In the latter part of November it was made very clear to me by the Holy
Spirit that I should go, and about the middle of December I left my home
for New York City. On the 24th of December my wife took so seriously ill
that she was not expected to live. She had faith that the Lord would raise
her up, but the children were much distressed, fearing that their mother
was going to die, and knowing that their father was on his way to a foreign
land, not intending to return for several months. They begged to have a
telegram sent to me asking me to return. Finally about two o'clock in the
night, when she was getting very low, and the children would not be
comforted in any other way, she consented to have a telegram sent to the
missionary home in New York City. Knowing as she did that it was God's will
for me to go to Norway and knowing also that if I returned so soon, I could
not go if she should recover, she prayed earnestly that the Lord would
hinder me from getting the telegram, which he did. God heard her prayer and
also healed her. After stopping with the church in New York for sometime, I
went to Boston, and thence on the 20th of January, 1905 sailed on the
Steamship Saxonia of the Cunard line for Liverpool, England. Everything
went well--the Atlantic was the smoothest I had ever seen it. I wondered
how it could be otherwise, inasmuch as my family and many people of God
were sending up earnest prayers for my safe journey. My journey from
Liverpool to Hull was by railroad, but at the latter place, I embarked on
the S. S. Tasso of the Wilson Line bound for Tronheim, Norway. Getting into
the North Sea we had a very rough voyage. We were to make our first stop at
Stavanger, but the weather was so stormy as we neared the coast that
evening that we did not dare to sail in the dark. Consequently we anchored
out in the North Sea for the night. While the ship tossed up and down and
back and forth through the night, I dreamed the ship was going on dry land.
I could hear the screeching as it went on the rocks and chills went down my
back. Then the scene changed. In my dream I seemed to be on land standing
looking at the ship going, and wondering why it did not tip over. I looked
close and on the right hand side of the ship was a large stone, almost as
high as the ship, scraping against its side. On the left side was a small
stone steadying it as it moved along. Finally it moved out into deep water
and turned to the left, and in a little while we landed at our destination,
Tronheim. In the morning I told my dream at the breakfast table and said,
"We may have an accident before we get through." The people laughed and
said, "Do preachers believe in dreams?" I said, "Yes, when they come true."
They thought there was no danger, for the reason the ship was so large.
"Well," I said, "it is very stormy weather and the sea is full of rocks
along the coast and we do not know what may happen." That day we landed
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