Baptists -- Missions -- Brazil; Brazil -- Description and travel
"The Captain and I were together one day returning home from a
preaching tour by a near cut, passing the door of our greatest
persecutor, Captain Bernadino, who on seeing us, seized a stick, and
running to us, beat back our hordes, crying, 'Back, back, you cannot
pass my house.' A plunge of my horse caused my hat to fall off, which
he handed me and continued to force our retreat. We returned by way of
the home of his son-in-law, who was a baptized believer, and while this
brother was piloting us down a hill to another way home Captain
Bernadino, jumping from behind a bush, caught my horse by the bridle.
He had an assassin at his heels, with axe in hand, asking every minute
what he should do. Captain Bernadino wore out his stick on my horse,
planting the last stroke across my loins; then he struck me about a
dozen times in the breast with his fist. I said to him, 'Captain, why
are you beating me, I believe in God; do not you also?' Stopping and
panting he said, 'Do you believe in God, you rascal?' 'Yes,' I said,
'and Jesus also who came to save us sinners.' 'Don't let up, don't let
up, hit him, hit him,' cried his wife and children. He pulled the
bridle from my hands, led my horse into a pond close by, and gathering
mud, pelted me from foot to shoulder. Then leaving my horse, he went
after Captain Egydio, who was guarded by another assassin. On passing
his son-in-law, kneeling, he struck him on the head, saying, 'Get up,
you fool!' Leading the Captain's horse into the water, he covered him
with mud from foot to head. Then, putting our bridles up, he beat our
horses and told us to go, never to be seen in those parts any more. My
bridle reins he crossed, which fact caused me when I passed his wife,
who stood with a long stick upraised, to strike me, to turn my horse
upon her instead of away from her, and the horse came near running over
her. She struck and fell back, the stick falling across my horse's
neck. Such a pandemonium of mad voices, cursing and shouting as we left
I never heard. It took us till night to reach home. The family took it
as an honor, and smiling and laughing, we were spending the evening
merrily, when at nine or ten o'clock a rap at the door caused us all to
suspend our hilarity. It was that son-in-law of the persecutor,
bringing his wife, asking to be baptized. She had witnessed the
persecution her father gave us, and on her husband's return to the
house, she told him the scene made her think of the Apostles and that
now she was determined to be baptized. At first I thought of bloodshed,
for her father had threatened to kill her, her mother, Captain Egydio
and the man who baptized her. But I had always taught them to obey
Christ and leave results with Him, so we heard her experience and at
midnight I baptized her.
Captain Egydio did not complain of our treatment nor did I ever mention
it to our Consul.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account