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 N O, I don’t believe in foreign missions. 
 That is all there is to that. I’m a home 
 mission man. I think it’s plain fool¬ 
 ishness to go spending money on other people 
 in lands we don’t know anything about as 
 long as America is not right. Let’s convert 
 America. Let’s git our own country pure of 
 its politics and the churches straightened up 
 at home before going elsewhere. Anyhow, 
 we never had anything to do with making the 
 heathen what they are, and why bother about 
 them when there is so much to do at home? ” 
 Thus spoke Farmer Watkins. And he 
 did it with much emphasis, too, for had he 
 not often made this same speech?-—so often 
 that he was thoroughly grounded in its cor¬ 
 rectness ! 
 
 His neighbor. Bates, was a full minute 
 waiting to give an answer; then he calmly 
 asked this question: “Thomas, how many 
 acres have you in your farm,—I mean the 
 home farm, not the others? ’’ 
 
 “ One hundred thirty,’’ answered Brother 
 Watkins, and with a grin he added, “ Well, 
 it looks like you’re wanting to change the 
 subject pretty quick, hey? ’’ 
 
 “ Just a moment, please, Thomas,” inter¬ 
 rupted Brother Bates. “ One hundred and 
 thirty acres. Now if I recall correctly you 
 have three forties in a line, one behind the 
 other, and then ten acres across the road from 
 the main tract on which your home buildings 
 are located. 
 
 “ You’re right,” replied Brother Watkins, 
 
“ Now, Thomas, while I may not be near 
 as good a farmer as you are, permit me to 
 make a suggestion about how you should 
 farm your home one hundred and thirty. It 
 looks to me like you are not taking the wise 
 course at all. Last evening I saw you re¬ 
 turning from a hard day’s work on the back 
 forty, the one lying farthest from the house. 
 Evidently you are getting ready to sow fall 
 wheat, for you were bringing back your plow 
 and harrow. It was a hot day as we all 
 know and your fine horses looked all fagged 
 out. You certainly are foolish to work so 
 hard cultivating that back forty and expect 
 good crops way back there.” 
 
 ‘‘Hold on there. Brother Bates! ” inter¬ 
 rupted Watkins. 
 
 ‘‘ Now wait, Thomas,” insisted Bates and 
 he continued. ” I understand you are going 
 to put a new fence around this back forty, 
 tile the low part in the one corner, and bring 
 it up to good yielding. Here is my objec¬ 
 tion to such a course. Why spend time and 
 money on these outlying fields like this back 
 forty? You seemingly forget that ten-acre 
 tract around your house and you know con¬ 
 ditions are far from right there. Your barn 
 needs paint, the out-buildings need repairing, 
 the wall about the well should be fixed up, 
 else disease may come to your family, the 
 garden is not clear of weeds, the potato patch 
 needs plowing, the front yard needs mowing 
 and bare spots reseeding, the flower beds need 
 new late varieties and the drive should have 
 some fresh gravel on it. Surely you act fool¬ 
 ishly to go back to that farthest forty to till 
 it until you get this home ten acres up to the 
 
highest state of fitness and beauty possible. 
 Now honest, Thomas, in the light of what you 
 said at first, am I not correct in what I am 
 telling you? ” 
 
 For a moment Farmer Watkins was con¬ 
 fused. His face flushed. But he was a 
 noble man who meant to do the right, and 
 after a moment he straightened up and look¬ 
 ing at his brother with clear, kindly eyes, now 
 swimming in tears, he said, “ I never thot of 
 the foreign lands in that way.” 
 
 His neighbor seemingly did not notice the 
 remark as he spoke further. “Just why the 
 Lord made the world as he has I do not 
 know, but he seems to have fenced it into 
 different fields. There is the India field and 
 the China field where our church has noble 
 workers; oh, yes, and there is the Scan¬ 
 dinavian field where we have others doing 
 splendid work. Then there are other fields 
 of our Father’s fencing which our church has 
 not yet entered,—like South America and 
 Africa and Australia, and Russia and Persia. 
 H is Son meant that we should farm the back 
 fields when he in his last words talked about 
 the ” uttermost parts of the earth,” and if we 
 are to be wise husbandmen for him I am sure 
 that in these back forties we will be just as 
 anxious that WE plow and sow that He may 
 reap into the heavenly garner as you are to 
 cultivate that back forty of your home farm. 
 It surely would be just as foolish to keep all 
 his laborers in America till America is pure 
 as it would be to confine your farming to 
 the home ten till you have it just what you 
 want it to be. And, Brother Watkins, no 
 one knows this better than you do.” 
 
“ I have no more to say, save to thank you, 
 Brother Bates. But this comes to me now. 
 I am too old to go and farm God’s back 
 forties myself, but I am willing to send a 
 hand to work in my place. Count on me to 
 support one of our workers on ThE LaST 
 
 Forty.” (j. B. R. 
 
 Why not become deeply interested in one of 
 God’s “ fortie’s ” and intelligently determine in 
 which one you will help keep a ” hand at work. 
 THE MISSIONARY READING COURSE is pre¬ 
 pared to supply this very need. Cost of books 
 nominal. Reading very interesting and helpful. 
 Will prove an unmeasured blessing. Try it. 
 
 Full information sent upon request. General 
 Mission Board, Elgin, Illinois. 
 
 : 
 
 5M-7-1918 
 
AND UNTO THE 
 UHERMOST PARTS 
 OF THE EARTH 
 
 AND SAMARIA 
 
 AND JUDEA 
 
 Beginning 
 
 at 
 
 Jerusalem