SEPTEMBER

Tuesday, September 1. This morning I and our community, in all humility, proceeded to make good use of the letters which arrived recently; and our dear God strengthened me greatly in this undertaking. Since I have to leave on a not very pleasant journey to Savannah this afternoon, I needed this respite. The letter from our most esteemed Senior Urlsperger contained this ominous and hopeful sentence: “The more our enemies envy the spiritual and physical growth of God’s kingdom in Ebenezer, the more it will increase in size.”

Thursday, September 10. Our miraculous Lord has sent much suffering to Glaner and his wife, a pious couple. However, by His goodness, they benefit from their trials spiritually. For a long time now, the wife has been weak and sickly, and she can attend to only a few chores. He has assisted faithfully two widows in his neighborhood, Mrs. Zant and Mrs. Graniwetter, and has worked so hard that his feet have become afflicted and now he can hardly walk. God’s word and prayer are their daily food and drink, and they praise His goodness more and more and never complain about their misery. They yearn for heaven; and our dear Savior means not only a great deal to them, but everything.

Veit Lechner is in a similar beautiful frame of mind, although he is still troubled by old sins he committed in Salzburg and Germany after falling in with bad company. Occasionally he finds it hard to believe that God will bless such a sinner as himself. My words of consolation to him were well received; I quoted from the gospel which is to be preached to the poor, and we held our communal prayer in his house. He has very little, on account of the long drawn-out illness which God sent to him, and from which He, miraculously, granted him recovery, when neither he himself nor his family and other people believed it possible. He is in need of assistance, which is gladly given to him. He is one of those who consider having come to Ebenezer a great and undeserved blessing. Here in Ebenezer we have an abundance of the means to salvation and prepare ourselves for eternity in solitude and Christian simplicity.

Lechner asked his stepson, N. /Schrempf/ why he wanted to move to Carolina when his earnings were quite good here. The answer he got was that there he could eat meat three times a day. He is like those who yearned for the fleshpots of Egypt while they were being tested in the desert. I consider this dangerous and self-centered change of this poor man a great punishment by God. He not only sinned heavily against his father and mother during the journey here but also after arriving in Ebenezer and has not done any penance for that so far. He has also forgotten that God sent him a disease which made him rant and rave during the time of the Spanish Invasion and that He blessed our poor prayers and the medicines we used for healing him.

He had been doing various work and received from me two pounds and eight shillings Sterling in cash for it. He charges a high price for his work. I wish with all my heart that he, his wife, and his two small children may prosper in body and soul! I am saddened and disquieted by the self-centeredness, ungratefulness, and disobedience of people like him, as well as by some other things that happened in our community. However, prayer, contemplation of the divine word, and talking to my dear colleague and other pious listeners give me new courage and console me; and I hope that everything will turn out for the best.

Saturday, September 12. Already on Monday our large boat left for Savannah in order to fetch the things which arrived for us from London. It returned without mishap this afternoon. The four men who brought our things here transported thick boards to the church in the same trip. An unusually high sand dune is located directly at the landing site in Savannah and it is not possible to use a winch for pulling things upwards. Boards such as these, two and three inches thick and about fifteen feet long, have to be carried up, which is very hard work and takes a great deal of time.

May God be praised most heartily for the many benefactions, especially those from England and Germany, which He has bestowed on our entire community, on our poor, the sick, and our widows as well as on our families. Our merciful God has sent us also oil paint for our churches, two mill stones, chains, and ropes for our mill, medicine for Mr. Thilo and our families, stoves and beds for the sick, books for everybody in our community, and many other beautiful and useful things. The mill stones were not brought up here on this trip but they will be fetched from Savannah when the water is high enough to reach the mill directly by boat.

Sunday, September 13. Our miraculous God, our Benefactor, has been sending several severe tribulations to N.N. for the past few years; but as yet His purpose has not been fulfilled. Quite to the contrary, as far as his Christianity is concerned, he has worsened. His household is in great disarray, he is raising his children very poorly; and virtually all his affairs need to be put in order. Today he reported a new disaster to me which has befallen his wife under certain sad circumstances. I took the opportunity to show him that sin is the root of all evil and, with kindness, I encouraged him to repent sincerely and to remember his promise to God, to me, and to his pious brother in Prussia, namely, to strive for his own blessedness in awe and fear. Finally, I prayed with him to our Lord to have mercy on him, his wife, his children, and the household he let go to ruin. How well this man could do! He has such ample opportunity to earn sufficient money! But he proves the truth of the saying: sin is the people’s perdition!

Monday, September 14. A friend in Savannah wrote to me, among other things, that the harsh and unfair opinions which some people in Savannah held of me have subsided and that the members of the city council speak of me now in no other but loving and respectful terms. I put all such matters into the hands of the Lord; and I have reported the necessary details to the Lord Trustees. Otherwise, I have kept quiet and ignored shortsighted and ignorant opinions. Although I am being mistreated here, I find myself all the more refreshed from afar; namely, by all the beautiful books, letters, medicines, and other considerable gifts which our dear God has sent to us and which were unpacked recently.

Wednesday, September 16. A pious Salzburger offered to sell me some produce of his various crops and also some hay. He told me that God had blessed him with a rich harvest and that he wanted to earn some money by selling part of it in order to buy heavy winter clothing for his family. What the esteemed gentleman von N. remarked in one of his very important letters is quite true in this case; namely, that almost nothing proves more disheartening for a hard-working farmer than the fact that prosperity eludes him because he finds it impossible to sell his crops for money. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the Lord Trustees make some provisions for the sale of some of the products which are either grown or made here.

This Salzburger is a well-contented man who, among other things, said: “I am not nearly as poorly off as I am willing to be for the sake of the gospel, just as I have promised to our Lord my willingness to suffer. I can not understand how it is possible for some Salzburgers to leave Ebenezer and not even consider their children’s welfare, after having come here for the sake of God’s word.” I then quoted to him the verse Romans 1: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do these things with are not convenient. Because they did not . . .”. Such people as these, who are not willing to be genuinely converted and who refuse to forego their wordly comfort and their desires of the flesh will be punished by God’s judgment and, as a consequence, suffer a distorted view of things: what is good they will perceive as evil and black they will see as white.

The large chest from Halle which I have mentioned frequently in the past because it failed to reach us here in good order has not arrived this time, either. It contained a large quantity of linen for our community; however, our dear God sent us many beautiful gifts: bedding, linen, shirts, stockings, and thread and ribbons for sewing. These gifts had been sent to Augsburg from many places and were collected there; among the things we received were some ready-made clothes from London. Today these blessings will be put in order for distribution to our people. Mr. Thilo received an impressive bounty of medicines from Halle, and both our families enjoyed similar blessings due to the loving care of our most dear father in Christ, Doctor Francke. Praised be God! May He reward these and the many other benefactions which we have received so far most richly!

Thursday, September 17. An old Salzburger thanked me in the name of our dear God and told me that He had done more for him and his physical well-being than he could have asked for or could have understood. He is sixty years old, and a few months ago he suffered from a great weakness, especially in his hearing, so that he became almost deaf. He remembered that he had complained to me of his misery some time ago on his way to church and that I had given him this answer: “God who has helped you in the past can, and will, help you again, for His mercy is undiminished.” Our merciful Lord blessed this my consolation for him so that he will never forget it. I reminded him to use the short time of grace left to him well and to work hard towards preparing himself for eternity. In particular, to be on his guard, pray regularly and especially fight his main sin, avarice, worry for food, and greed.

Friday, September 18. Widow Reuter praises God in many ways and recounts the good things that have happened to her since she was widowed. She and her two small children (the youngest is still nursing) enjoyed good health, something which she lacked almost entirely throughout the years of her marriage. God blessed her work in the fields and her cattle so that she was able to pay off her husband’s debts as well as buy more clothes and food than while her husband was still alive. She has quite a good harvest of European crops, as well as others, such as wheat, rye, Indian corn, beans, and squash. She sees God’s blessing at work everywhere and thinks herself completely unworthy of it. Her neighbors assist her in several ways; and this summer I hired a worker for her for six days for threshing and making hay, and another one for two days to do the plowing. She herself did all the other work in the fields. God granted us also various gifts from Europe which benefit widows and orphans especially. Our merciful God takes care of even the weakest among us in so many ways!

Monday, September 21. This morning we gave thanks and held our annual harvest service on Deuteronomy 8:10. The text encouraged us to show our gratitude, in word and deed, towards the Lord’s spiritual and physical blessings from afar and near. Afterwards we started to distribute the gifts from Europe which our merciful Lord had granted us this time. Tomorrow, God willing, we will continue in good order. Yesterday, it being the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, we covered the gospel text dealing with the lack of gratitude for received blessings, which is a sin that greatly displeases the Lord.

Today we considered the verse: “When thou has eaten and art full . . .” regarding the gratitude for received blessings, which is a virtue that greatly pleases the Lord. Although I am troubled these days because of several problems in our community, our merciful Lord did strengthen me remarkably, both physically and spiritually, while I was preaching His word. He is honoring me at present by sending me various tribulations; and my soul as well as my office, I hope, will benefit from this. I completely believe in the verse: “In returning and rest shall ye be saved.” May our Lord continue to grant me hope and courage!

Tuesday, September 22. Rottenberger and Kogler’s wife have been suffering from physical weakness for some time now. It is God’s intention to assist them by offering this bitter cup; and the consequences of His grace and the Holy Spirit are becoming apparent in a miraculous fashion, although their physical condition is very poor indeed.

Wednesday, September 23. Quite early this morning word was sent that Rottenberger needed to see me. On my way there I met a man who was going to work in town. I asked him what Biblical verse he had chosen as his motto for the day? He said that indeed he had prayed together with his wife and had read for a while in the Treasure Chest¹ but just then he could not think of a single word, which embarrassed him greatly. In the evening, as I hurried back for our prayer hour after seeing Rottenberger and Mrs. Kogler, I met him again; and, he told me with tears in his eyes, that he had certainly felt the damage done by his spiritual negligence during the day’s work. He gave me some of the details and added that from now on he would keep to his new resolve to meet each day well fortified by faith. Thereafter he chose as his motto the verse: “Whom I love I chasten and scourge.”

Thursday, September 24. Rottenberger, in his sickness, is using his pains to his soul’s advantage. He regrets his former faithlessness towards God, who had worked His miraculous ways in him for a long time; and he is praying seriously and frequently. He also welcomes it when other people pray with him and talk to him about God’s word, and especially about Christ, our Savior. He believes himself to be the worst of all sinners; and he humbly marvels at the wealth of God’s patience and tolerance towards him. He reminds himself as well as others frequently of the verse: “Haste thee, and save thy soul.” In the past, the company of some of his fellow workers sometimes hampered him; and he violated his conscience out of fear of appearing unpleasant.

Friday, September 25. Mrs. Kogler, who is also sick, was doing very poorly several days ago. She was quite agitated, and from her words and gesturing it was easy to see that she was filled with fear and greatly troubled in her conscience. She had to be held down and watched at times so that she would not jump out of her bed. Afterwards she became quieter but could not describe what condition she was in. When I visited her today, she told me at length and with great emphasis that our Lord had shown her much mercy, for she had prayed to Him fervently, asking him to reveal all her sins to her and to grant her a penitent and believing spirit. This the Lord had done and, beyond that, He had almost forced upon her His merciful forgiveness for all of her sins. Furthermore, He had assured her of His grace and had sent her peace of mind and soul. Now she need not do more than reach out, receive His blessings, and be filled with joy. Dying seems a pleasure and great benefit to her now.

This turn of events has awakened her husband’s spirit. Yesterday and today he prayed and, greatly moved, praised the Lord. Already some years ago I had started to see the effects of goodness in Mrs. Kogler; also, she had always shown a great love for God’s word and prayer. There was some lack of the necessary sincerity, however; and that prevented her from giving herself to our Savior completely and genuinely so that she had been unable to reach certainty regarding her state of grace. The conduct of her husband, who used to be somewhat irresponsible as well as harsh, contributed to preventing her from achieving complete goodness. Now that she has received grace and has overcome her fear, she is advancing him on his path to goodness; and, in contrast to earlier times when he was less willing, he is now eager to mend his ways, since he has witnessed her blessed change and her great joy and has been greatly impressed by it.

Saturday, September 26. Around noon, Mrs. Kogler sent word again asking me to come and see her at the mill plantation where she lies sick. As soon as possible I hurried there. Again, her mind at peace, and with well chosen words, she told me that our dear Savior had helped her out of her soul’s great pain and had calmed her spirit. Earlier this morning, her certainty of His grace and sweet love had vanished, and it had seemed to her that she had only imagined His forgiveness of her sins as well as her great joy of a few days ago. She thought that it had all been lies what she had told me of her state of grace, and this seemed a great sin to her. She had humbled herself, thinking of herself as a most miserable worm which belonged entirely and completely in hell’s fire and damnation, and she had held to her belief in our dear Savior’s word so steadfastly that once again He had sent a ray of His love directly into her heart. Now she felt as alive and full of joy as before her doubts. She then said: “Often I have heard, but never fully understood the verse: “Unless thy law had been my delights, I should have then perished in mine affliction.” We then sang the song: Meine Seel komm in die Wunden etc., prayed, and praised the Lord. After that this blessed sufferer received Holy Communion. She thought the verse “Behold, I stand . . . etc.” quite remarkable because it describes in detail how our Lord Jesus prepares the soul before sharing Holy Communion with it.

Sunday, September 27. Since I have not received any word or letters from our dear brothers in Pennsylvania² in such a long time (because their letters were on a boat which was captured and brought to St. Augustine) I have to be content with whatever printed news of God’s work there I get sent from Halle. Reading these today edified me greatly, by God’s grace. Anew I feel encouraged to praise God most heartily and ask for His intercession. Mr. Mühlenberg and Mr. Brunnholz are two dear men, whom our Lord has equipped with special talents for serving Him. This irritates some, especially members of the various new sects. However, to my great joy, I read how our Lord opens the eyes of those who are blind. Our dear God has sent us again a great deal of edifying printed material, among it news, vitae, and short essays which He usually has blessed in me, our listeners, and my own family. The Glaucha House Church Order³ is an inspirational little book and is especially well suited for our naive listeners.

Monday, September 28. It pleases our wise and miraculous Lord to try and test dear Mrs. Kogler in various ways, and to subject her to misery and tribulations. She remembered that several years ago she had treated someone unfairly in our orphanage, and this caused her great anxiety and fear. Everything, even her best qualities, suddenly seemed sinful to her and she is willing to suffer any pains for our Lord if only our dear Savior will not forsake her but will receive her in grace. She expressed her desire for grace with so much sighing, gesturing, crying, and sobbing that I cannot find words to describe it. I instructed her that Christ’s merit applies to all, and I told her that she had done penance for her sins long ago, had paid what she owed, and was included in the order of salvation. Then I recited for her some good gospel verses, with which she was familiar, and advised her to confess all her sins sincerely, together with me, both her known ones and unknown ones, to our Lord Jesus.

After that she was to accept absolution, which I would pronounce to her in my capacity as a servant of the gospel in His name and in obedience to His command. She was to accept my words as if they had been spoken by Jesus Himself: “Be of good comfort, daughter, thy sins are forgiven thee.” Because He had said: “Whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then I knelt down at her bedside and prayed a prayer of penitance, which I felt befitted her circumstances according to the ten commmandments; and she prayed along, crying and sighing. After that, in the name of God and the Holy Trinity, the merciful forgiveness of her sins was announced. She sealed this with a heartfelt “Amen” and seemed filled with faith. I told her also that feeling was different from believing; otherwise it would be written: “Without feeling shall I trust.”

She feels that a genuine change has taken place in her, she truly abhors all sins, desires Christ and His grace with all her heart, and fully intends to spend the short remainder of her life glorifying Him. I therefore do not have the least doubt that she has a place in the order of grace, that her sins will be forgiven, and that she will partake of the entire treasure of blessedness, as Jesus taught us to preach penitence and the forgiveness of sins.

Saturday, September 29. Kocher, the schoolmaster, suddenly fell ill, as did his wife and son. All three became sick at the same time; they suffer from the same symptoms, and apparently the cause of their sickness was a soup they ate. Since they have an open kitchen, it is possible that something poisonous flew or fell into their food. Doctor Mayer, too, has fallen dangerously ill, and our dear God has sent me a sickness also; I came down with a cold fever after yesterday’s evening prayer hour, and I was unable to hold our weekly sermon in Zion Church today. Mr. Lemke stood in for me.

With the proper humble gratitude, I count among the major blessings which our merciful Lord is showing to me and my family the fact that my two young sons are receiving private lessons from my learned colleague, Mr. Lemke and our doctor, Mr. Thilo. In addition to their usual lessons in school they are instructed privately for three hours every day in Latin, geography, history, and vocal music. I am unable to pay Mr. Thilo for his service; however, our dear God and Father alerted several esteemed benefactors in Germany who are willing to contribute to the cost of these lessons. I praise the Lord for this, and I wish and pray that our benefactors will receive God’s blessing in return.

Sunday, September 30. Pious Mrs. Glaner has been quite weak for some time now. Her sickness has worsened to such a degree that it was thought she would die last night. When I came to see her today she felt a little better. She is filled with a holy desire to die; she told me she had overcome her remaining worldly ties through Christ’s strength, her sins were forgiven, and she could feel our Savior’s love in her heart. Her husband cried loudly and bemoaned the loss which was about to befall his household, as well as his Christianity, if his wife were to leave him by her untimely death.

His wife and I both consoled him, quoting God’s word. In order to strengthen her very sweet and edifying image of the glory of eternal life, I read to her the beautiful song: Zu dir erheb ich meine Sinnen, etc. and sang a few lines from it, despite my present state of impaired health. Our community will lose a precious treasure in her parting from us; she, however, will gain all and lose nothing.

OCTOBER

Monday, October 1. Mrs. Kogler has been desolate for the past few days, and her spiritual condition has deteriorated severely. Only a week ago she was gifted with a droplet of sweet eternity’s rain and strengthened by the words of the gospel and Holy Communion. Now she realizes more and more the profound ruin of her soul; and she is learning to see what a serious sin the lack of faith really is, as well as how hard God works at setting to rights again a soul which has strayed from the right path and dirtied itself in sins. She thinks that she would not be sick and bed-ridden if she only were able to believe that once again our God in Christ were merciful towards her. Faith itself and all its main signs are present; what is lacking in her is the feeling of faith. Since all the promises which hold true for those who believe apply to her as well, I could give her hope, quoting from God’s word, that in time, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, her battle for faith would end victoriously.

Rottenberger, who was seriously ill, has recovered, and is now strong enough to leave his house and attend to some of his duties. He was not at home when I came to see him, and I quoted to his wife these important words of our Lord Jesus: “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, less a worst thing . . .” etc. His soul benefitted greatly from the tribulations that God had sent to him.

Wednesday, October 3. In her present sickness Mrs. Glaner suffers great pain from time to time. She not only endures this with considerable patience, but she also praises God steadfastly. She is ready, by God’s grace, for her journey to heaven. Today she asked me what song would be contemplated at the next funeral? I reassured her and she was quiet then and well content. At present, she has a great urge to sleep; soon she will go to sleep in the care of our Lord Jesus.

Sunday, October 7. Dear Kocher has to suffer much pain physically and is preparing himself for leaving this world. The medications prescribed for him until now have not effected the results he wished for and he has decided therefore to do without them. He puts his trust entirely into the hands of the Lord, although he was advised differently, because it is God’s wish that we should use the medicines given to us and await His blessing from them.

Monday, October 8. Among the many other benefactions from Germany which we regard most highly, we received a good number of copies of a little hymnal containing edifying songs. We are using it now in our regular prayer hours in Jerusalem Church. The texts of these hymns are very enlightening and the melodies are quite moving when they are sung in proper harmony. A few of these melodies have been unknown to us so far and we are learning them now, for instance: Mein holder Freund is mein, etc; also Mein Schöpfer bilde mich, dein Werk, nach deinem, etc. Most of the unknown melodies to which the authors of these new, selected songs refer, are contained in our complete songbook from Halle; we do not know, however, from where we will obtain the rest of them which we would also like to learn, for instance: Fort, fort zu Himmel zu etc. Yesterday evening we sang with great pleasure: Jerusalem, mein Vaterland, wenn werde ich dicheinmal erblicken? Next we will learn: Herr! will ich als Pilgrim wallen?

Tuesday, October 9. Since our dear God presented us with such a good supply of medications from Halle, I sent a small box of them to Mrs. Driessler; and, at the same time, I wrote a letter to her and included a few edifying pamphlets. Today, these things came back from Savannah, together with the sad news that she had died in the meantime. She had not replied to my earlier two letters in which I had included two gifts of money from Europe, and I assume that she was already sick then. Her grand-daughter married an old Reformed man from Switzerland while the blessed pastor Driessler was still alive, but I never got word of what happened to her after that. A short while ago I received an edifying pamphlet from Wernigerode¹ which describes the conversion and salvation of a woman who murdered her child. I shared this booklet with my dear listeners at Jerusalem Church and Zion Church. Some members of our congregation borrowed it and then handed it on; it pleases our merciful God to give His blessing to reading this text, as I learned through several examples yesterday.

N.N’s wife remembered the sins of her youth while reading the booklet and became quite fearful and sad; she started praying fervently and now she shows a genuine desire for Christ, our Savior. She was also very eager to see me and had asked our dear God to send me to her as soon as possible; and when I came to visit her yesterday, her wish had been fulfilled so speedily that the words I quoted to her from the gospel impressed her all the more. Since her conversion to God she had, on several occasions, received tangible proof that our merciful God had granted her forgiveness of her sins. However, when the sweet feelings of forgiveness had worn off, she became fearful again; and, in order to correct these physical emotions in her, I reminded her of the firmer prophetic word, which is the word of God Himself. She bears a heavy cross; she has been suffering from a sickly and weak disposition for several years, among other things; yet she never complains. Rather, she praises the Lord all the more.

Monday, October 15. Dear Mrs. Glaner, who had been seriously ill and near death, has recovered amazingly; to my great surprise and joy I found that she is no longer bed-ridden. She has provided us with yet another example of God’s goodness, which He can show to us generously when we ask him for it. She would have gladly died in order to be close to her Lord. However, now, as always, she is content to accept His wishes; and she is trying to use the time left to her to His glory, her salvation, and the benefit of those around her. Kocher, our schoolmaster, had been dangerously ill, also. He is out of danger now, as far as we can tell, and is starting to walk again. His wife and son, who had the same sickness, had improved earlier. God be praised for all the signs of His care and help he sends to us!

Tuesday, October 16. Our dear God has sent some tribulations as well as His mercy to a young woman in our community who had just given birth. She is now happily determined to serve our Lord Jesus at all times and with heartfelt sincerity. I explained to her, in the presence of her parents, how she could spend her days most beneficially during the time she would not be able to work as hard as before. I quoted to her the beautiful song: Ich will einsam und gemeinsam, etc.

Thursday, October 18. A pious man who had intended to take Holy Communion on the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity came to see me this morning. He was troubled because of a sinful dream he had had last night which revealed the malice of his own mind, and he was afraid now to take Holy Communion. I instructed him by reminding him of Christ, that generous and plentiful fountain which washes away sins and uncleanliness; and I did not feel I could advise him to forego Holy Communion because of a sinful dream over which he had had no control and which he regretted with all his heart. We have to bear in mind what is written: “Yea, then come to this flood, come ye children of men! The blood of our dear Jesus purifies sinners. Therefore, ye who are sullied, let yourselves be washed here. This blood can replace the ugliness of your sins.”

Monday, October 22. I went to see a widow and a sick woman, and both were in an edifying frame of mind. They are drawn to solitude and quiet; they pray regularly, contemplate God’s word and serve those around them without considering their own advantage. They gladly accept their burden of suffering and tribulations, both spiritually and physically, yet I never hear any complaints from them; rather, they praise God all the more and consider themselves to be unworthy of His blessings.

Monday, October 29. Salzburger Bruckner has been ill for quite some time now; and, because of his sickness, he is unable to attend to his daily work properly. He gives no sign of this, however, in either his attitude or behavior, nor does he complain or show in any way that he is unhappy about the cross God has sent to him to bear. Rather, he recognizes God’s grace in these and other tribulations and continues to praise Him faithfully. He dearly loves God’s word, prayer, and edifying books; he is blessedly aware of his Christianity and of the fact that our miraculous God led him from a fatherland steeped in blindness towards the true gospel and sustained him in his belief. He praises God with all his heart and he sets a good example for those who, out of indifference, do not fully realize the precious blessings of salvation and spiritual manna and also for those who, like the ancient Israelites, regard it even with contempt.

Tuesday, October 30. Lately I have been re-reading the accounts of our dear Salzburgers’ emigration, and our dear God blessed me especially in this. My love for these people to whom God had shown His grace, here and at other places, but especially for my dear listeners, was inspired anew; and I resolved once more to put all my energies and time to good use by assisting them in their efforts to obtain spiritual salvation. I consider myself quite unworthy of all the goodness, both spiritual and physical, which our merciful God has shown to me among these His people for the past fifteen years (for just at this season, I and my late colleague were sent away from Halle, where we lived at that time, and sent to our Salzburger congregation according to a call from Senior Urlsperger in Augsburg). Soul, remember! What I have written and am now again writing in my letters and diaries which I have sent to our most esteemed friends and benefactors in England about the deserved improvements that were desirable for our physical circumstances here, was motivated by my love which I owe to our Salzburgers. For the same reason I will continue to write and offer my humble suggestions. When we first arrived here, in Abercorn and Old-Ebenezer, our dear Salzburgers’ health suffered, because of poor preparation for living in such a strange country, as well as a lack of experience, together with considerable physical hardships at sea and on land. This caused many to become sickly, weak, and unfit for heavy work, although the country itself is a healthy one. If only there were a way to find good workers and helpers for our farmers!

Wednesday, October 31. I hear that we have so many acorns now, large and small ones, that they can be heaped together by just moving one’s feet. People who have the time can gather many acorns very quickly.² Something else is different this year, namely, that this fall we have not had any frost during the nights so far, which has many advantages, especially as far as our cattle and the pasture at the plantations are concerned. Our merciful God has shown us many benefactions during this month; and we are in particular thankful that He has taken away the dangerous illness from Mr. Kocher, our schoolmaster, and from Rottenberger, who is such a skilled craftsman, as well as from our dear Mr. /Ludwig/ Meyer. The latter has not recovered fully yet but he is getting his strength back and can leave his bed now and then and attend to some of his duties. During this sickness God showed His mercy to him and his wife, who was also ill, as well as to myself whenever I went to see them, both through His word and prayer. Today we were greatly edified by the dear words: “Commit thy way unto God.”

NOVEMBER

Thursday, November 1. Yet another cycle of my office is starting this month; fifteen years ago I was called and sent here to serve this dear community of Salzburgers. We praised our merciful Lord humbly and most heartily, both in public as well as in private, and thanked Him for all the benefactions, spiritual and physical, which He has sent to me and this community. We also confessed our sins of omission and commission in the name of our Lord Jesus. For our public service today I used Hebrews 2:1–3 as my introductory verse, and as our text I chose the gospel passage Matthew 22:1 ff. dealing with our Lord’s mercy and goodness, but also with His sternness and judgments. Once again I felt inspired to serve our Savior with body and soul, to dedicate the short remainder of my life entirely to Him, and to put all my strength to good use honoring Him. Our dear God blessed me also in my reading of the Theologia Pastoralis by Klosterberg, which edified me greatly.¹

Tuesday, November 6. I asked one of the Salzburgers, a knowledgeable and hard-working man, why he and his neighbors planted the same fields every season and did not let them rest, as is the custom in Salzburg. He answered that they would like to do that if it were only possible; however, the nutrients in the fields would be used up more by crab grass and other high-growing weeds than if German and Indian crops were planted on them. Even the fields which are only used for growing grass have to be worked with a hoe several times if the hay is to be of good quality, in order to get rid of a kind of weed that looks like wild caraway and has hard, thick stems, and of another weed, an ugly kind of thistle. In Salzburg very good quality grass used to grow on fallow fields.

Thursday, November 8. Schrempf, the locksmith who moved to Carolina with his wife and family a few weeks ago came to visit us for a little while; and today he attended our service at church. He told me that he was full of remorse for moving, that he did not find the new place the way he had expected it to be, and that he wishes now that he had not sold his house and various other things. He is obligated for the next three years; after that, if he wants to return to us if we will have him back and provide him with another lot to build a house, which I will be glad to do. May God open the eyes of everyone so that they may recognize the spiritual and physical benefits they receive here. May the Lord endow them with obedient and grateful hearts!

Saturday, November 10. Mr. Whitefield has returned from Pennsylvania, travelling by the land route, and he had a letter for me from our dear pastor Brunnholz in Philadelphia, who had been sick with the measles for three weeks, which he spent in pastor Mühlenberg’s care; but our Lord, who loves life, gave him his health back. He reports that the yellow fever, which the doctors consider highly contagious and which killed many people in Frederica last summer, also raged in Pennsylvania. The people there urgently need more preachers.

Friday, November 16. Since God has sent various illnesses and physical weakness to Bruckner, the locksmith, he has been able to make good progress in the work that he has begun for his soul’s salvation. He has a humble and patient nature, he is well content with whatever God chooses to give to him, and he is grateful for the dear cross he has to bear. Among the major blessings sent to him by our God he counts the fact that he was saved from spiritual blindness and bad company and that he was led to live in Ebenezer. He was dangerously ill a few weeks ago, and God has restored him to health again.

Saturday, November 17. There is a boat that goes between here and Charleston, and by this boat I had sent my reply to a letter recently from dear pastor Brunnholz which I had received. His letter was brief, but very pleasant; and its content encouraged us in part to praise God and in part to practice humble intercession. I want to quote the following from it:

Twelve days ago I returned from pastor Mühlenberg’s, where I had spent three weeks suffering from the measles. I am not yet completely recovered, but our God assists us in miraculous ways; His ways and works are holy, just and pure miracles. We are waiting for letters and preachers with all our hearts. We have much sickness here at present. The yellow fever which the doctors consider highly contagious is taking its toll from both rich and poor. Many people suffer from other fevers as well. This way our Lord is helping us to preach. Everything is for the best, Romans 8:28.

Sunday, November 18. Mrs. Riedelsberger, a young and pious woman, fell suddenly ill yesterday evening. She thought she would take her leave of her family and us. She sent word to me to come to see her and pray with her once more. Under such circumstances the true nature of a person’s heart is revealed; from God’s word and prayer she has gathered a beautiful treasure, which is more dear to her than the entire world. Such a treasure can give people a good deal of consolation when they feel frightened in the hour of need and death. I talked to her about the beautiful words of Christian faith: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body (without sin), and in life everlasting.”

Monday, November 19. Our dear God has blessed the medications given to the above-mentioned Mrs. Riedelsberger so that she has recovered and can attend to her duties once again. She is grateful to our dear Savior for the physical suffering and tribulations which He has sent to her so frequently since her conversion and which benefit her soul greatly. For some time she had had to miss our evening prayer meetings, as well as some of the Sunday church services, because of her husband’s work. This has made God’s word and public service all the more precious and dear to her as previously to our dear David. Now, as her husband’s circumstances have changed, she is able to take part in this spiritual blessing regularly.

Tuesday, November 20. A wild grass, similar to bullrushes, grows here in fertile soil; it is called silkgrass and is as tough as undressed hemp. A woman from Salzburg showed me some pieces of yarn and thread which she had spun from this silkgrass. She boiled the long green grassblades, broke the leaves like flax, softened them by beating with a pestle in a wooden mortar of the kind as is used for rice, and then spun part of the fibers into thread. The grass grows in abundance here and can be propagated by its roots, but it is inferior to flax and hemp and it requires a lot of work to prepare it for the spinning. Shoemakers use a fine white thread for sewing, which is made from so-called Spanish silkgrass. If we knew how to prepare silkgrass properly then we could make this white thread probably as well as the Spaniards.

Thursday, November 22. Linen, clothing, blankets and the like are very expensive at present; and I therefore consider it a special sign of our heavenly Father’s paternal care for us that He sent us the most welcome blessing of a good amount of money from Regensburg and other places in Germany as well as donations from other countries, which I received as a money order at the beginning of this month. A part of this money will be used to improve our beautiful mills by providing as much protection as possible from inundations and excessive amounts of water. In addition to that, we are in the process of building a dam of strong posts and clay for the little river above the mills, which had widened constantly in the past so that in the future we will have sufficient water for the mills when the water level is low. We are also building a schoolhouse near Zion Church; and a short time ago Zion Church itself was equipped with an attic and windows. I am happy that this ongoing construction has supplied several of our people with some extra money for winter clothes. May our merciful God continue to care for us!

Sunday, November 25. Mrs. Kogler has been quite depressed since her last illness, and she complains of her hard-heartedness, a lack of responsibility for her sins, and divine sorrow. She considers herself to be the most miserable person who is dearly in need of compassion. She can not believe that she was included in the Divine Order, right from the beginning, and she therefore refuses to appropriate any gospel verses. It is not easy to give her courage and to teach her the proper ways. I have tried to instruct her from God’s word and to show to her that our dear God had started His work of grace in her and, further, that her complaints and tears about her hard, blind, and mean way of thinking were certainly signs of the penitence which she desired so much. However, God can not be commanded, I said, and He guides people’s souls as He pleases and as is most beneficial to them. I asked her not stop her prayers and not to desert God’s word because of the way things seemed to be. God would grant her to see the light of grace and consolation shining through the darkness. She is physically very weak, but she can still attend to her household duties.

Monday, November 26. Widow Zant, who is a genuine Israelite spiritually and lives in a manner that is appropriate for widows, had a little room built in which she, her two small children, and her maid will be able to keep warm during the wintertime. At her request it was dedicated this afternoon; we contemplated God’s word, prayed, and sang. I quoted the consoling words: “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” I finished up by reading aloud a short and very edifying treatise on Divine Providence and its effects on us for the dear people who were present. This treatise had been sent to us by a friend about a year ago from Memmingen, where it had been printed.

Wednesday, November 28. Praise be God! Today we finished the old church year, and we praised our merciful God in our Lord Jesus’ name and thanked Him both in private and in public for his manifold blessings and for the way in which He averted harm from us. This week, in our prayer hours and weekly sermons we contemplated, as we should, the very edifying text from 2 Chronicles 7. We took this opportunity to remind ourselves of the Lord’s everlasting grace and of the many blessings, both spiritual and physical, which He sent to us during this past church year. We also asked ourselves whether or not we had used His blessings well, whether or not we could, by His everlasting grace and through His good will, make up for whatever we had neglected to do, and strengthen our faith in His firm promises, which are made as everlasting by Christ’s pledge as His everlasting grace. We thought of the words of Psalms 136 which describe His many miracles and wonderful deeds of the past and remind us that: “His mercy endureth for ever!” The Holy Ghost instructed us quite clearly as to how we should make good use of God’s works and deeds which He has wrought as proof of His magnificence in both the Old Testament and the New Testament as well as in our times.

Unlike those of little faith who say that God’s miracles have ceased or who say that whatever miracles God has worked in the past no longer concern us, unlike them, we on the other hand, should, can, and must attest to and affirm all that He has done for His church, from the beginning on, all that has gone beyond nature’s order, and we must say: “His mercy endureth for ever!” Indeed, in the times when we are tested and God sends us tribulations, and when we suffer want of what we need, this will be a great consolation to us. Several writings, as well as passages from the Old and the New Testament, and the above mentioned first part of the seventh chapter of 2 Chronicles clearly instruct us in the proper kind of praise which we have to give to our Lord for His grace and mercy shown to us so far, if He is to be pleased by it and continue to show us His goodness.

Sunday, November 29. Today, on the first day of the new church year, seventy-five people went to Holy Communion (which we hold every six weeks), and our merciful God sent us His blessing from His holy word for the sermon given in the morning, for the sermon in the afternoon, and for our repetition hour, which we attend in summer as well as in winter. This coming church year my dear colleague will base his instruction in catechizing on the regular sermons for Sundays, since last church year he has worked the whole way through Luther’s smaller catechism.

In the mornings, however, every year without change, as is the custom in our Evangelical church, we preach on the subject of the regular gospels for Sundays and holidays. Each time, in the exordium, we contemplate an important verse from the Old or the New Testament. Today, in this new church year, like the Israelites according to Joseph 24:24, we pledged ourselves to each other before the Lord and promised to serve the Lord, our God, and to obey His command for as long as He would grant us life. May He send us His spirit to seal this our pledge! May He protect us from the fickleness that afflicted the Israelites, and may He protect us also from behaving like the people who came after the Israelites, who lived in ignorance of the Lord and of His works which He had shown to Israel (and, in our time, to the Salzburgers and our community). There were three men from Purysburg present at our church service; one of them came to see me and gave me much joy by telling me of all the goodness which our dear God had bestowed upon him through the writings of our blessed Luther. He borrowed from me several edifying books which he discusses and shares with others in his area according to his simple talent.

Monday, November 30. Mr. Whitefield sent word that he would like to discuss several matters with me. I have not yet spoken with him because, since his return, he has spent only a few days in Savannah and at his orphanage and I did not want to travel there without the certainty of meeting him. He plans to return from Carolina and his plantation there and come to Savannah during the first few days of this week. However, the weather turned; it became cold and rainy, and this will most probably delay his trip to Savannah, as well as my trip there, for a few days. Through Mr. Lemke, he had requested me to write a short report on our community, our area, and our circumstances. He intends to use this report to our advantage (I presume he will give it to his friends in the northern colonies). I have put together such a report in English and will either give it to him myself or send it to him as soon as possible. May God bless this little undertaking also!

Mrs. Glaner, a pious woman, would have liked to take Holy Communion together with the other members of our community, but her physical weakness did not allow that. At her request, she received Holy Communion today in her house and, through God’s word and prayer, she conducted herself in a proper Christian manner. Up to now, she, like many others, lacked the money for heating the house sufficiently in order to stay healthy; we expect that this problem will lessen, since now we can get inexpensive boards from the sawmill. If we only could buy glass for windows someplace cheaper than in Charleston, where it is very expensive. I have asked Mr. Whitefield to buy glass at reasonable prices for us in Pennsylvania or New England, where they make glass, but I do not know whether or not he had the opportunity to do so.

If we could only afford it, I would like very much to give away boards for barns or heating to all those of our people who are in need, not only to the widows. The mills do not return much profit in these poor times; also, we lacked the money and the experience to complete all the necessary construction work and to take care of all details properly. This we have to do now in little installments as our dear God sends us the means for our undertaking from Europe.

Last winter there was a big flood, and we saw how vulnerable our mills were. We had to prepare for similar problems this year, and we spent more than twenty pounds Sterling on various repairs; and for three weeks we carried out the work necessary to protect against high water. God be praised! He sent us the money and gave some of our workers here the strength and the opportunity to earn enough to buy winter clothing and other necessities by working on the mills which, in turn, benefits our entire community in many ways! We do not lack food; but clothing and bed linen, for both adults and children, are very hard to come by in this time of war.² Not many have sufficiently heated rooms and their health suffers in the winter cold. See Deuteronomy 10:18.

DECEMBER

Wednesday, December 2. Our schoolhouse at the plantations is not ready yet, and we and the children have to cope with the winter cold as well as we can. Steiner and Brandner, two Salzburgers, are letting us use their well-heated rooms for holding school until our schoolhouse is ready or the weather changes. Kocher is dedicated to teaching the children and I have added another pound to his salary of five pounds Sterling; he also receives various assistance for the running of his household.

N.N. repeatedly acted against his conscience while he was still in Germany working with other apprentices and assistants. He regrets this so much now that he becomes quite dejected at times. He told me several times, with tears in his eyes, that in Salzburg he had been ignorant not only of Divine matters, but also of meanness and sinning. Later, however, after leaving Salzburg, he had quickly learned how to be sinful, just as the other children were. He is seriously concerned with his salvation and he counts among the great blessings sent to him by our Lord the fact that he gave him quietude and has prolonged his period of grace.

Thursday, December 3. Balthasar Bacher’s wife has been ill for some time now and quite unable to do any work. God is using this tribulation as a means of her conversion and her preparation for blessed eternity. She repents her former life with all her heart; in the past she led a very sinful life, both while still with her parents as well as later, when she was in service. Especially the misuse of Holy Communion causes her considerable grief.

Saturday, December 5. Last summer, Steiner and Brandner, the two Salzburgers, made a good quantity of peach brandy for themselves and other people. They used the only still we have at our disposal; it was given to our community by the most praiseworthy Society.¹ People from Old Ebenezer buy this brandy since rum is hard to come by and quite expensive. A man from Purysburg sells our brandy in Frederica, and we see in this trading another sign of God’s paternal care for us. One gallon or four English quarts sell for four shillings Sterling. Some people used large iron pots instead of a copper distilling vat, and instead of the proper tubing they used gun barrels, but their brandy is said to have acquired an unpleasant flavor from this. In the past, unfortunately, because of the lack of a proper still, many hundreds of bushels of peaches just rotted away, partly while still on the trees and partly after having fallen from the trees.

It would be of great advantage to our people’s diet if we could obtain from six to eight smaller distilling vats with a capacity of eight to ten gallons; we would pay for them either by having their cost deducted from the payments made to us or by a letter of credit. It would probably be best to get them from London, because it would be too difficult and maybe even illegal to get them from Germany. Simple copper containers of the kind people commonly use for making brandy would serve us just fine. The large vat mentioned above, which was sent to us by the Society, also has a large brass spigot at the bottom, which, however, is not necessary for just the simple process of distilling. Also, cooling vats need not be sent, our people can easily make those, but we do need for each copper container the copper tubing, through which the brandy will run, well tinned on the inside.

Those of our people who are not very strong physically would be able to add to their income by making brandy; beautiful and juicy peaches grow here in abundance. Trees have to be planted, but more care is not necessary, other than harvesting the fruit after three years. We have also enough water and wood close by. There are also plenty of wild grapes growing on vines in the woods. Those can be harvested by the bushel, and one of our people made a strong brandy from those, using gun barrels. I was told that almost every farmer has his own distilling vat in Virginia and that the people there use brandy to supplement their diet.

Monday, December 7. People in this and the neighboring colony find it very difficult to obtain enough food and to make a good living, and they think of various ways to earn some money. A certain man from Purysburg, who seems to have fallen into poverty as a consequence of keeping black slaves, borrowed our large boat in order to ferry various kinds of food to Frederica. An undertaking such as this is a gamble, however. Flour is in high demand in Savannah, and our flour from Indian corn is starting to fetch good prices, which is a welcome benefit to our people since everything has gotten so much more expensive than it used to be. Some are starting to send butter to market, which is an improvement also; it used to be that our Salzburgers melted their butter and turned it into lard, but nobody wished to buy that.

Thursday, December 10. Two weeks ago Mr. Whitefield sent word that he had to discuss some things with me. Since I thought that he had returned from Carolina last week, I traveled to Savannah last Monday and arrived safely back here again today. He is still a true friend of our esteemed Fathers in London, of Germany, and of our community here and of its elders. If he only were rid of the large debts he incurred on behalf of the orphanage, then he would be able to do much more for us than is presently in his power to do. This time he gave us two old horses which can still be worked and which I intend to use for the benefit of our widows. He also gave me nine shillings Sterling in cash for the widows, with which I purchased winter bonnets for them, making up the difference out of my own pocket. He liked my little treatise on the spiritual and physical circumstances of our community which I had written, on his request, and sent to him last week. He will use it to our Ebenezer’s advantage.

Mr. Whitefield has not been well for some time, but he still keeps active. He preaches frequently, very energetically, and emotionally; and he uses up considerable strength in doing what he does and it would be a miracle if he were able to last long at this pace. His plans for next spring are to go to England and from there to Halle and Augsburg; and he intends to meet our esteemed Fathers there, for whom he has the highest regard. He was very pleased with Doctor Francke’s answer to his last letter, and he is looking forward to writing to him again. This time I enjoyed several spiritual and physical benefits at the orphanage.

For our poor, Mr. Whitefield purchased a quantity of heavy material for winter clothes in Pennsylvania; however, the boat which was to transport it to Charleston has been captured by the Spanish and so this dear and much needed gift is lost to us. Mr. Whitefield also paid the bills for the purchases which Pastor Brunnholz had made on behalf of our farmers, and he is giving us this sum of money, which comes to more than five pounds Sterling. May God reward him as well as all our other benefactors for their gifts and bring them to us safely across land and sea! The boat which was captured also carried more than one hundred pounds Sterling worth of merchandise for Mr. Whitefield’s orphanage, and it would be a great tribulation for him and us if this also were lost. For the windows of the school at the plantations which is being built now he gave me fifty large panes of glass as a gift.

Saturday, December 12. Our dear God has shown much mercy to our locksmith, Bruckner, in his illness, which lasted for quite a while this time. Bruckner is genuinely grateful to his benefactor for this tribulation, and he wishes to devote the rest of his life entirely to His glory. He is poor and wants to make an honest living from his trade. We are going to lend him as much money as he needs for the purchase of some iron and tools. All of our hard-working people here in Ebenezer, and their farms and households, will benefit from this, with God’s blessing.

Sunday, December 13. Young Lackner is hard pressed in these hard times; he has a household to take care of, and a wife and two small children. Both are true Christians, quiet and content; and they believe patiently that, if they continue to work hard and remain steadfast our Lord will come to their aid during the span of their lives which He allotted to them. Among other things I am pleased that our dear people here prefer to suffer want in physical matters rather than to incur debts. If they have to borrow, out of most dire need, then they are eager to repay their debts as soon as possible, and therefore merchants in Savannah are willing to give them credit. Our merciful God, who is called a God of patience, of consolation, and of hope, Romans 15, does not desert us in our present tribulations without sending us instruction and consolation. Today we contemplated the gospel of the Third Sunday of Advent, which deals with the tribulations sent to God’s friends and children; specifically, 1) the variety of tribulations, and 2) the great benefit of tribulations. For our introductory verses we had Judith 8:19-29.

Tuesday, December 15. This morning all our people gathered in Zion Church. We started and ended with song and prayer. Two main points were discussed: firstly, pending the approval of our community and the Lord Trustees, Mr. Mayer, our surgeon, has agreed to take over some of my duties in the future and to represent the best interest of our dear people here by attending to the legal and non-local business on their behalf. I have very important reasons for charging another with these worldly matters, if our entire community is willing to consent. The people were convinced by my arguments, which I had mentioned in the past and repeated today, and they are glad that we have a competent and trustworthy man among us, whom we already know, and who is capable of assuming this office. All agreed to accept his authority and to supply him with wood and grain until his salary from the Lord Trustees starts to arrive. He will also get a horse.

The second point of our conference concerned the improvement of our mills through the industry and communal work of our people here. God does not give everything all at once to us, but one thing at a time in order to increase our praise of Him, our joy, and the strengthening of our faith. He has recently shown us how a ditch of approximately one thousand feet in length and eight feet in width could provide much additional water from the Savannah River to our mills. Through this and with God’s merciful guidance and blessing, the mills could eventually be put into a position not only to cover the mills’ operating costs but also to repay gradually the debts incurred when building them and consequently be of benefit to our community.

The members of our community were encouraged to build the aforementioned ditch by working together and contributing their labor because I had to spend fourteen pounds twelve shillings Sterling for continuing the work on Zion Church (its interior is not yet completed), twenty-three pounds nineteen shillings in cash on the mill dam and the mill channels (and this very practical work was finished on December 12), and I expect to pay another five pounds for the building of a supporting dike at the mill stream a few hundred feet above the mill dam to control the very dangerous and destructive surplus water. Furthermore we will need more money for the school we are in the progress of building and for the many other expenses of our community. If God granted me some means, I would gladly make some contribution.

If our plan works out and we succeed in channelling more water to the mill when we need to, then we would have the additional benefit that the European crops such as wheat, rye, etc. could be milled soon after the summer harvest, which would be a great advantage and encouragement for our farmers. At that time of year the waterlevel in the mill stream is at its lowest and the mills have to stand still without additional water. Otherwise, worms, little flies, and bugs infest the crops very quickly and ruin them. The flour, on the other hand, keeps very well. Our people seem to be willing to undertake this work, but we will probably have to wait until next spring or summer, if we live so long, before getting started because of the cold weather and the high waterlevel expected soon.

The aforementioned incorrect runoff of millwater will be dammed in as soon as possible with posts and clay. This was done already some years before but not properly and not with the necessary caution; therefore the water broke through the dam, and the mill river was widened considerably as a consequence. From the very beginning, our community lacked people experienced in matters of building and construction and Captain Avery died prematurely.² If this had not been the case then we would have been able to save a good deal of money. May God continue to show us His goodness! Our help stands in His great name. He will come to our aid, Amen!

Wednesday, December 16. Today, in the afternoon, we had a short thunderstorm and a long lasting downpour. Usually cold weather or high water in the Savannah River follows and, as a consequence, inundations. I praise our dear God for helping us so far that our mills, the damm, and the channels have been rebuilt and properly repaired.

No sooner had the pious Mrs. Glaner recovered somewhat than she was stricken with yet another weakness, and I and others expect her to leave this world soon. She talks in an edifying manner and shows all signs of being gifted with the noble treasures of her heart. She usually finds consolation and encouragement in the great patience and edifying conduct of her late pious foster child, Paul Klocker. She complains only about the lack of obedience in her heart, and she can not praise God enough for His mercy towards her and her husband in their solitude. She is eager to hear God’s word and she applies everything she sees or hears to the best advantage of her spiritual life, as befits the children of God.

Thursday, December 17. Yesterday evening the sky cleared, and a strong northern wind brought a hard frost. This afternoon, when I went to see the widow Zant, she invited me right away into her warm little house, which our dear God had given to her sooner than I or she could ever have suspected. We spoke about the good verse for next Sunday’s lesson: “Be careful for nothing; but pray and thank God in every thing by prayer and supplication . . . ,” but not only in good days and with the enjoyment of blessings but also in tribulation, misfortune, and all sorts of unpleasant situations. These last words impressed me especially as this pious widow told me of a mishap that befell her a few days ago. According to her, the way she thought of it and described it, things could have turned out much worse if our merciful God had not intervened. Christians therefore have good cause to pray and to thank God in all things.

Another widow told me that two years ago her late husband had asked her to visit the widow Christ³ and to bring her a present and this verse and that it has consoled her herself as well as that other widow. She recalled this verse today when she had to deal with her troubles. Our nine widows are well pleased with their winter bonnets, for which Mr. Whitefield contributed nine shillings, and they praise God for this gift. In their cut and make the bonnets are like those which were sent to us in great quantity some years ago from Salzburg.

Sunday, December 20. Our merciful God is continuing His work on the knitter Schäffler’s soul in order to bring him to genuine conversion through His word, and through physical tribulations such as poverty and sickness, but also through various benefactions. Schäffler greatly fears God’s wrath, and he is not yet ready to die because he feels he is not properly prepared for the important change from time into eternity and needs to do more penance and strengthen his faith. He is very ignorant and his way of thinking lacks order; I have high hopes however, that with God’s help he might become a new man and then recognize gratefully (like many among us) that our merciful Savior had beckoned him, led him into the wilderness, and talked to him kindly. Our Salzburgers did not leave their home for the sake of good living; under the merciful guidance of our miraculous God they landed in this quiet corner of the world in order to strive first and foremost for God’s kingdom and His justice. As a reward, they will receive as many physical benefits as God deems necessary and beneficial.

Monday, December 22. Balthasar Bacher’s wife /Anna Maria/ seems to have come very close to leaving this world. By sending her lingering women’s complaints God impressed upon her most emphatically the reminder of her perdition and the sins of her youth, including the most offending of sins, namely, the neglect and repudiation of Christ out of a lack of faith. This is causing her much unrest and great sadness, and she regards the symptoms of her sickness to be a specific punishment for her sins in the past, since she remembered from one of our dear Senior Urlsperger’s sermons the verse: “As a man sinneth, so shall he be punished.” Today, among other things, she told me that she had sinned against Divine guidance by being discontent and by complaining even after arriving in Ebenezer, although our merciful God had intended nothing but her true salvation all along. She is now turning towards Him, praying and beseeching, like a little worm in the wounds of Jesus.

Tuesday, December 23. Kocher, our schoolmaster, who is an experienced weaver, is going to attempt to work with our spun flax and to weave some heavy material for sacks. We still have enough lightweight material for the kind of bags we use for wheat, rye, and rice flour. Spelt or dinkel is also in great demand by some of our people and, for a while, I had hoped to obtain several bushels from our friends in Pennsylvania, but we did not succeed in that, and the planting season is over now. It is hoped that such crops will grow as well as rice here and keep better than wheat when stored in the kernel so that it would be possible to postpone threshing into the fall or winter instead of doing this hard work in the heat of summer.

Wednesday, December 24. Several months ago, through the letters of our most esteemed Fathers and benefactors, our merciful God had given me the hope that He would allow them to share with me some of their temporal goods in order to serve Him and to benefit my two small sons at the same time. I immediately started them in their private lessons with Mr. Thilo, in addition to their regular schooling. Among other things, they are being instructed in vocal music so that, while they are still young, their voices can be trained properly for singing their Creator’s praise and pleasing those around them. Both have the necessary talent and willingness. Recently they learned an aria for two soprano voices and sang them in church after our prayer hour, supported by my voice, their mother’s, and that of Mr. Thilo, who is a good basso. God used this meager example of our skills for edifying several members of our community and awakened in our younger people such an interest for religious music that they, too, wish to be instructed by Mr. Thilo in return for a small honorarium; and they are taking lessons several evenings each week. I intend to assist those who are short of funds. In our meetings we sing many old, as well as new and otherwise unknown, melodies; and from time to time we learn additional songs from our beautiful and complete hymnal from Halle.

Thursday, Friday, December 25 and December 26. We have celebrated Christmas for the past two days, in blessed remembrance of the precious incarnation and birth of Christ which is such a great source of consolation for us sinners. We prepared ourselves for some hours in Jerusalem Church and Zion Church by contemplating in sequence several instructive and comforting verses: 1 Kings 9; 1-3 dealing with the merciful apparition of the God of Israel before Solomon and the granting of his prayers. Our merciful God sent us not only the weather we had wished for but peace as well; and we derived much edification and blessing from His word, prayer, and beautiful Christmas songs. May His illustrious name be praised!

Saturday, December 28. Mrs. Balthasar Bacher, who is still sick, lost even more strength during the holidays. Her soul, however, partook amply of our Savior’s gentleness and kindness. When I came to visit her today I inquired after her state of mind and she said: “Our Lord Jesus has taken me to His bosom. I found justification and peace, and I am not asking for anything more but to loosen my earthly bonds and go to Him for all eternity.” Although she was very weak, she talked to me of various matters and told me that Jesus has pledged to her His repeated assurance of His grace and the hope for life eternal. She was filled with the praise of God and showed herself to be humble in spirit. She also wishes that God may reward her pious neighbor, Mrs. Maurer (whom God has brought to a fine understanding of Christianity by sending her several difficult tribulations) a thousandfold for her edifying company, support, and prayer, which she enjoyed and which benefitted her soul especially during the holidays.

Other pious women visited her also and added to her spiritual comfort. She commended into her Heavenly Father’s care her two young children and her husband, and she is at peace. She thinks constantly of Jesus, His love, and blessed eternity. She is too weak to take any nourishment; and He is her food and her drink, and He refreshes her spirit. In order to strengthen and increase her desire for blessed eternity we read aloud for her the twenty-first chapter of the Revelations of St. John 21 and the precious song: Alle Menschen müssen sterben. When I made a remark on the song: Der Bräutigam wird bald rufen and mentioned the blessed in Heaven, she remembered the late Mr. Gronau and assured me of her remorse over saddening him so frequently. She asked me also to speak with two pious women in our community and to ask them to forgive her for all the things she had done to spite them in the past.

One of the women who had met her in Augsburg had once asked her (the sick Mrs. Bacher) if she not also kept company with certain people who were known for their loose living. At the time she had denied it and, by lying, had become guilty of sinning against her own conscience and against God, who abhors all sins. She is also greatly agitated and full of sorrow because she had taken part in dancing, a godless activity, and because of the lies which she had told to her elders in Augsburg when her evil way of living had been examined. Since God opened her eyes, however, and she has become very fond of our solitude, where we are protected from public nuisances, God be praised! I asked her whether I should write to Augsburg on her behalf? But she did not think that necessary. She does not know whether or not her old parents are still alive but she does not believes that anything good could be written about her or her life; and, besides, after God has taken her into Heaven, nothing else would matter anyhow.

While we talked she quoted the most beautiful verses from Holy Scripture and she talked so coherently and lucidly of divine truths and with such respect that it is a pleasure to listen to her. I was especially touched when she fainted (she frequently does now) as the song: Herr Jesu Christ, mein Lebenslicht was read to her; she lay like dead, her hands folded on her breast as in prayer. After a little while she started to speak the following words very clearly, but without the least movement of her head or or any part of her body: “He on the cross is my love,” etc. and “Oh world, see here thy life on the trunk of the cross,” etc. and “And even if a struggle is appointed, it does not matter. Alas, I have already seen such a great splendor, now,” etc. and “He will give me life eternal up there, my heart should forever . . .” etc.⁴

Between the verses of these songs she made a pause, lay quite still, and did not move. Then she started to pray in such a forceful, coherent, and impressive manner as I would not have expected of her back in the days before her sickness; she prayed for herself, her husband, her children, me, and our community. She repeated her wish that the dear people of Ebenezer should not give their pastor any cause for worry as she herself had done in the past; rather, they should act according to the word which was being preached to them so faithfully so that they would become blessed people. She showed a great need for my company although she seemed to be in a state removed from others. When her husband put his hands on hers she asked who was there? Then she said to him: “Look, Balthasar! Look! Take comfort in the Lord. He will bestow unto thee” etc. and: “My heart is filled with our Lord Jesus. To be sure, Mrs. N.N. said I should accompany her, but I chose another way, namely, to my Lord Jesus” etc.

Her husband told me that she frequently talked about such edifying matters although she was very weak and often close to fainting; and she had no more interest in any worldly matters.

Monday, December 30. Mrs. Kogler is still anxious and lacking in consolation. She is unable to find the strength one would wish her to find in God’s word or prayer. A short time ago she had a right heavenly refreshment while on her sickbed, but after that her soul grew so dark that she considers herself the most miserable sinner and cannot find in herself even the smallest sign of repentance. All verses which affirm that grace is awaiting her, too, despite her condition she rejects as if they had nothing to do with her, for instance: “I will look, even to him that is poor and of contrite spirit,” etc. On the other hand, she had nothing to say to disprove my well-meaning consolation: “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive. Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them,” etc. Whenever I speak with her I beg her not to cease to to pray frequently and to listen to God’s word even if it seems to her to be of no use. It would be enough for a beginning for her to prove her obedience towards God by applying the means of salvation. God wants to help us with the means prescribed by Him but whenever He pleases and when He deems it to be in our best interest.

Tuesday, December 31. I will close the diary of this year with the song which we recently started to use for closing our evening prayer hours. On holidays we sing to the same melody for two sopranos and one basso also the beautiful song “Sey willkommen, sey willkommen, Jesulein! mein Freund” etc. which we found in the hymnal we received from our dear Wernigerode.

1. Good night, you idle fears! Leave my heart free, today I fear not for tomorrow, since God is ever true. He nourishes me late and early, without my care and trouble. My joy in this tranquility is what my Father wills.

2. I shall struggle for the best, for eternity, and shall live in justice and in Christ during my span of grace. If this is so, then I shall easily find what redounds to my profit. See how calm a true Christian is in God.

3. Well then! My whole life, what I have and am, I will pledge to God: it is to my profit, my soul flies upward towards the place of joy. Jesus! help me to it; otherwise I shall find no rest.⁵