Page 50 - Malaysia by John Russel Denyes
P. 50

This colony has also prospered and is becoming
      the nucleus of a great evangelistic centre.
        In 1885 the Malaysia Mission was only an ap-
      pointment under the presiding elder of the Burma
      District of the South India Conference. On April
      18, 1889, the mission became a separate and in-
                    dependent   organization  under  a
      Organic       Superintendent.  In 1893 another
      Development   step  in advance was taken,   and
                    Malaysia became a Mission Con-
      ference, with a presiding elder of its own.  Then
      followed in order the Penang District, the Philip-
      pine Islands District, and the Perak District. But
      it was on February 25, 1902, that the Malaysia
      Mission took its place in the sisterhood of An-
      nual Conferences   of  the  Methodist  Episcopal
      Church.   One year later the Conference formu-
      lated a memorial asking the General Conference
      to set apart one of her children, the Philippine
      Islands District, as a separate mission.
      Java     A most romantic episode in Malaysia's
             religious history was the opening of work
      in the  Island of Java.  Before going to Amer-
      ica on furlough  in 1903  J.  R. Denyes became
      greatly burdened for the salvation of the Mo-
      hammedans of Java.    He was told   that  if the
      money could be found he could be sent to Java to
      begin the  work.   While   in  America  he was
      brought into contact with the young people of
      the Epworth Leagues of the     Pittsburgh  Con-
      ference.  These young people under the leader-
      ship of Miss Bessie Brooks, Miss Elizabeth Hun-
      ter, Rev. W. W. Youngson, and others had agreed
      to raise $4,000 a year with the purpose of send-
      ing out four single young men to    the  foreign
      field. When they heard from Mr. Denyes of the
       needs in Java they decided to place their money
       there.  Complications  arose  over  the  money
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