LIBERIAN MISSION
Letter from John Day
BEXLEY, Nov. 17, 1853
As many daily occurrences here might be of much interest
to you, and might indeed be thought worthy of a place in the public
prints, I have thought an incident which occurred last night might
not be unacceptable to you. I would not, however, be understood
that such incidents are of daily, or even of frequent occurrence
here. God grant that they soon may be.
Troa, a head man, (of whose name and place I made
mention in a journal of one of my preaching tours,) came to see
me. Soon after being seated, Mr. Hill said to him, Troa, when you
were here last, and Mr. Day talked to you about God and your soul,
you cried so much, that I thought before this time I should hear
some good thing from you. Ah, Messa Hill! my heart hurt me
plenty. I come now to talk Messa Day. Night-fo-lass, I sleep, I
dream, I see our preacher man all-same Mr. Day. He preach! he
preach! he preach! he cry! he cry! he cry! He hold out his hand to
all people. He beg them people to stop all bad ways, and serve
God. I wake - my heart hurt me plenty. I cry; 1 cry. I get up - I
kneel by my bed - I pray; I pray. My people all come; they look
me; they laugh. They say O, Troa, guine be God man! All time
since den, my heart - O, plenty sorry! So I come to see Messa
Day.
Troa, I am glad to see you, and to hear what you say. For
although you have told me a dream, yet men are apt to dream of
that which is much on their mind. You have told me of more than
a dream. That your heart hurt you, and that you prayed and cried
out to God. That sorry heart, and that praying heart had the Spirit
of God about it, and O, Troa! what a blessing. If you continue to
pray and believe in Jesus, that sorry heart will soon be a glad heart;
and you will have peace, and love, and joy; such as you never felt.
You will feel that God is you father and friend, Jesus is your
Saviour, and heaven your eternal home.
He was serious while he remained, and left the impression
at least, that he knows himself a lost sinner; and is a penitent
seeker after salvation. Bless God, that I ever preached to heathen.
And that I live to see that seed, long donnant as it lay, spring up to
