A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

temperature below zero was a haystack into which he tunneled to survive.32 Another winter night a Russian herdsman opened his humble cottage and permitted Voth to sleep on the floor with all his clothes on to keep warm.33 On another occasion his persecutors escorted him to the United States border and forbade him to return to Canada. He was undaunted by the slander, beatings and re- jection, and walked back in search of the lost. He would re- turn again and again for several years until the Mennonite Brethren established their first church in Burwalde, near Winkler, Manitoba, in 1888. His correspondence with David Dyck, a co-minister in the conference who later moved to Canada to lead the newly es- tablished Mennonite Brethren Church, reflected the spiritual 87 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH stature of Heinrich Voth. This correspondence depicts Voth as a deeply spiritual man who invested all of his energies and abilities in his apostolic mission, Voth's method was typical of the itinerant ministry in Russia, Personal evangelism stood at the center He and others went from house to house seeking the lost, speaking to them of forgiveness of sin and peace through faith in Jesus the Savior, Voth followed up these visits with day-long group meetings in private homes, a time of nur- ture and fellowship in the Word, Counseling was step three. The organization of fellowship groups in the localities provid- ed ongoing opportunities for sharing, caring and worship.34 The spiritual dynamics of this style of ministry produced the kind of growth described by Luke: "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:47). THE RUSSIAN NEIGHBOR MUST ALSO HEAR THE GOSPEL Adolf Reimer, a Russian Mennonite Brethren minister, in a crucial moment of great danger when he knelt under the drawn sword of his persecutors, declared, "but I must, be- cause even the murderers have a soul that needs salvation," This slogan symbolizes the story of some Mennonite Brethren outreach to their Russian neighbors. As early as 1862 the Russian authorities called the Mennonite Brethren into their courts because they were sharing the gospel with Russian ser- vants working in the Mennonite villages. Conversions of Russian people in the years following led to the organization of the first Russian believers church with additional church groups emerging by 1879-35 The Mennonite Brethren provid- ed the financial sponsorship for these new Russian converts to cany out their own evangelistic ministry.36 Johann Wieler and J,W. Kargel were instrumental in organizing the Fir