy cases in his part of the city. One poor woman, whom he reported, when visited, said, ‘Sure the Lord must have sent you, for I have tried ever since I had the fever to get help, but being blind could not succeed.’ She was furnished with fuel and provision. She then said, ‘You see how good the Lord is to me because I trust Him.’
“Another man had always done very well until he had the fever, from which he partially recovered, but had a relapse which laid him on his bed for months. His wife also was sick, and the family were in great distress when I visited them, and sent relief, which so encouraged them that the man was soon able to be at work again, and is doing well now. I had never gained access to this neighborhood before, but by relieving this family I gained the confidence of the people, and they invited me to hold a weekly prayer-meeting there, which is well attended. Several families which have been relieved now send their children to our Sunday-school. Although several thousand dollars were sent here to relieve yellow fever sufferers, many of the colored people received but little, some nothing. It is very sad to hear of those who were so feeble that they could not stand in the ranks to await their turn at the relief office, but sat on the ground till night came, and then receiving no attention, went home to die! One man, who had always been a good provider, sent his family to the country during the fever, but fell a victim to it himself, and died, leaving his wife a nice house and lot, but with several debts unpaid, and not a dollar for her support. Within a week after his death a beautiful baby opened its wondering eyes for the first time in this world of trouble. The poor heart-broken mother, instead of welcoming the tiny, helpless creature, only looked at it with tearful eyes and an aching heart, as she had nothing for it, most of their clothing being burned when her husband died, to prevent the spread of the disease. When I found her, the baby was three months’ old, and had never had but two garments, and the mother could not leave the three little ones, all under four years of age, to get work. She was relieved, and now the cold is nearly over, and as she has rented her house and taken small rooms herself, she saves a little money, which, with the work she can get, will, she hopes, keep the wolf from the door, and she is very thankful for the relief that came just when she most needed it.