Excerpt
American Missionary Association.
We acknowledge with gratitude to God and to his people the fact that our receipts during the month of February are such as greatly to encourage us.
We are cheered, not only by the benevolences which are reporting themselves from the churches, but also by the kind words of sympathy and helpfulness which show us anew that this great and exigent work upon us was never nearer than now to the hearts of our pastors and churches.
We may add that the month just past and those immediately before us are those upon which we must largely depend for our fiscal year. We are coming to the summer season, when contributions are less likely to be taken. We trust that those who believe that God has called the American Missionary Association to this immense work in the name of Christ, will not cease to pray that the hearts of men may be moved to heed the appeals of those who, through us, ask for the very bread of life, and who will not have it unless we carry it to them.
We are now compelled to deny more appeals for help which ought to be heard than we are granting. Several schools which were begun by private enterprise with good intent, are now asking us to take them from their hands upon our own, where they can be perpetuated and saved. We would like to save these schools to the needy people whose hope is in them, and to protect the churches from indiscriminate appeals for works which they have not authorized, and which we could do with greater economy and better care; but for this we need a generous increase of gifts. Our faith was in Him who said, "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you," and the doors were opened. God withdrew the bolts of hindrance and said, "Beloved, I have set before you an open door." Our faith is in Him who also said "Ask, and ye shall receive."
A friend has just sent us eighteen subscriptions to the American Missionary. This might be repeated easily by a thousand friends. There is scarcely a self-sustaining church in the United States where it could not be done by one who would try to do it as an act of missionary love. Some who read this, perhaps, will try and will succeed.
The name of Rev. Frank Cross, who was appointed to the charge of the Rosebud Indian Mission, was by mistake not printed in the roll of workers. He is there, however, and his work has gone on bravely and hopefully.
We wish that the extent, and necessity, and hopefulness of our mountain work, were more fully understood by our readers. Now is our opportunity and the accepted time to answer the most urgent appeals from this neglected region in the heart of our country. Our Congregational churches are just what are needed to uplift these people. One of our earnest missionaries writes us:—
"The A.M.A. has done a work here to be profoundly grateful for as a beginning, but thus far it is only playing around the edge of its mountain work. This mountain region is of great extent. Sober calculation from facts already gleaned, makes a thousand Congregational churches in these mountains the possibility of the future, if only the strategic points can now be occupied....