When the lawyer came to the Saviour, asking the way to eternal life, the conversation turned to man's relationship to his fellow men. In response to the question, "Who is my neighbour ?" Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan, leading to the unmistakable conclusion that a true neighbor is one who does what he can to help those about him in need. Acts of neighborly kindness, of course, are not usually matters of record, and yet we do find references here and there which help us to understand that, as defined in the parable, James and Ellen White strove to be good neighbors.
The earliest day-by-day diary of Ellen White in our possession antedates institutional and conference organization and the choosing of a denominational name. This little book, dated 1859, carries records of a period soon after Elder and Mrs. White were situated in their own home in Battle Creek, Michigan. The entry of January 2 records the giving of a cloak and a dress to a sister in need, and the entry for the next day reveals-that Mrs. White was furnishing work to needy sisters. Two days later, January 5, although pressed hard in preparing for an extended journey, she was urged to go to the stores and help in selecting "some things for Roxana."
The next day we find her giving "a half-worn dress" for the needy mother of a girl employed in their home, and in this connection is the exclamation, "May the Lord have mercy upon the needy !" Among the many diary entries we find frequent mention of providing for the destitute. Here is one for a certain Tuesday:
"Walked to the office. Called to see Sister Sarah (Belden) and mother. Sarah gave me a little dress and two aprons for Sister Raters babe. . . . I rode down to the city and purchased a few things. Bought a little dress for Sister Ratel's babe, Came to the office, assisted them a little there and then came home to dinner. Sent the little articles to Sister Ratel. Mary Loughborough sends her another dress, so she will do very well now.
"Oh, that all knew the sweetness of giving to the poor, of helping do others good and making others happy. The Lord open my heart to do all in my power to relieve those around me !—give me to feel my brother's woe!"—March I, 1859.
Turning the pages of this time-worn little book, we find many entries indicating acts of neighborly kindness. April 21, after speaking of her writing and of sympathy of certain church members for a needy family, we find the words, "We have contributed a mite for their relief, about seven dollars. Purchased them different things to eat, and carried it to them."
Caring for the Sick
After the vision of June 6, 1863, at which time there was revealed to Mrs. White that the transgression of the laws of nature was the underlying cause of sickness, she was shown the benefits of co-operating with nature in restoring health. When sickness came to the White home, simple, rational methods of treatment were employed with remarkable success. Then when the neighbors and friends were ill, Elder and Mrs. White were frequently called upon to assist with advice and help in giving treatments. Of this experience, Mrs. White reminisced in writing to friends at Battle Creek in 1903:
"Before our sanitarium there was established, my husband and I went from house to house to give treatment. Under God's blessing, we saved the lives of many who were suffering."—Letter 45, 1903.
"We would bring to our house cases that had been given up by the physicians to die. When we knew not what to do for them, we would pray to God most earnestly, and He always sent His blessing. He is the mighty Healer, and He worked with us. We never had time or opportunity to take a medical course, but we had success as we moved out in the fear of God, and sought Him for wisdom at every step. . . . We combined prayer and labor. We used the simple water treatments, and then tried to fasten the eyes of the patients on to the great Healer. We told them what He could do for them."—MS. 49, 1908.
In those early years of the message, before there was regular support for the cause as we know it today, at times various laborers found themselves in need. There are frequent references in statements made by them to periods of weeks or months that they were at the White home as guests without charge. Not only workers shared in experiences of this kind but at times. lay members were also thus assisted. As an illustration, we find in the records of 1868 that Elder and Mrs. White, while residing at Greenville, Michigan, learned of a certain sister who, in making a business trip, was detained by severe illness in a Greenville hotel. They looked her up and took her to their home, where she remained until they were satisfied that she should be sent to the health institute in Battle Creek. They took the children of this afflicted woman into their own home. It was five months before the mother could resume her work and the care of her family again.
The diary for this same year portrays the story from day to day of the accident occurring to Sennica King (re-. suiting in a skull fracture), of how he was brought to the White home at Greenville, cared for through days and nights when his life hung in the balance, and of his final full recovery. To make room for this patient, Mrs. White was obliged to take her work of writing to an unfinished room, and many adjustments were required to meet the unusual needs of this neighbor.
In her extensive travels acquaintance was formed with many needy families, and although she was often unable to provide the help necessary, she did what she could
to bring relief. There were times when this consisted of knitting warm garments for those who labored in cold countries. While in Europe she came in contact with some families that she knew would suffer if she did not help them, so after her return to America she devoted spare time to the knitting of stockings which were sent to them. It might be said that knitting became her hobby.
Neighborly Acts in Australia
It seems that on every hand there were opportunities to help those who were ill or in need. This was especially so in Australia, for Mrs. White was there during days of financial depression. In the neighborhood about Avondale she discovered many destitute families, and even though her own resources were limited, she could not pass them by without sharing with them. Food was provided; sometimes she herself drove long distances to deliver it; and at other times clothing was supplied. This was not often furnished, however, in the form of ready-made garments. Good quality cloth would be purchased by the bolt, and then apportioned out to the needy families. If the housewife were unable to make the needed garments, perhaps the housekeeper or one of the literary helpers from Mrs. White's staff would be sent to assist in teaching the mother how to sew.
There was much sickness in the region. Some could be cared for in the White home, but more often she sent her private secretary and traveling companion, Sara McEnterfer, to help out. For a time at Avondale Miss McEnterfer's time was nearly all consumed in work similar to that of a community nurse. Every possible way was devised to assist those in need. We get a glimpse of this in a few words written in 1894:
"We purchase wood of our brethren who are farmers, and we try to give their sons and daughters employment, but we need a large charitable fund upon which to draw to keep families from starvation. . . . I divided my household stores of provisions with families of this sort, sometimes going eleven miles to relieve their necessities."—Letter 89a, 1894.
We discern her tact in this work in an account of how one family was helped :
"I interested myself in his case. . . . I endeavored to anticipate his needs, and never to place him where he would have to beg for work. While in Cooranbong, I tried to set an example of how the needy should be helped. I tried to work in the way set before me by the Lord."—Letter 105, 1902.
There were times in the White home when all literary work was laid aside, and every member of the family joined in providing help for the unfortunate. Mrs. White wrote in 1897:
"Last evening we had a Dorcas society in our home, and my workers who help in the preparation of my articles for the papers, and do the cooking and the sewing, five of them, sat up until midnight, cutting out clothing. They made three pairs of pants for the children of one family. Two sewing machines were running until midnight. I think there was never a happier set of workers than were these girls last evening." —Letter Letter 113, 1897.
That there were plenty of opportunities to help is made clear by the following:
"We do not have to hunt up cases ; they hunt us up. These things are forced upon our notice ; we cannot be Christians and pass them by and say, 'Be ye warmed and clothed,' and do not those things that will warm and clothe them. The Lord Jesds says, 'The poor ye have always with you.' They are God's legacy to us."—MS. 4, 1895.
Various Homes of the Family
It was the Whites' practice to own their own home. She felt that this was a wise policy. Thus at different times they owned modest properties in Battle Creek, Michigan, and Healdsburg and Oakland, California. Later, after James White's death, Mrs. White owned homes at Avondale in Australia, and at St. Helena, California. The buildings were well kept, and the grounds were improved. True Christianity, she felt, was reflected in the home and the premises. She enjoyed having the neighbors call on her, and in turn she would often drop in to visit with them.
She took special pleasure in her Elmshaven home near St. Helena, where she resided the last fifteen years of her life. The house, located on a little knoll, was well built. Surrounding it were orchard, vineyard, garden, hayfield, and pasture. In the distance on all sides were the wooded hills, and from the hillside at the north the St. Helena Sanitarium looked down upon her place. Not long after this property was acquired, she sent to Australia for Brother Iram James to come and take charge of the farm. His family was soon comfortably located in a little cottage to the east. Across the creek to the southeast was a piece of wooded land and a garden spot which she gave to her son W. C. White, and he built a house and settled his family there, about five minutes' walk from her home. To the south were two cottages. These were occupied by the families of her office workers, and a little later another house for a secretary was built not far away to the north. Another small cottage close to her home housed still another family of helpers.
It was with satisfaction that she thought of these families about her. She frequently called at their homes, and often went beyond to other neighbors in the valley. These visits brought relaxation to her, and they left cherished memories in the minds of those upon whom she called.
The Afternoon Carriage Drives
In the later years of her life it was Mrs. White's custom to drive out with the carriage on pleasant afternoons. She was usually accompanied by some of her helpers. These drives often took her up and down the Napa Valley and many times over the narrow, winding roads of the coast range. These trips gave her a pleasant diversion, and broadened her acquaintance in the neighborhood.
Away from home, when it could be arranged, she continued this practice. In 1904 she spent a year at Takoma Park, Washington, D.C., and frequently drove through the forests and parks. One such drive brought a pleasant experience to her in which, being human, she took a bit of pride, for she met President Theodore Roosevelt. She speaks of this in writing to her son:
"A few days ago Sister Hall, Sara, and I went for a long drive in Rock Creek Park. This is a most beautiful place. I have seldom driven over finer roads. This is a national park. Here the President takes his rides. The drives are equal to, yes, more than equal to anything that I saw in Denmark or Switzerland. On our drive we met the President. He bowed to us as we passed him."—Letter 357, 1904.
Many of the residents within a radius of ten miles of Elmshaven were of Southern European descent. Their principal occupation was grape growing and wine making. Just over the hill there was a very large stone winery, reputed for many years to be the largest in the world. Seventh-day Adventists, with their temperance principles, were not too popular with many of these people.
These circumstances, however, did not deter Mrs. White from making many a friendly acquaintance with those on surrounding farms. As she drove up the valley perhaps she would notice a mother on the porch or in the yard.
Likely as not she would stop and visit with the woman. No, she did not know her name, but that did not matter. She knew a mother's heart and a mother's problems. Oftentimes these visits rendered an opportunity for a bit of missionary work, either by word, or, in the case of the less fortunate, by deed.
Years after her death Ellen White was tenderly remembered by not a few of the residents of the Napa Valley as "the little old woman with white hair, who always spoke so lovingly of Jesus."
