Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1906-07-02
TO THE CHURCHES OF ORLEANS
CONFERENCE.

/ wrote my last letter to you have
been very interesting and encourag-
ing ones.
Quite the chief feature OF this past
winters work has been the renewed
evidence it has given Us of the open
ness of the Bulgarians to the gospei
message. One or two of our pastors
have a special inclination and some
considerable aptitude for what Is ols-
tinctively known as evangellstic WORK;
and one of these encouraged by the
success he met with the previous year
in Haskovo, did similar work along
with the pastor in Bourgas during
! two or three weeks last October. The
results were again very happy, SO far.
| We have to admit that the actual
number of additions to the churches
is not great. There is much to ex
4 plain that; and 1 shall give you pres
entity my views on the future OF the
work here. But to have the meeting
houses crowded night after night,
with large numbers standing outside,
all listening with interest and sympa-
thy to the pr aching of Christ, is
] what a few years ago We should not
have expected TO see. II is an indi-
cation both of the awakening of the
nation to spiritual things, and OF the
breaking down of prejudice against
the gospel work. But the evangelist
was still more encouraged with the
personal work he did in Bou gas than
with the preaching. He laid himself
out specially for that, and felt after
wards that it had rewarded his efforts.
Most of those that were gathered in
were the result of such personal work.
Then, in February last, the same
evangelist (Mr. Fournajieff of Kus-
tendiD came for two or three weeks
work in our church here, having been
| invited by the church. And in this
town of long standing prejudice and
apathy the scenes of last year were
repeated. There are many who now
understand what the gospel is as never
! before, and who not only do not hold
aloof from us any more, but have in
their hearts leaven working which
must change them in some way. After.
Mr.. Fourdaiieff's departure we had
our colleague, DR.. House of Salonica,
to come and clinch the work with the
peculiar spiritual power that he has;
and as a resul :, about half of the
young men in our Institute, and very
nearly all the girls in the boarding
school, seem to have been brought to
decide for Christ. Some of these are
to be received into the church; and
know you will rejoice with me when l
tell you that my second daughter,
dsKatie, under DIR. Houses influence,
sfand.through the sympathetic help of
a girl friend, also made the decision,
and is,to be admitted also.
We have particularly nice set of
pupils in the schools this year, partic-
ularly in the Boys Institute. l think
we feel that the issues Of this years
work amongst them are specially
hopeful. We expect to have quite a
good sized theological class next
year; and there are other students in
the lower classes who we hope will
offer for the work later on, and will
turn out very useful. The details of
one or two cases, if one had time to
go into them, would be most interesr-
ing to you.
But what think is really more a
sign of the times than anything di-
rectly connected with our work is the
evidence we have seen this winter
that there are stirrings in the national
heart, and seekings after God, in cir
Giles which are outside of our imme d.
ate influence. Persons, sometimes
the last that we should have expected
have become alarmed at the prevail
ing decentralization of the youth of the
country, and at the godlessness and
lack of moral basis in the national
education; while the felt hunger and
emptiness of life has led many to a
seeking after the bread of heaven.
which seems very real and sincere.
We trust we have enough of the true
spirit of Christ only to rejoice in these
signs of awakening, and to sympa-
thize with them though they may not
work exactly on our lines. We be-
lieve that our work in the land has
kept alive and spread spiritual life.
and so had made these movements
more possible. We believe that these
movements, even if they never come
into cooperation with our work CAS-
tits likely they will not for the pres
ent) are yet sustained and strength
ened by what we are doing. We see
clearly that a movement, not from
abroad, but of native growth and
within the national church, would be
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