s?" we
asked him. "Numerous are my womenfolk, but they are all cumbered with
children: how can they help me?"
Given these circumstances of difficulty, and the strong under-pull of
Temple influence--is it wonderful that many an orphaned babe finds her
way to the Temple house? For in the South the child of the kind we are
seeking to save is never offered to us because there is no other place
where she is wanted. Everywhere there are those who are searching for
such children; and each little one saved represents a counter-search,
and somewhere, earnest prayer. The mystery of our work, as we have said
before, is the oftentimes apparent victory of wrong over right. We are
silent before it. God reigns; God knows. But sometimes the
interpositions are such that our hearts are cheered, and we go on in
fresh courage and hope.
Among our earliest friends were some of the London Missionary Society
workers of South Travancore. One of these friends interested her
Biblewomen; and when, one morning, one of these Biblewomen passed a
woman with a child in her arms on the road leading to a well-known
Temple, she was ready to understand the leading, and made friends with
the mother. She found that even then she was on her way to a Temple
house. A few minutes later and she would not have passed her on the
road.
There was something to account for this directness of leading. At that
time we had our branch nursery at Neyoor, in South Travancore, ten miles
from the place where the Biblewoman met the mother. On that same
morning, Ponnamal, who was in charge there, felt impelled to go to the
upper room to pray for a little child in danger. She remained in prayer
till the assurance of the answer was given, and then returned to her
work. That evening a bandy drove up to the nursery, and she saw the
explanation of the pressure and the answer to the prayer. A little
child was lifted out of the bandy, and laid in her arms. She stood with
her nurses about her, and together they worshipped God.
This prayer-pressure has been often our experience when special help is
needed to effect the salvation of some little unknown child. It was our
Prayer-day, July 6, 1907. Three of us were burdened with a burden that
could not be lightened till we met and prayed for a child in peril. We
had no knowledge of any special child, though, of course, we knew of
many in danger. When we prayed for the many, the impression came the
more strongly that we were meant to
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