In connection with our California Chinese mission, thirteen schools were sustained during the month of June. This is one less than were in operation in May, the school at Tucson, Arizona, having been discontinued temporarily. But the number of pupils enrolled was 595—a net gain over the preceding month of 45, and the largest enrollment ever reported. The average attendance was 314—larger by 10 than during the preceding month, and larger than was ever reported before. In the course of this fiscal year, thus far, not less than 1,465 Chinese have been enrolled in these schools, and have thus been reached by Gospel influences. Among the pupils now in the schools, 128 are reported as giving evidence of conversion.
Laborers wanted for God’s Harvest.—Christ bids us pray for these. I ask the readers of the Missionary to join us in prayer for more Chinese helpers made fit by the power of God’s Spirit for the work that they, they alone, can do. The teacher in one of our more recently established schools writes me as follows: “I find it very hard to get along alone. We sadly need an efficient Chinese helper. The boys are beginning to think and ask so many questions, and each requires so much time for himself, that it is often after ten o’clock P. M. when I get through. Then there are so many Chinese outside that we cannot reach, and who will not come to school; and they need some one to meet with them and talk to them in their own language.”
What is true of this school is just as true of all the rest. We have now nine of those helpers employed. I should like to add four to the list as soon as September 1st. Can I have the means to sustain them? I believe that if the Lord will send forth the men, I will trust Him for the money. But I certainly purpose not to waste the Lord’s money sustaining men whom I alone, not He, have called into the field. Unite with us in prayer for the right men.
A Helper’s Sermon.—Lou Quong is at present our helper in the West School in this city. He is a servant in a Christian family, working at reduced wages in order to get time for missionary work. What he thus loses I make up to him by way of salary. With the other helpers in this city and Oakland, he meets me at our Central Mission House for a review of the week’s Bible lessons, and for mutual conference on all matters bearing on our mission. One of the exercises is the presentation by each helper of a sketch of a sermon for criticism and other suggestions from me. The following was submitted yesterday (June 20th) by Lou Quong. I think that the readers of the Missionary have never heard from him before.
The text (assigned to all in common on the preceding Wednesday) was in John xiii. 34, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another: as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
“Our Lord has given us a new commandment to learn—that we should love one another. Well, but how many commandments are there? There are ten old commandments which the Lord gave Moses. The old commandments say, ‘Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.’ Why does Jesus give us this new one? Is Christ any better than God? No, they are the same. It is because Jesus saw the people of the world needed more charity. Therefore, Christ gave us this one that we must love one another with brotherly love.
“2. But how can we love one another? Can we love all our brethren without loving God? Or can we love God without loving our brethren? No, we cannot love our brethren without loving God, neither can we love God without loving His people. But we must first love God; then we shall be able to love the brethren. Do not you know what the Bible says, ‘we love God because He first loved us.’ Love is the greatest word in the world. We cannot possibly do anything without this word. Love the brethren of God’s church as if they were your own brethren. But what is the reason that we should love them as our own brethren? Yes, they are truly our own brethren. Why? Because we are all made of one blood. At the beginning, did not God make a man and a woman, and told them to love one another, and keep His commandments? But at last they broke His commands, so God turned them out of Paradise. Now are they not the father and mother of us all? Of course, they are. This is why we ought to love them that are God’s children as well as our own brethren.
“3. But how are we able to love one another? Shall we love them when they love us? That is a very easy way, but this not the way of love at all. Or shall we say, we will love them, but the heart is not willing to do so? Is this the way to love? Or, shall we say by mouth, yes, we will love him truly, but still try to listen to him when he talks, or preaching, or studying, to find fault with him, and go right off and tell some one else instead of telling his fault before him by yourself alone; is this the way to love? Or, he speak something against me; then I do not like to speak to him any more: is that the way to love? Or, to wait, find out all his mistakes and all his faults, and then go find some one who you think best,—who you think love you very much, and who you think can help you any way, and who do always to please you with talk, and who can scold them better than you, for perhaps they are better person than you, and perhaps they have more respect of men; and your heart is full of envying, and always try to knock him down: is this the way to love one another? Is that your brother, that you ought to treat him so? No, my friends, this is not the way to love at all. But we are truly to love one another; this is our duty. What Jesus told us to do, we must do it by heart, not by talk, nor by pleasing, neither by any other way. But first knowing that God is always looking down from above, so we must be careful how we love God and our brother. This is what we ought to have;—that is, we must first have our hearts pure, then comes the peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits of righteousness, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Do it by heart. Amen.”
I have transcribed it just as it was brought in—the first draft roughly penciled—and the italics are his own. As a work of homiletic art, it is open to criticism certainly; but as an utterance of truth, it may reach the case, and fitly stir the conscience of many an American Christian, as well as of our Chinese believers.
I close with, this extract from the report of the teacher of our Barnes School: “The most enjoyable lessons to me are those in the Bible, and I am often surprised at the interest shown, and the questions and answers given. * * * Last night in Sabbath-school one was learning the passage, ‘Take heed that ye do not your alms before men,’ etc. I asked him if he knew what that meant. He answered, ‘When you give away something, or do something kind to any body, don’t go talk about it, tell everybody. If you do, God think you too much foolie.’ I think I have given his exact words.”