There are three of us in our tent company—the evangelist in charge, the assistant evangelist, and a Bible instructor. In most cases here only two form a tent-effort group—the evangelist and the Bible instructor. We have for our equipment a fly tent about twenty-five feet by thirty feet, fifteen wooden benches about six feet long with backs, a few boards to make the platform and background, a pulpit, and two petromax lamps.
If the town where we are to hold our meetings has a group of people interested in our message who have asked for an effort, all we have to do is put up the tent with the aid of the people, and hold our meetings every night. But where there is no interest manifested by the people, and no call has been made for our -meetings, holding an effort is not so simple. We spend much time in prayer, asking the Lord to direct us to the place He wants us to go. We ask the Lord for signs to indicate to us the place to hold our meetings. A vacant lot willingly rented to us, with a house near by for us to live in, is enough sign to show where God wants us to hold our effort.
We pay the rent on the lot two months in advance, so that even if the owner changes his mind he cannot drive us from his land until two months have expired. (Catholics change their mind when they find we are Protestants.) We select the lot near the corner of two streets. It must be at the center or near the center of the residential district, or at least easily accessible to the people.
As soon as we begin pitching -our tent, which is a fly tent placed on a bamboo or wooden frame, people around the tent and passers-by begin to take notice and inquire as to the purpose of putting up such a tent, for it is an unusual occurrence. It is here that advertising our meetings begins. We do not tell them directly that we are Seventh-day Adventists and give sermons from the Bible' because that will soon be noised around, and perhaps before we begin our meetings, the priest may warn his flock to beware of us and our meetings.
So we tell them that we are going to give lectures on medical and evangelical topics, that we want them to attend these lectures and bring their children with them, for we have a trained teacher to tell them interesting stories and teach them to be obedient to their parents. We also tell them that we shall have the services of a nurse for a few days to help the people, and an occasional visit of a doctor to give lectures on health. We make this promise good to them by inviting the mission nurse and missionary doctor to spend a few days with us. Often we find that after two days—the number of days it requires us to pitch and decorate our tent—the whole town already knows about our tent, and what we intend to do. We make our tent as attractive as we can afford to make it. In towns where there is electricity, we use electric lights to light our tent. But where there is none, we use two 300-candle-power petromax lamps. In a village or small town where the people are a bit shy, we prefer to use one light only, because bright lights drive the people farther away. They usually gather where the, light of the lamp ends and darkness begins. They may want to listen, but they do not want to be seen by their friends, who will surely make fun of them.
We usually begin our meetings Sunday night. On the Sabbath preceding we ask the brethren in all the churches in our district to fast and pray for the effort. On Sunday night the people are mostly at home and feel rested, so they are more inclined to attend our first meeting. We advertise our meetings by means of placards placed in most of the conspicuous places of the town. Accompanying this is one such placard with an English translation added.
What we say the first night has much to do with whether or not the people will come again and bring their friends along. We have to keep in mind that ninety-five per cent of them are Catholic, that they are there more from curiosity than from a desire for truth, and that any attack against their religion may hurt their feelings and cause them not to come the next night. Or if they come again, it may be as an enemy, to annoy or make disturbance. Any impression they get that we are trying to convert them will cause them to be antagonistic and make them harder to win. We also know that among these people there are those who are honest, and they can be won to the truth if the proper approach is made and we win their confidence.
The first night, in our introduction, we tell them that we are there to serve them to the best of our ability. We then introduce our mission nurse, who by invitation helps us in the opening of our meeting and stays a few days with us. We state that we are not there to attack any religion or to force anybody to believe what we say, but to ask them to consider the truth or falsity of our statements for themselves. We are not there to convert anyone, but to discharge our responsibility in warning the people of what is soon to come to this world. We make the first meeting fairly brief.
