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

working on his estates. It was Jansz’s responsibility to teach their children, but alongside this work he also preached the Gospel. On April 16, 1854, he was able to present to the Lord the first five baptismal candidates and on the 17th he observed the Lord’s Supper with them. That was the beginning of a slowly-growing church. In 1854 the Society received its first contribution from South- Russia, specifically from Gnadenfeld. These churches had previously sent donations to the Baptist Missionary Society in England and to other German evangelical missionary societies. Now this support stopped, and the donations for missions henceforth were directed to the Anabaptist Missionary Society of Holland. In 1854 the Society received three hundred Taler from Gnadenfeld. 3 The following writing accompanied the gift: “With real joy we have read in these days excerpts from the report of your Society, sent to us by a friend in Prussia. Above all, we rejoiced to conclude from the report that the Lord, who has bought us with His blood, also has in Holland His own among our brethren, who confess with us the same faith, and who as living branches, united with Him, the true vine, draw their sap from Him and bear fruit. Since we also have the undeserved privilege to stand under the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, who manifests Himself powerfully among us, we gladly desire to be grateful to the Lord, who is dear to us, and to serve Him. As a result, a missionary society has been established among us several years ago. Since we have learned to know you, our brethren in Holland, in the manner mentioned above, we feel constrained to extend to you herewith the hand of brotherhood. Until now we distributed the funds, which have been gathered in our midst for missions, among various missionary societies of Germany. We now send you the enclosed amount, and declare our readiness, confident of the Lord’s gracious help, to contribute this form of assistance out of our treasury more frequently in the event that you have need of it and inform us about it. And now, beloved brethren, accept us in the Lord, pray for us, that the Lord may expand His Kingdom among us, and that He keep us in His truth.” This, then, is the beginning of cooperation in missions between the South Russian Mennonites and their fellow-believers in Holland. Later, the Anabaptist Missionary Society in Amsterdam received numerous gifts from the South Russian Mennonite congregations. The Alexanderwohl Church, which largely emigrated to America, was also an early missionary church. Missionary Heinrich Dirks with his family and Batta Christian in the year 1881. The Older Church 661 a) Johann Fast of Ohrloff, Molotschna Missionary in Java. b) Peter Jansz (1820-1904), Grst missionary of the Anabap- tists since 1851, translator of the Bible into Javanese, Knight of the Royal Dutch Order of the Lion. The Older Church 663 2. Missionary Jansz co