THE GOSPEL TO THE MEXICANS

No doubt all Christendom has become interested in the present struggle between the Roman Catholic Church and the Government in Mexico. History witnesses to the overthrow of those who disregard the rule laid down in Matt. 22:21:"Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." The apostate Jews served Caesar but denied their God, so they have fallen. Likewise the apostate church while boasting faith in God denies the authority of Caesar and so must fall, as it is prophesied in Rev. 17:16 and 18:7, 8. This in a word explains the character of the trouble in Mexico and other countries when the Roman Catholic church seeks temporal power and authority over the Civil Government.

The subjects of the Roman Catholic church are taught to believe that Rome's traditions and authority are infallible, and therefore the Word of God is set aside; the vast majority of Romanists in Mexico do not understand what the Bible is. The message to Thyatira in Rev. 2 is clearly a special message from God to that people whose works are more than their love or faith, and it is our responsibility and great privilege to deliver the message that honors God and delivers His people. The wide circulation of the Scriptures by the American Bible Society in Mexico together with the testimony of faithful servants of the Lord Jesus has resulted in a very large number of congregations of believers of various denominations and also seven or eight assemblies gathered to the name of Christ among the Open Brethren. The same is true of the work of the Lord among the Mexicans living in Texas and the south-western states. Besides the two assemblies in our fellowship in Texas there are many small gatherings among the denominations without regular pastors, and many open doors among the Romanists who are "amigos del evangelic," as they call themselves, that is, friends of the gospel, quite willing to listen to the message of grace, and not opposers.

There are about ten brethren in each of the assemblies in Texas. The Sunday School in the meeting in San Antonio has about 35 in attendance. Two of the Mexican brethren are quite earnest and capable in the gospel- Antonio C. Riojas and Pedro Garcia. These brethren spend much time in the gospel and are worthy of our prayers and support, as the Lord directs. Bro. Antonio C. Riojas was ordained to the Methodist ministry, but left that sectarian position years before meeting us to be more scriptural. The Bible and Tract Depot in connection with the assembly in San Antonio is a very important work, and many in the denominations depend upon our Spanish literature for gospel work.

Nearly all the heresies of Christendom are propagated among the Mexicans, and we are pained that no young people among us are serving Christ in these needy fields at home when we see dozens of young Mormon "elders," etc., combing the country and offering the Mexicans something worse than Romanism.

We would love to spend much time with the gospel auto among the Mexicans between San Antonio and California if there was someone to take our place in San Antonio. May the Lord lead. Pray for us and for Mexico and God's people there.

Affectionately in our soon coming Lord,
Mr. & Mrs. Ervin Dresch.

JAPAN NEWS LETTER NO. 58.

Tokyo, Japan, April 1926. Items of Interest for Sunday School children.

At the Kanda Ward Sunday School, Tokyo, carried on by Mrs. Tsukiyama in their house, one of the boys was missed for a week or two recently. Mrs. Tsukiyama asked the other children, and one of them who lived near the missing boy, told her with childlike simplicity, "He has gone to heaven."

Mrs. Tsukiyama asked how that came about, and the boy said that his neighbor boy had been taken very ill suddenly, and his mother went to the temple of Fudo Sama, the god of good luck, and made offerings, prayers, etc., that her boy might get well. When she came back home, and her boy heard where she had been, he said to his mother, "That is no use, mother. I have been taught about the Lord Jesus, the Saviour, at the Sunday School, and I believe in Him; and if I die it will be all right, I will go right up to heaven." Soon after he died. He was a boy about ten years of age, and had been attending the Sunday School faithfully for some time.

There have been several cases of Sunday School children dying in faith.

Another interesting incident of recent occurrence shows God's wonderful protection of a lad who trusts in Him. He also has been a faithful member of Mrs. Tsukiyama's Sunday School class for some years.

This lad was riding his bicycle, and coming to the electric car line at Eitai Bridge, Tokyo, a man with a loaded cart suddenly turned into the street, crowding him so that he swerved aside to avoid the cart and his bicycle wheel struck the car-line rail so that the wheel twisted, throwing him onto the track. Just then a swiftly moving car came down the grade from the bridge, and the fender and all the fore part of the car went over him. He thought he was going to be killed and was praying to the Lord. The carmen and others all thought he was crushed to death, but when they got him out from under the car he was not hurt at all.

Here is an interesting story from the report of the American Bible Society in Japan. One of their colporteurs in going about selling Bibles came to a sewing school. The teacher who, evidently, was opposed to Christianity, turned to the class and very loudly said:"There is not any one among you who wants the Bible; is there?" Quite unexpectedly one girl replied:"Yes, I want it." That gave the girls courage and most of them bought Gospels.

Recently ten children in our Sunday School (Shimo Shibuya, Tokyo) received prizes of little books for repeating from memory twenty Bible verses. This includes our Paul. Little Stephen also is a member of the Sunday School. They both now talk Japanese and English.

Between cottage meetings, open air meetings, assembly meetings, Sunday School and publishing of magazine and tracts, we are kept very busy. There is much interest in Japan at present in Christianity.
Affectionately yours in Christ,

Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Craig..

JAPAN NEWS LETTER NO. 59.

Tokyo, Japan, July, 1926.

There is at present a wide open door for the gospel in Japan. The Evangelical Missions and the Bible Societies report blessing in their work. The authorities are favorably inclined. Probably they feel that Christianity is an antidote to the rising tide of Socialism or Bolshevism.

At our open air meetings crowds listen. Tracts are taken and carried home. Also Scriptures are sold. There are many inquirers.

There have been several baptisms during the year. Lately eight, one of whom was the son of the Mayor of Shibuya, whom we mentioned in Letter 57. Most of these were baptized by brother Tsukiyama at the home of the Omata family.

The Sunday Schools continue in the houses of the brethren and sisters in several places.

Literature. No. 76 of our Shinri no Kura (Treasury of Truth) has recently come off the press. It contains brief Gospel articles, which appear also separately as tracts for distribution, and it contains two more of our illustrated Bible Lessons for Sunday School use. These are designed for the help of teachers who try to impart the simplest truths of the Bible to children who know little or nothing of the Bible. To each lesson is appended a few questions to help fix the matter in the children's memories, and one prominent Bible verse is the center of each lesson.

Beside the above, I am having two tracts. "Eternity- Where?" and "The Fruits of Sin," reprinted.

Distribution of Literature. Having received from a brother a special contribution to cover the cost of a hundred thousand of our brief gospel tracts, we are having a special distribution. The brethren and sisters in different places are handing out the tracts from house to house, or to the crowds entering railway stations, at resorts, or festivals, etc.

Beside the quantities of our tracts which are distributed in Japan, some hundreds are circulated among the Japanese in America by bro. Eaton and others; also the brethren in harbor work at the different ports, use many in their work on the vessels. A sister in Honolulu, and a brother in Shanghai receive quantities for the Japanese in those places.

Workers. Beside brethren and sisters who use their spare time for the work of the Lord, there are some brethren whom we reckon as partly in the work, and to whom we minister somewhat. The young brother mentioned for prayer in Letter 57 has since given himself to the service of the Lord. For this we are indeed thankful, as the need is so great. This young brother is very earnest, studious and devoted. His name is Mizuno.
Then there are some needy widows to be helped. We are now at Lake Nojiri, near Kashiwahara, Nagano Province, during the school vacation. This is a summer resort in the mountains. We have rented the cottage of a missionary family who are on furlough. I am doing some reading, writing and study here, hoping to get a lot of matter ready for our magazine and tracts. Also expect to go about the villages roundabout with tracts. Brother and sister Roll are visiting other places, also taking our tracts with them for distribution, and will be here with us a little while. They are contemplating returning to the work in China in the fall, following the counsel of their brethren there and in Germany. If so, we shall be sorry to lose them for the work here.

The prayers of our brethren and sisters for the work in this land are no doubt the means of much blessing. Affectionately yours in our Lord,

E. B. Craig.

Taitowying, China, July 20th, 1926.

Dear brother in Christ:-

It certainly is God's great mercy that we are not utterly perished, but His mercies are new every morning.

China certainly is in an awful condition, and persecutions against the Christians have started in many places. The local mandarin is said to be a Roman Catholic, but he certainly is an enemy of the truth. We have already suffered not a little persecution on account of him, and he has threatened to come and rob this place and chase me put. I just wrote a long letter to the American Consul in Tientsin, asking him to investigate the matter, for one hardly knows what to do. I wish your prayers, that we may find all our joy and happiness in Christ, and be more occupied with Him who suffered and died for us.

May He richly bless you all. Please continue to pray for us.

Affectionately in Christ,

Chas. O. Kautto.

Irumu, Congo Beige. Dear brother in Christ:- June 3, 1926.

Brother F. has forwarded the money you sent to him for us and I write to thank you in the Name of our Lord for this ministry and expression of love in the Lord. We are surely grateful to you and this faithfulness on your part is in the Lord's hand an encouragement to us. The Lord has sustained us in every circumstance during the past months, and though on various occasions we were wholly cast upon the Lord in some particular difficulty so that on our prayer-meeting night, Friday, one or two subjects would seem to be before us as out-weighing others, yet without reservation I may say, "The Lord is faithful."

Of these difficulties I might mention need of workmen. We call for these from the chief, and they work for one month. But the chief has many other calls beside ours. The Government of course requires a great many workmen from him, and their call comes first, as it should. But in this God has undertaken for us again and again.

Another matter which has cast us upon God in prayer has been opposition in the villages against the two native evangelists who have been preaching, and the source of this trouble practically is always Roman Catholic. One headman asked us to build a school in his village, but after a visit by the priest and certain stock threats, his attitude changed over night. But now after some months of looking to the Lord about the matter, this headman has nearly finished the school-building for us "and has not yet started the one for the Roman Catholics, though the present arrangement is that there are to be two schools in the one village which is large. Again our need of work-oxen was very real. There is such a demand for them in the country that there are none for sale. Yet in answer to prayer we now have what we need for the present. These are just a few samples, but I am sure that each day adds to our experience of the goodness of God, as is the case with all the Lord's people.

We are thankful upon every remembrance of you at home who are sustaining the work here by prayer. Thus we unitedly look to God to do a work here among these people which shall be for eternity. May the Lord in His grace sustain us all in faithfulness until His full purposes have been accomplished.

I am glad to say of the others with us that all are happy in the work, and I have heard no regrets at having come. By the Lord's mercy all of us are been spared the diseases which one question in Africa. Our present location is very healthful, for Africa, and open doors for advance with the Truth of God are beyond our present capacity. If the Lord sends others they will have no trouble finding work to do and unevangelized territory.

With greetings in our Lord’s name, in which my wife joins me, and I believe also the other Saints gathered to the Lord’s name here, if they knew I were writing,

Yours in the fellowship of our Lord Jesus, by grace alone.

R. C. Woodhams, M. D.

Irumu, Congo Beige, June 25, 1926.

My dear Miss F.

I was delighted to again receive one of your kind, cheering letters. Glad you could have a little season at the sea-side, and the quiet time of year you were there would appeal to me. These seasons of being laid aside, I have often found very precious, away from the noise and hustle of this life – just to be alone with the Lord, as it were. Again this week, I have had another attack of malaria, only getting up yesterday, and still feeling rather weak and trembling. But I know these things are permitted of the Lord for a purpose, and "He doeth all things well."

We are not yet out of our mud-houses, but are now hopeful of being able to move in August, the Lord permitting. Mr. Searle will then soon be starting his own house, as also the doctor (D. V.). We have received word from Mombasa that the cement has been sent from there, so we hope to have one room (living-room) each, with a cement floor.

Last week, the rains again commenced after quite a long dry season, the second since we've come, so I have had the boys plant my navy beans, a few lima beans, and a little pop-corn. The boys are now digging my peanuts, They have already commenced to sprout since these rains came, so it is time to take them up.

News from home continues to come, telling of all being kept in health, and my only brother writes that he has accepted the Lord Jesus as his personal Saviour, early in the year. How one can rejoice in hearing of a soul being saved through faith in our blessed Saviour and Lord!

The printing set came and is very useful. I have made some lesson sheets, and a missionary at another station has offered to print some primers for us. With all these things to work with, we hope to make more progress at school. One of the blackboards was stolen from the school-house during the last vacation, and this is a handicap. Thanking you for all favors, I close with love in ov Lord Jesus to you and saints with you.

Yours by His grace,

C. DeJonge.

Brief Items of Interest

A very interesting letter from our sister Miss DeVries tells of work during her vacation in the northern regions of Michigan. Our dear sister is ready to go to Africa as soon as necessary arrangements can be made.

Our brother, Malcolm L. Gross, and his family have just arrived in this country from Nigeria, Africa, and are staying for the present in Philadelphia.

Rafael Hernandez, Ponce, Porto Rico, Aug. 17, reports receipt of draft sent. Encouraged in Sunday School work, and young children memorizing Scripture. Spreading truth by tracts. Heavy storms caused loss of life and large property damage. Much sickness in his family. Asks prayers of saints.

Bro. Hoze writes from Trinidad. He is greatly encouraged by activities of a young man, a letter-carrier, who is very faithful in distributing tracts and spreading the gospel by word of mouth as he goes about his work. It has made several openings for preaching by bro. Hoze, and they are starting a Bible Class for children. This is at an inland town 45 miles from where bro. Hoze is.

Later news reports a visit to Barbados, where he is having open air meetings whilst seeking a hall for preaching, which he finds difficult to obtain.

Mrs. Dewey, mother of Mrs. Woodhams, reports several packages sent by her by mail to Congo, were never delivered, and is sending dried fruit, etc., to New York for transmission.
Bro Germain writes encouragingly of work in France also new work on ships, tract publication, and

Letter from Women's Missionary Circle cf Elmwood Ave. Baptist Church, Elmira Heights, N. Y., requesting us to forward for them bandages and hospital supplies which they have ready for Dr. Woodhams. They furnished for him while he was with the Africa Inland Mission.

Bro. Zimmermann writes that he is overwhelmed by success of his efforts in starting work at European and U. S. ports, and requests our prayers.

Surely we have in these letters and papers material for much prayer. May we be stirred up, individually and as gatherings, to steadfast, believing, continuous prayer. It is the great business of our life in connection with the Lord's work.

SUPPORT OF THE FOREIGN WORK

Through the liberality of the saints in various assemblies, there has been a generous ministry, for which we are very grateful. It may not be out of place to say that in the course of the next few months it is hoped to send out several to Africa. This will entail a heavy expense, and we turn to "the Lord of the Harvest" to "send forth" these laborers. We just lay this matter before you. Those desiring to have fellowship in this fresh work may send, as usual, to the Missionary Fund, c o Hughes Fawcett, 115 Franklin St., New York City.

Letters, extracts, items, suggestions and questions thankfully received,

Address, S. R., c|o the Publishers, New York.