The Sabbath Meetings
It was with difficulty that I could speak at the meeting of Friday
evening, for the hall was cold and very damp. In this building the plas-
ter had been put directly onto the brick walls, leaving no air chamber,
and thus permitted the dampness of the wall to be communicated to
the room. There had been no fire in the hall during the season, until a
few hours before we assembled, and then it only served to draw out the
dampness, and render the atmosphere humid. There was a penetrating
chill in the air, that made one shiver in the warmest wrappings. I
suffered much from pain in my lungs, while I was speaking, and for
hours afterward.
Sabbath morning I still felt the effects of the evening’s chill. For
two weeks I had been suffering much from some teeth that had been
improperly treated by the dentist, and the cold that I had taken not only
affected my lungs and throat, but rendered the pain in my teeth almost
unendurable. I felt unable to speak to the people; but my earnest
prayer went up to heaven for needed strength. Again I ventured to
the hall, and found it well filled with interested hearers. I spoke from
John 15:1-8
, on the subject of the True Vine. I was strengthened and
blessed; my infirmities were forgotten in the interest I felt for precious
souls. The dear Saviour seemed very near, and the Holy Spirit rested
upon the assembly.
The discourse was followed by a social meeting, Bro. Matteson
acting as interpreter. Many good testimonies were borne. Some
expressed their thankfulness to God that he had sent Sister White
such a great distance to visit them. They had read her books and her
articles in their paper, and had thus received most precious light and a
great blessing. The Testimonies which had been translated into their
language had opened to them the Scriptures, and had made the truth so
plain that they could not resist it. A high standard had been presented
for them to reach, and this had led them to read the Bible, to search
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their hearts, to pray more, to have greater love for Jesus, and to seek
more earnestly to save souls.
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