From a Missionary to Africa Apostolic Faith, Volume
1, September 1906 Brother S.
J.
Meade, who was sent to Africa by Bishop
Taylor in 1885, has been attending the meetings
for several weeks.
He has the following to say of God's
dealings him.
My heart praises God as I trace the
leadings of his blessed spirit in the past
quarter of a century when I first sought
to know and do his blessed will.
My call to Africa in 1884, the blessed
thought of going out in his name, so
full of comfort and victory, and yet my
call to my native land and civilization is
more wonderful and blessed.
The getting down in quietness in the presence
of the Holy Spirit and letting him teach
and show me what he would have me
know of his power and omnipresence.
I found it so true he is all
love and in him is no darkness at
all.
My soul groans out this morning for the
Holy Spirit to have perfect control of his
temple.
We often hinder the blessed wooing and power
of his love by cross currents of our
human mind and thought.
May God help us to be little in
our own eyes, not over anxious to serve
much, but to love him with all our
heart, mind, and strength.
It is the simplicity of his love in
our hearts that does the work among the
heathen.
The dear children of Ham are stretching out
their hands for the love that is manifested
in the sons of God.
Often tears fill my eyes as I think
of their simplicity and kindness to us in
the years of our residence among them.
One time while going down to our annual
conference 100 miles from where I was situated
at Malangay, we often met with a slave
woman with whom we lodged nights, who showed
us much kindness.
She would listen to the story of the
Lamb of God who taketh away the sin
of the world and say, tell it to
me again.
Then I would go over it again and
she would say, tell it once more.
Then she said, tell it to me on
my fingers.
I said to her, hold up your hand.
I bent down her first finger and said,
that means that God's son has died for
you.
Shed his blood for your sins.
Now bend down the second finger.
That is, if you believe it, he will
take you to his home where is no
death, nor crying, whippings, nor pain.
Now bend down the third finger.
That is, if you do not believe, you
will be obliged to live in a land
of sorrow, pain and death and crying forever
and ever.
She repeated it over and over again and
we could see the truth getting into her
heart.
We lost sight of her for a long
time.
Her village was burned up, her people moved
away and she had gone out of our
mind.
One day there was a commotion at the
entrance of the compound at the mission.
I saw the same slave woman running into
the yard, leading a little boy by the
hand.
I did not know her at first and
she cried out, don't you know me?
I remembered my lesson on my fingers and
she repeated it over to me and said,
now I know what you said about God's
son is true.
See my boy, as she pulled him by
one hand.
He was dying with smallpox and I asked
the same Jesus to make him well and
he did.
Praise God.
She may have preached the fundamental truth of
the gospel to more souls in Africa than
myself.
My brother, if our love and faith were
but more simple to take God at his
word, our life would be full of sunshine
and it would lighten and brighten up the
dark places that sin has caused on God's
beautiful earth.
God called brother Mead and wife from the
central part of Africa to Los Angeles to
get their Pentecost.
They recognize some of the languages spoken as
being dialects of Africa.
When God has fully equipped them, they will
return to the labor of love.