Daniel Thomas
One young man in
South Wales, taking God serious, and thus God’s will for his life, was
ready to burn his bridges behind him and venture out to far and
dangerous lands.., if God so led. When, later, his mother found out he
was definitely praying and preparing for South America, she despaired.
She offered him the small fortune of 100 Gold Sovereigns, if only he
would give up such ideas.
To no avail! Daniel Thomas loved his Lord
and Savior even more than his own dear mother. And God used him
mightily in Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Spain, but not without a
cost.
As he opened his heart to those who prayed for him, giving them
glimpses of all that went on in his life and work, we too may benefit
and learn from such dealings of God with a willing heart.
1913 Paraguay
From Darkness to Dawn
How ready
God is always to hear our prayers and to supply our need! The power of
darkness is tremendous and the discouragements could be numerous, but
halleluiah!, He has taught me to cast my burden
on him for He will sustain, and that is what I am doing; laying all the
cares, troubles, trials, temptations, discouragements, and everything
else on him. Then I go along with a light and happy heart with no heavy
load to drag along.
God’s
dealings are so gracious. He is so loving and merciful. It might seem a
thing incredible that one could be filled continually with his peace
and joy in the midst of sin of every description, yet we are kept,
because we are enclosed in Christ Jesus. This alone is the secret of
our being able to live with clean hands among these people.
True, we
feel at times that we are almost alone, yet we are encompassed with the
prayers, sympathy, and love of large numbers of saints in different
parts of the world. We long to see others in this great “neglected
continent” sharing and enjoying the blessings which we so abundantly
receive.
Truly this
land is a wilderness and a parched land, a land of spiritual famine and
of darkness where millions pass away into eternity without any hope,
and without God. We are sad when we see the condition of these poor
people, not trusting in the merits of our Lord. They trust in their own
merits, or in the prayers of some priest, or in the prayers of friends
who may intercede for them after they have departed from this world...
Our hearts go out to them in love and compassion.
How we
long to tell them of a Savior who is “mighty to save”, of him who alone
is the hope of the world! If I had a hundred thousand lives to give I
would gladly give them all to tell this people the way of salvation.
But I have only one, and may God have that one entirely to witness for
him in Paraguay.
Very
gradually prejudices are breaking down. The dawn is breaking; Satan’s
kingdom is beginning to shake; the people’s faith in the priests and in
Rome is failing; and before long we may have the joy of gathering in
the sheaves after years of hard work and discouragement.
God has
already granted us the first fruits of our labors in Villarrica in
saving a young Paraguayan, who now seems to be growing in grace. He has
offered himself to work among his fellow-countrymen, and has already
begun to witness for the Master in his own district. He intends to ask
the school-master there for the use of the school-room, in order to
hold Bible readings among the school boys. May he be strong in the
Lord, and may God use him in bringing many others to the Savior. By
saving this dear brother God has put his seal upon our little school.
It was through the school that we were brought into contact with him.
1915
Conversions - Confessions
Recently I
baptized three men in the river. One of them, Martin, has been a
shining light and many have been converted through his testimony.
Another one is Constantino, also converted through Martin. Just before
he entered the water, a woman, one of the believers, went up to Martin
and confessed publicly that she had spoken hard words against him
wrongly, and asked forgiveness. Immediately there was a general
confession amongst the believers, one asking forgiveness of another for
something done or said. I could not help thinking; surely the Lord’s
work will prosper in this place. Both Martin and Constantino are lovers
of God’s Word.
About a
fortnight ago we had our first service in the house of Juan de la Cruz,
one of the converts, who lives in a village about eight miles out. He
had invited many and quite a number came. During the meeting some men
who were in hiding threw oranges, and one fired his revolver, but no
harm was done, and the meeting was not broken up. Juan de la Cruz has
plenty of opposition, but he holds on.
1916 Argentina
From ‘Abandoned’ to ‘Abundant’
Cantalicio
has been saved. His story is a wonderful one. He had been ill for about
eighteen months, and was getting steadily worse. He is an orphan and
homeless, and had prayed, not to any image, but to God alone, that He
would send someone to help him. He had done this knowing nothing
whatever of the Gospel or of the way of salvation. Some time after he
began praying, I was told about him, so Constantino and I went to visit
him. We found him very poorly, and were told that he only had one meal
a day, slept on a board, and that on cold nights his sores were so
painful that he could not sleep.
We washed
his sores and bandaged them, and told him that as soon as he could walk
he might come and stay with us. Next day we visited him again and found
that he had slept well and was much better. Within a few days he was
able to walk alone to our house, about a mile distant. The first day
that he was with us he began reading the New Testament we had given
him, and he never tires of listening to the Gospel story. He has also
taken a great interest in the meetings and has hardly missed one.
Recently
we baptized another young man, also called Cantalicio, who was our
first convert in Posadas. A large number of people were present, some
of whom we had never seen before, and all were very attentive.
1923 Brazil
Abiding and Abounding
We do not
know what is ahead of us, but when He leads and we follow, it will be
alright whatever comes, for we know that there will be sufficient grace
for every trial; and in the loneliness of inland South America the Lord
is near to us. It has been so in the past when far away from
civilization. Deprived of the fellowship of the saints, I felt his
presence more real than even when I was home amongst the believers. How
gracious the Lord is unto me, and his mercies never fail; his keeping
power is a continuous miracle in me. I am kept each moment by him.
What does the psalmist mean by saying, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”? The thought came to me that it had the same meaning as the words of our Lord in John 15, “Abide in me”.
There is safety in abiding in him, and not only safety but also
blessing, fellowship, power, much fruit. Now Psalm 91 has new meaning
for me. Preaching to the Indians, I spoke of the result of abiding in
Christ, and the result of not abiding in him. What a great difference
it makes. He that ‘abides’ is under the shadow of the Almighty, kept
each moment, and living the Victorious Life - and that is the only life
worth living; while the non-abiding, though a Christian, is not under
the shadow of the Almighty. Such a one may be very busy and doing his
best in the Lord’s service, but all is of very little real value, he
has not the “Well done!” of the Master, because he abides in
“self” and does his own will. His labors are labors of duty and not of
love, so there is no true joy in it. To him that abides in Christ, it
is quite as easy to live the Christian life even in the midst of
Satan’s stronghold.
We are so
secure, and it is so peaceful. It is no wonder that we are so happy and
content, even when external things are against us, and when this body
of ours has to suffer so much. And again: from this “secret place” we
have a clearer view of the condition of this world, for we see it from
the same standpoint as our Lord. It is impossible to abide for long in
him without becoming more like him. We love the natives because of the
love that God has given unto us, and that love constrains us to give of
our best in order to bring poor lost sinners to the foot of the Cross,
even though our love and kindness towards them are so often
misunderstood. Abiding in him makes a great difference in our dealings
with fellow-men.
The Lord
knows all about our difficulties, and supplies us daily with grace
sufficient. How hopeless we would be without his sustaining grace. We
get his sweet fellowship and grace to rejoice in tribulations.
The
ungrateful and the loveless ones come back to us as hard as ever, and
are met by love and its fruit - kind words, sympathy, and good works -
only to continue with the same hard and rebellious spirit. True love
knows no defeat, and quietly at the Throne of Grace pleads for these
poor and degraded souls. It hands them over to him who is able and
willing to save the vilest, and we have the privilege of seeing many of
them coming to Christ for forgiveness and made new creatures in Christ
Jesus, and oh, what a change! Drunkards, gamblers, thieves, murderers,
and all sorts are being born again, and go to tell others of what God
has done in their lives.
1933 Spain
Giving Out, Gathering In
We feel
more and more that the great need of Spain today is to have the Word of
God in every home in the land. To most of the Spaniards the Bible is a
closed Book, and to many it is unknown. Many could tell us the history
of the different saints and the supposed miracles that they have done,
but could not repeat one sentence of John 3:16, or other well known
verses. The people themselves are not to blame for they have never had
the opportunity of knowing the contents of the Sacred Book. Our
experience in Gospel distribution is that the people are eager to have
and to read the Word of God in spite of the anathemas of the Church of
Rome.
The most
fruitful work today in Spain is the distribution of the Holy
Scriptures. People for one reason or another will not come to a Gospel
meeting, but they are generally ready to receive a tract. Just this
week as we were out in the country distributing tracts, we met two men
coming from another village. We had with us only a few Gospel Portions
which we were reserving for those who had not previously received a
copy. We gave a tract to one and a booklet to the other. They were so
surprised to get them free that they almost forgot to say “thank-you”.
We were then about three miles from town, and as we walked behind them
we could see that one was listening and the other reading, and they
continued so until they were out of sight. They were reading the Good
News for the first time, and no doubt when they reached home that
evening many more would hear it read.
As we
continued our journey home we saw a man ploughing in a field to our
left with his daughter following him sowing the seed in the newly
ploughed furrow, and following her another man was sowing manure in the
same furrow. As they were some distance from the road, I held the
little book up then placed it by the side of the path. Within a few
minutes a boy appeared from somewhere and took it to his father.
Immediately all work ceased and the four sat on the ground while one of
the number read to them. As we went out of sight in the distance, we
saw them still listening with eager ears to the wonderful words of the
Saviour.
It was
through tract distribution that we came in contact with Manuel, our
first convert, as he was going to his work on the farm, and today he
carries on the same work in the face of much opposition when he has
time and opportunity. Many believe that he is insane because he reads
so much of his Bible. Others cannot understand how he who was for years
a leader in many evil things has so completely deserted them all. His
consistent life is at last having an influence on some and on his
family who persecuted him so much. The other day one of his old friends
told him that he longed to live a life as he did, but could not. For
eighteen months he had been watching him, and knew that a great change
had taken place in his life. Manuel had another opportunity of
testifying to him, not only of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, but also of his keeping power, moment by moment, and showed him
how he also could have the same life, peace, joy and victory.
1934
Praises in Prison
As John
and I started out again on another tour of a hundred miles through the
province of Granada, we were well laden with literature. Our
destination was a town of about 15,000 people. This town, as far as we
know, has never been visited before with the Scriptures. About a year
ago, a priest was robbed and killed there.
While
traveling that morning I felt that we would not leave that place
without being imprisoned, but did not mention that to John until we
were in jail… After a pleasant trip we arrived at about eleven, and
after placing the motorcycle in a garage, we began distributing in the
main street, going from door to door, John taking one side and I the
other. Before very long, people came from all directions asking for the
booklets. As I had more people on my side, John got ahead, and was soon
out of sight; but in a little while I saw him coming round the corner
between two policemen, and as I was caught in the act of giving out our
literature, I too had to accompany them, and we were taken before the
mayor who also acts as Chief of Police. When we stood in his presence,
his face was white with rage, and he asked who had given us permission
to distribute our books.
As John
was the spokesman, he took out his passport and told him that it was in
perfect order, and also signed by the Governor of the Province of
Málaga and that for fourteen years he had visited the towns in the
south of Spain and had never been molested by the authorities, so he
thought it was not necessary to ask his permission. The mayor refused
to examine his passport, and still in a rage, ordered the sergeant to
put us both in prison. So once again we were marched through the
streets with the sergeant at our side and another policeman behind us,
each well armed with a revolver and a sword.
Once
inside the prison, the policeman in charge asked us what documents we
had, and John produced his passport again. After it was examined, he
asked his name, his parents’ names, where he came from and what his
profession was - all was entered in a book. That morning I had
forgotten to take my passport with me. They could have made trouble
about that, but I prayed that he would not ask for mine. After he had
finished questioning John, he just asked me my name, a few more
questions about my parents, etc. and then closed the book without
asking for my passport, to our great relief.
He then
took the remaining literature, and asked us if we had any knives or
razors or dangerous weapons on us. I answered no, that we did not carry
weapons with us when we traveled. If he had searched us as he should
have, he would only have found a handkerchief and about eight shillings
in Spanish money on me; but he trusted our word, which he would never
have done had we been Spaniards.
To enter
the cell we had to pass through a long narrow passage. It was a room
about four yards square with a stone floor and a little courtyard
outside. There was no bed or chair in it, but the jailor kindly gave us
a chair each. As he left us, we heard the door being bolted, and
realized that we were in a Spanish prison, not knowing when we would be
released. It was a very happy time that we spent there. How near we
felt heaven was to that dreary place, and fellowship with him for whom
we were there was easy and sweet! Our hearts were full of joy and they
burst forth with songs of praises for our Redeemer.
While we
were enjoying our rest, the mayor had sufficient time to cool down and
to realize the injustice that he had done that morning, for we had not
infringed the law of the land by distributing Christian literature, nor
had we done anything in the town to cause us to be put into prison. So,
after being detained for about an hour and a half, he sent the sergeant
with orders to release us, and to accompany us outside the town. When
we were taken from the cell, the jailor’s wife appeared and asked for
our books. They had been returned to us and so I gave her the Epistle
to the Romans, and Peter’s and John’s epistles, and also ten tracts -
one of each. We then said goodbye to the jailor and his family, and
once again we were led through the streets - this time to our liberty.
The reason
given by the mayor for having the sergeant escort us was that he was
afraid we would be mobbed by the crowd. The true reason was that he was
afraid that the people would rise up against him for imprisoning us. I
am sure that the mayor and the authorities were greatly relieved when
they saw us leaving the town in peace, and without causing any
disturbance because of our imprisonment.
1934
From Husks to Hymns
“The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship
the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to
worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).
The
Spaniard’s religion is almost all ritual, just outward forms. According
to his belief, being present occasionally at the Church is his
principal duty, and it is not of great importance to him in what spirit
he attends, nor what his behavior is whilst there. He is satisfied at
being present.
In our
town today for the first time in its history, the songs of Sion are to
be heard in the homes and in the streets, sung by the children and
maids and whistled by the young men. May they be a light to many that “sit in darkness and the shadow of death” (Lk. 1:79).
When we hear the singing, we rejoice that the Gospel is being preached
to many that will not come to the meetings, even through the hymns.
There is
now also a greater interest in the reading of the Scriptures than
formerly. We are being asked continually for Gospels and New
Testaments. Thousands of these Gospels are today in the hands of the
people and no doubt being read by many. Just a few days ago a poor old
woman of nearly eighty came to the door and asked if we had the little
book that gives the story of the sufferings of our Lord, as she had a
desire to read it. We had the privilege of giving her a gospel of John
and some tracts, and after assuring her that it contained the story of
the crucifixion, she went home quite happy with the greatest treasure
in her possession.
How great
is the responsibility of the Church of Rome, withholding the Word of
God from the people. Instead of receiving the ‘pure milk of the Word’ (1 P. 2:1), they are given “husks” which cannot satisfy the great need of their souls.
We rejoice
in the interest that is shown, also in well attended meetings, but
these alone do not satisfy us. We long to see souls being brought under
deep conviction of sin, and led to the saving knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ…
“You therefore… be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses,
commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life,
that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
2 Timothy 2:1-4
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