13/11/33
mena mo
AUSTRALASIAN RECORD
“Thou Shalt Find It—After
Many Days”
Story of How John Andrews Came fo
a Knowledge of the Truth
MENTION of the name of John Andrews
naturally takes our minds back to the sail-
ing of our first missionary from the shores
of America to a foreign country. What
wonderful things God has wrcught from
that memorable day half a century ago
dowit to the present!
John Andrews is also the name of a
half.caste brother who has recently taken
his stand here on the island of Vanua Levu,
iji.
Living in the same neighbouwihood as
Brother J. Whippy, he had often attended
meetings that were held there by visiting
workers. He had also on many occasions
questioned Brother Whippy regarding the
different points of our faith, He married
a girl who was nominally a Seventh-day
Adventist, but he finally persuaded her to
renounce her faith and become a Method-
ist with him.
During our recent Week of Prayer we
made a visit to that locality and spent a
few days visiting the people of the distiict.
One day, finding Mr. Andrews cut-
ting copra, we sat down and had a good
heart-to-heart talk about spiritual things,
He then admitted that he believed, but
would not state a definite time when he
would take his stand.
About a fortnight later we again visited
the district, and the Spirit of God, in a
remarkable way, led us to visit his home
at the opportune time.
After a conversation lasting an hour or
more, we finally brought the Bible out and
had a study on “The Sabbath as the Sign
of Our Loyalty to God.”
He said, “That is just what I have been
waiting to hear.” When an appeal was
made not to neglect salvation too long, a
few moments of silence ensued, and then
the joy-inspiring words fell from the lips
of our brother, “I told you on your last
visit that I would not make known to you
a definite time when I would take my
stand, but I now tell you that from this
time forth I am a Seventh-day Adventist
And by God’s help I will be a true one.
A season of prayer followed, during
which the power of the Spirit was manifest
as Brother Andrews thanked God for the
light that had come to his soul, and asked
for grace to follow to the end.
This being Friday afternoon, we sepa-
rated, as our brother took leave to go to his
garden and make preparations for the
Sabbath. As we left the home, an over
powering joy filled our hearts, for we
realised the nearness of the presence of
the angels of God. It seemed we could
almost hear them singing. Surely there
is joy in the presence of the angels of
heaven over a soul saved from sin.
In a later conversation we learned that
Brother Andrews first heard the truth
when a boy, from a sermon preached by
Ratu Lepani, who, I wenderstand, was
among the first to take his stand on this
large island. That is about twenty years
ago, but Brother Andrews says he has
always believed this is the true church.
At times he was urged to take up work as
a local preacher for another denomination,
but always felt that he was not fitted for
such a work, not having sufficient knowl-
edge of the Scriptures.
The man who preached that sermon
twenty vears ago, drifted into sin; but at
nur recent district gathering the Spirit of
God broke his hard heart, and amidst many
tears he again gave himself to God and
has sirce been rebhaptised at his special
request.
Realising that surely God did use him
in the past, and hoping that God may still
find some use for him in the spreading of
the gospel, he has offered himself to assist
in the work of saving souls.
Brethren and sisters, may God help us
to be more diligent than ever before in
giving the truth to others, for His promises
cannot fail. “Cast thy bread upon the
waters: for thou shalt find it after many
days.” Eccl. 11:1. Again, “My word
. . shall not return unto Me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent
it.” Isa, 55:11.
G. BRANSTER.
Week of Prayer at
Baiap, Ambrym
IT was the writer’s privilege to have a
part in the Week of Prayer at Baiap, which
was our first Seventh-day Adventist mis-
sion opened on Ambrym, New Hebrides,
Many workers have laboured faithfully at
this mission station with good results; but
the volcanic eruption of I92gsomewhat dis-
organised the mission, as the white worker’s
home was destroyed, the believers were
scattered, and progressive work was held up
for a time at this important centre. How-
ever, Brother and Sister David Ferris
were stationed there in 1931, and the work
is again flourishing and is a true witness
to all who come in contact with it.
The Week of Prayer was indeed a bless-
ing to these people, strengthening those
who had been long in the way, and bring-
ing decision into the lives of those who
had not fully decided to give their hearts
to the Lord. The last Sabbath of the
Week of Prayer was the crowning day,
as ten went forward in the sacred rite of
baptism. It was good to see these people,
changed by the power of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, witnessing that they had forsaken
the things of this world to take up the
cross of their Master, A number of others
in the surrounding villages expect to be
baptised later, and there are still many
others in the baptismal classes who will go
forward when they fully understand what
it means to forsake all for their Saviour.
“In the islands of the sea, in all the dark
corners of the earth, God has in reserve a
firmament of chosen ones, that will yet
shine forth amidst the darkness, revealing
clearly to an apostate world the transform-
ing power of obedience to His law. Even
now they are appearing in every tongue
and people.”
G. PEACOCK,
THE soul that turns to Ged for its help,
its support, its power, by daily, earnest
prayer, will have noble aspirations, clear
perceptions of truth and duty, lofty
purposes of action, and a centinual
hungering and thirsting after righteous-
ness,—* Mount of Blessing,” p. 127.
Monamona Mission for
Aborigines
(From a Letter]
IF you were here now, you would hear
a great deal of hammering about a hun-
dred yards from us. The boys are pulling
down their old cupboards and shelves, and
transferring them into their fine large
dormitory that was completed last Friday.
This morning the women came out to
wash all the boys’ blankets. When the
place is arranged we are going to inspect
it.
There are about twenty-eight boys in
the dormitory. They are very much ex-
cited over their new home. It was built
entirely by two of our boys, under super-
vision,
Qur Sabbath school membership last
quarter exceeded all past records,—172.
It is goed to see the interest that the old
people are now taking in all the meetings,
as well as in the Sabbath school.
To keep up the interest we had as our
chatt the building of a bridge in sections
each Sabbath, reaching from our Sabbath
school across the ocean to the islands.
Instead of having a goal for the offerings
only, several phases of the Sabbath school
work were included. For the member-
ship we suggested I5¢ and reached 172.
The aim for the attendance was 154 per
Sabbath, and we averaged 162; daily
study, 110; average, 113; offering goal,
17s. 6d.; average, £1 3s. 1034d. Two of
cur classes, totalling twenty-five members,
had a perfect record for the quarter.
We have had glorious weather for the
past three weeks, We often feel that we
enjoy special favours from God.
Ena MILLS.
pr.
Then and Now
Pastor W. A. BUTLER, an officer of
the Lake Union Conference, U S.A , writes
in a recent exchange that comes to our
desk:
“Do you recall around Ig00 how we
used to pray, ‘Dear Lord, please open the
doors of China, Japan, and other heathen
countries’? All the believers (ihere were
61,000 in America) at that time were
taught that prayer. It was the common
and daily petition at each family altar,
and the Sabbath prayer at every church.
“Yes, God has opened wide the doors,
and there is freedom in proclaiming the
message in not only the great empires of
the Orient, but in nearly every land. Qur
prayer has been changed to mean now,
‘Help us, Lord, to fill the many openings
in these various countries.”
“Under the direction of God, Pastor
J N. Andrews sailed in 1874 as our first
missionary. The writer heard Sister
White's son, W. C. White, make the state-
ment in recent years that when Pastor
Andrews left America it seemed as if the
backbone of the General Conference staff
was broken—there were so few workers,
But now our staff of workers in foreign
lands is over 9,550, with complete corps of
evangelists, doctors, nurses, teachers, and
colporteurs.
“Sixty years ago the work of this message
was confined to the English language; but
now it is being proclaimed in more than
460 languages in all parts of the world.”