Chapter 9

In those days there were no motor boats. They were all sailboats, generally three men to a boat. This time, however, they had gasoline motors on the boats and from twelve o'clock until three o'clock one boat after the other returned, some of them full of water, barely getting to shore. Forturnately the wind was blowing toward the shore or they might not have made a safe landing.

I was staying at the home of Brother Morton Petersen. He and his crew had not returned as yet. It seemed that most of the population of the town was standing on the hills looking for his return. I heard someone say to his wife, "Marie, do you expect Morton to return?" She answered, "He has been out so many times and has come back, and I expect him back this time." He generally went farther out than any of the fishermen because the farther out the fish were supposed to be larger and better.

We stood out there for two hours or more. About five o'clock someone said, "I see a dark spot out there." A little later someone else shouted, "I see a spot, too!" And then we began to see the spot more and more often, and at last they came safely to land--and not a bucket of water in the boat.

On our way home I asked Brother Petersen how he had gotten along. He said, "When we realized the storm was on hand we packed up our fishing lines and I ordered my partner to take care of the motor and I myself took charge of the rudder. My partner was a saved man but we had a boy who was not saved. I ordered him to be ready to dip out the water if any got in the boat."

I asked him whether they did much talking during that terrible storm and he said, "No, I was praying all the time that we might reach land safely, because the young man with us was not saved and he was the sole support of his widowed mother, his father and one or two brothers having gone down somewhere in the North Sea not so long ago. We were getting along very well--for the Lord helped me steer the boat right--but the worst that we had to meet was just before we landed--there were three sandbars we had to cross. If the waves struck us just right we would get over, but if not, we would get stuck in the sandbars, and there would be no help for us. When we came to the first one a big wave carried us safely over the sandbar. I said 'Thank God, we are over the first one;' and so it was with the other two; and each time I said, 'Thank God for taking us over, and too, for not letting the water get into our boat.'"

A week later I embarked on the steamer Olaf Barger, sailing from Fredriksen, Denmark, to Sweden. As I was going on board the boat the Captain came to me and asked whether I could spare him a few minutes before we landed in Sweden, as he wished to have a talk with me. When we got so far that we could begin to see the rocky coast of Sweden he came to me and began his narrative. He said, pointing ahead, "You see that three-mast schooner standing upon that rock?" I said, "Yes, I see it." "You remember the awful storm we had a week ago today. We were just coming out from Gottenburg to return to Denmark--an hour's sailing--and the schooner called for help but we were unable to even help ourselves so that we could not possibly help them. They were blown upon the rocks, but the people were saved." Then he pointed to the left to two big rocks, and continued, "And right there was a small steamer in trouble. They, too, called for help but we could not give it and they went down.

"We now saw that it would be impossible for us to reach Denmark and were fortunate in managing to turn the ship's course back toward Gottenburg. I tied myself to the bridge with an inch rope. Down into the waves we went and I said to myself, 'We have seen the sun for the last time.' But we came up and went down again many, many times. Then I did something I had never in all my life done before--I am sixty-five years old--I prayed the Lord to save my ship and all that were sailing with me. Along in the afternoon I found myself calling on God for salvation of my soul, and the Lord did save me and finally brought my ship, and those sailing with me, safely into the harbor at nine o'clock that evening, it having taken us nine hours to do one hour's sailing.

"Knowing that you were a minister of the gospel I wanted to tell you the story that you might perhaps tell it to others."

How longsuffering and merciful is the Son of God toward the children of men that when they repent and turn to Him, HE FORGIVES THEM.

* * * * *

One time when I arrived home from one of my evangelistic tours I found that my two young sons who were twins, eleven years of age, had been cutting hay. It was all raked and rowed up ready for hauling, and they were rejoicing that I had come as they were counting on me to help them haul and stack the hay. They said, "Dad, tomorrow you will have to help us." I said, "All right, we will have to get up early to get it done as I am leaving the following day to start another meeting."

The next morning we started out. We had to drive eighty rods south on the road, then we turned another eighty rods east to the hay meadow. Just as I began to pitch the hay up in the rack the boys exclaimed, "Dad, it's raining." "Yes," I said, and stuck my pitchfork in the ground, threw my hat beside it and said, "Let's pray." I said to the Lord, "This hay is yours; this farm is yours and I am your servant. This hay must be hauled today as I leave tomorrow to minister unto the people, so please, at least keep the rain off the hay meadow and off the road where we have to drive. Amen."

I went to pitching hay again; it was just pouring down all around us as far as we could see across the fence and west of the road. The only spots where it did not rain was where we were working and on the road we were driving. It rained all day, and it did not just rain--it poured! We hauled hay all day, until a little after six o'clock I slid off the stack in the yard and then the rain just poured down. I said to the boys, "The Lord surely heard prayer." They said, "Yes, He did," and we thanked the Lord.

After I had left the next day, our neighbor came over and seeing the stack asked the boys when they stacked that hay. They told him, "Yesterday, Daddy was home." (There was a distance of about twenty rods between his house and ours). He said, "That is impossible. I took a rest all day for the rain just poured down and I could not do anything." He thought it must have been the day before that we hauled and stacked the hay. But the boys told him that "Daddy prayed and it did not rain on our hay meadow, nor on the road where we were driving." This man was greatly astonished at hearing this.

* * * * *

One afternoon, about three o'clock, the renters on our place came running in great excitement into wife's room and said, "Mrs. Susag, a cyclone is coming." She went out with them and it was dark. There was a wood pile about three or four rods south of our houses and parts of our neighbors buildings south of us were blowing through our pasture and wood from the wood pile began to go up in the air. Wife lifted her hands toward heaven facing the storm and cried, "Lord God, don't let that storm strike our dwelling." The cyclone turned right square to the east several rods and then turned square again to the north-east of the buildings. When it got beyond our buildings it turned west and when it got just in line with the direction from which it came, it turned north again, rooting up big trees and damaging the neighbor's buildings; but not a thing on our premises was disturbed.

The spout of the cyclone dug a ditch several feet deep in some places. Once more God's Word was verified: "Call and I will answer."

* * * * *

GLUTTONOUS MAN WITH DYSPEPSIA

At a meeting we were holding, Brother Tubbs, Brother Enos Key and myself was asked to fast and pray for a man weighing from 250 to 260 pounds and calling himself a saint!

We fasted, accordingly, and went after service Sunday noon to pray for him. We were still fasting, but he sat up to the table and ate a big chicken dinner and when he had finished eating he said, "Now you can pray for me." Bro. Tubbs said, "No, we are not going to pray for you. We have been fasting for you, and still haven't eaten, and you have sat up to the table and eaten as much as we three preachers, together, could eat. Goodbye!" And out we went.

* * * * *

CASTING OUT DEVILS

At a meeting in Chicago there was a woman possessed with devils, and wanted to be delivered. Seven ministers, four men and three sisters, were working with her for over an hour but without apparent success. We tried to lay our hands on her but the devils in her would kick our hands away. Big knots came out on her body, on her shoulders and neck the size of a good sized apple. Then we ministers withdrew for a consultation among ourselves--to see whether the hindering cause in casting these devils out, lay in us, among ourselves--to be assured of complete unity and agreement in our midst: And we found that there was perfect unity. That being the case, we said, "We must have the victory, the evil spirits must go." We went back to the woman and worked, prayed and rebuked the enemy for nearly three hours, all to no avail.

Then one brother said, "There must be someone in the chapel sympathizing with her." We began a search looking everywhere to find where the trouble was and behind some folding doors in the prayer room we found a man. Brother Knight said to him, "What are you doing here?" He said, "Can't I stay here?" But he was told to leave forthwith and he went. We then locked the doors of the chapel and in a few minutes the woman was delivered.

She was obliged to go home as her husband went to work at four o'clock in the morning, but he came back the next day and was gloriously saved.

Another case of demon possession happened in Grand Forks. During a meeting we were holding there, a man came to the service who formerly had taken his stand with the church, coming out of a certain denomination, but before long he returned to it again. When he came to the meeting we were holding he was possessed. In one of the services Brother Krutz and I attempted to lay hands on him: He was kneeling at the altar with his back to the pulpit and he was taken up bodily and thrown upon the rostrum against the wall behind the pulpit. I ran after him and the devil said to me, "Now, it will go with you as it did with the seven sons of Sceva." I rebuked the devil and when I got to the man he turned over on his back and slid, head first, off the rostrum toward the seats, knocking his head against the seats until it seemed as though his skull would surely be broken.

I called for help. Eight brothers came and held him so that he would not get hurt. We laid hands on him and commanded the evil spirits to come out of him but they did not come. Then I asked them, "What is your name?" The answer was, "Salvation Army devil." Then in the name of the Lord Jesus we commanded the Salvation Army devil to come out of him. And when they went out it was with such a horrible scream that many women jumped up on their seats in fright and the man's shirt was torn and blood was running from his mouth and he fell on the floor as though he were dead. We let him lie there a little while, then, laying our hands on him, prayed and he came to. This man repented, made his confession and was saved.

* * * * *

Bro. Drysdale of Grand Forks, who had a stiff knee, was prayed for several times, but got no help. However, in this meeting his limb became so limbered up that he could run up and down the steps like a young man. He got so happy that he forgot his cane and went home without it. On getting home he discovered he had left his cane behind and ran back to the chapel to get it, but when he got hold of his cane, his limb was as bad as ever.

When I was in Minneapolis with Brother E. G. Masters, a lady came to us to be prayed for. She was walking with two canes. She was prayed for and the Lord healed her. And she got around like a young woman. She went home forgetting to take her two canes--and they were beautiful canes! She came back to get them, but when she got hold of them she was just as crippled as ever, and no praying helped her.

* * * * *

One time I was asked by the congregation at Rice Lake, Wisconsin, to come and hold a meeting for them. And I felt that the Lord wanted me to do so. I wrote the pastor there about it four times a year for two years, but he did not want me. However the Lord said, "You go," and I went. On my arrival at Rice Lake, I found the pastor sick in bed.

I said to him, "Well, I'm here now; the Lord told me to come." He told me the chapel was open and that I should go ahead. I started that meeting with eight to twelve school children and two women coming to the services, keeping on for two weeks. Many times the devil said to me, "So you thought the Lord sent you, didn't you? Now you see!"

The last Sunday night, to cap the climax, the children came around me and said, "Reverend, aren't you going to close the services?" I asked, "Do you want them to close?" They said they did. I asked them the reason and they said, "We like your preaching so much better than our pastors, but we go to school and we get so tired from coming every night." Then I said to them, "Children, your reason is very good. But what do you think of this proposition: that we announce services for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and if no more come we will close the meeting and you tell your folks about it?" The children thought it would be fine.

The next night, Monday, two more women came and they came the next night too, and one of them (if not both of them) got saved. But what happened the next two evenings is erased from my memory, but Friday evening when I came to open the door for the service, there were more people than there was room in the chapel to accommodate them. So they stood around on boxes and ladders outside the windows. Fifty-two were at the altar for salvation in the last three weeks--I was there five weeks in all. The last Saturday I went to the pastors home and said to him, "I have come to pray for you. You are going to get healed today so you can attend the service tomorrow. But you will have to come early or you will not be able to get into your own pulpit." He broke down and cried and said, "I haven't a pair of decent trousers to wear to stand before such a big audience." I said, "I have two pairs, thank God, I will give you one pair." I prayed for him and he was healed.

At a later time Brother Masters and I held another meeting there. One evening a couple came in a little late and sat down in the back seat. This was the first time they had attended the service and they got under conviction, but they got out before we could get to speak to them. They came the next evening and slipped out again before we could get to them. They did not come any more. We began to inquire around to find out their names and where they lived. Yes, we were informed, he was a real estate agent, and they never go to church anywhere. We went to their home and had a fine visit with them one afternoon for about two hours. They were nice folks. Brother Masters said, "We have not seen you out to the services any more since the second time you were there."

"Well," they said, we are not in the habit of going to any meetings, but we enjoyed the beautiful singing so much the first night that we decided we would go again the next evening. We didn't want to be late, so I decided to milk our cow after service. After coming home from the service I took my lantern, as we have not any light in the barn and hung it up on a nail on the studding and went to milking. As the milk began to run I heard a noise like a shot and the lantern went out, leaving me in total darkness. When I went to examine what had happened, it appeared that I had been so disturbed in my mind over what I heard at the services that I had made a mistake and had hung the milk pail up instead of the lantern, and when the milk dropped, it fell on the lantern-globe and broke it."

"Well," we said, "you are coming to the services again?" But they answered, "We surely are not. If two services can affect us to such an extent as nearly cause us to lose our minds we will never go back again. We only go to the funeral services of our neighbors."

* * * * *

At one time when I was in Denmark, I was in dire need of a considerable sum of money. I prayed earnestly over the matter and one day as I went to put my hat on my head it seemed to be too small. I took it off and looked on the inside of it to be sure it was mine and in feeling around, on the inside of the sweat band I found the very amount of money I needed.

* * * * *

While still in Denmark, I needed an overcoat. I went to a clothing store and picked out one. There were a few alterations to be made and I was to get it in two or three days, but I had no money and did not know from where any was coming. This was Friday and Sunday evening after service a number of saints went passed my door and one sister threw a folded bill on to my table. She said, "Brother Susag, you need an overcoat. Here is a little to help on it." I thanked her and looked at the bill and found it was a hundred crown bill--more than seven crowns over the cost of the overcoat.

* * * * *

Once when I was in Grand Forks holding a meeting, my oldest son wrote me that a man to whom I owed $27.50 needed $20.00 and that if I could pay the twenty he would give $7.50. Between the forenoon service and that of the afternoon, I stayed in the church to pray and just before the next service was to begin a number of people came in and stood beside the stove warming themselves. An elderly woman from South Dakota put out her hand to me and said, "Praise the Lord, Brother Susag," and putting a crumpled bill into my hand, said, "This is for you." I thanked her and went behind the pulpit and thanked the Lord for twenty dollars and when I looked at it, it was twenty dollars.

The next day, between morning and afternoon services, I took a walk and on my way I passed a fruit stand. As I looked into the window of it I saw some delicious red apples, and Oh, how I wished I had three of them. I went back three times and looked at them, but I had no money. I went back to the chapel and the same old sister that had given me the twenty dollars the day before, handed me a little paper bag and in it, to my happy surprise, were three of those delicious apples that I had wanted.

One time when I was in Denmark, I wanted to go from Hjoremg to Lokkum. I did not have the money for my carfare but stood up against a pillar in the station praying the Lord to send it. As it was getting near train time it looked as though it were not coming when suddenly a lady whom I knew--she was not saved--came into the depot and crossed right over to me and handed me a five crown bill. This lady had heard me often tell of the Lord hearing prayer, but she did not believe that it was all true. I took it hastily, ran for the ticket window, purchased my ticket and was just in time to catch the train. When I came back, this lady came to the services and when I saw her I asked her whether I had thanked her for the bill she had given me at the depot. She said, "No, you didn't have time. When I came in to the depot and saw you standing there, something said to me, 'He's praying for carfare; go, give him five crowns,' and when I gave it to you I saw tears in your eyes and when I got home I knelt down and asked the Lord to save me and He did." Then she said, "You were praying for carfare, weren't you?" I assured her I surely was. "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform."

* * * * *

At the first Camp meeting we held, I went to the bank and borrowed ten dollars to divide among the ministers, and one day the Lord said to me, "Give Elihu Key five dollars."

I couldn't understand so went to wife and told her about it; she said, "If the Lord told you to give Brother Key five dollars, you had better give it to him; he must be needing it badly." So the next day I crumpled a five dollar bill up and stuck it in his hand. He said, "Thank you," and into the brush he went--and I went after him, crawling on my hands and knees so he would not see me--quite close up to him. He fell on his knees, crying and thanking the Lord for the five dollars and for the man who gave it to him and asking the Lord to bless him a hundred-fold according to His word. Then down the hill he ran to the Post Office and sent it to his family. This I learned later from his brother. The family was in great need.

* * * * *

On one occasion a payment of $245.00 had to be made on the contracts on our home--to save the contract from lapsing. I did not have the money. I tried every possible way to borrow it from different banks, and failing that, I tried to get it from some of the brethren. The last one I approached surely capped the climax. He assured me that he had the money and could loan it to me, but he said that he might just as well throw the money on the manure pile, for, he said, "You can never pay for the place anyhow, and the quicker you leave it the better."

I went home, and after praying for three days the Lord said the name "Torp" to me. The only one I knew of that name was a banker in Willmer, our county seat, whom I had met once--he hardly knew me nor I him. Anyway, I went to him and told him my trouble, to which he responded by saying that he could not loan me any money; that I was out of the district for him to loan on chattel mortgages; that I would either have to get it at Paynesville, Atwater or New London. I told him that I had already applied at those places but could not obtain the loan. Then Mr. Torp asked me what security I was able to give, to which I replied that the security I had would not be worth fifty dollars, but that I had a strong back and two strong arms and a good will and that we would like to stay on the hill a little longer if it were at all possible. He said, "Such things will go a long way." He sat there silent for a minute or two, then he said, "I'll think the matter over and you come back after dinner." A lump got into my throat so that I could not even say, "Thank you."

I walked down into the railroad yards, found a place between two box cars and prayed for nearly an hour and a half-back and forth I went praying that the Lord would "speak to the dear man and make his heart tender toward this poor man and his family." I went back to the bank and the good man met me. He invited me into his office, and when we were seated he said, "I have thought the matter over and I am going to loan you the money; now what security have you to offer?" I said, "I have a bay colt, a couple of calves, an old wagon I paid seven dollars for, and some other little trinkets." "Well," he said, "the colt as it grows will increase in price--good horses at that time were only worth about fifty dollars--and the calves also will increase in value. How long a time do you want?" I told him I thought eight months. Then he told me that their charge for such loans was 12%, but that he would let me have it for 8%.