Cross, Jonathan; Evangelists -- United States -- Biography; Missions -- Appalachian Region
At the close of his prayer I turned to the old woman and told her I was
astonished at the mercy of God that permitted such a family to live,
and portrayed the awful consequences of her meeting her household in
hell. I drew every alarming picture I could summon from the Bible or
the resources of my own mind. After some time the old woman began to
weep, and she promised to attend the mission chapel the next Sabbath.
After supplying them with a copy of Baxter’s Call, and a number of
suitable tracts, we left them.
The next Sabbath the old woman was at the chapel. A series of religious
meetings began that day, and before its close, as my friend informed
me, who was a worshipper there, the old woman and one of her sons
professed religion.
One day we entered a room where a man was lying sick. We introduced the
subject of religion to him. He ground his teeth with rage, and swore he
did not want to hear any thing on that subject. I then began to inquire
about his complaints, and to prescribe some simple remedies, and he
soon became calm. After some time I remarked that afflictions did not
come by chance, neither did trouble spring out of the ground, but they
were all sent of God for some wise purpose. “Do you think so?” said
he. “Yes,” said I, “and for our good.” He then listened attentively,
and soon shed tears. Though he was very poor, he bought some books.
I prayed with him, and left him, but not without many thanks and
entreaties to come and see him as often as I could.
This closed the work of three days, in which time we had visited
eighty-five families.
These three days were the most interesting days that I had ever spent.
By the next morning I found my voice almost gone, and all my limbs
trembling. The excitement of the work and intensity of feeling had
prostrated me before I was aware of it.
After a day or two of rest I resumed my labors for three weeks, when I
went home a few days.
I then returned to the same place, and spent a month in visiting new
families and revisiting old ones; and I shall never forget the cordial
shake of the hand that I got almost every day, when I would meet some
one in the house or on the street whom I had before conversed with
and supplied with a book or tract. Special services had been held
in several churches, and quite a number had professed religion. One
minister told me he had taken into his church forty, many of whom dated
their first religious impressions to reading the books and tracts I had
sold or given them, others referred to the visits as the means of their
awakening.
There was one thing in the work which struck me with great force--the
effect on Christian people. I tried as far as possible to get some good
man to go with me in my visits. It was a great help to me and added to
my success, and at the same time it stirred up many to work for Christ
that had never done any thing before.
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