History of the Building of the Five New Orphan Houses, 1845–1870 (part 4 of 4)
After I had heard all this, I stated that I was not at all surprised at God's working thus for me, since day by day I sought His help, and thus, in answer to prayer, obtained from the most unlikely persons, and entire strangers, donations for the work. "So for instance," I said, "as you told me that you come from the neighbourhood of M——, I had a letter from a lawyer at M——, not long since, asking me to send him a proper form for a legacy to be left to the Orphans, as one of his clients (whose name he did not mention) wished to leave a legacy of £1,000 for the Orphans. Now, as far as I know, I am not personally acquainted with a single person at M——, nor do I know the name of the individual who purposes to leave this £1,000." "About this legacy," replied the stranger at my side, "I can tell you something. After I had got this property, and saw how wrong I had been in looking in such a sceptical way on your work, as if there were no reality in prayer, I decided on helping you further. I thought to myself, though I am a man in health, and of middle age, yet it might be well to make my Will, and to leave you £1,000 for the Orphans." Thus I found out, to my surprise, that this stranger himself was the individual on whose account a lawyer at M—— had written to me. We now separated, the stranger stating that he would in an hour call at my lodgings and give me a cheque for the £100. He did so, and wished £70 to be appropriated to the Building Fund, £20 for the support of the Orphans, and £10 for my own expenses.
September 9th. From the neighbourhood of London £200.
November 14th. From a poor widow in London, who suddenly died, 1s., and a penny stamp, with the following letter, which was after her death found in her drawer, with this money, being the only money she possessed:—
Kind Sir,
"With pleasure I take up my pen, to return you my sincere thanks for the copy of the Report, which you so kindly sent. I find it very interesting. I have sent the enclosed trifle towards the Building Fund, and regret exceedingly, not having it in my power to send a larger sum; but I feel quite assured that my Divine Master, as well as yourself, will not despise the day of small things. He knows, how I have been straitened in my circumstances in consequence of so much illness.
"I remain, Sir, your obedient humble servant, ——."
There are donors who have contributed to this Object thousands of pounds, and here is this poor widow, who gives her all which she possesses in money. Observe, dear reader, the variety of ways, which God uses, to supply us with means.
December 11th. From Wales £22 10s., with £22 10s. for Missions, and £5 for myself, with the following letter:—
My dear Sir,
"I have very great pleasure in bearing my testimony to the truth of your remarks on the subject of devoting a certain portion of income or profits to the Lord's work. About eleven years ago I was led to give a tenth, and later on an eighth, and then a sixth; and I have not had any cause to regret this course; on the contrary, I have proved the truth of God's word, 'There is that scattereth and yet increaseth, etc.' Enclosed I hand you cheque for £50, £5 of which please accept for your own use; the balance to be devoted as you may deem most desirable."
January 6th. From London £50.—January 13th. From Devonshire £84 16s.
March 5th. From Hong Kong £80.—March 8th. From India £30.—March 28th. From a ship-owner, instead of insuring his vessels, £100.
May 5th. From T. H., Esq., £1,000 "as a tribute to the memory of a devoted sister." This is the gentleman who sent me £1,000 in September, 1864, as, having come by the death of his sister into the possession of her property, he wishes to spend it in such a way as she would approve of if alive.—May 17th. From Leicestershire £200.—May 18th. From a ship-owner, instead of insuring his vessels, £100.
May 26th. The total income for this Object during the past year, from May 26th, 1865, to May 26th, 1866, was £9,366 4s. 7¾d., so that, with the £24,635 17s. 5d. in hand on May 26th, 1865, the sum was increased by May 26th, 1866, to £34,002 2s. 0¾d.
Finds the cost will exceed the estimate
According to the estimate I had made about these two houses, judging from the expenses connected with the building of the New Orphan Houses, No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, we should have had enough money for meeting the amount of the contract for No. 4 and No 5; but when the tenders came in, it was found that the amount was about £8,000 more than my calculation made in the spring, 1861; this arose from the fact that, since then, almost all the building material had risen in price, particularly slates, and that the wages of the workmen are one-fourth higher than they were when the New Orphan Houses No. 2 and No. 3 were built. The amount of the tenders for both houses, including the cooking and heating apparatus and drying stove, amounted to £41,147; but I had not this amount in hand needing about £8,000 more. Now, what was to be done under these circumstances? My decision was made instantly. My heart longed to build two more houses to the honour of the Lord; I had brought before the Lord many thousands of prayers during the past five years; there were many hundreds of Orphans waiting for admission, and their number daily increasing, but I could not contract debt. I would not sign contracts which I had not money in hand to meet. Should it be said: But your work is so manifestly the Lord's work, that you need not be afraid to build, though you have not yet all the money in hand, for God will surely help you: my reply is this. Just because it is the Lord's work, and manifestly His, therefore I can wait, patiently wait His time. When His time is come, He will give to the last shilling all I need; but if I commence before His time, which I should do, were I to begin that for which I have not the means, it would be like saying: "God has not money enough to pay for His own work;" and, instead of acting in faith, I should act presumptuously. I therefore did this. Having ample means to meet the contract for No. 4 (for separate tenders were given in for the two houses), I accepted it, and a written agreement was made between the contractor and myself, that on January 1st, 1867, or at any time previously, I may accept his tender for No. 5 also, but I shall not be bound to do so. If it shall, therefore, please the Lord, by the 1st of January, 1867, to give me about £7,000 more than I have now in hand, the contract for No. 5 will be signed; but I cannot go into debt. For this amount I look and wait on God, and doubt not that He will help further, as He has always done. If it please the Lord to exercise my faith and patience, yet, I will, by His grace, continue to call upon Him, being fully assured that in the end I shall have enough. In stating that about £7,000 more would be needed, before I could sign the contract for No. 5, no reference is made to the fitting up and furnishing the two houses, which will cost about £10,000 more; but this latter sum will not actually be needed, before entering into an agreement for building No. 5.
The contract for the building of No. 4 was signed on May 3rd, 1866, and on May 7th the operations on the ground commenced, and have been steadily going on up to this day, May 26th, 1866.
July 21st. From Devonshire £190 2s. 11d.—July 30th. From a Bristol donor £200.
September 7th. Received £30, with the following letter:—
Dear Sir,
"I have been reading the last Report of your valuable Institution, and am much impressed with the donations and letters therein contained, especially with two of them. One is that of an old Orphan, now in service, who had been enabled to lay by some of her wages, but sent the money to you in preference to its lying useless. Another is that of a poor afflicted widow, who had saved some money and acted in a similar way. Being impressed by their example, and by the Divine precept (Matt. 6:19), I have taken from the Post Office Savings' Bank the savings of four years' work, and lay it at your disposal, trusting that you will devote part of it to the Missions, and the rest as you may think best. Hoping that you will receive it safely, that it may be blessed by God to the increase of the Redeemer's kingdom, and that your own labours may be abundantly rewarded,
"I am, Your sincere donor, ——."
I took half of this amount for the Building Fund.—September 19th. From Birmingham £200.—September 21st. "From S. Kent," as "First dividend from a bank, which stopped payment, some time since," £100. From Blackheath £100.
October 8th. From a ship-owner £100, instead of insuring his ships. —October 12th. To-day the senior partner of a large firm kindly promised to give himself all the glass that would be required for the 350 large windows of No. 4, and, in the name of his firm, he promised, that the firm jointly would give all the glass which would be required for the 350 large windows of No. 5.
November 17th. From a servant of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seeks to lay up treasure in heaven, £120.—November 28th. From Colonel —— £10, "To help in accepting the tender for No. 5." It then wanted 33 days to the time when the matter finally was to be settled about the tender of the contract for No. 5. As yet I had not all in hand for this purpose, though expecting to receive it through the gracious hand of my Heavenly Father, for whose honour and glory I desired to build this fifth Orphan House. I therefore continued patiently, believingly, and expectingly to make my supplication to Him, and, accordingly, He was pleased, day by day, to send in further supplies, as He had done from the time I had signed the contract for No. 4.
December 14th. From Australia £20. From A. C. S., Scotland, £100.—December 26th. From the House Girls of the New Orphan House No. 1, 10s. From a former Christian Orphan, now clerk in a lawyer's office, 10s.—December 31st. From a servant of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seeks to lay up treasure in heaven, £50.
Contract far No. 5 signed
December 31st. This was the last day of the year, and the next day was the one to which the accepting of the tender for the contract of the New Orphan House No. 5 had been postponed. The Lord had so graciously helped, that a little more than £7,000 had come in, so that a day before the 1st of January, 1867, I was able to accept and sign the contract for No. 5, the contracts for both houses being £41,147. I had now the desire of my heart regarding this point also, and the precious recompense from the Lord, of having received all the money from Him for this Object, without going into debt. Thousands of times I had asked the Lord for the means needed for building these two houses, and now I had, to the full, received the answer. On the 15th of January, 1867, operations commenced in connection with building No. 5.
In addition to the hundreds of Orphans previously applied for, there were from January 1st, 1866, to December 31st, 1866, altogether 617 Orphans, whose admission had been applied for, from which the reader may easily judge, how great the delight of my soul was, when I considered myself warranted to sign the contract for No. 5 also, and thus had before me the delightful prospect of being permitted to care for many hundreds more of destitute Orphans.
January 1st. From Surrey £50. From Scotland £100.
January 24th. From Somersetshire £300.—January 26th. From Devonshire £148 16s.—Notice, dear reader, that, after the contract for No. 5 also had been signed, as there was yet about £10,000 more needed for fitting up and furnishing the two houses, the Lord was pleased to encourage His servant regarding that amount also, by sending in means towards these expenses soon afterwards.
March 13th. From Devonshire £100.
April 10th. From Scotland £105 9s. 2d.—April 22nd. From Liverpool £20, with the following letter:—
My dear Sir,
"I enclose you Bank Draft for £20, say £10 for the Building Fund, £5 for the support of Orphans, and £5 for your own personal expenses. Not having smoked for twelve months, this is the amount I would have spent otherwise in cigars. Wishing you ever success, "Truly yours, ——."
This donation not only shows in what a variety of ways the Lord is pleased to supply me with means for His work, but also, how much money may be saved by giving up needless and injurious habits.
May 6th. From the neighbourhood of Bath £500 The kind donor of this sum had several times before sent me £50, and even £100; but now he kindly sent £500. As the work increases, and the outgoings become greater and greater, so the Lord is pleased, not only, in answer to our daily prayers, to raise up new donors, but also to influence the hearts of those who have given before, to give more than ever.
The total income for the Building Fund from May 26th, 1866, to May 26th, 1867, amounted to £11,203 16s. 8½d.
No 4. is erected and roofed in, and a beginning has been made to plaster the inside.
On May 26th, we had all the means in hand, actually required for the erection of the two new houses, and also, as far as could be calculated, about £4,000 towards the fittings, furniture, and other expenses not included in the contracts, so that only about £6,000 more was required. We had, therefore, through patient believing prayer and the exercise of faith, received about £52,000 towards the £58,000 which would be needed altogether. I now give a few instances in the following pages, to show how the Lord was pleased to help us further.
May 31st. Received the following letter from a donor in Kent, entirely unknown to me, even by name, who had sent me about three months before £300:—
Dear Sir,
"I find I have still £200 left of the legacy I mentioned to you, some time back. As every penny of that legacy is 'Corban,' I cannot touch it, and should like to send it to you if you will excuse being troubled again by me. My heart's wish would be, that you would accept it for yourself and family; but it is not for me to press so delicate a point, therefore you are free. Doubtless there are calls for help on all sides of you. Would I could make this thousands. Accept my pseudonym, ——."
Of this £200 I took £100 towards fitting up and furnishing the New Orphan Houses No. 4 and No. 5, and £100 for the first four Objects.
July 24th. From the neighbourhood of Bath £500, from a gentleman who had in May also sent me £500. I have never seen this kind donor, as is the case with perhaps nineteen out of twenty of the donors; but the Lord spoke to him thus to help me to accomplish this enlargement of the Orphan work.
August 13th. From a clergyman in Oxfordshire £45, with £5 for myself.—September 28th. From Scotland £100.
November 7th. Received £53 19s., with the following letter:
My dear Sir,
"It affords me much pleasure to send you cheque for £53 19s., the Lord's share in the profits of my business. In July, 1858, when I sent you my first cheque for £4 6s. 4d., I little expected it would ever reach its present amount. I trust you will apply it to that department of your work that most stands in need; and should £5 be acceptable to yourself, I hope you will take it. "I remain, etc., ——."
I took of the £53 19s. for the fitting up No. 4 and No. 5, £26, and £27 19s. for the first four Objects of the Institution. As the Lord was pleased to prosper this Christian in business, in 1858, and since, so he contributed to the Lord's work; and the result was, that the Lord entrusted him with more, made him a steward over more; so that, as he says, his ability to send me help increased from £4 6s. 4d. to £53 19s. All believers, who know the enjoyment of giving, will know also how this enjoyment may be increased more and more by a ready heart to be the Lord's steward.—November 9th. From Devonshire £5, "Instead of going a wedding trip."
December 2nd. From Clifton £200.
January 1st. Received from a ship-owner, instead of insuring his vessels, £50.
February 1st. Only about £20 had been received this morning; a large sum to some, but very little to us, the expenses of the various Objects of the Institution being now so great. After family prayer I united, as usual, with my dear wife in prayer, and we thanked the Lord for what He had been pleased to send us, at the same time asking Him to send much more, if it might be, even this very day. About twenty minutes after this, I received a letter containing £50, in which the kind Christian donor writes: "As you soon will receive more Orphans, I send you this sum for them." In the afternoon there came in further £3 11s. 6d., and in the evening £10, and £5 from Sunderland, and from Scotland £66 6s. for the Building Fund; besides a few other small donations. Thus the day, which began with about £20, closed with a total income of £141 0s. 6d. But the most remarkable point is this: The £66 6s. from Scotland supplies me, as far as can be known now, with all the means necessary for fitting up and furnishing the New Orphan Houses No. 4 and No. 5. Six years and eight months I have been, day by day, and generally several times daily, asking the Lord to give me the needed means for this enlargement of the Orphan work, which, according to the calculations made in the spring of 1861, appeared to be about £50,000, but which, at a later period, was found to be about £58,000. THE TOTAL OF THIS AMOUNT I HAD NOW RECEIVED. I praise and magnify the Lord for putting this enlargement of the work into my heart, and for giving me courage and faith for it; and, above all, for sustaining my faith regarding it day by day without wavering. When the last portion of the money was received, I was no more assured concerning the whole, than I was at the time I had not received one single donation towards this large sum. I was at the beginning, after once having ascertained His mind, through most patient and heart-searching waiting upon God, as fully assured that He would bring it about, as if the two houses, with their hundreds of Orphans occupying them, had been already before me.
Advice to young Christians
I make a few remarks here for the sake of younger believers, in connection with this subject: (1) Be slow to take new steps in the Lord's service, or in your business, or in your families. Weigh everything well; weigh all in the light of the Holy Scriptures, and in the fear of God. (2) Seek to have no will of your own, in order to ascertain the mind of God, regarding any steps you propose to take, so that you can honestly say, you are willing to do the will of God, if He will only please to instruct you. (3) But when you have found out what the will of God is, seek for His help, and seek it earnestly, perseveringly, patiently, believingly, and expectingly; and you will surely, in His own time and way, obtain it.
Some individuals, who are unacquainted with me, may suppose that I entered too hastily upon this enlargement, without counting the cost. If so, they are mistaken. I was ready to go forward if God would have me to go forward; and I was not only content, but well pleased, to stand still, and enlarge the work no further, if this had been the mind of the Lord: I had no will of my own. I further weighed well all the difficulties. I truly counted the cost. The work I had in hand, before this last Orphan enlargement, would require year by year about £20,000, and I had reason to believe that, when the enlargement was carried out, it would require above £30,000 annually, besides the sum for building the two new houses. But with all this, calmly, fully, and patiently looking at all the difficulties, not only with regard to the needed money, but the numberless other matters to be taken into account, I, at last, became assured that the Lord would have me to go forward. Now, when once this decision had been made, upon scriptural ground, and after much prayer, I was of good cheer. The difficulties did not cast me down; for I expected help from God. I set myself earnestly to prayer, and held came by little and little; yet it came. Money was sent. The land was obtained, and with no little difficulty. The plans were made. The houses were begun. But day by day I went on praying, looking for the full answer. And thus, step by step, the Lord has helped me further.
May 23rd. All the glass, needed for the New Orphan Houses No. 4 and No. 5, was given gratuitously. The glass for No. 4 was kindly given by the senior partner of a large firm, and the glass for No. 5 by the same firm conjointly. The promise to do so had been given nearly two years since; but now I learnt from the clerk of the works, that all the glass had been actually supplied. The greatness of the gift will be seen, by its being remembered that there are above 700 large windows in these two houses.
When the Report for 1868 was written, I stated that, as far as I could see, I had all the money in hand, required for the building, fittings, and furnishing of the two new houses. Since then, however, I have received some further donations; and as I could not possibly know what unexpected expenses might occur, I received all those donations, which were expressly given to meet the expenses connected with this enlargement. The Lord by this has again acted as in former times; for in the case of the New Orphan House No. 1, when all the expenses had been met in full, I had a balance of more than f 600 in hand; and when all the expenses for building, fitting up, and furnishing No. 2 and No. 3 had been defrayed, there was about £2,900 left. Thus the Lord showed that He could not only provide the large sums needed for these three Orphan Houses, but that He could also give more than was enough, and all simply in answer to prayer, though about £60,000 had been required. In like manner I expect that, when all the expenses connected with the New Orphan Houses No. 4 and No. 5 shall have been defrayed, there will be again a balance left. This is just like the ways of God. When He orders something to be done for the glory of His name, He is both able and willing to find the needed individuals for the work and the means required. Thus, when the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was to be erected, He not only fitted men for the work, but He also touched the hearts of the Israelites to bring the necessary materials and gold, silver, and precious stories; and all these things were not only brought, but in such abundance, that a proclamation had to be made in the camp, that no more articles should be brought, because there were more than enough. The reason why I dwell on this is, that it may lead the Christian reader, first of all, to see well to it, that the work in which he desires to be engaged is God's work; secondly, that he is the person to be engaged in this work; thirdly, that God's time has come, when he should do this work; and then to be assured, that, if he seeks God's help in His own appointed way, He will not fail him.
May 26th. The New Orphan House No. 4 was opened on November 5th, 1868. Since then we have received into No. 4, or to fill up some vacancies in No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, 420 Orphans.
May 26th. On January 6th, 1870, the long-looked-for, and the longprayed-for day, arrived, when the last house also, the New Orphan House No. 5, could be opened. The immense work connected with sending out Orphans from the other four houses, filling up again the vacancies thus made, and going on with all the other parts of the work, had made it impracticable to open this house sooner. Since the opening of No. 5 there have been received into it 153 Orphans.
All the expenses in connection with No. 4 and No. 5 being built, fitted up, and furnished, were met to the full, and, after all had been paid, there was left a balance of several thousand pounds. See, esteemed reader, how abundantly God answered our prayers, and how plain it is, that we were not mistaken, after we had patiently and prayerfully sought to ascertain His will. Be encouraged, therefore, yet further and further to confide in the living God.