American Missionary | Page 7

possible way pay for it. Whoever will provide funds to meet the expenses of these neglected girls, and place them at our school, and prepare them for the future duties of life, will be doing an angelic work, and in the end will do the greatest good that can be done to this people. Very much of the money spent for this mountain people will be the same as thrown away, if this effort is not made to educate the girls.
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OUR CHURCH WORK.
A letter from Rev. F.R. Sims of the Medway Congregational Church, McIntosh, Ga., reports that seventy persons have been added to that church on confession of faith, within the last four months.
From Knoxville, Tenn.:--Our attendance at preaching services has been large and attentive. On the second Sabbath of March the members and friends made special efforts for collection and raised $30. There has been a happy increase in the Sunday-school and the prayer meetings.
From Dudley, North Carolina;--It gives me much pleasure to write you that the Lord has abundantly blessed us in our work at this point.
For three weeks a revival, with much success, has been going on in my church, the Lord has been with us disturbing the slumber of the sleeping Christians and bringing sinners unto repentance. We have ten converts and ten more seeking the Lord. We are all very much encouraged and are now looking forward for a brighter and more encouraging future.
From Macon, Ga.--At our last communion we baptized and received four into our fellowship on confession of faith. They were all young people who are in school and full of promise. Others are expected to unite with us next month. There have been seventeen additions to the church in the last eleven months. There has been some real progress made by the church in all directions. I find in our church meetings a much more gentle spirit between the members than when I first came here, and I feel that this outward improvement is due to inward spiritual growth. I can see this growth in the prayers and testimonies of the weekly prayer meetings.
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REVIVAL AT WILMINGTON, N.C.
PROFESSOR GEORGE A. WOODARD.
The revival which took place in this church the latter part of the winter was, in some respects, a model one.
At the close of one of the Wednesday evening prayer meetings, our pastor spoke to us with the view of ascertaining if the church were ready for special work; then he appointed another prayer meeting for Friday night. With faith, and resting upon the promises of God, the work was begun the next week. At first the attendance was small; but, as the meetings continued, the interest increased, and it became necessary to move into the large hall of the school.
It was evident throughout that God was in the work and that the Holy Spirit was striving mightily with sinners. A deep, quiet emotion pervaded the meetings, in strong contrast with the revivals held in many of the colored churches of the city, where the excitement becomes intense, and the confusion great. Their meetings are often continued until long after midnight, in a crowded, unventilated room, whereas ours never closed later than ten o'clock.
As a result of our revival, although other revivals were going on amongst the colored people at the same time, upwards of forty were born into the Kingdom, for some of whom, many, many prayers had been offered up; and all was done in answer to prayer. Among these were several cases of interest, two of which I will mention. One is that of an intelligent young man employed by the leading dentist of the city, for whom he does the mechanical work, which previously had to be sent North. Although of excellent character, he was a skeptic, reading the writings of Ingersoll, Paine, and others. For years, our teachers had taken a special interest in him laboring with him and praying for him, that he might come into the light He was induced to attend these meetings, and was finally led to believe that these things are so and to accept of the Saviour. He has gone earnestly to work to bring in other young men, teaches in the Sunday-school and is ready for any Christian work.
The other is that of a brawny brick mason, a great sinner, who, while earning excellent wages, often failed to bring home sufficient to feed and clothe his children; and when remonstrated with by his wife, would answer; "They are your children, you take care of them." All is changed now. He gets up early Sunday mornings, assists in getting the children ready for church, where the family, all neatly dressed, can be seen regularly every Sunday; and in the prayer meeting his voice is