THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

not travelled too far this year. Twice I have been at the Molotschna, twice at The General Conference 521 Sacharin, three times at Markus land, and three times at Annenfeld. For the 25th of October a conference, 31 5 to which delegates from all of the churches of Southern Russia were urged to come, was planned. From our congregation I travelled to the conference in the company of the brethren Christian Fischer [Baptist minister] and Eduard Gerlach. On this journey we visited several stations such as Kotschubei, Sagradovka, Poltavka, and were privileged to proclaim the salvation of the cross at these places. In Neu-Danzig I experienced great joy with the brothers and sisters there. It was really a resting place such as the one spoken of through the prophet in Ezekiel 34:15. On the Sunday before the conference the Word was proclaimed richly by several servants of God and many prayers of supplication and thanksgiving ascended to God. This appeared to create a positive impression upon many of those present. The Lutheran church in Neu-Danzig, in which two meetings were also conducted by the Baptists on Sunday, was opened to us. In this connection the words of Job in chapter 42:2 became very precious to me, ‘I know that thou canst do everything.’ Eleven years ago the Baptists were driven out of Neu-Danzig by the Lutherans, and because of hatred were sent to Turkey; now, however, we were permitted to see the miracle of God and discover how the majority of the inhabitants of Neu-Danzig had become converted to the Lord, and church and school were opened voluntarily to us. In spite of our weaknesses and imperfections the good Lord has revealed His grace and mercy richly here in our congregation [Friedensfeld]. Requesting your intercessory prayers, your weak servant in proclaiming God’s Word, Jakob Jantz." (Cf. above “M.B. Church, Friedensfeld.”) For further reports of the itinerant ministry see 0233 — reports of Christian Schmidt and Abraham Unger. Reports of Johann Regehr and Jakob Wiens are also available. 3. The m ann er in which the reports of the itinerant ministers were read is interesting: the rule was that they be sewn into a copybook and sent from village to village where members of our congregations lived in the two volosts of the Molotschna. Every village had to give a receipt as to when the notebook had arrived, when it was read to the brethren and sisters of one or several neighboring villages, and when it had been sent to the next village. The supervisor of this matter was the tireless regulator Br. Philipp Isaak, Tiege. He himself wrote both the circulation and the reading schedules found at the beginning of the well-sewn copy-books of the reports with home-made covers. It will also be of interest to many a person from the Molotschna to read the names of the villages in which, 1876-1877, the members of the M.B. churches lived: "Circulation schedule: Altenau, Muensterberg, Blumstein— Ohrl