tihvavy of Cbe Cheolojical ^tminaxy PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY •a^D- PRESENTED BY Rufus H. LeFevre Th e Flag mmmmm ... . ^78. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/victoriesunderflOOunit Uncted bre.tv\reT> in Oarvst. Victories Under the Flas Achievements Wrought l^y a Few of Our Home Missionaries in Needy Places in both City and Country in America United Brethren Home Missionary Society 904 U. B. Building, Dayton, Ohio — 1914 — This booklet is published that the friends of Home Alissions maj^ know in part what has been and is being accomplished by the faithful men and women who are giving their lives to publish the "good news" of the risen Lord and Savior, in the needy places in both country and city in America. Let no one think that the in- cidents given and the places named are all that are at hand. We have taken onlj^ a few out of the many, because the space in a book of this size cannot do justice even to what are given. Neither should any one think that these notes of victory are the only marked successes, for others could have been secured just as im- portant, and in some instances from the same city, but we have drawn from all parts of our country, from Erie, Pennsylvania, to San Diego, California. We are happy to say that the victories are general, and those that are not given here are just as worthy and the work wrought is with as much self-denial as anj' presented in the f(jllowing pages. The facts are furnished !)y the pastors in charge, and as these are appreciated, the Society wnnld be glad to furnish, in later publi- cations, more of the triumphs from the firing line. Our Home Mission Work An Appreciation Hisiiop 11. II. F(ji;t, President of Home Mission Board. A DISTINCT emphiisis upon missionary work both at home and abroad has characterized the past decade of our denominational history. Xo greater evidence of spiritual life could be named than this single fact. The church is missionary in design and must be such in fact or it must perish. The growth of Christian character, and hence of church power, lies along this line. Miss.ions represent the highest ministry which man can exercise, and which man can receive — the ministry of making (iod known to man— they are the church's crowning glory. Our Home ^lissionary Society is now completing its ninth year of life and service. The history of its work during this brief though eventful period, has not a single dull cliapter. This would be the testimony of all who are familiar with its struggles and who have marked its successes, as well as those who have had to do witli its administrative affairs. Prior to the organization of the Society which dates from the General Conference of 1905, the work in the homo field was in charge of the Home, Frontier, and Foreign Missionary Society. At that time fifty-nine missions were being supported in the United States and Canada. In less than a decade, the Home ]\rission Society has assisted in establishing two hundred and seventy-two missions. One hundred and forty of these have become self supporting, while one hundred and thirty-two are now being sustained in whole or in part by the society — a record that is nothing short of marvelous. These two hundred and seventy-two new altars of Jehovah are all sacred possessions, sacred because of what they have cost in money, but more sacred for what they have cost in suffering and heroism, and because of the tran- substantiating touch of love and of loyalty. Their value as represented by thousands of souls to whom the gospel has been the power of God unto salvation, and by many thousands of dollars worth of property, is infinitely beyond their cost in tears, prayers, and sacrificing endeavor. The means em- ployed have been in many instances multiplied like the loaves and fishes. Three years ago a young man was converted in one of our missions in Montana. He innuediately gave up his position as clerk in a railroad ofiiee to enter the ministry, and is now one of the most efficient workers in the conference. His enthusiasm has been contagious. Since the last conference session in October, he has built a church in a needy community without out- side aid. A gracious revival followed. He is now planning a second enter- prise of the kind. Another instance is that of the AYeaver Memorial Church in Chicago, which has the distinction of having sent from its communion ten ministers, among whom is Rev. E. J. Pace, probably one of the most talented and consecrated missionaries of the Philippine Islands. Similar cases might be given indefinitely. But tabulated results cannot measure adequately llie value and dignity of such a ministry. It is easy to overlook the silent forces and influences of the work of love. There are those who cannot appreciate a message with- out figures. Some part of our home mission work has been told and the results tabulated; but the best part has been chronicled by the recording angel. The touch of ]\[idas is said to have changed the baser metals into gold, but the touch of God converts the ministry of the consecrated missionary, and the money paid for his support into the very coin of heaven. The establishing of a cliurch is of far-reaching significance — ever acting and reacting upon character and life, its influence lives on forever. Eternity alone can reveal its good results. This review would be incomplete without an appreciation of the splendid educational work of the society which explains the remarkable growth of interest in home missions throughout the denomination within the recent past. People can be brought into effective sympathy with a great cause only when they are mada to see and feel its importance. Facts are the fuel that kindles the fire of missionary enthusiasm. If any good enterprise is to succeed there must be information given as to facts, education as to duty, and inspiration to action. In the training of the mission churches, the education has been broad as the interests of our Lord's kingdom in the earth. There is absolute loyalty to every department of the work of the church. From each little mission, influences are going to the ends of the earth. The outlook of the society is expressed in the one word "Opportunity." It is a matter of encouragement and inspiration that with each day new strength is gained, promising better and more successful to-morrows. The limited means now at command must be multiplied by four, and the forces proportionately increased if the efforts, of the society are to be commensurate with the natural growth of the work ; but let us pause to remember that the need and call of the hov;r is primarily deeper than these. At the open door of opportunity we must wait for the one supreme equipment that will impart power equal to the task, and make the missionary heart of the church equal to her missionary opportunity. ^ .^8 .*e The Mother of Three Rev. O. T. Deever. TELESCOPE Memorial Church, of Kansas City, Missouri, is jiist six years old. Recently the sixth anniversary of the first service held in our commodious and splendidly located church was observed. This church is situated in a growing section of one of the greatest centers in the West. Since coming to Kansas City fifteen months ago, homes and apartments to accommodate sixty-five families have been built within two blocks of the church. This shows how rapidly the population is thickening about us. The new Union Station is within two and a half miles. These six years have been years of struggle and trial, but years of victory. Starting without a member or a dollar we have to-day one hundred and forty-five members with property valued conservatively at $30,000. There is on this an indebtedness not provided for of about $5,500. Dr. F. E. Brooke has undertaken the task of providing for the debt on the church and if the denomination rallies as it should there is hope that the burden of debt will be soon lifted. The church is hopeful and earnest. The services are well attended, the house being often crowded. Recently fifteen new members have been added, making sixty-five new members in fifteen nionths. A number more have promised to unite with the church soon. The Sunday school is well organized and nearly every Sunday shows an increase in attendance. A promising Intermediate society, under the leader- ship of !Miss Ethel Kephart, superintendent, is growing rapidly. Also a vigorous Junior with a dozen members, under the leadership of Miss Florence Williams, superintendent, was organized last Sunday. The Senior society, under tlic energretic leadership of Mr. II. T. Nelson, one of the Y. M. C. A. secretaries of the city, is doinj? the best work in its history. From this church started six years ap:o, three other well-organized churches have been added to the list of United Brethren churches in the city. The University also has a union Sunday school and preaching services in con- nection with the Methodist Protestant Church. And last, but not least, Telescope Memorial Church is just starting a mission Sunday school one mile south in a cluster of homes and business section. This is expected to become a feeder for the mother church. !Miss Grace Muncie, of Olney, Illinois, has been employed by the Home Mission Board to take up deaconess work, and with the large number of out- side people interested and looking toward meml)ership in the church there is no reason but that in a few years this church will be strong and doing a great work for our beloved Zion. Look out for good news from Telescope Alcmorial. No Hoodoo in "1313" lii:v. C. R. Fralick. FRIDAY, the 13th, in the month of May, 1910, a home missionary moved into house No. 1313, in West 11th Street of a thriving city of the Central West, a city of eighteen thousand inhabitants. No en- thusiastic church members or friends were present to give him the glad hand and no invitations were given to "Come to our house and let us provide for you imtil your house is in order." No item appeared in the local papers, and the owner of "1313," the transfer man, and the freight agent constituted about all the persons that knew of the newcomer. The Church Erection Society had been on the ground and two lots in a growing section of the city had been purchased. About the first business transaction was an order given to the jirinter for blank notes with which sub- scriptions were to be taken for the erection of a new biiilding. The first one was signed eleven days later and it was for three-tenths of one hundred dollars. August 28 was the time selected for the organization of a Sunday school. Neat cards announcing the opening day were backed up by a house-to-house canvass. Eighty-three were present the first day. Then September 11 was designated as the day for the organization of a class and thirty-one persons united. A revival added twenty-five, making fifty-six members on the roll at the time of the ground-breaking, ]\[arch 31, 1911. The corner-stone was laid June 18, 1911, and on (he fourteenth day of April, 1912, the completed On the Main Street, Coffeyville. Kansas. 5 building wns dedicated. The class had been organized j\ist nineteen months and three days. The property is valued at $15,000 with a debt of about $4,000 with subscriptions enough to cover about half of this debt. The membership has made a steady growth; one hundred and fifty-eight members having been received, ninety-three of whom found their Savior at the altar of this mission church of three and a half years. The present membership is one hundred and thirty-nine. On the walls of the Sunday-school room hangs a gold premium standard issued by our Sunday School Board; graded lessons having been used since the beginning of the school. The beginners' duplex envelopes are being used for the second year in the entire school. Every scholar makes an offering every Sunday for benevolences. The offerings will average three and a half to four cents per scholar. A boys' class composed of sixteen members, from twelve to fourteen, gave $1.14 two weeks ago. The Christian Endeavor has been doing excellent work. The latest organization is that of an Ot- terbein Guild. In less than two years after the organization of our work in this thriving city a want ad. appeared in one of the city papers stating a party wanted "to buy a modern house of five to seven rooms, but it must not be more than eight blocks from the U. B. Church." A banker stated to the pastor that we were better established in the city at the end of two years than was any other church in the city at the end of twenty-five years, taking into account the property acquired in that time. One of our general oflicers inquired at one of the banks as to the location of the United Brethren Church and he was told to turn west on the main street and he would find "a large brick structure on the corner." These things have been accomplished because of the support given the pastor and the church by the Home Mis- sionary Society and the assistance of a loan for the erection of the building by the Church Erection Society. These figures could be duplicated in numerous places if the Home) Missionary Society had the money to enter unoccupied territory. We are now in tlie midst of a "Hot Air and Smoke Campaign" with a "spectacular demonstration," schechiled to take place April 12, 101-1. The goal is set at $.5,000 cash. These facts may be verified by a visit to Coffey- ville, Kansas. .j« ,t .'« The Spanish Boy Who Stood Alone Mfss Mkllik Pkrkins. SOME (if our people may question whether the Mission School among our Spanisli-American neighbors is a much needed institution or not. If any one doubts for a moment the great need of such institu- tions, a visit to the densely populated Spanish districts of New Mexico would convince them otherwise. It is impossible for one to conceive of such ignorance and superstitions as still prevail in sections of our own beloved United States. It is true that in some sections of New Mexico the public schools are coming to the front by leaps and bounds, while at the same time in other sections they are making no perceptible advance. You may ask why this is. The answer is easy. Where the Si)anish-American settlements are found, there Rome is firmly established and has been for years and years and did you ever know the church of Rome to do much to enlighten or advance her subjects? Beyond a doubt, the priest says who shall teach certain schools and who shall not, and nine out of ten arc taught by Catholics who have had very little prepara- tion, oftentimes not lieyou'l the fifth grade in the poor common schools. It is the priest's idea to teach the i)Upil only enough to learn his prayers 6 -md catechism, for oater returns, however, entirely justified the journey. A lot no X 135 at Third and Kobinson streets was purchased May 9, 1012. for $l!,OUU. Its location has these advantas-e<: 1. Tt is near a school. L.-Klics' Aid S.icicly, Mrs. l*r. K. ( ». IldtTman. I'rraidcnt. iiiaikcil .X. Church, 'I'liiicl .111(1 Koliiiison Streets. San Diego. ( 'alit'ornia. SiiiKhiy scIkkiI, Miss Maljel Shuiili. Suiierintendeiit, inarl. Tt has s])londid car service. 4. Tt has five thousand poimlation near by. 5. It only had one other cliurch it(>ar — Episcopal. G. Tt is in the iiest section of the city. After conference, the membership erected a chapel on the rear end of the lot. All labor expect $1.25 was donated. The church building was begun 11 and on February 2, 1913, the corner-stone was placed with appropriate cere- monies by Bishop W. M. Bell. The first plan contemplated was to erect walls only to first floor, then cover with temporary roofing, \n\t First Church, Los Angeles, spoiled all that by voting $1,000. Hon. S. H. Ivingery presented the check in person and for good measure brought $100 from Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Coe. These gifts at such opportmie time put both the "sand" and the "go" in San Diego, and the walls were pushed up. The manufactured stone used is produced by the San Diego Concrete Brick Company and is the ordinary concrete block faced with ground granite. Besides this it is made in seventeen different sizes and with forty different faces. Dr. John Albert Eby of East Church, Los Angeles, who was the speaker on opening day, July 20, 1913, says, "No one but an expert can tell it from the real granite stone." Other special gifts that should be mentioned are $130 from the Branch Y. P. C. E. Union, and $50 from the Branch W. M. A. Mr. Eli Shaffer, father of the pastor, upon receiving a bequest from his sister, Elizabeth Shaffer of Beech Church, Stark County, Ohio, immediately turned the $203.97 to our building fund. Then cometh Col. and Mrs. R. M. Baker with a gift of $500 after all their generous giving to the Baker Home, which by the way is one of the great enterprises of our Church and is destined to become a great factor in our Church life. I mention these gifts as Providences, for without them and the blessing of God in other ways, we could not have succeeded. As yet we have no pews and our Sunday-school rooms are imfinished; no floor in the basement and we owe $1,000 on the lot; but we are a con- tented bunch and the blessing of God is upon us. Our church membership is now sixty-one. Our Endeavor Society, while not large, has the highest per cent, for efficiency in the county. They raised $150 for the church. The society helps with the meetings on the war ships, also at the county poor farm. In our Sunday school we have a class of deaf mutes, taught by Mr. Ralph Shoemaker, himself a deaf mute. Our Ladies' Aid has passed the impossible. They have raised at least $1,500 and deserve great credit. Mrs. R. O. Hoffman is president. The Home Missionary Society and the (!hurch Erection Society have made these things ])ossible. We could not have made the progress we have without their help; indeed after some experience, I do not hesitate to say that I would not attempt any city work without their help. We have used the money the people gave these societies with great cave for is it not the offering of love and often of self denial? This month we shall devote our efforts to evangelism. I trust that your dollars and your prayers coupled with our own may result in the saving of many whose names will oe written in heaven. t/?* t^w t.5* Fifty Opportunities Like Grace Rev. a. E. Wright. Chapter I. IT was on a Friday morning, in the month of September, 1905, that I awoke in the city of Cliicago, and without delay found my way to 72nd Street and Greenwood Aven^ie, where by the order of Bishop Mathews and Church Erection Secretary Weekley, a concrete block building was under construction — the walls being half way up. Being a total stranger, I inquired why certain men came to the building, stood with their hands in tlioir pockets and indifferently looked about, and were lazily turning away. "No pay, no work, boss," was the cheering reply. Out of my own pocket 12 tlio workmen were paid and set to work. A $l,r)()0 letter was at once dis- patclied to Dayton, Ohio. A hour later the gentleman who had had over- sight over the work appeared, explained at tiresome length that there was no money, that the contract was so low that the church could afford to lose money to the Union — "Why," he exclaimed, "Pastor, we got the better of that contractor $1,000! Ilallolujah !" Chapter IT. If one wishes to strike the popular note, it is necessary to close his chapters by leading his readers up to some mountain height like the fore- going. However, within the first week, I discovered that the contractor had "soaked'' the local committee to the tune of $1,200! But the Church of the United Brethren in Christ 'vas started, on the South and East side, in the city of Chicago. Beside my own family there was one United Brethren on the ground, B. B. West. By the middle of November, we were holding services in the basement of our building, and on the first Sunday in the fol- lowing April our house was dedicated. Bishop Mathews assisted by Drs. Whitney and Trueblood officiated. Debts, devil, flesh, and the wx^rld do not make interesting reading outside of novels. Chapter III. WORK.—WOEK. Chapter IV. The denomination being unknown, and some other things largely local, ledl me to organize a normal class, which later developed into a Monday night Bible class. The number of nationalities and creeds represented made teaching a neces^sity. Teaching caught. Teaching held. Teaching unified. The teaching method was slow, but sure. God blessed the teaching of his Word. A warm, \inifying spiritual fellowship followed. The German and the Irish clasped hands. Prejudices national and religious were slowly but s\irely undermiucil. This department of the work grew until a regularly, incorporated Biblical Institute was the logical outgrowth which has not ceased to exi)and and bless. Oh, yes, there were preachings and visitings and all the rest, but I stand when I speak of teaching the Word of God. Chapter V. Conversions and additions have not been infrequent, and have been healthfully scattered throughout the years. Slowly thei-e have evolved three great departments — inspirational, educational, and social service. The aim has been and is to make Grace Church a living part of the living body of the living Christ ! In seven years, the congregation became self-sup- l)orting. I would tell you wdiat I mean by self-supporting, that is what was considered an adequate salary, but if I were to state the amount Mr. A. would insist upon the mission board assisting his flock imtil it paid as much, and Mr. B., who is receiving a larger salaiy now would feel that I had with malice forethought stabbed him; and besides it is none of your business, and then too, if I were to tell you the amount, some reamer might want my job. See? Well, there are fifty other opportunities in the city equally as promising as Grace. Chapter YI. STICK, STAY, WORK. Chapter YII. We feel that our local congregation is just beginning its work in this part of the city. Our ever-enlarging opportunities keep us humble. Our 13 house is yet to buikl. We own a corner 113 ft. by 125 ft. In the past wc liave not gone from home for money, but that is not saying that we shall not do so in the future. Our membership is 312 adults and 125 children. Grace Church has licensed seven men to preach the gospel; two young women are now fittin^^- themselves for work in the foreign field, and at least forty men and women are qualified to conduct a religious meeting in- telligently. ^ ..< ■< One Church to Every 2,600 People Eev. p. F. Ketthixg. THAT there is a great need of more churches in East St. Louis is evident v/hen we take into consideration that we have only twenty Protestant churches and some six or seven Catholic churches in a population of about seventy thousand. This means about twenty- six hundred people to each church. Think of it! If it were possible for us Clinrcli at Kast St. Lmiis. Illinnis. to find a town or city anywhere, with a population of twenty-six hundred and only one church there we would surely feel that more churches were greatly needed. Many of our T'nited Prethren peojde are continually coming to this city, among them bright, intelligent, young men and women, full of life and energy. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, operators, printers, dentists, and from United Brethren homes. We must save them to our Church if we would fill the measure of our efficiency and usefulness. 14 People are anxious to come to o\ir cliureli. as many have said, ''When you fiot started we are coming." Likewise Sunday-scliool eliihh-cn are eagerly in- (]uiring when we are going to open up our school. The present number of churches and Sunday schools in this city are not sufficient to keep all the people well employed religiously. We are finding splendid young people who ought to have some dellnite work to do in the church. I have in mind now, one young man especially, who is a splendid musician, a lover of good reading, and (ino who certainly gives promise of a useful life if he continues. In 3Iay, 1011, Rev. J. F. McCreery was sent to East St. Louis to start the work and with the aid of some of our general church officers and promi- nent men of Lower Wabash Conference (in whose territory it is located) on the corner of IStli and Illinois Avenue, with an adjoining house and lot which serves as a parsonage. Eev. McCreery 's time was principally spent in se- curing funds to start the work. On September, 1012, the present jiastor was assigned to the mission. The first si.x or eiglit mduths of his time were also given to the securing of funds with which to build. A church plan was selected by the conference church trustees, the pastor, and superintendent of the district; said plan being on the library style. It was also decided by this committee to erect the main part or auditorium of the proposed building with a room about fifty feet scjuare, galleries, vestibules, and full basement for Sunday school and social purposes for tlie present until the Sunday-school i)art could be added. The exterior part of tliis bTiilding is now all complete with the ex- ception of doors and memorial windows. We are now making a desperate effort to open at least a pnrt of the church for immediate ser^dce. Since last September, services harothers Bovey, Landis, and my- self reached our destination with our faces frozen and weary of body from our trip, but thanked God that we were able to endure such hardshi]is for the soids of men and our Lord. Don't forget us when you pray. We want souls for Christ. Will organize a class at Stuart, North Dakota, soon and a Smiday school at Williams, ne.xt S\niday. i^oTE. — The third session of ^fontana ^lission Conference was held by P>ishop Font in Heaeh, North Dakota, October H!. 1913. Xund)er of or- ganized churches, (i ; members, 170; total enrollment of Sunday schools, 235; three church liuildings. two ])arsonages, total valuati(m, $7,200. Thirteen preaching- places at present. 23 A Bright Spot in Erie Eev. W. B. Nelson. BY previous appointment, Mrs. Nelson and myself met the superintendent of the Erie Conference, Dr. R. J. White, at Erie, Pennsylvania, June 14, 1911, and were appointed missionaries to Erie and began work immediately. There was two weeks' search for a proper location without success when an old friend asked me to go to South Erie and look at Glenwood Chapel, also the surroundings. 1'here we found a Union Sunday- school chapel, a frame building 32 x 55 feet, and a basement, and located in a coimnunity not churched. It was eight blocks from any church of like faith to our own. There was a Sunday school held on Sunday afternoon with about fifty in regular attendance. The Union was incorporated, with a body of trustees who gladly allowed us to hold a few Sunday evening services knowing just what we were in Erie for. We called in the community and made an- nouncements and were greeted the next Sunday with a fair congregation. Two weeks later negotiations were made to occupy the house. The building had Located ill a nou-cburched community, Erie, Pa. been erected and sustained by gifts and offerings so it was difficult to purchase the property insomuch as they did not know who should have the money. They called a meeting of the corporation some time in August at which time the n'iatter was discussed. A resolution was presented something like the follow- ing: "Resolved, that we transfer the property of Glenwood Sunday-school Chapel entire to the United Brethren in Christ as soon as such church is organized." The resolution passed unanimously. The doors were opened for new members the next Sunday and twenty-two were secured. There were perhaps a dozen families in the city whose names we had, who had been at some time or other members of our church elsewhere. We succeeded in getting fourteen from these families as a nucleus and on Monday evening Dr. White came and organized. We were soon incorporated and ready for business. There was a mortgage of $760 on the property when transferred. This was soon paid. The building was remodelled and comfortably seated at a cost of about $3,000. The dedica- tion took place January 28, 1912. The property is now worth $7,000, a modern comfortable church that will seat about three hundred people. The present membership is one hundred and thirty. The average attendance the last two 24 weeks at Sunday school was one hundrcfl and ten. There is a live Christian Endeavor Society of fifty members; a Broiherhood of sixty; Ladies' Aid of fifty; a Woman's Missionary Association of fourteen members. At the last Sunday evening: service the house was full. Wliile we still have a debt of $1,700 th's will soon 1^ paid, for more than two-thirds of this is covered with subscription. Last September we entertained the Conference, clearing from the registration fee $250. Three hundred dollars were subscri])cd for a parsonage at that time, about one-half of which is paid. This, with the amount cleared at Conference time, is laid by as parson- age fund. The Brotherhood will \nn\d a parsonage this coming summer. We have as fine a lot of church workers here as can be found anywhere, a territory in which we can assuredly build for the future. What has been accomplished has oidy been by the power of God and the aid of the Home Missionary Society. God certainly has led us to this spot and is surely leading us onward. Jt ,t ..< Meetings at the Dugout Schoolhouse Mrs. Calltk Ivixo. GOOD, good, good!" "What is good ?" asked Leila, as Kate came skipping out of the sod-liouse in which their father, mother and the six girls lived, rang- ing in age from two to fourteen. "Why, papa said that a missionary is coming to preach in our dugout schoolhouse and maybe he will organize a Bible school.'' The Dugout Schoolhouse. "Oh, happy day ! How did he find it out ?" "Mr. Long had a letter that the ILime IMissionarj-^ Board is sending a young man and wife just graduated from the Seminarj'." "Eastern dudes, eh? My, won't they think we are grand, living in a sod- house with a dirt floor swept out in holes till one's chair turns over if he is not careful and the table legs must be propped up every time it is set? The cup- board only a box with a curtain over it, the tablecloth made of flour sacks, as also the towels and sheets; yes, and the children's dresses of the same material only colored red and blue." "Do stop, sister ; I was so happy but you make me feel as I did when papa was sick so long last summer. I thought you were happy too a moment ago." 25 "So I was when I thought of how we all used to go to Sunday school back home, dressed like other people and we could hear the great organ and the sing- ing. Oh, dear me! how could we go to church now when our clothes are hardly fit to wear to school and poor mamma has only one old faded dress and three of the little ones have rag moccasins laced with coTds ?" "Oh, I could go without shoes if we could only go to Sunday school once more," said Kate. "But perhaps some society will send us a nice box of clothing like they did Mr. Long's last winter. Yes, or like they sent widow Jones, a barrel full of old-styled jackets and worn-out things that were not worth the freight on them. Just old rubbish as if we were a set of beggars. We're no beggars or paupers either; I could buy what I need and pay for it, too, if I had a chance. You know that I worked in the field from early till late to take papa's place all summer long, only to see everything dry \v,) at last. Mrs. Jones has worked the same, and such a barrel ! If that is what is meant by "Lay up for your- selves treasures in heaven," then I don't want any treasures. Say, wouldn't it be funny to see some of the stingy people, who have sent their old clothes they didn't want "for His sake," when they march up for their white robes, if these same old gowns were handed out to them which they sent to Mrs. Jones?" Home of Leila and Katr. "Dear Leila, please don't talk so, I saw the things sent to Mr. Long's from the young ladies' class and they were all good and nearly everything new. The prettiest little dresses, suits for the boys, an overcoat and overshoes for Mr. Long, and a new dress for Mrs. Long. Then there were stockings, mittens, hoods, caps, toys, and some nice things to eat." "Hush, Kate, you make me homesick. How would it seem to have a whole new suit once more — shoes, gloves, and all, with a dollar all your ov.ni ? And have baking day again, make pies, cookies, and stew fruit and prepare ham or roast-beef instead of just beans, beans, and those sometimes without butter or even lard seasoning. Sh ! Mamma is coming." Most of the neighbors were glad at first to hear of the missionaries' coming: but as with Leila, the afterthought was painful, for how could they "eat them" and "sleep them," as some of the Western people say? But at a called meeting held at the dugout schoolhouse all voted for the meeting willing to do their share of the entertaining. None having a spare room, beds must be made down on the floor for the children when there is company. A day was set to clean the Plain View schoolhouse and to make ready for the meeting. Men, women, and children came and brought their dinners, also mops, rakes, and brooms, a barrel of water, buckets of paste and newspapers, and each man brought a post which was set up for hitch-racks. The children 26 cloaned the yard and smibbod the homo-made seats, while the women and yminff people i)apered walls, washed windows, polished the stove, and mopped the floor, then put a wliito eloth on the old table used for a desk, put up a few mottoes, plaeed the lamps brought from their homes. All seemed pleased with the result of the day's work and hoped that a dust storm would not come before the strangers p:. Their wish was prranted. Sunday was an ideal autumn day. Everybody seemed to be present— men, women, boys, girls, babies, and dogs. Some of the i)oople were very well dressed, all w^ere clean and neat. Some wore shoes much too large for them, others had none. Part of the chil- dren wore old sunnner hats, others scarfs or sun-bonnets. The boys tucked their old caps in the desks. Each family brought -i songbook of somesort which con- tained some familiar hymns. Mr. Long drove up with his family,_the mission- aries, and their little "organ. All eyes were npon them to see if they were "stuck-up." They saw two modest, plainly-dressed people whom Mr. Long introduced to each family as Brother and Sister Oliver, and each child received his share of attention. All breathed a sigh of relief as they took their places in front, even Leila wdiispered to Kate, "I am not afraid of them if my dress i.s old." Mr. Oliver asked them to name some hymns with which they were familiar, seeing their books, stating that he would furnish song books for the following services and that he wished to form two choirs, onel from the voung people and the other from the children. After a short song service andprayer, Mr. and ]\[rs. Oliver each made a little talk, saying that they were brought Tip on the frontier in another State. Their parents being poor, each of them had worked their way through college and the Seminary, now they were here to help the fathers and mothers in their struggles for a higher and better life, to help the young peoi)le in their training of mind, body, and soul, and to lend a helping hand to the boys and girls in guiding them to be such men and women as God can approve. After a short sermon on "God's Love for the Sinner," they were dismissed to meet early for song service. The meetings continued for nearly three weeks. Many fathers, mothers, young people and ch.ildren were saved, among them T^ila and Kate, and one excellent young man was called to preach the gospel. A church of fifty-two was organized. A Sun- day school and Christian Endeavor Society and Teacher's Training Class fol- Icwed, also a lively Aid Society which soon fitted up a little vacant stone- house for a parsonage. After the pastor and wife had visited all the homes and understood their needs, they eaiised many boxes of warm clothing to be sent to the needy ones. So Leila and Kate could say once more that they each had a whole new suit even to the hood and gloves, and in the pocket of each cloak was a little purse of money which some girls had saved up during self-denial week. After Leila and Kate had talked it over and prayed about it they decided to ])ut their money into the Junior budget for jMissions and Leila expressed a desire to become a missionary herself. The Plain View Sunday school and Christian Endeavor were the delight of all the country round, and not only were the two choirs a success from the beginning under the careful training of the pastor and his gifted wife, but a small orchestra was installed by persmiding the timid young people to bring out their instruments which had been laid away for lack of strings. The much loved pastor seemed to always have just what A\as lacking to fix up the instruments and to encourage and bring out the best there was in each boy and girl whom he met. Plans were being made for a number of the boys and girls to enter a Christian college as soon as the.v were prepared for it. The iiastor and some of his unselfish band looked up a church location in a new railroad town near by and each agreed to ))lniit a certain number of acres in croiis to help with the building. A gospel tcniu was also organized to go with the iiastor to hold meetings in other cuiuuiuHitics. 'I'lius the gnod wurk go(>s on spreading in the home mission fields. 27 United Brethren in Santa Fe Rev. N. H. Huffman, Superintendent of Spanish Worh. At the southeast corner of the public square of Santa Fe, New Mexico, stands a block of granite with an inscription stating that this stone marks the end of the Santa Fe Trail. The writer of this article spent his boyhood near the beginning of this trail. As he gathered gum from the resin weeds in late summer, or hunted rabbits in the winter, every old cowpath and Indian trail discovered was confidently affirmed to be the Santa Fe Trail. But little did he dream that one day he should live at the other end of the trail. United Brethren preachers and people have traveled much on the old trail, and have gone far beyond its limits, but not until the closing days of 1913 did they attempt to put up a monument at the western terminus of the trail in the historic city of the Holy Faith of St Francis. The oldest city in the United States is the title the chamber of com- merce has ordered printed on its ofiicial envelopes. But is it true? It is not our business to contend with other cities which dispute this claim. The IIead(iuarters of Our Spaoish-Amurieau Missiun. Sauta Fe, New Mexico. question of the antiquity of Santa Fe is undisputed. As early as 1605, one of the Spanish conquistadores fixed his capital here. On the north side of the plaza still stands the palace of the governors, erected more than three hundred years ago. The picture is of the youngest church in Santa Fe, the Hermanos Unidos en Cristo, which is the Spanish, or Mexican, as they say out here, for United Brethren in Christ. The securing of this property has a history. While prospecting for a house to rent as temporary quarters for the mission, this house was discovered vacant. On inquiry, it was learned that it was in litigation, being part of a bankruptcy estate. The former owner, among his other enterprises, had been running a saloon and, purposely or otherwise, had gone into bankruptcy. It is not a part of his plan that this house should fonn a part of the estate, but his transfer of the house to other parties was shown to the satisfaction of the court to have been a fictitious sale, and the receiver was ordered to sell it and divide the proceeds among the creditors. It would make too long a story to speak of all the trips I made to Santa Fe from Velarde, the individuals in- terviewed, and praying done before the property was turned over to us. 28 We have here a story-and-a-half house, built of stone, containing nine rooms, fully wired for electric lights, and with city water installed. Back of the house stands an old adobe house of three large rooms, which may be used as a stable, woodshed, and workshop. The lot has a frontage of 113 feet and a depth of 3.33 feet. The garden is under the irrigation ditch. The location is only three blocks from the capitol, and five from the center of the city. It will sound incredible to the readers of this paper to say that such a property could be secured at the low price of $3,500. Rev. C. A. Schlotterbeck says of the property: "After weeks of investi- gation, prayer, and waiting, the way was opened through the courts for the purchase of a property for the use of our Spanish-American mission in Santa Fe. This is a splendid property, purchased at two-thirds its actual value, and adapted to our needs. A suite of two large rooms on the first floor answer for a chapel, suitable for mission work among a people for whom no evangel- ical work whatever is being done in this city. "Here we have a property 'beautiful for situation,' in the midst of eight or ten thousand of our own citizens, in whom the Protestant church has taken no interest and to whom the blessings of evangelical Christianity have been denied." No other denomination is preaching to the Mexicans in this city. The nearest preaching place for them is thirty miles distant. There are a number of villages in this section of the State which, in the words of a Mexican, never have known a preacher of the gospel. Velarde, well known to the Church through the school conducted there by the Misses Perkins and Haffner, is forty-five miles to the north of Santa Fe. On the road to Velarde there are six villages with no Protestant preaching, save in one, Santa Cruz, where we recently opened work in the English language and will soon, God willing, open work in Spanish. So it appears that we have here a splendid opening and an opportunity to do our share as a denomination in bringing within the reach of thousands of priest-ridden Spanish-Americans the blessings of an open Bible and a free conscience. ^ ^^ .4 Shall We Enter Open Doors? THE special victories named in the foregoing pages are from only about one-twelfth of the charges that have been or are still on our roll for support. Nearly three times as many missions have passed oif from our list as were on when we started in 1905. No small credit is due to the society that has made it possible for the conquests achieved by these former home mission fields. These past and present triumphs should thrill the Church for greater success. It will not do to stop and rejoice over the past. If need be, for- getting the things of the past and press on to Albuquerque, New ^Mexico, and establish ourselves at Santa Fe and Santa Cruz in the same State; among our Spanish-speaking neighbors at Lake Charles and New Orleans in Louisi- ana. Shall we listen to the urgent calls from our United Brethren families in Texas ? Shall we give hoed to the many appeals all the way from San Diego in southern California on up the Pacific Coast to Bellingham on the Puget Sound in northern Washington ? No such challenge has been put to the Church as will come with the opening of the Panama Canal. Must Idaho and Wyoming, where numbers of our families are settling, call in vain? Shall ]\[ontana be taken for Christ? One of our appointed home missionaries wrote, "I could put one thousand churches in Montana and no one of them be within ten miles of another." Will the Church accept the challenge from the great cities of the Middle West? In the five hundred cities of America there comes a wireless message of distress that must have attention. You 29 have read in this booklet. "There are fiftj' places in Chicago as promising as Grace Church that we might enter." Shall we take our share of them for Christ? Shall we enter these open doors and increase our missionary force? Shall we heed the urgent appeals to advance in many places ? Are we willing to pay the price for greater victories ? To answer "yes" means more definite consecration of life and money by the Church. To say "go forward and possess the land" means larger giving for some who are able. It calls for special gifts from those who may want to give, in one of the following ways, after they have done their share in the budget for all the benevolences. A direct gift to the society. Local churches, Christian Endeavor societies, Sunday-school classes, any organization of the church as well as individuals, can have their own pastor on a mission field, by making definite gifts to his support and receive from our office a monthly report of just what has been done. riciisniii \ i.'w Cliurch, Moiitann. In this yrdiip arc Kc-vs. A. K. Laiulis, M. S. Bovey, and Ira IhuNlt'y. The last named is the pastor. Those who have means, but need the income for their support, can let the society have the money on some definite per cent, during their natural life, and then have the money go to the work of the society. Some may want to remember Christ as one of their heirs in the extension of his kingdom, by executing obligations payable after their death. Such arrangements do not interfere with any business transaction they might wish to enter into during their natural life. By making it possible for the society and our faithful missionaries to fulfill the task that God is placing at our door, you will be a share-holder in the victories attained and can rejoice with our missionaries as they come bringing in their sheaves. Not only that, you will be helping to solve the great religious problems that are now facing our country for solution and 30 your iiifluoncc, prayers, life, niul gifts can lielp to hold America for Christ at thid critical stajic of its r-i'ligious history. A Challenge to Advance THE deepest missionary need