Part 5

had swept down from the mountains on the towns and villages of that district, had robbed the people, and driven off their stock. The soldiers had been sent out, and already one battle had been fought, and more trouble was brewing, so it was very dangerous for us to be traveling. We looked to the Lord for guidance, and felt that we must lose no time, but taking the Blood for our protection, should move on. Arising at two o’clock the next morning we went over the road on which the robbers were supposed to be, through a dense forest, but saw nor heard nothing except the many parrots and birds, screeching and singing.

We made seventeen leagues that day, crossing mountains and plains, stopping at noon at a little hut by the roadside for food for the beasts and rest for ourselves. We were received with much hospitality by these people, with their bamboo covered house, its walls composed of a few sticks stuck up at intervals. The entire inside had on its dress of mourning from the smoke from the family cook-stove, which was a pile of rocks in one corner. While the woman was making us a fresco of gourd seed, (a favorite drink they make there), grinding the seeds on the tortilla stone, the old mother pig and her babies were having a real jubilee under the rickety table. In that country hogs seem to be the family pets, for in every house there are many of them. The beds were merely a few sticks covered with a rawhide. Other sticks surmounted by a rough board served for a table, and a black smutty pile of rocks was the stove. These articles completed the home furnishings. The host was poor, but oh, how he and his family listened to the Gospel story! This is the picture of thousands of homes in that country. The people are exceedingly poor, but hungry for the Bread of Life. How we enjoyed preaching the Gospel to them! Although there were numerous hardships to endure, it was sweet to be in God’s will, and to tell these dear ones of His great love for, and His desire to save them.

Reaching our next stopping place late in the evening we camped for the night. After we women were in our hammocks, and the men had seen the animals put away for the night, they went for a swim in a nearby stream. When their swim was finished, they found the stream was the home of some large

=Alligators=

but, praise God! He is the same as when He stopped the lions’ mouths for Daniel. Certainly He does care for His little children.

The God of Daniel was great and strong Stopping the lions’ mouths, and filling his heart with song.

Rising before daybreak we sent up a thanks-giving to our Heavenly Father for His safe-keeping through the night, and asked Him to protect us that day. Then we loaded our beds and other belongings upon the mules and went on our way.

That day’s journey brought us over a part of the country which was covered with great rocks and boulders thrown from Nicaragua’s largest volcano, El Momotombo. In the distance we could see the volcano belching forth smoke, and the heat was intense. About one hundred years ago this volcano completely destroyed the city of Leon, leaving a great lake filled with water, which is there today.

The dust was very deep in the roads, because of the extensive traveling. It rolled up about us in a great cloud. Many times we could not see each other a few feet away. We resembled a miniature whirlwind coming down the road, and surely we were a whirlwind coming against the devil. The enemy would fain stir up a storm to strangle God’s people and prevent them from invading the territory he has so long held, but we would not be intimidated. Souls were at stake. They were being held in prison, behind bars of iron, but their cries had reached Heaven and God had sent some of His messengers with the glad news of freedom. The message must be delivered, regardless of the cost, so over mountain and plain we went, covered with dust, faint from much traveling through long, hot days, but on to the people with the message that Jesus died to set them free.

“Will we ever think of trials, will we ever think of pain, Or the crosses we’ve endured for Jesus’ sake, On that Hallelujah morning as we gather round the throne, And with Jesus of the marriage feast partake?

Let us hasten with the message which He said was meant for all. To the black, the white, the yellow, and the brown; Of one blood He made all nations, we must win them all for Him. Precious jewels to adorn the Savior’s crown.”

Toward dusk we came in sight of a little adobe house, and were told that we might stop there for the night. How nice it was to see a place where we could rest our tired bodies, wash ourselves and comb our hair. For three days we had been unable to comb our hair or wash ourselves for water was too scarce. How wonderful it will be when we earth-travelers pass on our way to that City which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, where we shall see dear Jesus and hear Him say, “=Come, My children, into the mansions I have prepared for you=.” The residents of that city “shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”—Rev. 7:16,17. How blessed to know Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us! How the very thought thrills my soul, and causes me to want to work to help bring others into those mansions!

While talking with the natives, they told us that

=A Large Tiger=

had come down from the mountains and, after killing two cows and injuring several more, had escaped. They were greatly frightened, as the animal was still in the neighborhood, but we lay down under the shed, and went to sleep, awakening just when the sun was coming up through the trees. We hustled and dressed, and after ordering some hot milk from the people there, we mounted for another day’s journey. We went down the road in the direction which the tiger had taken. The natives warned us that we were likely to meet the ferocious animal in the forest not far away, but we went on, singing the sweet songs of Zion, and trusting ourselves to His keeping, who said, “I will give you power over all the power of the enemy.” A tiger was a very small thing compared to the awful monster of sin which had ravaged the whole country. We realized that the King’s business demanded haste, so we passed on, and rode over the dusty road unmolested. The blessed Holy Spirit filled our hearts with joy at the thought of soon reaching the place where we should have meetings with the dear faithful little band of Christians who were awaiting.

OUR ARRIVAL IN LEON

Our arrival in the city aroused much curiosity among the people. As we passed through the streets they came out of their houses and followed us to see where we were going. When we came in sight of the house where lived a Christian woman, who had suffered much at the hands of her people, she came out to meet us. The power fell on her, and she danced for joy, and we wept and shouted. A crowd soon gathered to see what had occurred, and we had a meeting right there, telling them of the Savior’s love and His willingness to save them from all sin, and to present them faultless before His Father. These people had persecuted this dear sister for ten years after she was saved. They would come and whip her, throw her goods into the street, and tell her they would kill her if she did not turn back into the Roman church, but she stood true, and now had the Baptism of the Spirit, and in her house we had our meetings.

We slept on cow hides for beds, with a straw mat under us. We ate our food out of gourds for two weeks until our things came and we could get a house. It was sweet to be in the Master’s dear service.

The city of Leon is anti-American because it is the headquarters of the Liberal party, which is trying to overthrow the rule of the church of Rome. The United States appointed a president twelve years ago, thus stopping the revolution then in progress. As the president is a church man the Liberal party hasn’t much love for an American.

This was a difficulty which we had before us. Not only were missionaries hated, but we were American missionaries, which was far worse. We looked to the Father for a house in which we might live, and preach the Gospel to these dear people. A man came to us and said we could have a house, so we moved in the following day. It was a poor thing to call a house, being dirty, and infested with scorpions, lizards, and a species of ant which builds a big mud house and eats not only one’s clothes but also the furniture.

We were situated between two saloons and houses of ill-fame, right in the slum district. People danced, drank and caroused all night in these places. It was a pretty good place in which to open fire on the enemy, being right in the midst of his works. When an army advances to fight the enemy it goes to the strongest point.

On one side of our house, which was built of thin lumber, there were cracks in the wall, and we could look through the cracks into the saloon. We remembered the scripture which says we are not to light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candle stick, so all can see; so we would get out our little organ and sing and play, then kneel and pray, and the people would peep through at us. We were told they might throw rocks at us, and burn down the house, and might even kill us, but we were not there to draw back, so we opened fire with the heavy artillery of God’s power in the Holy Ghost.

We had not had, as yet, any public meetings, but had been waiting on the Lord for guidance. One morning there appeared a woman in our doorway, crying out

=“Will You Come and Pray for My Baby? It Is Dying!”=

We went with her to her home, which was a few doors away. There on the bed lay a little child, seemingly just passing away. A crowd had gathered about the door. When I saw the baby and that crowd there arose a cry to God from the depths of my soul to heal the child, thereby proving His power to the people. The child seemed to pass away, but we called on God to heal it for His glory. The little thing rose up, climbed off the bed, and began playing on the floor.

The mother shouted and gave herself to the Lord then and there. The doctors had given the child medicine to make it die easy, for it had been sick a long time. The mother brought the baby to our house, and sang, and praised the God of Heaven until the people from far and near came to see the child. She afterwards took the child and went all over the city from house to house telling how God had healed it and saved her. Then the people began to come to be prayed for. Often they would come and stay far into the night.

We were having such a blessed time that we forgot about living in the slums, and about the saloons on either side of us, although at first we could not sleep for the noise from them. Soon we discovered they had moved the saloon which was so close to our bedroom. When I saw the proprietor come into the meetings, with others who came for prayer, I asked him if he had moved. He answered he had, as he did not feel good to have a bar so close to where we prayed so much. Besides, he said, he had no customers left, as they all came to hear us. Hallelujah! Jesus did move in a mighty way.

On the other side was the biggest house of ill-fame in the city. Men and women gathered there by dozens, some of them perfectly nude, dancing and drinking at all hours of the night. It was so awful we felt that hell had been uncapped in that place. But here came the “madame” to us, asking for prayer, saying she was sick, and she knew she was living a bad life. After her came many others. We prayed with each one and gave them each a Bible, until there were some mighty changes wrought in that section of the city.

=One Dark Night=

when the rain was falling in torrents, we were sitting around our feeble candle-light, reading our Bibles. We heard a knock on the door. It was late, and we had been warned by both missionaries and the Christian natives, to be very careful to whom we opened our doors after night, as there were people who would as soon kill us as they would an animal, so we did not open the door immediately. The knocking continued, and we heard a man’s voice asking us in Spanish to let him in. My husband partly opened the door, and in the small opening we saw a tall, dark native. He pushed into the room, looking very much frightened. When we asked what he wanted, he asked if we were the missionaries. We told him that we were, and he told us that five years before he had found a Bible, and began reading it. He had become convinced of the truth of the Gospel and wished to talk with us. We talked and prayed with him, then asked him to come to the meetings. He said his mother was very angry because he did not go to the church any more, and he was afraid that if he were to come to our meetings the people would kill him. That was why he had come on such a dark, wet night to have a talk with the missionaries. We were reminded of the ruler in Israel who interviewed Jesus in the night.

He came to the house every night for two weeks. When we opened our class in English he attended. We always had a lesson from the Bible, and the scholars had to learn scripture verses. One day this man came out boldly and said, “I am coming to the meetings.” By this time we had several of the leading citizens of the city attending our meetings. This young man has since been called to preach the Gospel to his people. Pray for him. The following is a copy of a note he wrote us when we left Leon.

“I am returning your book. I thank you so much for it. It has been a great blessing to me. Please pray for me, as I feel a call to preach the Gospel. Send me Bibles and tracts from your land for my people.”

Others came to the class, being anxious to learn English. The judge of the city, doctors, lawyers, and many others heard the Gospel preached. To one young man who came to the class we gave a Bible in English, and one day he came to ask us some questions. The priests had told the natives we were nice people but were teaching error, for we taught people to read the Bible and the Bible was a very bad book, and they must not read it. But this precious boy was convicted of sin, and was seeking God. We asked him to pray the Lord to forgive his sins, and then to believe that God did it. He asked for a prayer-book, so he could pray. We told him we never used prayer-books; we simply asked God to forgive us and save us from our sins. He was sweetly saved and went away to bring a cousin to the meetings. This cousin was also saved. These two were among our brightest pupils. They could read and speak English quite well in a few months.

One morning, very early, before we were up, there came a knock on our door and a little brown-faced Indian girl appeared. She was about thirteen years old, and very pretty. She asked us to take her as a servant. She had nowhere to go, and had been sleeping in the market. As I looked at that dear little brown face and heard her story I looked up to my Heavenly Father and breathed a prayer that He would remember the thousands who, like her, had no home and were perishing. We told her we would take her, and I wish my readers might have seen that dear little face light up with joy because she would have a home with the missionaries. She was a very bright girl, and very quick to learn. Soon she could play the organ and sing the Gospel hymns. How she did love to go to the meetings and to read her Bible!

=Carl’s Ball and Bat=

Carl had a ball and a bat which had been brought from the homeland, and in the daytime he would go out into the small park near the house, gather all the boys from the streets, and play ball with them. They had never seen a ball or a bat before, and it was all very wonderful to them. Carl’s face would become very red from the heat, and the children thought it queer to see a red-faced boy with such white hair, and such peculiar things as the ball and bat. He would play with them until lunch-time, then they would come home with him, and he would get his Bible, read from it, and tell them of Jesus, and numbers of them were brought to God in this way.

Many boys and girls came to us asking for a school and a home, but I am sorry to say that we could not possibly take them in, our house and means would not permit. But we are asking God to stir up the people in the homeland to give till there shall be a home and school opened in this dark city of Leon where these precious jewels may be gathered in and taught the Bible, and the way to God.

We were having precious meetings, and one day a man came saying he had walked a long distance to find the missionaries, to get them to come to his home and teach the Gospel. Husband and I went with him, going as far as possible on the little railroad, then walking the rest of the way. When we arrived we felt as if every drop of our blood were boiling, we were so hot, walking so far under the tropical sun. We found the family gathered to hear the Word of God, and thought of Peter going to the house of Cornelius.

“Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan! Oh, the grace that brought it down to man! Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span! At Calvary.”

The Lord touched these dear hearts with His love in a mighty way. They wept, and cried to Him to save them. Even the little children were hungry to seek the Lord. Far away from all Christians, in a dark land, filled with idols, where the powers of darkness fill the very air, were those precious souls, just waiting for someone to come and tell them of a Savior’s love. There are many thousands just like them. Dear reader, what will you do to get the gospel to them? Ask the Lord to show you what He would have you do.

I shall never forget the scene when we started to leave these people. They clung to us, begging us not to leave them. But there were our own dear children at Leon, in a foreign land, far away from all loved ones, and with no one to protect them, and the shadows of night were beginning to fall. We had to pull ourselves away from those pleading, soul-hungry people, and say good-bye. We promised to come back when we could, telling them we must go back to our little ones, and the work in Leon. The father and mother had seven bright-faced boys, and asked us if we would take them into our school, and we told them we would if we could but we were not able for lack of means.

Returning it seemed as if the slow train would never get to Leon. We were tired, and our feet were blistered from the long walk in the terrible heat. But as we looked to the Lord to refresh our bodies and heal our sore feet, the Holy Spirit came sweeping through our beings, so refreshing us that we hardly knew we had gone through such an ordeal.

In a few days there came a call to another home far away in the mountains, where the people were begging that the Gospel be brought to them. I took a native woman with me and we traveled on the train as far as we could go. We purposed going to the home of some native Christians who lived in that town, and who had been in the meetings at Leon, where we thought to rest until the sun went down, as the other trip had taught me not to walk far under the hot sun. As we passed down the street I heard the people calling out in Spanish, “Hay una Evangelista!” (There is a missionary!) But I thought nothing of it, knowing they were not accustomed to seeing foreigners walking through their streets.

Arriving at the house of the Christians I was told the people would not allow missionaries to come to that town. Some months before, one of their young men had been converted. When he came back and told it, men, women, and children, with the priests as leaders, gathered, and cut him to pieces in the street near the house where we then were.

The dear native Christians were looking for the people to come at any moment and kill them. They declared that we all would be killed that day. I began praying to find out if I had missed the Lord’s will by coming there, but the Lord spoke to my heart, saying all would be well and not to fear what the people might do. So we gathered inside and prayed to God for protection, and to convict the people of their awful crimes. When we arose from prayer a large crowd was gathered outside, watching us. The house was made of small poles stuck in the ground, with large cracks all around, so we could easily see and be seen.

We planned to leave the house at sunset, to walk out to the farm where we were going to preach the Gospel. I told the dear ones not to fear, but to trust God. However, they were greatly frightened and said the mob would certainly kill me when I went out. But I knew I had been sent there by the Lord, and all would be well.

I went out and spoke to the crowd, and then started down the street, leading to the country. When I looked around only my woman was with me. She told me the others had gone another way, hoping to miss the crowd, which I saw was following us. I saw some women give a boy a machette, and tell him to cut me with it. He came running toward me, talking in Spanish as fast as he could, and swearing at me. I went right ahead. He kept at my side, swearing. The mob followed us. We walked on until we came to where the road left the town, and turned into the country. I felt the power of God coming upon me in a way I had never felt before.

The veins of my neck swelled, and my body began to shake. Then I turned toward the mob and began speaking to them in tongues. They turned and ran, until not one was to be seen. A little disappointed feeling came into my heart. I said, “Jesus, I wanted to die a martyr for you here in this dark land, but now the mob is gone.” The power still filled my being, until I could do nothing but worship God. The native Christians came up. They said they had seen the people run, and heard them exclaim that fire fell from Heaven and burned them, until they could endure it no longer, and they had to run. I did not see the fire, but felt it burning in my soul in a mighty way.

=At The Farm=

I preached and sang until midnight, and still the people begged me to tell them more “good news” as they called it. Truly it was good news of great joy to those poor people who had so long been under the heavy yoke of the enemy. There was a family of fifteen, also several hired men, besides about twelve travelers who had stopped for the night. They had only one room. When I told them I could not preach any more that night, but must have some rest for my body, and a place where I could lie down, they all went into the room—family, travelers, hired men, some thirty people in all. They took two young calves and three small deer with them, also several hens with their little chicks.

I decided not to sleep with all those people and animals in that room, with no ventilation—as the adobe houses are built without any windows. I told them to fix me a cot outside in the corridor. They said wild animals came at night, and I must not sleep outside. But I decided I would almost prefer being eaten by wild animals to being smothered. As I insisted, they put a cot for me outside, and I did not awaken to see whether any wild animals came. If any came, they did not molest me.