Seventeen Escaped Death By Having
Departed The Day Previous On Another Mission."
After Gen.
Pando was elected President of the Republic of Bolivia,
priestly rule remained as strong as ever. To enter on and retain his
office he must perforce submit to Church authority. When in his
employ, however, I openly declared myself a Protestant missionary;
and, because of exploration work, was made a Bolivian citizen.
In 1897 it was my great joy to preach the gospel in Ensenada. Many
and attentive were the listeners as for the first time in their lives
they were told of the Man of Calvary who died that they might live.
With exclamations of wonder they sometimes said: "What fortunate
people we are to have heard such words!" Four men and five women were
born again. Ensenada, built on a malarial swamp, was reeking with
miasma, and the houses were raised on posts about a yard above the
slime. I was in consequence stricken with malarial fever. One day a
man who had attended the meetings came into my room, and, kneeling
down, asked the Lord not to let me suffer, but to take me quickly.
After long weeks of illness, God, however, raised me up again, and
the meetings were resumed, when the reason of the priest's non-
interference was made known to me. He had been away on a long
vacation, and, on his return, hearing of my services, he ordered the
church bells rung furiously. On my making enquiries why the bells
clanged so, I was informed that a special service was called in the
church.
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