Working of God

By J. MINAN
I accepted the call to Portugal in December, 1928, to act as field missionary secretary, the
mission was without superintendent, colporteurs, or books. It was sad to think of a country
of six million people with hardly enough literature to begin the work. But beginning 1928
with a smile, we set to work with faith and determination.
God heard our prayers, and gave us access to the hearts of the young people. Two of them
soon entered the work, and are still there. The number grew to twenty-three by the end of
the year, and we were able to report sales amounting to 113,000 escudos.
This shows what the blessing of God can do through His people. Portugal is a small
country, about the size of Maine, very poor, Catholic in the extreme, and more than one
fourth of the people are illiterate. We can say with Samuel: "Hitherto hath the Lord helped
us." 1 Sam. 7: 12.
In 1930 we set our goal at 200,000 escudos, about twice the sale of 1929. In spite of ill
health on the part of the writer and his wife, we were able to rended .a good report at the
annual gathering.
We lacked only 3,000 escudos of reaching our goal. In 1931 our aim is to sell 250,000
escudos' worth of books, though for nearly half the year our literature supply has been very
short. We now have twenty-seven colporteurs in the field, more than 10 per cent of the
membership of the Portuguese Mission. Souls have been won to the truth. More than
14,000 books were scattered over Portugal in 1930. A number of the people baptized were
directly or indirectly the fruits of the book work, and at least fifteen of them are in the
colporteur work now. In: August, 1930, the writer held the first series of meetings in
Funchal, Madeira Island.
From here come the nucleus of the first Seventh-day Adventist church in Madeira. E.P.
Mansell, who recently came from Brazil, is following up the work now, in Portugal and
twenty persons await baptism. In January, 1930, J. G. Silva, who is over sixty years of age,
came to Lisbon from Honolulu. He had a burning desire to give the message to the people
of Madeira, his native island. We went there and started the colporteur work in Funchal.
More than 10,000 escudos' worth of books have been sold there.
This island is called the "Pearl of the Atlantic." On the 8th of June, this year, two of our
best colporteurs were sent to the Azores. Though they have been there but .a short time,
they are selling about 2,000 escudos' worth of literature a week. And so the message
spreads.
These colporteurs found a Seventh-day Adventist there who never had changed his
membership from the church in North America where he has been baptized. The old man
has been true to the message, and rejoiced to see these colporteurs come.
Another North American who was interested joined himself to the little group. He had been
keeping the Sabbath and loved the Lord, though unaware that any Seventh-day Adventists
were on the islands. These men met with the colporteurs and a Sabbath school was
established there. .Hence, two new fields, pioneered by our faithful colporteurs, can now be
added to the list of our General Conference territory. We solicit the prayers of the readers
of the Review for this needy field. Lisbon, Portugal.