Page 37 - Neglected Arabia (1911-1915) Vol II

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and only aim to restore Jesus Christ'to His throne, to preach Him,
teach Him, live Him, always and only. The truest gauge of the prog­
ress of our work is the reception accorded to our evangelists. We in
Arabia don’t claim to be successful if success implies a bountiful har­
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vest. But you can’t claim a harvest in the springtime. The Dutch
fathers of some of us came to Michigan in 18-17 and found pine for­
ests. They had to clear away the forests, dig up the stumps, till and
sow, and it was more than twenty years before the task was done.
We have been here something more than twenty years now and have

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A CONFERENCE OF COLPORTEURS

had to contend with more than pine stumps. Yet today the sower of
the Word is tolerated if not welcomed, where only a few years ago
* he was stoned and reviled. The doctors and teachers are cordially
i received everywhere and always, the clergyman is received politely,
but it is plain to see that he is generally persona non grata. In the
nature of the case it is so, and I take it as a compliment to him. He
has nothing to give that the Arab wants, and offers what the Arab
hates and despises. Yet it is he that must be free to move, to advance,
i to enter if the rest of us shall have done our work well.
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