Missionary Work Among the Ojebway IndiansWilson, Edward Francis
History
Missionary Work Among the Ojebway Indians
Wilson, Edward Francis
Indians of North America -- Missions; Ojibwa Indians
In the spring of 1880, when I was dangerously ill and my life
despaired of, William was one of the few Indian boys who were
privileged to come to my bedside, and the only one who was allowed to
take turn in watching beside me at night; for whenever there was
anything to be done requiring special effort or care, it was always
William who was wanted, and William who was ready.
About three years before this time the dear boy became truly in
earnest about religion, and dedicated his life to the Saviour. From his
earliest boyhood he would appear to have been a child of grace,
avoiding what was bad, with a desire to follow what was pure and good;
but with nearly all followers of Christ there is probably some period
in life which may be looked back to when the seeds of truth began more
distinctly to germinate in the soul, and that blessed union with the
Saviour, which is the joy of all true believers, was for the first time
perhaps fully realized and felt. It was on the 23rd March, 1877, that
this dear boy, William, after a long earnest talk, knelt down beside me
and yielded his heart to the Saviour: "Tabaningayun Jesus, kemeenin
ninda noongoom suh tebekuk, kuhnuhga kayahhe che tebanindezosewaun keen
dush chetebanemeyun"--"Lord Jesus, I give my heart to Thee this night,
no longer to belong to myself, but to belong to Thee." I gave him a
Bible the same evening, and it became his most valued treasure; on the
first leaf is the verse, "Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise
cast out," and on the last leaf, "God is love."
I always tried to impress on those who had dedicated themselves to the
Saviour's service, that they should prove the fact of their union with
Christ by working for Him and bearing fruit to the glory of His name.
William seemed to be especially impressed with this, and rarely a week
passed without his trying to exercise some influence for good among his
companions. Many are the boys now in the Institution who can trace
their first serious thoughts on their spiritual condition to his
intercourse with them. In January, 1878, a boys' prayer meeting was
commenced weekly, and continued almost without interruption, except
during holidays. The boys met on Wednesday evenings after prayers--
quite by themselves--one read a portion of Scripture in his own
language, and others offered a few words of simple prayer. It was due
to William and one or two like-minded companions that these little
gatherings were kept together, and there can be little doubt that much
blessing resulted.
William used latterly to take notes of the sermons which he heard on
Sundays.
And now we come to the last scenes of the dear boy's life here on earth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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