MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,—Since the little announcement, in our January number, of our desire to help the poor lepers, we have I received various sums of money from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, and we have sent ₤12 to Mr. Bailey for the mission to the lepers.
The various sums received have been acknowledged by letter, wherever a name and address accompanied the gift, and now we give a list of the donors, or, where we cannot state who the donor is, of the donations. Most earnestly do we beg the givers to let us have their names and addresses, which shall be held in confidence, but really we do not like to be entrusted with money which we are unable to acknowledge. And we have had as much as ten dollars (₤2 os. 5d.) sent to us from Canada, for Bibles for Cuba, from friends who give neither name nor address.
When we took up the little collection for the lepers, our thought was not only to give them a cup of cold water in the Lord's name, but also to so interest our young readers that they might be privileged to put their drop into the cup. We were assured several would help, and now that this is made evident, we have arranged to send the contributions rendered through the instrumentality of FAITHFUL WORDS, to one special home for lepers—to Purulia, which lies in Bengal.
Mrs. Bailey writes you a letter respecting this home, which you will read with interest. She has labored amongst the poor sufferers, and spends her life for them.
Some of our friends have denied themselves to render assistance to these lepers, and a very happy thing is self-denial. The happiest people on earth are those who care most for others. Some have joined together and sent the contributions through their Sunday-school, which is an admirable plan. I hope we shall be able to have a little interchange of letters with the leper home of Purulia. When the children there begin to understand that young people in England, and the States, and Canada, who read FAITHFUL WORDS, find joy in putting small sums of their money together in order to help them, they will ask a blessing upon you, as you will, I trust, upon them. Will you not try to remember the poor lepers in prayer once a week? When you kneel and pray, think of them! And perhaps your father may at times call them to remembrance at family prayer.
The following sad but sweet letter has just come to me. I must let you all read it" At the request of my young brother in Christ, Lawson Laidlaw, I enclose this eleven shillings by postal order, towards helping the lepers in India.
"Lawson went home to be with Jesus on the 31st of March last, aged fourteen years and six months. He knew the Lord Jesus for about eighteen months before he died, as his own dear Savior. He was confined to his bed for a few months before the Lord took him, and he bore a very bright testimony till life left his body.
"During his illness he noticed in FAITHFUL WORDS the need spoken of for help amongst the lepers. He had no money, but the Lord laid the desire upon his heart to help in some way. So he called his mother, who, like himself, is a believer in the same precious Jesus, and asked her to sell his reward books, and then to give the money over for the lepers.
“One thing he said, which I shall not forget. When his mother was helping him to fix a price on one of the books, he said, ' That's too cheap, mother; I am a steward of the Lord. I must be faithful, and get the full price.' "
So dear Lawson's eleven shillings have gone to help the poor lepers. It was his cup of cold water, given to them in the Name of Jesus, and it will not lose its reward. The dear lad was a good steward for his Master, and may we all, like him, remember that we are stewards of what we have.
Your affectionate Friend,
EDITOR OF FAITHFUL WORDS.
List of Donors
“Beatrice” (Hackney), is.; Lucy Williams, is.; “M. A." (Hazel Grove, Park Road, Bolton), 6d.; "Inasmuch," 25.; E. A." (Hackney), is.; “Emma Carnell” (Plumstead), Id.; No name (Sheffield post mark), IS.; M. Trutt, 6s.; Ethel Woolley, is.; From a poor woman, through Mrs. Rymer, 4d.; A little child. is.; E. Mazillier, is.; From Penrith, Ios.; R. Thomson" (Hull, Sunday Schools), I6s. 6d.; No name (post mark— Gateshead), 6d.; W. A. Herbert Reider. 2S.; A. W. I fould (Hampton), Ios.; "A brother in the west" (of the United States), ₤i 8s.; The Oakfield (Nova Scotia) Readers of' FAITHFUL WORDS, 25.; No name (Parkstone post mark), IS.; " Pray for all' 2s.; Miss Mortimer, 4s.; H. F. Eggers (Davenport, Iowa, U. S.). 12 dollars) (₤2 8s. IId.); W. Banford (Quebec), ₤1; Lawson Laid low, IIs.; " W. M." (Landport), is.. Beatie Bruce, is.
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MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,—It is a great joy to know that you have taken upon your hearts the care of some of our poor lepers, and I desire to thank you very warmly, and at the same time to ask you above all things to pray for them that Jesus may be everything to them. You will naturally wish to hear something about Purulia (pronounced Poorooleea), the place your kind contributions are to help, though I hope your prayer will embrace all the work. Purulia is a station of the Gossner Mission, and for many years a devoted missionary and his wife from Germany have labored there. They were prepared for this special work amongst the lepers in a touching and sad way. Their own eldest child took the terrible disease. It was not known until, with her brothers and sisters, she had gone home to Germany for education. Everything was done for her that could be done, but she grew worse. She suffered much, but the Lord Jesus was her Shepherd and her Friend, and so she suffered most patiently until He called her home to rest with Himself.
Perhaps you and I would have felt that we should never again be able to bear to look at anyone suffering from this awful discos, much less could we devote our lives to them. But such is the constraining love of Christ, that our honored brother and sister take it as their special work for Him to care for these sad and suffering ones. And He has blessed them most gloriously, giving them many, many spiritual children for the beloved one He asked from them years ago.
The first we knew of Mr. Uffmann was when he wrote in broken English a touching letter to us some years ago, in which he begged that the mission to lepers would help him to put up a shelter for the lepers of his district. They had had, he said, some huts put up for them by a government official, who was very kindly disposed towards them, but after a while he was removed, and another official was sent in his place, who did not like the lepers being so near the town. He sent them away to their villages, and burnt down the little huts which the former officer had had put up. The poor sufferers did not like this at all, and some of them crawled back again to where their little village had been, and a few who were very ill died under the shade of the trees which used to overshadow their little huts. The story as told by Mr. Uffmann was pathetic in the extreme, and we decided to help him in his good work. Just at that time Mr. Bailey paid a visit to India, and went to Purulia to meet Mr. Uffmann, when together they went over the site for the asylum.
Afterwards we received an interesting account of the laying the foundation stone of the asylum, a ceremony which was brought to a close by all who were present repeating, each in his own tongue, the Lord's prayer. When Mr. Bailey again visited the place at Christmas, 1890, out of one hundred and sixteen inmates there were only five who had not openly declared themselves on the Lord's side. At that time the asylum was not two years old. Since that time many more precious souls have, we thankfully believe, been born again in that place, and some have gone joyfully to be with their Lord.
Last year the Lord graciously sent His Spirit into their midst in a wonderful way. Quite a number had been received, on professing their faith in the Lord Jesus, into the visible church, and shortly after among the Christians quite an awakening commenced. The search-light of God's Spirit brought many things to their remembrance, done in former days of heathen darkness, which overwhelmed them with sorrow to think of. They longed to make reparation, so far as that was possible, to any whom they had injured; they hungered and thirsted after the word of God in such a measure that in writing of it Mr. Uffmann exclaimed, “Oh, it is a privilege to preach the gospel to these people!” And then they were not satisfied with having found Jesus for themselves, they felt they could not rest till their dear ones were also brought to His feet. And so they arranged frequent prayer-meetings, when they could united plea for their unsaved relatives.
Just at this time the caretaker one night went to the boys' home to see that all was right for the night. These boys are the children of lepers, but quite healthy themselves, and we trust that by keeping them apart from their poor parents we may be able to save them from falling victims to the disease. As well as a boys home, there is also one for girls, and just now in both homes there are thirty-four children. On approaching the home the caretaker heard boys' voices in earnest conversation, and remaining quiet he heard them telling one another how God had showed them what sinful hearts they had, and how displeasing to Him were many things they used to do in their village homes before they had heard of the Lord Jesus. Next day they begged to be allowed a private interview with the missionary, when they unburdened their hearts to him, and begged that they might sometime be allowed to return to their villages, to seek forgiveness from those whom they had formerly behaved badly to. The girls, too, were stirred just in the same way, and at that time we believe many of these young hearts were given to Jesus, and a new glad life in Him began for them. Do pray much for these young brothers and sisters in dark, heathen India, that they may be indeed lights in the midst of its darkness—lights shining so brightly that by their means many and many a poor wanderer may find the way home.
Yours in the service of the best of Masters, ALICE BAILEY
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The following extracts from a letter written by Mr. Uffmann will show you how he loves and longs for the lepers:" The whole number in the asylum, including school children, is two hundred and thirty-two. At this news I can well imagine your skin will creep as you say, 'Where do they get their bread?’ It is impossible for me to refuse anyone who comes. Praise the Lord, many come to know their Savior here. All have the opportunity of hearing the word of God, and a soul is worth more than a whole world. With a heavy, yet joyful heart I see the number of the inmates increasing... We expect from God an open door when we knock, and are the lepers to find it otherwise at our door? I consider it a shame done to the Lord to refuse His sick."
Mr. Uffmann adds how the work of building is carried on, and how the poor lepers help to their power in making bricks and in such labor. Of course their feeble strength does not permit them to do much labor, but they give what they can to assist the work. Good Mr. Uffmann himself takes the trowel, and lays as many bricks as he is able. But since he has the care of the home upon him, and the care of its many inmates, and more, the care of the numbers of lepers in the neighborhood, who would gladly enter the home if there were room and food for them, we must not expect him to lay very many bricks.
What a good thing it would be, if, in all Christian work, all hands and hearts labored together for the one great end! Let us learn our lesson from the spirit shown at Purulia.