Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-07

ants have. one to the highways and
hedges. and one to the comfortable peo-
pie at home. who, though they intend TO
come to the feast themselves, are too
comfortable at home and too ignorant OF
the conditions Of the highways to make
them go out and help in compelling them
to come in To those at home We may
go with knowledge. startling, as. ound ng,
awakening: Do they know. for instance,
that there are now thirty to fifty million
more Mohammedans than there are
Christians? Do they know that in one
American city alone there are teheInents
with three hundred thousand dark interior
rooms? Do they know how many in
China have accepted Christ's invitation
out OF population that is four times that
of the United States? Do they know what
is being done in the highways and hedges
of India and Africa, and right here at
home in our own vast west and north
west? Do they know that little girls in
Alaska are still being killed as witches?
D" they know that in New Mexico men
still slash their backs with bits of glass
and then whip one another with switches
cruelty as they march in procession carry
irg heavy crosses one day in the year
for the hope of having their sins for
given. and then returning to their
drunken ways the next day feeling they
have by the shedding of their own blood
RENTED their sins?
The missionary committee in any society
has plenty Of wonderful work to do. In
the first place, of course, there are the
mission study classes. You cannot do
better thing for your community than to
get a few people into a mission study
class. These classes are supposed to last
for about ten weeks, meeting once week,
and to study conditions in one country.
The enthusiasm that is reused in hearts
hitherto careless about mission work is
marvellous.
If you cannot get some into the classes
bring the knowledge to them in other
ways-compel them to hear it-any way
so they hear it-for once heard the eff
feet will come. The monthly missionary
meetings may be made a time to look
forward to even by the uninterested.
There are. missionary Stereopticon slides
which can be had for very little over
the expressage, including the descriptive
lecture. There are wonderful stories of
the everyday happenings in the mis-
sionary fields published by the different
denoniin ational boards which can be told.
Live missionary meetings are not hard t,
get up. Why then should we always leave
it to the few old stand-bys to fill in the
program as they have always done by
lone dull article fielled with statistics
which the young people do not listen to?
What we need in missionary. work is
the same zeal with which we get up a
house party, dinner or an entertain
ment.. We spare no thought or pains that
all shall move off smoothly. We tax our
brains to the utmost to devise the most
QellSHtIuI IedLuIcS IOT the
of our friends. If some young people
were going to present an amateur play
there would be no end of rehearsals
Time and money would be expended law
ishly that the costumes might be pleasing
to the eye and the parts learned with eX-
actness. And for what? Perhaps just
for fun. or 1t may be to earn few dol
lars for good cause. But this great
work of missions means the final evan
gelization of the world and the coming
of Chfist's kingdom upon earth. 1t
means the salvation Of millions of souls
or the loss of them-and yes, mission
airy meeting. even dry missionary meet
ing. might be made into a great factor to
hasten the coming of that kingdom. You
don't believe 1t? Try 1t. Put the same
zeal into your missionary committee that
was put into that successful Shakespeare
club last winter. Choose the same young
people who worked so effectively there.
Never mind if they are not interested. if
you can get them to promise to try it
with you and put the same force in here
which they used then. Let them arrange