John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brotherPaton, John Gibson
Religion
John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brother
Paton, John Gibson
Missionaries -- Vanuatu -- Biography; Paton, John Gibson, 1824-1907
Availing myself of the increased facilities, my work was all
re-organized. On Sabbath morning, at seven o’clock, I had one of the
most deeply interesting and fruitful of all my Classes for the study of
the Bible. It was attended by from seventy to a hundred of the very
poorest young women and grown-up lads of the whole district. They had
nothing to put on except their ordinary work-day clothes,—all without
bonnets, some without shoes. Beautiful was it to mark how the poorest
began to improve in personal appearance immediately after they came to
our class; how they gradually got shoes and one bit of clothing after
another, to enable them to attend our other meetings, and then to go to
church; and, above all, how eagerly they sought to bring others with
them, taking a deep personal interest in all the work of the Mission.
Long after they themselves could appear in excellent dress, many of them
still continued to attend in their working clothes, and to bring other
and poorer girls with them to that morning class, and thereby helped to
improve and elevate their companions.
My delight in that Bible Class was among the purest joys in all my life,
and the results were amongst the most certain and precious of all my
ministry. Yet it was not made successful without unceasing pains and
prayers. What would my younger brethren in the Ministry, or in the
Mission, think of starting out at six o’clock every Sunday morning,
running from street to street for an hour, knocking at the doors and
rousing the careless, and thus getting together, and keeping together,
their Bible Class? This was what I did at first; but, in course of time,
a band of voluntary visitors belonging to the class took charge of all
the irregulars, the indifferents, and the new-comers, and thereby not
only relieved and assisted me, but vastly increased their own personal
interest, and became warmly attached to each other.
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