OCR Text |
Show 34 The Missionary Herald January treatment of the sick is a necessary adjunct of our work, which is not without its fruits." Mr. Woodward's work on the Gilberts is now in charge of Mr. Richard E. G. Grenfell, who is at Abaian. * JAPAN Picking Up Work at Matsuyama Dr. and Mrs. Horatio B. Newell, for some twenty-seven or twenty-eight years members of the mission in Japan, have recently been spending a year's furlough in America. Dr. Newell reports their pleasure in returning to Japan, and tells of their voyage and arrival as follows: - "We had a most delightful trip out on the Mongolia, with a charming company of fellow-passengers, 140 of the 280 in cabin being of the missionary stripe. Of these, sixty were returning to their fields and eighty were new recruits, including a fine bunch of American Boarders. Misses Bowman, Horn, Metcalf, Munger, Nash, Tenney, and Waddell; also Miss Andrews and her companion, Mrs. Bailey; Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Miss Waterhouse, from Honolulu; Mrs. Newell and myself, with our cousin, Miss Hale, were our representatives. "The missionary body soon organized and held a daily conference of a half hour-brief, crisp, snappy, and inspiring-the best half hour of the always pleasant day. Dr. Lowrie, of China, Mr. Cooper, of Siam, and Dr. Hume, of China, were among the 'veterans' who were always helpful; and Mr. Lyon, of Shanghai (Young Men's Christian Association), was the presiding genius who did much to make the conference a success. The Ambassador Takes Part "Others besides the missionary body attended these meetings and some took a helpful part, notably our United States ambassador to Japan, Hon. G. W. Guthrie, who with Mrs. Guthrie was a through passenger. Both Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie were very approachable and genial, and it was good to be able to become thus well acquainted. At Honolulu the leading citizens gave a dinner to Ambassador Guthrie, to which I also had the honor of an invitation and a place on the speaking program. There also we spent a delightful day and a night with our friend, Dr. Doremus Scudder, pastor of Central Union Church. "All the way across the Pacific we were favored with smooth seas and bright skies, and I heard of not a single case of mal de mer during the voyage. Of the two Sundays spent on board, Dr. Lowrie took one service and I the other. This latter, by the way, happened to be the 180° day; so, strictly speaking, the Sunday had been dropped and our service was on Monday, September 6. But by general consent the day was kept as a Sabbath so far as our missionary body was concerned. We arrived in Yokohama also on a Sunday; but with the general confusion the morning service was dispensed with, and in lieu thereof the Union Church at Yokohama was well filled up at the six o'clock service, where we all heard an excellent sermon from the new pastor, Rev. William Martin. "After a few days of rest and preparation and looking after baggage and freight at Kobe, we took ship again and reached Matsuyama on September 22, where we found a most cordial reception awaiting us, both at the Takahama wharf and at our home. And there was work awaiting also. I had not left the wharf before I had accepted two invitations to speak on the following Sunday. One of these was the communion service at Koma-chi Church of this city, at which time one young man was baptized. The other was at Gemchu, a few miles down the coast, where after the regular evening service I administered the Lord's Supper and had the pleasure of baptizing seven adults and three children, the fruit of faithful work our evangelist has been doing there. Of |