The Inter-American DivilOn 
essence,' 
3 �
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3—Z-A 
Inter-America's Ministers 
By ARTHUR H. ROTH 
1 
1 
1 I 
The supreme purpose of the church is to preach 
the gospel. The most vital human asset that the 
church has for the accomplishment of this purpose 
is the ministry. Upon the ministry falls the major 
responsibility for preaching the gospel. How im-
portant to the church and to the kingdom of heaven 
is the ministry. As a consequence of the vital 
role that the ministry fills, it is necessary that the 
men who serve in the ministry be men of God, men 
of wisdom, men of judgment, men of vision, men of 
action. 
When God calls men into His ministerial ser-
vice, they ought to prepare themselves to give the 
most efficient service possible within the range of 
the gifts God has bestowed upon them. In nothing 
should they come behind. Particularly should they 
know the Scriptures and be able to teach the 
Scriptures to others. Ministers ought to be able to 
preach; and what they preach ought to be the 
everlasting gospel. The responsibility of the 
minister is tremendous both toward God and the 
church. 
For His part God has assured the minister of 
power and success when and while he keeps himself 
in submission to the Holy Spirit. The church also 
has obligations toward the ministry, particularly 
toward the young men who have heard and respon-
ded to God's call to the ministry. 
Seventh-day Adventists early in their history 
recognized this responsibility when they established 
centers of advanced training for their youth who 
were to serve the Movement. 
As the denomination expanded and the in-
tensity of the conflict between Christ and Satan 
deepened, the training given at the denomination's 
schools has been enriched and enlarged. This has 
been true not only in the land where the Advent. 
Movement had its beginnings, but it is true wher-
ever the Advent Message has gone. In the Inter-
American Division worker training first was given 
in the form of specialized instruction under tutors. 
As Adventism in Inter-America grew secondary 
schools which placed special emphasis on preaching 
and teaching were established. Then followed the 
Junior College training program for ministers, teach-
ers, office workers and other professions. Practically 
every union in the Division now has a main training 
center where education is offered above the second-
ary level. The main emphasis given at these schools 
is in ministerial and worker training lines. 
Now comes the announcement from the Inter-
American Division committee and supported by 
the approval of the Department of Education of 
the General Conference that Senior college minis-
terial training in Spanish will be offered at the An-
tillian Union College in Santa Clara, Cuba. This 
advanced training will be available to ministers and 
ministerial students beginning with the 1956-'57 
school year which opens in September, 1956. 
The denomination's Spanish-speaking ministry 
will welcome this news with great joy. Ministerial 
helps along Seventh-day Adventist lines of thought 
for reading purposes and self-improvement in the 
Spanish are few. Our Spanish language ministers 
for long have prayed for more help to make them 
better ministers of the Gospel of Jesus and His 
Advent Message. This desire and the need for a 
more effectively trained ministry has been the motive 
force behind this advanced step. 
As our brethren throughout the Division pray 
for the work making special mention of the ministry, 
we invite them to pray for Antillian Union College 
and Dr. Walton Brown, its president, and the staff 
of teachers at Antillian Union College as they lay 
plans for the advanced training that shall be offered 
to Inter-Arnerica's Spanish-speaking ministry. 
May God bless His ministers who are now labor-
ing in the field and may He lead the young men who 
are in training for the ministry in all the schools 
of the DiVision, particularly this major ministerial 
training institution. 
I 
I 
I 
1••••)...-1-.) 
I> 
NO. 3 
VOL. XXXIII �
MARCH, 1956 
A SECOND CHURCH 
The church in 
B u c aramanga, 
Colombia, has 
a seating capa-
city of 700, but 
when we have 
special pro-
grams on the 
13th Sabbaths 
there may be as 
many as 1,000 
present. Many �
Luis A. Bolivar 
of those who take the Lord's supper 
have to do so standing. Thanks to 
generous help from the Inter-Ameri-
can Division we have been able to 
purchase two large houses. One is 
situated in the same block with the 
church building. This serves as a 
school room for the girls, while the 
boys go to the other building. We 
have 120 boys and girls in our church 
school taught by four teachers. 
The other house was bought in 
the opposite end of the city in the 
section called Soto Mayor. This 
house has been made over so that 
we have a fine hall where we can 
2 
IN 
IN THE INTER-AMERICAN DIVISION 
Euangetimn in the antiffiatt 'Union 
All the fields are planning for 
more active evangelism this year. 
Elder Andres Riffel of the West Cuba 
Conference has already begun a 
public effort in the new Marianao 
church, which was dedicated Sep-
tember 24. This well-built church, 
which seats 250 comfortably, is 
proving a great blessing to our people 
in that area, and it is believed that 
many of the 50 to 100 non-Adventists 
attending these meetings may soon 
be brought into the truth. 
The Camaguey Spanish church, 
which was also dedicated last year, 
is now being used, and the English 
church is nearing completion. A full-
scale evangelistic campaign is 
plarmed. for 1956 in the former. 
The large new church which has 
been erected in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, 
was dedicated in the month of Janu-
ary. This beautiful church, which 
will seat 500 or 600, will make it 
possible for active evangelistic work 
to be done in that important city. 
Elder Raul Villanueva was trans-
ferred to Puerto Rico where he is 
conducting a large effort in the City 
of Ponce. It is hoped that a strong 
church may be raised up as a result. 
While these public efforts conduc-
ted on a large scale are more spec-
tacular, the work done by other 
workers holding shorter efforts, such 
as the ones conducted by Evaristo 
Gonzalez in the Dominican Mission, 
accomplish excellent results. His plan 
is to preach each night from Monday 
to Thursday in the place where he . 
is holding the effort and then care 
for the other churches of the district 
on the week ends. He has found 
many regular attendants who knew 
the truth through the Voice of Hope 
programs and so were soon able to 
join the baptismal class and prepare 
themselves definitely for baptism. 
IN BUCARAMANGA 
seat 250 people. The night of the 
inauguration there were more than 
300 there and many of the brethren 
said, "What a pity this hall isn't 
large_ enough! What shall we do 
with so many people standing Inside 
and outside F' On Sunday nights we 
never have less than 250 or 300 and 
on week days from 100 to 150 at-
tending. We are glad for the cordial 
reception we have received in this 
new neighborhood. We have a good 
attendance on Sabbaths. Pray that 
soon we will have a second church 
organized in Bucaramanga. 
This new building, is a miracle to 
us, for when another church group 
started to build in 1954 the opposi-
tion was so great that a day was 
fixed on which the Adventists and 
other Protestants were to be des-
troyed. But God intervened, and 
now instead of ashes we. have a new 
building. No one has disturbed our 
meetings. No one has cried out, 
"Down with the Adventists." The 
same boys who used to shout against 
(Continued on page 4) 
During one of these efforts a wo-
man had a dream. She seemed to see 
the face of Jesus, and felt that the 
end of the- world was at hand. To 
correct this idea, Jesus said to her, 
"This is not the end; but when I 
come, that will be the end." She 
understood this dream to lead her 
to the truth that Evaristo Gonzalez 
was teaching. She is now preparing 
for baptism. 
Colombino Gonzalez, working in 
the town of Macoris, Dominican Re-
public, found a man who had been 
praying for the truth for three years. 
He went to another church where he 
was loaded down with religious or-
naments, but this did not satisfy him. 
Finally he came to our church, but 
seemed unable to enter. Later he 
made another attempt and this time, 
visibly trembling with emotion, he 
stepped inside. Immediately he felt 
peace in his heart. Soon he and his 
wife and three children will be ready 
for baptism. 
Some of our laymen in Puerto Rico 
have had the privilege of raising up 
several new churches in the past 
years. Today they are joining the 
workers in a great effort to enter all 
the "dark" cities and towns of the 
island before the end of 1956. 
One of these lay preachers found 
a man about to tear down a thatched-
roofed cabin on his lot. Seeing a 
possible meeting place in this dila-
pidated structure, our brother begged 
the owner to let him have it. The 
man agreed on the condition that 
money be secured with which to re-
pair the roof. Our people supplied 
this need and also the money for a 
cement floor. Recently over one 
hundred persons attended a Sunday 
night meeting there, and many are 
preparing for baptism. Our brother 
says, "I expect to continue preaching 
here until this town is filled with 
the Gospel of Christ." 
One of our men who has already 
had the privilege of raising up four 
groups that are now organized 
churches is again moving with his 
family into a. "dark" town where he 
proposes to raise up another group 
of believers. — R. L. Jacobs. 
MESSENGER 
TO THE CHURCH 
"Ye shall seek me, and find me, when 
ye shall search for me with all your 
heart" (Jer. 29:13). 
We will all admit, regardless of 
our outward witness, that deep down 
in our hearts is a sincere desire to 
find God, to know Him intimately, 
to have in our lives the resources of 
great spiritual power. But God is 
not cheaply won. We cannot find 
Him by just sauntering along in a 
casual manner. We cannot yawn our-
selves into this fellowship by an idle 
wish. "Religion's all or nothing; it's 
no mere smile of contentment, sigh 
of aspiration." The promise that we 
can find God is contingent upon our 
being in earnest and seeking Him, not 
in a listless, offhand way, but with 
all our hearts. 
Finding the Way of Life 
Guatama Buddha vowed that he 
would end his life unless he could 
find the way of life, the path of de-
liverance. After this teacher had 
found what he felt to be the true 
way, a man came asking that he 
might be shown. Buddha took him 
down to the river and led him out 
into the stream. Suddenly Buddha 
seized him and held his head under 
the water. Finally, by a last strug-
gling effort the fellow wrenched him-
self loose and his head came above 
water. Quietly Buddha asked him, 
"When you thought you were drown-
ing, what did you desire most ?" The 
man gasped, "Air". Quietly Buddha 
replied, "When you want salvation 
as much as you wanted air, then you 
will get it." 
How many of us desire fellowship 
with God to the degree that we make 
this quest our first business ? How 
many of us long for God's presence 
as did David when he wrote: "As the 
hart panteth after the water brooks, 
so panteth my soul after thee, 0 God. 
My soul thirsteth for God, for the 
living God" (N. 42:1, 2). Christ on 
the "mount expressed the same _truth 
when He said, Blessed are they Whicb 
do hunger and thirst after righeous- 
M A R" �
-1-0 5 6 
WITH ALL OUR HEARTS 
By G. T. ANDERSON 
ness: for they shall be filled." The 
filling is promised only to those who 
are in dead earnest in desiring and 
seeking righteousness. 
To seek God means to make Him 
the sovereign of our life and to make 
seeking His kingdom our first busi-
ness. To seek Him with our whole 
heart means that we look up to Him 
as a Father whose will we desire to 
do, and not as some cosmic benefac-
tor whose gifts will serve our little 
purposes. 
The one who wishes, to find God 
will have to take time, will have to 
have a plan for the search. He must 
reflect and ponder. He must read and 
inquire. He must think and grow. 
Only as one fellowships with the in-
spired seers and prophets of the faith 
will he discover the secret of the 
Highest, and enter His inner courts. 
To the wrestling, searching spirit, the 
answer comes; for him the light 
breaks; in him the truth lives again 
and asserts the mastery. No, God is 
not cheaply won. He is no genie to 
be summoned by some mechanical 
device as in the mythical story of 
Aladdin and the lamp. 
There are some people who do not 
find Christ because they do not un-
derstand Him and His ways. How-
ever, many more flee from Him be-
cause they understand Him too well. 
"They know that His demands are 
stringent and exacting, that they in-
volve a clearing up of the inner life, 
the substitution of self-denial for 
self-interest, the subordination of the 
material to the spiritual" and they are 
not willing to pay the price. A col-
lege student once wrote that he 
thought being a Christian made life 
more interesting, but it did not make 
it more comfortable. He was right. 
The joy of the saints is not a joy that 
springs primarily out of the experi-
ence of comfort. It springs out of the 
assurance that life has Meaning, that 
it makes Sense, and that men may 
have faith in its ultimate significance. 
The Church' Stands True 
' It is not disbelief in Jesus Christ 
that is dangerous to our everyday 
lives; it is belief. If our religion has 
cost us nothing to acquire, no self-
denial to preserve, no effort to ad-
vance, no struggle to maintain, it will 
not be sufficient to meet our needs 
in the days ahead. Belief in Jesus 
Christ leads men to stand on 
their own feet, to think with their 
own minds, to stubbornly and un-
alterably put Christ first and obey 
God rather than men. Speaking of 
the crisis in Europe, Albert Einstein 
wrote: "Having always been an ar-
dent partisan of freedom, I turned 
to the universities to find there de-
fenders of freedom. 
I did not find 
them. I then turned to the editors of 
powerful newspapers. These men 
were reduced to silence in a few 
weeks. I then addressed myself to the 
authors who had posed as the intellec-
tual guides. They, in their turn, were 
dumb. Only the Church opposed 
the fight agghist liberty. Till then 
I had no interest in the Church, but 
now I feel a great, admiration for it, 
and am greatly attracted to it. It has 
had the persistent courage to fight 
for spiritual' truth and moral freedom. 
I feeI obliged to recognise that I now 
admire what I used to consider of 
little value."- 
Lorenzo de'Medici, called the 
Magnificent, fifteenth century ruler of 
Florence, was a great showman. One 
of the chief interests of his life was 
furnishing to the citim'ns of Florence 
artistic and magnificent spectacles of 
many sorts. He produced many 
religious pageants with striking real-
ism and effectiveness. On one occa-
sion he surprised himself in staging 
a pageant of, Pentecost. The descent 
of the tongues of fire upon the 
apostles, however, was too realistic. 
Actual fire was used, the flimsy trim-
mings and stage hangings were set 
ablaze, and, not only the stage but 
the whole church burned down. This 
story comes with the reminder that, 
if we should_be visited by a real des-
cent of Pentecostal fire, a good many 
things would be destroyed. With the 
7 
/ 
/ 
/ 
7 
7 
coming of any genuine Pentecostal 
power much of our cozy and comfort-
able world would be upset. The ques-
tion for us to ask is whether we 
really want it. For it would, un-
doubtedly be an upsetting and dis-
turbing thing. 
There is abundant evidence that 
the wages of sin are not only death 
at last, but boredom on the way. 
For when life acknowledges no great 
imperative, it comes under the 
cruelest tyranny that it can ever 
know, the tyranny of the moment's 
whim. The word "must", as it comes 
from the command of Jesus, does not 
come into life like a ball and chain, 
but like a key that unlocks a prison 
and sets us free. 
Crucifixion and Resurrection 
We find today certain religious 
trends that seem heartening.. The pro-
portion of the population which pro-
fesses allegiance to one Christian 
church or another has risen. But in 
spite of figures, Christianity, it seems, 
has lost its virile quality. For most 
of us there is no cross in it, no ab-
stinence, no self-denial, no subjuga-
tion of the flesh in the interests of 
the spirit. 
The common notion 'is that a 
Christian is a person who goes to 
church once a week and who tries 
in a mild and innocuous way to lead 
a decent life. The founder of a new 
religion, one that was moral and 
painstakingly rational and =, socially 
relevant, once ,coppigined to, Talley-
rand, that he could not make any con-
verts. "What would HIS, Excellency 
advise?" "I should recommend 
you, replied Talleyrand, "to be cru-
cified and rise again the third cfay''. 
It is not recorded whether his counsel 
was altogether acceptable to the 
dfkillusioned prophet of the new 
faith 
A recent book: entitled A Reporter 
in Search of God ptovides a cross 
section of religious thinking of our 
day. In Colorado the author found 
an aged sugar-beet grower who said 
he had been searching for God for 
eight decades and the result had been 
nil. "If there is a God", he com-
plained, "let Him search for me for a 
change." Actually, God is always 
seeking us with infinite love and 
yearning, but He is always gentle and 
patient, and He respects our freedom 
to choose. He never bludgeons His 
way into our lives. But we through 
our neglect of Him, or our apathy, 
evade Him. 
A yoUng English poet with deep 
spiritual insight wrote of his own 
experience in fleeing from God. He 
explained, 
"For though I knew His 'eve who 
followed, 
Yet was I sore adread 
Lest, having Him, I must have 
naught beside." 
He was finally rescued from poverty 
and drug addiction by a compas-
sionate friend who took him into his 
own home. There he found God, 
and the search was ended. 
His .Voice 
By Mrs. G. L. Brown 
This world is full of voices sweet 
That thrill the soul with love, 
A foretaste of those brighter 
realms 
Of .deeper joys above. 
Vibrating songs of lovely birds 
:Echoing through the sky, 
Gentler tones of those we love—
Gifts 
 we cannot buy 1 
Buttheie yet a rarer 
A 'Friend who loves us all, 
A Voice so tender, soft; and kind, 
So oft His loving • calk " 
In pleading,, accents sad but clear, 
'This' Friend woos you and me; 
No other voice so wonderful, 
No love so full and free. 
When hand in hand we. Him 
"'-adore,' 
--Together walk 'life's road, 
His 'voice will charm - our, cares 
..away; 
He'll 'carry every load. 
7 
7 7 7 
7 7 7 7 7 7 
7 
Christ said, "What is a man advan-
taged, if he gain the whole world 
and rose hiniself, or be cast away?" 
(Luke 9:25). Men have striven des-
perately for many centuries to find 
the answer to this question— They 
have been astonishingly little con-
cerned about their souls, and very 
much interested in gaining the world. 
A few have tried to ask the question 
the other way. "What shall a man 
be advantaged if he gain his soul, 
even though he lose the whole 
world?" These men have contributed 
to such advance as civilization has 
made. Wherever social problems 
have been solved, they have had a 
part in their solution. Such person-
alities achieve happiness that can 
transcend even persecution. Wherever 
men find God, and gain insights into 
the spiritual law, there will be these 
men of vision and devotion. . . 
We see all about us the evidences 
of God's kindness and direction in 
the past. We can truly say, "Hitherto 
hath the Lord led us." But what of 
the days ahead ? . . . The impact 
which we will have on the future . . . 
will depend upon the extent to which 
we seek God earnestly and with all 
our hearts, on the degree to which 
we put aside personal ambition and 
selfish desires and strive unitedly to 
exalt Christ and advance His king-
dom here on earth. 
Abraham Lincoln said in a message 
to Congress on December 1-, 1862, at 
a time of great crisis in the country's 
history : "The dogmas of the quiet 
past are inadequate, to the stormy 
present. The occasion is piled high 
with difficulty, and we must arise 
with the occasion. . . We must think 
anew and act anew. We must dis-
enthrall ourselves, and then we shall 
save our country. We cannot escape 
history. We will be remembered in 
spite of ourselves. No personal signi-
ficance or insignificance can spare one 
or another of us. The fiery trial 
through which we pass will light us 
down in honor or dishonor to the 
latest generation. We, even we here, 
hold the power and bear _the respon-
sibility." 
In the life of an individual . . . 
there can come glorious days of de-
cision and action. These need not 
come. They can be postponed, for 
to drift may be the most comfortable 
course to follow. But it can end only 
in disaster. . . Cod will use all of us 
to His glory if our dedication is com-
plete, and if, in spite of the crowded 
days ahead, we purpose to make Him 
first in our lives. — Review & Herald. 
A Second Church in 
Bucaramanga 
(Continued from page 2) 
us now attend the Sabbath school 
and sing hymns with the rest in 
church. A neighbor congratulated us 
recently on the building, saying, "It 
is an improvement for our suburb." 
There are more than 18 groups 
near this city. "The harvest truly 
is plenteous, but the laborers are 
few". — Luis A. Bolivar. 
4 �
MESSENGER 
JUDAS 
By FREDERICK 
Jesus ordained twelve disciples. 
one of them was Judas. You know 
the story. There came unto Him 
one Judas Iscariot declaring, "Master, 
I will follow thee whithersoever thou 
goest." 
Jesus answered him, saying, "The 
foxes have holes, and the birds of 
the air have nests; but the Son of 
man hath not where to lay his head" 
(Matt. 8: 19, 20). 
Despite this discouraging answer, 
Judas followed Jesus, for he had seen 
enough of His work to believe that 
He was the Messiah. By becoming 
one with the disciples he thought he 
could obtain a high place in the 
coming kingdom. Furthermore, there 
was something that tugged at the 
heartstrings of this not-yet-hardened 
sinner. 
The disciples were very happy to 
have a man of Judas' ability among 
them. They had been disappointed 
when Jesus had not tried to win the 
influence of the Jewish leaders. Now 
here was a man "of commanding ap-
pearance, a man of keen discernment 
and executive ability." — The Desire 
of Ages, p. 294. They felt that he 
would greatly assist in the work of 
the little band. 
"When Judas joined the disciples, 
he was not insensible to the beauty 
of the character of Christ . . . Judas 
had the same opportunities as had 
the other disciples. He listened to 
the same precious lessons. But the 
practice of the truth, which Christ 
required, was at variance with the 
desires and purposes of Judas, and 
he would not yield his ideas in order 
to receive wisdom from Heaven.. . . 
"When he came into association 
with Jesus,, he had some precious 
traits of, character that might have 
been made a blessing to the church. 
If he had been willing to wear the 
yoke of Christ, he might have been 
among the chief of the apostles." — 
Ibid:,"pp. 294; 295. " 
First. Treasurer - of the Church.: 
Judas became the first treasurer of 
the :':church, It was his'job to -k-eep 
theJtindS that were received for the 
needs-of the little 7group,' and to' $207 
bYlthe: sPOOT. I We are -told- by- instill 
r'atitin that -he; hid -a -high opinion Of 
his owix �
-easy for li 
to win .-thecaiifidenee -of -MS'. felleWs. 
1W,7* .it" �
''11-9 5 6 
MacKINNON 
Judas became an important member 
of the infant church. 
But little by little Satan led Judas 
to use from the bag for his own pur-
poses. , He paid his own personal ex-
penses from the fund, using the ex-
cuse that the laborer was worthy of 
his hire. 
At least he was on his way to be-
coming what he wanted to be most 
of all — an officer in the new kingdom 
that Christ would establish. Perhaps 
he would become the secretary of 
the treasury in the new government. 
But Christ was so slow in exercising 
His messialiship, Judas decided he 
must do something about it. He 
would force Him into a showdown 
with the leaders of Israel. He had 
tried to get the crowd to make Christ 
king at the feeding of the five thous• 
and, but somewhere his plans had 
gone away. Next time be would not 
fail. 
When Mary anointed the feet of 
Christ, Judas showed his true colors. 
He complained bitterly about the 
needless expense. How much better 
it would have been if the price of 
the ointment had been 'placed in the 
bag to giVe to the poor �
_ 
"And in commending Mary's action, 
which had been so severely con-
demned, Christ had rebuked Judas. 
Prior to this, the, Savionr had never 
given him a direct rebtike. He de-
termined to be revenged. From the 
supper he went directly to the palace 
of the high priest .. . , and he offered 
to betray Jesus into their hands." — 
Ibid., pp. 563, 364. 
But Christ sought to v%dn Judas. 
Poor man! He pressed'cloSe to the 
side of Jesus when they entered the 
upper room on the night of the be-
trayal. Even as Christ washed his 
feet,- Judas knew what he was 
planning to do. Christ 'knew also. 
The disciples did not then know, bat 
Judas Went out into the night to 
betray- his Lord: 
room, 
he �
Judas .left the upper rponi, 
he thenlead in the bCtrayal and 
rest of Christ. "Whomsoever I shall 
kiss, that same is -he; hold hitn-fast" 
(Matt.--26:48).: 
• Still. Judas believed" .that 'Christ 
would not suffer Hinaself-to ,he taken 
by His' enemies, ,but would exercise 
power �
lviessiah: He '.fol- 
.16weds-Iliin'te 'the 'judgmeht.' 
'Wheri-7-he �
that Christ :_ was 
doomed, there rang from his lips the 
cry of the betrayal of innocent blood. 
As the mob made its way out of 
Jerusalem toward Calvary, ready to 
crucify Christ, it passed a secluded 
spot, where, at the foot of a dead 
tree, lay the mangled body of Judas 
already being torn to pieces by the 
dogs. The revenge of innocent 
blood had begun. Judas died a 
suicide. 
Why Did Judas. Fail ? • 
Judas had failed. Down through 
the centuries his name was to be a 
reproach to all the 'world.' Why ? 
Because he had sold out to Satan 
(Luke 22:3). 
• '"Even . When Jesus-,. Himself was 
upon the earth, and walked-with, and 
taught His - disciples,: there was , :one 
ainong, the twelve 'who' was • a .devil. 
. . . Christ had a perfect .knowledge 
of the life'of Judas.- �
: Through in- 
dulgence Judas permitted this-bait in 
his character to grow, �
; -evil • pre- 
dominated , until,. for; love .of money, 
he could �
his "Load-, for �
few 
pieces ".of silver."'— Testimonies,- vol, 
4, p. 41. 
Judas and -Jelin, represent l'two 
classes of - :people found 'in."' the 
church. Both' have the ssame.oppor: 
rtuttities fat salvation. • . Both 
 poSsess 
serious defects in chafabter::" "One, 
daily dying' to 'Self 
 :-..and overcoming 
sin was sanctified through the truth; 
-the other, resistihg-thejransforming 
power of grace and:indulging selfish 
desires, . was -brought 'into- bondage 
to Satan.".,The -Aetsof ,the.Aposdes, 
- 
In: whieh class., dc.- wO 
Members of tho., „Divisionstaff 
during the7first months, :4 ,19.56: have 
been itinerating �. „ 
J. ..C. Culpepper �Coate-
nialar El Salvado, „Honduras, Nicara-
gua, Costa Rica.. 
", Henry J. Wes al G-tiatemala. 
-.-.David-H. Baas& --COSta Rica, El 
Salvador: 
 
Vernon �Trinidad, ja7 
maica.,:TObage, PhertOlic6, 
Can RePUbhc, „Ci44: 
Reile - 
*Jamaica, Bar-
backs, Trinidad, British Guiana, 
glAIlds, West Irtclies• 
- Arthur H. Roth — -Jamaica, Baha- 
mas, Mexico:. �
. - 
F: Bohner — �
 
, 
_Clyde .0. Franz — Colombia,' Wile--
zitela,, Netherlands- West,indies.-- 
THE CAPACITY TO LOVE 
By A. L. BIETZ 
A man said to me a short time 
ago, "My wife is constantly complain-
ing that she is not receiving enough 
love. That is true, but this is also 
true: she hasn't the capacity to re-
ceive it." 
There are a large number of people 
who need love, but they have never 
been taught to loVe. They have never 
been exposed to warmth or under-
standing. They have never felt the 
affection of their parents or of the 
family; and because they have never 
felt the closeness of anyone, they 
are totally incapable of loving. Chris-
tianity has often been taught merely 
as a set of rules' and religious regula-
tions instead of a change of disposi-
tion and of the heart. There are al-
together too many homes where the 
children are not being taught to love, 
but actually are taught to hate and 
criticize. Little wonder, then, being 
incapable of love, they find no hap-
piness even in marriage. 
It reminds one of the story of a 
woman bitten by a dog. The dog 
had hydrophobia. The physician 
came late; and when he finally arrived 
and gave the proper medication, he 
said, "It may be too late; you had 
better make out your last will and 
testament." The lady wrote and 
wrote and wrote while the physician 
waited. Finally he said, "I didn't 
know you had such a large estate." 
"Estate?" she replied, "I have no 
estate. I am just making a list of 
the people I am going to bite before 
I die." A large number of people 
are like that. They know how 
to bite, to criticize, to find fault, 
but they have never learned to love. 
Therefore not only husbands and 
wives but children are being starved 
for love. And this affects adversely 
the emotional life and brings cold-
ness into the home. And in the case 
of the little ones they are not being 
prepared for happy homes in the 
future. 
There must be a new emphasis 
placed upon the home. I should like 
to see classes in our churches and in 
-6 
our schools that would make it clear 
to our children before marriageable 
age that God has an ideal with re-
spect to the home, that marriage is 
sacred — it is divine — and that we 
must under no circumstances come to 
a place of moral and ethical anarchy 
in marriage, as so many have done in 
these times. 
If we are going to save the home, 
we must give more and more atten-
tion to teaching our children to love. 
It is not enough for me as a minister 
of the gospel of Jesus Christ to teach 
pure doctrine in a legalistic sense. It 
is not enough for me merely to give 
the theory of the Word of God. I 
must also present a, God of love; and 
I must show, as a minister of the 
gospel, that genuine Christianity is 
not so much taught as it caught as a 
result of the atmosphere in which 
children find themselves. If they are 
reared in homes where there is noth-
ing but legalism and authority, little 
sympathy, little love and understand-
ing, they will not know what love 
is. Children reared under those cir-
cumstances, even though there may 
be a rigid religious emphasis_ will not 
leanr-to love, and when they go into 
marriage they will not have the ca-
pacity to love. 
Parents and children should be 
taught that the home is built on prin-
ciples, and not on notions and. feel-
ings. Many people today do not live 
by sensible principles, they do not 
live according to the standards of 
the Word of God, but they live 
entirely on the basis of their emotions. 
Many homes that break up do so 
because people are in emotional 
difficulty. They are incapable of 
evaluating their problems intelligent-
ly. 
I talked to a woman recently. She 
said, "My husband and I were di-
vorced about five years ago. A short 
time ago we met to make a final 
business settlement, and my husband 
said to me, 'You know, if we had 
faced our problems intelligently in-
stead of emotionally, we could, have 
saved our home' ". There are large 
numbers of people who attempt to 
solve their emotional problems in the 
divorce court. But may I suggest that 
emotional problems should be solved 
in the church, with pastoral counsel-
ing as needed, rather than in the 
divorce courts. They should be 
solved in counsel with spiritual lead-
ers who are qualified, for there is a 
great deal that needs to be under-
stood concerning that which makes 
marriage a success. 
If we could place greater emphasis 
upon the solution of family problems, 
and if .there were an adequate ser-
vice provided that would help people 
to evaluate their situations more 
intelligently, I think many homes 
could be helped. It is a well-known 
fact that domestic courts in large 
cities are able to save many marriages 
through counseling. If that sort of 
help were provided by the church 
generally, then husbands and wives 
might become better informed on 
marital problems and many homes 
could be saved from unhappiness. 
Emotional problems cause a breakup 
of the home, and unless we can 
overcome the emotionalism and live 
by the principles of the Word of 
God, marriages will continue to be 
unhappy. 
Husbands and wives should be 
taught that the spiritual and the emo-
tional strength of the home is of 
greater importance than the material. 
Many today are more concerned 
about serving Mammon than they 
are about serving God. Many homes, 
even Seventh-day Adventist homes, 
would do well to have a much lower 
standard of living and cultivate 
friendship and good will in the 
home. 
But, after all, marriage does not 
guarantee happiness. It offers only 
an opportunity. Marriage grants to 
two people who are sincere and 
earnest a chance to develop charac-
ter. And character, once developed, 
brings a by-product of happiness. 
You cannot gain genuine happiness 
without character, but many people 
have thought they would gain hap-
piness as a certain consequence of 
MESSENGER 
marriage. For example, the girl 
who is very unhappy says to her boy 
friend, "Well, I have been very 
miserable. No one has ever under-
stood me. You are the first person 
to ever understand me, so I love 
you very much and would like to get 
married to you." The young man re-
plies, "I love you because no one 
has ever loved me, and I have never 
gotten along with anybody else." So 
they fall in love, as it were, and 
get married. But neither of them 
really has the capacity for inner 
happiness then they cannot be happy 
in marriage. 
Two people who have found inner 
happiness through the development 
of character and seeking the glory 
of ,God will be able to blend their 
happiness and have greater happiness 
as a result. So marriage can be 
successful, but it is an achievement 
— riot an endowment. Happiness 
must be earned. When problems 
arise in the home, Christians do not 
seek for a legitimate excuse to get 
out of marriage. 
In other words, the power of God 
is made available to us; and if I 
understand the teachings of Jesus 
Christ, the Christian ideal is very 
simple, namely, that marriage is sa-
cred; it is holy, and Christians who 
enter into marriage ought not to seek 
a legitimate way out. They should 
seek resources whereby the problems 
in the home can be successfully 
solved by the grace of God's power. 
For if the power of God means 
anything, it ought to mean something 
in the home. 
One of the reasons for the breakup 
of the home is the fact that there is 
little counseling between parents and 
children with respect to the marriages 
that are contracted. A number of 
years ago in Japan, the Japanese 
fathers and mothers would choose 
the mate for their children, and those 
who were chosen would not see their 
spouses until the wedding day. In 
some western countries we follow a 
different procedure. Many times the 
parents do not see the would-be mate 
until after the marriage. Obviously, 
both of these situations are extreme. 
Fathers and mothers and children 
must unite together in this matter of 
establishing proper homes. 
There are too many hasty mar-
riages. There is little thought given 
tb this union. There is a great ten-
dency toward mixed marriages. Now, 
M- �
C:11, , -1 9 5 6 
if we hold that marriage is essentially 
a sacred and divine institution, then 
we must be greatly alarmed when 
those of our church and faith step 
outside the church to make marriage 
contracts for life. If religion is im-
portant and if the home is sacred, 
then we must be greatly concerned 
about mixed marriages, which seem 
to increase as the years roll by. 
There must be a programe of edu-
cation. It is not enough for us mere-
ly to wring our hands and say, "Oh, 
the situation is terrible• what are we 
going to do ?" That is not the 
Christian attitude. Neither should 
we fold our hands and say, "There 
is nothing we can do about it." But 
there is a right attitude, the Chris-
tian attitude, which holds that 
something can be done about it, and 
that the conditions in the world are 
not to lead us into despair but to 
present a challenge — a tremendous 
challenge. Even though the days are 
evil, we have a God who is powerful 
enough to overcome this evil. Let 
us shun the attitude of despair, and 
adopt the attitude of, hope. That 
means a program of education, Some-
thing can be done and something 
must be done to help all who are 
concerned about this question. —
Review & Herald. 
"And the Wall Fell Down" 
By Barbara 0. Westphal 
When we were living in Lima, 
Peru, our three-year-old came in from 
a walk with her eyes big with ex-
citement. She had evidently passed 
an old fortress near our house where 
the soldiers were drilling. 
"Mamma, I saw the sojers, and I 
heard the trumpets blowin', but the 
walls didn't fall down!" We smiled 
as we remembered she had just heard 
the story of Joshua and the taking of 
Jericho. 
Since that day I have often thought 
of her words, "the walls didn't fall 
down." 
I like to remember one time when 
the walls actually did fall down. Our 
back yard was separated from our 
neighbour's yard by a high brick 
wall. There were even pieces of 
broken bottles cemented in the top 
of the wall — South American fashion 
to discourage thieves from climb-
ing over. We couldn't see over that 
wall. We weren't acquainted with our 
neighbours who lived on the other 
side. A big iron fence and gate hid 
their front entrance from us also. 
Then one night there was a terrific 
storm. The ithundcr rolled and the 
lightning flashed, and then we heard 
a crash! In the morning we went 
outdoors all together to see what had 
happened. The wall had fallen down 
between our neighbor's yard and ours. 
There was our neighbor, also with 
her husband and children, looking at 
the ruined wall. We didn't need any 
introduction at all that morning. 
"I had a setting hen by the wall," 
she said, "and she was killed, but 
the eggs are still warm and unbroken. 
They should hatch tomorrow. I'm 
going to try to keep them warm." 
Well, from that day we became the 
good neighbors we should have been 
long before. Next day we had to see 
the baby chicks. Our little girls were 
about the same age and enjoyed 
being together. Our husbands liked 
to chat about the different places 
they had visited. She liked the 
American pies and cakes and wanted 
to know how to make them, and she 
could make the most delicious whole 
candied oranges, and 'I wanted to 
know how to do that: She even liked 
to have us tell her about our church. 
Since then I often find, myself sur-
rounded by walls — not high brick 
walls as we had in that little home 
in Argentina, but walls of timidity 
or ,reserve, walls of indifference of 
prejudice, walls of selfishness or of 
just being-too-busy. Then I pray, 
"Dear Lord, help the walls to fall 
down; make us good neighbors." —
Review Sr Herald. 
Laymen's Convention 
(Continued from, page 9) 
The climax of the convention was 
on Sunday night. After Elder Arthur 
Roth, President of the Inter-American 
Division, presented a challenging 
sermon, a lighted torch was presented 
to H. J. Westphal, Home Missionary 
Secretary of the Inter-American Divi-
sion, by C. E. Guenther, Associate 
Secretary of the Home Missionary 
Department of the General Confer-
ence. H. J. Westphal passed the 
torch to R. E. deI Sol, Home Mission-
ary Secretary of the Antillian Union, 
who accepted the challenge and with 
appropriate words passed the torch 
to the Home Missionary secretaries 
from the five conferences represented. 
— Barbara Westphal. 
5 
dot 01/Let. wic14, 
When visiting some remote part 
of the world one is brought to realize 
what a closely. knit family Seventh-
day Adventists really are. Far up in 
the North Atlantic, and only a few 
miles off the southern coast of Ice-
land, is a small island not more than 
three miles long and one and one-half 
wide. It is the only inhabited one of 
a group of tiny islets, called the West-
man Islands; the others consisting 
mainly of giant, barren :rooks. This 
particular island has been occupied 
since the thirteenth century, and to-
day has a population of about four 
thousand people. 
Among 
these 
people we have had , a church for 
more than thirty years, and associated 
with it during the greater part of that 
period has' been a very eriterprising 
little church, school. 
 
The memberi of our church are 
held in very high regard by their 
fellow citizens on the island. "People 
always become better when they join 
your chtirch," said a member' of the 
Ibelandic Parliament ,recently to one 
of our workers. It was, a real pleasUre 
to meet. with our believers there, and 
to spend: two days •Of happy fellow- 
ship in their homes. — �
- 
The trip from' Reykjavik, Iceland's 
capital, by boat, which operates When 
the weather is not too rough, usually 
takes about nine hours. There, is also 
plane service when the wind is blow-
ing in the right direction. Often for 
days at a stretch all landings and 
departures are impossible, and even 
on the best of days they appear to be 
fraught with considerable risk. 
The church elder was on a holiday 
when the Iceland Conference presi-
dent, Julius Gudmundsson, and I ar-
rived by plane on September 13; but 
he was not very far away. A Carpen- 
ter by profession, he had taken his 
holiday fOr , the` specific. purpose Of 
making pews for the 'church. , As we 
worshiped' with the Members on the 
two nights of 'our stay, we felt it an 
honor 'to be introduced to the_ con-
-gregation by 'Such. a Church elder. 
'While' On the island., we learned 
to~eppreei".7-the significance of 
making hay while the sun shines, 
for theirs had been a sunless summer, 
and now for the first time the sun 
had broken through and was shining 
brightly during the two days of our 
visit. In consequence, every man. 
woman, and child appeared to be out 
turning the hay or drying the fish 
(for fishing is the biggest industry 
on the island) from early morning to 
the last rays of sunlight — all except 
our own members, who left their 
work early to attend our evening 
meetings. 
Fish products are exported from 
this island to many countries of the 
world. Standing on a veranda with 
the church school teacher, I inquired 
if the odor from a nearby factory 
was not unpleasant. Sniffing once or 
twice, he replied in all seriousness, 
"No, I do not notice it, but they say 
it smells like money." 
There are 109 members on the 
church roll on this island, as we 
have supplied the information to the 
goVernment, 'but this, according to 
official regulations, includes all the 
children. The baptized membership is 
approximately sixty-five. Among these 
are teachers, fishermen, netmakers, 
storekeepers, carpenters — all wit-
nessing in their daily lives and service 
to the faith that in this remote little 
island has made them, like Seventh-
day Adventists in all the world, a 
-peculiar People. 
Back on the mainland we visited 
Hlidardalsskoli, our Iceland training 
school. The property is probably 
unique among our schools for size: 
it measures more than seventy-seven 
square Miles, or approximately fifty 
thousand acres. Much is volcanic 
lava, Iceland being one of. the most 
volcanic: -regions of the world. 'After 
one "eruption (that of Laki in 1783) 
there Was a lois Of .11;500 'cattle, 
'28,00.0 `horses,, and 190,500 sheep. 
_The .islaxid - was their:Visited:by a 
fairiine that destroyed -9,500-people, 
-ter one 'fifth of the `island's • po-Pula- 
BUt despite the Widespread 'lava 
beds, our school 'possesses, extensive 
and unusually fine summer pasture —
land for cattle and sheep. The school 
itself is regarded very highly by the 
people of Iceland, and the summer 
sanitarium, which operates during 
the vacation period, is a financial 
blessing to the school as well as a 
great asset to the people. At the 
public service in our Reykjavik church 
on the Sunday night of our visit, a 
number of leading citizens were in 
attendance who first came to know 
us at the summer sanitarium. 
Brother Gudmundsson, an Ice-
lander, is both president of the con-
ference of 364 members and principal 
of the school. In both of these 
spheres his understanding leadership 
is greatly valued. 
A little ';printing press is operated 
by the secretary-treasurer of the con-
ference in a single room adjoining his 
office in the church building. The 
Ingathering magazine for 1955 had 
just been published at the time of 
my visit, and the workmanship on 
this attractive three-color paper was 
something' of which our people in 
any country could be proud. 
In the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 
there appears the following para-
graph under the religions of Iceland: 
"The Evangelic Lutheran church is 
the established Church of Iceland. 
After the late 19th century, however, 
there was full religious liberty. Sec-
tarian bodies are few and inconsid-
erable 'in, number, only the Roman 
Catholics and the Adventists having 
formed their own congregations. 
Iceland forms one bishopric with' its 
see in Reykjavik." �
- 
One cannot associate with the Ice-
land members without sensing deeply 
their warmheartedness and their de-
votion to the Advent message. Des-
pite their isolation, they are, in spirit, 
as integral a part of this movement 
as the membership in any home base. 
They. .listen eagerly for tidings of 
its progress, _they pray "for :its success 
10 every latid„ and by .oerSorial -effort 
and the material means that Godhas 
given theiri tliey -seek to-la-Sten the 
glad-, day 'for' which �
SeVenthday 
-AdVentiSt brig and work and Pray. 7 
R6iifeW *:14ef61(1: 
VE S -E.-Neeit 
A VISIT TO THE WESTMAN ISLANDS 
By A. F. TARR 
A Picture Taken at the Havana Laymen's Congress 
40,525.38 4,089.79 55,206.55 55,383.24 
176.69L 
23,938.92 2,925.67 25,881.86 22,863.77 3,018.09 
41,694.19 2,042.78 32,452.74 33,123.61 
670.87L 
26,280.11 
7.90 28,421.74 28,074.66 
347.08 
27,443.07 1,757.96 35,920.85 34,772.12 1,148.73 
18,018.25 1,615.92 29,159.10 32,011.78 2,852.68L 
573.50 
550.00 
23.50 
177,899.92 12,440.02 207,616.34 206,779.18 
837.16 
25,036.66 
18,435.19 
15,225.25 
7,405.45 
20,851.79 
13,834.41L 
5,691.34 
44,615.17 
26,864.59 
43,736.97 
26,288.01 
29,201.03 
19,634.17 
78,811.27 190,339.94 
1414 foie 
LAYMEN'S CONVENTION 
"Send Forth Thy Light" was the 
motto of the Antillian Union laymen's 
convention held in Havana, Cuba, 
from December 15 to 18. The words 
of the motto, with the rays of the 
rising sun behind them, were on the 
wall above the platform of the 
beautiful Masonic Temple in which 
the convention was held. 
On the opening night the laymen 
from five conferences and missions 
marched down the aisle, bearing the 
flags of their countries. They came 
from East Cuba, Puerto Rico, Domi-
nican Republic, Haiti, and West 
Cuba, and were led by their respec-
tive presidents: Gabriel Castro, Fran-
cisco Ruiz, G. F. Ruf, Ernest Veuthey, 
and A. H. Riffel. "The Advent Move-
ment on the March" was the subject 
of the opening sermon by H. J. 
Westphal. 
Twelve hundred persons filled the 
hall and the gallery on the opening 
night. On Sabbath and Sunday 
nights there were 1,500 in attendance, 
many of them standing. Delegate 
ribbons were worn by the 400 dele-
gates. 
Appropriate music was brought to 
the convention by the Cerro Church 
Choir under the leadership of Brother 
Borrego, the Havana Choir directed 
by Mrs. Ruth Riffel, and the College 
Choir led by Dr. Walton Brown. 
Friday night's program was shared 
by the Antillian Union College and 
the Union Missionary Volunteer De-
partment. The President of the col-
lege, Dr. Walton Brown and. the 
Union youth leader, Elder Valentin 
Schoen, conducted the program for 
the evening. 
Elder C. E. Guenther of the Gen- 
eral Conference Home Missionary 
Department during the Sabbath 
morning sermon stirred the delegates 
with the ideal of service for the 
Master. In addition to the Sabbath 
morning sermon, Elder Guenthei 
gave other appreciated • devotional 
studies during the convention. 
"They Shall Shine as the Stars", 
the Saturday night program, showed 
laymen of yesterday, today, and to-
morrow in pantomime with colored 
slides, a recorded narrative, and 
music. 
(Continued on page 7) 
GENERAL CONFERENCE OF S.D.A. — INTER-AMERICAN DIVISION. 
Tithe and Mission Offerings Comparison 
Twelve Months Ending December 31,...,1955 and 1954 
1955 
TITHE 
1954 
Antillian 
371,771.18 346,734.52 
B. W. I. 
175,486.13 157,050.94 
Caribbean 
251,810.10 236,584.85 
Cen. American 
151,957.25 144,551.80 
Colombia-Venez. 
200,553.56 179,701.77 
Mexican 
197,989.75 211,824.16 
Division & Misc. 
46,951.82 
41,260.48 
TOTALS 
1,396,519.79 1,317,708.52 
December reports received at L A. 
British West Indies Union 
Antillian Union 
Mexican Union 
Central American Union 
Colombia-Venezuela Union 
Caribbean Union 
MARCH, 1956 
INGATH 
G. or L. �
1955 
% Mission 
ER I N G NON-REVERTIBLE MISSION FUNDS Off, to Tithe 
1954 �
G. or L. �
1955 �
1954 G. or L. 1955 1954 
.148 
.147 
.129 
.187 
.179 
.147 
.160 
.146 
.140 
.194 
.193 
.1$1 
.149 .160 
CONGRATULATIONS to the Caribbean Union! It is the second union 
to pass the one-quarter million mark in Tithe. All the unions show 
January 20, 1956 �
Ingathering gain. That is marvelous and should mean that in 1956 
January 23, 1956 �
we will exceed 8200,000. The only discouraging part of the report 
Jonnary 23, 1956 �
is the Mission Offerings — only a very slight gain and three of the 
January 25, 1956 �
unions record losses. British West Indies Union has done exceptionally 
January 27, 1956 �
well and is the only union with a percentage gain. Central America is 
January 30, 1956 �
to be congratulated in having the highest percentage of Mission Offerings 
to Tithe. 
— Leonard F. Bohner, Treasurer. 
9 
10 
In the Print Shoo 
MESSENGER 
Boys' Dormitory at A.U.C. 
A Corner of the Library 
4nootiond THE UNIONS 
antillian 
1.1.•••• 
AntiMan Junior College 
Antillian College, at Santa Clara, 
Cuba, is growing. Much is due to 
the work that was carried on in pre-
vious years, work that was maintained 
at a great sacrifice. Some is also a 
result of the faithful work of present 
teachers and students who are co-
operating in a marvelous way in the 
development of a still stronger 
school. 
On December 1 of last year the 
enrollment of the College stood at 
234, with an attendance of 220. If 
to this the summer school students 
are added, the total enrollment of the 
College at that time stood at 277 
with an attendance of 263. There 
were 155 students in the dormitories 
on that date, and a good number of 
prospective students had been turned 
away, either for being under-age or 
for wanting to enter the College at 
too late a date. Prospects for the 
1956-'57 school year are far from 
disheartening. 
The growth of the enrollment, to-
gether with additions to the faculty 
have made necessary certain im-
provements. One of the greatest 
problems has been the lack of water. 
Arrangements were made for the dig-
ging of a new well, the acquisition 
of the necessary pumps and a pipe-
line to the school, and by the time 
this report is read it is hoped that 
the water problem will have been 
solved. 
The prosperity of Antillian College 
depends on its industries. It is with 
thankful hearts that it can be re-
ported that the canning factory is 
doing well. In the beginning of 
December it was working at its lowest 
capacity (during the guava season), 
and even then it was providing work 
for 53 students. With the coming 
of the grapefruit and pineapple sea-
son this number would be greatly 
increased. During the month of 
November work in the factory was 
carried on with a four-shift basis, 24 
hours per day, and the financial re-
port was showing a small operating 
gain. 
The construction of a new factory 
building has already commenced, 
and it is hoped that with slight added 
expense a new locale will also be 
provided for the printshop. The 
latter provides work for around 15 
young people. 
Other additional improvements to 
the College facilities include a teach-
er's cottage, a new bull shed, a new 
sewer system, the beginning of a 
new electric hookup to replace the 
old one, and new and more commo-
dious locations for the library and 
the laboratory. Plans are being made 
for increasing the number of books 
in the library, for developing a park 
in front of the main building, and 
for the laying out of a playing field 
for the young people behind the boys' 
dormitory. 
The greatest advance, however, is 
being made in the academic depart-
ment. Plans have already been ap-
proved for the initiation of a full 
senior-college course in the ministe-
rial department paralleling the four-
year course offered in the Seventh-day 
Adventist colleges in the United 
States, and preparing workers for 
entrance into advanced study at the 
Theological Seminary in Washington. 
Elder Alfredo Aeschliman, former 
president of the Austral Union Con-
ference in South America, has joined 
the teaching staff of the theological 
department. He, together with Elder 
M. W. Sickler, chairman of the de-
partment, and others, are busy pre-
paring textbooks in Spanish which 
will be necessary for both old and 
new courses to be taught beginning 
in September. 
By that time Professor Justin C. 
Hamer should have joined the college 
faculty giving added strength to the 
science and mathematics department. 
It is quite possible that by then 
Professor Hamer will have completed 
all of this work toward his Doctor's 
degree in the field of chemistry. 
Nildo Harper has just recently 
arrived to be the head of the shop 
and maintenance department. It is 
hoped that within another couple of 
years another social science instructor 
may be added to the faculty. 
The one objective of Antillian Col-
lege is to co-operate in the prepara-
tion of a still larger number of well-
trained workers to carry on the gospel 
message not only in the Antillian 
union, but also farther afield. Your 
prayers are requested that this ob-
jentive may be attained. 
— Walton J. Brown, president. 
• Dr. W. A. Osborne has recently 
connected with Caribbean Training 
College to serve as college dean. Dr. 
Osborne recently completed his dis-
sertation for the Doctor's degree in 
economics. Mrs. Osborne will be 
joining Dr. Osborne in the spring of 
1956. She is studying in the United 
States at present. Welcome home, Dr. 
Osborne. 
SMOOMINIMM. 
eatartibia-Veneauda 
Voice of Prophecy in the 
Netherlands Antilles 
On November 13, 1955 at 6:30 
p.m. the announcer at Radio Caribe 
said, "It gives me real pleasure and 
it is with much pride that we intro-
duce for the first time to the listening 
public of the Netherlands AntiMan 
the Voice of Prophecy." 
Truly we all rejoice to know that 
now each week our own message-
laden radio program has at last been 
permitted on the air here in this 
part of the Caribbean. For years, we 
have been trying in vain to get a 
radio station to give us contract time. 
But certain forces, very adverse and 
opposed to all Protestant programs, 
have held the line unbroken. But 
God has now answered our prayers.. 
A check with the manager of the 
station yesterday brought this en-
couraging report. "We have received 
more phone calls on the Voice of 
Prophecy program than from any 
other release from our station. The 
response was most gratifying. We 
are glad we have a one-year contract 
with you and we hope you will stay 
with us on the air for years to come." 
— R. E. Gibson. 
For Pathfinder and Welfare 
Centers 
A newspaper clipping from Cura-
cao announces the beginning of the 
annual fund-raising campaign on the 
part of the Seventh-day Adventists 
there. Centers for the welfare work 
and for the Pathfinders will be es-
tablished with funds obtained in this 
way. 
"This campaign," the newspaper 
states, "will he a public solicitation 
by the members of the organization 
as authorized by the Liet. Governor 
of Curacao in permit No. 51. With 
Fls: 10,000.00 as the goal of the cam-
paign, the entire adult membership 
is being enlisted for the support of 
the campaign. Most of the members 
will solicit in their own neighborhoods 
from house to house." 
Baptisms 
A baptism of 5 was held in Oran-
jestad November 12 by I. I. Berke', 
making our total for the mission 103 
to date. 
"Repentance includes sorrow for 
sin, and a turning away from it. We 
shall not renounce sin unless we see 
its sinfulness; until we turn away 
from it in heart, there will be no real 
change in the life." — Steps to Christ, 
page 26. 
.4/Lexie= 
�
.....••••••••••le 
A letter from Elder Andres Perez, 
pastor of the hurricane and flood-
stricken city of Tampico writes: 
"During the week of prayer, which 
was a glorious one, we determined 
to give an offering for the Week of 
Sacrifice. Each evening I mentioned 
it. At the end of the week we could 
have shouted for joy to see that our 
members — many of whom have lost 
all that they had — had given the 
largest sacrifice offering in the history 
of the church. I think it will be 
the largest offering in our mission 
also. We already have 1100 pesos 
and it is still coming in. We feel 
proud of this spirit of love and sacri-
fice that our brethren show in this 
dark hour." 
From the South Mission Elder A. 
Camarena sends wonderful reports 
from the district workers. The spirit 
of evangelism that they all manifest 
is shown in this sample from Felix 
Zacarias on the Isthmus of Tehuante-
pec: 
"I am now finishing the short effort 
J have been holding in Ixtepec. 
Thank God we have had an atten-
dance of about 100 each night even 
though we had the meetings on the 
outskirts of town. Some members of 
other churches have attended and 
they are pleased with our beliefs. 
The lady who loaned us the hall was 
a prominent Spiritualist, but she has 
accepted the truth and says, 'No one 
can take this message away from me.' 
Our meetings have been enhanced by 
the guitar music of the trio, "Los 
Heraldos del Istmo". We trust God 
for the results." 
11 
Elder Noel Bailey of Georgetown, British Guiana, appears in the inset on the right. 
churches, beside being active in soul-winning, have given generously for welfare and 
work. The group are baptismal candidates. 
MARCH, 1 9 5 6 
INTER-AMERICAN DIVISION 
MESSENGER 
CLYDE FRANZ, Editor 
ARTHUR ROTH �
 Associate Editor 
BARBARA O. WESTPHAL Associate Editor 
Correspondents 
Antillian Union �
 Alberta Jacobs 
British West Indies Union �
 Pearl Nation 
Caribbean Union �
 Joe Emmerson 
Central American Union �
 Neil Gordon 
Colombia-Venezuela Union. �
Mary Monteith 
Mexican Union �
 E. C. Christie 
Published monthly as the Official Organ of the 
Inter-American Division of the General Con- 
ference of Seventh-day Adventists, Box 7132 
Coral Gables, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. 
Price : 50 cents a year. 
Printed at Caribbean Training College, 
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, B.W.I. 
All communications relating to editorial and 
circulation matters should be addressed to 
"The Messenger", Box 7132, Coral Gables, 
Miami, Florida, U.S.A. 
* All articles bearing the credit line "Review 
and. Herald" are reprinted from the Review 
His and Herald, general church paper of Se*enth-
relief day' Adventists. 
Xnatu 'Uc1L 3,nte,t-ametica 
-,- 
• The Salvador Mission in the Cen-
tral American Union promotes a 
regular Missionary Volunteer camp-
ing program each year. During the 
recently held camp at San Juan 
Nonualco 38 came forward in re-
sponse to the invitation to give their 
hearts to the Lord and join the 
church. Five of these young people 
were baptized on the last Sabbath 
of the camp. Much enthusiasm was 
manifested for the instruction on na-
ture topics presented by Elder David 
H. Baasch, Missionary Volunteer Sec-
retary of the Inter-American Division. 
Ninety young people were in atten-
dance at the camp. 
• Workers from the seven fields in 
the Central American Union were in 
attendance at the Central American 
Union Quadrennial Session held at 
the Colegio Vocational de America 
Central in Alajuela, Costa Rica, from 
November 28 to December 3, 1955. 
On the last Sabbath of the session, 
two young men from the Central 
American Union were ordained to the 
gospel ministry. These brethren 
were Elder Ford of the Honduras 
Mission, son of Orley Ford, President 
of the Salvador Mission, and Eduardo 
Ruiloba of the Costa Rica Mission. 
Participating in the ceremony of 
ordination were Elders N. W. Dunn, 
Arthur H. Roth, C. G. Gordon, Orley 
Ford, R. E. Rieger, and R. H. Utt. 
Thirty ministers in the Central 
American Union welcomed these two 
new ordained ministers into the fel-
lowship of the Adventist ministry. 
Attending the session from outside the 
Central American field were Elders 
N. W. Dunn and F. L. Peterson from 
the General Conference, Elders 
Arthur H. Roth, Leonard F. Bohner, 
Clyde 0. Franz, and Lloyd L. Belle 
from the Inter-American Division. 
• Elder F. H. McNiel, formerly of 
the Colombia-Venezuela Union, has 
arrived in the Guatemala Mission to 
assume the leadership of that field. 
Elder McNeil comes to Guatemala 
with a background rich in mission 
service having served as secretary-
treasurer of local missions, director of 
the Colombia-Venezuela Union Train-
ing School, and, more recently, de-
partmental secretary in the Colombia- 
Nicaragua, the largest of the Central 
American republics, lies entirely in the 
tropical zone. It is bounded on the north 
by Honduras and on the south by Costa 
Rica. 
The Cordillera range runs from northwest 
to southeast, dividing the country into two 
parts that are quite different and tha' 
lack good communication between each 
other. In the western half live 69% of 
the inhabitants and they are mostly of 
Spanish or Indian descent. The greater 
part of the people in the eastern section 
are Zamboo and Mosquito Indians or na-
tives of Jamaica. 
The climate, both east and west of the 
mountains in the coastal plains is hot. 
The rainfall is greater in the east, an 
average of 150 inches a year. In the 
mountains the temperature is lower. 
Though there are some mineral re-
sources, agriculture is the chief industry, 
with coffee, corn, beans, rice, sugar cane, 
sesame and bananas as the principal crops. 
Nicaragua was discovered by Columbus 
in 1502 when he touched its eastern coast. 
Its name is derived from that of an Indian 
chief, Nicarao, found by Gonzalez Davila's 
expedition 17 years later. 
For three centuries Nicaragua was ruled 
by governors from Panama until it finallY 
was placed under the Captain General c' 
Guatemala. Together with that country it 
became free from Spain in 1821. For two 
years they united with Mexico, but in 1823 
the Federation of Central America was formed. 
In 1838 Nicaragua broke away from the 
Venezuela Union. Mrs. McNeil and 
two of the McNiel children are with 
Elder McNeil in Guatemala. One son 
is attending school at Walla Walla 
College. 
• A campaign of evangelism con-
ducted by Elder Henry J. Westphal 
was opened in the City of Guatema-
la on January 23. A great interest for 
the Advent message has been mani-
fested in the capital of the Republic 
of Guatemala for some time. Upon 
the request of the Central American 
Union and the Guatemala Mission, 
the Inter-American Division has made 
it possible for its Ministerial Asso-
ciation Secretary to lead out in this 
campaign. Associated with Elder 
Westphal are workers from the Gua-
temala and Salvador Missions. We 
are praying for a rich fruitage from 
this campaign. 
• During the months of December 
and the early days of January 17 
men were ordained to the gospel 
ministry — 2 in Central America, 3 in 
Colombia-Venezuela, 4 in the Carib-
bean Union, and 8 in the British West 
Indies Union. May God bless these 
brethren as they join the ranks of 
the Seventh-day Adventist ministers. 
Federation and became a free and indepen-
dent nation. The country has had a checkered 
career with periods both of tranquillity and of 
disorder, and with intervention from foreign 
powers. 
Adventists have 12 churches in Nicaragua 
with headquarters for the mission «t Managua 
on beautiful Lake Managua. 
• During the closing months of 
1955 and the early days of 1956 the 
three Division officers attended five 
union committee meetings and one 
union session. The union committee 
meetings were held as follows: Mexi-
can Union, Mexico City, November 
22-26; Colombia-Venezuela Union, 
Medellin, Colombia, December 5-10; 
Caribbean Union, Port-of-Spain, De-
cember 12-17; Antillian Union, Ha-
vana, Cuba, December 19-21. British 
West Indies Union, Mandevelle, Ja-
maica, January 4-8. At these meet-
ings budgets were set for the opera-
tion of the unions for the present year 
and plans for evangelism were drawn. 
The Central American Union held 
its quadrennial session in Alajuela, 
Costa Rica, from November 28 to 
December 3. Attending the meetings 
from the General Conference were 
Elders F. L. Peterson and N. W. 
Dunn. 
"The accounts of every business, 
the -det:ils of every transaction, pass 
the scrutiny of unseen auditors, 
agents of Him who never compro-
mises, with injustice, never overlooks 
evil, never palliates wrong." — Edu-
cation, page 144. 
12 �
MESSENGER