Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-03-06
A WIDESPREAD AWAKENING.


JAN. 7, 1905.
Dear Friends of the Orleans County
| Conference
sit gives me great JOY to be able to
| tell you that we have seen things of
late in Bulgaria which have been a
great rebuke to our weak faith, and
which seem to indicate general pre-
paredness for blessing such as we
were not prepared for. Our native
pastors and preachers have an organ
ization of their own which they call
| their Preachers Brotherhood This
brotherhood at it's annual gathering
last August felt stirred to pray and
plan for revival work amongst the
churches. They sent US an earnest
letter on the subject, and, needless to
say we joined with them very earnest
| ly in the praying, and expressed our
readiness to cooperate to the extent
of our ability in any work that was
agreed upon. That spirit of prayer,
poured out upon them and US, has
not been withdrawn; we are still be-
| ing helped to continue in earnest sup
pIication before God, and it looks as
though, as is often the case with him,
God had stirred US up to pray for
that which he desires to bestow.'
"The first thing that opened our
eyes and touched our hearts was
when our autumn conference (cen-
trail met at Ichtiman in October.
That is town where work has been
carried on for long, but with very
meager results. But when we gath
cred the re, the worker, Mr.. G. N.
Pop off, told US that very great inter-
est had been excited in the town, and
that we might be prepared for large
and sympathetic audiences. We had
them, right through. The little church
was crowded, and the aisle and win
dows and door filed with a standing
mass of listeners. Teachers and gov
eminent officials and much of the sin.
telligence' of the town were there,
and that on every occasion when
there was an open session. The
townspeople showed us the utmost
friendliness, and in the most open way,
some of the foremost of them invit-
ing some of US as guests in their
homes, all eager to receive visits from
US, and many expressing the highest
appreciation of the sermons and lect-
ures and the wish that they could
have more of them. Mr.. Popof,
whom we examined and passed for
license, has felt his hands greatly
strengthened; some of the weak and
wavering in the congregation have
been quickened, and in new places an
interest has been aroused that prom
q ises to develop well.
= "At that conference, carrying out
f the urgent desire of the brotherhood
Y plans were made, as they were
d also at the eastern conference, fol-
: holdlng special evangelistic meetings
o IN the churches, to be preceded anC
n then followed up by times of specia
= prayer and work. One by one tn.
ia churches have been holding these
J. meetings, and lately it came to tn
II turn of this SamokoV church to hold II
,e course. Mr.. Sechanoff, pastor of tn
ia PhilippOpolis church, was the one Sc
q lected to come here for the purpose
"a but though he had leave at first 70
If only one week, the encouragement
~ was so extraordinary that he had to b
allowed a second.
"Many of us have often said, an
perhaps still more have felt, tina
Re Samokov is a hardened, God-forsake
j., town which nothing can move. An
/ yet, when these special services wer
a advertised, we had the Ichtiman ex
Is perience over again in every detat
Q, and on a larger scale. Night afte
a night the church was crowded wit
is audiences of between 400 and 500, an
in people were seen in the church, ofte
t. at every one of the meetings-teach
id ers, officials, prominent socialists, an
Or others-who were just the last per
Y, sons that we ever expected to see a
Id a religious service in our church
in Deep impression seems to have bee
Id made, and Samokov showed a pre-
ch paredness to listen to the gospel sue
RS as we had given up hope of seeing
On Needless to say that we are now try
MT ing to follow up this work by con
on tinued earnest prayer, by furthe
n special services, and by visiting an
as by personal work"