After a day or two, the lady with whom I boarded learned that I was a
gospel worker. "If I can get a congregation together," said she, "will you
talk to them?" I told her that I would. The people come together, and I
asked some one to lead in prayer, but no one made any response. Finally
they said that there was a man across the street who could pray, and asked
if they should call him. The man came in; he and I led in prayer, and the
Lord gave me a message. After the service was over, different ones came and
congratulated me, saying, "It was a grand message; you highly entertained
us," just as if I were an actress and they came for no other purpose than
to be entertained. A number of those present were professors of religion;
but I doubted whether there were any possessors.
For a time the woman with whom I was staying seemed quite suspicious of me,
but God helped me to live so that before the week was out she had perfect
confidence in me, and sometimes left her house in my care all day. I helped
her what I could about her housework; and at her request, held as many as
three cottage meetings during the week. God gave me favor with the woman;
for when I went away she charged me only half the usual price for my board
and lodging, and even gave me some presents. She did not know that I paid
her all the money I had; but the Lord knew all about it, and saw to it that
she did not charge me too much.
My brother had now come with a team and wagon. Accompanied by the owner of
the outfit, we started on our difficult journey to our new field of labor.
The roads were very rough and rocky, and we met with some hardships. We
tried to camp out one night, but the mosquitos were so bad we had to resume
our journey as soon as we could see to travel in the morning. Before we
reached our destination, our provisions well-nigh gave out. At the end of
our journey we had nothing left but a little stale bread and some bacon.
Having no chance to cook anything, we made our last meal on dry bread and
raw bacon.
Chapter XI
Labors in a New Field
For the next three years my brother and I worked in Missouri, in territory
lying in Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Miller counties. The country was very
rough and hilly. Many of the people were very wicked--most of them being of
the type that live in a rough country remote from railroads.
A Baptist minister whom we met soon after we began work in this part of the
State, is a fair illustration of the religious standard of the people. This
man, who, for the want of a better name, we shall call Father B--, a name
by which he was known far and near, was called on all occasions where a
minister was needed throughout a territory twenty or thirty miles in
extent. He served as evangelist and pastor, and officiated at weddings and
funerals. The people among whom he labored supported him quite liberally;
but he used the money they gave him in buying whiskey, and spent a good
share of his time in a drunken, or semi-drunken condition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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