Daily Republican., 1882-02-11
THE STONE HILL PEOPLE
AND now THEY RAISED MONEY FOR
MISSIONS

AND now THEY RAISED MONEY Fbh
| MISSIONS,
A missionary came along to the Stone
| Hill church. The members were rra Y
Interested. They wanted to DO some.
thing, they said, but they hadn't any
ready money. The missionary replied
| that he didn't want money; he would
take produce. He spoke to Ghem
thus:
| 81 know your circumstances well.
Here You are a little farming com.
munily; you've only got about sixty
eight members ia your church most
Of you arr scattered about on i dozen
farms. Now, wouldn't you be willing
to give it'll. wheat aud few pJGa-
toes and few apples to spread your
Masters gospel? Very well Now
don't want money; | take produce.
| Honor the Lord with the first fruits OF
all thine increase.
But how will you get possession Of
! the produce.
son." he replied;
81 will get you to brig it to the
village sometime when you are coming
| in on business Brother Eiwell will
receive it at his store, and turn it into
money; after which it will be easy
enough to send it along"
In the nam, he plan seemed reason
able; but they doubted whether it
would work well
"l0u leave all that to me, SAID the
missionary. "You do just az say. Get
an old flour barrel or a bag, or box of
any kind. and chalk on II, "For tho
Lord hen when you gather your wheat
take 4 buShei, or a half bushel if yu
think the other too much, and put it
into the sack that belongs to the Lord
At anorheI time, do the same with your
oats and when the season comes round,
put in Il bushel Of apples, and then, la
ter, your bushel Of potatoes. Perhaps
your wives and daughters would agree
10 give pound of butter Or dozen of
eggs, the first ield of every spring. You
will he surprised how IL will foot
up"
swell, weil,' they said, " it looks
fair enough, it would be no harm to try
it for u single time; only we might not
get good price for these donatione Of
produce"
Don't trouble yourself about that,
said the missionary: "as soon as you
have measured ont your bushcl into
the Lords sack, your work will he over;
let it remain ut the Lord = risk" wheth-
or it sells for little or much, it is His
business If any of 1t rots or is eaten by
rats or if it meets with any accident,
still consider it the Lor! loss, and not
yours.
They laughed at his idea Three or
four said they would do il; others hung
back. one man there was day labor
or; every year, there wert n few or more
days in which ne had little to du. He
said he would give one days work
every year; he would fix on certain
day ahead; when that faxed day came
round, he would consider it the Lords
day; whatever he might happen to
make on that dav should DO the Lords,
without fail. II that day should hap.
pen 10 he Il rainy day, or, if he got moth
ing to do that day, it should be the
cords loss and moi his.
"An0ther brother was 8 shoemaker.
He offered to give the work OF four Sat
urday lights in each year. 1t was
agrt, ii that it should be the last Satur-
day night Of each quarter; those par
ticular nights, and no Othec. Whatever
joss of hal-soling and m9nding boots
aud shoes came to him on those even |
ingS, went TO be paid into the Lords |
treasury, If no work sh uld happen |
10 come in, it was TO be the Lords loss,
and not his; or, if he should be sick and |
unable to work, the loss still was the |
Lord >; he was tree from HE obligation. |
"a grocery keeper agreed to fix on
one day Of the year, to be determined |
on at least three months in advance. On ,
tn 1t day, whatever might be the profits
Of his sales, whether five CeltS or five
dollars. should be devoted to the spread
of the Gospel.
"lhc iusults surprised thesa all. In
previous years they hal never taken
more than six or seven l)llars for
mission purposes. Elwell, the grocer,
had received the produce and made the
sales and collected the little sums
earned. r. now rendered his account
Received from John Pyle. one days
work, 70 Thomas Smith, our even.
ings' patching shoes, 1.3o; Edward
Manly, one bushel of wheat, LOO
one bushel OF potatoes, 40; one bushel i
of corn, 50; one bushel Of apples, 80 8
one pound of butter, 10 one dozen q
Of eggs, ~ tohn Elwell, one days II
profits of grocery, 2.2j; Eli Rees, i
bushel contributions, wheat, apples, a
etc, 3.32; John Kirk, bushel contrbu. I
wheat, apples, etc, 1882; Henry Davis t
bushel contributions, and other things {
70 Timothy Dexter, bushel contribu. 4
ion, AMI poultry, $50; Edward Rod t
len, busbel contributions, a ham, wool, |
stc. & 90. q
And 80 the accounts went on. Over :
'Ortytw0 dollars were raised, and sent
IN to the Missionary Union to support
, native preacher somewhere in China.
The members enjoyed the giving.
John Pye said he never put forth his ,
strength with 40 much pleasure, as on J
hat day when every stroke of his hand {
vas to help his Master. 1t sweetened z
lis toll for mouth afterward. Thomas q
Smith said that on those nights when 4
10 was wording for missions, the sound
If his lap stone was like music in his I
,ars John Elwell said it was the east.