From St. Louis we went to Canton, Ohio. The children of God had been calling us for two years to come and help them. We held meetings in the tabernacle one month. We found some brave soldiers of the cross who were willing to make any sacrifice to see sinners brought to Christ. The last place where I kept house was at Canton. It was there I gave up all for Christ, and started out in his Vineyard. It required-a great deal of grace and courage to hold meetings among my own relatives, the most of whom had never heard me preach. But God gave me grace and courage to boldly declare the unsearchable riches of Christ. Many of my old acquaintances were brought out into the light.
From Canton we went to St. Louis, and spent one night with the Church of God. The house was filled with Christians and friends to welcome us with them again.
From St. Louis we went to Topeka, Kansas, and pitched our tabernacle in the City Park. The first month we were interrupted many times by the rain and storms, and hence could not hold meeting more than half the time. The rains were very heavy. There were from two to three thousand people present one night, and the next night we could have no meeting on account of the rain.
One night, just as the congregation was gathering for service, a heavy storm came up and the rain fell as if being poured out of buckets. The thunder rolled as I had not heard it for years. The vivid lightning, flash upon flash, illumined the sky like a large blaze of fire. The storm came so suddenly that it was impossible to lower our tent, which it struck, and tore one end almost into ribbons. We were left with a poor shelter in time of storm. We put it up again the best we could, and when the wind did not blow too strong we had service in it. One side of it was a protection from the sun, but when the wind blew too strong we held service in the open air. We went there among strangers at our own expense. It cost us about three hundred dollars to go and get the meeting started. It was a great trial and test of faith to stand and see our tent destroyed, but God’s grace was sufficient. In the midst of this we never became the least discouraged or faint-hearted, but praised God in the midst of the tempest. We could say, “The Lord gave and the Lord has permitted to be taken away.” We are only the Lord’s stewards. The tent was his, the work was his, and we are his. “All things
