One day Bro. Ahrendt was out advertising the meeting. His last call was at
a schoolhouse, and from there he wanted to go to Bertha intending to take a
short cut through the brush to the highway. On coming to the highway, he
saw a signpost pointing in the direction he was going, which read, "One
mile to Hewitt." "Well," he thought, "what won't boys do changing the road
signs?" He walked on a few steps and saw a little town not far away, then
he realized that he had been going north while he thought he was going
south. The boys had not done any harm. He was mistaken in his sense of
direction.
One year Brother H. A. Sherwood was the evangelist at the Minnesota State
Camp meeting which was held at Saint Cloud. A large, roomy church building
was used for the services. The heat was record-breaking that year, and on
one of the hottest afternoons when Brother Sherwood was expecting to preach
as usual, the heat was so intense that he was physically unequal to the
occasion, and so it came about that at Brother Sherwood's urgent request,
Brother Allison F. Barnard (who, with Mrs. Barnard, was attending the
meeting) consented to preach in his stead that afternoon.
As Bro. Barnard came into the pulpit the Holy Spirit came upon him and upon
the whole congregation in such a way and in such measure as I had never
seen in any service. The heat in the chapel moderated at once, but outside
it was as hot as ever. It was as though the dear man was "out of the body"
and there was no trouble at the altar of prayer for seeking souls to
receive their heart's desire. They prayed through! So, again, the Scripture
was fulfilled, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the
Lord of hosts."
* * * * *
Speaking of Brother Sherwood, I loved that big little man in the Lord. On
one occasion he was the campmeeting evangelist at Morden, Manitoba, Canada.
The Lord used him mightily and when the meeting was over it was arranged
that wife and I should take him with us in our car to Grand Forks, North
Dakota. It started to rain and did really pour down. The first forty-five
miles the roads were nothing but black gumbo, and we used eight gallons of
gas driving that forty-five miles.
Brother Sherwood sat in the back seat, praying all the time that we would
not get stuck in the mud nor slide down into the ditch, and when we reached
the gravel road in North Dakota he said, "Brother Susag, will you stop
awhile so we can have a thanksgiving meeting right here, that the Lord has
heard prayer and protected our lives!" And that is what we did. Brother
Sherwood then said, "Bro. Susag, will you accept an admonition from a
younger man than yourself?" I answered, "Any time, Brother." And he said,
"This is the second worst automobile ride I ever had in all my life. Will
you promise me never again to start out driving when the road is as bad as
this?" My reply was: "Hello! Hello! Hello! Who is this? Brother Sherwood?
What do you want? Your wife sick? What, dying? Yes, I'm starting out right
away; I'm coming as fast as I can." Whereupon Brother Sherwood reached out
his hand and said, "Brother Susag, forgive me; how quick a man can be to
ask a promise of a man without thinking!"
* * * * *
Once I was called to attend a meeting north of St. Cloud, Minnesota. There
were about thirteen ministers there. It was among a people who were called,
"The Free." Some three of their leading brethren had heard the Truth, and
they were the ones who had sent for me to come. The ministers and the
majority of the people were opposed to our teachings. When the offering was
divided among the ministry, those three brethren, who were on the board,
gave me $38.00.
But after I had taken the money I could not keep it on my person. I tried
my best, but even when in my overcoat pocket the money burned me, so I gave
it back to the brethren. A brother was going to drive me to the nearest
railroad station, and when I had taken my seat in the buggy ready to go to
town, these three brethren came and gave me fifteen dollars, saying, "We
have given much more in the offering than that," and they felt that the
fifteen dollars would not burn me. So I took the money and thanked them for
it and we went on our way to town. As I put the money in my pocket it still
burned me. I had to take it out again and lay it on the bottom of the
buggy. I told the driver to take it back and return it to the brethren. He
said, "They will not know what to do with it now that the meeting is
ended." I told him of a young minister who was sick and in need--to take
the money to him. I was needing the money badly, even the $38.00, as I was
without money to pay my way home.
As we crossed the railway track coming into the town near the depot, I
asked the man to let me off. As I was walking up to the station a man, whom
I did not know, came along beside me and pressed a five dollar bill into my
hand, and that was enough to take me home! A number of people took their
stand for the truth in that meeting.
* * * * *