The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1893, Page 35

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

The Lutheran Pioneer. . 35

The Missionary’s Well and Its Wonderful] settled, I filled a jug, which I had taken down
Results. empty in the sight of them all, ‘and, ascending
to the top, called for them to come and see the
The following most interesting narrative] rain which Jehovah God had given us through
about a well is from the autobiography of| the well. They closed around me in haste
the Rev. J. G. Paton, missionary to the New| and gazed on it in superstitious fear. The old
Hebrides. This well, as will be seen, proved | chief shook it to see if it would spill, and then
the means of opening up Aniwa to the recep-| touched it to sec if it felt like water. At last
tion of the Gospel. he tasted it, and rolling it in his mouth with
The want of fresh water was so great that joy for a moment, he swallowed it and shouted,
. Mr. Paton almost felt as though the success| ‘Rain! rain! Yes, it is rain! But how did
of his mission depended on his getting it. He you get it?’
decided to sink a well, though unaided by any “T repeated, ‘Jehovah, my God, gave it out
science that might guide him in so doing, re-| of His own earth in answer to our labors and
lying entirely on the help of God. The natives prayers. Go and see it springing up for your-
earnestly dissuaded him from spending his] selyes.’
labor in vain; they had never heard of nor

so pleased with them, that he went among his
friends, to tell them about the good news.

He then left his home, and traveled to
Serampore, to find out the missionaries who
gave the tracts away. It was a long way to
go, but he arrived safely at the place. He
went up and down the streets, but could not
find where the missionaries lived. He called
at the house of a great man, thinking he might
be able to tell him, but the doorkeeper seized
him by the neck, and drove him from the yard.
He was very sorry that he could not find the
servants of Jesus Christ, and at last was
obliged to go back to his village, having spent
all his money.

Still his mind was not at rest; the tracts
had shown him the folly of bowing down to
idols, and he longed to know more of the true
way of salvation. After some months had
passed away, he left his home again, along
with two friends, whose minds had also been
impressed by the tracts. They walked to
Serampore, and asked for the place where the
new books were printed.

It was so that they came near the door of
the mission house, and as a Brahmin heard
them inquiring for the Christian teachers, he
began to dispute with them. This caused a
noise to be made, which was heard by a native
assistant passing by; and he led them into-
the house. -

Futika was full of joy, and he and his friends
remained in the place five days. ‘The tracts
Futika carried home with him were his de-
light; he was so intent in reading them that
he almost forgot to eat. His mother, sister,
and friends now began to show their rage;
and the head man of the village collected a
mob, and went one day to his house.

It was Sunday, and Futika was at prayer,
when the people rushed in, bound his hands,
and dragged him into the road. All the men,
women and children of the village now ran to
the spot. Some hissed at him, and mocked,
others threw dust on him, and rubbed his eyes,
and stopped his ears with mud. ‘‘If you will
worship the gods,”’ they said, ‘‘we will let you
go.’’ But no, Futika would no more give his
heart to idolatry.

The crowd took away his Testament, which
the missionaries had given him, and tore it up ;
then, rushing into his house, they seized his
much loved tracts and destroyed them also.
This was a sad loss to Futika; still he re-
mained firm and patient under their insults.
Finding they could not terrify him, they next
dragged him to the idol temple, and tied him
to a pillar; and here he remained until the
evening, when he was set at liberty.

After this, Futika left his village and went
to live at Serampore, where he was engaged
in the service of the mission.

‘‘Now, though every man there could climb
seen a well, and thought it quite madness to} the highest tree as swiftly and as fearlessly as
attempt to get water from the earth in this} 4 squirrel or an opossum, not one of them had
fashion. They thought the missionary had courage to walk to the side and gaze down into
lost his senses. that well. To them this was miraculous. But

As the old chief remarked: they were not without a resource that met the

‘‘Rain comes only from above. How could emergency. They agreed to take firm hold of
you expect our island to send up showers of} each other by the hand, to place themselves

rain from below? in a long line, the foremost man to lean cau-

“I told him,”” says Mr. Paton, ‘‘fresh water] tiously forward, gaze into the well and then
does come up springing from the earth in my! pass to the rear and so on, till all had seen
land at home, and I hope to see it here also.”’ | «Jehoyah’s rain’ far below. It was somewhat

The old chief grew more tender in his tones ‘comical, yet far more pathetic, to stand by

and cried: and watch their faces as man after man peered

“Oh, Missi, your head is going wrong; you| down into the mystery and then looked up at
are losing something, or you would not talk) me in blank bewilderment. When all had seen
wild like that! Don’t let our people hear you| j¢ with their very own eyes and were ‘weak
talking about going down into the earth for} with wonder,’ the old chief exclaimed,
rain, or they will never listen to your word or
believe you again.”

Most of the work he had to do himself, as
no native would venture into the pit. He

staked much on this well, knowing that if overwhelmed with wonder and awe. Though

successful it would not only prove an un- the islanders repeatedly tried to sink wells
Seas boon, but would be a great moral themselves in imitation of Mr. Paton’s feat,
influence.

‘Missi, wonderful is the work of your
Jehovah God! No god of Aniwa ever helped
us in this way.’”’

The effect was magical; the natives were

__| their efforts were unavailing. To use Mr. Pa-
“At last so much had been done that it) ) 005, own words, ‘The back of heathenism
seemed safe to say the water would come to-| — |. broken.’? Piles of idols were brought
morrow,’’ says Mr. Paton. from all parts of the island and destroyed
“Next morning I went down again at day-| . iq shouts of ‘‘Jehovah!’? ‘The natives
break and sank a narrow hole in the centre “flocked around us now at every meeting we
about two feet deep. The perspiration broke held. They listened eagerly to the story of
over me with uncontrollable excitement and I the life and death of Jesus. They voluntarily
trembled through every limb when the water) ....med one or another article of clothing.””
rushed up and began to fill the hole. Muddy They established ‘‘a form of family worship

_ though it was, I eagerly tasted it, and the little every morning and evening. . re Industry in-
‘tinny’ dropped from my hand with sheer joy, | (eased. Huts and plantations were safe.
and I almost fell upon my knees in that muddy Formerly every man in traveling carried with

bottom to praise the Lord. It was water! It} i, ali his valuables. Now they were secure
was fresh water! ‘True, it was a little brack- left at home.”’

ish, but nothing to speak of; and no spring in
the desert cooling the parched lips of a fevered :
pilgrim eyer appeared more worthy of being Driven from Home.
ealled a well of God than did that water to me. ;
“The chiefs had assembled with their men| Futika was a native of Bengal, and by trade
nearby. They waited on in eager expectancy. | a weaver. He was a strict idolater. One day
It was a rehearsal, in a small way, of the Is- a Christian tract was, given to him; when he
raelites coming round while Moses struck the read it he began to think that his religion must
rock and called for water. By-and-by, when} be wrong; and that if he could get more of
Thad praised the Lord and my excitement was| the little books they would teach him the right
a little calmed, the mud being also greatly] way to heaven. He obtained others, and was

———> oo >

THERE are people who seem to lose all
their religion the minute they can’t have their
own way.

AUT Ta