(Audio Book) From A Missionary To Africa — S.J. Mead

From a Missionary to Africa. Apostolic Faith, Volume 1, September 1906. Brother S. J. Mead, 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 with him.

Following the Holy Spirit and Discovering God's Will

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.

The Simplicity of Love in Ministry

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.

Teaching the Gospel Through Simple Faith

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, no cryings, 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.

A Slave Woman's Faith and Her Son's Healing

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.

Pentecost and the Return to Africa

God called Brother Meade 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.