Many Thousands Sent for the Orphans in Answer to Prayer, 1874–1885 (part 3 of 3)
INFANT ORPHAN GIRLS LEARNING TO SEW.
July 5th. From Yorkshire £200. From Torquay £81 18s. 9d. July 10th. From donors, "on their wedding day," £5.—July 15th. From a donor on his wedding day £2 3s. 10d. From Sussex £49 10s.—July 25th. From Stapleton £100. From Bromley £50.—July 26th. From a Bristol donor £100.—July 27th. Last evening our balance in hand, for the support of the Orphans, was £172 10s. 7d., and the total income for them, during the two first months of the present period, from May 26th to July 26th inclusive, has been £4,602 8s. 1d.
August 2nd. Legacy of the late Miss L. £100.—August 9th. From Clifton £50 13s. 4d. for the support of four Orphans for one year.—August 11th. From Westmoreland £100.—August 14th. From Wotton-under-Edge £100 from the same gentleman who had only on June 3rd given £500.—August 23rd. From Clifton £50—August 25th. By legacy of the late Mr. W. C. £123 14s. 7d.
September 11th. Legacy of the late J. E., Esq., £618 4s. 2d. September 16th. From Manchester, a gold ring set with a diamond, a gold pencil case, a gold Albert chain, and a silver locket and chain.—September 25th. As legacy of the late Mr. J. M., £150.
October 4th. From Tunbridge Wells £5, as "Part of an anticipatory thankoffering, for health to be restored."—October 17th. As the legacy of the late Mr. C. J. K. £500.—October 21st. Received from Wotton-under-Edge £1,000, £100 of the sum being for myself. The kind Christian donor is personally unknown to me, though for very many years he has from time to time sent us donations. During the present year he had already sent £100 and £500, making with this donation, up to October 21st, 1882, altogether £1,600. On the same day there was received from Manchester £100, from a Christian gentleman, who for very many years has helped us considerably. October 25th. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £200, with £5 for myself.—October 30th. From Edinburgh £100.
November 1st. As the legacy of the late Miss E. R., of Bath, £300.—November 3rd. From Clifton £50, from a Christian lady who for many years manifested much interest about the Orphans, and who since then has been called to her heavenly home, now to reap, as she has been sowing.—November 8th. From Sussex £150.—November 27th. Received £50, with the following letter: "I began business twenty years ago, in a very small way, and have been prospered above all my expectations. I have been giving ten per cent of my income to the Lord, mainly through reading Mr. Mülller's Narrative. At the beginning of this year I resolved, that all I should make, over and above the requirements of my family and household expenses, on a certain enterprise, I would give to the Lord's work; and, though my books will not be made up until the 31st December, I can see I shall have a good surplus, and therefore it is that I now send you the enclosed."—November 28th. From Wales £75, with £25 for myself, from a Christian gentleman who gives systematically and regularly, and that very largely, just as the Lord is pleased to prosper him in his very large business.
December 5th. From Yorkshire £200.—December 23rd. From near London £290, with £10 for myself.—December 30th. Received £105.
January 1st. Received £13 8s., with the following letter:—
My dear Sir,
"I have much pleasure in sending you, as usual, the contents of our Orphan box, and also, because of what we have seen of the excellence of the training in your Institution in the servant we have, I add to the contents of the box enough to support one Orphan."
January 3rd. A gentleman had asked the question whether we were in need of funds. When £100 was very kindly sent by him for the Institution, this question was not answered, because we speak only to God about these matters; and now, to-day, this gentleman sent us £1,000, for the Orphans.—January 24th. From Edgbaston £200.—January 27th. From Dublin £100, with the following letter:—
Dear Sir,
"On the 25th November last I sent you £50, and gave an account of how it came about that I so increased my usual donation. I find now, having made up my books to the end of the year, that I have a much greater surplus than I had expected, and have a difficulty in deciding as to how to dispose of it. I, however, have no hesitation in sending to you the first and largest instalment, as it was by reading your Narrative I first learned that it was my duty to give proportionately and statedly of my income to the Lord's work. Please find enclosed first half note for £100; and, unless you otherwise wish, I desire it to go for the support of the Orphans."
January 27th. Received £152 for the support of twelve Orphans for one year, together with £10 10s. for myself.
February 15th. Received £2, "Part of a thankoffering for the conversion of my only remaining son."
March 28th. From Maidstone £78 0s. 10d.—March 31st. "Instead of buying a gold watch," £25. May the Lord abundantly recompense the donor for this act of self-denial, and may he continue thus to live for God!
April 7th. Legacy of the late Mrs. A. K. £200.—April 10th. From Leicester £300. From Yorkshire £200.—April 13th. From one of the Midland Counties £70. From Servia £100. April 16th. Legacy of the late A. W., Esq., £500. The gentleman who left this legacy, as in so many cases, was an entire stranger to us.—April 17th. From Wottonunder-Edge £100. The same Christian gentleman, who had sent us already £100, £500, and £1,000 during this period, kindly added this other donation to his former ones.—April 18th. From a Bristol donor £60 for the support of five Orphan girls for one year, and £40 for the support of three Orphan boys.—April 20th. Legacy of the late Mr. J. O. £1,000.
May 26th. The Lord was graciously pleased to help us, not only to meet all the expenses connected with the Orphan Institution, though they amounted altogether to £26,693 12s. 10¼d., but also to close the year with £2,266 19s. 7¼d. in hand. We praise and magnify Him for this kindness!
May 26th, 1883, to May 26th, 1884
May 30th. From South Australia £53.—June 2nd. From Philadelphia £40 19s. 8d.
July 10th. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £200.—July 19th. With Matthew 19:13–15, £100.
August 17th. The balance was to-day reduced to £111; but the Lord sent in £239.—August 18th. Having paid out yesterday and this morning £365 17s. 5d. for the Orphans, and having only received £26 this morning, our balance was reduced this afternoon to £10 2s. 7d. Think of this, dear reader! Day by day about 2,100 persons have to be provided for in the Orphan Institution, and £10 2s. 7d. was all that was in hand to do this. You see that we are just in the same position in which we were 46 years since as to funds. God is our Banker. In Him we trust, and on Him we draw by faith. This was Saturday. In the evening £30 was received. On Monday we received £129 further, but had to pay out £60. On Tuesday we received £295, but had to pay out £180.—August 20th. From Norfolk £27 6s. for the support of four Orphans for six months.—August 21st. From Preston £146 8s. 2d.—August 25th. From Wotton-under-Edge £200.—"From a happy husband and father, on his 15th wedding day, in token of thankfulness to the Father of us all," £10.
September 27th. Received £40 9s. 3d., with the following letter from one of the former Orphans:—
Dear and respected Sir,
"I have very great pleasure in sending the enclosed cheque for £40 9s. 3d. from my brother-in-law, which he wishes to be taken for the Orphans. With deep gratitude for all the kindness I received while in the dear Orphan House, and kind remembrance to all the dear teachers who remember me,
"I remain,
"Yours respectfully and affectionately, ——."
October 8th. From South Australia £20.—October 29th. From M. D. £100.
November 2nd. In 41 coupons £153 14s. 7d., from a donor who has repeatedly helped us in a similar way. Received £51 12s. "From one whose heart is in heaven."—November 8th. From Cambridgeshire £89 8s. From Smyrna £1.—November 16th. From a friend at Burnley £50.—November 26th. Received £10 from Ale County, U.S.A., with the following letter:—
Dear Brother,
"This is a stormy morning. I was led to think how my Heavenly Father had taken care of every parcel I have sent to you these three years across the wide ocean, and what storms they have encountered, and my thoughts have been carried further back. It is about fortyfour years since first I prayed to God, and shed tears over sin, and I feel sure they are not lost, nor forgotten by Him.
"Yours in the good work, ——."
November 28th. From Yorkshire £200. From Beckenham £20, and from Islington £10 1s., with £5 for myself. We had scarcely anything left for the Orphans when these three donations were received.
December 7th. From Maryborough, Australia, £100. Day after day, for many days, our balance in hand for the Orphans has been very small. Yesterday, when all expenses had been met, £34 14s. remained in hand. This morning £256 7s. 8d. came in, so that we had £291 1s. 8d.; but the expenses of the day were so great, that the last sovereign was called for, and we had nothing at all left.—December 8th. To-day £140 2s. 4d. came in; but all was called for again, and thus we were continually, day by day, without any balance in hand, though helped day by day.—In this state of things we continued till December 19th, when our balance was reduced to £7 0s. 4d. I mention these particulars, because some of my readers may suppose that our trials of faith with reference to means existed only 46 years ago. Ever since the commencement of the work, we have gone on in the same way, and have acted on the principles on which the Institution was first begun. See therefore, Christian reader, how truly blessed it is to have real trust in God; not only to say, I rely upon God, but in reality to do so. Our daily average expenses for the Orphans alone amount to £73, and all we had left on December 19th, 1883, amounted to £7 0s. 4d.—December 20th. From "S. S." £50. From the neighbourhood of London £190.—December 24th. From two servants of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seek to lay up treasure in heaven, £150.—December 31st. The Lord has helped us through another year. Again and again all our means for the support of the Orphans were completely expended, so that not a single sovereign remained in hand, yet the Lord has not allowed us to be confounded. Whenever our money was gone, He again appeared on our behalf; we ended the year with a balance of £572 15s. 5d. in hand, and, trusting in Him, we entered in peace upon the New Year.
January 1st. From Maidstone £76 14s. 8d.—January 8th. A deposit certificate for £100, of the Liberator Permanent Benefit Building Society, as the legacy of the late Mrs. S. S. D.—January 9th. From one of the Midland Counties £60.—January 19th. Legacy of the late Mr. J. F. Y. £459 8s. 4d. From Wotton-under-Edge £100.—January 25th. Legacy of the late G. S. G., Esq., £500.
February 8th. Legacy of the late T. N. S., Esq., £100.—February 26th. From Sussex £189 17s. 8d.
March 6th. From Weston-super-Mare £60.—March 11th. From one of the Midland Counties £50.—March 13th. From Ventnor £53 18s. for the support of four Orphans for one year.
April 1st. From Yorkshire £200. This kind donor, whom God has raised up for the Institution within the last eight years, has helped us again and again in a similar manner in our need, without knowing of it.—April 8th. From E. F., two Argentine bonds of £100 each.—April 16th. From one of the Midland Counties £70.—April 19th. From Wotton-under-Edge £100.
May 13th. From Mhow, Central India, 300 rupees and 100 rupees.—May 15th. By sale of dentist gold £41.—May 17th. From St. Marychurch £50. From Edgbaston £200.—May 21st. From Rockleaze £104 9s. 6d.—May 26th. Though many times during our past financial year all our money was gone, yet the Lord allowed us to see the close of the year, as the result of continued believing prayer, with a balance of £421 16s. 3¾d. in hand for the Orphans.
[The expenditure for the Orphans from May 26th, 1883, to May 26th, 1884, was £24,586 15s. 7½d.]
May 26th, 1884, to May 26th, 1885
The balance in hand was only enough to last six days for the average expenditure for the support of the Orphans, though sometimes we pay away more than double this amount in one day. There was therefore again much need to stay ourselves upon God, in order that our hearts might be in peace. This, however, by His grace, we were able to do.
Legacy of £11,034 prayed out of Chancery
June 7th. Legacy of the late G. J. Esq. £11,034 6s. This is the largest amount I have ever received at one time. This legacy had been above six years in Chancery, and year after year its payment was expected, but remained unsettled by the Chancery Court. I kept on praying, however, and for six years prayed day by day that the money might be paid, believing that God in His own time (which is always the best) would help at last; for many legacies in Chancery I had prayed out of the Court, and the money was eventually paid. In the present case, too, after faith and patience had been sufficiently exercised, God granted this request likewise. In addition to the £11,034 6s. paid on June 7th, 1884, £1,000, as part of this legacy, had by the Court been paid to me a long time before. The following points are also further to be noticed regarding the payment of this legacy:—(1) When the money was paid, our balance in hand was only £41 10s., a very little more than one half of the average expenses for the Orphans for one day. How kind it was, therefore, of the Lord to give us this money when He did! (2) There were before us sanitary improvements to be carried out, which we were strongly advised to adopt, as, within the last ten years, so much scientific progress has been made in reference to sanitary operations connected with dwelling-houses, etc. It was therefore so kind of the Lord to give us the means to meet expenses which would amount to upwards of £2,000.
A former Orphan becomes a Missionary
June 11th. Received from one of the former Orphans the following letter, with £1 1s.:—
Dear Sir,
"Enclosed you will find Postal Orders for £1 1s., being the contents of my little box for the Orphans since last summer, the sum being chiefly made up of odd pence and half-pence, and occasionally silver, as we were able to give, or from relatives visiting us. It is wonderful how this little effort has prospered, I believe by asking the Lord to bless it. What a large sum of money might be raised, if all the Orphans, as they leave the Orphan Houses, were to start a little box and ask God to bless it.
"I heard from Mr. W. that he had told you of my dear sister (also a former Orphan) leaving for the Congo River Mission, Africa. You will be glad, dear Sir, to know that they (that is, the Missionary party) reached Sierra Leone safely, and were all well at that time. Dear Mary was very happy, feeling deeply how great is her privilege of carrying the glorious gospel message to the dear heathen. We little thought how the Lord was leading us when He took our parents, and then sent us to the dear Orphan House, where we continually heard of His great love, and were constrained to give Him our hearts and lives. I bless and thank Him for all the way in which we were led, though at times it seemed dark enough. I pray that He will prepare me, and open up the way, that I too may go out to Africa as a Missionary in His own good time."
June 14th. From Wotton-under-Edge £100. with £25 for myself.
July 5th. Legacy of the late Mrs. M., £200.—August 1st. From a Bristol donor £75 for the Orphan girls, and £50 for the Orphan boys. —August 11th. From Yorkshire £200.—August 13th. To-day a Christian brother from the United States of America called on me, and stated that he had been greatly blessed spiritually through my publications; also, that having obtained possession of some property through the death of his sister, he had come from America to know me personally, to see the Orphan Houses himself, and to hand over the whole of the legacy from his sister to the Institution. He subsequently paid me £694, and stayed about ten days in Bristol. See, esteemed reader, how God works for those who trust in Him!—August 14th. From Wotton-under-Edge £200, from a Christian gentleman on whose heart the Lord had especially laid this Institution of late years.—August 18th. From "G.," Preston, £146 17s. 6d.
September 1st. From a gentleman at Hanham £80 14s. 11d. Received 10s. 6d., with the following letter:—
Dear Mr. Müller,
"I received your Report on Saturday, for which I return my sincere thanks, and must acknowledge that the reading of your Reports and the two volumes of the Lord's dealings with you (which you presented to my dear wife, when she was leaving the Orphan Houses in her seventeenth year) has done my soul more real good than anything I ever read, except the Book of books. I hold the position of lay preacher and leader of a class, consisting of 40 members, in a little mining district in the Methodist Free Church Connection. Had not the Lord strengthened my faith through the reading of your works, I feel sure that neither I, nor yet the class under my care, would be in the healthy, spiritual condition, which we enjoy to-day. I just mention this to show that your work and publications are accomplishing all that you intended, and very much more. It truly is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. I am still hoping that you may see your way clear to have a Missionary Tour through England, should your years and health permit; for there are many Orphans in this district, who have little families now growing up around them, whose hearts would rejoice greatly could they but once more see their kind benefactor; and not theirs only, but their children's also. I enclose Postal Order for 10s. for the Orphans, and 6d. for the Report."
September 16th. From the neighbourhood of Tenby £50.—September 19th. From Yorkshire £100.
A former Orphan in the Civil Service
October 9th. Received £1 from one of the former Christian Orphans, with the following letter:—
Dear and honoured Sir,
"Please accept the enclosed on behalf of the Orphans. I have now been away from the Home over 19 years, and can testify to God's exceeding mercy and kindness to me. The enclosed handbills will show how I am able to employ my evenings; and although I did not learn shorthand at the Orphan Houses, yet I received a thoroughly sound education which helped me on, and gave me the desire to learn shorthand. I have at my different classes nearly 100 pupils. Then, too, as you may already know, I was able successfully to pass the open competitive examination for the Civil Service eleven years ago, and am now receiving £200 per annum, rising gradually to £350. I feel, therefore, that I have special mercies for which to thank God; and lastly, for a goodly measure of health and strength through all these years.
"Your obedient servant and old Orphan, ——."
October 11th. Received £1,098 19s. 11d. as the legacy of the late J. G., Esq. This legacy has been in Chancery since 1869. Continually I prayed about this legacy also, and at last, after faith and patience had been long exercised, and much prayer had been offered to the Lord, this legacy too was brought out of the Court, and thus twenty legacies, at least, I have been enabled to pray out of Chancery within the last forty-five years. I relate this for the encouragement of Christian friends.
November 6th. From a Christian in business, who gives as the Lord prospers Him, £97 15s. 8d.—November 8th. Legacy of the late Mrs. F. S. S. £100.—December 1st. Legacy of the late Mrs. C., after having been three years in Chancery, £329 11s. 4d. Here is another legacy, a third during this year, which I have prayed out of Chancery. Received from the neighbourhood of London £100, with the following letter:—
My dear Mr. Müller,
"I have much pleasure in handing you the enclosed £100 from my dear wife, in aid of your great and good work. She had intended leaving this amount in her Will; but, on consideration, she is led to think that it is more in accordance with the Lord's mind that she give it in her lifetime. She is thus her own executrix, and in every way I quite feel with her that it is the better course. With our Christian love, and begging your prayers,
"I remain, yours in the Lord, ——."
December 22nd. From near London £190, with £10 for myself.—December 30th. From Westmoreland £100.
January 1st. From London £25. From Manchester £20.—January 6th. From an hotel proprietor 10s., "being one penny per night for each visitor occupying a bed during the past quarter."—January 27th. Received £3 15s., with the following letter:—
Dear Sir,
"It has pleased God to spare me to reach the age of 75 years, in better health than I have been for several years at this season. This is a cause of very great thankfulness, and I now send you a cheque for £3 15s., being a shilling for every year of the number I have attained. I esteem it a great privilege to be able to send you the enclosed to help some of your little ones, and that you may train them in the fear and love of Him whom to know is life eternal."
January 28th. Legacy of the late F. R. Esq., £1,000. This gentleman I never saw.—January 31st. From Maidstone £73 5s.—February 3rd. Received £35, "Instead of paying the same to underwriters for insurance of a steamer."
March 12th. From a Bristol donor £90 for the support of Orphan girls, and £35 for the support of Orphan boys.—April 25th. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £100.—April 30th. From Wottonunder-Edge £100.
A former Orphan becomes Manager of a Branch Post Office
May 15th. Received the following letter from one of the former Orphans:—
Dear Mr. Müller,
"It is now nearly ten years since I left your fatherly care. I was nine years an inmate of your Home, and most sincerely thank you for the excellent education I received while under your care, which has enabled me to fill a very important and responsible situation. I have gradually risen from one stage to another, and am now managing entirely a Branch Post Office. I thought you would be pleased to hear of my success in life. Will you please accept my warmest thanks for your past fatherly care?
"Believe me, yours respectfully, ——."
May 23rd. From a Bristol donor £100.—May 26th. This last day of our financial year a number of donations came in, amounting altogether to £82.
In the course of the last year £14,647 0s. 4d. came in by way of legacies, a greater amount than we have ever had during any similar period. If donors desire that legacies left by them to the Institution should really be received by us, they must kindly have the legacy inserted in the Will minutely, according to the form which will be found on the last page of the Reports.
[The expenditure for the Orphans from May 26th, 1884, to May 26th, 1885, was £26,925 8s. 10¾d.]