Monday, the 4th of September. In the hut of a sick married couple I examined a girl about yesterday’s sermon and added this and that very simply for her edification, and the dear Lord blessed this in both of them to the praise of His name. Yesterday the wife had been troubled that she had not been able to come to the meeting; but she had given herself and her husband hope that I would come to them today and communicate with them. Both of them were overjoyed when I told her that, upon leaving the school, I had wished to remain in tranquility and pray privately to the Father and afterwards go to another family, but that I had been hindered in both and had been almost impelled to come to their hut. Before the prayer I cited for them the verse: “Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble;” and I said that the merciful Savior would not neglect any soul, not even a sick one, who earnestly desired Him and His gospel. I visited several more families, of which I found only some persons at home; yet even in them I noted that they had not listened to the word of the Lord in vain. May everything be commended to His further mercy and blessing, and to His glory.

Tuesday, the 5th of September. This morning before daybreak my dear colleague came back from Savannah and brought the news that Mr. Causton wishes to send pigs and poultry for the third transport as a result of my repeated requests, for which purpose several people should go down and fetch them. I asked Mr. Causton to send the livestock for the third transport in proportion to the full number of people brought by Mr. von Reck, without deducting for those who had left or died. In that way they would receive in all eleven hogs and a like number of turkeys and geese, and thus not five but four people would share in each. From the man who brought the cattle for the third transport I learned that Mr. Causton had ordered him to bring twelve head, which have now been distributed among the people.

[Today I read the letter from the Lord Trustees again and found that if five persons should have only one cow, then the first fifty-five persons who arrived should have been sent eleven, and for this reason I must speak with Mr. Causton. If he should not allow that many, I shall have to see how I can make it good.

[Christ is restless again in the orphanage and causes the manager and his wife worry and vexation with his obstinate hardheadedness. He is tired of the food and complains about it. He is a right miserable soul whom we would like to keep in order in any way possible. If he is to leave the orphanage again, as it appears, then he is running into his perdition.]

Wednesday, the 6th of September. Mrs. N. [Schweighofer] revealed to me that her oldest girl had begged her to ask me to let her go to the preparation for Holy Communion; but the mother requested that she should not be allowed to go to the Lord’s Table until she had shown sufficient proof of her conversion and worthy preparation. No greater joy could be given to the woman in this world than to live to see one of her children become a deserving guest at the Lord’s Table. She came to me at just the time that our loving God had granted me much refreshment from the words of Isaiah 56:3-8, and with them I showed her convincingly that she did not have to worry about what she had often feared, namely, that God would have to reject her because of her many infirmities and because, as she thought, she was a withered tree, there was no help, etc. Here she would find it clearly expressed, I said, that God would not reject such withered souls as are dissatisfied with themselves. This grace-filled declaration of God gave her much joy, and she noted this chapter very carefully.

I based the preparation for Holy Communion on the order of salvation that Pastor Freylinghausen collected from Holy Writ. The children, of whom there are seven, learn the questions and answers together with the appended verses of proof and clarification. Out of these I present them with the truths of Christian dogma for the practice of godliness, and then I pray concerning these things. Sometimes I read them something edifying, if I chance to find it, so that the desired purpose can gradually be achieved.

[Christ has now changed his mind again and recognizes that he would be doing himself harm if he left the orphanage. Mrs. Rheinlaender had planted this and that in his head; and he himself now recognizes that he would run into his perdition if he were to follow her. Perhaps the poor woman thinks she is hurting me when she persuades people to follow in her footsteps and to move from us to some other place. Anyone who has a spark of goodness in him is disgusted with her insolence and entire nature. If a secular authority were here, would she have fallen into its judicial hands long ago? We have now excluded her.²²³ The banishment will press upon her, even if she does not yet feel it.]

Thursday, the 7th of September. The surveyor Ross is now with us again. As he has received a letter from Mr. Causton instructing him to arrange his surveying as we think best, he is willing to survey the good land across Abercorn Creek and, in compensation, to abandon the four miles towards Old Ebenezer. He wished to survey the ministers’ land right along the river, in which case, however, the Salzburgers would not be able to use the land they are now hoping for. As recently mentioned, it is inundated from time to time (even if not every year) by the Savannah River, so the people cannot actually build their houses and cow sheds there. Rather they wish to build them on this side of Abercorn Creek, where there is nothing but high land; in fact several of them would build on one plantation and also jointly own the plantation on the opposite side. Presumably good and perhaps even better land will be left for the ministers somewhat further down the river. Righteous people who are ministers here after us will neither think nor say that we did not further their interests, for a true shepherd of souls seeks the best for his spiritual sheep even in physical things.

The watchmaker Mueller and his wife showed me the physical blessings that God has granted them this year in the field and from the garden by their house. Both were joyful, especially because they had not expected what God has let fall to them. It was not really very much; yet it was much for them and a dear blessing of the Lord, which they ascribed to Him and not to their own work. It is a great advantage that our people have planted the gardens in and around the town, where they can protect the crops from birds and other vermin better than in the fields.

Friday, the 8th of September. The dear Lord is now granting us the most fruitful weather we could possibly hope for. Yesterday we had a penetrating rain all day, and today it has already cleared up so beautifully that the soil lacks neither sufficient moisture nor warmth and sunshine. The last corn and beans are now ripening, and this requires dry weather and sunshine. Although everyone has full time work with guarding and harvesting the crops, some people have been found willing to build a fine little house for the widow Arnsdorf. She is receiving much corn and beans and sweet potatoes that she cannot keep in her old and dilapidated hut. She is conducting herself very well among us, and therefore everyone loves and cherishes her even though she is not a Salzburger. For when ill behaved people are not allowed to have their own way in everything or to act according to their wicked and selfish intentions, or when they do not receive the affection of righteous orderly people, they always attribute it to the fact that they are not Salzburgers.

Saturday, the 9th of September. A [Salzburger] woman had great anxiety concerning her husband’s and her own Christianity, which she revealed to me during my visit. She said that her husband wished to be the head in matters of work and housekeeping, but not in Christianity, in which he showed no seriousness, and that he was therefore more of a hindrance than a help to his wife in her Christianity. The dear Lord is letting her realize more and more how much is required if a person wishes to enter into heaven through the narrow gates of true conversion and imitation of Christ. Therefore she wished to have in her husband a true helper who would admonish and direct her, as well as chastise her when she was found wanting; and she had often asked him to do so. But he was, she said, too sluggish; and he took it very badly when she reminded him according to her recognition. For example, he became very angry a short time ago when she kindly reminded him in the presence of [two] other men who were in the house that, instead of useless conversation, he should take a book and read something to her and these people. The fact that they could detect so little divine blessing in their physical work was due to the lack of serious prayer, etc.

As she is causing much disturbance in doing this, even though in a legalistic way, and retarding herself in her Christianity, I told her that she was not doing wrong in lovingly and humbly reminding her husband of his duty to himself and to her, his wife. For the rest, she should commend everything to the Lord, pray for him earnestly, and penetrate ever further into sweet communion with the Lord Jesus and into the certainty of her state of grace. That way, I said, she would free herself of all disquiet and anxiety and be put into a position to work all the better on her husband with word and example. The husband conducts himself in an orderly fashion in external matters and is liked in the community. However, he lacks a firm foundation, and therefore he limps on both sides²²⁴ despite all convictions and good resolutions, in which he is not lacking. As is often the case with beginners, the wife is rather legalistic²²⁵ and may well be burdensome to him through unwise, even though never violent, chastisements, which only incite anger.

After the conference in the orphanage the manager showed me some squash in his garden at whose size I had to marvel. I do not remember ever having seen anything like them. They are still quite green and still growing and will presumably become even larger. The soil is very good, and we could not ask for better weather. If the Lord’s blessing is added, things will have to flourish. A few days ago the watchmaker showed me a large squash he had taken from his garden, but it did not equal those from the orphanage in size. Everything comes, my Lord, from Thee! The most enjoyable thing was that I was told of two girls, Maria Schweighofer and Magdalena Haberfehner, that they had both begun to seek the grace of God with diligent prayer; and this makes an impression on others.

Sunday, the 10th of September. Both Chapter 8 of Deuteronomy yesterday evening and the regular gospel Matthew 6:24 ff. today have given us a beautiful opportunity to remember the special providence of our heavenly Father, which has ruled over us so gloriously in this foreign land, and to awaken each other to obedience and righteous gratitude toward this dear and most beloved benefactor. He instructed His people fully forty years in the desert, gave them judges, guardians, and teachers, and chastised and tried them so that the foundation of their hearts would be revealed to their humiliation; yet at the same time He also provided them with bodily food, with clothes and health and, best of all, with the beautiful opportunity to achieve their salvation through well arranged divine services. And since the Lord has deigned to grant us similar spiritual and physical benefactions, we encouraged each other to raise up our Ebenezer once again to His glory.²²⁶

In the repetition hour, when we reached the opening words of I Kings 18:21, “How long halt ye between two opinions?”, I reminded our dear Salzburgers of their former miserable condition in Salzburg; for then, from what they themselves had experienced, they could imagine the miserable condition of the Israelite church in the times of Elijah, when they served the true God in some measure out of respect for the prophets but also served Baal in order to please the godless Queen Jesabel and thus limped on both sides.²²⁷ At the same time the few righteous souls were persecuted or expelled from the land. Now that God has granted them the noble freedom of conscience, I said, all limping and hypocrisy must cease, for God demands One Service and One Concern only. Those poor people are in a really bad way who remained in Salzburg for worldly reasons, although convinced of the truth, and who now follow their own opinion and secretly serve the true God /according to scripture/ while publicly serving the saints and human statutes [Baal and the Roman Antichrist].

[Monday, the 11th of September. Poor Mrs. Rheinlaender is continuing to practice her insolence and vexing behavior and to cause us and those in the congregation much sadness. Yesterday she was in church three times but apparently received not the least benefit from it, as her behavior today toward me, my dear colleague, and other people has shown. In the afternoon my dear colleague preached the divine truths from Galatians 7:7-10, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” and took 2 Corinthians 5:10 as his exordium. However, she was not brought to any more reflection or even external improvement by this than she had been by the other things that had been preached publicly through God’s word and with benefit to other people.

[Because she merely continues in her calumnies and reproaches and has cast off all shame, I told her that I shall write on various points to Mr. Causton and ask him to remove her from us because there is no hope for improvement and she will not even submit to the external order that we rightfully demand of her. She thought to prevent this and travelled with her son to Savannah about noon, presumably in an Indian canoe. In order for Mr. Causton to know how I have been carrying out his orders regarding her and how her behavior has been toward us and the congregation in general, I wrote a rather detailed letter that I sent down this evening in our little boat. It was necessary for my dear colleague to go with it, partly to request instructions from Mr. Causton, who does not like to write his opinion about such matters, and partly to prevent her from being subjected to any civil punishment for the coarse things she has perpetrated against us. Rather, he should merely remove her from us, and she will in any event fall into the hands of the judge soon enough, if no change is made on her part. We had a similar tragedy with Rott, who died miserably, and his wife.²²⁸ When these people do not have their way and cannot act according to their carnal desires, they assail us with such importunity that you may hardly believe it. To be sure, they should offer such treatment to a secular judge! Now the Lord will redeem us from all evil!]

Tuesday, the 12th of September. I called on a pious family, where I found another pious woman who is accustomed to call on them for brotherly and sisterly edification. These dear people were just about to bend their knees before our dear Lord, and I did it with them. After the prayer they were very happy and praised [our good] God, who had blessed my encouragement and help in prayer. They are like hungry doves, which try to make use of every little grain. They also quoted this and that thing that they had found edifying and impressive in the sermon or in simple and private words of exhortation, not only from last Sunday but also from previous times. The wife reminded her husband of a verse that he had heard at a certain prayer meeting in the orphanage but had not understood correctly, so that he might ask me about its proper meaning. Among other things, the wife told me that, when she goes to the river, she thinks of the river of life and everlasting joy which God will grant to believers in eternal life. This gives her joy, and she has hope of reaching there. I told her that she should think of time which is rushing past, and of the verse from Galatians VI that we heard on Sunday: “As we have therefore opportunity.”²²⁹ Thereupon she remembered the expression²³⁰ from the evening hymn “My days are passing speedily, etc. . . . Flow hence, as does a river, etc.”²³¹

Wednesday, the 13th of September. [We have news of Mr. Whitefield that he must now have been at sea some eight days. In Savannah they have reason to say that Mr. Wesley has journeyed to Germany and will visit the Herrnhuter Brothers, also that he intends to come to Halle. Letters have come from London to Savannah via Charleston in which the Lord Trustees have sent orders that some changes are to be made in the storehouse and in respect of the government of the colony. It seems that Mr. Causton has many enemies who make all kinds of accusations against him to the Lord Trustees. It seems to us that he performs his office honestly, is favorable and helpful to the industrious and orderly workers, but severe and grievous to the disorderly. He has shown every possible affection for us and ours.] People claim certain news that Mr. Oglethorpe can no longer be far from Georgia. God help him to us safe and sound and incline his heart to the expansion of our Savior’s Kingdom and the furtherance of all good order.

My dear colleague’s house is now entirely finished, except that it still lacks a door, staircase, and two windows in the upper story. The people are overloaded with work during this harvest period, therefore the remaining items must be completed at another time. He would have occupied the house at this time in God’s name, in fact he invited the dear Salzburgers last Sunday to its Christian dedication. However, an important obstacle has arisen against that; and therefore he will have to do the best he can for a couple more weeks in his former hut. To be sure, when he moves, we will not be living so near together physically; for until now our two huts could be considered as one and our yards and gardens as one. But through the grace of God such physical changes will not separate our spirits the least bit.

His new home lies scarcely forty paces from my hut, so we shall surely be together often. Perhaps the dear Lord will direct Mr. Oglethorpe to have a house built for me soon after his arrival, then we will be near again even physically. Mr. Causton said that the Lord Trustees had set aside 400 £ sterling for four ministers, but he did not report any details about this or say

what their purpose was.²³² This much I know: at one point the magistrates and other prominent people have talked at table about the inadequate arrangements for the ministers in this land, and Mr. Causton has made very fine suggestions that he has probably made to the Lord Trustees too.

Thursday, the 14th of September. During this harvest season we have to put up with the fact that the older children remain out of school from time to time. They have to pick beans and guard the rice, which is often attacked by the birds. If rain hits the ripe beans (and we have had rain for two days), they burst open or become grey and worthless if they are not quickly picked and dried out again. Like some other people, we have planted cotton in our little gardens, which has prospered well. Out of a little seed grows a large bush, which bears many buds or bolls stuffed with cotton, which finally burst open and present the white wool for the picking. The most inconvenient thing is that the seeds, which consist of large greenish wooly kernels, cling very tightly to the white wool and therefore much picking and pulling is required in order to separate the two.²³³ A year ago we received some cotton seeds from the West Indies, which were black and white kernels from which rather tall little trees grew.²³⁴ These, however, all froze in the winter. The cotton is supposed to be taken from these much more easily; but, because they do not bear during the first year but must survive the winter, they cannot be used in this country, where a hard freeze occurs occasionally.

Mrs. Arnsdorf hardly knows how to give enough thanks to the dear Lord, who has inclined the hearts of the Salzburgers to build her a fine little house with sitting room and bedroom and to complete it right up to the doors, windows, and floors. She had requested it of some of them, who were quite willing to do it; and others came voluntarily and worked with great loyalty. She applies this benefaction well²³⁵ and lets it keep her from ever vacillating in her trust in divine providence but uses it to make her ever stronger. She is sick now, yet very resigned to it.

Friday, the 15th of September. This morning before day the Austrian Schmidt’s wife bore a young daughter, who was baptized before noon today. A few weeks ago things looked very miserable for this family; the husband was mortally sick, the wife had a high fever and another serious complication; and these and other troublesome circumstances lasted rather long. But now the dear Lord is returning with His help, the husband and his wife have both recovered, and she has delivered a daughter. They well recognize how salutary the previous rod of chastisement was for them, during which time much was revealed to them in their hearts that they would not have believed otherwise. I hope they will remain faithful.

The hut in which we hold church and in which Schoolmaster Ortmann holds school in the summer for the little children is very dilapidated, even though it has already been repaired by the congregation. If God lets Mr. Oglethorpe arrive safely, the first thing I should do is to solicit him for the construction of a church and a school. And, in order to cause less delay, I shall not immediately mention my house, that I much need. I trust that the dear Lord will help me to a dwelling in due time. Since our people must begin their work on their plantations and thus enter as into a primeval forest and initially very difficult conditions, we cannot presume upon them to undertake the construction of the church and school themselves, which, however, they would not refuse to do if it were necessary. This point was mentioned in the diary some time ago; perhaps the dear Lord will awaken benefactors in England and Germany to contribute something from their temporal wealth for this purpose in case the Lord Trustees were to hesitate to provide for church and school as we had been promised in Old Ebenezer. Others [Mr. Whitefield] will do their best to further our cause in this matter.

Saturday, the 16th of September. I came into a Salzburger’s hut where the man showed me the beautiful supply of corn he had harvested and praised the dear Lord with humility and joy for this blessing, which he had not expected. We hear this in most of the huts; and the dear people are, to be sure, heartily glad that under divine blessing they are gradually becoming able to eat their own bread. He who is content with what the Lord grants will not yearn for any other land, since here, provided the soil is not pure sand but is black and rich, everything grows well and does not require nearly as much work as in Germany, as the Salzburgers well recognize. When the sandy soil is well manured, it also bears abundantly; but without manure it bears little or nothing, as some people have discovered again this year. Therefore they will not try it any more on such soil, as they have already learned this several times.

This week we have had frequent rain and little sunshine. The beans and rice need dry weather; but we must be satisfied with what the Lord does. This weather is very good for sweet potatoes, cabbage, and turnips.

This week the surveyor made a serious start with surveying the land across Abercorn Creek. This afternoon he came back home with three people who had helped him; and our people told me that the land is very good but very difficult to survey because of the abundant reeds, bushes, and thorns. This is surely the only reason that the surveyor would rather survey our land in the pine forest than here.

Sunday, the 17th of September. Because the surveyor heard that our boat is going to Savannah tomorrow, he asked to go with it back to Purysburg, where he will see to some business before he can finish surveying our land. I cannot stop him, especially since he is now demanding four men as assistants in his present surveying, whom I cannot supply because everyone is busy with the harvest. He will return again in four weeks and remain here until he has completed his work. By then it should be possible to find people to go with him. He claims it will take him some two months of work to survey our land; and therefore it would be rather expensive for us if we had to pay him and the people who help him. However, he himself believes that Mr. Oglethorpe will not object to bearing these expenses; and I too will request it of him. It would be a great loss for the congregation if they had to do without the land that is still to be surveyed and to retain the plantations that are already surveyed near Old Ebenezer. [Even if they receive this good land, they will still retain enough bad, which they will not refuse.]

Monday, the 18th of September. An Evangelical Lutheran man, who is overseer over some Negro slaves near Charleston, came to us on horseback in order to go to Holy Communion next Sunday with the congregation. He had ridden around a lot and, even though some Englishmen could have easily directed him to the right path, they did not wish to do it because, as they said, he was a fool to be travelling so far for the sake of the sacrament. He was in Purysburg three years ago and attended our church diligently. May God let him gather a blessing here that will remain with him into everlasting life.

[Mrs. Rheinlaender returned this afternoon from Savannah. She probably did not appear before Mr. Causton, who went to his estate on the same day that my dear colleague arranged his affairs with him. Her conscience must tell her that people will no longer put up with her wicked ways. She delayed six days in Purysburg, probably so as to again obtain the boat that she had borrowed for the trip down from the Frenchman who lives in our neighborhood, and which was rowed by someone, presumably an Indian. If she should cause new trouble the authorities will pay attention to our report and curb her wickedness. Even this time Mr. Causton had planned a well-deserved punishment for her that was, however, discouraged by my dear colleague. Since she is no longer pleased with our style and arrangements but only calumniates them and is a burden on the people, it would be best if she were removed from us, which we have requested both orally and in writing.

[Tuesday, the 19th of September. Yesterday evening God helped Mrs. Gruber and let her bear a little son, who was baptized this morning. She was in difficult circumstances; yet the Lord helped through everything, for which may His name be praised. Today Mrs. Helfenstein revealed herself more clearly than in previous times, since she can usually hide her secret purposes and dishonesties with well chosen words and other appearances. For a rather long time she has been consorting rather familiarly with Mrs. Rheinlaender, to the scandal of the congregation; and whenever they came together the Salzburgers were rather harshly judged, as one could well hear through the thin wall. Now, because Mrs. Rheinlaender has grown worse every day in her wickedness and calumnies against us and the congregation and has opposed all good order, she has been as good as excluded from our Christian congregation. After she had travelled to Savannah, Mrs. Helfenstein came to me and said she had freed herself from Mrs. Rheinlaender and had refused her this and that; she therefore would not and could not enter her house again. But Mrs. Rheinlaender had hardly returned before they were sticking together again.

[This morning I chanced to go past Mrs. Helfenstein’s house and heard soft and secret voices in it; and, when I was about to enter, both of them hurried to put away their tea cups and other things and hide them. I told them that they had no grounds to be afraid of men if they had a just cause. I told Mrs. Helfenstein that she was doing nothing but favoring both sides and that vexation was being caused to the congregation and worry for us because she would still secretly consort with such a person who was entirely unbridled and shameless in all wickedness. Her children, who are quite naughty, are annoyed by her gossip and calumny. Along with that I cited several Bible verses in which the Lord and his apostles seriously urge us to withdraw from such disorderly and vexing people after they have been admonished and chastised several times, but without any effect.

[Thereupon I went away, and Mrs. Helfenstein followed me and tried to excuse herself again as best she could. Because she could not get very far with that and because comparisons of other people with Mrs. Rheinlaender did not help her, she began to talk of moving away and clearly showed, as people had previously noted in her and her oldest daughter, that it was all the same to her whether she were here or in Pennsylvania. She revealed quite clearly in other ways too that she was no lover of the pure truth of the gospel but of false ways and errors, which are now in vogue under an appearance of evangelical freedom of conscience. Those people who have clever speech and also an ostensibly good Christian behavior are usually the worst blasphemers, if one does not let them have their way but sees through their false argument and appearances and reveals them.]

Wednesday, the 20th of September. After the evening prayer hour yesterday, I received a visit from a Salzburger woman who had been prevented by fever from signing up for Holy Communion last Sunday and was therefore signing up now. God has granted her an exceptional hunger for this spiritual banquet, and she hopes He will be merciful to her soul and strengthen her through such salutary means in the good He has begun in her. Concerning her husband she told me that he had begun some time ago to pray seriously and that she was very happy in her soul because of this. Last Sunday he had been much awakened through the word of God, she said, and had been even more encouraged by a private visit from my dear colleague.

N. [Herzog] is also requesting to go to Holy Communion if we think it wise. He knows himself very well; and today he gave me examples of his evil and recalcitrant thoughts against the work and chastisement of the Holy Ghost that sufficiently revealed his dangerous condition. He wishes to be saved, he reads and prays diligently too. Sometimes he makes a serious start; but then, while praying and reading, he ceases the necessary vigilance over his heart and his serious struggle against the fancies and inclinations of the Old Adam and allows himself to be so disquieted by external matters that he casts everything away and harbors blasphemous thoughts. In a [evangelical] book he once read [Calvin’s] dangerous error about the unconditional judgment of God in saving or damning mankind, that is to say, that He wishes to grant the grace of penitence and faith only to those whom He has chosen for salvation, and to no others. This [dreadful] dogma had set itself so firmly in his mind that he thinks it is being confirmed by his own experience. He says that he notices that God does not wish to give him His grace for conversion and has already predestined him for damnation. /From this example one can see what a very harmful influence that dogma has on the practice of Christianity./ Oh, how harmful it is for simple people when they read all sorts of books, and how dangerous it is when such errors are reviewed cum rigore in books and from pulpits but are then not contradicted clearly enough! This time too I spoke movingly with the man and showed him the obstacles to true conversion that are found both in and outside of him. I showed him how dangerous his condition is and how much the Savior, who is able and desirous to redeem all men, wishes to gather him under his gracious wings, if only he will bow to His order and use the means of salvation to that end.

Thursday, the 21st of September. [Some time ago a Swiss from Purysburg sent his daughter to our school, and now he has died after a long sickness. A man from there has told me that the girl’s stepmother, a frivolous young woman, is squandering the dead man’s legacy, which came from the first wife and belongs to the daughter alone, and that she would gradually sell everything if no one looked into the matter. Since there is no one who wishes to be responsible for the child, I wrote to a judge whom I know in Purysburg²³⁶ and asked him to see that right and justice are done in the matter.]

I assembled the men of the congregation again to discuss some [spiritual and] external matters with them. The wolves are greatly harming the calves, which are now being guarded separately; and therefore better measures are being taken for their protection and security. Also, the carpenters will soon build a rice and corn mill. We have seen nothing of the carpenter from Purysburg who wished to build us a rice mill for a low price, and we also hear that there are more words in him than deeds. This year the corn is supposed to make lovely white meal; and, because the iron mills on which so much is ground every day are easily ruined, we have great need of a durable mill with regular millstones that can be driven by a couple of men. After having given good service so far, the third transport’s stone mill now requires a repair.

[At this meeting mention was made of Mrs. Rheinlaender and her troublesome nature, and the congregation asked me to request Mr. Causton in the name of the congregation to remove her from us because we are having more and more difficulty with her. Her wickedness is getting the best of her, and therefore I am compelled to present Mr. Causton with the desire of the congregation and of us all.]

Friday, the 22nd of September. A young man on whom the dear Lord has been working mightily since Christmas complained to me with tears of his corrupted condition. He often renews his resolution to devote himself honestly to the Lord; but nothing comes of it because of his lack of vigilance, prayer, and struggle. As a major obstacle that is keeping him from true conversion, he cites worldly acquaintances that he has loved up till now and that have caused him great harm, even if he did not know it. He is very much affected by all the words in the sermons, as was the case last Sunday; and he was especially impressed by what my dear colleague recently read about prayer out of Professor Francke’s Epistle-Prayers, p. 1152,²³⁷ concerning the epistle for that day. This encouraged him not to despair entirely, even if he was progressing with only very small steps. He knelt with me, and we implored the true Savior for faith to go our way with conviction and feeling.

The cited words were as follows: “Man must not first ask for a long time whether he has any desire to pray, for then he would have to wait a good long while before feeling a real desire to do so. He must not wait until his sluggishness passes and he feels an especial impulse to pray; the more he notices that he has no desire to pray, the more necessary it is for him to pray. As we see, when the disciples were sluggish and sleepy on the Mount of Olives, our Savior awakened them and encouraged them most: ‘Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak’ (Matthew 26:41). From which we should learn that we must pray most when we have the least desire to pray and when we are most sluggish to do so, because the need and danger is then the greatest. Man need not think that his prayer will displease the dear Lord because it is merely something forced. Indeed, dear man, you are being horribly deceived if you think that it will not please the dear Lord but even be repugnant to Him, if you thus compel yourself; for such compulsion is very agreeable to the dear Lord. Merely compel your Old Adam in every way. Such a struggle is very pleasing to Him when a man feels nothing but reluctance to pray yet compels himself and struggles with himself until he overcomes and thus goes and prays despite all contradiction in himself. Once a man has a desire and impulse to pray, there is nothing surprising in that he should pray. And it is, to be sure, very pleasing for God if a man thus converts into his strength and practice the very stimulus that he has received from the spirit of God. Yet in some ways it is even more pleasing and agreeable to Him if a man recognizes his misery and sees himself as naked and deprived of all comfort, of the feeling of grace and of the power of the Holy Ghost, but so greatly values the recognition of his misery and of his great danger through the mere admonition that God has granted him in his heart that he comes and confesses his misery and impotence and sincerely implores Him for more power and grace. Experience will teach that, if one does not indulge in one’s indolence but actually struggles and thus often begins one’s prayer without desire, one will receive the greatest power in prayer and will arise from prayer with pleasure and joy.” Our loving God has blessed the reading of these words in several people. May the glory be His!

A woman wished for everyone to help her praise God, who was still granting her a period of grace and was working on her so mightily. She complained greatly of her sluggishness and said that she now had almost too much work, which might well be an obstacle in the course of her Christianity. She is full of honest poverty of the spirit, and she yearns for the Lord Jesus as a newborn babe yearns for milk. I spoke with her about several verses in Matthew 5, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” etc., “Blessed are they that mourn,” etc., “Blessed are they which do hunger,” etc.

Another woman was also pleased that I called on her; she complained to me that her husband has prevented her from going to Holy Communion this time. This week, as often before, he had quarreled with her and done everything to spite her and had even ridiculed her when she spoke to him from God’s word. Because she shows no wisdom and humility toward her husband, I admonished her in this respect and to pray for herself and her husband; and I also requested her to tell her husband that I would admit neither him nor his wife unless they would reconcile themselves honestly in my presence and promise to treat each other better from now on. We have worked on him for a long time, but he is one of those frivolous people who cannot imagine that hell is so hot, or that eternal damnation is so long, or that the spiritual blessings of heaven are of such worth and value as God’s word, the word of truth, tells us. The company he keeps also does him much harm, as his wife said.

Saturday, the 23rd of September. This morning Kiefer of Purysburg came to us with his oldest son and youngest daughter in order to go to Holy Communion tomorrow with the congregation. In yesterday’s evening prayer meeting we had God’s mysterious statute concerning the year of release from Deuteronomy XV, which gave me an opportunity to lay the verse Luke 4:18-19 as a foundation for the preparation; for in it our Savior presents Himself most gloriously as our only great prophet, physician, and redeemer in His glorious good deeds, who was granted us by the heavenly Father for the very purpose for which we needed him most.

Peter Gruber’s little son died yesterday evening and therefore did not live even a week in this world. The parents are quite resigned to this dispensation of God and well see that He has done well with this little worm, since the mother had been unable to provide any nourishment for it, even though everything possible was done for her.

Schmidt’s little child, who is a few days older, already has fever and is becoming very weak. So far we have done rather poorly in fetching up children, the reason for which may well be that the mothers in their poverty cannot take such care of themselves and their little children as such people require. We and the members of the congregation give them all the help we possibly can. (God will improve this situation too, as we certainly hope.)

Sunday, the 24th of September. Today forty-three persons attended Holy Communion. [Several, among them Barbara Maurer, were held back because they lack the proper preparation for such an important undertaking. The Maurer woman was also held back the last time, whereupon she caused annoyance through insolence and rough and ignorant words. When I remonstrated with her about them this time and tried to bring her to a recognition of, and remorse for, such sins, she again revealed her former wicked nature. She has a right foolish arrogance, by which she is misled into defiance and obstinacy. At the same time she is of very simple intelligence.]

The strangers as well as some of our regular listeners were abundantly edified again today, and they well felt its strength in their hearts, as we perceived. May God give them and us faith so that we may not only know what the Lord demands of us, since it is abundantly told us, but that we will also really keep his word, practice love, and be humble in our hearts before Him, which was the content of our morning sermon concerning Luke 16:1 ff.

Monday, the 25th of September. With the stranger, who is a chief overseer over the Negro slaves near Charleston, I had a good opportunity to send a letter to the goldsmith Dannengiesser, who has been called as preacher by the people in North Carolina.²³⁸ Already several months ago he sent me a letter complaining of the strange mixture of people he had in his congregation. The inhabitants there are said to be mostly wicked, dissolute, disorderly, and rather similar to the Indians of this country in external customs. He wrote me that many contradictions had arisen because of a catechism, in that every party wished to introduce into the school that catechism they considered the best and had perhaps heard of in their youth. Therefore he did not know how he would be able to unite them all.

I sent him the order of salvation that Pastor Freylinghausen had collected from Holy Scripture, whilst adding how I would act with such children of various religious persuasions. I would teach them the ten commandments, the seven petitions, and the dogma of the sacraments of the New Testament from Holy Scripture. Since the Symbolum Apostolicum²³⁹ was accepted by everyone, it would also be easy to teach them. Moreover, I would treat the order of salvation and try to lay the foundation of a true Christianity in both children and adults. [I gave several little tractates by the late Professor Francke, especially the Dogma of the Commencement of Christian Life,²⁴⁰ to the stranger, who is returning to his place today.]

Tuesday, the 26th of September. Last week and this week we have had no sunshine but only gloomy weather and occasional drizzly rain, which is somewhat hindering the ripening of the beans. Thunderstorms are usually very violent in this country, but this summer we have heard but few, and they were rather weak. The crops are said to have turned out very well in South Carolina, and corn and sweet potatoes are being sold in Charleston cheaper than ever before. The people around Savannah who planted yellow corn will have harvested little, as we here have also experienced in the case of this kind of corn.²⁴¹ God be praised for all the physical blessings He has granted us, and may He make us thankful for them. This year none of us will lack corn, beans, and sweet potatoes. And whoever has rice land will receive a considerable amount of rice. Our Father in heaven will also see to other things.

[Today Mr. Causton summoned Mrs. Rheinlaender to appear before the authorities in Savannah; and she was very insolent about this, as is her wont. In my last letter I reported to him various points concerning her great obstinacy and vexing and insolent nature and requested that he take her from us because she shows no desire for betterment and has already disregarded all charges of admonition and church discipline. Because she has comprehended some of the word of God literally and because she can speak glibly, she considers herself a newborn child of God; and she looks upon all the evil that she is bringing on herself by her insolence and disorder as the cross of Jesus and upon us as her persecutors. Such a blindness and obstinate wickedness was not to be found in the late Rott arid his wife; rather the Rheinlaender woman is immersed in an even greater degree of blindness and wickedness. Tomorrow, when I send this woman down to Savannah in our boat, I will report her previous vexing behavior to the authorities in seven points, with the repeated request to remove her from us even though she has resolved, to spite and annoy us and the congregation, to remain in Ebenezer just because we would like to be rid of her, even if she will have to suffer want and hardship because she has no harvest as a result of her indolence and disorderly running around.]

Wednesday, the 27th of September. Before dawn this morning Simon Steiner’s wife bore a little daughter, who was baptized today after school. The example of Mary, who according to the witness of Jesus Christ hath chosen that good part, is so noteworthy and edifying to this man that he let this beautiful name be given to his child. A short time previously in school the dear Lord had granted me a pleasant edification from this example and from the beautiful words of Luke 10:39-42, which stand in the Order of Salvation in the Golden ABC under the first words: “Attentive to the Words of Christ.”²⁴² For this reason the man’s reflection in naming his child was all the more impressive for me.

I found two women together in a room, one of them heartily happy at the grace of the Savior which He has been granting her since she last partook of Holy Communion, and the other so very depressed because of the magnitude and number of her sins both on Sunday and on the following two days that she could hardly pray; but this gloomy cloud has finally begun to disappear. For the benefit of the latter I spoke a bit about the verse: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things,” etc., and showed her that not so much the physical sensation of the grace of the Father and the love of the Son, but far more the constant and serious hate of and struggle against sin are an infallible characteristic of the state of grace, especially if the struggle is carried out loyally to overcome the temptations from without and within. During the conversation we touched upon the beautiful song, “Strive well when God’s grace draws and converts you,”²⁴³ which we sang together to my great refreshment. Then we commended our common need in prayer to our dear Lord with praise and thanks.

A Salzburger who had called on me remembered a special sin, which he had formerly not considered a sin because it was something common among the people of that place, particularly among the hired men and women. Now that our faithful Lord was bringing him to recognize better and better the strait way through the narrow gate to heaven, he showed a hearty displeasure and remorse for it. He still has a brother in the Empire, who is likewise tempted to such sins and will therefore come into danger of his soul; therefore he greatly wished that he might come here and prepare himself with him for eternal salvation. He was very happy when he heard that I could be of use to his brother so that he could become his nearest neighbor if he came with the next transport.

Thursday, the 28th of September. Since the surveyor is to survey four English miles for the Salzburgers across Abercorn Creek, he already wished to receive provisions from the storehouse in Savannah for his new work, even though he left us without finishing his business. Because Mr. Causton cannot believe everything the surveyor says and because the latter might report certain things to our detriment, Mr. Causton wishes to speak with me about it and to hear whether it is really so necessary for the above-mentioned land to be surveyed. But it is easy to show how necessary it is for our people to gain possession of this land: 1) Among the surveyed plantations there are not more than twenty-four on which the people can grow crops under divine blessing; on sandy dry soil nothing will grow, as we have already learned several times. 2) It is a great advantage if the entire community has its land together. Not only will they be able to cut down, fence, and plant a large forest quickly, but, since the Salzburgers wish to have the word of God along with their physical work, one of us can remain here and serve both old and young with his office while the other performs his office in the town. It is a great advantage in field work here in this country if the crops can stand open and not be surrounded with so many trees. What can the people accomplish if they take their plantations here and there wherever a good patch is. Shade and birds do much damage. 3) The land across Abercorn Creek is low and flooded so that no one can build a house or keep cattle there. Rather, whoever wishes to have his plantation there must live on this side of the creek. Consequently, no town or village can be built in the entire region there, whereas our people can use the land splendidly. They have agreed to build their huts and cowsheds on this side of the creek and to share the plantations where the land is high, and to share also in the plantations across the creek and work communally like brothers. 4) If they do not receive this land but have to be satisfied with the already surveyed plantations, then few of them could subsist. However, if they receive it, since no one closer than our town can receive it, then its value with divine blessing will be great for us and the whole colony. 5) If it is still intended, as Mr. Causton has assured us several times, that Old Ebenezer is to be settled with people, then there will be no land left over for this place, if the present surveying should remain, for our plantations reach a half mile beyond Old Ebenezer.

It seems to me as if the place where Old Ebenezer is supposed to stand belongs within the line of the plantations, only the surveyor denies this absurdity and has drawn the line on his paper past this place. Now if, as is meet and right, land is to be left for this place, then at least four miles must be surveyed for us at some other place; and now there is no other land except across Abercorn Creek. The hamlet Habercorn (or rather Abricorn)²⁴⁴ lies much further away so that our land would not reach into this region. This creek or arm of the Savannah River acquired the name Abercorn Creek because it empties back into the Savannah River two or three miles below Abercorn. the hamlet Abercorn does not lie on the island on which we desire the four miles for the Salzburgers’ plantations, but lies on this side of the creek; and therefore no encroachment is being made on that place. Early tomorrow morning, God willing, I am going to Savannah for the sake of the German people and will speak to Mr. Causton about this matter so that our land will finally be put into order.

Yesterday afternoon my dear colleague moved into his new, very comfortably built house, and has dedicated it with our dear listeners with prayer and the word of the Lord. May our dear God, who has exercised His fatherly will over him in this matter also, give him and his dear family new strength in body and soul in these new quarters, so that he may live there for a long time in His honor and may benefit our congregation.

Friday, the 29th of September. After the morning prayer hour in the orphanage I called on a sick woman and inquired about her condition. She was quite resigned and told me how, in her sick condition, she had been so impressed and comforted by the verses where it says “[Zion said] the Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may not forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” She cannot read; but, when we spend scarcely a quarter of an hour with such a person, we receive more edification than if we spend three hours with someone else who only knows to chatter and with whom we can accomplish nothing because of their imagined piety. Such a person is poor Mrs. Rheinlaender, who scorns the Salzburgers because they do not chatter that way and do not answer so copiously to questions we ask them. Recently, in my dear colleague’s hut, she said that the Salzburgers were people who had just come from Popery and therefore could not speak so readily from Holy Scripture as she and others in Ebenezer, who are not Salzburgers.

Saturday, the 30th of September. Yesterday evening Simon Steiner’s little child died. It had come to the world somewhat too soon. This morning it was buried; and on this occasion, for mutual edification, a brief explanation was made of the words in Matthew 18: “Even so, it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”

OCTOBER

Sunday, the 1st of October. Praise be to the dear Lord, who strengthened me today to give witness of Christ. May He confirm this in all others! I have trust in our faithful Lord that he will let many of those who have not yet felt it so far feel that He means them too and that He would like to draw them as well to His son Jesus Christ. For then my joy too would be fulfilled, if Jesus the Bridegroom received many as his brides. Now He must wax, but I and all of us must wane.

Monday, the 2nd of October. At about noon I reached our dear Ebenezer again. In Savannah I preached the word of God to the Trustees’ German indentured servants both on Saturday and on Sunday. For the preparation I used the words from Matthew 11, “Come unto me;” and on Sunday, both in the morning and in the afternoon, I led the people as simply as possible, using the regular gospel, to the essentials that are demanded for being saved. This time they appeared to be more attentive than usual; approximately fourteen people took Holy Communion. However, some of them who usually show a desire for it remained away this time and they told me their reasons for doing so. This much they know: that Holy Communion is a holy and important matter and that he who takes it with an unprepared heart sins greatly. Yet they usually place their preparation in the kind of things which, although they are pertinent, do not actually concern the principal matter; and therefore we try to give them sufficient instruction in this.

A pious Englishman inquired about our Evangelical dogma of Holy Communion; and, as he learned that it agrees with neither the Papist nor [Reformed] other opinions but only with the very clear words with which the Lord instituted it and therefore deviates neither to the left nor to the right, he asked me to admit him too to Holy Communion; he had long had a yearning desire for it but had been unable to enjoy it because the English preacher here [Whitefield], /who is an Episcopalian,/²⁴⁵ has not yet received ordination [copulation] as a priest and can therefore not administer Holy Communion. After Communion he thanked me most appreciatively and assured me that the Lord had strengthened him.

We hear everywhere the bitterest complaints about the German indentured servants [especially the Reformed ones] and their loose behavior, and that their masters would be happy if they could recover the passage money they had paid for them. With their work they do not earn their provisions, much less their clothing and what else is spent on them.²⁴⁶ And, because some Englishmen believe that they are Salzburgers and are actually people who belong to my congregation, and thus the word of God [and our office] is maligned, I have been desirous of admitting to our assemblies none but orderly people who accept the word of God and conduct themselves in a righteous way; but I have wished to speak about it first with Mr. Oglethorpe and to hear his decision.

Mr. Oglethorpe arrived two weeks ago at Frederica with several ships; and, when people heard about it last Wednesday in Savannah, they fired their cannons, which we could hear in our place. He must have much important business there; therefore it is said that he will hardly come to Savannah for another three or four weeks. At his order nothing is now being given out of the storehouse in Savannah because the previous accounts must be brought into order and an inventory of the current provisions must be prepared. A new store keeper has been sent here,²⁴⁷ who is to relieve Mr. Causton of the burden of the storehouse as soon as the storehouse has been put into order. [Malicious people are passing severe judgments about this, and all sorts of stories are being spread around the country. However, time will soon show that they are false tales; and people, including the German indentured servants, will change their minds, as they will probably be glad to do for Mr. Causton.]²⁴⁸

The new storehouse manager came into the orphanage in which I was lodging in order to make my acquaintance. His chief purpose in this was to warn me against certain persons [the Herrnhuters] who had been sent here [as missionaries by Count Zinzendorf] and had been with him on a ship, especially against N. N. [Mr. Böhler], because he thought that they would come to our community and desire our friendship (which has not occurred). He related that he, like other people in London, had at first thought highly of them and had believed there was a true fear of the Lord in them; but that he had later caught them in untruths and had also inferred from their discussions that they considered only themselves and the people of their party to be righteous and considered all others to be hypocrites and mouth-Christians who did not yet have Christ living in them.

He also said that they had been very severe and brutal in the discipline of a boy who seemed to belong to them, the likes of which he had never seen and which did not concur with the love that they pretended to have. He could not believe that they prayed, because he had never seen them do so. Several friends of N. and N. [Mr. Wesley and Mr. Whitefield] were present who said that those of these people [the Herrnhuters] who are already in this country are just as fault-finding and that they had wished to accuse Mr. N.N. [Whitefield] himself of damnable errors. However, they themselves had made it clear enough that they were very close to the Quakers, who are well known in England and especially in Pennsylvania, and at least cherish certain of their principles. Nevertheless, N. [Böhler], who was to be sent out among the N. [Negro slaves in South Carolina], had so blinded N. [Dr. Watts]²⁴⁹ and others that it was reported to Mr. N. [Whitefield] in a letter [which the schoolmaster opened in his absence and read] that Dr. N. [Watts] found in this N. [Mr. Böhler] all the qualities of an N. [missionary].

We must marvel that so much furor is being made in England and perhaps also in Germany about these people, since they live there very obscurely and seek their physical subsistence in every way they can. They do not seek to accomplish any spiritual good in anyone, much less in a heathen, nor do they speak any word to edify the Salzburgers, even though, when they are in Savannah, they visit and even lodge with them as Germans. What kind of a divine service they have and hold among themselves is their own secret. In their evening prayer meetings, which they hold in their regular living room or, in winter, in the kitchen, things proceed so sluggishly, as I and others have observed, that I would be distressed if I saw anything like it among us. One of them after the other is going to Pennsylvania because this country does not please them. If they were concerned, as they pretend, with the edification and salvation of their neighbors, then they would remain here and apply themselves to it more closely.

Mr. Oglethorpe had sent our letters to the storehouse in Savannah, so I was able to read them there. I praise the goodness of the Lord who, through these edifying letters from our Fathers in London and Germany, has again granted me and all of us so much blessing for our edification and for arousing us to a serious conduct of our office and our Christianity. As usual, our dear congregation will share in this. This time, because of the unexpected departure of Mr. Oglethorpe, nothing has come but a thick packet of letters for us and Mr. Thilo; our salaries and whatever else God has intended for us will be forwarded later with Captain Thomson. From Court Preacher Ziegenhagen’s letter I learn that two packets of letters from the 14th of October and the 14th of November, 1737, with two installments of our diary, had not yet arrived in May, when he wrote his last letters; and they may be presumed to have fallen into the wrong hands or to have been lost. They had been placed together in one packet for forwarding and first given to Mr. N. [Wesley], but afterwards, since he had resolved to remain here, sent to Mr. Eveleigh in Charleston. Mr. Eveleigh has died, and therefore we cannot ask him about it. When I arrived in Savannah on Friday, Mr. Oglethorpe’s letters were being sent to Charleston for forwarding, and I would have wished to send a copy of the lost diary with them. Now we are occupied in copying it. We will also take the copies of the letters written at that time and send them to Charleston via Savannah as soon as a safe opportunity is offered.

[Mrs. Rheinlaender was sent to jail by the authorities even though I had requested only that she might be taken away from us because she did not wish to fit into any spiritual order. She sent a Jew²⁵⁰ and several other people to me and had them ask me to help her out again. She would gladly admit her misbehavior and humble herself; but now it is beyond my power, and she will have to see to how she can straighten herself out. We have borne her for a long time and suffered much from her and at the same time have always shown great kindness to her and her family. However, since she remains ungrateful and causes much vexation and annoyance, God has shown that He is a Holy God who does not let evil endure for ever. This will make an impression on the insolent people among us and tame them in their wickedness, even if we have to let ourselves be judged because of it.]

In Purysburg a tailor,²⁵¹ who had kept two children with us in the school and in the orphanage but had brought them home for a short time to harvest beans, complained that his wife had run away and abducted two of his children, among them the girl who had been placed with us. It is the third time in this country that she has so shamefully abandoned him. It is uncertain whether he will soon be able to send the small boy back here to school, since his wife has taken the larger one, whom he greatly needs in harvesting his crops. Purysburg is in great confusion.

Tuesday, the 3rd of October. Yesterday evening in the prayer meeting I acquainted our listeners with the contents of Senior Urlsperger’s beautiful, although short, letter. It was arranged according to the content of the gospel for the Second Sunday after Epiphany and well suited our circumstances. Oh, how often it has been true of us: “Mine hour is not yet come.” Yet this hour of help has not remained away entirely; rather the glorious Savior has often revealed His glory most powerfully in our greatest need and want. With this we sang the hymn: “My soul turns quietly to God,”²⁵² which, together with the content of the letter, impressed me deeply. The heavy rain, which began some time ago and is getting stronger today, may perhaps hinder us in the prayer meeting today; otherwise I shall continue with the reading of the edifying letters.

Wednesday, the 4th of October. Yesterday and today I have been busy in answering the gratifying letters that have come to us from our dear Fathers, and also to send along the contents of the letters of the 14th of October and November, which seem to have been lost. May God let all this prosper for His glory and the edification of our neighbors and especially for the joy of our worthy benefactors and friends, and also for our own welfare. We write to Europe with heartfelt joy, for that always brings us greatly desired and edifying answers. Also, our dear congregation receives no harm, but rather much physical and spiritual good; for the letters from our Fathers in Europe are always read to the congregation with much blessing. To say nothing of the physical blessings, which God has always granted.

[During my absence Michael Rieser hired himself out as a rower on an English trading boat or as a soldier at Fort Augusta, after having begun to sell some of his cattle. I have reason to fear that he will take leave of us in the spring in the ungrateful and shameful manner of Stephan Riedelsperger, with whom he is especially well acquainted. He is not concerned with any of the land and is always malcontent; and it appears that he wishes to earn a bit of money and then depart. Some time ago he married an orderly and industrious woman from Purysburg, with whom he could live here well if only he desired to work like other orderly people. He has been a tricky and secretly hostile man from the first time that we got to know him. If he leaves, no one in the community will miss or mourn him. Spielbiegler is his neighbor and of one mind with him. He is even more worthless; and the two of them will surely run into their physical misfortune, since they already lie under the spiritual judgment of a pitiable blindness and resistance against all the grace of God that is chastising them and working on them.]

Thursday, the 5th of October. For about the last two weeks we have had rainy weather that has done much harm to the beans and rice. Neither can bear wetness while ripening but begin to sprout. The sweet potatoes too prefer dry weather, and today during my stroll I saw that some of them were damaged. Today the weather is beginning to improve, and may the Lord preserve it according to His will! He has shown us a fine crop in the fields, which He could withdraw if He wished even before it was enjoyed. Yet He is merciful and does not treat us according to our sins. Those people among us who have learned to look not for the visible but for the invisible know how to resign themselves in this and are well content with the government of the Lord.

Yesterday evening we heard many cannon shots; and from this some conclude that Mr. Oglethorpe has arrived in Savannah.²⁵³ When I was there, people assumed that he would not be ready to come from Frederica to Savannah for three or four weeks. If we finish with our letters this week and if God keeps me sound of body, I plan to go down next week; then there will probably be an opportunity to see Mr. Oglethorpe. At first I shall not be able to mention my house, since I must ask him for something concerning the congregation and also urge him to cover the expenses for my dear colleague’s house, which stands on the public square for the ministers.

[Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen well knows the mind and circumstances of the Lord Trustees, and how careful we must be with them in our requests and demands.] Since the Trustees’ expenditures here in this country are very great anyhow and they are restricting their management of the storehouse more and more, he will find it difficult to add anything substantial to the 10 £ that the Trustees have allowed to each house. [If he adds anything, he will promise me boards from the sawmill in Old Ebenezer for my house, and it will cost me more to bring them here than they are worth. The mill is not yet in an operative condition, and therefore considerable time would pass before I get my house if I were to wait for these boards. And how would I be any better off with regards to my poor physical and my official condition if they build me a house of boards as in Savannah, in which one is protected neither from the heat nor the cold and in which one can hardly say a loud word? I shall postpone the construction at least until December and meanwhile see how Mr. Oglethorpe may be disposed toward it. Yet I must build in such a way that the house will be ready not later than April when our people plant, not only because they will then have their hands full with their fields but also because the entire region in front of my house and to the Savannah River will be planted, and I would be in their way if I built later.

It is believed that I could have a secure house if the walls were made of clay and lime and covered on the outside all around with thin boards for keeping the rain off. In this way I will distribute the pay not only among the carpenters but also to others in the community, who can earn something by cutting boards, digging and treading the clay, etc.²⁵⁴ To be sure, I have no money now for this construction, but perhaps the dear Lord will move Mr. Oglethorpe to advance me something for a few years without interest, which I will gradually repay him from that which God grants. I am planning to set the house on my own lot, and thus I can best arrange it for the use of my family. We also have great need of a good house for the church and school, which I must likewise solicit from Mr. Oglethorpe. The schoolmaster’s hut is also quite dilapidated. If only the Lord Trustees wished to give something for all these, I would be glad to keep quiet about my house.

Friday, the 6th of October. Yesterday evening I applied Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen’s letter of the 14th of May of this year to the benefit of the congregation; and this evening I applied one of Professor Francke’s letters, namely, that of the 21st of December 1737. By means of their edifying content we mutually encouraged one another to learn, through the power of the Holy Ghost, to believe well what everyone confesses: “I believe in God the Father, almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth, etc.” If anyone unites himself in faith with this almighty God, who at the same time is in Christ our reconciled Abba and rich in mercy, he can leap over the walls of all difficulties with his God like David and is calm in all tribulations, for he says: “Everything cometh, my God, from Thee.” On the occasion of these edifying letters the dear Lord has again let us hear much concerning the necessity and usefulness of tribulations. May He grant it, like a good seed, to bear much fruit, and may He abundantly repay our dear Fathers with spiritual and physical blessings for the effort that they have taken in writing such long and edifying letters, which flow with the honey of the gospel.

Our dear Salzburgers would warmly thank Pastor Breuer if, as he has been admonished by Professor Francke, he would write something concerning the Salzburgers in Prussia.²⁵⁵ What a blessing he and his congregation could receive from that! The little effort, which can scarcely be called an effort, that we joyfully make in writing letters and sending the diary is rewarded for us a thousandfold. If we had not reported our trials and tribulations, then there would not have been so many prayers for us according to our circumstances, also we could not have been so greatly helped with counsel, intercession, and deeds. And, so far as we can see from the worthy Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen’s and Mr. Butjenter’s letters, upon the reports of the good among us our loyal God gives His blessing for our edification, and by this God is glorified. How much our congregation would be encouraged to pray for the Prussian Salzburgers if they learned some details, after which they are constantly inquiring from us. I do not know how they can justify this their silence [before God and man].

The next time I shall continue with reading out of Professor Francke’s letters and also from the very pleasant letter of the dear Court Chaplain Butjenter. Soli Deo Gloria!

The song: “Up, upwards to Thy joy”²⁵⁶ has encouraged us to call upon the everlasting loyalty of the Lord Jesus in all vexations. When it is sung devoutly, it is as if the dear Lord Jesus himself were reaching forth His gracious hands for us to grasp and were offering His wounds as a fortress. I was much impressed that, although the danger because of the Spaniards was very great in this country, our dear Fathers had faith in the dear Lord that He would turn the danger away from us and protect His little flock, as He so graciously did, and look mercifully on the prayers of His servants and children. The danger was great, as was reported in the letter to Court Chaplain Butjenter; but our Lord’s help was still greater. He can help even without men and their aid. And as we read in their letters that they trust in the almighty and loving God to do glorious things for our Salzburger congregation, He will certainly do such good in His time, if only we do not hinder Him in His work. May He preserve us in His mercy!

Saturday, the 7th of October. We have again received beautiful dry weather, which is very convenient for the people in gathering their beans, which would have been entirely lost if it had rained longer; for, as the people say, they are half spoiled as it is. Last night it was rather cold, so they feared a freeze, since the time has now come for it to be quite fresh and cold in the evening.

I was told by a pregnant woman that she had suffered serious bodily harm through her lack of shoes and stockings, which she had relinquished to her husband. The woman is very timid and did not wish, as many do, to reveal her want. We are badly off with regard to a shoemaker; and this time I have urged Court Chaplain Butjenter to seek out a good man in London. [The Purysburg shoemaker who works for us is a dissolute man and carries off much money for his often shoddy work, and there is nothing we can do about it.] Our orphans are barefoot [too].

We have now written again to various dear benefactors and friends, namely to Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, Senior Urlsperger, Professor Francke, Secretary Newman, Dr. Watts,²⁵⁷ Court Chaplain Butjenter, and Baron von Reck. I am planning to travel to Savannah next week and to look for a safe opportunity to forward to London these letters and a double diary, namely the present one from the 27th of August to now and the copy of the diary that was lost in September of last year.

Sunday, the 8th of October. This morning two Christian women were churched with their little children, one of them before and one of them after the public divine service. In the Augsburg Church-Agenda we cannot actually find anything about how we are to deal with women who are to be churched and wish to praise the dear Lord in a public assembly, to pay their vows, and have themselves and their little babies blessed. Therefore we have drafted something as best we could; and, because we cannot remember whether we have incorporated it into the diary for the judgment of our worthy superiors in the Lord, we have considered it necessary to do it this time and thus to make the conclusion of the diary that is to be sent off. In this act we are accustomed to sing the beautiful song “Praise and honor be to the highest Good.”²⁵⁸ After it ends the mother steps before the altar with her little child and the one of us who is to give the sermon, or who has just done so, speaks in the following manner:

“Dear Friends in Christ:

“You have come to this place with your little children to thank our dear Lord heartily for the many benefactions that He has shown you and your child before, during, and after its birth in spiritual and physical ways. In this you are doing a Christian and God-pleasing work, since the dear Lord demands in His word that we be thankful with heart and mouth for all of His benefactions, especially since we cannot repay Him in any other way for his loyalty and goodness. Also, you have before you the example of pious people in the Old and the New Testament who have not only prayed diligently in their physical and spiritual circumstances but have also cordially praised and lauded the Giver of all good and perfect gifts after the divine help and assistance they have received. In this the example of the blessed Maria, the mother of our Savior, is especially recorded in the Bible as one who appeared in the temple at the set time with her child Jesus and presented this her dear child to the Lord and brought the dear Lord her sacrifice of praise and thanks.

“We read almost the same thing about the mother of the prophet Samuel in the first and last chapter of the 1st book of Samuel: she had not only requested this her son from the Lord with sincere diligence; but also, after she had been granted her wish, she praised the Lord publicly and gave her son back to the Lord. From these two examples you can learn what your duty is, too, after God has not only blessed you with the fruit of your bodies but also delivered you at the proper time and received your child into His covenant of grace through Holy Baptism and also graciously diverted so much hardship and danger from both of you. Foremostly you should recognize that these are purely unmerited benefactions of God, which He could have kept from you and your child just as easily as he granted them to you: there are many mothers and children in the world whom God in His wondrous counsel and justice has not let enjoy such benefactions.

“2. Since God demands no other repayment from you than that you thank Him for it from your heart, it should be your occupation not only now but during your entire life to praise Him, your Creator and Keeper, with all your body and spirit.

“3. You should sacrifice your little child to the Lord, that is to say, you must direct all your care and efforts to raising it in the fear and of and respect for the Lord so that it will lead its life according to the promise made in Holy Communion to let its light so shine before men that God will be honored, your neighbor edified, and its own salvation advanced, in this order. It was spoken out of the mouth of the Lord: ‘Direct my children, the work of my hands, unto me.’²⁵⁹ For you should well note that this little child now belongs to the Lord Jesus in that He not only created it but also redeemed it as His own property with His own blood with infinite physical and spiritual suffering and has washed it clean of all its sins and sanctified it in Holy Baptism. Therefore He says unto you even as the daughter of Pharaoh said unto the mother of Moses: ‘Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.’ Through His mercy God will not leave unrewarded the loyalty that you show in raising the child; rather, if it is neglected through your fault, He will demand its blood from your hands on the day of judgment.

“4. Because you now need much divine grace and wisdom for the Christian nurture of this new blessing of your marriage, let a serious prayer be recommended to you through which you build a wall around yourself and your child, and, through the power of God, drive back Satan with all his cunning and wickedness, while he runs around like a roaring lion to swallow up your little child. Also, in all your cross and miserable circumstances that are accustomed to afflict married people in this vale of tears, you could do nothing better than to comply with what God tells you and us all: ‘Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, etc.,’ likewise, ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, etc.,’ also ‘Commit thy way unto the Lord.’ And now too we wish to raise our hearts to the Lord and pray thus:

“Merciful and loving God, we give Thee hearty praise and thanks not only for blessing this person in her marriage with the fruit of the body but also for mercifully guarding her all during her pregnancy from all misfortune and danger and for delivering her at the proper time from her bodily burden. Yea, we also thank Thee, Oh merciful God, that Thou hast let her child be reborn through holy baptism and hast received and accepted it as Thy child and hast guarded it so far in life (and health). For the sake of Christ may the spiritual and physical condition of this mother and child be commended further to Thy mercy and mayest Thou bless their going out and their coming in and guard them on their ways and paths with Thy holy angels and grant Thy divine blessing on the Christian nurture of this little child so that it may grow like a plant to Thy praise and bear much fruit of gratitude for all Thy benefactions. Behold, we are now bringing it to Thee, mayest Thou accept it closer and closer and fill it more and more with Thy Holy Ghost and make such a person of it as will keep Thy commandments for many years and observe Thy laws and act according to them. Grant that, oh [dear] God, and everything else for which Thou shalt be asked, for Christ’s sake, amen!

“Our Father, who art in heaven, etc.

“The Lord bless you and keep you and your child, the Lord make His face to shine upon you, etc. The Lord bless your going out and your coming in from now into eternity, amen!”

Monday, the 9th of October. N. [Pichler] is sick again. I visited him and found that the dear Lord had left witness of Himself in his soul. He was present last week in the prayer meeting when my dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, read the letter from Mr. N. [Senior Urlsperger], which greatly touched his heart because he realized that the worthy N. [Senior] is so earnestly caring for us, praying for us, and thinking of us. He well recognizes that at the time that he wished to leave us with N. [Stephan Riedelsperger], he was doing himself much bodily and spiritual harm.

During the evening prayer hour I read the two letters which our worthy Professor Francke had written to me and which I found to be most blessed letters! The dear Lord did not let them go without blessing on other people too; for someone came to me soon after the prayer meeting and told me so with joy, whereupon we awakened each other even more and joined in prayer. At the same time I read out loud the 19th chapter of the 3rd book of Johann Arndt’s Of True Christianity, in which the dear Lord is presented and shown to us especially in His love. If His children believed that better, they would have real confidence in Him and pray to Him for all His blessings.

Tuesday, the 10th of October. This morning at the prayer meeting in the orphanage I chose, as the basis of edification, the words from Luke 12:32: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” While I was returning home, I saw N. N. [Simon Reuter] working on the street and cited this verse to him. Thereupon he told me with joy that he had been wishing to come to me and tell me what God had recently done for his soul. God had been working on him, he said, for nearly five years; yet his state of grace had always seemed bad and he had never been able to be sure of it. The last time he went to confession he did not know whether he dared go to Holy Communion; but he had persisted in praying and imploring, and the dear Lord had shown mercy upon him. He had been unable to believe that God could be as merciful and loving toward poor sinners as he was now discovering. He could now truly say with right: “I thank Thee Lord, that Thou hast been angry with me and that Thou hast turned Thy anger from me and comforted me.”

This N. [Reuter] had formerly been unable to read, but he learned to from my dear colleague in Old Ebenezer. Often he had been certain that God had accepted him; but, as customarily happens with children of God, temptation²⁶⁰ had come and he had not known for sure how things stood. Therefore he had prayed all the more, and now at last he was fully assured. I could see by looking at him how joyful his heart was about it. But I also told him that the temptations to doubt would not remain away. “Yes,” he answered, “I know that well, I have experienced it; but I have just come to a chapter in Johann Arndt which discusses the fist-blows of Satan, and from this I well recognize that it can’t be otherwise, that is the way it goes with God’s children.” I admonished him to praise God and be steadfast and left him at his work.

Wednesday, the 11th of October. Yesterday there was a very cold wind, and last night it was very cold. This cold is lasting throughout the day. In the evening prayer meeting I discussed the conversation of the Lord Jesus with the Samaritan woman in the New Testament story in John 4; and our loving Jesus did not leave the contemplation of this story without a blessing. From it we see how the heart of the Lord Jesus is disposed toward poor sinners and how He wishes to reveal Himself to them with all His mercy, love, and affection, indeed, how He really does so.

Thursday, the 12th of October. This morning after the prayer meeting I went to a grace-hungry soul, namely to N. N. [Mrs. Peter Gruber] and told her what I had discussed in it, to wit: “Come, for all is ready,”²⁶¹ and showed her how kind the dear Lord is and how He is asking us to come to Him. From this we should recognize that He would like to give us everything if we were to come to Him. That should so win our heart, and therefore also hers, to our so kindly God that she could put her whole faith in Him. She was very pleased to hear this and said immediately that she wished to tell me something; it was very minor, to be sure, yet she wished to say it. N. [Margaretha Gruber] (whom she had had in her house constantly since the death of her parents) was at first very naughty, especially at night during their sleep so that they were unable to get any rest. They had tried admonitions and punishments on her, but nothing would help; and they were finally determined to send her away.

However, after the dear Lord had taken their little child unto Himself, they had preferred to keep her and look upon her as their own child. Therefore she had told her husband that she wished to go to the right Man, who could help them. She did that, and the dear Lord had been so loving and had heard her poor prayer so that she was now very tranquil. She told me this; and her husband, who had just arrived, was overjoyed at the kindness that God had shown them in looking upon her simple prayer so mercifully. She also said that she cherished the verse that I had recited to her on Sunday morning: “Oh Israel, trust thou in the Lord.” Ever since that time our loving God had, she said, shown Himself especially merciful toward her. However, she also added, “Things change so much with me all the time, it can’t be any different, it can’t be otherwise in Christendom.”

In the morning after school a person came to me and said that a great weight was lying on her heart and that she was therefore suffering much anxiety. She said that she had been greatly refreshed yesterday evening in the prayer hour but that now everything had vanished. Sin was stirring in her and was causing her to believe that she still had no grace. I told her the story from John 4 in more detail and showed how lovingly the Lord Jesus had shown himself to this woman, who was a great sinner, and how He had finally revealed Himself to her. Therefore she too should set her trust in Him and continue it, and then the Lord Jesus would also show Himself thus to her. This person often receives a glance of grace from the Lord Jesus, but this soon disappears when she thinks back on the multitude of her sins and she cannot yet believe firmly and constantly that His mercy far far surpasses all her sins. Therefore she must still struggle to be right certain of her condition of grace. Among other things, she said that she thought last night that she would be able to believe it and make the Lord Jesus her own but that she had now lost such joy. I told her, however, that to the honor of the Lord Jesus she should believe that He had granted all His grace even to her because He had, as she knew, promised it and had offered Himself so lovingly in the gospel to poor sinners. I told her she should persist in her prayer, it would come about in due time that she was certain of it.

Friday, the 13th of October. My return to Savannah was delayed this time longer than usual; but I do not regret it, especially since with God’s divine blessing I pretty well accomplished the purpose of this trip. Our letters are in good hands and will be sent off to London at the first opportunity via Charleston by Col. Stephens. I shall always make use of this safe opportunity and, hopefully, be doing the surest thing. General Oglethorpe was not yet in Savannah; but he arrived in Savannah unexpectedly last Tuesday toward evening in an open boat despite strong and very contrary winds. Mr. Causton had received news of his impending arrival a few hours in advance, so everything was arranged for his reception.

The inhabitants lined up in good order with their muskets opposite his house, which is situated at the place where everything that comes to Savannah by water must land. As soon as he came ashore twenty-four cannons were fired, the magistrates received him at the water’s edge and accompanied him up the bluff and into his house. Mr. Oglethorpe showed himself very friendly toward these as well as toward the other people, who were gathered in a large crowd, and spoke to some as he passed them. The whole city expressed its joy until late in the night with shooting and fireworks; and various important people of the city welcomed him in his own home. He retained these for a long time in his house and told them some very pleasant things concerning the welfare of the colony.

Mr. Causton led me in, and Mr. Oglethorpe received me very cordially; and finally, after he had dismissed the others, he kept me there in order to talk with me about this and that privately. The next day, namely Wednesday afternoon, he granted me another audience, at which time we could talk some more on behalf of the congregation about the good land across Abercorn Creek. He must have already inquired of others about the condition of our congregation, and he revealed to me his joy and pleasure that the dear Lord had helped so much; and he was entirely willing to give us the afore-mentioned land. He soon spoke about it to the surveyor and gave him orders to reconnoiter the entire island and to bring him reliable information. I also mentioned the orphanage and the necessity of such an institution among us, and of this too he seemed to have already heard some reports. He assured me of his affection and aid and gave me some advice as to how and in what manner I should solicit the Lord Trustees in writing for a contribution for maintaining the orphanage and how I should refer in my letter to him (Mr. Oglethorpe) and his approbation. He did not doubt, he said, that the Lord Trustees would willingly contribute toward it.

Kikar, a former soldier in this colony who was born in Hamburg and wished to settle among us, had travelled with me to Savannah in order to speak with Mr. Causton or with Mr. Oglethorpe himself about his design. Because he has a good testimony from our people, I mentioned him to Mr. Oglethorpe; but he did not wish to dismiss²⁶² him until he had given more proof of an orderly life, for which purpose he should sojourn with us for a while.

At the same time he told me that two young married people, whom he met underway on a boat, wished to join our community but that he did not think much good of them; I should inquire into their circumstances. By this he meant N. [Grimming],²⁶³ who was accepted [by Baron von Reck] into the third transport in London but left us within a half a year and finally married a Scottish woman. He is very humbled, and he assured me that he is seeking nothing in the world but his and his wife’s true salvation, from which, however, he had been entirely prevented in Frederica and Darien; [for he did not know of a single soul there who had even begun to journey on the narrow path to heaven. Rather everyone there lived according to the flesh, and the minister there was quiet.] His wife is young [of handsome appearance] and in great danger of seduction. However, because her spirit is pliant, he believes that she can be won if she can come to good people and live in tranquility. It had cost him much to tear her away from her father and other people and bring her here. I told him that I did not wish to prevent him from settling with us, but he should seek and be sure of the divine will in this matter and consider everything carefully so that he might not regret it later if he found difficulty in earning a living.

I also told him that Mr. N. [Whitefield] was a righteous man whom the Lord will bless in his office when he returns; so it would perhaps be better for him if he remained in Savannah, since he could earn something there for himself and his wife and since she would profit better from divine service there because she understood only English and her Scottish mother tongue.²⁶⁴ However, he has no desire for this but is determined to come to Ebenezer. When Mr. Oglethorpe asked me about him again, I told him how I had previously known him and why he had left our place and what he now had in mind. Mr. Oglethorpe was pleased to hear this and promised to give him and his wife the reduced rations for a year. Nevertheless, this N. [Grimming] must speak with him personally before then. Moreover, Mr. Oglethorpe assured me that he would not allow anyone to move to our place unless he were previously known to him and to us as honest and orderly. This time he will not remain for more than eight days in Savannah, but will return to Frederica. Next time I intend to mention the church and school, which we need so much, and also my dear colleague’s house. Of my house, I shall not make any mention, and that for good reason. I will also postpone the construction until I have more certainly convinced myself of God’s will and shall have received some tangible proof of His providence. Our father in heaven knows what we need. Perhaps Mr. Oglethorpe will visit us himself one of these days; and then my own poor hut will speak for me, as it were.

As I understand from the merchant Purry in Savannah, as well as from Mr. Oglethorpe’s reports, the Lord Trustees intend to be quite economical in their expenditures, as much has been spent in recent times, and as the rich people in England, having received [unpleasant] unfounded news of the poor state of this colony, no longer wish to contribute anything, except that which is being allocated by Parliament, i.e., 12,000 £ for the maintenance of the troops here, and 8,000 £ for expenses of the colony, which is little enough for such large undertakings. Mr. Oglethorpe has given me permission to write to him, which I shall do if he should not return to Savannah for a long time. [It is being said, in this respect, that he is not well content with the inhabitants of this place, for which he has ample reason.

[Mr. Purry does not wish the merchant Simons in London (whose representative he is) to send him any more goods but wishes to suspend his business here because there is no money among the people and consequently his goods will spoil if he does not sell them on credit and thus lose money. People think the whole scheme of things will have to be changed if this colony is to prosper.²⁶⁵

[For Mrs. Rheinlaender, who was still in jail, I asked both Mr. Causton and also Mr. Oglethorpe to have her let out, as was done last Tuesday.] Because the above mentioned Kikar has not yet received the desired answer from Mr. Oglethorpe, he remained in Savannah; and I had to return home with two men, of whom one was very weak. This was very slow, but, God be praised, successful!

[In Purysburg I learned that four Herrnhuters had brought Count Zinzendorf’s two missionaries, Böhler and Schulius, to Carolina on a boat to start their office among the Negroes in Purysburg and other places in Carolina. They had sojourned a short while in Kiefer’s house, and he inquired of them about their profession and intentions; but they did not wish to say anything about it. Later, however, he learned the cause of their arrival in Purysburg from a letter that Mr. Mueller, the former servant of Baron von Reck, had written to him (Kiefer) on the 3rd of May of this year in care of those two men. After learning this, with further details from me, he was aggrieved by their dissimulation because he would have been glad to give them good advice for their undertaking if they had told him something about it. He showed me Mueller’s letter, from which I could clearly infer that this man, on whom God was working here not in vain with His word, has been entirely drawn by the Herrnhuters to their side. He wishes Kiefer could feel about these brothers, of whom Böhler is the deacon, just as he feels; and now he wishes to go to Herrnhut.]

Because the cold weather is starting, I had to buy some heavy cloth for the orphans on credit so that winter clothes can be made for them. I had no money on hand, but I remembered the words of the Father: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Also, the shoemaker from Purysburg came to us and made shoes for the orphanage, which had not been necessary in warm weather. God, whose goodness is everlasting, will see to the payment in His good time. Meanwhile, the merchants in Savannah are glad to extend us credit because they do not doubt that they will be properly paid. The schoolmaster in Savannah, Mr. Habersham, promised to give us for the orphanage some of the winter clothing that he will receive for the poor there from a ship that has just arrived and which has been left entirely at his disposal [by Mr. Whitefield].

Saturday, the 14th of October. I found N. [Eisberger] sick in bed and began to tell him something about God’s salutary purpose in His chastisement. When I showed him how much effort the dear Lord had to make with a miserable man before He could tear his heart away from everything and fit it for his dwelling of grace, he wept out loud and said that his greatest worry was that he had not yet been able to achieve any certainty of his state of grace. The trouble lay, he said, in himself. He did not wish to give up everything, and he showed no sincerity in creating his salvation, for which he was sufficiently admonished in Holy Scripture. In his soul-suffering he was comforted by the fact that he had often heard that God would not forsake his soul, that He loved it far too much. This love of God, which showed itself so gloriously in suffering him, sparing him, and calling him, forced a plenitude of tears from him because God could love even such a disobedient and disloyal person as he was with such steadfastness.

I reminded him of what I had preached to the congregation before my departure in the repetition hour and which God had again blessed in him; and I told him that I had had him especially in mind at that time and had wished he would earnestly seize upon the dear promises of God and would not rest until he too had found a little nook as a resting place in the wide-open father-heart of God. He should not despair because of his sins, because God had promised and added an oath that he did not wish the death of a sinner, but rather that he be converted and live; and he had many examples of God’s merciful help in the Bible. As I recently advised the congregation in the prayer meeting, in reading in the Bible of these comforting examples of those whom God helped out of spiritual and physical hardship, he should add: “His goodness lasteth for ever. The God who hath helped this man and that, indeed many thousands, is still the same one who is most willing to help us.”

Sunday, the 15th of October. I had to inquire of a [young] man about something that occurred during my absence, whereupon he told me that during his work in the fields he had remembered the sins of his youth, which had caused him much worry and sorrow. At the same time he was now learning the meaning of the words: “If Thy word had not been my comfort, I would have perished in my misery.”²⁶⁶ However simple this man is, he still well knows how to make use of his Savior and the reconciliation He instituted through the power of the Holy Ghost and to crawl into His wounds like a little worm. In this way he will be preserved both from all anxiety caused by his feeling of sin and mounting carnal desires as well as from all false self-made comfort and frivolous application of the gospel. He showed me the physical blessings that the dear Lord has granted him this year, and he was more satisfied and grateful for it, as a true blessing of the Lord, than unconverted worldly-minded people are accustomed to be with their wealth and superfluous supplies.

For several days, and therefore on this Sunday too, one of the millers²⁶⁷ from Old Ebenezer has been staying here and, according to his wicked nature, had little good in his mind. Yesterday evening after the prayer meeting he began to sing all sorts of frivolous songs on the street in the English language; and I prohibited this earnestly because it was causing disorder and was aiming at a parody of the Salzburgers’ singing. And, because today he spent his time in shooting and thus wantonly desecrating the Sabbath, I warned in the repetition hour that I was much displeased by the sheltering of such disorderly people and that the congregation would not be acting contrary to charity if they refused hospitality and company to such people as are annoying and cause disquiet and harm in the community. This person does not need to be here, for he belongs to Old Ebenezer; but he may have his own evil purpose in spending these days here. Later he came to me himself and let me know that he had understood that I had warned the congregation against him, and he wished to know the reason why. I could tell him this easily, with the declaration that Mr. Oglethorpe would seriously banish from our place such disorder as he had committed. Since I am the minister of the congregation and its spiritual shepherd, he should not be surprised if I watch over my flock and attempt to prevent all danger of temptation. He was satisfied with this explanation and made a frivolous excuse for his disorderliness. Tomorrow he will go his way. Apparently this man, with others, earns his money at the sawmill in Old Ebenezer with idleness.

Monday, the 16th of October. This morning I learned that the dear Lord had blessed his lovely and grace-filled gospel in various people and that several had assembled after the repetition hour to edify themselves with an edifying conversation and with singing and praying. /They praised the spiritual profit from this for the glory of God, and desired such simple assemblies for the future./²⁶⁸

During this dry weather our people are very busy bringing in the rest of their beans and rice. This year some of them will get more rice than they will need in their households. We are now preparing to make a rice mill.²⁶⁹ Our carpenters have never built such a thing; and therefore I am having a qualified man come from Purysburg who will build such a mill for the orphanage, which has also raised some beautiful rice. Afterwards, we can use it as a model. No stones will be used in it, rather two wooden hammers instead of stones.

Tuesday, the 17th of October. It was very pleasant for me to hear that a certain Salzburger could rightfully repeat Isaiah’s words: “He hath clothed me in the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.” However, he was worried by the fact that he did not feel his misery as much as he heard from other people. But I told him he should be content with what God had let him recognize as much as He himself thought necessary for his thorough humiliation and that he now had nothing more to do in the world but to be concerned for his Lord Jesus and his grace. It was good, I said, that he was never satisfied with himself, he should merely continue with his struggle and look up to Jesus, the Beginning and End of our faith. God never tries a man beyond his abilities; he should merely cling quietly to God.

Wednesday, the 18th of October. This morning I learned that the dear Lord had not failed to bless yesterday’s evening prayer meeting, which again dealt with the fourth chapter of the Gospel of St. John. May His name be blessed because He still accompanies His Word with His blessing, just as He blessed the word that the Samaritan woman announced in the city. A certain woman had had this chapter read to her a couple of times, and thus it impressed her all the more. She told how the Lord was following her just as He had followed the Samaritan woman at that time. The day before yesterday another woman said that she thought she would have greater progress in her Christianity if she herself could read and search in God’s word. She had asked her husband whether she might be able to learn; and her husband answered that it might well take place if she desired it and if she called upon God for His blessing on it.

Thursday, the 19th of October. N. [Herzog] has been in a serious condition for a long while.²⁷⁰ This evening he visited me and said that he could not deny that God was working on him and testing his soul; yet it still always seemed to him as if God did not wish to bring him to salvation, for nothing wished to change in him; rather, things were getting even worse. But he also had to confess that he himself was to blame, because he was not treating faithfully what God had granted him. As I can gather, he must have let himself be drawn into much sin in Salzburg, from which he does not wish to be freed through a true confession. I recited for him the words from Acts 17:30-31: “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men (and also him) to repent,” and the Lord wished to effect penitence and faith in him too. Likewise, I Peter 4:1-2. At the last part of the third verse, he said that that was just the way things went in his homeland. I also spoke with him further, and may the dear Lord place His blessing upon it!

[Friday, the 20th of October. This morning I learned that some souls had remained together until late in the night and read a chapter from Johann Arndt and sung and prayed; and this so encouraged them that they all wept and wished to spend almost the entire night together. So far, God has been blessing His word powerfully in Veit Lemmenhoffer. He has let him strongly feel his deep perdition but has also refreshed him again.]

Saturday, the 21st of October. This morning N. N. [Simon Reuter] said that, as long as he lives, he will never forget the gospel that was treated yesterday in the prayer meeting and stands in Luke 4:18-19; for this was the very word that the dear Lord had blessed so splendidly in him the last time at confession. It had never refreshed him so much as that time. To be sure, he does not feel this comfort all the time; but he was greatly struck by what he had heard the day before yesterday: one should trust and hold to the word of God without feeling. He had never known this, he said, and therefore he had suffered much anxiety at not being able to feel any divine comfort. A woman who had recently heard the verse: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost” said that she well noticed ever since then that the Lord Jesus was seeking her and had accepted her especially.

Yesterday there were some adults with me with whom I could edify myself. N. [Simon Reuter], who was formerly unable to read and still understands only a little about it but has learned to know the Lord Jesus in truth, can speak so cordially and intimately with the dear Lord in his prayers that I can truly edify myself from it. N. [Mrs. Schweighofer] was also there, but full of distress. She said she had been so well on Friday that she could not proclaim it. My dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, who went down again on Tuesday to Mr. Oglethorpe, had said in the last prayer meeting before his departure that the congregation should wax fat on the pasture of the Lord during his absence so that, when he saw it upon his return, he might praise the dear Lord for it. She then thought that this would be fulfilled in her, but now it was all gone again. I told her, however, that the dear Lord wished to keep her in her humility in that manner and prepare her for a greater grace.

Monday, the 23rd of October. In the evening during the prayer meeting a boat full of people arrived,²⁷¹ and at the end of it I was given a letter that my dear colleague had written yesterday in Savannah, with the following contents: “I hope that, with divine aid, I shall be with you and my dear ones at noon on Tuesday. I am sending you a little flock of people who, apart from the shoemaker and his family, have been presented to the community by Mr. Oglethorpe to serve as herdsmen. The old woman has been entirely abandoned and is therefore assigned to the orphanage.²⁷² If these people arrive before me, please shelter them with Christian people and give them some meat according to weight and some beans according to measure from the barrel that is accompanying them. The old woman, who is said to be very industrious and useful in material circumstances, can soon be put into the orphanage. My text today was from Romans VIII: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.’ This I explicated in the afternoon with the story of the regular Sunday gospel. I believe that the Lord has blessed His word. Greet mine, yours, and ours with the following words: ‘Be it as it may, my Father in heaven knoweth counsel and aid for all things.’“²⁷³

Tuesday, the 24th of October. It has again become so cold that last night the leaves on the sweet potato vines began to wilt or to look as if they were half boiled. In the evening prayer hour I gave the story from Luke 5:1-11, and at its end a woman from the Germans who arrived yesterday told me how happy she was that the dear Lord had brought her to this place where she had the pure word of the Lord. She wished me many blessings. I told her how the dear Lord wished to help us to apply our short time in this world well in order to prepare ourselves for blessed eternity and therefore not only to have His word but also to use it rightly. The dear Lord also blessed this prayer meeting in one of the Salzburgers, who told me of it joyfully as he passed. The Lord’s name be praised for this!

Wednesday, the 25th of October. At the beginning of last week I went to Savannah to see Mr. Oglethorpe for the sake of the congregation and widows and orphans, and I only came back this evening. My reasons for waiting so long in Savannah were in part various business with Mr. Oglethorpe and the storehouse and in part the arrival of Capt. Thomson, whose ship²⁷⁴ was, to be sure, in the river, but not yet at Savannah. And, because our money was here, I preferred to settle everything I had to do with the storehouse rather than to journey down again.

[In Savannah there is nothing but troublesome circumstances, which are a reason for us too to pray diligently, even though the need and want there do not affect us as much as the other people in this country. Therefore we are all the more obliged to thank our eternally loyal and merciful God for His care, for which we wish to awaken ourselves through His grace.

[On the very day that I arrived in Savannah Mr. Oglethorpe assembled the people of the city of Savannah and announced to them that all the sums of money that were to be spent in the colony this year had already been expended, and more, and that the Trustees had incurred great debts. Therefore these debts will be paid, as far as it will go, with the provisions that are now in the storehouse.²⁷⁵ Otherwise nothing can be bought for the storehouse or sold from it until the coming month of June, rather everyone must see to how he can get along on his own. Also, no other people will be employed for the Trustees’ undertakings except their own indentured servants, because there is no money to pay day laborers. If anyone wishes to leave the country, he may do so if he is not in debt to the storehouse; otherwise he must pay or give sufficient assurance of payment. Mr. Causton must be to blame for this, since he went too far in buying and distributing the provisions; yet it would look worse for him if he had not done it and the people had had to starve or leave the country because of lack of provisions.²⁷⁶

[In addition there is the equally great distress of] The poor people whom Capt. Thomson brought along as indentured servants for this colony [They] are Palatines and Württembergers, a whole ship full—men, women, and children. These are to be sold for a period of five years, but the inhabitants of this land have neither money nor food for this. An adult costs 6 £ 5 sh. sterling. After I had preached the word of the Lord to these poor people, partly from Romans 8:28 and partly from the gospel for the 21st Sunday after Trinity, a great crowd of them ran up to me and asked me to take them to our place, which was, however, not within my power. I asked Mr. Oglethorpe to free an old widow of fifty, who had lost her husband at sea and had been rejected and abandoned because of her age; and I sent her to our orphanage.

We are in great need of a shoemaker. At my request Mr. Oglethorpe advanced the travel costs for one,²⁷⁷ which the shoemaker must repay in two or three years. I am lending him as much money as he needs for his profession and food for the very beginning, for which he will make shoes for my family, for the orphanage, and for the poor in the community.

Because everyone in the congregation is planning to go to the new plantations this winter and no one wishes to guard the cattle any longer, I requested two herdsmen from Mr. Oglethorpe. He gave them to me and at first demanded, in the presence of Capt. Thomson, no more than that I should have to provide for their provisions and clothing. However, the next day I remembered what had happened to me several times in the past, namely, that after some time I was asked to pay for things that had been given to me previously. Therefore I thanked Mr. Oglethorpe for the gift of these herdsmen in writing, in hopes that no officer would dare to demand any payment for the people, because they had been given to us as a gift. [Hereupon I learned that Mr. Oglethorpe had no power to give away anything. However, he would request them from the Trustees; and I too might write to them and cite the reasons why we need herdsmen. He did not doubt that the Trustees would give them to us; however, if they would not, then we could still keep them for one year and not have to pay for them because we would probably gain little advantage from them during the first year, since they are not yet acquainted with the country and its way of life and might even become sick.]

I made a great effort to ask Mr. Oglethorpe to allow something for our widows and orphans, but only initially while our orphanage was in its beginnings and still owed some debts. [However, he made nothing but polite excuses and finally dismissed me with] /We received/ 200 lbs of flour, 200 lbs of meat, and some molasses or syrup. The Lord is still alive, [He will change His favors again and not disappoint us in our hopes but will send us help from afar if people nearby are hard and insensitive,] for in accordance with His love He has caused a beautiful blessing of money to flow to us from Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, Mr. S. U. [Senior Urlsperger], and Mr. P. F. [Professor Francke], from which the poor in the congregation, and therefore also our widows and orphans, may expect much bodily refreshment.

I likewise see from Senior Urlsperger’s letter that the dear Lord has also provided for us in the future; for we can expect from Halle and Augsburg many necessary things that are expensive in this country such as linen, Schauer’s balm, books, etc., of which we have been sent an inventory already. God be praised! For from the very cordial letters we have received from our dear Fathers we have learned that Sanftleben has arrived safely in London and has been kindly received by Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen and that the letters from us and from various members of the congregation have caused much joy.

[Except for the many good things I enjoyed from the hand of the Father in Savannah and from the above-mentioned lovely letters, I was pained no little bit at being unable to receive payment for the linen sent by the merchant from St. Gall, Mr. Schlatter, and which Mr. Causton has accepted and also sold, with promise of correct and certain payment. The dear man himself has now even written to Mr. Causton and requested immediate payment, since otherwise his trade would suffer a blow. Mr. Oglethorpe wished me to ask the merchant to wait until next June or else to accept all sorts of provisions from the storehouse. If I had money, I should like to pay the good man myself, but at present I lack the means. Meanwhile I have asked Court Preacher Ziegenhagen to pay 30 £ sterling from my future salary to this merchant’s correspondents in London, Messrs. Norris and Drewett. Perhaps Mr. Oglethorpe will repay me soon, for this colony cannot possibly remain much longer in its present circumstances. At worst I would have to accept provisions for it gradually from the store-house, even though one can buy elsewhere better and more safely with ready cash. But I should rather suffer than cause any more suffering for this dear benefactor, who sent four beautiful bolts of linen as a gift to our Salzburgers last year and promised still more. At least he will see my good intentions from this, even if I am quite incapable of doing any more. I myself have written to him.

[Matters concerning our land have still not been settled properly, and I do not know why Mr. Oglethorpe is so evasive.] Since the harvest is over and they are in good health, our people would like to go together to their plantations on Abercorn Creek if only the surveyor had orders to assign them to them. Mr. Oglethorpe is willing to employ the surveyor [but he does not wish to see him or speak with him because he finds him too long-winded and vexatious. And, because there is no money at hand and he does not wish to give any provisions from the storehouse, while the surveyor will not do anything without money and provisions, I cannot see how things will work out. However, I shall let nothing keep me from advising our people in God’s name to begin work there, and I shall wait to see what orders come.]

Mr. Oglethorpe has heard much praise of the diligence and good order of our community, [yet I don’t know how much that is to our advantage. But God is still Lord of the earth, the Refuge of the poor, etc., and, if people in Europe are praying and caring for our community so earnestly, can this be without effect? I do not believe so. Rather all false intentions and plots will be revealed and put to shame before God would forsake us or let us be oppressed. We tell the congregation nothing about these and other worries but continue to admonish them to observe their duty to God and man, and we try in all ways to give them courage. I requested payment for the construction costs for my dear colleague’s house and also for the building of a church and school, but I was merely referred with helpful words to the Lord Trustees in London. I have not wished to mention my own house because it would have been in vain.]

He gave written permission to Sybilla Resch, who lost her husband in the forest three years ago, to marry again. It is already three years since her husband was lost in the woods, and nobody who knew his physical and mental condition assumes anything but that he died a few days after getting lost. Mrs. Resch herself has two indications from which she thinks she can ascertain that he perished of hunger and thirst. Since everyone in the congregation believes that he is dead, it has long been wished that she might marry again, for this would be good both for her and for other people, who sometimes nourish unnecessary suspicions. So far she has conducted herself quietly and in a Christian way, as becomes a widow.

A new preacher²⁷⁸ has arrived in Savannah [who, however, does not have the spirit or the gifts of Mr. Whitefield. He must not be a lover and furtherer of the good, and he preaches very insipidly.²⁷⁹ Nearly everyone yearns for Mr. Whitefield, but he will probably be sent to Frederica].

Late in the evening a pious Englishman came to my bedroom and brought an English translation of the Commentary of the late Dr. Luther concerning the Epistle to the Galatians. In order to edify himself further, he read me a passage from it concerning the article of justification that had struck him as especially edifying. The dear Lord blessed all this so abundantly in me too that I found grounds to praise Him for it. On the following day I recommended this lovely material to the people with whom I was eating breakfast; and, because one of them was most interested and had received little instruction in this comforting Evangelical article, he continued discussing it with me. In order to ground himself better, he also read the late Mr. A. W. Böhm’s sermon concerning justification.

Mr. Oglethorpe wishes us to continue serving the German people in Savannah with our office. Because we need people to row us down and back, I asked for provisions and for some payment for their efforts; and he agreed to this and approved what Mr. Causton has done up to now. Some of the Germans find the word that they have heard from us in the name of the Lord to be too difficult; and they make blind judgments about it, as I have been told.

Thursday, the 26th of October. The people who are now living among us and wish to serve the community were at my house, and I found that they are showing themselves to be very happy to be here and very grateful for this dispensation of God. [Mrs. Rheinlaender is here again, for which she has to thank only my intercession; and, because this wayward woman wished to draw some of these people to herself, I warned them against her; but they already knew something about her that they found to be suspicious and repugnant.]

As soon as the provisions come up, necessary measures will be taken for the herdsmen. [I wonder why the boat has not yet arrived that I sent ahead at noon on Tuesday, loaded with food and all sorts of things. I departed from Savannah at night with the flood tide and did not see that boat anywhere. Today some people fetched the remaining belongings of the new herdsmen from Purysburg with the little boat, but they did not see them²⁸⁰ either. Whether they have perhaps gone to Abercorn, or how things stand, we will learn tomorrow, since three men wish to journey toward them in the little boat and bring back the provisions they are lacking.]

Friday, the 27th of October. [The schoolmaster Ortmann would like to have an indentured servant but cannot pay for one, and therefore he wishes to ask Mr. Oglethorpe for one. I did this in a letter that they should take down themselves as they wish to pick out the servant. He well needs such a servant. To be sure, I thought about it in Savannah; but I did not know whether I would be doing right if I looked into it because, if it did not go well, I would be to blame.

[The Purysburg shoemaker, who was to stay with us making shoes for the winter, will now leave us again because we have acquired a shoemaker for ourselves. He did not appear to be displeased, as our shoemaker is a compatriot of his, and he has plenty of work in Purysburg, even if he has little cash payment and too many wicked comrades and idlers around him. During my return journey I was in his hut in Purysburg, in which a Frenchman was lying sick. The wife complained to me that she had requested the preacher to come to the sick man to pray with him and to give him good instruction and comfort out of God’s word; but he would not come unless one had payment in hand for his trouble. A man who was present said he was not a preacher but an overseer of Negroes or Moorish slaves, for he was keeping them hard at work on his plantation and did not trouble himself at all about his congregation.]

A man [A young Salzburger] announced that, since God had blessed him with a good harvest, he had remembered his former promise, namely, to make a restitution, from the blessings he had received, for what he had purloined from his neighbor in the years of his ignorance. He wished to donate something to the orphanage and something to a poor widow in the congregation. Another person praised Luther’s Large Catechism to me and said he had received much instruction and edification from it. It had caused him much reflection that the late Luther had written that, even as an old scholar, he had still studied in the Catechism and could never master it or learn it all.

Saturday, the 28th of October. Yesterday evening during the prayer meeting a [our] large boat arrived, at which time we learned that it had capsized between Savannah and Purysburg so that all the provisions got wet and two barrels of flour, one barrel of meat, an English woman’s clothing, and my trunk were lost. With great effort they were able to recover the other things that had fallen out of the boat. In my trunk was a new black gown,²⁸¹ and in its pocket was a leather portfolio with the letters that had been brought by Capt. Thomson and also some very necessary accounts as well as some linen and paper. We greatly regret the edifying letters, which, to be sure, I had read for my own edification but which I would like to have shared with my dear colleague and the congregation. At the place they landed at night with the boat there is a very dangerous spot where our people have come close to great misfortune several times.

This morning I sent some people down again in the small boat and offered an Indian a white woolen cloth if he could help me recover the trunk and other things. The sons of Kiefer of Purysburg are also very skillful at diving in the water and finding lost things in it, and I immediately called upon them too. I also wrote a letter to the storehouse keeper in Savannah, Mr. Jones, and gave him news of this unfortunate occurrence so that he could pass it on to Mr. Oglethorpe. Perhaps he will be as kind to us on this occasion as he was to a couple of families in Savannah, whose huts and possessions were destroyed by fire in broad daylight and to whom he gave something to compensate for their loss.²⁸²

Sunday, the 29th of October. I learned from a widow and also from others of the people who came to us recently and have spent a Sunday with us for the first time today how the word I preached penetrated to their very hearts. I treated the gospel for the twenty-second Sunday after Trinity concerning the grace of God in two points: 1) that it is possible to achieve grace, 2) that it is, nevertheless, possible and at the same time highly dangerous to lose grace. My dear colleague, on the other hand, treated Chapter I of the Epistle to the Philippians concerning the fellowship in the gospel. Although it rained heavily in the evening and was dark, the dear people came in large numbers to the repetition hour. Even the children were as numerous as at other times, which impressed me very much. Excitat auditor studium. We are sometimes worried and depressed because of all sorts of occurrences; but, when we come to our dear congregation in church or at the prayer meeting and treat the word of the Lord together, their very presence and their great desire for the rational and pure milk so arouses us that we go home with serene spirits and therefore with praise of and gratitude to God.

Because most of our congregation will perhaps move soon to their plantations, it will be necessary for one of us to move there with them, as they have been requesting. Time and opportunity will teach us how we can then best arrange things in order to edify them from God’s Word daily or at least often. All of those who move out will live together in a district of three English miles; and, because they wish to build a house for the preacher in the center of this district, they will probably be able to gather together often. Since my dear colleague has a well built house while I have a hut as a dwelling, it will probably be my turn to move there first. I am in the hand of the Lord and wish nothing more than to be right useful to the congregation in every way.

Monday, the 30th of October. From the blessings our loving God has granted in money this time, I have paid the debts of the orphanage; but of course it did not go quite far enough to pay them all. The well, which was indispensable for us, and also the cellar and the boards for the floor²⁸³ have cost much money. Besides that I have had a beautiful piece of land cleared for the orphanage that lies all around the orphanage, and it would have caused much harm if the forest and the many trees and bushes had been allowed to remain. The money earned from this and from other services performed for the orphanage by our poor people, who have received no provisions from the storehouse for a whole year, can almost be considered a gift to them; and they all thank God sincerely for giving them an opportunity to earn with the work of their hands something for their sustenance and for their clothing, and for some of them to buy a cow, without having to remove themselves from our community and our spiritual care.

I trust the almighty and at the same time kind Father in heaven to support with His providence and divine blessings this house, which manifestly is meant for His service and glory and for the true spiritual physical advantage of our congregation and in which His holy name is worshiped, honored, and glorified. With our salaries we have also paid our own debts; and, because the praiseworthy Society has given us permission to receive money for a note on our salary and since our new salary begins as of November 1, we find ourselves required to borrow as much money from a merchant in Savannah as is due to us and the schoolmaster for half a year. I also plan to solicit Mr. Oglethorpe or someone else to lend me something for the orphanage.

Tuesday, the 31st of October. After the prayer meeting yesterday a pious Salzburger woman called on me and asked me to examine whether she could go to Holy Communion in the present barren and almost hopeless condition of her soul, in which she was, to be sure, aware of her sins and disloyalty but not of God’s grace. She said that last Sunday she had not had the heart to remain with the others in church to have her name written down. I admonished her, for the sake of the love of Christ, who loves the hungry and thirsty and spiritually poor souls, not to stay back and to demand strength of spirit and a feeling of God’s mercy for the use of this blessed feast and spiritual medicine. She told me of many inner trials that God had sent her from her first conversion on, of which He had made a beginning already in Old Ebenezer. During this she had been in poor spirits and almost despaired, but God had always looked upon her prayers and tears graciously for Christ’s sake and had helped her so far. I reminded her of and impressed upon her spirit the parable that I had told her several times when she was complaining that she had again lost the joyful and comforting condition of her heart which she had received from the sweet tasting mercy of God she had felt, namely, things change in the kingdom of mercy just as the weather changes in the kingdom of nature, and all the contraries must flow together to help the fruit ripen and mature (Psalm 126).

[On Sunday Mrs. Rheinlaender too registered publicly to go to Holy Communion; I had to marvel at her audacity because she had vexed the entire congregation with her godless ways and otherwise opposed all good order and had cursed, execrated, and calumniated her ministers in the most shameful manner. I called her to me and showed her again that, as long as she remains this way, she is not a member of the community and cannot be admitted to Holy Communion. Instead of the curse that came over me from her mouth, I wish her all divine blessing for her instruction and wish to help her petition it from God.]

NOVEMBER

Wednesday, the 1st of November. The people are now very busy digging up their sweet potatoes, since they are endangered by the freezing of the ground at night. The sweet potatoes on the vines are rather small this year, for which the longlasting drought must be to blame. The cotton that some people have planted for home use has scarcely half ripened and is now frozen. It too had been held back in its growth by the heat and lack of rain. It blossomed late in the summer and bore buds, which then had little time left to ripen.

N. [Ernst] and his wife have conducted themselves quietly and exceptionally orderly for some time, and therefore we can let them go to Holy Communion at their insistent request, without much objection on the part of the congregation. Recently in my room I showed them what God demands of a man who wishes to be saved and also to go to Holy Communion. I also reminded them of what they had heard last Sunday about the example of the great debtor,²⁸⁴ and then I prayed with them. I plan to speak with them further during this week in their own hut.

[The old widow and the shoemaker with his wife wished to go to Holy Communion too, but I advised them to wait until the next communion so that they will be better known among us and be able to learn the path to salvation, and they agreed to this.]

Thursday, the 2nd of November. The people whom we had sent to look for the things that were lost in the water have returned without having accomplished anything. I regret the loss of my trunk most of all, which contained, in addition to my gown, important bills and the last letters received from England and Germany. We got word in these letters that the mail sent through Mr. Sanftleben was well received and caused much joy. Also, our dear Lord caused some material blessings to fall into the hands of our dear S. U. [Senior Urlsperger], which he sent to Halle prior to posting our letters, and whence we shall expect linen, books, and other things as a renewed blessing. Prof. Francke²⁸⁵ and Prof. Juncker had also enclosed letters for Mr. Thilo, which were likewise lost. Further, Captain Coram had written to me, and Secretary Neumann and the last three East-Indian missionaries from Madras had written to both of us. I shall inform the congregation of these letters as much as my memory will allow me, as I have always done, and we have received much blessing in edification and in the praise of the Lord therefrom. As we have a good opportunity to send letters back through Captain Thomson, who is to return in four weeks, we shall prepare ourselves to write letters as soon as we can arrange it.

The N. [Helfenstein] boy has withdrawn from all discipline in the school and from all good order in the orphanage; and, to evade punishment, he stayed partly with his mother and partly on the street, when she no longer wished to tolerate him in the house. This morning he was brought to me by his mother, and she herself asked that his obstinacy be broken and that he be punished vigorously. Since it had to take place publicly, I hope that this castigation will make an impression on him and on others. Obstinacy and disobedience are very common in children but must be suppressed like other vices by the means ordered by God; at least outbursts of these must be prevented and restrained. So far, the dear Lord has not left us without any blessing in our children, even if their frivolity spoils much good that has been begun.

Friday, the 3rd of November. The surveyor has now come back to us and has orders from Mr. Oglethorpe to survey the land on Abercorn Creek for us as I asked. He promised me firmly not to quit before it is all completed and our people have been assigned the ownership of their plantations. This gives us all great joy and gives us new grounds for praising God, who has granted one blessing after the other and has now granted this one. For it is one of the principal physical blessings of the Lord that could happen for us in this land that this good piece of land has been given to our people, who so gladly work for the glory of God and the good of their neighbors. Without it some of them would hardly be able to subsist; and the congregation would not be able to /stick together and/ attend to their work and divine services communally and in good order. For it was a major worry of most of the people that they would have to do without the daily instruction from God’s word that they had had in the evening prayer meetings if they went out to their plantations. For this reason some of them would have made out as best they could in the town rather than to live on the plantations without God’s word, since this had been their chief reason for emigrating from Salzburg.

Now, however, the wisdom of God has so ordained it that the entire congregation can come to one place and live united together to their own, including physical, advantage. One of us will be there with the congregation in order to perform his office for both children and adults, while the other remains in the town, because some will remain here and others who move out will do some work here in their gardens and in other ways. Mr. Oglethorpe has given the surveyor neither provisions nor money; and, since he has nothing for his sustenance here, we will have to do what we can. Four people from the congregation go with him every day, and I give some meat to them and also to the surveyor and his boy.²⁸⁶ The congregation sees to the other provisions. I hope that Mr. Oglethorpe or the Trustees will refund our expenses; for it cannot be demanded of our people, who were kept from their land for so long, to pay the surveyor and his assistant and bear all the expenses themselves.

Saturday, the 4th of November. [With the surveyor we have our troubles and worries. He set out on Thursday to survey the land and returned yesterday toward evening full of anger. He had not been satisfied with either the people, who certainly did their part sincerely, or with the provisions. The meat that I gave to him and to those who went with him he believes to be horse-meat. I bought it recently in Savannah as New York beef, and I regret that it has turned out this way. It has already happened to us several times that we have received horsemeat instead of beef from the storehouse in Savannah, between which some people can distinguish very quickly. I don’t know what we can do to make the surveyor finish his work, since we are not in a position now to buy other meat or to pay the kind of people that he wants from Purysburg for his work.]

With the recently received money we have paid the debts of the orphanage and of the poor box, but not fully; so we must hold back as much as possible until God grants more. During the past year of crop failure everything has been so very expensive that both of us have spent so much that we have nothing left but debts. Because of other necessary expenditures for the congregation and the orphanage we have been unwilling and unable to use any of the money we have received but the 3 £ sterling from S. U. [Senior Urlsperger], which was specifically destined for us. Today, while paying the workers and other debts and closing the accounts, I became aware of the penury in which we now stand; whereupon, unexpectedly and with great easing of my mind, I remembered: “God’s goodness lasts forever and in eternity. Beast and man He nourishes at the proper season. His mercy has proffered everything both early and late.”²⁸⁷

In the prayer meeting yesterday, referring to the lost letters, I told the congregation how gloriously our true God has again provided for us in Europe by granting us, through our dear Mr. S. U. [Senior Urlsperger] and Prof. Francke, a supply of linen and other things, which is probably already en route. Likewise our good and pious God has also used the worthy Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen as a blessed tool to send us all sorts of gifts through him, which fountain will surely flow in future times at our need.

Our Salzburgers have collected the semiannual provisions for the herdsmen, in fact so abundantly that the herdsmen themselves are amazed at it; and I hope they will be compelled by it to serve the community all the more loyally. In this way these poor servants and our community will be helped. Instead of its costing 5 shillings herding fee for each cow, it now comes to about 18 pence (stivers)²⁸⁸ since we have these servants. The community sees to their provisions; and clothes are furnished for them from the poor box, which the dear Lord continues to grant. The remaining people on Capt. Thomson’s ship are said to be very badly off. The captain is no longer willing or able to supply them with food, and the people in Savannah are not able to buy them or to keep them in clothing or food. Especially the old people with children are having a bad time, for they must let the oldest children be taken from them while no one wants them themselves. If our people were capable of buying some of these people, then Christ’s love would compel them to accept them and to give them the necessary support. We make such reports useful to our congregation in all ways so that they will recognize that the Salzburgers have every advantage.

This afternoon the surveyor called on me and gave his reasons for not being able to survey any more. The people are not used to him [and therefore they could not do anything to please him. Moreover, he lacked provisions, since he was nauseated by the meat.] He thinks he will need only eight or ten days for his work, and we must be patient with him for this short time. I have given him liberty to choose whichever people please him, for almost all of them are all ready to go with him so that he will finally settle the land problem correctly.

Some letters are now being written to England and Germany, which Capt. Thomson is to take with him. They are to the Lord Trustees, the praiseworthy Society, Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, Senior Urlsperger, Professor Francke, and Mr. Schlatter, the merchant in St. Gall. [Because of our impecunious circumstances, I have to take back the letters I had written to Mr. Schlatter and his correspondent concerning his money (see diary under October 25), if they are still in Savannah; in these letters I announced that I had asked Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen to pay the 30 £ sterling. I am not able to have this money deducted from my salary, since I have had to collect my salary for the current half year in Savannah on a note, for which the praiseworthy Society has given us permission.]

Sunday, the 5th of November. Today most of the members of our congregation were present at Holy Communion. Yesterday I summoned N. [Rauner] to me and admonished him to examine his condition well before going so that he would not be judged. He knows himself well and promises much good; he blames his wife and children for his delay in conversion.

Yesterday evening we gathered in the orphanage where, before the prayer and to the great edification of myself and others, I read Court Chaplain Laue’s²⁸⁹ meditations on the words “But let a man examine himself, etc.” as they stand in the Contribution to the Building of the Kingdom of God.²⁹⁰ I also called attention to several points. This evening we began the prayer meeting in the orphanage after the repetition hour, as we are accustomed to do in the winter when the evenings are long, to the great advantage of our congregation. Before the prayer we usually read an edifying exemplum that fits the matter presented from the gospel, and then we pray [on our knees]. The song hour is being discontinued now that the days are getting short, and we sing a few unfamiliar songs in the prayer meeting.

Monday, the 6th of November. Today the Salzburgers began to build a hut for the widow Helfenstein. There were many who were working and, God willing, others will continue tomorrow. They are doing this work without pay. She has been given over 2 £ sterling from the poor box so that the clapboards and other things could be made. Some time ago, at our intercession, she received five hundred middle-sized and fifty large nails from the storehouse in Savannah.

Tuesday, the 7th of November. Today I visited a sick woman with her sick child. Formerly she was dissatisfied with God’s dispensation, but now she is very content; for she sees it as a great benefaction that she has come to this country. The dear Lord let her husband get sick some time ago, she said, not only for her husband’s sake but also for her sake; for He tried in that way to draw her all the more to Him, and the dear Lord is steadily achieving His goal in her. This woman cannot read, but she pays close attention to the voice of the Lord so that she well feels the strength of His word and therefore well remembers it. She told me something that she had heard long ago and still remembered. Among other things, she said she had once heard the verse “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” She said she now understood, to some extent, what this means. “Alas,” she said, “how different a person becomes, so very small and almost nothing, when the dear Lord wishes to fulfill His work of conversion in him.”

Wednesday, the 8th of November. My recently lost accounts and the delivery of our newly written letters required me to make another trip to Savannah last Monday, and there happened to be a safe opportunity to forward things to Charleston, with which a pious merchant in Savannah sent his and our letters to his correspondent for further forwarding. The letters that we had already written several weeks ago, along with the enclosed two diaries, were still lying in Savannah, because there had been no safe hands for forwarding them. Capt. Thomson has journeyed to Mr. Oglethorpe at Frederica and is very uncertain as to when he should return to London. So far he has forwarded our letters correctly. He cannot sell his German indentured servants [because there is neither money nor provisions in Savannah.]

The poor people in the ship are very miserable. They receive food only twice a week, and the rest of the time they have to get nourishment by begging or however they can. There are said to be many old people and children there whom no one cares for. Our Salzburgers are not disinclined to take on some of these people and to share with them some of what the Lord has granted them this year in the field, provided they could receive such people as gifts. I well assume that the captain would give them over if only Mr. Oglethorpe would pay some of the passage money.

[The authorities are doing nothing for these poor people, and they didn’t even listen when I reported their misery. Savannah seems to be at the end of the road. Many are suffering great want and are selling their belongings and running away because there is no money there and the storehouse can neither pay old debts nor employ any workers. The new preacher²⁹¹ is not walking in the footsteps of Mr. Whitefield but does more to hinder than to promote what is good. He hates the honest schoolmaster²⁹² and compares him with the scribes and pharisees in Christ’s times; and therefore they do not live in one house, as was the case with the previous preacher.]

I have been given good grounds to hope that, through the intercession of those who wish us well, Mr. Oglethorpe will be easily persuaded to give us something again from the storehouse to compensate us for the loss that we suffered, mainly in provisions, on the recent voyage. If this is done, it will be looked upon as a new gift from God. My trunk, clothes, accounts, and letters will probably remain lost, and this is the greatest harm. An Englishman must have thought that I would worry about this loss and therefore read me something out of the English Bible, in fact from the prophet Jeremiah, which could serve to help me recognize that God sometimes ordains tribulations for our good.

Thursday, the 9th of November. This morning Thomas Gschwandl and Sybilla, the widow Resch, were married. When I declared the bans last Sunday I announced that I had reported the intended marriage to Mr. Oglethorpe because of the disquieting circumstance that we have not been able to find any actual evidence or report of Resch’s death; that he had approved entirely and had given me a written statement authorizing me to marry these two people if no other obstacle were present. Also, I had recently spoken with the congregation and had heard no one who could make even the least objection to this widow’s second marriage. Rather, everyone who knew her husband and his circumstances and also knows how easily one can get lost and lose one’s life in the woods must realize that it is impossible for him to be alive, and that it is therefore advisable for this widow to marry again, especially since she has already been a widow for three years.

Mr. Oglethorpe’s permission that he gave me for performing my function at the marriage is worded as follows: Upon the Petition of Sybilla Resch, Widow for License to marry Thomas Gschwandl, setting forth, that her late Husband was lost in the Woods three years ago, where he died et never returned, neither was his body found, et that she hath abstained from Marriage during the afore said three years, making Enquiry after the Body of her said Husband: and the Matter having been referr’d to be inquired into et reported to me by the Rev’d Mr. Bolzius, that the Marriage of the said Widow will give no scandal, but the whole Congregation are desirous, the said Marriage might take Effect. I do therefore hereby licence et impower you the said Rev’d Mr. Martin Bolzius to perform the office of your Function, in joyning the above named Widow Resch in Wedlock with Thomas Gschwandl afore said.

A woman told me that she had hoped to cause me a pleasure upon my return by reporting an improved spiritual condition; but things were still as they had been, namely, nothing but great sins and disquiet in her conscience. Another one who was present made the same complaint. I reminded both of what we had learned on Sunday about the words “Good and upright in the Lord: therefore will He teach sinners in the way,” namely, that this is the first lesson that the Lord Jesus gives to sinners to learn, namely, the recognition of sins. But one must not stop at that, one must progress further, namely, to the blessed recognition of Christ, who will save a man from his sins if only he will remain steadfast.

Friday, the 10th of November. [Christ has become obstinate again, is defiant and self-willed and does not wish to remain in the orphanage. He does not like the regulations, nor does the food please him; and Kalcher can do nothing to please him. I spoke to him and told him that he would please me and all of us if he would be satisfied with our regulations and the food. At present they must be content with the products of the country such as rice, beans, Indian corn, sweet potatoes, squash, and cabbage, until the dear Lord will again provide some money, and then they would from time to time have food and sweet dishes made with flour. I could not permit him to cook secretly outside the orphanage or to have all sorts of delicacies brought up from Savannah, as he had done to the scandal of other people. However, he would not change his mind but moved out today. I will let him take his winter clothes that were made for him at this time and I shall continue to do everything possible for him so that he will not perish. He cannot earn his living with his work. He cannot work in the field, he lacks the strength and he also lacks patience; he also does not understand his tailoring profession too well. Without supervision he is lazy, and he gets bogged down with unnecessary things. In the orphanage he would have work that he could do, and thus he could help his neighbor.]

I came into a Salzburger’s hut where I found several pious people gathered who could not work because of physical weakness and had therefore assembled for a good conversation. We encouraged each other simply by singing an edifying song and by praying together to learn to know the heart of the Father in Christ the Beloved better and better and to climb down with all our misery, however great and thick it may be, into the free and pleasant wellspring against sin and uncleanliness which is opened to us through the dear Savior, and to let ourselves be washed thoroughly. A man prayed with us so simply and from his heart that it was truly a great pleasure for me. I learned that, because the public prayer meeting could not be held last night, some people had been at the home of my dear colleague and had enjoyed much edification. The hungry always find something for their refreshment.

My dear colleague’s house is very convenient for consorting intimately with the simple souls, and therefore there is a small gathering there every Saturday evening. Today I very vividly recalled the verse “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, etc.” (Hebrews XIII);²⁹³ and God is letting me recognize how much I still lack and how much further I must come if I wish ever to stand joyfully before the countenance of the Judge with my congregation. God help me through and teach me to care for my own soul and that of others! One has enough to do in saving his own soul. “He who hath much else, how can he make intercession?”²⁹⁴

[Saturday, the 11th of November. The surveyor is still a very restless man who cannot get along with anyone who goes with him to survey. Every week I must look for new people to go with him because those whom he has once had do not wish to go with him again and he finds some fault in every one of them. As I hear, he will not be finished as soon as he told me the last time; and therefore we will have to be patient with him for a while longer. The weather is very comfortable for his work, it is dry above and below and not too warm by day. Even though it is very frosty and cold at night, this is not considered important, because he has a big fire built at night for himself and his people. Also, he is not content with the usual food but wishes to have bread and butter. We do what we can in order to achieve our purpose.]

Sunday, the 12th of November. Old Mrs. N. [Spielbiegler] is almost always bedridden now, and her strength is consuming itself more and more. Therefore she herself can notice that she is coming very close to her grave and eternity. She recognizes that it is an unmerited benefaction of God that He did not overtake her with sudden death but has granted her until now both time and opportunity for penitence. She told me that she regretted that she had devoted her youth and her previous life to the course of the world and accused herself greatly for doing so; yet she was very quickly comforted by the forgiveness of sins through the merits of Christ. I implored her not to be too hasty with this comfort but to beg God unceasingly to reveal her corrupted heart clearly to her and to let her recognize and feel what it means to sin against the good Lord and to insult Him who has never done us any harm but only good. Indeed, she had to recognize, I told her, that she had caused Christ much martyrdom with her sins and had even killed Him. She approved all this and was pleased that I prayed with her.

Monday, the 13th of November. N. [Cornberger] and his wife became estranged a while ago over some little matter which, as they themselves had to admit, had caused them much harm in their prayer and Christianity. To be sure, they had already reconciled themselves on the same day; yet they found it good to tell me of the matter so that I might be able to speak and act with them better according to their circumstances. The man is very quick tempered, and the wife was also inclined to be so. However, as she confessed today, God had so blessed in her the verse “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (James 1:20), which I had marked for her last year in her Bible, that from that time on she had never let herself be overtaken by anger. However, this had cost her much prayer. Therefore she greatly hoped that things might go better with her husband too. Because of her physical condition the woman is sometimes slow in spirit and lets herself be bogged down in petty matters, whereby she causes herself much unnecessary worry. Her husband acts annoyed and angry at this because he does not yet understand her mind. I reminded him of his duty to show patience and gentleness to his wife as a very weak tool, and one who has especial weaknesses now in her present circumstances yet really means well all the time. They also had an unnecessary worry about the future, which I quickly talked them out of.

This afternoon Ruprecht Zittrauer’s wife brought a little son into the world who was already baptized today, before the prayer meeting. We are pleased that our congregation are cautious and diligent in bringing their little children to baptism soon. Among the other people in this country there is great procrastination in this as in other religious matters.

Tuesday, the 14th of November. Muggitzer has been away from us for almost a whole year and has worked as a laborer in the service of the Lord Trustees. He is now returning with the resolution never to go off again because the profit that he has from outside work is very slight. His pay is on the books in the storehouse in Savannah; and now, like other people, he cannot get any payment. Michael Rieser too had hired himself out for one month and is now returning without any pay. This has made a good impression on the others; and they see that, when we advise them against leaving, it is only for their own good.

Recently I bought a good supply of wool in Savannah, with which I can provide Mrs. Helfenstein, her children, and a few others in the community and the orphanage with useful work in spinning and knitting, since the evenings are now long. The stockings /that we buy/ are expensive and yet of hardly any value. In this way the poor will be provided with something durable and some will have an opportunity to earn something here among us. We hope to plant much flax here next spring, since it grows well if the heat does not last long and is not too great. We also plan to try hemp, if I get these seeds, along with wheat, barley, oats, etc., early enough from Pennsylvania, as I have been promised by a merchant.

Wednesday, the 15th of November. We have had rainy weather since yesterday, and this has required the surveyor to return home. Also, because the water in the river is getting deep, several places on the new land have been flooded, and this makes the surveying difficult. Consequently, the surveyor does not wish to continue until it is dry again. However, he will indicate the plantations in such a way that everyone will know his own and will therefore be able to begin his work unhindered. He is afraid that they [Mr. Oglethorpe] will pay him nothing or little for his present work, and our people should not expect him to pay those who help him in the surveying. Indeed, he even demanded of me that I give him as much for every mile as they [Mr. Oglethorpe] had promised him for the rest of the work. I refused him this, however, since he is now doing his work on the orders of Mr. N. [Oglethorpe]. This much our people will do: they will not demand any payment from him. I shall give him and his assistant provisions, and he can look out for his own payment himself.

Because the evenings are getting long again, the awakened and salvation-hungry souls among us are again beginning to assemble in the evening after the public prayer meeting for prayer and good conversations; and God has greatly blessed this in me and my family as often as they have come to me. There are only a few each time whose circumstances allow them to come, and among these few it goes all the more simply.

Thursday, the 16th of November. Today we had such a cold wind that we could not expect the children to come to school this afternoon, since the wind was strong and very cold. For lack of a firm house we are still holding school in two huts in which it is very inconvenient to build a fire, because the smoke discomforts the eyes and we cannot keep the attention of the children, who must sit all around the fire if they are to enjoy any warmth at all. Nor can we hold the public prayer meeting during a strong wind because the light is blown out: for the large old hut in which church is held is badly protected from the wind that blows through it. Everything will gradually improve under divine providence.

Several pious people came to my hut and prayed with me and thus spent the evening hour well. They pray with such sincerity, industry, and childish simplicity that I too receive no little edification; and I consider it an especial blessing of God that they join with me and my family in prayer. From their prayers we can learn what lies in their hearts and what God is blessing especially in them. They always remember our dear benefactors in Europe; and, since those who pray, in so far as I know them, are His children, I do not doubt that He will hear such intercession. This morning I found another little flock of pious people in a hut who requested me to pray with them. May God bless this conversation and prayer for much communal edification.

Friday, the 17th of November. An old Salzburger woman shed tears of joy at the kindness that has reigned so far over her and her family. In her homeland, and when she was leaving it, she had been unable to imagine what she was now experiencing: she could not imagine anything but want of those things that she had had in her own country, and she had resolved to resign herself to this if only she could be with the gospel until the end of her life. But now God had granted her as much foodstuff, even milk, as she needed for herself and her family; and He was working steadily on her soul through His Word to prepare her for blessed eternity.

A young man also showed me what God had granted him in the harvest and at the same time he wished that God might keep his heart from all adherence to and trust in temporal wealth, for these were not the true treasures. To the great praise of God he remembered what He had done in his soul. He had revealed Himself to him as his Father in Christ and given him a full assurance of His mercy and the forgiveness of sins. As long as he lived he would remember that day and the circumstances connected with it. To be sure, he said, he no longer felt the sweet taste of God’s love that had poured out into his soul at that time and made him so merry and joyful; however, he did notice that the Lord was continuing His work in him. For his instruction I spoke to him a bit about the words “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” He showed me the place in his yard where he had knelt secretly before God whenever He wished to prepare him more closely for experiencing His mercy. Here he had been quite barren and incapable of spoken prayer, whereupon he went into his hut and fought his way through in prayer until God let the sun of His mercy shine upon him.

In today’s prayer meeting, in connection with the words of Deuteronomy 24:13, I reminded the listeners of their duty and told them how they were obligated to bless their benefactors and to pray for them, since, among other things, many benefactions in the way of clothes had flowed to them in which they would be able to keep warm in winter time. When a little flock of people came to me in the evening after the prayer meeting, I asked them what good thing they could tell me out of their experience; and they answered that, before coming to me, they had spoken together about the goodness and providence of God, according to which He had granted them clothing among other benefactions. For everything they had on them, they said, was a blessing from Him through the hands of the benefactors, for which they praised God.

Before the prayer I read them a very edifying passage from the late Scriver’s Soul Treasure;²⁹⁵ it was the application of the third sermon in the first part, and it brought us all much edification. From their prayers we note that nothing in the world is dearer to them than Jesus and His reconciliation. Among them was an old widow of whom I learned that she now passes most of her time in prayer and reading, since she cannot do much work, and that she does not let the cold weather in her room prevent her, to the great amazement of other people. She often remembers, she says, what I once told about a pious theological student in Halle, who, whenever the cold discomforted him, always prayed to keep warm in his cold room, which he was too poor to heat. The love of Christ and the blessings that she received from prayer and from the sweet gospel warmed her, she said.

Saturday, the 18th of November. My dear colleague journeyed to Savannah this morning to proclaim the word of God to the Germans there tomorrow. May the dear Lord reveal to us more closely whether it is His will for us to bother with these people any longer, because of whom this and that in our community must be neglected. We hold school together and try through the grace of God jointly to edify the congregation on Sundays. /Each of us needs to hear something for himself and to edify himself on the other’s talents./ We fear the day that the congregation will have to separate on the plantations for the sake of their work, when most of them will move to Abercorn Creek and a few will do their work on the plantations close to town but will reside in the town. However, because we are here for the sake of the congregation, we too will have to separate, one moving out with them and the other performing his office in the town with both adults and children. May our kind Lord Himself show us which of us should move out with the congregation. It has been requested of me, and I feel myself obligated to be where the larger part of the congregation is to be found; and, since I have no house or good dwelling in Ebenezer anyway, this seems to be indicated. Nevertheless, several things have arisen that might almost require me to remain here and to visit the congregation on Abercorn Creek frequently. Everything will be considered better in the fear of the Lord.

So far as I can hear, nothing would please the people better than if the evening prayer meeting could be continued, since God has usually laid an abundant blessing on it. I also hear that the dear listeners are taking the new hardship on their new plantations on themselves because they will get one of their ministers in their neighborhood and right among them. Our foremost duty is to see to the edification of their souls for their eternal life and then to contribute in every possible way so that they may earn their bread in Christian order and that the purpose may be more and more fulfilled for which the Lord Trustees sent the Salzburgers into this colony, all of which will be very useful for the present inhabitants of this place as well as for their successors.

If I too should move out with them, then I wish I could have a regular dwelling in the town, because I would also have much business in Ebenezer and would have to visit the parishioners living here. We cannot allow the town to lie unbuilt and everything to return to forest, as in Purysburg, for this would give the Salzburgers a bad name, especially since they have enemies. I also hope we will gradually receive more craftsmen, who will all live in the town. The orphanage is here too; and perhaps God will grant us a physical blessing so that we can someday build a church and school, of which we are surely in great need. If the Salzburgers continue to enjoy divine blessings in their work on the new and very fertile land, then I believe they will be able to take on hired hands, and the householders will do their work in the town.

Best suited for this would be honest and loyal people who are tired of their all-too-great hardships elsewhere [in Germany] and would therefore like to move to America: they would be better cared for in our community than at any other place in America. They would not lack for food and clothes, if God continues to bless us; and, if they served loyally, they would be assisted so that they could soon eat their own bread and live among us as free people. Yet at the present time our dear people are not in that position but still need outside help. Even though they have just harvested a bit, for which they are heartily pleased and grateful to the dear Lord, there is no money in the country now for which they could sell the things that they do not need themselves [including what God has granted them this time.]

[Last summer the storehouse bought up so much corn from some sloops that it will spoil; there is no money on hand for buying anything, even if this supply of corn were not available. Most of them need everything that God has granted them this time for their own use; and, if they receive any clothing or other assistance, they accept it with many thanks. The Lord Trustees should have given the Salzburgers their land sooner and of a kind on which they could have raised something. Also, they should not prescribe rules for them as to how they should do their field work and force them to observe their impracticable regulations, but rather give them freedom to work according to their judgment and personal experience. In this way much would have been improved.]

May God incline the hearts of the Lord Trustees to be pleased with the present arrangements of the Salzburgers, which, are surely of such a nature that something really good and useful can be developed. [We say nothing of this to Mr. Oglethorpe because he just makes so many objections, which he considers irrefutable.] The land on the other side of Abercorn Creek is low and is flooded about once a year, and therefore no house can be built anywhere in the region. Also, according to the judgment of knowledgeable people and our own experience, it would be unhealthy to live there. In order for this very beautiful land to be used, our people have agreed together to take up the entire strip of high land on this side of Abercorn Creek and to build their houses and cowsheds on it in such a way that three families will live near each other on one plantation, with each family on a separate piece of land. Here, to be sure, stand mostly pines and firs, which they will use for building; and the land on which cane-brakes are scattered about they can well use as cattle pasture, as up till now most of our cattle have been pastured in this region.

There is no timber on the river or across it, but much high cane, thick oaks, beeches, nut trees, and a great quantity of thorn bushes; and knowledgeable people find this land of such quality that they hope to raise all sorts of local crops, as well as hemp, flax, wheat, barley, oats, etc. Because it is flooded annually and the Savannah River carries much fertile silt, they never have to fertilize such land or leave it fallow but may use it every year. The test has already been made with just such land in our neighborhood in Carolina.

The said three families, who are building on the high, dry, and also healthy land, have two plantations of forty-eight acres each on the land across Abercorn Creek; and, in order that each family will have a part of each kind of land, three equal lines are drawn through the three plantations so that each will know what is his. These three families work communally, in fact at the very place where their neighbors on both sides are clearing their land of trees. Because each family has for itself only a narrow, but therefore all the longer, strip, they are leaving no trees standing that could cast a shadow; and thus they will soon have cleared out a large open field. The figure of the three plantations, which are owned by three families, is as follows:

Between the first and second plantations runs Abercorn Creek, on both sides of which, to be sure, two hundred feet must be left at the command of the Trustees. However, this land may be used by the owners of the plantations at least in the beginning. Behind these plantations there is still a large piece of very good land that has also been surveyed and belongs to us, but it has not been occupied by our people but is remaining for newcomers.

Although the Salzburgers have made such arrangements as were required by necessity and by their common interest, they have not violated the plans and order of the Trustees, since the old lines remain and the people are just adjusting them to their own advantage. At the end of the plantations towards Abercorn six [600]²⁹⁶ acres are being surveyed for the ministers if Mr. Oglethorpe approves it. This will be extremely advantageous to our people because of the cattle pasture, especially at first, since it will lie uncultivated for a considerable time. If the useless sawmill in Abercorn Creek would rot away or be torn down, we would have a very convenient and short passage to Savannah, since the flood tide comes up to our new plantations and we could therefore return home from Savannah in six hours.

Sunday, the 19th of November. On Sunday evenings our orphanage is exceedingly convenient for simple edification and prayer with our listeners of both sexes. We have enough room: the men are on one side and the women on the other; and we, who give them the opportunity for edification, are in the middle room. Again today we shared hearty enjoyment with each other. May God preserve this His work and let us further feel His blessings in physical and spiritual matters.

During the past few days in the prayer meetings we have learned from the 24th chapter of Deuteronomy how dear the poor, strangers, widows, and children are to the heart of our dear and merciful God and how pleased He is when their needs are cared for. This has strengthened me in my faith that He will continue to awaken benefactors from afar, if the people nearby are [hardhearted and] unfeeling, who will contribute to maintain this home for widows and orphans.

Monday, the 20th of November. A corn mill has now been made with the two millstones that Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen requested from the Lord Trustees some time ago for our congregation, and we hope it will give good service. Very few people are able to buy good flour, and they are satisfied with Indian cornmeal when they are healthy; but they have not been able to grind this fine enough on the ruined hand mills. This present mill is operated by hand by two people, but the corn must previously have been ground or crushed on an iron mill. In addition to the iron work, which God provided some time ago, it cost somewhat over 2 £ sterling, which Kogler and Rottenberger, two skillful and loyal workers, have well earned. Because there is nothing in the poor box, the community will collect the expenses. Otherwise we would have been glad to contribute something for the sake of the poor.

We should have two such mills so that one could be used in the town and one on the plantations, by those who move out there. If there are any millstones like this or larger in Savannah, I shall request them of Mr. Oglethorpe. Steps will also be taken so that rice can be prepared with this mill; and for this purpose the carpenters are preparing a round piece of wood the size and thickness of a stone, which will be used in place of the upper millstone, because rice is not freed from its shells or husks between two stones but is crushed and ground. In this way the orphanage will be able to keep its rice mill for itself, which is made totally of wood but is very usable.

Tuesday, the 21st of November. My dear colleague returned this morning from Savannah after travelling all night in order to be here all the sooner, because he had been delayed in Savannah longer than necessary. The Reformed minister from Purysburg had also come to Savannah to give Holy Communion to his co-religionists, at which time he read them something out of a book for their preparation but did not preach. For this reason my dear colleague had only our own co-religionists as a congregation²⁹⁷ [but the others remained away through secret bitterness, and some of them probably enjoyed themselves in worldly ways on the day of Communion. This is a very mean company that cannot be allowed to have their way but should be told the truth from God’s word, even if they cannot bear this from a preacher who is not of their confession. Most of them are obstinately Reformed and at the same time miserably blind].

My dear colleague received much kindness from the storehouse manager, Mr. Jones. He sheltered him and kindly invited him to stop in on him any time, especially after he has his own house. He appears to have a true fear of the Lord; to be sure, he is a Dissenter, yet he respects righteous ministers and especially Mr. N. [Whitefield. On the other hand he cannot stand worldly-minded people, also including the present minister in Savannah.]²⁹⁸ The schoolmaster in Savannah, Mr. Habersham, sent me for the congregation various good things such as two pieces of linen, ten neckerchiefs, six ready-made linen trousers, and six short flannel waistcoats, also a few tools, which Mr. N. [Whitefield] had promised me and of which he had left a list behind. The dear Lord has shown us the trail of His guidance not only in the gift itself but also in its application, in that it now can serve the purpose of the whole congregation, but could have been given only to some of them if we had wished to distribute it like other gifts.

Up till now certain men of the congregation have had to help the [annoying and obstinate] surveyor in surveying the new land, and this has caused them great hardship. It had been agreed that the entire community would pay them or compensate them with work, but we were already able to predict many difficulties in advance, especially since the pay amounted to 5 £ 11 sh. 10 p. sterling in addition to the meat that was given from the poor box for provisions for the surveyor and his assistant. The surveyor surely has poor wages, since they [Mr. Oglethorpe] gave him no more than one pence per acre, from which he must supply provisions for himself and the people who help him and pay a man sixteen pence wages every day. When he surveys land in a forest with nothing but stands of pines and firs, then he gets along all right; but, if he has to do his work on land that is entirely overgrown with thorns and bushes as ours is, and must measure such little strips as our plantations are, then he could not possibly get along on this pay, as everyone must admit. This is probably the reason why, from the very beginning, he made all sorts of excuses for not surveying this new land; and it would have been to the great detriment of our village if we had not agreed with him on a better method that was acceptable to him.

Now, because said work was doubtless to the best interest of our community and our successors and the work had to be paid for, I suggested that the things we had received and which belonged to the community be applied to paying the workers and covering the accrued expenses. In this way the entire community would profit, since otherwise the gifts could only be given to this or that person. This suggestion pleased everyone well, and all the items were appraised at 5 £ 13 sh. 5 p. so that only a little was left over, which will probably be given to the community’s herdsmen.

In the evening prayer meeting we had the 26th chapter of Deuteronomy, the first part of which gave me a good opportunity to impress on the community this fact, among others, that God is well pleased if, while receiving and enjoying our present benefaction, we will also gratefully remember previous and past ones and encourage each other to His praise and to a loyal application of His gifts. I again told them how well disposed Mr. N. [Whitefield] was toward our congregation and the orphanage and how much good he promised me from that which God would grant him, and that we should therefore praise the present donor for the benefaction we have received and pray diligently for this and other benefactors.

Wednesday, the 22nd of November. There are still some families of German servants in Savannah whom no one wishes to buy. Various people in our community are inclined to accept children of both sexes and to take care of them through compassion and pity, if Mr. Oglethorpe will redeem and donate them on their behalf. I also hear that, while he was in Savannah a few days ago, he gave his consent for this and wishes to speak to me about it when he returns at the end of the month. This is also a benefaction for our people, since they will gradually acquire hired men and women, even if they will not derive much profit from them in the first years. If such children, especially of the female sex, behave themselves well, then they will someday be able to become good helpmeets in our community. We can hardly hope that a new transport, with unmarried women in it, will be sent, since the Lord Trustees are not now financially able to bear the passage money and maintenance for at least one year.

Thursday, the 23rd of November. Although the cotton did not ripen entirely because of the too early frost, I still see that many bolls are now gradually opening in which there is much useful cotton. Therefore it is good that we were not hasty in hoeing and weeding, for then we would have robbed ourselves of much advantage. Because everything in this country is expensive, one must make use of everything as best one can.

The old [Swiss] man from Purysburg who made a rice mill for the orphanage is still in our village and is used by the Salzburgers to make wheels for wagons and carts, for which they give him and his ten-year-old son food and a little money. He has a desire to settle among us and told me yesterday that he finds that there are peaceful and quiet people here, whereas there is no honesty in Purysburg. [But nothing but abominations among the sextons and simple people, and the preacher is no pastor of his flock, etc.] I note, however, that our people do not want him [because he is Reformed and very inclined to disputing, but this last thing I do not observe in him. Concerning his wife and children, who are still in Canton Appenzell, I learn that they are separatists. If they too should come here, we would have much affliction, as much as we would not begrudge the old and apparently honest man to spend his remaining days here.]

The Salzburgers wish very much for their countrymen to come here, for whom they intend to reserve some good land. No one doubts any longer that industrious workers can earn their bread here and can enjoy many advantages over others in Germany. The foremost treasure that we have in our community is God’s blessing, which we see everywhere in abundance. I must often marvel at the goodness of God, because of which a right effective [noticeable] change has occurred among us in a short time. The Salzburgers were poor in every way and also appeared to be forsaken by the further assistance of the wealthy people in this land; yet everyone now has so much that he praises God and wishes the same good for others that he is enjoying here in spiritual and physical benefactions. The noblest thing in all this is their joyousness which makes even the least gift both dear and sweet for them. Among the material benefactions the foremost one is that they enjoy a greatly desired freedom. No one bothers them, no one demands anything from them, they are no one’s servant; and all good regulations that are instituted and obeyed among us are made with everyone’s approval and only for the common good.

Friday, the 24th of November. We have now accepted another child into the orphanage. It is a child of six²⁹⁹ that belongs to our herdsman Hans Michael Schneider. The parents and their largest boy of twelve are showing the community good service and are loyal in their profession. In order that they will have no obstacles in caring for the community’s cattle, which are being grazed in a lovely region an hour and a half away from Ebenezer, and so that they will be encouraged to even more loyalty and gratitude, we have taken this child into the orphanage as a boarder. It is a great pleasure for me that our pious congregation pray earnestly for our little institution, as I hear when they come to my hut in the evening to pray. I do not doubt that in His time the Lord will give everything that will be necessary and is now necessary for the maintenance and continuance of this His work. The river of God is full of water, and He lets it flow with great joy on miserable people, among whom widows and orphans have their place.

Because our congregation are showing themselves so pleased about the new land on Abercorn Creek and would like us to see it ourselves, we let them lead us around in it today, all of which tired our bodies, to be sure, but gave us much pleasure. The entire region where the houses are being built is exceptionally beautiful. It is high and mostly level land with enough timber and several live springs; and, where these are lacking, the river water is quite nearby and wells could be easily dug. Along the river on both sides, and especially across it, the soil is so good that they prefer it to all other land, even the best in our region. Therefore, according to all human expectations, its owners are promising themselves much good from it, provided God preserves their lives and gives His blessing to their work. Our dear Lord, who doeth everything in His due time,³⁰⁰ be humbly praised for this new benefaction and fatherly blessing. May he keep the dear people in Christian unity and rule them through His spirit so that they will yearn for the true homeland and heavenly fatherland in all conditions of this life, whatever they may be.

Meanwhile I do not doubt that this testimony of divine care will strengthen our dear Fathers in Europe, just as it has us, in their faith in the living and extremely gracious God, who lets no one who waits on Him be put to shame.³⁰¹ They have suffered much distress from the previously sent reports, especially since enemies have been accustomed to make hostile comments about those tribulations and to gain pleasure from them and to calumniate others. However, since they have always clung to the promises of the almighty and kindly God in faith and cheered us in their letters with the strongest comfort, the present reports cannot but be right comforting to them because they have not been put to shame in their faith and hope. Whenever some of the members of the community have become weary of things in their time of tribulation and have wished to move away from us, to the scandal of others, we have made every effort through the grace of God to keep them from it and have always comforted them with the help of the Lord, even if we could not always see and tell how and whence that help would come. Along with many others, the verse Habakkuk 2:2-4 has been frequently presented to them. Now the Lord is showing that the comfort that has been given them was no unfounded human thing. May His praiseworthy name be worshiped for ever and ever!

The congregation have discussed together how they wish to go about building a house for one of their ministers who is to perform his office among them. However, because they will wish to erect necessary huts for themselves in the early period and to cultivate a good piece of land for planting in the spring and to use the fields near the town for another year, they will not be able to start building a parsonage sooner than about next May or probably later. Therefore, so far as possible, they will continue to attend divine services in the town and to work only from time to time on their plantations. However, if a house is built for the minister, then as many as intend to live out there will move at one time; the rest, who have their plantations on the Savannah River, will remain in the town.

The congregation is still requesting me to move out with them; but I could cite several weighty reasons which might almost compel me to leave the move up to my dear colleague, subject to his approval. Yet everyone recognizes that I would have to conduct my office again here if the congregation in the town should increase again and would not be able to be bound constantly to that place. It will be rather hard and burdensome, and in many ways disadvantageous for my office, for me to live another year in my old uncomfortable hut, whose beams and thresholds are almost rotted away. I will still need a house in the town even if I move to Abercorn Creek with the congregation, because all sorts of business will often require me to visit the members of the congregation in the town and to consider this and that matter with my dear colleague, as we have done so far, and especially if circumstances should require me to move back to town again. Perhaps the Lord will let me know His will more closely as to what should be done about building a house for me. I would have to borrow the money from Mr. Oglethorpe.

Saturday, the 25th of November. Our congregation are recognizing more and more what a benefaction it is that they have come to Ebenezer; so they consider themselves obligated to express their most grateful thanks to Mr. S. U. [Senior Urlsperger] for his fatherly love and for the great efforts he has made on their behalf, and also to ask him to be helpful by speaking in favor of the sending of a new transport. I first inquired as to what they actually wished to have written, whereupon I drafted something for them this morning and first showed the whole letter to some knowledgeable men and then read it aloud to all the Salzburgers and Austrians, who were gathered in a hut, in order to learn whether they would consider this letter as their own and none other than as written by themselves. They thanked me for my [poor] efforts and wished to have all their names subscribed as testimony of their gratitude toward Mr. S. U. [Senior Urlsperger] and other dear benefactors, likewise as testimony that they would like nothing more than that the Salzburgers and Austrians whose names they listed, as well as other persons, might come here as soon as possible and enjoy with them the good that our marvelous God has granted them to enjoy after many kinds of tribulation. Because none of them can write clearly, my dear colleague was asked to copy the letter and to subscribe their names so that they might be clearly read. May the Lord be praised for this and all His benefactions! We call out to one another: “Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” To Him be glory for ever! During the reading of this letter our kindly God brought forth many good emotions, which showed themselves through sighs, tears, and edifying expressions, from which I could sufficiently recognize their full approval.³⁰²

In the evening prayer meeting we had the beginning of the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy, in which Moses explained the two short yet very significant little words “blessing” and “curse,” which had been presented to the people of Israel in the preceding chapter. From this chapter we learned in what order we could comfort ourselves with divine blessing both spiritually and physically, namely that we not only know God’s commandments but that we conduct our lives according to them through the power of Jesus. Although in the New Testament the Lord’s blessing on His children consists more in spiritual and celestial than in temporal goods, still the Lord has promised that He will bestow upon His children as many temporal blessings as are useful and salutary for them and that they will enjoy what little they have with a clear conscience in the grace of God and thus with His blessing. I asked the congregation not to go to their plantations unless they were certain of the grace of God in Christ as the source of all blessing, for then it could also be said of them: “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field . . . Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.”

On this occasion I told them what has always been lying on my heart, namely, that our wise and marvelous God must have had His wise and salutary reasons when He brought us together, both in Old and New Ebenezer, at one place, whereas, if it had been left to our own devices, everyone would have gone immediately to his own land and plantation and begun his work. Because the good lands that had been intended for our town during these years did not lie together in one stretch, the entire community would have dispersed for the sake of temporal nourishment; and this could have caused great damage to their souls afterwards. But in this way the Lord has done with us as He did with the Children of Israel: they had to remain together in one place for a considerable time before the Jordan, just as if it were their plantations, so that they might first be prepared through the Word of God for taking and occupying their land and be put into a condition to become partakers of God’s blessings for their souls and bodies in occupying and managing their lands. Everyone among us must recognize, even if he is a weak beginner in his Christianity, that the dear Lord has dealt with us in this better than we could have planned it and that we thank this highest and ever loyal Benefactor far too little for His wise guidance and gracious purpose.

Sunday, the 26th of November. Yesterday evening after the prayer meeting the widow Arnsdorf consecrated her newly built house with the Word of God and with prayer, for which various adults and many children gathered. Previously, in the prayer meeting, we had said much about God’s blessing that makes people contented and happy in spiritual and temporal affairs; and my heart was filled with this dear material and also with today’s gospel for the 26th Sunday after Trinity. I also said something to the gathering and especially to the widow and her children about the beautiful words in Genesis 12:2: “And thou shalt be a blessing.”

This afternoon I was somewhat disquieted by temporal matters. Capt. Thomson had sent an express-boat here from Savannah and reported to me in a letter Mr. Oglethorpe’s will and resolution with regard to the German people on his ship whom some of the Salzburgers wished to accept. However, I could not comprehend what he had written me; and therefore I wrote him a brief answer and promised to come to Savannah myself tomorrow, God willing, before he left for Frederica. I shall also ask him whether he is going directly to London and will take letters for us. I also have other business to tend to. In addition, I am being importuned by the surveyor Ross, who wants to speak to me and give a report about his surveying, since he is planning to depart early tomorrow. May God bless and further my journey and let me well apply on the journey the good that He has granted me and others today from His Word.

Monday, the 27th of November. As I was about to go to the school this afternoon, N. [Spielbiegler] came to me and asked me to call on the sick N. [his mother]. Therefore I went to her after school, whereupon she told me that she was getting weaker and weaker and wished for nothing more than for the dear Lord to take her to Himself; for she always had good hope in the dear Lord that He would take her into heaven, as she had attested recently. But today it seemed to me as if she were no longer so firm in her hope, for she may now better recognize that things do not yet stand right with her. Therefore she said that God must not have let her be sick for so long for nothing, it must signify something. And, when I told her why God was doing it and to what it had to lead and how far it could go through the grace of God if she wished to be surely saved, she told me among other things that she still had a wicked heart and that the Old Adam was still ruling in her. Thus she has not really gone all the way with her confession, and she no longer comforts herself in her sins with the merits of Christ, as she has been wont to do so freely before. May the dear Lord continue to have mercy on her and illuminate her through His spirit and bring her to a true conversion.

Tuesday, the 28th of November. Zant has been entirely blind for several days, so that he cannot see except a little bit at night. He is quite resigned to this and makes good use of his condition. The honest and pious widow Schweighofer had visited him today and prayed with him right cordially, and this had given him great joy. He is improving a little bit. May the dear Lord help further!

Wednesday, the 29th of November. The day before yesterday I journeyed very early in the morning to Savannah in order to speak with Capt. Thomson in detail about the letter Mr. Oglethorpe had sent to him and me; and this evening I returned to Ebenezer with my travelling companions sound and satisfied. Both the captain and the storehouse manager, Mr. Jones, explained to me Mr. Oglethorpe’s meaning, which is that I have permission to take as many small and large girls from Capt. Thomson’s ship to Ebenezer as I wish to take, who are then to serve and be kept in good order at our place. If they behave themselves in a Christian manner and if any of the unmarried men in our congregation wish to marry them, such girls will achieve their freedom through this, and their husbands will have nothing more to do than to pay the interest that is customary in this country for the passage money, which Mr. Oglethorpe will donate to the orphanage. However, because this interest would cause some difficulty and would also amount to a large sum, I am free to exempt the people from it, since they would do a service for the orphanage anyway, especially as they are convinced of the benefit the entire community gains from the orphanage.

I selected six of these girls, who were fetched from Purysburg, to where Kiefer’s boat had brought them. Two of them are nineteen years old, the rest somewhat younger; but all of them seem to have pleasant and docile dispositions and bring good references. They are all coming to Christian and charitable people in the community and will be well taken care of. At first the parents made some difficulties about letting their children go; and they hoped to move me in that way to take them, and therefore all their families, along as well; but I had no permission for this, and no one among us has the means for supporting them. However, when they saw that I would prefer to have no child than one that was forced on me and when they learned how things were among us, I could have acquired even more children if I had not had my own misgivings, even though there are still several people in the community who would have liked to take in a girl. The people were very worried that Capt. Thomson would take them to Frederica and place them here and there, and therefore they would have been very happy if there had been any opportunity of bringing them to Ebenezer.³⁰³

I tried to get Mr. Oglethorpe to free a sick old widow of fifty-four years, and also a man of twenty-two with a very frail daughter, and I shall learn whether he has given his consent to it. [All of them will be more useful with us than at any other place, and at the same time a work of charity will be performed.] The other swollen and sick people have been taken back on board in wheelbarrows, because the captain can spend nothing for their maintenance and no one else will take them on. These poor people are surely suffering great misery. If we had the means, which we don’t, then we would gladly take on at least the poor widows with their children who have lost their husbands and fathers at sea and give them some work to do. May God let this physical plight contribute to their spiritual and eternal good!

Thursday, the 30th of November. Captain Thomson is returning to Savannah along with General Oglethorpe on 14 December, at which time there will be held a great court session that has been postponed until now. We have a safe opportunity to forward our letters and diary with him, so we are again getting down to writing even though a packet was sent via Charleston to London only a short time ago. It gives us great pleasure to receive letters from our dear Fathers and friends in Europe, since the dear Lord lets much good flow through them for our and our congregation’s edification. Since they also like us to send in frequent reports of the congregation’s circumstances and then write all the more promptly, we do not like to let a safe opportunity pass. God bless all this to His glory!

[The tailor Christ, who recently left the orphanage again, has had a hut built for himself with the little money I had kept for him, even though I had advised him strongly against it and had promised to help him get a private hut soon, since various people are beginning to move to their plantations. It appears that he desires not to return to the orphanage, where, if he requested it, we would have gladly done our best for him again through compassion for his poor circumstances. Yet we will never force our benefactions on anyone.]

DECEMBER

Friday, the 1st of December. This morning I found N. [Eischberger] in such a frame of mind that I am very happy and have good hope that God will still win his soul, on which He, as he well knows, has been working so far in every way and most loyally. During yesterday’s prayer meeting, while the second half of the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy was being treated, He revealed to him the sins of his youth; with these he had merited not only his present afflictions, which for a long time now have been his lot and that of his wife, who, like him, is almost always sickly and incapable of steady work, but also all disfavor and curse of God. /He said it was only through the grace of God that he was still alive and was living in the time of grace./ [He said that until now he had thought far too little of the very miserable and pitiable condition of an unbelieving and worldly minded man, whereupon his eyes flowed over; and his wife confirmed that her husband had told her with much emotion about yesterday’s prayer meeting and had admonished her to a serious achievement of her salvation.]

In every way I find that our dear listeners who are concerned with their souls like the evening prayer meetings more and more because our dear Lord is gradually letting us recognize so much that is splendid, marvelous, and comforting from the Old Testament that we did not know formerly; and I, for my part, wish to thank our merciful, loving God in eternity for the great mercy that He has shown me on this occasion.

As some pious souls were going home this evening from the private prayer meeting we held in my hut, a Salzburger woman remained behind and told me she wished to leave a beautiful verse with me for a good night, and it was from Psalm XIII: “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation, I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” Then she said, “Dear Sir, I am discovering in myself that God is so merciful and so gladly helps and is so good to me. To be sure, I feel in my heart much evil that always rises up and causes me much struggle and suffering; but I also experience that God is so merciful and helps so gladly and does me much good.” This woman cannot read and also complains of a poor memory, but I find that she takes pleasure in God’s word and is deeply concerned with the salvation of her soul and can remember beautiful verses and make good use of them.

Saturday, the 2nd of December. The weather is again very variable. We had very cold nights a few times and the wind was quite cold by day; but yesterday and today it has been as lovely as in spring. Some people have already started building huts on their plantations, which are indispensable at night and in rainy weather if they wish to clear their land. From bad experience they have learned to be more careful about their health, which suffered greatly in the first years.

Yesterday I visited Zant, whose eyes seem in a dangerous condition; but there were some pious people there who were presenting his and their troubles on their knees to our merciful Savior so that I could not speak with him this time. My dear colleague went to him just before the prayer meeting and let him know that we were inclined to accept him into the orphanage and to care for him as well as the dear Lord would grant the means until we knew how his sickness would finally turn out. I told him this today, but he wishes to present it to the dear Lord in prayer before he resolves anything. Yet he considers this offer to be a divine benefaction. He shows himself so patient and content in his suffering that he greatly edifies us.

In yesterday’s and today’s prayer meeting we continued with the 29th chapter of Deuteronomy. Because of its important content, we tried to utilize it in such a way at the end of this church year that, just as the Children of Israel remembered the manifold benefactions of the Lord that they had enjoyed up to then, we too would gratefully remember that He had saved us from many perils, and had led, fed, and clothed us. This we did so that we might once again be encouraged and obligated to obedience toward God and His commandments.

There are probably many among us about whom God might just as well complain that He had not yet been able to give them understanding hearts, seeing eyes, and hearing ears even though He had richly offered His grace from time to time; therefore it is a superabundant mercy that He is still working on us and is once again offering us His covenant of grace, from which He will no more exclude obstinate and disobedient souls than He did for the wicked Israelites, if only we will now recognize our wickedness and be willing to accept the offered grace in the proper order. If the covenant of grace then stretched out to all people, even to strangers, hewers of wood and drawers of water, and poor people, then the grace of the new covenant will not be less, rather God yearns in His heart for all, even the smallest, the least, and the most miserable, which is a great comfort for penitent sinners.³⁰⁴

Sunday, the 3rd of December. This first Sunday in the church year, which we experience again through the grace of God, was spent by us and our dear listeners with much blessing. The dear Lord has renewed in us our resolve to struggle with our listeners to reach a right New Testament nature in our Christianity and to apply our time and strength solely to His service and Glory.

[Before the prayer meeting Schoolmaster Ortmann caused me a worry that made it difficult for me to carry out what I had planned for my and the others’ edification: namely, he sent me his wife with a long English letter that he had today addressed to Mr. Oglethorpe, accompanied with a postscript to me in German. I returned the letter to her unread, since I could gather from her words that he was pouring forth many complaints against the two Zuebli brothers and, as is his custom, was emphasizing the service he had performed as a former marine soldier for the English crown. The matter is not very important: About two weeks ago the younger Zuebli chose a plantation on Ebenezer Creek that another man, namely Hesler, had abandoned because he did not wish to remain there alone. Schoolmaster Ortmann had twice drawn lots but had not received any good land; and, because I had gotten to know him on the occasion of the two gardens, I asked him several times to seek out some other land that was acceptable to him, and also reminded the surveyor about it. However, he had procrastinated in this until he should have a servant, when, during my recent trip, the surveyor told him about the Zueblis’ land and praised it to him.

[As soon as the surveyor told me that Mr. Ortmann had chosen this plantation, I attempted to prevent all misunderstandings but could never find the two Zueblis at home because they had begun to work seriously on their plantation. Since I understood that they had already been working for thirteen days, I asked the schoolmaster yesterday whether it would not be all the same to him if he left this plantation to the poor Zuebli brothers and selected the one that lies right next to it on the river and is not inferior to it in soil. Because I noticed right off that nothing could be accomplished since this plantation lies about a hundred steps closer to the town and was greatly extolled by the surveyor, I postponed the negotiations until Monday. Meanwhile he is becoming so restless that he not only wrote the letter on this Sunday and sent it to me, but also let me know that, to be sure, he had wished to register with other communicants for Holy Communion but that he had been disturbed by the fact that Zuebli wished to take away his land. I urged his wife that she and her husband should see to it that Mr. Ortmann would not act as in former times, when he would fall upon me with great violence from mere suspicion and meanness whenever he could not have his own way, and had caused me many sighs. If he wished to come to terms with these people in a Christian way, for which I would do everything possible, I should be most happy; but, if they wish to accuse each other in front of Mr. Oglethorpe, then I shall have to suffer them and will not get mixed up in it.

[In like manner we are having our troubles with Mrs. Helfenstein, who reveals ever more clearly that she has not been sincere in her previous appearances. Her impure intentions, which are harmful to the community and a hindrance to our office, cannot very well be set down here for good reason; but it will be mentioned for our instruction in our next letters. She and her children keep house in great confusion, and she lets them do as they want; and we can see in many ways that her supposed experience in Christianity consists less in truth than in many beautiful words, for which she, like Mrs. Rheinlaender, has a natural talent. Because she has not taken our good advice and warnings previously, but has persisted in her impure and vexing designs, I have advised her that I shall withdraw more and more and will have nothing more to do with her and her children, particularly in regard to material support. If she wishes to continue her behavior thus and cause me sighs and disquiet, then she should not be surprised if I send her two children who are being raised in the orphanage back home to her.

[Monday, the 4th of December. Although the two Zuebli brothers have done a considerable amount of work on their land, they wish to give in to Schoolmaster Ortmann in order to avoid all trouble and sinfulness, and to take another plantation in the neighborhood in place of it. But they rightfully want him to make good their work, which the schoolmaster appears to be willing to do. I read to the younger Zuebli, who called on me about it, from Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

[Toward evening I had the schoolmaster with me again in order to rectify the unhappy matter completely; and, because his wife had seen the two Zueblis’ work on the plantation today, he was quite agreeable to pay the people for their work, for thus a debt that existed between them was entirely settled. I am happy that this matter has been arranged this time in such a way that the schoolmaster has not become angry at me, especially since I really could not judge him as being in the right.

[This evening I learned from my dear colleague that Mrs. Helfenstein had visited him and had complained to him about me considerably; but she learned nothing more from him than what I had told her, namely, that we cannot possibly be content with her impure and vexing behavior. Such people cannot bear the truth and will right away call us rough, hard, and angry if we clearly and seriously express our anger and displeasure in their behavior. This is also the language of Mrs. Rheinlaender, to whom we also appeared too rough and severe, whereas others in the community were amazed that we put up with her for so long and gave her benefaction after benefaction in order to win her. It is God’s teaching to bear the wicked and not to bear them, each in its own season.]

Tuesday, the 5th of December. [Our shoemaker³⁰⁵ was in Purysburg for temporal reasons and drank some rum or brandy there against the cold weather that rose to his head and made him sick. He came to me himself and confessed his lack of caution and promised to be more careful in the future now that he has learned of the deceitfulness of this strong drink. Otherwise he works diligently and keeps himself and his wife very orderly in external matters, yet they are both nothing but natural beings. Our people find it very good that there is a shoemaker among us who not only makes shoes but also serves the people with repairs.] With others who were recently brought to our place, the shoemaker often declares that it is a blessing to live among us, whereas most of their travelling companions who have been sold here and there in the country have been treated severely; the large families as well as the old and pregnant and sick people whom no one wished to buy have been taken on to Frederica by Capt. Thomson, where, as happened in Savannah, parents and children have been separated and sold. When I was in Savannah recently, the people showed much misery at being taken further.

N.’s [The Austrian Schmidt’s] wife is progressing very nicely in the grace she is receiving in her conversion: she recognizes her deep corruption better and better and is becoming ever smaller in her own eyes, but at the same time ever more desirous for salvation in Christ for poor penitent sinners. If we do not visit her for a few days she is sad and asks if we have seen anything in her or heard anything that displeases us. She is not a little bit disturbed that she herself cannot read and repeat the verses she hears; yet from frequent hearing and from her husband’s reading aloud she has learned many verses, which now stand her in good stead. She requested permission to come pray with me and asked me whether Mr. Gronau would take it ill if she also went to him tomorrow to pray with him and hear some words of admonition. Such questions arise from the good people’s shyness.

Wednesday, the 6th of December. The weather is very variable, now cold and now warm, yet we have not had any lasting rain for a long time so that the water in the river is falling very low. Now that we have become accustomed to the weather, the winter is very pleasant in comparison with that in Germany and does not hinder the field workers the least bit in their tasks. Yet it is at times too cold for the children in school, who have to sit for a couple of hours in one place, because we do not yet have a weatherproof schoolhouse.

We will not let any of the seven children presently in the preparation class take Holy Communion this time because we do not yet recognize in them any of the characteristics that must be found in worthy communicants. So far I have worked with them through the large Order of Salvation,³⁰⁶ which they have learned by heart along with the most important Bible verses. Since they are also instructed enough in the word of God in church and school, they do not lack knowledge, but this is not yet enough, as they themselves recognize, for worthy participation in Holy Communion. From now on I shall diligently repeat the truths that have been presented so far and try at the same time to drill the children in the beautiful and edifying materials that are found in the attached Golden A.B.C.;³⁰⁷ and afterwards I shall go through the questions from the catechism with them. May God accompany all this with His blessing so that such work will not be lost on the children!

Thursday, the 7th of December. Because Zant’s eyes are not getting any better, he was taken into the orphanage today. It would have happened earlier at his request, but they have been threshing rice in the attic of the orphanage, and this makes a great racket down below.³⁰⁸ It is now not in our means to build any other facility for this. We want to do all we can for the poor man, and we pray that God will restore his sight. To be sure, he is very crushed in these circumstances, yet neither restless nor discontented. I reminded him of the Bible story, and especially of the words in John 9:3.³⁰⁹

For the orphanage we greatly need a little house or at least a well protected room in which we could care for the patients and keep them warm, since the living room and bedrooms in the orphanage are protected only by thin, even if doubled, boards that are, after all, adequate enough for living and sleeping until God grants something better. However, since the patients must sometimes get up out of bed and it is dangerous to get chilled, a separate, well protected room that could be warmed by means of an oven would be a very necessary item for this purpose. But the Lord knows our needs better than we and will take care of it in His time. It is the same for me in my hut, for I cannot enjoy a tempered warmth in winter even though I have a hearth; and I cannot enjoy the fire except when I sit in front of the hearth, which is very inconvenient especially in time of physical weakness. I implore the heavenly Father to convince me more surely of His will as to whether we should make further arrangements for building a house for which neither supplies nor means are at hand.

Friday, the 8th of December. N.N. [Hans Floerl and his wife] are earnestly striving to seize Christ with His entire reconciliation and to achieve a certainty of their salvation. The husband makes himself very small before God in his prayers and knows how to divulge his heart so humbly before the Lord that everyone present at the prayer is not a little edified by it. Someday, when God has helped him through and brought him to a firmness in his grace, he will become a useful instrument in the conversion of others; and already he is working loyally with that which God has given him but which he does not recognize because of his poverty of spirit.

God has laid a longlasting quartan fever on N. [Veit Lemmenhofer] and his wife, which they always have on the same day and almost at the same hour and which weakens them and makes them incapable of physical work. So far as I can see, they know how to resign themselves by well recognizing God’s salutary purpose in it. Several chapters of the late Arndt’s Book of True Christianity, which concerns this, gave them a good opportunity to do so, as the husband told me this morning. Both of them were very happy that they will be free of fever tomorrow and Sunday and can therefore go to Holy Communion undisturbed.

Saturday, the 9th of December. Yesterday evening after the prayer hour Cornberger’s wife bore a young daughter which was baptized today. I have been very much impressed that this pious woman was so concerned about the fruit of her body all during her pregnancy that she diligently called upon the Lord to give her grace to raise her expected child in the fear of the Lord and to His glory. She also admonished her husband frequently with tears to put away all frivolity and wickedness and to devote himself with her in time to a godly conduct so that, if the child lives and grows up, they may shine before it as a good example and pray for it right seriously and properly. God will be pleased with this Christian simplicity.

[Kieffer and his family came to us this afternoon to take Holy Communion with our congregation. He told me that Mr. Böhler³¹⁰ intended to instruct children in Purysburg and to preach to the people on Sundays if they wished to accept him and that he would not demand any tuition. Because he cannot accomplish anything among the Negroes he probably wants to try to make it with the white people and their children. This man³¹¹ has no love for this new schoolmaster, and therefore he wishes to do nothing in the matter but watch and see what others do and how he arranges his teaching business. I could not give him any advice in this. However, since I do not doubt that he shares the ideas of Mr. G. von Z.³¹² and the Herrnhuters, I told him what confusion and harm they caused in Germany even though they pretended for a long time, as this Böhler did too while at Kieffer’s, that they are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. If it were possible for us to find a pious and skillful schoolmaster for Purysburg, we would gladly do our best to do so; but I believe that little can be accomplished there among the mixed and worldly-minded groups. The old Zoberbiller, the preacher from Switzerland, died a few weeks ago. He used to give edifying sermons to the people in Purysburg from time to time and would perhaps have gradually been able to do some good.]

Sunday, the 10th of December. In addition to Kieffer and his family, the shoemaker Reck and Metscher’s oldest son also came here to take Holy Communion. Among the communicants there were sixty-two persons in all. On this day the dear Lord gave us very mild and pleasant weather, which stood us in good stead in the meeting hut, where wind, cold, and rain usually penetrate. In the next few days we will see how much blessing our dear Lord bestowed on the preaching of His word and on the celebration of His Son’s last supper and how much of it the listeners accepted. Because the days are so short and we come together in the church three times on Sundays, we cannot visit many people on this day even though it pleases them very much and some of them wait for it with yearning. This time my physical strength did not suffice to hold the prayer meeting in the orphanage, although I usually attend with much joy.

By observing our listeners, I notice that they would rather spare us from moving out with them to their plantations, although at their recent request I, like my dear colleague, was ready to move out and perform my office among them. After deeper reflection they find that I could do more good by remaining in the town with my dear colleague, since I could hold the daily prayer meetings here but not out there. To be sure, they will not live that far apart on their plantations, but too far to come together at one spot for the prayer meetings, because their fatigue from their work and housekeeping will not allow them to make the trip.

On the one hand we have the orphanage, many children, and other people who will remain here to live and work on their nearby land, to say nothing of other business that we will have with people who come here on account of the congregation. Therefore we hope to achieve our purpose better on Sundays if one of us preaches the word of God to the congregation out there and one of us here in the town and if in addition a sermon and catechism can be held once a week at a given time. As far as visiting each and every family is concerned, it can be done from here just as well as if I lived there myself, since it is not at all far from here to the nearest plantation and the farthest ones in the direction of Abercorn will not be occupied until more people join us. That will help not only my health, which might suffer harm from the repeated change of place, especially since I would have to move into a new wilderness, but also our workers themselves, who will not have to build a parsonage on Abercorn Creek, and this would relieve them of much time and work and me of additional expenses. They will surely have enough work to do, especially since they will have to build there, as here, a well-protected spacious hut for a church. May God let us recognize better and better what His good and gracious will is in this! It is probably good if we can both live in one place, for our dear Lord has always blessed this so far.

Monday, the 11th of December. So far we have alternately held the morning prayer meetings in the orphanage between five and six o’clock for the children and adults, which the dear Lord has accompanied with His blessing. Each time after the hymn we have read a chapter from the New Testament and preached something edifying about it and then prayed on our knees. Even though we have probably not spent more than three quarters of an hour each time on these prayer meetings, just as in the evening, our business will not allow us to hold them any longer ourselves; rather we have delegated them to the manager, who has already acquired a fine talent for praying and admonishing from God’s word. All sorts of business arises all day long; and, if we do not apply the morning hours to preparation and reading, then we are prevented during the day from visiting our listeners or we must neglect something necessary, to say nothing of the fact that we must spend a part of the morning hour in praying with our families and reading from Holy Scripture. In doing this we are not neglecting the children in the orphanage, since they hear enough of God’s word from us in school and during the evening prayer meeting and are encouraged to pray.

[Things look pretty bad with Rauner and his family, and the blessing of God seems to remain away from his house and his work. There is probably no one in the community who is so badly off as he, even though we have given him every possible help. He still limps on both sides³¹³ and well recognizes that he cannot be saved in this condition, yet he retains his lazy and frivolous nature. Things will not end well with him. His two children are the naughtiest and wickedest in the community. I have noticed that he has not used enough precaution in regard to these naughty children’s sleeping quarters, so I asked him to make other arrangements, and I will prefer to contribute something myself towards a blanket.]

Tuesday, the 12th of December.³¹⁴ Mrs. N. N. [Rheinlaender] complained to me how painful it is for her to see others going to Holy Communion while she is excluded. She again recited much about her innocence and also asked whether she would be allowed to go next time. But I could answer her no more than what she had already heard, namely, that she cannot be accepted for Holy Communion as long as she keeps her old disposition. I told her my advice was to invoke God to let her penitently recognize the corrupt condition of her heart that had been well enough revealed through her insolence and public disobedience in both words and deeds, to the scandal of the entire community. Then, if her penitence is of the right kind, she herself will desire us to cleanse her of these vexations before the entire congregation and to reconcile her with them.

Since she always considers herself innocent and shifts all the blame to others for having been punished with prison in Savannah, I dismissed her abruptly. Thereupon she changed her language and accused herself most severely, but this was all affectation. She claimed that someone in the community had said that it would not hurt her even if she were prevented from taking Holy Communion with the others: no one could take its strength (as she said) from her. But, she said, she would have no rest until she had taken it with the congregation too. Mrs. N. [Helfenstein] probably told her all these stories, since they keep intimate company; but she was not to be brought to any confession.

Wednesday, the 13th of December. Zant is getting along well in the orphanage, and his eyes are beginning to improve. He is seeking edification and companionship in the prayers that he finds here, and he is very content. Our listeners well know how much spiritual and physical good God [has showed and] is showing our community through this orphanage; and this is among the advantages that God lets us enjoy in this place over other people. The old widow who was freed at our request from Capt. Thomson’s ship several months ago and taken into the orphanage is so content that she frequently thanks the dear Lord with tears for His care, prays diligently, loves the word of God, and does her work as best she can in quiet and with a willing heart. There is another old widow who is rejected and abandoned in Savannah and yearns to come here and would probably be accepted here if she survives her present sickness. [Christ, who left the orphanage and his poor but sufficient maintenance there a few weeks ago out of pure obstinacy, well sees that he thereby did the greatest harm to no one other than himself. However, he seems ashamed to request new admittance, which we will make somewhat difficult for his and other people’s sake.]

The larger girls, of whom two are being prepared for Holy Communion, have good recommendations from the manager and his wife, so that the work that is being abundantly done in them is not entirely lost. They are already used for all sorts of things in the housekeeping, and, to be sure, with more profit now that they have begun, with the grace of God, to put aside their frivolity and volatile natures, in which was much laziness. We would have an opportunity to accept several children from Purysburg in whom we could accomplish some good with God’s help, as with Kieffer’s two youngest daughters; but at present there are no means at hand to accept more children. As soon as the Lord, who can do everything, gives them, we will have a sign to expand our little institution.

There are also some children in the community whose parents are unable to keep them properly and would be glad to see us accept one or the other child or contribute something to their support. The six girls who were recently given to our town from Capt. Thomson’s ship with Mr. Oglethorpe’s permission have nothing to do with the orphanage. They are in service with some of the Salzburgers, and one of them with me; and those who still need some instruction in reading and in Christianity are sent to school for a few hours. Except for one, who has very bad manners, they all conduct themselves well and are receiving much good here.

There are now in the community, in addition to us and the schoolmaster, twenty-eight married people, eleven boys, twenty-two girls, twenty-eight unmarried young men, and a single unmarried woman, Barbara Maurer [who appears to be behaving herself now better than formerly and to be more industrious in her work]. Mrs. Schweighofer, Mrs. Arnsdorf, Mrs. Helfenstein, and Mrs. Spielbiegler are the widows who have lived here, and we do as much as we can for them so that they do not suffer any want. Mrs. Helfenstein has two grown daughters and a boy of seventeen years [and could surely work more than she does, but much time is squandered in running to and fro and giving superfluous service to Mr. Thilo. I had bought a lot of wool in order to give her and her family a chance to earn something with spinning and knitting, but little or nothing has come of it so far.]

Mrs. Rheinlaender and her three children are not counted in this number. She has always defied us with threats of leaving; but, because no one is holding her back and she is not receiving the least reports from her husband, who moved to Pennsylvania in order to get rich, she would rather remain here if only we were willing and able to keep her. [There is nothing more we can do with her.] Also excluded from the above number are the six new girls, Mr. Ortmann’s servant and maid, my servant with his sickly daughter, my dear colleague’s maid, the newly arrived shoemaker with his wife and child, two cowherds with their wives and two children, twelve orphans, the old widow, and an English boy of eighteen,³¹⁵ who is cowherd for the orphanage and the congregation. Since we have been with the congregation, thirty-nine children have been born in Old and New Ebenezer, of which twenty-seven have died. Because the people are poorly housed and their dwellings are poorly protected, they have been able to raise up very few children. Gradually everything is getting better. From the very beginning, sixty-six adults and children have died in our congregation.

Thursday, the 14th of December. For a good while the weather has been as pleasant and gentle as it is in Germany in May. Also it is so dry that the people can tend to their field work unhindered. Previously at this time they have been accustomed to sow wheat and barley, which, along with oats and German corn, have also grown beautifully and abundantly, although the oats have produced more straw than grain and are therefore good cattle fodder. However, they find little gain in this sort of farming, since the wheat and barley are devoured by worms after the harvest and cannot be kept. They will sow much flax, and, if possible, hemp. If the weather is not too hot in the spring and if rain is not lacking, the flax grows very well, and perhaps it will go well with the hemp too.

We now have our letters and diary ready; and I plan to take them along to Savannah tomorrow, God willing, and deliver them to Capt. Thomson, who promised to come to Savannah with Mr. Oglethorpe about this time. We are writing to the Society, to Court Preacher Ziegenhagen, Mr. Butienter, Senior Urlsperger, Professor Francke [and also to Mr. Whitefield, who is probably still to be found in London]. Several letters from the congregation to several benefactors are also enclosed. Because of my office I have things to do with the German people in Savannah; and I shall both forward the said letters and try to get this and that from Mr. Oglethorpe. May God bless all this!

Praise be to God, who has let us finish the Book of Deuteronomy in today’s prayer meeting and has thus let us complete an important piece of Holy Writ. May He let a blessing come from all that has been presented from it and may it last into joyful eternity! May He give us grace never to forget the beautiful example of the loyal servant of God, Moses, who recognized his Savior so vividly and sought nothing in the world more than glory of God and the salvation of the people of Israel, indeed, of all people; and may we never lose him from mind. Thus we, like him, will finally enter peacefully into God’s joy. Amen!

Friday, the 15th of December. Yesterday the dear Lord helped Mrs. Kalcher in her difficult birth and let her bear a young daughter, which was baptized soon thereafter. The dear Lord did not leave the recent participation in Holy Communion without His blessing, as I learned especially from three persons; one of them said she had never been so refreshed as at that time.

This morning my dear colleague journeyed to Savannah to preach the word of God to the Germans. May the Lord be with him there and with me here, and may He bless our work!

Saturday, the 16th of December. During this week I spoke a couple of times with a simple person, who is a true Christian and who recited to me both times the beautiful verse: “I am come to seek and to save that which was lost.” From that I knew that the verse was impressed right vividly in her heart by the Holy Ghost. I have previously noticed in this person that she carried a verse that has especially touched her heart for a long time and has heartfelt joy from it. She also remembered the recent Sunday gospel in which the Lord says, “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged . . . with cares of this life.” “Oh,” she said, “I have well noted that, oh how the heart always yearns for the world!”

When I went out towards evening to visit people, I was approached by a man who was going home from his plantation on which he was working this week, and he told me that he passes the evening hours after work in reading Johann Arndt’s Book of True Christianity and that God is granting him much edification from it. Another man told how he and his fellow workers had said that it was a great benefaction that they had come from Germany where there was so much opportunity to sin.

Sunday, the 17th of December. On this day our dear Lord has granted us much refreshment from His sweet gospel. Although the weather was already rainy and cold, the congregation gathered diligently. In the evening I held the prayer meeting and read out loud the last part of the booklet called The Gift of Christ,³¹⁶ which shows the glorious fruits of Christ’s birth; and the dear Lord blessed this. His name be praised!

Monday, the 18th of December. Last night between ten and eleven o’clock I returned with my travelling companions to Ebenezer healthier than I had departed and brought something with me which pleased all the honest members of the congregation, namely, that my trunk had been found by some servants of a merchant in Savannah. Because the master himself knew nothing about this, I was required to go myself to his plantation this morning and to inquire about the matter. To be sure, the servants made much fuss about it and demanded quite a tip, but they finally had to cough up the things they had found and had hidden in various corners and wait in Savannah for the reward they had earned. For neither their master nor another man considered it right that they had kept the things they had found hidden so long from everyone. It would seem that they did this in order to sell the black gown secretly, after having sold the remaining things such as some linen, wigs, etc., or having exchanged them for rum; for these things were lacking, along with my accounts, which were gathered into a rather thick book. They claimed that they had found the trunk open, at which time the missing pieces might well have fallen out. Our letters from England and Germany were all quite unharmed, to the great joy of all of us. To be sure, my black gown was so badly soiled that I had to have it turned inside out, yet I shall be able to use it again for a short time.

On the trip down to Savannah I got such a fever that I was almost forced to return to Ebenezer early Saturday morning because I did not expect to be able to accomplish anything with the people in Savannah. However, the dear Lord so strengthened me that I not only did not get the fever again but could even perform my official duties in good health. On Saturday evening I held a preparation based on Acts 17:30-31 for the people who wished to go to Holy Communion and presented them from it three clear proofs of God’s mercy toward men. On Sunday, using the regular gospel for the Third Sunday in Advent, I tried to encourage them to a proper use of the present Advent and the approaching Christmastide and took as my exordium 2 Corinthians 6:2: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”; and I repeated this in the afternoon. The dark rainy weather forced us to begin the divine service somewhat late; and, therefore, for the sake of the Englishmen who were coming to church immediately after us, we held Holy Communion in the preacher’s house, and this was good because I had all the communicants close together. I always hold Communion here with a heavy heart because we can examine the people so little. To be sure, we inquire diligently into their behavior and conduct, but we learn little and only about their exterior lives. Yet there are a few there on whom the work through the Word is not in vain.

On Saturday evening a stranger of about forty years of age came to me and requested me to admit him to Holy Communion too. He spoke to me in English, so I told him that we held it in German and were Evangelical Lutherans and asked him who he was. He claimed that he had come here recently from Pennsylvania and was seeking a position; he was a theology student, was born in Sweden, and had studied in Uppsala. A certain bishop in Sweden had ordained him and sent him to Pennsylvania, but he found nothing to do there and had now come here, etc. A few weeks ago he had the misfortune to lose his letters, certificates, and recommendations. He speaks German; and, because he heard that the Reformed here need a preacher, he wished to serve them, etc. All this amazed me very much; and, since he can show no certificate and came to this country without being called, his case struck me as very suspicious. He attended our divine services both morning and afternoon and acted very devoutly. He asked me to recommend him to the congregation in the afternoon and help him get permission to preach in the Christmas holy days; however, I would have nothing to do with this but directed him both to the regular preacher in Savannah and to Mr. Oglethorpe. His name is Gabriel Falck.

Mr. Oglethorpe was not yet in Savannah; but his arrival was firmly scheduled for the 27th of December, so it will be necessary for me to travel down again. In the meanwhile I left my supplication for him and our letters for Europe in safe hands until they can be given to Capt. Thomson, who is not in Savannah either.

Tuesday, the 19th of December. Mrs. N.³¹⁷ is still asking to be admitted to Holy Communion the next time and will gladly cease annoying the congregation. We will have to examine her still better and learn whether her present claims have a better foundation than all previous ones. In the evening prayer meeting we began to make use of the edifying letters that have now been found. We have received much edification from them; and, since the dear Senior Urlsperger’s expressions touched my heart deeply, I believe they will have the same effect on the listeners, who dearly love him. The El Schadai³¹⁸ has put our physical enemies and their attacks to shame as He has wished and hoped, for which reason we are encouraging ourselves again for His praise.

Wednesday, the 20th of December. Before my departure for Savannah I had given a Salzburger necessary admonishment to be cautious in consorting with all kinds of people so that he will not suffer harm or be annoying to other people. He accepted the admonition very well and requested us to tell him whenever we noticed anything wrong in him that is not compatible with Christianity. Yesterday evening he came to me again and told me that in my absence he had had so much worry and disquiet because of so many mistakes by which he might be annoying to other people even without knowing it that I had much trouble in raising his spirits. To be sure, even with honest souls one may not omit admonitions and friendly chastisements and one cannot simply rely on the best in them, but one must also be very careful not to cause them unnecessary worry or to harm them. May the Lord guide us in all truth and practice us in His ways so that we can be useful to others!

Last night it became violently cold after we had had right pleasant weather this month. Usually, in this cold season, many ducks have come to our region, which have been shot by some of the people. It is said there are not so many this year, the reason for which may be that very few acorns have grown this year, which are the major part of their food. The turkeys, which also usually seek acorns, have come into the Salzburgers’ fields often, especially where beans and rice have been planted. It has been said that last summer at least a hundred were shot in our fields. They are large and full of juicy, healthy meat; and they do good service for many a poor man who lacks meat. In Savannah I was offered an indentured servant who had made his living in Germany by shooting and fishing. He is in the service of the recorder.³¹⁹ Because this gentleman is just returning to England and fears more harm than benefit from his servants, he wanted to give me this man with his entire family, a wife and four children, and even some provisions to help out. But this man is a poor worker and he did no work in the field in Germany but just lived well and left his fatherland for worldly reasons, and therefore we would receive more harm than good from him. His shooting and fishing would only involve other people in such an uncertain and dissolute way of life. We shall remain on careful guard that such people do not come to our town.

Thursday, the 21st of December. Yesterday evening in the prayer meeting we were reminded by the letters from Professor Francke and Court Preacher Ziegenhagen of two especial benefactions of God, which may the Lord himself preserve in our memory and hearts for our trusting faith in His help in all need. The first concerns the especial supplying of our poor Salzburgers with a rich provision of foodstuffs that the storehouse in Savannah still owed us and which was revealed in an examination of the accounts at the beginning of this 1738th year and was then paid out, to the amazement of our listeners and to great praise of the Lord, and with which they could live until the harvest with divine blessing. The other especial benefaction of God concerns the rescue from the attack of Spaniards, who, to be sure, had wicked intentions but were unable to carry out their evil designs. Since our dear friends, when they received news of it in Europe, used this danger of ours for a sincere and trusting intercession, this experience of divine aid, of which they have probably heard by now, will doubtless serve to strengthen their faith greatly. The Lord, El Schaddai, has not let them be put to shame in their hope and trust, and this pleases us. We do not now hear that the Spaniards have any hostilities in mind or plan to carry them out.

The weather has again changed; and last night and all day today we have had a very cold rain, which will probably last all night. The water in the river has steadily risen higher than it has been in a year and will now probably climb even higher because of the heavy rain.

A journeyman tailor, who was born in Hamburg, is named Kickar, and wished to join us some time ago but could not receive permission from Mr. Oglethorpe to do so, asked me to come to him in Savannah and begged me with tears to take him to our place so that he could be freed from the misery in which his body and soul were mired. He would gladly work and support himself honestly: he demanded no wealth and good days in this world but only the necessities of life. In Savannah he was sick almost to death with dysentery and spent about 20 £ sterling for medicine and care in six weeks. Because this poor man might perish here and because it appears that God has been working mightily on his soul through this suffering and has removed him from all previous acquaintances and because our people were willing to take him along, he was brought up yesterday in the large boat. He is now poor and has had to leave a horse in Savannah as a security, yet I hear that the Salzburgers are bringing him flour and butter so that he will at least have some care in his great bodily weakness. A Salzburger, who has fever along with his wife, has taken him into his well protected hut; and they are both doing what they can for him.

Friday, the 22nd of December. In the evening prayer meeting, instead of the Bible stories, I am now taking those verses that can give us a good occasion to prepare ourselves rightly for the Christmas celebration. After the prayer meeting Rottenberger had his newly built house consecrated with God’s Word and with prayer; and many people, both old and young, attended. For mutual edification I said something about Philippians 4:5, “The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing.” It is very Christian and edifying that the first thing our people do in their houses, even before they occupy them, is to pray and sing with friends and thus seek for divine blessing so that it will move in and dwell with them. This evening it became very cold, but this did not hinder us here or in the prayer meeting.

Saturday, the 23rd of December. This evening we based our preparation on I John 4:14, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” May God bless us all superabundantly for the living recognition of His marvelous love. Before the preparation several people held a prayer meeting in the orphanage, which I too attended. Our dear listeners have called on my dear colleague diligently this week as usual and have prepared themselves for the Christmas celebration with much prayer. Because I have so little opportunity in my hut during this cold season and because there is too little room, they find it more convenient in his house. I hope that the dear Lord will also grant me a house soon, which I intend to put to the use of those souls who like to pray.

Sunday, the 24th of December. We treated today’s gospel in such a way that we learned from it, in the very edifying example of John the Baptist, what is the foremost business of a Christian at all times and especially at Christmas: 1) he makes nothing of himself and worldly things, but everything of his Saviour; 2) he does not seek to enjoy Christ and His grace only for himself but directs others to Him too. During these four Advent Sundays my dear colleague laid the glorious 118th Psalm as a foundation for the catechisation and preparation for Christmas; and after the New Year he will begin to catechize with Luther’s Catechism, since last year he had the Sunday and Holy Day epistles. I do not doubt that fruit will remain from it into joyful eternity.

Monday, the 25th and Tuesday the 26th of December were the Christmas Holy Days. Yesterday it was violently cold, but today on this holy day such pleasant weather has occurred that we are not a little delighted at this goodness of God and furthered in our devotion during divine service. As a basis I took the Gospel of St. Luke, Chapter II, concerning the very best Christmas gift, which was 1) scorned and ignored by the world, but 2) dear and highly respected by God and His own. On the second Christmas day we had the Gospel of St. Matthew 23:34 ff. and discussed the grace of the New Testament, which was, to be sure, proffered but rejected, namely, 1) that God offers His grace in Christ abundantly, 2) that it is rejected by most men to their own judgment. On the first holy day my dear colleague treated the beautiful text Isaiah 9:6-7, likewise concerning the great gift with which God has honored mankind; and on the second holy day he treated John 1:1 ff. concerning the great good that we owe to the incarnation of the Son of God.

The congregation all attended church very diligently, and we hear that they would rather be sick on workdays than on holy days. My dear colleague held a prayer meeting with those who had assembled in the orphanage in the evening after the repetition hour, and it was very edifying for him too. I was too exhausted after the repetition, otherwise it is my pleasure to be there too in order to speak some with the listeners, to read to them, and to pray with them. After the afternoon service the children were with me and again gave me good hope they would desire and accept a new attitude from the Lord Jesus. One girl prayed with many tears and sorrowfully confessed to the dear Savior her previous naughtiness and disloyalty and begged His grace for improvement.

On the first holy day Mrs. Kogler bore a young daughter, which was baptized the next day before the morning sermon. After the sermon we churched Mrs. Cornberger, who accepts the word of comfort and admonition with great longing and thanks the dear Lord for every benefaction with sincere humility and recognition of her unworthiness. Now we often sing the song “We praise thee, Jesus, etc.”; and, when this is sung in church, I feel as if I were amidst the blessed hosts of the chosen ones in the church triumphant. Our dear people sing it with an edifying tone and very devout expression in the way that we taught them some time ago with an easier melody than that which stands in the hymnal. We impart our melody with Christian simplicity:

Wednesday, the 27th of December. I had wished to go to Savannah this morning to get an answer from Mr. Oglethorpe to the letter I wrote to him recently, because he had wished to be in Savannah before Christmas and to attend the court session scheduled for today. However, I learned yesterday evening that he had changed his mind and is hardly expected in six weeks, so I cancelled my trip.

Praise the Lord that I learned today that the Christmas celebration had blessed some people more than at any previous time. In the evening some honest people came to my hut to help praise the Lord, who, in Christ the Savior of the world, has shown mercy for them.

Thursday, the 28th of December. A Salzburger woman called on me and said that her spirit compelled her to come to me and to thank me for the Christmas sermon; something special had happened to her during the sermon on the first Christmas day, which she could not conceal from me. Recently it seemed to her that she was surrounded by a brilliance and her senses were as if drawn up on high; it seemed to her that she had heard a bright sound as if someone were speaking to her: “Thy sins are forgiven thee,” whereupon she regained her senses and was filled with heavenly joy. I directed her to the Word, which is firm and certain; but I did not begrudge her her joy, especially since I know how seriously she has been struggling for assurance of the forgiveness of her sins. Among other things she said that the Savior is marvelous and goes marvelous ways with His children in order to lead them to glory and that it is good for one to make use, in a simple way, of everything that comes from Him or leads to Him even if it were but a sweet dream and to strengthen oneself in Him in every way in childish trust according to the rules of Holy Writ. For it is eternally true that He loves every sinner, especially the penitent one, with all His heart. And the Father too, who has sent us His Son, why should He not grant us and her everything with Him, including the forgiveness of sins?

I then told her she should just remain firm in her faith in God and His word; and I directed her to the first chapter of Joshua, which we began today in the prayer meeting and in which God takes great trouble to give Joshua courage not to fear but to continue vigorously with his ordained office and work with faith in the divine promises. I also reminded her of what we had heard in a repetition hour, namely, that the people who have come to the Savior, as can be seen in John I and Luke II, were, to be sure, not of one kind but were very different with respect to their recognition of Christ and of spiritual forces. Nevertheless, He never rejected anyone but has proved Himself to be a Savior who suits all people.

Zant has now moved back to his hut, after God has again granted him his sight and he has received much spiritual good in the orphanage during his sickness. His serious prayers for the orphanage are greater than any other compensation for what has been done for him. I was told by the manager’s wife that, whenever he came out of church, he would kneel in a corner and recite to the dear Lord with many tears the words he had heard and would praise His glorious name. She felt put to shame by such earnestness, which she also perceived in the honest Mrs. Schweighofer; and therefore she wept bitterly that she could not find in herself the power, earnestness, simplicity, and zeal in prayer that she saw in him. I told her that one should, to be sure, let the examples of other believers incite one to emulation, but not to discouragement. Let each one faithfully use the grace he has received, and then he will receive more.

Saturday, the 30th of December. N., who had sinned some time ago against the 7th commandment and had to guard the community’s cattle until Christmas as punishment, has now served his time.³²⁰ He thanked me for this minor punishment, since he thought he deserved much more; and he promised to turn himself entirely to God. In guarding the cattle he proved himself as loyal as possible so the community has no reason to complain of him. Now that he is back with us, if he shows more fruits of penitence, he will be accepted again as a member of the congregation and admitted to Holy Communion.

I took the occasion to remind N. and N. of their recently committed wickednesses and annoyances and admonished them earnestly to penitence. I at once showed them that I could not admit them to Holy Communion until they had converted themselves to God and had brought the fruits of penitence. N. wished to justify himself but finally confessed everything and accused himself. Both of them assured me that they would not hold this procedure against me because necessity demanded it. I shall soon advise the congregation that I am proceeding thus with them (Mrs. N. not included) so that everyone will know that we should not let annoyances go unpunished.

Sunday, the 31st of December. When I began the first chapter of Joshua yesterday evening, I wished before God that the evening prayer meeting, which, with divine aid, will deal from now on with the Book of Joshua, will have an even greater blessing than the previous ones dealing with the Books of Moses. I could mention, to the praise of God, that this year has given us much edification in the evening prayer meetings and has furthered the Christianity of various people, who know how to tell of it to the praise of God. I could not, I said, conceal the fact that the word of God had borne no fruit in many and that this caused us much worry and pain. On the other hand, when we perceive good fruit, it brings us much joy and gives us renewed courage.

On this occasion I announced to the congregation what sorrow the above-mentioned two men and the woman had caused us through their un-Christian and vexing behavior, which was quite contrary to Christian teaching; and I told them that my office required me to use church discipline and to exclude them from Holy Communion until they feel remorse for their godless behavior and great corruption, convert themselves honestly to God, and bear fruit from this through a pious way of life. For this purpose the honest members of the congregation should work on them and try to preserve them from all bitterness, which would only cause them great harm. Neither they nor anyone else could wish for such vexing people to be admitted to Holy Communion, they would go only to their harm on judgment day; and this we wished to prevent through this church discipline.

The Lord has helped so far!

Thanks and Praise be to His name in all eternity for all the good He has shown to our souls and bodies, Amen!