Trail-Tales of Western CanadaRobinson, F. A. (Frank Alfred)
Religion
Trail-Tales of Western Canada
Robinson, F. A. (Frank Alfred)
Canadian fiction -- 20th century; Missions -- Canada, Western -- Fiction; Short stories, Canadian
At the close of the conversation the evening prayer especially
commended George to the Father's care, and while the encouraged man was
walking back to his dwelling-place with thankful heart, Mr. and Mrs.
Lamb were kneeling together, and in earnest petition were placing their
home and all they might ever possess at the service of the One in whose
hands things commonplace may be mighty with blessing.
The missioner has been permitted to visit again the Manse where George
did a bit of carpentering. It was a great pleasure to find that George
was one of those invited to the evening meal. During the after-supper
conversation he spoke confidentially to the visitor of the mistress of
the Manse. "She's the greatest little woman in this country. God
knows I'd have still been on the down-grade but for her; she never let
me go. She told me one night how she'd told God that she couldn't go
to heaven and leave me outside, and thank God He's taking her at her
word."
The midnight chat which ministers are accustomed to have on such
occasions revealed the story of George's many and sore temptations and
hard battles, and of how the unfailing faith and patience of one in the
Manse had heartened the discouraged man, had led him into active
service, and had brought a new sense of responsibility and possibility
to many of the church members who were beginning to practise Paul's
injunction: "If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted."
THE SUPERINTENDENT'S VISIT
"Hope to visit your field Wednesday, February nineteenth--arrive
M---- Station midnight, eighteenth. Andrew Ransom."
The Western minister had been "house-cleaning" his study, and in
separating the valued from the useless he ran across the above
telegram, which had been buried away for several years. He handled it
almost reverently and then put it away in his Home Mission folder for
future reference. The story connected with it was told one night as
the missioner sat after the evening's service in the quiet of the
prairie manse, exchanging reminiscences of one of the greatest and best
loved men that ever crossed the prairie provinces--Andrew Ransom, the
great Home Missionary Superintendent.
Within fifteen minutes from the time the student missionary received
the above message, the people in McLean's general store, in Stevenson's
boarding-house, and in Mallagh's blacksmith's shop had heard the good
news, and all knew that Wednesday the nineteenth would be a great day
for those whose homes the old Doctor could visit, and for the people
who could get into the little church at night.
[Illustration:
1. A Prairie Shack. 2. A Copper Miner's Shack.
3. A Bachelor's Shack.
4. A Shack on the Hillside. 5. A Mountain-side Shack.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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