GO HOME TO THY FRIENDS.
Four years ago a little ten-year-old native on the west coast of Africa had a hungering for “big America,” and a captain beguiled him, by false promises of educating him, to come aboard his ship. The poor waif seemed providentially cared for in Brooklyn and Connecticut, till an A. M. A. friend picked him up and sent him to Atlanta University. During the winter our little Philip has often spoken of his purpose to live for God. Last night, in his broken English, he told us of the impression made on him by the Sunday-school lesson of the day—the demoniac made happy and sent home to tell what great things the Lord had done for him. Said Philip: “It is God who put me here, where I have learned of Christ, and now you must pray for me that I may be a good Christian and grow strong and wise, for I must sometime go home to my friends in Africa and tell them how the Lord had compassion on me.” His artless words touched all hearts and turned our prayer meeting into an impromptu missionary concert. One young man said: “Philip’s friends are our friends. Though there is much for us to do here our 250 years of trial in America may have been only a discipline to fit us for our greater work in Africa.”
A RICE PLANTATION.
THE WORK AT FLORENCE, ALA.
BY REV. W. H. ASH.
The closing year has been peculiarly blessed. We commenced with dark clouds over our work in the beginning of the year, but ere the work was well started they proved to contain blessings. The good which the Association, under God, has accomplished here for the poor, is only seen vividly as we compare the results of the present year with those of four years ago. Then we had no church edifice; begun a day-school with three scholars in an old shell of a building for a school-house; the Sabbath-school had about ten scholars. Now we number nearly forty. Since that time a beautiful chapel has been built and a snug parsonage, and we now have an enrolment of seventy scholars in the day-school.
Some of our pupils have passed a very satisfactory examination before the Board of Examiners, and received certificates to teach in the public schools this summer. Our work has grown this year more than ever in the favor and confidence of both white and black. I believe that the good effect of the closing exercises will make the school very large next fall. One pleasing fact in connection with the exercises was the young organist we presented to the public. Ours is the only colored church here that has an organ, and my wife is the only colored woman, so far as I know, in the county, who plays the organ. Now that she has taken one of the girls and taught her how to play, one of the colored churches has ordered an organita for its Sabbath-school.