Detailed reports on the Salzburger emigrants who settled in America ... Volume 8, 1741 / edited by Samuel Urlsperger ; translated by Maria Madgalena Hoffmann-Loerzer, Renate Wilson, George Fenwick Jones ; edited by George Fenwick Jones ; with a new foreword by Ben Marsh

Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America . . .: Volume Eight, 1741
Detailed Reports on theSalzburger Emigrants WhoSettled in America . . .Edited by Samuel Urlsperger


LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION IN SAVANNAHORGANIZED AND MINISTERED TO BY THE PASTORS FROM EBENEZERDEDICATED ON APRIL 14, 1879

Detailed Reports on theSalzburger EmigrantsWho Settled in America . . .Edited by Samuel Urlsperger

VOLUME EIGHT, 1741

Translated byMARIA MAGDALENA HOFFMANN-LOERZERRENATE WILSONGEORGE FENWICK JONES

Edited byGEORGE FENWICK JONES


THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA PRESSATHENS

1985 by the University of Georgia PressAthens, Georgia 30602

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

(Revised for vol. 8)

Urlsperger, Samuel, 1685-1772.

Detailed reports on the Salzburger emigrants who settled in America.

(Wormsloe Foundation. Publications, no. 9- )

Vol. 6 translated and edited by George Fenwick Jones and Renate Wilson.

Vol. 7 translated and edited by George Fenwick Jones and Don Savelle.

Vol. 8 translated by Maria Magdalena Hoffman-Loerzer, Renate Wilson, and George Fenwick Jones.

Vol. 8 lacks series statement.

Translation of Ausfhrliche Nachricht von den saltzburgischen Emigranten, die sich in America niedergelassen haben.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Contents: v. 1. 1733-1734.--v. 2. 1734-1735.--[etc.]--v. 8. 1741.

1. Salzburgers Georgia--History--Sources. 2. German Americans--Georgia--History--Sources. 3. Lutherans--Georgia-History--Sources. 4. Ebenezer (Ga.)--History--Sources. 5. Georgia--History--Colonial period. ca. 1600-1775--Sources. 6. Stockbridge Indians--Missions--History--Sources. 7. Indians of North America--Georgia--Missions--History--Sources. I. Jones, George Fenwick, 1916- . II. Wilson, Renate, 1930- . III. Savelle, Don. IV. Title. V. Series: Publications (Wormsloe Foundation) : v. 9, etc.

F295.S1U813975.8′0043167-27137

Volume 8 of Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America is published with the generous assistance of the R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation. Volumes 1-5 were published as part of the Wormsloe Foundation Publications series. The preparation of this volume was supported in part by a grant from the Program for Translations of the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency.

Reissue published in 2021

Most University Press titles are availablefrom popular e-book vendors.

Printed digitally

ISBN 9780820361321 (Hardcover)ISBN 9780820361314 (Paperback)ISBN 9780820361307 (Ebook)

CONTENTS


Foreword to the Reissue


ix


Introduction by George Fenwick Jones


xiii


Daily Reports of the Two Ministers, Boltzius and Gronau, from the 1st of January to the end of the year


1


Hymns Sung by the Salzburgers in the Year 1741


541


Notes


543


Index


571

Foreword to the Reissue

The Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America offer an extraordinary window into the day-to-day lives of colonists establishing new settlements in North America. A unique mix of Protestant propaganda, social history, community study, spiritual biography, and environmental and economic reportage, the reports were originally edited by Lutheran theologian Samuel Urlsperger (16851772) in the imperial city of Augsburg, Bavaria, in the eighteenth century and published in Halle under the title Ausfhrliche Nachricht von den saltzburgischen Emigranten, die sich in America niedergelassen haben (173551). His reports were carefully crafted from a patchwork of rich colonial sources, by far the most important of which were the intimate observations of the German religious pastors who assumed responsibility for the communitys evolution. It was in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1733 that Rev. Johann Martin Boltzius and Rev. Israel Christian Gronau first encountered numerous families of Protestant exiles from Salzburg, Austria. Thanks to the financial and political support of German Protestant networks (especially the Francke Foundation at Halle), the Georgia Trustees, and the English Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, the exiles became transatlantic settlers, relocating to a new township that they established upstream from Georgias new capital, Savannah.

In the space of twenty years, Urlsperger amassed the reports from the pastors travel diaries, letters, lists, grievances, and requests, while further information was parsed from settlers, colonial authorities, and correspondents. Gronau died in 1745, but he was succeeded by Hermann Lemke as an assistant pastor to Boltzius, the latter offering real continuity within the Ebenezer settlement until his death in 1765, well beyond the lifespan of the Detailed Reports. The end products were by no means neutral publications, for comparison with surviving original documents in Halle indicate that multiple filters were in place to ensure the published messages were in step with what the editors wished to convey. The selection of events and the voices expressed by the pastors were with one eye on eventual publication, while Urlsperger happily omitted elements he thought best unsaidmeaning that readers of the Detailed Reports have to penetrate their overarching intent to demonstrate a story akin to wider tropes in the American creed: Cities on a Hill and Manifest Destiny.1 News of these Pietists successfully overcoming the trials and tribulations of Atlantic colonialism was intended to shore up German Protestantism, to support Anglo-German diplomatic networks, and to bring patronage for the future support of European religious refugees.

In spite of these editorial dangers and the relentless sermonizing, the sheer volume of material and the extraordinary depth of insight into the personal lives of a host of Georgia settlers present real opportunity for historical reconstruction through the eyes of participants in colonial encounters, conflicts, and community building. Indeed, one of the ironies of a curated archive intended to show a singular power at work is that the Detailed Reports clearly reveal the multiplicity of peoples, interests, languages, and ambitions at play in the eighteenth-century Low Country. Pioneer settlersthemselves a heterodox bunch not just from Salzburg but from the Rhineland, England, Scotland, Ireland, French-Swiss cantons, the Piedmont, South Carolina, and the Caribbeanwere sandwiched between European imperial powers, in the shadow of powerful Indigenous peoples and the growing presence of racial slavery and people of African origin in neighboring British colonies. Though at first resistant, by the early 1750s the leaders of the Ebenezer settlement had publicly reconciled themselves to what they described in the Detailed Reports as the need and the opportunity to invest in the purchase of enslaved Africans to labor on their estates.2 As in other areas, this was a reflection of how several of the settlements idiosyncrasies faded as the townships economy and society became integrated into wider regional patterns and markets.

There is no question that since the Detailed Reports translation and publication, scholars of German-speaking peoples in the Atlantic world haveto use a Salzburg occupationmined extensively and innovatively among these sources for fresh insights into processes of diaspora, worship, exchange, and cultural creolization. At first, the Detailed Reports provided texture for groundbreaking works in the late twentieth century that traced Georgias early social and cultural history, including George Fenwick Joness own syntheses and Harold E. Daviss rich exploration of colonial life.3 Later generations drilled into particular facets of the Salzburgers experiences and their relationship to wider trends in the German Atlantic, including Renate Wilsons exploration of charitable and medical networks, A. G. Roebers assessment of ideas of liberty and property among German Lutherans in British America, and other works comparing the development of Moravian immigrant streams, with whom relations were sometimes strained in Georgia.4 More recently, scholars have used the volumes in pursuit of microhistories, genealogical and biographic snapshots, and contingent works that address how questions of gender, agriculture, slavery, and migration intersected in the disjointed world of the mid-eighteenth-century Low Country.5 Far from the simple story of conquering the wilderness that they originally purported to chart, the Detailed Reports retain huge potential. Renewed attention to the commentary they offer will complicate and nuance ongoing research into how Georgias earliest Europeans misunderstood, adapted, competed, influenced, and transformed not only their immediate locale but also the larger Atlantic world.

BEN MARSH

Notes

1. George Fenwick Jones, ed., Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America . .. Edited by Samuel Urlsperger (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1968), 1:xii

2. Jones, Detailed Reports, 16:99.

3. George Fenwick Jones, The Salzburger Saga: Religious Exiles and Other Germans Along the Savannah (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1984); George Fenwick Jones, The Georgia Dutch: From the Rhine and Danube to the Savannah, 17331783 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1992); Harold E. Davis, The Fledgling Province: Social and Cultural Life in Colonial Georgia, 17331776 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1976).

4. Renate Wilson, Pious Traders in Medicine: A German Pharmaceutical Network in Eighteenth-Century North America (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000); A. G. Roeber, Palatines, Liberty, and Property: German Lutherans in Colonial British America (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993); Hartmut Lehmann, Hermann Wellenreuther, and Renate Wilson, eds., In Search of Peace and Prosperity: New German Settlements in Eighteenth-Century Europe and America (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000).

5. Aaron Spencer Fogleman, Two Troubled Souls: An Eighteenth-Century Couples Spiritual Journey in the Atlantic World (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013); Paul M. Pressly, On the Rim of the Caribbean: Colonial Georgia and the British Atlantic World (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2013); Susanne Lachenicht, ed., Europeans Engaging the Atlantic: Knowledge and Trade, 15001800 (Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 2014); James Van Horn Melton, Religion, Community, and Slavery on the Colonial Southern Frontier (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015); Ben Marsh, Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World 15001830 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020).

INTRODUCTION

Readers of previous volumes of this series are familiar with the Georgia Salzburgers. Newcomers are urged to read the preface to one of them or to Henry Newmans Salzburger Letterbooks or the Salzburger Saga.1 To understand this volume, it will suffice to know the following: The Georgia Salzburgers were a small fraction of the twenty thousand or more Protestants expelled by Archbishop Firmian from his realm in 1731, long after such intolerance was thought to be a thing of the past. Like other Protestant nations, the people of Great Britain were deeply moved and inspired by the religious zeal of the Salzburger exiles, and the exiles plight became one of the many factors contributing to the founding of the colony of Georgia, an expressed goal of which was to offer refuge to persecuted Protestants.2 Aid for the exiles was undertaken both by the Trustees for Establishing a Colony in Georgia and by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, a benevolent society in London designed to bring Christianity to the lower classes and to the overseas colonies. To achieve their purpose, these two bodies turned to Samuel Urlsperger, the senior of the Lutheran ministry in Augsburg, a free city in southern Germany, who was himself the descendant of Protestant exiles from Austria.

The first emigrants for Georgia were recruited at Memmingen, another South German city, from stragglers of the great expulsion and from earlier exiles who had remained in that vicinity rather than accompany the bulk of emigrants, who had accepted the hospitality of Frederick William, the Soldier King of Prussia, in his territories of East Prussia and Lithuania. All three of the later groups, or transports, of Georgia Salzburgers were recruited from exiles who had found refuge in the Protestant cities of southern Germany.

The first Salzburger transport was organized at Augsburg during the month of August 1733. From there they marched to the Main River under their conductor, Baron Philip Georg Friedrich von Reck, who then took them by boat to Rotterdam and by ship to Dover and then on to Georgia. In Rotterdam they met their pastors, Johann Martin Boltzius and his assistant, Israel Christian Gronau, both former instructors at the Francke Foundation in Halle, a charitable and educational institute founded by August Hermann Francke, a Pietist theologian. Pietism was a movement within the Lutheran Church which aimed at a more personal and intimate relationship with the Deity. This first transport arrived in Georgia on 12 March 1734.

James Edward Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, placed the Salzburgers on a creek some twenty-five miles northwest of Savannah, the location being chosen primarily for military reasons. Here the Salzburgers founded the first German-speaking community in Georgia, which they named Ebenezer, meaning The Lord hath helped so far. Although the soil at first appeared fertile, two unproductive years proved that the area was not only inaccessible and unhealthy, but also completely sterile. At the end of one year the first transport was joined by a second one, this time under the guidance of Jean Vat, a citizen of the Swiss town of Biel. As a dutiful and obedient Central European, Boltzius had previously sided with Oglethorpe against the dissatisfied among his congregation, yet he finally agreed with Vat that the area was unsuitable and that his congregation would perish if it remained there.

During the spring of 1736, in a dramatic confrontation with Oglethorpe, Boltzius persuaded him to allow the Salzburgers to move to the Red Bluff on the Savannah River, where there was better soil and also access to the outside world.3 There they were joined by a third transport, this time consisting not only of Salzburgers but also of Austrian and Carinthian exiles who had been residing at Regensburg in hope of recovering their children, who had been held back by the Catholic authorities. By taking the name Ebenezer with them to the Red Bluff, the Salzburgers gave a semblance of continuity and thus spared Oglethorpe and the Trustees much embarrassment. The former settlement, which became a cowpen or ranch for the Trustees cattle, was now redesignated Old Ebenezer, and the new settlement was named New Ebenezer. With time, the word New was dropped.

Old Ebenezer had failed not only because of the poor soil, but also because the land had never been distributed as promised. As soon as the land at New Ebenezer was allotted, it became productive, and the Salzburgers were quickly recognized as the best cattle raisers and farmers of the colony. Much of their success was due to their astute pastor, who revealed not only great concern but also considerable administrative ability as well as practical wisdom. As these Detailed Reports show, he was keenly interested in everything that occurred in his congregation. Unfortunately for secular readers, Boltzius devoted more space in his reports to the spiritual dimension of Ebenezer life, which was what his superiors and most of his readers wished to read. Food, clothing, and shelter were external (usserlich) matters and therefore of secondary importance. To delete any of his Pietistic ramblings, no matter how repetitious, would be to falsify the reports.

Because of their success, the Salzburgers were joined by Swiss from Purysburg, the unsuccessful Swiss settlement down and across the Savannah River, and also by indentured Palatine servants from Savannah. During the year 1740, although ten able-bodied men were absent fighting for Oglethorpe at the siege of St. Augustine, the Salzburgers constructed the first gristmill in Georgia, which continued to cause them much work in 1741. To complete the mill, Boltzius had delayed construction on the church which was to be built with funds collected by the great evangelist George Whitefield expressly for the church. The church was finally completed in 1741.

Boltzius dependence on Whitefields largess proved embarrassing when Whitefield, an Anglican, embraced predestination, apparently under the influence of his young Presbyterian chaplain, Jonathan Barber. This pernicious dogma ran counter to that of the Pietists, who constantly preached that Christ had died for all sinners who would believe in Him, not just a select few who had been chosen for all eternity by Gods Decretum Absolutum.4 As soon as Whitefields defection was noticed, his name all but disapppeared from the Detailed Reports, at least from Urlspergers censored edition.

While Boltzius reports for 1741 give an insight into the economic and social situation of his congregation, he gives far more space to its spiritual concerns. To judge by the space Boltzius allots to it, Gods greatest work during the year was not the good harvest or the completion of the church, but the conversion of the sinner Josef Ernst, a disobedient and impenitent parishioner, whom God humbled with a loving chastisement.

Urlsperger bowdlerized Boltzius reports before publishing them in the Ausfhrliche Nachrichten, his contemporary edition of Boltzius journal.5 This present volume of the Reports, until mid-November, is based on the unexpurgated manuscripts preserved in the Archives of the Francke Foundation and is therefore especially revealing. Unfortunately, this is the last of the unexpurgated manuscripts.

The long and sometimes difficult manuscript source has helped delay completion of this volume. Frau Magdalena Hoffmann-Loerzer and Mrs. Renate Wilson deserve especial praise and thanks for their skill and patience in the long and tedious task of deciphering the difficult script and for their share of the translation. I also wish to express my thanks to the University of Maryland, whose liberal policies have allowed me the time necessary for translation and research. Thanks are also due to the trustees of the Marie Fehrenkamp Estate Income Fund of the Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Savannah for supporting the initial typing of this lengthy volume; and gratitude is likewise owed to the R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation of Atlanta for subsidizing subsequent word processing.

University of Maryland

George Fenwick Jones

JANUARY

Sunday, the 1st of January 1741. A beginning has been made again with the word of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, upon the souls of our listeners, who came in large numbers from the plantations despite the rainy weather. May the Lord give His blessings on planting and growing in the coming year, for which we all plead to Him today and beseech Him diligently all the time with the help of His spirit. Since the teaching of the redemption and the propitiation, which occurs through Christ, the innocent and untainted lamb of God, is most damaging to the realm of Satan and since this is especially necessary for the poor in spirit and for those who mourn, even here in our Ebenezer Zion, it is my resolution before our Lord to propagate the gospel diligently in our parish as it has been done in the past with the grace of God.

Today we had at the beginning 1 Peter 1:18-19 and meditated upon the gospel of the majesty and importance of the work of our salvation. During holidays and also today my dear colleague has omitted the catechism hour and taken festival-passages as the basis for the catechization. Today he interpreted the beautiful words of the Revelation of St. John 21:5-7 and presented the congregation with the three main benefits included in the three verses as a New Years gift. May our Lord bless the beginning, as well as the middle and the end, because He Himself is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

Friday, the 2nd of January. This morning a man who is anxious about his salvation handed me a piece of paper through my window, in which he revealed the desire of his heart to me in writing so I can see that the gospel has worked on him. By this light he finds that everything which seemed to be good to him before now turns out as sin and hypocrisy and that all self-made comfort vanishes like loose whitewash when the rain strikes it or when it is shaken. Since he was on business he could not stay with me (which may result from his bashfulness). Therefore, next time I will take the opportunity to talk to him and to recommend to him the little word faithfulness.

I was at the mill twice today, once before the devotion hour at the plantations and the other time with Mr. Thilo. As often as I come there, I am awakened to further praise of God, since the mill is a real material blessing, and the truly beautiful flour cannot be seen and tasted without particular emotion and pleasure. Now more than ever one can see that the native Indian corn is a precious gift of God. In some parts of Germany a similar kind of corn is also planted -- called the Welsh or Turkish corn -- but I hear people who know it and have eaten it say that there is as much difference between that corn and ours as between wheat and barley flour. The former causes an acid stomach; this one, however, does not bring the slightest discomfort, rather the thin gruel made from it is even recommended as beneficial to sick people.

One man told me that people would now hardly need half as much corn for their household, since the flour made at the mill expands much during cooking. The bread that is being baked from it in my house, mixed with only a little wheat flour, is whiter, tastier, and more nourishing than the bread that is baked from the pure wheat flour of this country. Today a barrel of flour will be ground for General Oglethorpe at his request as a sample, which I will myself take to Savannah next week and send on to Frederica. I am afraid we will have many outsiders because of the mill; may the Lord mercifully keep us from all confusions that otherwise happen in mills and also grant us a reasonable and conscientious miller. Somebody brought the message from Frederica that provisions are very expensive and almost unobtainable there, undoubtedly because Mr. Oglethorpes warships and soldiers use very much. They bake their bread from sour flour; and it is said that, as soon as it is taken from the oven, the people grab it and quarrel about it. Oh what good our Lord does for us!

On my way back from the mill I met a man with a load of corn on his back, who asked me to let him come to the Lords Table next time. He complained that he was not yet the way the dear Savior would like to have him; but it is his sincere intention, he said, to become more and more honest.1 This much he knows: the Lord has forgiven him all his sins: the word of the Lord has persuaded him to trust in Him and believe that He is veracious; he trusts in this His word of truth. These and other words he said with such humility and joyousness that even his facial expression impressed me in a special way. One could notice that he had prayed sincerely to our Lord Jesus before his walk, even though he had just overcome his quartan fever. I was glad that Mr. Thilo was present to hear such an impressive testimony concerning the power of the word that is being preached among us. We went through his plantation; and, because everything there was in right order, I pointed out to Mr. Thilo the blessings of the Lord and thought of the example of Joseph: The Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

Saturday, the 3rd of January. When I came home last night my mind was overwhelmed by the benefaction our Lord had given to our congregation by the mill, therfore I sat down and wrote a letter to General Oglethorpe about its quality and great usefulness; and I hope he will not regret that the costs of the mill, which he promised that he and the Lord Trustees would pay, are so high; for building is expensive here. I informed him 1) that the 12 pounds Sterling which he donated to the mill six months ago have been used up for the construction. I reported that, with the help of God, the mill is now capable of grinding day and night, and that I am sending a barrel of flour to him as a sample.

I told him that at first the Salzburgers had had the intention of building only a small mill in a small river not far away from the town for their own use, which would have required only little work and expenditure. However, when the stream was inspected, they found many inconveniences, which made it necessary to look for a more suitable place near the plantations on the branch of the Savannah River which runs towards the old sawmill,2 and to build the mill there. There the mill dam caused much difficult work, but the people undertook it with much courage and faithfulness, hoping that the mill, which is now situated on a navigable river, will serve not only themselves but also many other people in the colony.

They erected two walls of the strongest oak and cypress up from the bottom of the river and filled them up with masses of sandy soil, bushes, moss, etc., all people working together, whereby the Salzburgers acted with zeal and seriousness, which I noticed with great pleasure. From this dam the water is now being led to the mill in such great quantity that not only the pair of mill-stones which we have now, but some more could grind if we only could get one or some more pairs, especially those lying idle in the storehouse at Savannah. Then the mill would be able to serve almost every inhabitant of this colony. The expenses of the mill amount to 89 ь Sterling, but I can assure Mr. Oglethorpe that the workers demand only low wages. Should he help them receive their payment, the sooner the better, it would encourage their industry very much, since they are poor and need the money to buy clothes and other necessary things.

I also reported that Kogler, the builder of the mill, is willing to build a rice mill, if only the money were available. It would not cost much, since the mill dam and enough water are already available. 2) I mentioned Leitner, who is a good smith but has neither bellows nor anvil nor tools; and, since we need a smith in our community very badly, especially now for the mill and the projected church, I asked Mr. Oglethorpe to help him get a forge. The man assures me that in London he was promised bellows and tools, which were taken aboard the ship. However, since the provisions and tools of the third transport were brought to Frederica during the confusion of those days, he has never received these things which he needs for his profession.

3) We need one or a team of strong draught-horses to carry the heavy lumber for the church to the building-site, and for that we also humbly ask Mr. Oglethorpe. The trained oxen of the orphanage had to be slaughtered last fall because we were in want of meat. I reminded Mr. Oglethorpe in humble terms of the promise he gave me, e.g. to give the orphanage some horses, which we now need greatly for the construction of the church. And, since he has asked several times about the intended building of the barn, I reported that it was built last summer in the Salzburger way so that it now serves different purposes, e.g. not only as a barn but also as stalls for cows and pigs and with a threshing floor above it.

4) We are now being incommodated by a pilfering Negro or a runaway Moorish slave from Carolina, who has already stolen provisions and chickens. Since Mr. Oglethorpe gave the laudable order several months ago to provide seven men from our region with seven horses in order to keep the woods and surroundings free from disorderly people, I asked him to put this order into effect. Also I recommended the carpenter Kogler as a skilled, industrious, and interested builder of the mill.

[Some men have been proposed to supervise the grinding in the mill. I was told privately that one of them is partial and will give some people advantage over others. I had not judged this man in such a way and am amazed that others testify to it with certainty. I thought to myself that it surely would be a very bad and improper thing if the congregation noticed these bad traits of partiality in their ministers and superiors, since many eyes are turned on them. May God give us wisdom in our work to avoid the smallest appearance of partiality, because otherwise great harm can be done. However, one cannot completely avoid suspicion, especially in the case of Holy Communion, since not everybody can be allowed to partake of it.]

A young man called on me to talk about going to the Lords supper. He confessed that he was not yet converted to God, although he is trying but not coming to the right end. Therefore, he understands that he must prepare himself better in advance for partaking of the Lords supper before he actually comes. He made the resolution to pray earnestly for the recognition of his sins. I gave him Arndts True Christianity and instructed him to read contemplatively Book 1, chapter 8, at which page I happened to open the book.

Yesterday, in passing a woman on the plantations, I asked her whether she lives peacefully and in a Christian way with her neighbours. She answered this affirmatively and showed that she had made friends with the neighbors child. Since, however, something had happened between them a few months or weeks ago, my question awakened her and her husbands conscience so that the husband came to me this morning to confess that the Devil had caused discord once, but that everything was all right again. The following proverb we like to apply to our congregation: There are three beautiful things, which both God and mankind. . ..

Sunday, the 4th of January. [Pletter is usually a serious Christian, diligently using the means of salvation and edifying himself together with other pious people. However, in some ways he is ignorant, sticks to his opinion, and is stubborn. He has to be expelled from the Lords Table this time again, since he cannot be convinced that the suspicion of theft he has against a quite guiltless man is sinful: He will forgive him, yet he still thinks of him as a thief in spite of my endeavor to show him that he is mistaken and it is only his suspicion.] Since I could not convince him, I need now the honest and reasonable Ruprecht Steiner to convince him of his misconception. We must wait to see whether he will be successful.3

The said Steiner attended the prayer hour in our house at noon yesterday and edified me very much with his wholehearted prayer. He has the pure poverty of spirit, thinks himself unworthy of all the benefactions God has conferred upon him, and does not stop praising Him for all He has done for us nearby and far-off. The intercessory prayers of so many upright ministers and Christian people in Europe for Ebenezer are a special reason for him to praise our Lord.

The young Kieffer would like to go to our Lords Table together with his brother on Epiphany next Tuesday, but they will be prevented from doing so by a troop review at Purysburg on Monday.4 I hear that they do not have any holy days at Purysburg, except that the name of Sunday is known to them. Therefore, they do not scruple to call the people from the plantations for a military muster on New Year or other holy days. Most people there do not respect divine service; and therefore God lets them be burdened with such tasks and burdens, from which the Lord spares us entirely. Oh, what a pity that the blind people of the New Covenant do not know and do not want to know what a majestic and blessed service the divine service of the New Testament can be, as we heard it yesterday during our prayer hour in the example of the divine service on Mount Zion, which took place without sacrifice in pure spirit and truth. 1. Chronicles 17.

Zant called on me after church and complained about the barren and withered state of his mind, which has troubled him since the Christmas holidays. Before Christmas and during the first Christmas holiday God granted great peace to his soul, but it disappeared soon afterwards. He says he finds his heart now heavy and apathetic, without being able to find the right words for prayer etc.... He does not dare to go to the Lords Table this time: the example of Uzzah, whom God put to death besides the Ark of the Covenant because of his sacrilege seems rather terrible to him. His youthful sins trouble him more and more. Since he feels the malady of his soul, I advised him earnestly not to neglect the means of salvation but to use them eagerly: our Lord Jesus is the Physician and calls sinners, as he considers himself, to come unto Him... etc.

From the maxims of our dear Savior that I quoted and from my comforting him in his situation he gained new courage; he gave me his hand, thanked me cordially for the instruction and wanted to attend it again in the name of God. He asked me to inform him whenever I hear or see anything objectionable or punishable about him. I wish we could help him also in his external life, since he has neither a helpmate nor a regular household.

Monday, the 5th of January. N. [Mrs. Rheinlnder] appears to be trying harder than ever before. She came to me the day before yesterday and again yesterday; and she recognized and confessed all her many offenses against me, my dear colleague, and others. Since she sinned with others in the congregation during the time of her rebellion against any good order, she now calls their attention to their offenses too. She believes that the Lord has imposed a lot on her, but has also forgiven her for doing wrong, so that this time she is going to the Lords Table with joy. I believe she speaks the truth, because she has apologized to a person for sins which formerly she did not even recognize as sins but always tried to whitewash. It now appears that many offenses were directed at us and our office. May God make her atone for that. I am pleased to hear that N. [Mrs. Rheinlnder] is also appealing to other persons consciences.

[Mrs. Landfelder and her husband wanted to go to the Lords Table the other day and again now. He is purposely ignorant, and she is wicked and has often cheated me in going to Communion. Today I spoke to both of them, trying to convince them that they still lack atonement, etc. The woman became so emotional that she turned her husband against me the same way Mrs. Spielbigler had done another time using the same language. I wish God may enlighten and advise them, otherwise I shall never again let them go to Communion. May God give us the wisdom to treat such people the right way.]

Old Mrs. Rieser5 told me that God has blessed her husband with the lovely example of David, which we have heard from 2 Samuel 6, that he was not satisfied with public worship but returned to bless his house, not leaving the consecration of his house only to the priests and Levites who were around him. The said Rieser has prayed eagerly alone, but seldom with his family, which has apparently harmed them. But, since he has been bending his knee together with his family, Gods blessing has shown in him too. [Their son and Mrs. Rheinlnders son also wanted to go to Communion. They both have resolved to prepare themselves for this holy event. The young (Johann Jacob) Zbli gave a good testimony for Rheinlnder, so that I hope he will convert to our Lord together with his mother.]

Tuesday, the 6th of January. After last evenings prayer hour a young German girl from Old Ebenezer came to me with a letter from her father asking me to help him leave his service and come to Ebenezer and to the Salzburgers.6 He and his family have much to suffer and do not have the freedom to celebrate holidays like Epiphany today, but they have to do their work even when other people gather to praise the Lord for the grace he has shown in Jesus Christ. He is a baker and miller by profession and he offers to give the congregation all his faithfulness and good services if we will employ him as a miller and furnish him with a plantation. He and his family are in the service of the Lord Trustees under the supervision of a very evil Irishman at Old Ebenezer. I have noticed that people of our flock would prefer somebody from our own community rather than a stranger as their miller, since a loyal miller is very important. Meanwhile I wish that the good man could be freed by paying some money. Recently, when I mentioned him in Savannah, I was given good grounds to hope so.

The day before yesterday, the Sunday after New Years Day, we first had the verse Psalms 4:4, But know that the Lord hath set apart...,)7 which was explained even more by the important points of the gospel Matthew 2:13 ff. Since I did not want to start the story from 2 Samuel 7 yesterday, I read them a very edifying example from most recent history, whereby we could delightfully and impressively learn from a pious woman of distinguished rank how wonderfully and blessedly the Lord leads those who are obedient to Him through many afflictions and struggles to His eternal glory. He leads them according to His counsel and accepts them finally in glory. I know in the case of myself and several people in my house what a particular blessing the Lord granted us by this edifying example, so I hope He has presented the same edification to our dear congregation, who have attended in rather a great number. Oh, may He let it be fruitful until eternity! We held confession yesterday until after one oclock, whereby we learned according to the word of God in six points what a precious treasure and delightful benefit we have in Holy Communion, which our Lord Jesus has instituted as a distinct testimony of His tender love for poor mankind.

Since many people have a long way to go home and the days are still short, various men and women stayed overnight and participated, I hope to their spiritual benefit, in last nights evening prayer. Praise to the Lord who strengthened me to hold it. Today the Lord has again extended His kindness upon us. Some thirty people went to the Lords Table, and from the delightful gospel we have learned enough in the morning and afternoon about the precious treasure which we have in Jesus Christ and His grace. May everything be blessed by the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. 1 Timothy 4:10.

Wednesday, the 7th of January. [My dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, travelled to Savannah this morning. He is taking along a barrel of flour for Mr. Oglethorpe and the letters together with the diary; and he will try to take care of other matters too. May the dear Lord bless his journey and bring him back home to us soon again.]

Recently a certain man came to me and complained briefly about the anxiety of his soul. He has often resolved to come to me for this reason but has always been prevented from doing so. Once he was even in front of my door but went back again. A few months ago he was here and revealed to me some bad sins which have stirred his conscience; but in the following days his small sins (as they had seemed to him) have grown bigger in his mind and he cannot find his peace any more. The other day in the evening, when I was holding the prayer meeting with a few people at the plantations, he was among them and felt very happy, but that feeling soon disappeared. Now he was here, wanting to tell me a great deal; but he could only say a few words because of the sadness of his heart. I referred him to Him who, during the past days, has been presented to us so often as the Savior of sinners, and who has called out Come unto me all ye... etc... and I will give you rest..., when sin and burden afflict you. At last I prayed together with him, and he took leave. May the Lord Jesus teach him to understand the Word of the Covenant simply and keep to it, even if his heart says only no.8 The past holy days have indeed been very blessed days. Today I heard somebody giving a good testimony about it and wishing nothing but faithfulness.

Thursday, the 8th of January. Simon Steiner is becoming weaker every day. Mr. Thilo has given him medicine, but it does not help. This evening I sent him with his (Mr. Thilos) permission some Essentia dulci in order to see whether the dear Lord will bless it. Some time ago, when another person was sick, this medicine did splendid service through the blessing of the Lord so that, in spite of her misery, she became healthy again. When I visit Steiner I consider his debilitated condition and do not talk much with him but only tell him about his Jesus, which alone is pleasing to him. Today I told him that, even if he is so weak that he cannot remember anything, he should only bear in mind the one word Jesus and look upon Him as the originator and achiever of the [our] religious faith, who has started the good work and will also complete it. In the evening he wished for old Mrs. Rieser to sit up with him at night, and she is willing to do so.

Friday, the 9th of January. Last evening I [Boltzius] finished my journey (from Savannah, from which I started the day before yesterday) so far that I reached Sanftlebens plantation, together with my three traveling companions; and this morning I went home by land where I found my house, my dear colleague, and his family healthy and cheerful in the Lord. The Savannah River has risen very high, so that the return journey was difficult for the people. This time I had much pleasure on the boat with my pious travelling companions, who not only did all the troublesome work of rowing in brotherly harmony but also disclosed their blessed frame of mind by quite edifying conversations. It was very impressive to me that they not only remembered the edifying things that happened during the recent past, but even one or more years ago, and that they praised God for them. They also turned to their advantage the blessings which our loving God has shown to other members of our flock, men and women, and also children, by His Word. Praise be to God, who does not turn away His grace from us but grants it to us new every morning.

[I was lucky to have chosen the right time for my letters, as there was an opportunity to send them to Frederica to General Oglethorpe. At the same time Colonel Stephens was assembling a pack of letters to the Lord Trustees in order to send them via Charleston as soon as possible. Monsieur Jones is not yet in Savannah but is still busy with Mr. Oglethorpe. Maybe he will still be there when the letter to Mr. Oglethorpe arrives, the extract of which can be read under the date of January 3rd. I have much confidence in him and believe that he will support our community as best he can. He is always so kind to us as to provide lodgings for us in Savannah even during his absence. May God repay him!]

Our mill has caused a great sensation in Savannah, since this is the first that has been completed in this region. I heard reasonable people say that one can obviously notice that the presence of God is with us, etc. Oh, if only the people in our community would realize it and lead a pious life in the sight of God, it would be easy for them to turn away their misfortune by means of grace, just as when the mill was threatened by the ever rising waters in the first year.

What was reported to us the other day turned out to be true, i.e. that food in Frederica is very expensive, because many sloops coming in from New York or similar regions are being captured by Spanish privateers or freebooters. An Englishman who escaped from St. Augustine has reported that Mr. Whitefields schooner (a vessel similar to a sloop with sails) was taken by the Spanish and brought to St. Augustine, a fact that we had only presumed recently. [Not only Mr. Whitefield but also other members of his family had travelled to Charleston to attend the wedding of their doctor before Whitefields departure for England.9 Therefore, I was unable to arrange the matters concerning our orphanage, as I had intended.]

I have felt very much distressed that, when Mr. N. [Whitefield] was preaching recently in Savannah, he attempted very fervently to show through the word of God from the Old and New Testament that Christs merits are not universal and that God does not want every man to be saved but has predestined most of them to perdition, and has elected only a very few ex absoluto decreto to eternal life. [This unfounded and unconscionable theory he must have absorbed from the Presbyterians in New England or where he has been last, for that was not his theory at first, as I clearly noticed in a conversation with him about the commentaries of Monsieur Henry.10 He has an exceedingly high opinion of the pious theories of the Presbyterian Church and I fear that its prestige and specious arguments have drawn his mind to this clearly disgraceful theory against the very essence of love and the definite clear evidence of the Holy Scriptures. He has made a great effort, vocal and written, to refute the printed sermon of Mr. John Wesley, which was printed recently, and which emphatically contradicts the article of absolutum decretum of the Presbyterian and other churches, although some of his expressions and statements sound rather harsh. Something therefrom is to be printed soon (so that everybody shall see what harm the various journeys of Mr. Whitefield and the neglect of his ministry have done in Savannah). What additional disharmony and partisanship this will cause between him and Mr. Wesley in England, for each of them has many followers. I have no confidence in Mr. Whitefield any more, since he not only keeps these terrible doctrines in his heart but even teaches them in public with much insistence. He has always been very kind and generous to our congregation. May God repay him for that, particularly by enlightening his spirit to realize the truth; meanwhile his nature and strange procedures please me less and less, but I do not wish to give any details.

At Epiphany we heard some dear verses, such as: The living God is a Savior for all men, but especially... etc., The salutary mercy of God hath appeared to all men... etc., Who is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only... etc., God wishes all men to be helped... etc. While traveling back I remembered the coming Processus Judicii Matthew 25 especially verses 41-46, saying that it would not be true or upright of our Judge Jesus Christ to impose the guilt for eternal perdition upon mankind, since according to the substance of the dogma of absolutum decretum this is Gods own doing.11

The dangerously ill Steiner sent for me and wanted consolation from the word of God and wished us to pray with him and for him. I eagerly told him the words of Psalms 91:14: He shall call upon me, and I will answer him... He cannot pray with his mouth anymore, since he is too weak and has to suffer great pains in his chest. But he can still request through the grace of the Holy Spirit, by which he was seriously reborn as a child of God [with hard birth-pains] which has made him, as a new-born child, eager for the rational pure milk. I reminded him of two examples of souls who petitioned Christ, whom He has helped too, namely the woman with the issue and the man with the palsy (Matthew 9). At last we knelt down and asked God in the name of Jesus Christ to have mercy upon this sick man, as He knows it will be useful to his soul and body. He likes to have Kalcher with him, who was already his good friend in Lindau and who has given him much help in religious and bodily needs.

While I was trying to encourage him he often looked at me and nodded his head to show his believing approval. He is also very pleased that God, through the orphanage, will provide for his wife and child, whom he will have to leave soon as widow and orphan, and that He will prepare a table for them; for they would be badly off at the plantation after his death. When I was leaving he took me by the hand and pressed it as much as he could, but he was unable to say a single word. May God help him, like Simeon, to believe in Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God that was given to us sinnners as our own, and to press Him in his heart so he will rest in peace! Some time ago this dear man was in great remorse for his youthful sins, since he felt nothing but horror and terrible threatenings of the law and saw no consolation anywhere. How could one act with such a soul, if one believed in the [pernicious] theory of absolutum decretum? Nobody could say with certainty that, according to divine dispensation, there would be enough grace left even for the greatest sinner, this expression having been a blessed beginning of Evangelical conversion many times before.

After dinner I visited Simon Steiner again. I had hardly entered the room before he was taken with a bad attack of coughing, and he seemed to be trying to spew out something that was rattling in his chest. Since he could not turn over, Kalcher helped him and held him in his arms. We fell down on our knees and did the same thing as the trusting man who carried the man with the palsy: namely, we commended him to the Lord Jesus mercy. While we were praying he fell asleep and was at once relieved from his pains and struggle. He truly gave witness of a real Christian fervently concerned with the salvation of his and his wifes souls, for which reason we will keep him in good memory. His latest illness started with a dry cough, whereby he felt violent pains in chest and back. After awhile it likewise seemed to be boiling in his chest and at first he emitted a stinking red sputum, and finally a white one. I fear that he at no time during his illness observed a strict diet but went into the water in his feverish condition or lay down in the dew or in very cool and fresh places during the day, from which nothing but bad things occur. If people do not notice the harm to their health right away, but rather become healthy again for awhile, then they will not believe that foolish behavior during a fever will have such sad consequences. [If Mr. Thilo also attributes the illness of the deceased to that and, if I am not mistaken in my conjecture, then I wish to admonish our people by this example to use precaution with their bodies during both healthy and sick days.]

On the large and very uncomfortable boat we used first at Old Ebenezer and later at this place too, some people suffered harm that they did not notice until some time later. The labor on the boat was excessively hard and lasted for five or six days, whereby the rowers became very hot; and, to cool off, they drank much water and poured it over their bodies too. In the evening, when camping in the woods, they looked for the coolest places for their presumed recreation. Such hardships and dangers nobody has ever had in this country, and other prospective colonists coming from Europe to Ebenezer will not experience such things as this. But, thank God!, He has helped us a great deal and turned all the peoples bodily hardships to their spiritual advantage!

Saturday, the 10th of January. [Zettler, a young man of our community, went a year or more ago to a quite able but very unreliable shoemaker at Purysburg to learn his trade from him, but the latter also persuaded him to go to war.12 Now he writes me that he feels quite miserable, is provided with very bad food, and has to work at night also, since his master hangs around all day at the tavern. He is asking me to get him released; and, when I came to Purysburg on my way home from Savannah, he requested it also by word of mouth. I never could or would advise him to go to this master.13 but this good-for-nothing fellow does not want any good advice, and, if everything does not turn out well for him, he puts the blame on others. I advised him to talk to Kieffer at Purysburg, who after his return from St. Augustine had persuaded him to go back as an apprentice to this master. I also told him to consider whether he had learned the profession well enough to be able to make good shoes and earn his living, otherwise he had better wait until he understands his job. However, with a master like this, who is a drunkard and has no fellow-worker, there is but little to learn. At Purysburg things seem rather wretched, even on the Day of our Lord.]

We had both walked to the mill; and at the sight of this great material benefaction that the Lord has given to us we were both awakened to praise God. Now that a floursack has been manufactured, as good as possible, we can grind nine bushels in one night, while before, when we had to separate the flour from the chaff through a sieve, only ten bushels could be ground in twenty-four hours.14 If the people had the same sack cloth as in Germany, there would be no difference between the wheat and the Indian corn flour. As far as we know, one cannot get material of such a kind in this country. The water is rising very high and rushes with great force across the mill run, but it is also flowing over the bank of the river on one side where the land is low, and it is seeking a way along the dam to flow off across the flat country. Some men were occupied with the builder Kogler to prevent this incorrect course so that no holes will be washed out, especially since the soil is extremely loose and light.

Besides the 89 ь Sterling which covers the cost of the mill, some incidental expenses will arise, because one thing and another will have to be undertaken to strengthen the building when experience in this strange country reveals it; our dear God in His wisdom and mercy will provide for this. He is being much praised by pious people for this benefaction; and, since He lives among the praise of Israel, He will also be among us with His blessings, for His presence is a strong and effective presence. When some knowledgeable people in Savannah heard about the cost of the mill, it seemed to them slight and trifling for this important project, especially since a person who had worked with the accounts of the storehouse told them that the cost of the mill dam at Old Ebenezer had amounted to ca. 1000 ь Sterling but it had been completely ruined by the bad foundations. I was pleased to hear that, since it strengthened my hope that the cost of our mill would not seem too high to the Lord Trustees and General Oglethorpe.

Sunday, the 11th of January. Hertzog, who is a voluntary servant at the orphanage, complained to me that he has lost all blessings during the Christmas holidays. Some people tried to induce him to become miller at our mill, and, therefore, he feared that he would have to leave the orphanage and experience all sorts of new uneasiness. Last Saturday he was again told -- with good intent -- that he should grind tomorrow morning for the orphanage and, at Koglers desire, start certain experiment with moistening the corn,15 the advantage of which would be to make the flour even more delicate. By this he was once more very much depressed and unable to listen calmly to the word of God. He would consider it very bad if he had to stay outside the orphanage even for one day or night. [This poor fellow has many physical and mental defects; and those who have to get on with him need much patience if they do not wish to irritate his spirit. There is also much obstinacy in him despite his good nature.] His candid report was of great value to me and persuaded me to use every possible precaution myself and to cause others to do so in arranging external matters on Sundays and holidays, so that people with weak wills will not be hurt. We gladly conform to the peoples needs in all things if it can be done in conformity with the word of God and for the sake of Gods Kingdom.

Monday, the 12th of January. N. [The young16 Kieffer] has definite information that everything looks corrupt and miserable at Orangeburg in South Carolina, here his mother-in-law lives with her children.17 Therefore, he asked me to write to her again in his name, asking her to move here. He hopes they will be pleased here, since they will be shown the way to life by the word of God. He promises the mother and her children every possible bodily provision, as long as they will be satisfied with the gift of God.

Because of the holidays I have interrupted the preparation hours for Holy Communion for a few weeks. Today we met again for this purpose and repeated in summary everything that has been explained recently according to the instructions of Freylinghausens compendium18 about the essence, persons, and attributes, as well as the first act, of God, i.e. the creation of all creatures and especially the angels. Before the lesson we baptized Rottenbergers little child, who was born last night happily and healthy. He gave him the name of David, because the example of David from the stories that we have considered in the past impressed him very much and were beneficial to his heart. I said to him: if God grants life, one should remember the child of the right David, of whom this David is a prefiguration, i.e. the Beloved of God Ephesians 1:6 (because this means David) on whose dear merit he is being baptized today.19

Tuesday, the 13th of January. [Mr. Stewart (the most intimate friend of Mr. Whitefield) has, as recently mentioned, sent us his letter-diary covering his travel from Savannah through Pennsylvania to London as a present, which I have read today. I must confess that, while reading it, I was most uneasy, the cause of which anybody who reads it even with only half attention will easily understand. It is especially sad that he has absorbed the wicked doctrine of absolutum decretum and was very eager on the ship to impart it to his fellow travelers. He looks upon it as sublime a doctrine as the mystery of Holy Trinity, and one which one must believe whether or not one can support it with all the terms of the Holy Scriptures. The thought occurs to me why people of such kind do not speak of Holy Communion in that way and believe simply in the Scriptures, that bread and wine are not mere symbola significativa sed exhibitiva,20 so that, according to the assurance of Jesus Christ, His real body and His real blood are being adminstered to us, which they, however, cannot comprehend by common sense, as they say, although faith in this article contains nothing against Gods glory, love, and omnipotence, as the theory of the absolutum decretum does. To be sure, it sounds rather annoying, for example, when Mr. Stewart (p. 37) writes the following: Who will say, that Judas was not appointed from Eternity to betray Christ? et raised up for that very purpose as much as Pharaoh?, etc. et p. 78 in short, all our salvation is according to the Election of Grace, without which we could never have obtained it, but must have been blinded as well as the rest of Mankind (Romans 11:7) who were also appointed (1 Peter 11:8) et ordained to their Condemnation (Jude 4) as the Elect to their Salvation.

[May God illuminate him and his likes so they will be sobered and freed from these and other dangerous errors. I would have regretted it if I had found the name of Ebenezer or our names in this journal, since others might conclude from that that we too believe in these and other theories, e.g. of the millenium of Christ on earth.]

The weather has changed completely. Up to now there has been very strong frost or cold rain, but yesterday it became warm, and a rather violent wind brought us rain at night. Today, however, there was lovely spring weather. The river water is starting to fall considerably. Just as we previously observed the wind while travelling by sea or on boat trips, we now watch the rise and fall of the water, which can be observed very well at the mill. Prior to the edification hour I went to the mill to see whether the high water had done any damage to the dike, especially to the loose soil on one bank of the river; but to my joy and to the praise of God I heard that everything was in good order. At the mill they work hard day and night; and people of our community are well provided now so that they are able to grind at the mill for people from Purysburg and Savannah, too.

Pichler, a reasonable and skilled Salzburger, whose plantation and household are situated near the mill, has been appointed as miller. From the members of our parish he takes not more than 2 quarts from a bushel instead of the grinding money, which is little, since a bushel has 32 quarts, but enough for him. From strangers he is said to take 4 pence. If in the end there should be some money left over, especially when we have two sets of stones for grinding, something will be laid aside for the maintenance of the mill.

The 14th of January. This morning some men took four calves to Savannah for sale. They are very welcome there and are well paid for. The fifth one they had to leave behind because of lack of space in the boat. Every year a rather large part of them are butchered, and another part is sold principally to Savannah, since our people are in need of the milk from the cows for their own households, and because they could not maintain as many cattle as they would breed in a short time if all calves remained alive, for at Old Ebenezer the Lord Trustees have many cattle, which need a great tract of grazing land. At this opportunity two barrels of flour from our mill were brought to Savannah, and a full bag to Purysburg. Our people have agreed to ask 6 Sh. for a hundred pounds of flour, which includes the cost of grinding and the transport to Savannah.

[I wrote to Mr. Whitefields schoolmaster /Habersham/ and informed him that he could have flour for the orphanage and that a hundred pounds would cost 6 Sh.; and the Salzburgers promised to deliver it to Savannah. One barrel of flour has already been ground for them. The Indian corn flour brought from New York to Savannah was also sold for 6 Sh., but there is a great difference between this coarse, spoiled flour and our fresh and fine flour. For the coarse rye flour one had to pay 8 Sh. per hundred pounds.

[Mrs. Rheinlnder was asked by a letter with a little gift to come to Charleston as a midwife, whereof she told me this morning. I was pleased to hear that she realized the danger in which she and her children had been in Charleston and Purysburg. She did not want to accept the responsibility for letting herself be moved by her own advantages to let her own soul and those of her family fall into new danger, especially since she thought that God was beginning to bless her contrition also in her children and lead her to the right way. She hopes to find her food and bodily needs here too, and I confirmed this with the sentence: But seek ye first the kingdom of God... etc. Her talks, tears, and testimony gave me more and more good hope that her behavior may not be a hypocrisy but the truth and that the Lord really has begun a good work in her previously very vain and arrogant soul.]

At Mrs. Rottenbergers house, I met two pious women visiting her with gifts of food, as is customary among the Salzburgers for a woman in childbed; they both spoke a kind word to her for her happiness. This good company pleased me greatly and did a great deal of good to Mrs. Rottenberger, so that, with tears, she revived her plan to devote the rest of her life to praising the Lord and for the salvation of her own soul. The pious women spoke with great humility, praising God for the admirable deeds He has done for the deliverance of their souls and telling how much they regret, now that they feel the strength and sweetness of Christianity, having spent too much time with amusements while rejecting the grace of God conferred upon them. They marveled at the great love and mercy of God, who has not disinherited them now, in spite of the many and heavy sins they previously committed. He has granted them mercy and the promise of eminent glory in eternity after the short life of labor and trouble, which was explained to them also in last nights prayer meeting (2 Samuel 7:1 cf. Sirach 51:35).

This testimony of the woman in childbed was, no doubt, more impressive than if a minister had given it. I reminded her of the grace which God had shown to her soul during a painful sickness, while she was still living in her old hut. She had, however, not fulfilled her then given promise; and it is her fault that she is still without grace while in a dangerous condition, etc. One of the women remembered her former blindness; and, in order to illustrate it, she related that she had heard the prayers of the deceased Simon Steiner at Old Ebenezer in the open air until late at night, but had despised him because of his constantly repeated uniform words (autologies). At his sickbed she admitted it and apologized for it, because she could find no peace without doing so. She applied the saying to herself: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him. . . etc.

The 15th of January. Nine months ago Riedelsperger, a pious Salzburger, became a voluntary servant at the orphanage for Gods sake, since he had seen how big a burden Kalcher had to bear with the housekeeping. Circumstances now make it necessary for him to take care of his own household. However, since Kalcher cannot be left without a good helper, we are in some trouble. At present we have to economize as much as possible at the orphanage, as our dear God has not provided us with earthly blessings from near or far off for some time. If our kind and almighty God would bestow on us some material goods and enable us to buy provisons and clothing and other things necessary for its maintenance, we would take courage to ask a pious family of our parish to co-administer the orphanage. As it is now, we cannot expect it of anyone. It is written in next Sundays gospel: Mine hour is not yet come. . . . Since these words of our Lord contain a wonderful promise, I consoled Kalcher with this sentence today.

I prayed with Riedelsperger about his intended change and found him willing to remain a few more weeks at the orphanage. He would gladly devote his service and time to the orphanage for a longer period if only his unrest were not too great and the labor too heavy. If God would give us the means to hire another Christian man as a servant, it would be very beneficial to the workers and the children and then he would not long to leave the orphanage. They have many cattle, pigs, and poultry there, which Kalcher and Riedelsperger have to take care of besides their other business, because we cannot get a maid. One cannot get rid of the livestock because, if we had to buy all the meat, the orphanage could not exist.

Mrs. Steiner does not want to leave the orphanage after the death of her husband but is willing to stay there, since she recognizes the hand and will of God. She has a very little child at her breast and can help a little with the outside work, but not as much as she could work in her own household. May God give us wisdom to find out His will with regard to the orphanage in all trials and tribulations, and may all labor done in and outside the orphanage for the children reach its blessed purpose for Christs sake.

The 16th of January. At the mill I have observed that the rush of water over the mill wheel occasionally splashes over the wooden millrace and washes away the loose soil beneath, through which a sinking of the channel might be caused by and by. The carpenters did not have enough boards to build the millrace sufficiently high, and Kogler is too shy to request labor from anybody without the greatest urgency, since there is no money to pay even a little. Today I demonstrated the necessity of the improvement, which Kogler confirmed; and right away I found some people willing to saw as many boards as are required, which could not be other than pleasant to see.

It means nothing to build something if there is money on hand, or if there is a certain hope of getting the building costs repaid. How gladly I would praise God if He would incline General Oglethorpe and the Lord Trustees to pay the costs so that I could remunerate the dear and disinterested workmen for their faith and trouble, even to a slight degree, all the more since they are poor and in need of clothes and other things.

Last Tuesday on the plantations we read the precious story from 1 Chronicles 17, which belongs as a supplement to the story 2 Samuel 6. We learned that David had ordered a twofold divine service, one at the top of Mount Zion in front of the Ark of the Covenant, which was performed without the Levitic ceremonies in the spirit of truth, as a beautiful prefiguration of the divine service in the New Testament and the heavenly Zion. The other divine service was held near the old tabernacle and the remaining vessels of the sanctuary on the heights of Gibeon. At both places there had to be melodious music to assure that the grace of God would be everlasting.

Of the seventh chapter of 2 Samuel we made only a beginning, since by means of the Connexion we recognized in David the good virtue of continuance in the devotion to the glory of God and the salvation of souls, and from that we could take many salutary admonitions, for one must say to many of us: Ye did run well: who did hinder you? Inconstancy in good and faithlessness for mercy received are the main reasons that some people do not become really converted or become genuine servants of God. From the attitude of David toward Michal, who was too pious and too eager for David, we could learn to understand the words of the Savior, Luke 14:26.

Today we heard the important points: (1) that God had given David repose from all enemies around him; (2) how he used the great benefit of physical peace. At the first point we remembered that, before achieving peace, David was involved in much restlessness, struggle, and combat according to Gods intention. But the Lord helped him to conquer all this and come to peace, which partly furnishes a pleasing prefiguration both of Christ, who, after the struggle and effort, is sitting at the right hand of God, and of the true successors of Christ, who only after struggle and effort can expect the crown (and this only by Gods grace) : For no one is crowned, except he . . . etc. I have fought a good fight . . . etc. He that overcometh, the same . . . etc. At the second point we remembered that most people misuse physical recreation and peace, although it is such a rich jewel, as well as other gifts of God for many kinds of sin and will therefore receive an all the worse verdict. See Daniel 4. David did not behave like this, but used his peace for the glory of God and for his own and his peoples salvation. Thus the first believers have also done: Acts 9:31. Then had the churches rest . . . etc.

In the application it was shown that we also had to thank nobody but the merciful and almighty God for the physical rest we have enjoyed for seven years in this peaceful country. He has fulfilled His merciful word on us, upon which we meditated some years ago at the memorial service (Psalms 81: 14-17), even though, unfortunately, not all people have been obedient to Him and walked in His ways. Since we do not know how long our marvelous God will grant us this quiet time of mercy, everybody should arouse himself to apply it as a preparation for forthcoming trials and tribulations, which -- according to the first example of the first believers in Acts 9:31 -- consists of building ourselves into a living temple of the Lord and walking in the fear of Him. Thus we shall be filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit, by which the first Christians were sent to the most grievous tortures and were made joyful. Another beautiful thing about David is that during his leisure days he acquainted himself with the Holy Scriptures and tried to learn from them the divine promises and his own duties (Deuteronomy 12:5, 9-11).

He also experienced a feeling of holy shame at living in a big kings palace while Gods Ark of the Covenant stayed under the carpets. On this occasion I pointed out very simply that I myself was also very worried about the fact that a convenient house has been built for a poor and miserable person like myself yet no place of worship has been built for the congregation. Therefore, I asked the listeners to read the two chapters of the Prophet Haggai, whereby they, as I hope, would be moved to find the necessary means to build the church, laying aside all other, even necessary, occupations, whereby I would be delivered from my grief and secret discontent. In this connection it is a certain relief to me that in the past my house has been used as church and school too. And even though I and my family have only one room to live in in wintertime and I certainly have some difficulties in my studies, this obstacle is still not as great as the eventual sorrow would be if God had not ordained that this house be used for His glory and for the good of the congregation. It often is very useful for us to make such comparisons as this one with David; our dear Savior had not the where to lay his head, and many believers from the past and the present, of whom the world was not worthy (Hebrews 11:36-38), must live in misery. To us God grants an easy life in this country, which should bring about humility, gratitude, satisfaction, etc.

The 17th of January. When coming home from the plantations last night on foot, I was very tired; and by and by chills and fever overtook me, together with a strong headache, which finally disappeared at night, when the fever vanished after a strong outburst of perspiration. I hope that this fever will soon pass away with the help of God so that I will not be prevented from my official duties. Last night I had to cancel the prayer meeting. I have noticed that people who take care of themselves during a fever get rid of it much faster than those who try to be strong and expel it by walking, laboring, etc.

We have very pleasant weather now, as if we were already living in the springtime. People on the plantations are very busy preparing the land for planting. Since the soil is very rich, the land is full of thin and thick trees, brushwood, and reeds; and people must work hard before they have cleared a small piece of ground and prepared it for planting. The saying applies well to us: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou ... etc.; they have probably never worked in such a sweat in winter or summer as in this country; but they work with the greatest pleasure and enjoy thereby the blessings of God. Especially the mill and its great advantage encourages them to even more diligence in agriculture.

Kogler explained to me how easily a rice stamping mill could be built:21 but I cannot request new work from him at the present time, since up to now I have been unable to pay anything to him and others. What good would a stamping mill be for the community? During the heavy farm work the men tear up many shirts, especially because of their very heavy sweating: perhaps the Providence of God will ordain that we receive some linen from Europe. What God has bestowed on them from Halle and Augsburg is still in use, and this great present is remembered with much gratefulness and praise of God.

The 18th of January. The oldest of the two sisters who are serving in my house was attacked by a severe malady some days ago. Since last night her pains have relented. The Lord, her Physician, to whom she was referred briefly yesterday because of her spiritual and physical condition, has surely done this so that, for her salvation, she will be able to hear the evangelical and grace-laden sermon even on her sickbed (which, according to her own choice, is in the little chamber beside the church room). In the past she has been strongly awakened to recognize, bewail, and confess her deep corruption, and has eagerly invoked her Savior to help her. However, because of her subtle faithlessness and sloth, she has not experienced the treasure which says: Thy sins are forgiven, be comforted! This touches her heart very much!

Her sighing and praying are fervent; and it is her honest intention not to live for the lusts of the flesh, but in accordance with Gods wishes. She is thankful that God has not sent her to the plantations, where her sister is living, but into a town, to a place where she is able to hear the word of God every day, etc. Among us sickness has often been a blessed remedy for spiritual recuperation. The youngest sister, who also works in my house, is being prepared together with others for the Lords Table. Her great desire for the word of God and her hearty private prayer gives me good hope that she, for the salvation of her soul and the special blessing of Christianity, can be admitted to the Lords Table. There is no hurry about it, and the young people are given enough time to penetrate the beneficial cognition of Christ.

Until this day the beautiful hymn: Nun will ich mich scheiden von allen Dingen . . . etc. was almost useless for us, since the melody was not suitable for singing in a public gathering. Therefore, we have chosen another melody, which is not difficult to learn. God be praised for the blessings He has bestowed upon several people, as has come to my knowledge, from this beautiful song from the time the melody was taught to them. Tonight at the repetition hour we sang for the first time in public, besides this aforementioned song, also the wonderful song: O wie selig sind die Seelen . . . etc. Up to now we have been waiting for the printed melodies from Halle, published in a special booklet, hoping to find therein also the melody for the mentioned song. Now its beautiful content has obliged us, however, to impart the melodies to our congregation in the same way as we sang them in Halle. Mr. Thilo thinks that the customary melody known to us differs in some ways from the notes. However, it cannot be changed once the young and old people have become used to the melodies, since this would bewilder people who learn by ear and by singing it many times and do not know the notes at all. Moreover, we attach great importance to avoiding all wrong expressions not only in the texts but also in the tunes, which is possible in a small congregation, especially at the beginning and with docile people. We want to put down the notes of both songs for retention and memory:

The 19th of January. This morning a boat loaded with corn left for the mill. I traveled on it to Ernsts plantation, but found neither him nor his wife at home because they had gone to Mr. Thilo with their little child, who had been injured. [From their little girl, approximately 7 years old, I heard that her father does not beat her mother or curse anymore, though he is sometimes mean and angry. I exhorted her to be good and] I went to Sanftleben, who lives next to them, intending to examine his wife about the catechism and what she has heard in the praeparatio ad sacram coenam.22 But she had gone to town together with her brother to help with the hog slaughtering at the orphanage.

When I inquired of Sanftleben, who frequents the devotion-hours at the plantations despite his remoteness, about his Christianity, I learned that, by the grace of God, he wants nothing else but to save his own and his wifes soul. He complained of not yet having reached the certainty of Gods grace in spite of the great efforts he has made; for he always hears that one must and can come to that point. I indicated to him the serious use of the means of salvation, through which he would find the order prescribed by our wise, holy, and just God to sinners for their salvation; it would be especially necessary for him to realize and feel his fall and his great sinful state. Then, by the effect of the Holy Ghost, a longing, crying, and yearning for the help of Christ would be procured for him; and our Lord Jesus Christ would never fail to confer the same upon him as He promises in so friendly and kindly a manner to the weary and burdened souls who let themselves be brought to him (see Matthew 11:28 and elsewhere). I have in mind to give him the serious instructions of the late Prof. Francke on 1 Peter 1:17-25 concerning the important and blessed modification etc. for an attentive study. He said he has abandoned his first love, whereby I pointed to the bystanding words: Revelations: 2:5.

On my way back home I met N. [Ernst and his wife, and told them what I had heard from their little daughter, which the mother affirmed, and he could not deny.] He is burdened with a sickness of his chest and throat. In view of it I reminded him of the late Simon Steiners sickness and admonished him to realize his dangerous spiritual condition and to make repentance in time. He lies in the most deplorable darkness and, what is more, in the power of Satan, even if he cannot believe it: he should pray to God to make it known to him. I also explained to him how he should arrange the contents of his prayer. Since he spontaneously quoted something from yesterdays sermon, I showed him that he should pay careful attention to those passages in the sermon suitable to his condition, i.e. how he should manage to honestly convert to God, which is scarcely ever omitted in the sermons. He confessed now (as he had never done before) that he felt unworthy and unprepared to take Holy Communion and therefore did not wish to register for it until he has changed. I recommended to him to hurry and save his soul.

It is very impressive to me that the pious listeners, when praying publicly in the meetings, earnestly remember the little children who have been baptized in our community and pray to God for their spiritual and bodily blessing and especially for the grace to remain steadfast in their baptismal covenant, which they surely include in their private prayers too. I have heard from honest family fathers that, when looking for sponsors and godfathers for their children, they look for those in the congregation who also pray eagerly for their children and would take care of their welfare in case of the early death of the parents. I hope that we, if the Lord lets us live long enough, will see the fruit of such prayer in those children.

The 20th of January. I visited N. [Mrs. Landfelder] and her husband and found their minds in a better condition than some time ago [when one could not permit them to the Lords Table because they showed various symptoms of an unconverted character]. I told them something about the saying: Bring forth therefore fruits meant for repentance . . ., and said that all external things without real atonement and change of heart are worthy of being rejected by God. But, if a good tree is planted, the fruit will certainly follow and God and the holy angels will rejoice about such a changed condition according to Luke 15. Likewise, I said that a Christian likes to be chastised, as seen in the example of the mother of Jesus from yesterdays gospel. Because wisdom from heaven lets her say: Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness; and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil. . . etc. With the Old Adam one cannot fare well. They should indeed believe that I was well disposed towards them, even if I treated them harshly, etc.

When their little daughter entered the courtyard I heard her say something unseemly, for which I reproved her with love. Afterwards I took Mrs. Landfelder aside and told her how much damage children have to suffer, when even she, as I know, utters all sorts of bad words when in a rage, whereby she not only causes annoyance and brings harm upon herself, but also becomes incapable of punishing the children for their own benefit. [I also told her and her husband what I had heard from Ernsts little daughter.] May God grant them to do atonement!

During the prayer meeting we still have the inconvenience with the aforementioned evil person who is loitering about in our vicinity and from time to time steals hens or whatever he can find, especially in my dear colleagues barnyard. We lie in wait for him, but at those times he does not show up. He must be a very skilled and sly thief. If one single man can cause so much trouble, what would happen if God permitted many people, especially the open enemies of this country, to disturb our peace. This reflection should oblige us to even more thankfulness and hearty prayer.

Zettler has now returned to us from his bad and slovenly master and wants to remain in our community and no place else. He was not bound to stay there, since his master took him to war and held back half of his pay, but Kieffer at Purysburg had persuaded him to try it once more with this master. However, since this master feeds him like the Negroes (which is not better than feeding dogs at our place), and furthermore he has to suffer many curses, threats, and other annoying things, he does not want to work there for another day. I am astonished at the abominations that happen there. The young Kieffer -- a short time ago on the boat -- talked to the shoemaker N. [Reck] about his dangerous condition and received the answer that he would convert as soon as he moved his land in our vicinity in Carolina. This miserable man, however, does not know what he is talking about.

[The young Kieffer was accompanied by his brother-in-law [Depp] from Purysburg, a member of the Reformed Church. Since there was an opportunity to talk about his married state, I asked him about the text and the good admonitions his preacher had given him and his wife at their marriage. I heard, however, that they were married without the word of God and only by the reading of some commandments and ceremonies and that the father was very annoyed that not even the benediction had been spoken on the newly married couple. It was no benefit, but rather a Species Judicii Divini,23 on Kieffers house that his eldest daughter, who had the good opportunity to marry a pious and skilled man in our community, is now married to a member of the Reformed Church who is ill informed in religious matters and is also of bad reputation, and under such wretched and unedifying circumstances as were shown during the marriage ceremony. God have mercy on all the misery that exists in Christianity and especially in this country.]

Today it rained all day long; but, since the edification hour was to be held on the plantations in the morning, I dared to make the journey out there in the name of God in spite of my physical weakness. With Gods blessing and despite the bad weather, I returned home healthier than I had departed. It would have caused me sorrow and unrest if I had stayed at home because of the continuing rain, since I observed that people gathered for edification in as large numbers as usual and would have had to return without hearing the word of God because of my absence. I believe the listeners receive a good impression and useful admonition not to think of their own comfort in spiritual things when they observe the same in their teachers and pastors. God help us to be edifying for our listeners by word and example.

After a detailed repetition of our last sermon, we reflected especially upon the point in the story where it is told that David did not follow his own plan and will with regard to the building of the temple, but revealed his good ideas to the Prophet Nathan for examination, despite the fact that he himself was a wise king and also a prophet. At this time we remembered the saying in James 3:17: The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable . . . see John 2:45, and we admonished ourselves against obstinacy in physical and especially spiritual things, as a source of much evil.

The 21st of January. [Last Saturday Mrs. Helffenstein told me that a Salzburger had asked her for her daughter, who lives in the orphanage together with three other children of hers. She is willing to let her take care of his small children for a certain time, if I will agree. When I had given my permission, she said that it seemed to her, and she had also heard, that Mrs. Kalcher does not like the girl and quoted word and deeds as proof for it. She is a blanda Mater,24 and therefore I had to tell her curtly of her girls obvious naughtiness and also that she needs discipline very badly. I could not believe the words and the attitude of Mrs. Kalcher towards her and tried to argue her out of it. I also asked her not to believe anything the children say because that could do much harm.

As God ordained, at a certain occasion this week Mrs. Kalcher told me that the Helffenstein girl is now behaving well and that she likes her; she found her on her knees at a secret place praying heartily, so that she went away without being seen or heard by the girl, etc. There was no need to grieve Mrs. Kalcher with Mrs. Helffensteins statement, but I went right away to her and informed her what Mrs. Kalcher had said about her girl even though she had not known what we talked about last Saturday. With Kalcher and his wife it is as with other upright workers in the vineyard of our Lord and elsewhere; they seem sometimes too mild, and sometimes too severe for other people. But it is always easier to cast blame than to make things better.]

The married couple N. [Rothenberger] have the earnest intent to devote themselves to the Lord with soul and body. They realize not only the highest necessity, but also the blissfulness of true Christianity, so they clearly indicated by their fine expressions. They feel the grace of God powerfully and pleasingly in their souls and are ashamed that they have let God call and tempt them for so long in vain. In this they perceive the deep fall and the great corruption of the human heart. The woman told me that on New Years Day she remembered the strong awakening that the Lord had presented to her last year in the sermon on New Years Day. She has, however, lived all year without coming to a real conversion, which she regrets very much. May God help both of them to come now from their many convictions and good intentions to seriousness, struggle, and victory, whereto I have aroused them both by my exhortation and prayer. Since they told me that they had been spoken to kindly today by Mrs. Schweighoffer, who always talks unaffectedly and edifyingly from the great treasure of her heart and says no useless things, I remembered that they could learn from her, as a living example, what true Christianity means. Thereupon he said: Ah, what kind of a woman is she? Now I understand better what her former melancholy meant, which I perceived while she was living next to us, and from what it came . . . etc.

I pointed out to both of them from Psalms 119: 28, 32, 50 and Isaiah 28:14, 17 that Christianity begins at this point: everybody must recognize his sins and feel a lamentation, pain, fear, etc. However, it must not stop here, but one must come to the experience: Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee for ever and ever, even if they are ever so many and ever so great. That is more than all kingdoms and empires, as will be proved in the hour of death and before the judgment seat of Christ. And, since God has often moved their conscience and let them feel repentence for their sins and since they, in spite of it, are allowing themselves to be caught and drawn back by the dangerous nets of Satan through their carelessness and certainty, I admonished them to steadfastness and truth by citing the little verse: Look at me, I have had trouble and labor for a short time . . . etc. Sirach 51.

The 22nd of January. Yesterday and last night it rained all the time. The water in the creek has risen so much that the nearest way through the Grubers plantation cannot be passed with dry feet, even though the way lies rather high. Because of the uninterrupted rain we have been unable to hold the prayer hour for two evenings; meanwhile the diligent listeners have probably taken advantage of the glorious 119th Psalm, which we have discussed while contemplating the story of Davids use of his recreation time, 2 Samuel 7:1,2, cf. Deuteronomy 12:9-11. I must confess that this psalm has never been so edifying, dear, and valuable to me as this time, when I run through it together with my people in small portions and use it in my prayer. From it one sees what a holy savior dear David found in the word of God, and how he would rather have suffered than to have it taken away from him. God be praised! Through the story many psalms have already become known, cherished, and dear to us.

[It seems that we will not have Spielbigler and his old mother with us much longer in Ebenezer. They are selling their belongings secretly and will move away soon. They have not come to my public worship for a long time, probably to spite us, but surely to their own greatest harm. Oh, the poor people! I fear we will have to witness both spiritual and physical judgments on them, just as before. In peoples opinion it seems impossible to improve their souls because, if anyone tells them that they do not please God in their present condition and therefore need to be converted, he will not be their friend anymore, be it minister or parishioner. Michael Rieser, their neighbor, is of one mind with them. Since he has returned from work at Mr. White-fields plantation, he has not shown up at our meetings on Sundays and at prayer meetings.25 He is like Simon the magician, full of bitter gall, combined with injustice.]

I had to warn N. [the tailor Christ] against the frivolous company of some other young men, with whom he got entangled. At first he was angry about that and pointed at others, who had done more evil than himself. I reminded him of the verse that was explained with examples the other day: Let the righteous smite me . . . etc. Likewise, But the wisdom that is from above is first pure. ... He was appeased by this, and opened his mind to me about the story of his lapse. Last Sunday morning somebody had visited him to demand a still incomplete tailoring job and a certain debt from him; and, since he did not have the money, he had to run around to borrow it. Therefore his mind was distracted and unable to listen to the word of God: because he did not pick himself up by prayer and struggle, he slipped down even farther in the evening together with others.

Late at night God ordained that he should hear a girl of the community earnestly and continuously praying in the distance; and this moved his conscience and he was awakened to a good new resolution. In the morning, however, he allowed his attention to be distracted and discouraged by the babble of a person visiting him and by his own confused domestic situation. Because he felt bored in the evening and not inclined to read or pray, he went out and met other young people, who spoke and acted not badly, to be sure, but also not edifyingly, although the mother of one of them admonished them to sing and pray. Hereupon I heard many things, especially how he should carry on his struggle (the necessity of which in Christianity has been told to him) against the inducements to all sins, both inward and outward, and also against the opportunities thereto.

Satan tries many methods on people who wish to escape, or have escaped him already, sometimes also simple and seemingly innocent things, to do them harm. This he can observe not only in himself and the said circumstances, but also in the annoying and disagreeable things that have occurred between N. [Rheinlnder] and his mother, who does not wish such gatherings to harm him. Since Mrs. Rheinlnder herself had informed me today, I told him something about it.

[Poor Johann Christ once made up his mind to board at Hans Floerls, and I had thought that he was all right there; however, his unsteady nature has prevented him from being so. Now he is again very eager to be taken back into the orphanage, since otherwise he will be unable to manage and will also suffer harm to his health and Christianity. However, during this time of trial, which the orphanage is also suffering, I have directed him to wait and pray. I gave him reason to hope that, if only God would give me the means to shelter somebody else at the orphanage, he would be the first one. He himself should heartily pray to God for such means.]

The 23rd of January. The upper river that flows to the plantations has risen so high that I had to lead the horse by the bridle through the water; and I myself had to go across the well preserved bridge. But something untoward could have happened to me, if God in His fatherly grace had not prevented it. We too, who have to travel back and forth in our office, can apply the splendid promise of the 91st Psalm to ourselves: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in thy ways ... etc. I thought to myself that it is an insufficiently known blessing of God that after mans fall He still left him aliquale imperium over26 His creation and impressed a fear of men upon His creatures and also left them enough understanding to use their best and most convenient means to save themselves or to carry their point. For, if the horse had wished to use the force that it had, and if a certain thought had not occurred to me to keep it in order, I could have easily come to grief. Afterwards I rode with a happy and God-praising heart to the mill, and from there to our meeting place.

The high and strong water does no damage to the dike, and we can even grind a little. If, as mentioned recently, the millrace or run, which is approximately four feet wide and one foot high, were elevated one foot higher (for which boards are to be sawn), we could let more water flow in to drive the mill-wheel, even if the current in the river is not strong because of lower water.

Steiner, who usually shoots a small cannon as signal for starting the meeting, did it this time with a long oak log, in the middle of which he had drilled a hole that he filled up with gunpowder. By this the tree was split very straight with a great detonation, as could hardly be done with an axe. He wishes to make stakes for a fence out of the tree.

A woman, bent and depressed by the sins of her youth, told me that she often cogitates on the examples of sinners in the Holy Scriptures, but she cannot find any one person who has committed as many atrocities as she herself, etc. I assured her from the word of God that if her sins were even more numerous and greater than they are, our Lord Jesus, Gods and Marys son, has done enough and has also paid all her debts and undergone punishment for them. Our reconciled God now demands nothing from a sinner but to come to him like a desolate, miserable, ragged beggar, yet eager for help, in the name of, i.e. through the merits, command, and promise of Christ, and to confess his sins, to long for grace, and to accept it from the gospel. God, I said, will look for nothing else in the justification than the absolute merit of Christ and the anguish of the sinner. It is said: Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I will ... etc. And since she referred to the example of the sinful woman in Luke 7, of whom it is said: Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much, I showed her that her love was not the cause of remission but a splendid fruit from it.

In justification, which can happen only through belief in the redemption through Christ, God would consider it already as a sign of love to His Son if only the poor sinner is longing, sighing, and moaning for the Savior, just as a worthless beggar stretches his trembling and pleading hands towards his salvation. If the sinner is reprieved, it is said: I would give you yet a thousand worlds, to repay the true love. With regard to the aforementioned point, I told her that divine wisdom and grace are hidden by the fact that He has not disclosed all the sins of other penitents or let them be revealed so that everybody will consider himself the greatest sinner and take a place on the lowest bench. This is of good use, I said, whereas much harm would be done by the thought that there are more sinners than yourself or even bigger ones than you are.

We also remembered the late Simon Steiner, who at his end had a hard fight. From this example, of which I held back the particulars, I confirm what was said before, namely, that God let him well feel the right great sins that he had committed from youth on and that he considered greater than those of anybody in our congregation. Since this woman was worried that God, as has been threatened, will make her descendants suffer for the sins of her youth, I relieved her of this needless sorrow and assured her of the contrary from the conclusion of the Decalogue, i.e. since she and her husband surrender to our Lord at discretion, God will bless not only them, but also their seed. God lets one be much distressed in noticing the bad conduct of his children and seeing, as if in a mirror, how one behaved during his own childhood and youth. If, however, one prays for the children, gives them a constant example of godly behavior, and uses the means necessary for their education, then the Lord will lead them on the right way to our joy.

I tried to encourage her spirit, which was depressed about many other things too; and the dear God gave His blessing. She does not regard any sin or impurity as insignificant; rather every worldly desire, laziness, etc. costs her much struggle and many tears. She also complained that in atonement she has not yet experienced what is written in the 6th Psalm, etc.; but I pointed out to her the 32nd and 51st Psalms, warned her against affected atonement, and instructed her to follow only the guidance of the Lord. There will come, I said, a time when she will also experience what the 6th Psalm means (if the Lord finds it beneficial for her); for I think it deals more with the great religious temptations of Christ and His followers than with the first atonement. It also troubles her that she deceived us with her dissimulation at Old Ebenezer so that we imagined her capable of more than was actually possible for her. Oh, how great she finds the patience and forebearance of God!

The 24th of January. After the rainfall we had pleasant weather yesterday and the day before; but a strong wind came up yesterday from the north-west, which brought us almost as violent a freeze last night as we had some weeks ago. The wind drove the river water with great violence towards the sea; and therefore we hope that it will soon fall again so that the mill will not have to stop working.

Since Wednesday, our boat is being rowed to Savannah by people from Old Ebenezer, who will have an uncomfortable journey because of the rain and strong wind, but they will not mind that if only they are successful in Savannah. As long as the storehouse manager, Monsieur Jones, has been in Frederica, they have been in need and short of provisions; and they would be even worse off if they had not received a few things in their need from our community. The Englishman in charge of them takes no care of them. Those people who are working for us are much too ungrateful for all the good they have here. Nobody can complain about lack of provisions or heavy slavish work.

Mrs. Rauner returned a few weeks ago from Savannah, where she had boasted of earning so much money, yet she does not yearn to go back; so Ebenezer must have advantages over other places even for bad people. She has given away her three children, the oldest girl to a Swiss near Savannah, the youngest to Pletter on the plantations, and the boy to the overseer of the Lord Trustees cattle at Old Ebenezer at five pounds Sterling for a period of four years, where he will have to search for straying cattle in the woods and learn to handle them. [The whole family is restless and bad; and, since the children, when they were together, have caused many inconveniences in the community, it is very good that we are getting rid of them.] The mother wants to earn her living by field work, knitting, and spinning, and whatever work she can get.

The 25th of January. In dealing with some people my dear colleague has observed a few points that he has communicated to me in writing and that consist of the following: Recently [I wished to visit Mrs. Gruber, but I did not meet her at home since she was working at the orphanage threshing flour. I went there, and when Mrs. Gruber went home I had an opportunity to talk to N. [Hertzog], who was working for the orphanage. He revealed to me the condition of his heart and confessed that he could imagine nothing else but to be condemned. He used severe expressions about it. But I asked him cordially not to think that way, for it is written: As I live, saith the Lord ... etc. God has presented us His only begotten Son, John 3. He shall come to Him, God has waited for him a long time already, yea, He has started to show mercy upon him. He should just use the means of salvation correctly.

[Today] the 23rd of January [I was going to see Mrs. Floerl, but she was not alone. Mrs. Schweighoffer was praying together with her; and, therefore, I went to Mrs. Gruber. There I met some children, among whom was Catharina Holtzer; and I took the opportunity to talk with her as a sick girl. Mrs. Gruber interjected and held up to her the example of Magdalena Haberfehner, who formerly visited her often, now, however, she is out of this world, and so is her own Peter too. Meanwhile Hertzog came through and, when he saw me in the hut], after a while, when I was visiting others, he came and thanked me for having come to him recently. It seemed to him that his state of mind was better this time; he said he feels that he should not come to Christ before he is thus and thus. I answered that that was self-justification: he should merely come to Him with all his sins and place himself under His care, then He would help him. Moreover, God had just revealed his perdition to him so that he would entirely despair of himself and surrender to Him bare and naked and confess his anxiety to Him in simple terms. He responded: I think I am unworthy to creep into the wounds of our Lord Jesus! I answered: But He wishes you to, and it would be false humility if we were kept back from Him by our unworthiness. He is pleased when we come to Him.

When N. [Hertzog] was leaving, Mrs. Gruber told him that he should simply tell his sorrow to the dear God. When he was gone, she told me that the other day, when I visited him, she went to him once again and admonished him to pray eagerly and to keep up his courage even if it should last two years. She had thought then of Simon Reiter, who fought so hard in his atonement struggle that he lost his bodily strength; but when the dear Lord helped him to break through,27 he gained weight again. Then she asked me to pray, which I did. After the prayer she said: Today, Friday, is our day of reconciliation. Oh, what a blessed prayer meeting we had yesterday! Praise and thanks to God! It is especially pleasant and edifying to listen to her. She wants to be a real Mary (that is her name) and not only to listen to the word of God but also to keep it in her heart. She also admonished the Holtzer girl to eager prayer, she should walk alone to pray at least once a day, otherwise she could not expect help. She is in her simplicity, although she cannot read, a very edifying person [preacher, and her speeches are sometimes of greater value than those of a minister.]

When I came home, I told my helpmeet something about it, and she also marvelled at her blissful frame of mind and her joy in talking to others for their salvation. She also told me that the other day, when I was preaching at the plantations, she stayed in our room because of her fever and, when Kieffers oldest daughter came to visit us from Purysburg, she could speak many words of comfort to her. This is even more admirable, because Mrs. Gruber has a low status in the world, whereas the former has quite another attitude. [When I came home at that time, I could not perceive that she had taken it amiss.] One can see in this person what the grace of God can do even in people who cannot read, if only they turn back and become children again. Then they are useful tools to the glory of God and the good of their neighbors. Such simple souls get blessings from the sermon and other good opportunities, while others, who do not want to be simple souls, sometimes get nothing, even though they know much, and therefore cannot do much in the world for the glory of God. All that was very edifying to me, and therefore I have put it down in writing.

The 26th of January. After the severe freeze we have had mild weather again since last night. However, because a heavy westerly wind has come up, this nice weather will probably not last for long. [Our small boat, which was taken to Savannah by people from Old Ebenezer last Wednesday, has not returned yet. Because of the high water and the strong wind that is blowing down the river, it will, without doubt, have a hard and slow passage.] We and the pious listeners in our parish are waiting with great longing for good messages from our friends and benefactors in Europe, as we can notice not only from their conversations but also from some expressions in their prayers.

I was told that old N. [Kieffer] declared to his wife that he cannot understand how people could say that an unconverted person cannot do any good (i.e. what means good according to the judgment of Holy Scriptures and before God), whereupon his wife answered that he surely believes from the Bible that the prayers of the unconverted and godless people are an abomination unto God, so how much more then are their works? But, since he does not want to learn from her, she has sent him to me with the argument that I like such discussions and would set him on the right way. A few days ago I had to castigate something that happened in his house, whereupon he became very angry in my absence; yet the middle28 son reminded his father that he himself had asked me several times to inform him clearly if I noticed anything incorrect in him or his family, and now he was taking it amiss, etc., whereby the father calmed down and considered it in his mind. The poor man indeed wants to go to heaven, and uses the means of salvation rather accurately and earnestly. However, it has to be shown often from the word of God that no selfmade or legalistic effort suffices for salvation (as also yesterday was remembered in the example of the young man in Matthew 19:20, 24), but rather the heart must be changed, and through the gospel a man must be made into a rich earth (Hebrews: 6:7-8), a good tree, and a living branch of the vine of Christ, if something really good should come of it for the glory of God and the service to his fellow men. The old man dislikes such a theory and grumbles against it.

Yesterday, Septuagesima Sunday, we contemplated Matthew 20:1 ff. about the kindliness and friendliness of the Lord in repaying the good deeds of believers, where we had to distinguish between truly good and seemingly good works so that nobody among us would experience, like many people of all classes on the day of general judgment, when, to their great amazement, the words out of the mouth of the Impartial Judge do not say: Come here, but: Go away! Depart, thou evil-doer!, although they had been of the opinion that they had never done anything evil but rather much good and, especially for that reason, would be called blessed after their death and at their burial. In this connection not only the good and deep roots of real Christianity were represented but also its loveliness. Thus the person who does not reject the dearly merited and so abundantly offered grace will change from a good-for-nothing to one like Onesimus, who is useful to God and man and may hope for all the good in this world and in eternity from his gracious and friendly God.

The 27th of January. Mr. Thilo accompanied me to the plantations, since he had to bleed some persons in Ruprecht Steiners house, where the divine service was conducted. The water is so high on both paths leading to the plantations that one has to wade through up to the knees, and this would be bad for bleeding. Therefore the people were happy and thankful that he had ridden out to them with me. God gave us much edification from His word, which, as I hope, was also a rich reward for his trouble. Perhaps God will bless our entreaty for him to the Lord Trustees and the praiseworthy Society so that he too will be remunerated materially for his trouble.

Our boat returned today from Savannah, and I received a letter from an attendant of the storehouse asking our clockmaker /Friedrich Wilhelm Mller/for six striking clocks for General Oglethorpe in Frederica. At the same time we were informed that nobody knows how soon Mr. Jones will return from Frederica to Savannah, although we and some others are awaiting his return with ardent desire. Further, we do not hear any reports of a newly arrived ship, by which we expect good news from friends and benefactors in Europe.

[Rumors are passing around in Savannah, the certainty of which must first be confirmed, that the Roman Emperor29 has passed away, that many thousands of Spaniards have been blown up by powder mines at Gibraltar, that twenty Spanish ships were demolished by a storm, that the harbor and city of Havana were taken by the Englishmen through a stratagem,30 and that the garrison of St. Augustine is suffering extreme privation because their provisions are cut off.]

The 28th of January. Already the day before yesterday I was looking for an opportunity to talk to M.R. [Michael Rieser], but he was working at a job he could not interrupt, so I soon went away with the intention of coming to see him some other time. Today I found him in his hut, so I spoke to him in the presence of his wife about his dangerous spiritual condition. As long as he has been here he has not talked to me a single time about how his heart and soul feel; and I warned him that this was a bad sign. He had not attended the prayer meeting yesterday or during last week, as he himself had to confess, excusing himself because of a slight indisposition. In the meantime I took the opportunity to show him what had been preached from the gospel both during the last prayer meeting and last Sunday, namely, that God demands from us a real conversion and change of heart if we wish to be saved. Since many people do not wish to carry through this most important spiritual work but betray themselves by an unfounded hope (which they call the best by saying: We must hope for the best), then on the day of judgment they will hear the words: I have not yet recognized thee, depart, etc.

Since, however, this foundation of Christianity is the most important thing, I asked him not to deceive himself, but to examine himself according to the word of God as to whether he has experienced a real conversion. Because he answered, rather confusedly, neither yes nor no, I told him that, if I compared his state of mind with the word of God, I would have to say he has not yet had the blessed change of heart that God, by His word, demands without exception and that if he had died thus during his last illness he would not have done well by it. From his words I could very well know and hear that he cannot grasp my meaning. That results from his blindness, I said, for his situation is described in Acts 26:18. Therefore, I advised him not to consider himself wise, but to ask God to open his eyes. Then he would see that he is still lying in darkness and in the power of Satan and, consequently, in a wretched condition. His diligent reading and praying (of which he is very proud) would not help him if he did not achieve the mentioned state. At the same time I asked him not to withdraw from hearing the word of God. Reading is certainly good, but hearing (when one has the chance) is even better; and, I fear, with his reading it will be as with the Eunuch from Ethiopia, Acts 8, who did not understand what he was reading until Philip showed him the way. I also repeated to him the verse Romans 10:17: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

During this certainly friendly but salt-savored exhortation he behaved quite indifferently and promised me halfheartedly to comply with my admonitions. He found fault with many things in our flock and, when I demanded some details, he partly blushed with shame and partly told stuff and nonsense that spoke more against him than for him. He denied that he curses much; yet his wife contradicted him, although she otherwise dreads him like fire. He has a rather horrible fury and rage, the cause of which he puts on other people. [It does not seem that he will move away, like Spielbigler.] He hates to hear some people say, to the praise of God, that the Lord has shown much mercy on their Christianity as they have not found at other places and that they are beginning to understand the word of God better than before. Then R. [Rieser] said that he had traveled a lot through the world and had met better Christian people now and then than he has met here.

[He wished there were a civil authority here, then it would be better in the community. On my questioning he did not want to say anything else. He may perhaps think he would be able to use the civil authority better than us as a tool for his terrible rage and revenge.] The poor man does not know what he is talking about; [for, if a civil authority were here, he would have to suffer much more because of his obvious disobedience, scolding, cursing, and withdrawal from communal work.]

The oldest son of N. [Mrs. Reinlnder] recently received a good testimony from her, as his mother; it seems that he is beginning to reflect and pray and wishes to convert to God, whereas last week she noticed that not even a serious start had been made, for he had behaved toward her with such rude disobedience and used such rough words and gestures that I was shocked when she asked me to come to her. He did not wait for me; but he had gone both times I came to their home for his sake. I left with his mother for him the earnest order of God in Deuteronomy 21:18 ff. as well as some verses such as Proverbs 30:17 and Sirach 3:18, which gradually caused him to realize his sin, repent it, deplore it, and apologize for it. Today I was again there, but did not find him at home this time either. Meanwhile I told the mother again that, if his atonement is of the right kind, he will demand to be punished by her hand and it will also be her duty to insist upon it, otherwise God will punish her and him. Some parents only punish when zeal and indignation strike their hearts, whereas, when they and their children are soothed, everything is all right again. He has complained that others have seduced him, but I could prove to his mother that this was merely an empty excuse and extenuation of the sin. Meanwhile I learned something about another family, which I will turn to advantage in giving them necessary admonitions.

The 29th of January. Last night during our choral hour we had a special spiritual pleasure and rich edification from the two newly learned songs: Ich armes Menschen-Kind etc . . . and O Jesu, du bist mein . . . etc. The text is incomparably beautiful and the melody also very pleasant, as one especially notices when it is sung in four voices. Soon we will learn the edifying song: Nicht so traurig, nicht so sehr . . . etc., which also has a very impressive composition. Our listeners never tire of visiting this hour; and everything is even more edifying because at the end everybody prays on his knees, praises God, and intercedes for the whole church militant. Praise be to God, who gives us much delight, of which R. [Rieser], who was mentioned yesterday, and some others deprive themselves. The last words of the song: Ich armes Menschen-Kind, which runs as follows: Triumph, triumph, all my enemies have vanished. I have found Christ, I am a blessed child, reminded me of how I felt in, Halle among the school-boys of the German school31 at the Orphanage when they all, even the little A-B-C pupils, gathered together in the big hall for edification every week and sang this song with childish simplicity and merry voices. At a certain time before the scheduled public administration of the sacraments the late Professor Freylinghausen would assign this song in the Orphanage schools to be learned by heart by repeated singing.

[Last night very stormy weather arose with rain and strong wind; and, after the rain had settled in the northwest, a rather searing cold returned. In particular, the violent stormwind lasted all day long and also tore down various garden fences. The water in the river has risen to its highest level so that the mill has had to stop working.]

Of the children who were sent to our school from Purysburg and taken away home again, one came back last week and another one this week; and we hear that after the winter is over some more who were with us earlier will come back again.

[Friday, the 30th of January. My dear colleague informed me that on Wednesday evening our herdsman had seen an Englishman from Old Ebenezer together with his wife come out of schoolmaster Ortmanns house and go home drunk. Since I myself knew that this man had been drunk, I talked today to the schoolmasters wife about it in order to find out whether a disorder of this type had happened at their place or elsewhere. They pretended that the man had fetched some rum from the Frenchman in Carolina and must have become drunk either there or on his way. He had committed, as far as they could see, no excesses in their house. However, they could not deny that he had mixed no water in his rum and then made a drink in the English manner.

[Ortmann disculpated himself entirely and tried to minimize the whole affair as much as possible. I told him for one that it is very vexing if such disorderly people like them remain in ones house for many hours and also eat and drink there. Moreover, those who see them drunk can only think that they found the opportunity for such disorder at his place, which is very shocking for a schoolmaster. I warned him to be more careful next time, especially since this is already the second time I have heard about such disorder in his present house. The man is almost 60 years old and would have reason to prepare himself earnestly for eternity. He also pretends to be very good; and there is no getting at him to convince him that he is very badly in need of the first atonement. Her salvation also has a poor foundation, yet, despite all challenges and good resolutions, she is still thoughtless and frivolous and loves her old company. In the past they have taken it amiss when I could not be content with their conversation and frivolous behavior with the Englishmen who lodged at their place; and, since they like to burden us with strange people, we must use every possible forebearance this time too. However, if they should not comply with the present friendly admonitions but continue with disorder and annoyance, we will have to insist to a higher authority that the position of schoolmaster be taken away from him.

[Saturday, the 31st of January. Because I have not seen Michael Rieser at the prayer meeting since my last admonition, I sent to him today once more to discover his mind and intentions, which, to be sure, he had revealed a little the other day, but not completely. Today he proved to be a real gainsayer, who dared to pervert the clearest and most important verses and to interpret them according to his own sensuality to the comfort of the Old Adam. He made it clear that he does not like our congregation at Ebenezer and that, instead of edification, feels much offense, e.g. because some people boast of being faithful and Gods children, for which pride (as he called it) about the difference between pious and godless people, whereas all poor sinners are equal together. He has never heard, he said, of such a difference in other sermons, though he has travelled around a lot in the world and has heard many other preachers.

[Further, he feels offended that we do not hear confession and even repel some people from Holy Communion. This was unheard of; at other places a person must have done something special to be treated like this. Yes, it more often happens that people are driven by force to Holy Communion or else driven out of the country. One also did not hear at other places that, when people have done wrong, their evil deed is punished in public, but people are summoned, . . . etc. Here people are urged to quote and confess sins of the past (which is a false statement; but he is referring to the following: I asked him shortly after his arrival at Ebenezer whether it was true that he had started his marriage in a disorderly manner, which people among us certainly affirm, yet he denied this).

[He said many more rough and unbecoming things, and took offense at matters, speeches, and persons that others find edifying. I tried to free him from his errors and prejudices partly from Holy Scriptures and partly from the Catechism but especially from the doctrine of the keys, confession, and absolution; but he imagined himself much too clever and therefore all efforts were in vain. Since he was a wrong judge of such matters, I quoted him the verse several times: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him ... etc.; and, since he contradicted, he had to hear this verse too several times: 2 Timothy 2:25-26: In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God . . ., likewise, If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. I also told him that, even if I had not known him before, I would have become acquainted with him sufficiently now from his words and behavior. If he remained like this and rejected our frequent advice to let himself be convinced of his blindness and wretched condition by the means of salvation, and if he would not make real atonement, I would not allow him to go to the Lords Table; and, since he does not care, God would find him as a scorner of His laws. Upon departing I left him the verse Proverbs 13:21: Evil pursueth sinners; but to the righteous good shall be repaid. This verse finally forced him to say that I should not further trouble myself about him and need not care for his soul, he could do that himself and I should not come to him again. Upon these words his wife was very much astonished, and I warned her not to follow in his footsteps. She stands in slavish fear of him. I heard from this Rieser that Franaz Hernberger, who recently moved to Pennsylvania,32 told him improper things about me, whereby he misinterpreted my completely innocent actions and even imputed lies and false assertions to me. I was astonished that Hernberger could have become familiar with this man, since he had avoided contact with the really pious people among us and considered himself far better than they. He acted very ungratefully and unscrupulously toward me. May our Lord not put it to his account.]

FEBRUARY

Sunday, the 1st of February. Simon Reiter came to me from his plantation early in the morning to inform me that, with the help of God, his wife had borne a healthy little daughter last night, whom he wants to have baptized tomorrow. Up until now his wife has always been sick with quartan fever and has also been miserable and frail for other reasons too; but, even though the circumstances of birth looked very critical, our dear God helped her to his great surprise and to the strengthening of his religion. He is one who prays eagerly; and, therefore, after his report, I quoted him the verse: O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee all flesh shall come. He, Simon Reiter, himself has been afflicted with the quartan fever for a long time already; and by this he is impeded very much in his daily chores, which he carries out very loyally. How heartily we wish that an efficacious medicine were at hand to help him and some other people to overcome this lasting and difficult fever. [It seems that Mr. Thilo himself does not believe in the adequacy of the medicaments he brought along with him. Therefore he is very economical with them and scarcely hands over any medication but rather counsels sweat and patience. He himself has been suffering with it already for a long time. His wife got rid of it; however, she has had other bodily complaints since that time.]

That the wonderful medicaments sent to us as a gift from the Halle apothecarys shop are a very great benefaction to us and have good effect on the quartan fever, I know not only from the example of my dear colleague, but also from a man from the orphanage; but they have to be used carefully according to Dr. Richters instructions, and the right diet has to be observed. The fever-cake,1 of which I have formerly reported one and another thing, is still located at the old place in sick people; and Mr. Thilo has no inclination to make another attempt to remove it, since the medicine used on my wife did not have the intended effect. However, because of certain circumstances she had to discontinue using the medicine ex ipsius consilio;2 and therefore she had only half a cure. We hope to receive some medications shortly, especially for this purpose, from Professor Juncker of Halle, as Dr. Francke has assured us in one of his last letters.

The bridges we have to cross in going from the plantations to town are deep under water. Therefore last Friday after the edification hour we agreed that a certain man should take the men, women, and children who want to go to church back and forth by boat, and this was done today. Yesterday a man complained that the water he had to pass through was up to his waist, so now he feels pains in the abdominal region. Anyone who does not know that the river water sometimes rises so high will not believe that bridges placed so high would become useless.

Monday, the 2nd of February. This morning some men traveled to Savannah to take calves down there; and I used the occasion to write a letter to the storehouse attendant wherein I asked him to inform me as soon as Monsieur Jones3 returned from General Oglethorpe, since I intended to travel to him as soon as possible according to Gods will in order to get General Oglethorpes answer to my last letter and also the money he promised to bring along with him for the harvest of 1739,4 of which our dear people stand in much need now. If letters from Europe should have arrived (for which we are waiting every day with great desire), I asked him to keep them there until we fetch them, since I do not trust these men to preserve them safely enough. [We are eager to receive a trustworthy report whether our letters and diaries sent during the last few years and longer have arrived safely or whether some of them might have been lost because of the present insecure shipping, for we and the community greatly desire our friends and benefactors to learn about the circumstances of our life from time to time.] As soon as Monsieur Jones returns to Savannah and one of us goes to him, we are again planning to take some letters and the diary for this year along for delivery. Our latest writings have been recommended not only to people but also to our Lord himself, who commands everywhere over land and sea and is in minimis saepe maximus,5 by our prayer to His fatherly hands; so we believe and hope that He will lead them safely to their destination and that He also will rejoice us with good answers from Europe after our patient expectation and quiet waiting under our present ordeal, especially at the orphanage.

Because I was bled today, my dear colleague undertook the journey to the plantations in the rainy weather in order to baptize the little child who was born yesterday; and therefore school was suspended for one day. The rain started at night and lasted all day long, for which reason the water of the river will surely rise even higher.

Zettler, who, since his move from Purysburg, has started making shoes for the community, [complained today that his unscrupulous master is injuring his reputation at Purysburg especially by saying that he has stolen leather from him, whereas there is no proof of it. Since he heard the explanation of the eighth commandment yesterday, he assured me that, if he were conscious of the slightest faithlessness, he would gladly confess and make good for it.] He is practicing his profession in Sanftlebens lodgings at the plantations, and it seems that he is all right now. Also, more than before, he esteems the benefit of being at our place in quietness with good people and with the word of God. At the same time he realizes that we were always well disposed towards him in bodily and spiritual things, and he also humbly apologized for his former rudeness toward me. God sometimes lets people fall through their own fault into some confusion and disorder for the purpose of making them reflective and meditative.

Tuesday, the 3rd of February. Spielbigler informed us that he had gone to Savannah to see Colonel Stephens in order to get permission to go to Charleston together with his mother for one year, where he wants to earn some money. He was, however, sent to me; and I should decide as I think it proper. He referred to a witness in Savannah who will assure me of the truth of his statement. He is leaving his cattle here and also wants to keep his house lot, since he claims to wish to come back sometime. I will not keep him back, and it would be better if he moved away completely, because he and his mother do not conform to any order.

[Last night the wind was very violent, an afterwards it became rather cold. The thievish fellow who is lurking in our region still incommodates us often during the night and cannot be caught in spite of all pains taken. Today some men have again searched all over the place where his secret hiding place is suspected, but they could not find any track of him. He is no Negro slave, as was supposed for a long time, but a white man of small stature, since he was observed a few times by some people.]

It was agreed upon that the church building was to start around Maria Candlemas, but the carpenters have found some major obstacles so that they cannot start this week and probably not next week either, although they very much wish to. Anyone who knows how much work the people have to do for themselves and others readily has patience, which I will also have to practice, although I spare no pains in reminding and encouraging them. Some of them do not have a real kitchen for their wives and children, not to speak of a bed room; for they were prevented from building them by other even more necessary work.

N.N. [Michael Rieser] has travelled to Savannah. Perhaps he, like Spielbigler, is looking for some other place that he might like more than Ebenezer. I visited his wife in order to find out whether she approves her husbands bad speeches and behavior. She realizes his many sins, yet she does not make much of them but rather excuses them. She is certainly more honest6 than he is but inexperienced in the ways of Christianity. Recently I taught her that by nature all mankind is lost in the ways of depravity and therefore all are equal before God and the Last Judgment, but by His mercy a difference can and must be found in Gods order when somebody converts to atonement and to a religious faith that not only comprehends Christ and His divine salvation but also cleanses and changes his heart and changes the person to a good tree of God. I admonished her to experience this holy matter and said she would thus be enabled to pray for her husband and his conversion and to convince him without a word but only by her way of living. Since he cannot stand any opposition from her or anybody else, she will have to choose the right time for talking to him about his change for the better, but will have to take care not to agree with him and take part in his sins, because one must obey God more than men.

Wednesday, the 4th of February. Last night I heard from young K. [Kieffer]7 that his wife was restless again. Something heavy is oppressing on her conscience, but she does not wish to admit it. Therefore I was asked to talk to her today after the preparation for Holy Communion, which she also attends, and ask for the reason of her restlessness. However, today she herself stayed behind after the lesson; and, after I had persuaded her lovingly, she told me her hearts sorrow. [She had promised with hand and mouth and oath (as she expressed it) to marry a Reformed tailor journeyman with whom she had sinned contra sextum.8 Up to now she has always denied to the young Kieffer, her present husband, as well as to me that she had been connected with him, and this now troubles her very much; she cannot believe that God will forgive her this sin.] As this matter (she confessed to me) was not a trifling thing, I could not depreciate it; yet I had to show her the improbity of her behavior according to Gods word. However, I also told her that she will find Gods grace, because He has ordained that she has repented her sins through the word of God in our parish, because even prostitutes and publicans can reach the kingdom of heaven if they do true atonement. She should just pray to God that He disclose her perdition better, because the abscess must first be pressed open before it can be cured. I asked her of another matter, concerning something of which she is suspected, suggesting that she will never find her peace with tricks and falsity, but she refused that. She realizes that if she had stayed in N. [Carolina] [and married the tailor] she would have never repented her sins, but would have gone deeper and deeper into them. She has come to us quite ignorant; also the verse: This is a faithful way of saying; and worthy of all acceptation, likewise, I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart she could not recite. May God give her, her husband, and others who are connected with her, the wisdom to treat her in the right way, as I will also give her husband some directions. It seems that the dear Lord is moving the Kieffer family, awakening them from their place of security and leading them to the gravity of Christianity [since they have come closer to us]. They are very eager in visiting the prayer meeting and other good arrangements, and we can observe that they hear the word of God with the right application. I was much impressed when I was told that a [grown up] son of Kieffer spent all the time between the prayer meeting and singing lesson praying on his knees to God. May God give them constancy in vigil, prayer, and struggle; otherwise, like others who have made a good beginning, they will gradually be corrupted, even before the time of blossoming and true fruition.

[Things are not going well for the shoemaker Adde on whom God has worked eagerly to convince him of his perdition and bring him to good resolutions. As long as he has been married to his wife, he has sinned through disputes, quarrels, and beatings which he, it is true, has recognized as sins and promised to correct; but, notwithstanding our many beseeching admonitions, he was again induced to the same offenses by which he was prevented again yesterday from visiting the prayer hour, which, by Gods blessing, would have been as beneficial to him as to other people. When I came to see him today, the first thing I wanted to hear was whether they had led their married state like Christians since my last visit. However, they did not say a word until finally they had to confess. They live in such horrible confusion that they have not only made a mess of all that is good, but have also irritated their children with hard and angry words. Therefore they are deeply in fault and could not be rescued from their disorder by my advice today. They have often felt the heavy hand of God because of their sins, and it will be even harder if they will not do atonement. If they do not follow good advice soon and make use of Gods grace better, then I am afraid nothing will come of their Christianity and that they will fare like Spielbigler and Michael Rieser so that our parish and all that is good will be but an oven of pain to them.]

Thursday, the 5th of February. A small Popish book, called Gldenes Mess-Bchlein,9 was sent to me in order to draw it out of sight of children and other people to prevent it from harming them. At the same time God was praised for having given us the light of His gospel, which is a very dear benefaction of our Lord in comparison with the darkness of Popery. Although there are many superstitious and idolatrous things in the little book, I also found several very glorious prayers to Christ, the mediator, showing that the wisdom of God may have ordained that, in times of want, fearful consciences may find some crumb even in Popery.

The old N. [Rieser]10 has been busy in building for some time; and therefore I was unable to talk to him alone. Today I found him singing some songs that were printed separately and distributed to the Salzburgers, so I entered into a conversation with him. God is still working on him heavily as he demonstrated emphatically by his words and tears. Gods inconceivably great love (which he called frightfully great), which endures from eternity to eternity among people who fear him, seemed marvelous to him. But, since up to now there has been no shame in his heart for his unthankfulness against this everlasting love and also no evangelical contrition and real counter-love, I admonished him to feel them, for, because of his age, it was high time for him to prepare earnestly for eternity.

His wife also approached and reminded him to ask me the things he cannot accommodate to, i.e. that an unconverted human being can do no spiritual good. From that he inferred that such a person could therefore not pray and convert to God. This is truly impossible through the power of nature, but it is possible through Gods grace and its acceptance. I explained this theory to him with the example of his frivolous children, on whom he will not perceive any spiritual good until their hearts are moved and they receive a powerful emotion. If they let all this work on themselves, it will soon be revealed even openly; and, if they would grasp the proffered hand of God, they would eventually be pulled out of their perdition and become good fruit-bearing trees.

Friday, the 6th of February. Christian Riedelsperger, who has worked very satisfactorily at the orphanage for nine months, is now returning to his own household. He would be willing to stay there for a longer period of time if I only could make it possible for some other pious man in harmony with Mr. Kalcher to be taken into the orphanage and thus lessen the work. However, I can go only as far as God gives me the means. It is better for the planting and other things belonging to the household to be left undone and for children and grownups to have to manage with the utmost necessities of life than to contract many debts. We trust God to send us help at the right time. So I take it as a good omen that Mr. Kalcher is still strong in his faith and cheerful in spite of all needs and trials and full of hope that God will draw all of the children to Him. This morning, to strengthen his faith, he remembered the song: Befiehl du deine Wege . . . etc., which the Honorable Senior Urlsperger had sung at the departure of the second transport from Augsburg. It reads at the end: He will see it through.

At our last singing lesson we learned the song: Nicht so traurig, nicht so sehr . . . where in stanza II it is said emphatically: God is full of love for you and is loyal in His heart. When you wish, He tests to see how your wish may be. It if it is good, He grants it, if it is bad. He answers No.

The miller asked me to inform people in town that we can grind again at the mill now that the water is going down a little bit. Although the river had risen to the highest level, the mill was not under water. Before the dam was erected, the land where the mill is now situated was always flooded by the extremely high water which now is being driven back into a small affluent. I was told that the mill could always grind if the channel or millrace were only one foot higher and consequently could hold more water. The planks for it are already sawn; as soon as it is possible to him, Kogler will raise the channel to the necessary height. At present he and some others are busy building a few houses at the plantations, since the woodwork for them was prepared long ago. The remaining houses, for which wood and other materials are also ready, will probably not be built this winter, because shortly after this the start of the church-building should be made.

[Saturday, the 7th of February. The shoemaker Adde and the young Rheinlnder have quarreled about an external matter; so I let them come to me to decide their case. After my urgent request both of them gave in and soon came to peace. When people have external quarrels, it reveals, as in Corinthians 6, whether a beginning has been made in Christianity. Commandments, words, and works easily show the bottom of their hearts.

[The shoemaker promised me that the dissension with his wife is finished; but I admonished him to do atonement and showed him how to behave to his wife as a father of a family and husband, even if she should exceed the barriers of her duty. May God convert both of them, then they will become better.

[Through Old Ebenezer and Savannah a rumor has come to our community which I am trying to discredit among our people. I believe it a sin against the 9th commandment to believe and repeat things that are only known ex rumore vulgi11 and to the prejudice of our neighbors, especially if they concern superiors and benefactors. This babble concerns General Oglethorpe and Mr. [Thomas] Jones, as if they have gotten orders to leave their positions to others and return to London. Some reasons are being asserted which are only a surmise and are probably taken from the journal of Mr. Stewart, which has become known.

[It was said os in parede12 that Michael Rieser today had a painful accident, whereby he, as usual, got sinfully enraged and used bad language. It was his fault more than his wifes that she, while grinding corn together with him, knocked one of his teeth to pieces with the shaft of the iron mill and hurt his mouth. Now she will probably have to suffer again for that! If he would only let it serve to his good and believe that it did not happen by chance. He does not want (according to his self-willed expression) to give the Salzburgers the pleasure of grinding on the newly built mill, but contents himself with the hand-mill in town. He was unwilling to work at building the mill and gave poor excuses when I asked him for his help. Because he obstinately excluded himself from the work, he now excludes himself from the benefits too. Spielbigler does the same. Every sin brings a sin with it already down here, even if the blind do not realize it.]

Sunday, the 8th of February. Last evening my dear colleague started to contemplate the Passion story from St. Luke instead of the catechism; and he will go through the same lesson today at the plantations when he holds public worship for the edification of his listeners. May God place His rich blessings on it as He has always done.

Two points of the gospel for Esto mihi Sunday were discussed in town: the importance and usefulness of the passion of our Lord; and we prefaced the exordium with the excellent verse from Isaiah 43: Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, which are most lovely and friendly words of our Lord Jesus.

Monday, the 9th of February. After the last wind and rain we have again had a heavy frost by day and night, and everybody who has lived here during the past winters is amazed that the coldness is so very severe and long lasting this time. Yesterday the weather became milder with some rain in the evening and this morning it was still raining strongly, whereupon a warm and lovely spring weather set in. The weather changes often in this country.

After the house prayer hour the tailor Christ stayed behind to announce that he intends to go to the Lords Table next Sunday. He is most anxious to be restored to his old condition (as he puts it), i.e. to be accepted again into the orphanage for board and tailor work, since he cannot earn as much alone as he needs for his living. [He is sickly and has not learned his profession correctly, which is either his own or his masters fault.] As much as we wish to help the poor man and advise him in his physical and mental circumstances, which are sometimes quite confused, we are not always able to do so. This I told him already the other day. Again today I had to direct him to prayer and patience; and I promised him that his request will be realized as soon as our Lord sends us some relief for the orphanage. [We are trying to do him good -- in spite of the fact that he more than once has forfeited the benefit of the orphanage.]

We have childlike confidence in the Almighty Father, reconciled by Christ, that He will send us some physical blessings from Europe soon so that we can pay both the people who worked at the indispensable construction of some parts of the orphanage and also other debts, because the orphanage helps to bear the burdens of the community and tries to make it easy for the poor as much as possible. For example, besides the clothing for the herdsmen on the plantations, the orphanage pays 5 pound Sterling a year to the herdsman in town, the rest being provided by the community. Some time ago we also bought a convenient, well-built cottage for the schoolmaster Ortmann, for which we are in debt for 2 pound Sterling. For Mr. Thilo all sorts of things were constructed in his new dwelling; and another hut for him will be placed nearby, because the parlor is too small for him. All this will amount to a few pounds too.

Christian Riedelsperger has worked faithfully at the orphanage for nine months and has proved himself as in Colossians 3:22-23. In return we would like to repay him something, if our Lord Christ presents us with some gifts (v. 24) especially because he has used up his own clothing and neglected his own household.

Tuesday, the 10th of February. During the prayer hour last night the renegade thief /Nicholas Carpenter/ who is said to be not a Negro slave, but a white person of short stature) caused trouble again in my dear colleagues courtyard while we were at the prayer hour and only a girl was at home taking care of his child. He acted as if he belonged in the house, paid no attention to the girls words, and even threatened her with shooting. [The guard went to the prayer hour only yesterday, the evening before they had lain in wait for him.]

During the night from Saturday to Sunday this wicked man did much damage on Ruprecht Steiners plantation. He stole twelve old hens from the barn and also tried to break into the calf stall to take the calf from the cow, but the stall was too solidly built and therefore he only tore away the outside shingles. From Steiners neighbor, Brandner, he stole a little eight week old pig from the sty and wounded another the same night. In doing so he lost a new fox skin and a very ugly kerchief. People on the plantations now earnestly wish to see to it that he is caught and sent away, because they fear that after stealing there comes murder, as we have seen in the case of the two people hanged in Savannah.13

Mrs. N. [Bacher] is earnestly practicing her Christianity and wants nothing more than to win her husband too so that she can serve our Lord Christ together with him in the same spirit and be a model for their children. Because I find that she is still too timid to win her husband and, in trying, becomes uneasy and loses her right joy of spirit, I told her that a friendly persuasion and encouragement are good and necessary. However, it should not have the least appearance of arrogated authority, but should derive only from true humility, cordial love, and piety. Especially, she should bear in mind the rules St. Peter gave through the Holy Spirit to the pious women 1 Peter 3:1-2. Furthermore, she should pray for him eagerly, which, together with her good example, will have more influence than many words; because obstinate men usually do not like to accept something from women if they are admonished or reminded.

Yesterday they moved to their newly built hut, so this pious woman wants me to consecrate it with the word of God, prayers, and a hymn of praise, whenever I can come. In any event, I had planned to spend tomorrow on the plantations with people who want to go to the Lords Table. Therefore I promised to visit her first of all in the morning, for which purpose Mrs. Bacher will invite some other grace-hungry women. The husband is an eager hearer of the word of God and walks a long way to hear it although his legs are weak. He also realizes that he is still in want of true Christianity and continuous eager prayer. He is industrious in his profession and peaceable with his neighbors, but not yet a real Christian. Concern for his stomach and love for earthly things are his strongest snares. I hope however he will be won sometime by the abounding grace of God.

Some time ago Mrs. N. [Leimberger] was also badly off with her husband and suffered a lot; but it seems to me that after she learned more about her duties from the Haus-Tafel14 and treated her husband in the right way, not only the former animosity and opposition has come to an end but a real beginning in Christianity has been started and Christian harmony has begun between the two of them.

Wednesday, the 11th of February. [During this week several letters have been written, such as to the Praiseworthy Society,15 to Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, to the Honorable Senior Urlsperger, and to Doctor Francke. These, together with the diary from the 9th of January up to this date, were packed together and sent with todays boat for Savannah to Colonel Stephens for dispatch. May God soon vouchsafe us a gratifying message from our friends and benefactors in Europe to our encouragement and His praise!]

This morning we had a heavy rain, which prevented me from keeping yesterdays promise to go to Bachers plantation and consecrate their new home with prayer and the word of God. Besides my bodily weakness, another obstacle occurred; and my staying at home was of some use, so that I could recognize Gods fatherly direction even in these humble circumstances.

[In the afternoon our boat, loaded with calves, left for Savannah. My dear colleague has accompanied it in order to deliver our packet safely at the right place and to take care of other necessary things.]

N.N. [old Kieffer] and his wife [who came up from Purysburg] registered for Holy Communion, which will be held next Sunday. The man recognizes his former way and regrets his blindness in having thought himself a good Christian for so long, even though he had not yet made the first steps to it, that is to say, a real conversion to God. He told me many things I need to know; and, since he sinned against a person [in the community] some time ago by an unkind judgment, he now recognizes and regrets it very much. He is still in some confusion because of his children and household. May God help him out of his trouble, so that the work that has begun will not be destroyed.

Zettler also visited me and wished to go to Holy Communion. It seems to me that his confession of his former blindness and wickedness and of his good endeavors to turn toward God is honest. I advised him to wait awhile for Holy Communion: during this passion time he has a very good opportunity to prepare even better and to learn his catechism, which he has almost forgotten [at his masters in Purysburg. Sanftleben and the members of his family are also going to Holy Communion about Easter; and, since he lives in his house, they can encourage each other to find a solid foundation of real Christianity.] He was very satisfied with this advice because he realizes that waiting is better for him than thoughtless precipitation.

Thursday, the 12th of February. Some time ago N. [Leitner] committed an excess in drinking, together with the ill-behaved Spielbigler, against which he was warned energetically from the word of God. He did not take the chastisement in good part at that time, but now he is beginning to recognize his former sins and is making an earnest resolution to start a new life. I advised him to pray diligently and get acquainted with a real Christian man in his neighborhood if his new resolution is not to fade away; because beginners in Christianity need instruction and guidance much more than in normal life.

From the confessions of some pious people I learned that the dear God has blessed the sermon about the words of the story in 2 Samuel 7:14, which was repeated yesterday to appease their afflicted souls. From the private discussions with such true souls, who want some certainty concerning their Christianity and salvation, we become aware of the fact that, because of their feeling of spiritual distress, some of them do not wish to accept the consolation of the gospel, which is truly made for the poor, suffering, wretched, and burdened people, and some lose all courage because they notice new debilities and transgressions. Therefore, we familiarized them with the fatherly heart of God in Christ from the parallel passage, Psalms 89:30-31, which deals with the seed of Messiah and his children, and also from Psalms 103:13 ff., and showed them that the reconciled Father not only forgives and covers up all past and present sins for the penitent sinners who consider and detest it as their greatest cross and abominable horror. He also forgives and covers inducements to sin, ascending lusts, etc. forever and ever merely for the sake of the merits and overpayments of Christ. He also remits all penalties due to them with the reservation to punish outwardly and inwardly according to His wisdom, Romans 8:1.

If a penitent person humbly and believingly grasps this gospel, as the hand of a beggar grasps a gift, and adopts the gracious word of God despite his feelings, he will also receive the power of resisting the assaults of sin better and better, and finally of overcoming them; because we have justification and strength in our Lord. I then felt it proper to familiarize the parish with the heartfelt penitential prayer our blessed Luther pronounced every night before going to bed. In his confession before God he used to acknowledge that he belonged in the infernal fires with body and soul, both inwardly and outwardly, wherever he might walk or stand. There was nothing good in him, not a hair on his head, and he belonged totally in the abyss of hell. Therefore he was relying entirely on Christ alone, etc. I would like to have the useful book Lutherus redivivus,16 which I would turn to advantage through the help of the Holy Spirit.

The two young K. [Kieffers] visited me last night to announce their desire to go to Holy Communion together with their parents. God is leading them back in their spirit to the past years, so that they recognize their many youthful sins, deny their imagined piety, and seek for a better justification in Christ. One of them mentioned his sins against the 8th commandment, which impressed his heart on Sunday a week ago. He is [still working and living at his fathers place and therefore] not in the position to free himself from the Ablatum17 by restitution. For the instruction of people who are in the same position as he is, we recently reminded them of something pertinent in the story of David, namely that God took the good will to build a beautiful house for the Ark of the Covenant for the deed.

At that time he could not attend the prayer meeting, so I now told him that while restitution is absolutely necessary as the inevitable result of atonement and as a sign of sincere enmity against the sin, if a penitent sinner does not have the means to repay at present, he should have the desire to do so as soon as the dear God gives him the means; because faith must also work through love anyway and must flow to ones neighbor in good deeds but without seeking reparation of the sin or personal merit. In the meantime a person who has done damage to others should pray for them heartily that the almighty and wise God may repay it in his place with spiritual and earthly goods. God will surely do so, because He has sent us His Son, and why should He not give us everything with Him (even what we have recently taken from our neighbor).

This morning I traveled [to Bacher and from there to some other] plantations, and I find the following worthy of note: 1) Some men and women from the neighborhood came together to consecrate Bachers new home, to hear the word of God, and to pray and to sing. As a text I chose that part of the passion sermon recently dealt with which is found in Luke 22:10-12 and interpreted the three wonderful divine attributes of our meritorious Savior to them for instruction and consolation, i.e. His omniscience, omnipotence, and kindness. His all-seeing eye is turned towards even the most trifling acts of mankind, such as, here, the carrying of the water jug. This should teach us always to walk before His countenance and in fear of Him and to turn the eyes of our mind and soul upon Him always and in all our actions; because this would be a good preservation against all excesses and would, so to speak, sweeten all our works and our toilsome life. Just as He showed His omnipotence and heart-guiding power to His disciples, animal owners,18 and cheering multitudes in Matthew 21:1 ff., He also showed them in the householder whose heart He inclined to empty the hall, which had already been prepared for serving the Easter lamb, despite the severe commands of his superiors (John 9:22. Cf. 11:57).

We also remembered how gloriously and powerfully our Lord led the hearts of many people in Europe to do much good to the Salzburgers during their emigration and to prepare the necessary shelters for them. May He show Himself first as merciful and powerful in caring for His people and even more in converting their hearts, etc. As a sign of our Lord Jesus kindness we can see His actual entrance into the house of His presumably secret follower, which has brought him, like Zacheus, salvation and grace even though he had so many weaknesses, which were surely much greater than those of our Lords disciples. As it would have been shameful and harmful to refuse the desire of our Lord to enter and send Him away like the Samaritans, Luke 9:52-53, so too it would be eternally harmful and shameful for us and everybody else and to the inhabitants of this new dwelling, not to open door and gate for Him when He knocks. He readily entered that mans house uninvited; how much more willing He will be at our prayer.

2) Mrs. Krause was also present and stayed behind together with her sister, Mrs. Kornberger, to complain to me of her spiritual suffering. Some time ago a pious woman told her one must, and also can, obtain a certainty of ones state of grace. At that time she has not paid much attention to these words, but afterwards she remembered and struggled in that direction. However, she does not feel any better since the last use of Holy Communion, but lazy and discouraged, etc. Her sister standing beside her remembered that some time ago she had had much trouble because of her husband, her domestic situation, and her own fault and had lost all confidence and hope that it could and would get better, and she also lost much weight during that time, etc. Through private conversations she has been encouraged not to fret so much but to cast her grief upon the Lord, which she has done every time she has suffered a new pain. After this everything changed with her, and she regained her old strength. I was able to apply this to Mrs. Krauses benefit.

3) Other pious women regretted not having known that we had gathered at Mr. Bachers plantation; they thought it had happened yesterday. I found three of them together in a hut and learned that they were discussing what had been preached about the story of David.

4) The carpenters were busy building a house for Brandner; and they are determined to start with the church construction next week in the name of God. We are still pondering how we can arrange the construction most suitably without making any debts. If we should receive letters from Europe before the laying of the foundation in order to know whether our dear God will send us a contribution for the church construction from there, we would be able to act accordingly. May God lead all hearts, so that the construction of the church will be good, agreeable, and well pleasing to Him.

5) I had suspected, and somebody else confirmed this presumption, that a certain man does not want to come into close contact with me because of an error which he committed and which is known to me and that he therefore plans to stay away from Holy Communion this time. However, I talked to him before the edification hour and accomplished much by the grace of God so that he attended the consecration of the house, recognized his fault sincerely, and promised to be more careful in the future and to go to Holy Communion in the name of God.

Friday, the 13th of February. This week and also today it was raining heavily, therefore the journey to the plantations for celebrating the edification hour was rather difficult. But many people assembled and our Lord honored us with His merciful presence and much revival of our hearts. We heard the end of the very noteworthy Chapter 7 of 2 Samuel. Before the lesson I visited N. [the Schmidts] in their hut at their request; and I had much spiritual refreshment from the blessed condition I saw in this married couple. The man had previously had a great burden with his wife, but since her conversion to God his joy is now even greater. Already yesterday I had a very good testimony about her from an experienced Christian woman. It is of great value that the enlightened souls keep together and strengthen each other with prayer and the word of God, even if they live at a rather great distance from each other.

My dear colleague returned home this afternoon, but the boat itself was rowed up the shortest way to the mill river and left there. It is said with certainty in Savannah that several ships, among them Captain Thomsons, have suffered shipwreck in the Channel, therefore we are less surprised that we have not received any messages from Europe for a long time. It will work out to our best by the help of God.

Since there is a great lack of shirts and other things necessary for the housekeeping at the orphanage, we had to borrow a piece of Osnabrck linen in Savannah, which is very expensive like everything else. Our letters and diaries will be sent away next week by Colonel Stephens. Some women fled a few months ago to Pennsylvania and New York from fear of the Spaniards, but now they have returned because the cold there during this winter was said to be excessively great.

I received a letter from a member of the municipal council in Savannah reporting that Nicholas Carpenter, who was sent from England six years ago to serve me as a small boy but was returned to General Oglethorpe, has run away together with another servant.19 Without doubt this is the thief who has caused us so much trouble so far. From childhood on he has done some petty larcenies, in Frederica too; and he knows all the hiding places in this vicinity. It is likely that another fellow is together with him, because one boy alone could not carry away so many hens and a little pig, as happened some days ago on the plantations.

[Mr. Habersham, who now works as the manager at Mr. Whitefields orphanage, wrote to me asking for four barrels of cornmeal. He wants to talk to me, but does not answer my last letter, wherein I referred to some aid for our orphanage promised to me by Mr. Whitefield. The flour sent to General Oglethorpe on his demand as a sample from our mill has, to my surprise, remained in the storehouse in Savannah until now because of a lack of convenient means of transportation to Frederica, and has only now been sent away. But my letter he must have received a long time ago.]

Saturday, the 14th of February. [The old Swiss carpenter /Krsy/ has experienced some unpleasantness with Mrs. Ortmann, which I tried to settle. It is difficult to convince these people of their injustice when they are inconvenienced by the judgment I made. He has lived for six months in her old hut but is now moving out, so I hope that there will be external peace again. It is mostly her fault, and such a discord would never have developed if she had acted according to the directions given her and her husband long ago. She worries about things which should not be settled by her but by her husband. For some time I have been troubled about the schoolmaster and afraid that he would contract debts through his business operations;20 and, unfortunately, it has indeed already happened, for his wife conducts her household in such a way and buys all sorts of clothes as if they had enough money for everything. He hopes he will be able to pay back his debts by the beginning of May when he gets his half-years salary. I cannot see, however, what they will live on after that.]

Some time ago Brckner started suffering from epileptic attacks and cannot be cured, although he takes some medicine according to Mr. Thilos prescription and is being bled frequently. Since these symptoms, his heart has become much mellower and he is now earnestly contemplating the Kingdom of God, wherein his wife is keeping him true company. They are both very poor, and we have been planning a long time already to help him with some money toward buying his locksmiths tools, the purchase of which was very hard for him. But up to now we do not have the necessary means.

Sunday, the 15th of February. Yesterday and this morning we had a wet and cold weather as on preceding days; but at the time of our morning worship it cleared up and we enjoyed the most beautiful spring weather all day long. Today fifty-one persons went to Holy Communion who were edified and refreshed by the word of God yesterday as well as today. Last night several people from the plantations attended the prayer hour [in which a very edifying example was read and discussed according to the listeners circumstances.]

[Ernst claimed that he is now coming to a better understanding of his sins, also of the ones he committed in Germany, and that he feels very uneasy in his conscience. I dont trust him because he has often deceived me by false promises. But I would wish from my heart that all his many and terrible sins will be revealed and repented here in this world to his true conversion rather than there in eternity before the tribunal of God. He and his wife are still very blind and ignorant, they have neglected the opportunity for even a literal recognition. If he will not be more diligent in using and hearing the word of God, I have but little hope for a change to the better.]

Monday, the 16th of February. A man asked my advice on some external matters this morning and told me on that occasion that the dear word of God means more to him every day. He was sorry only at being unable to use it nearly as much as he wishes; he can remember only too little of what he has heard and read. I told him that, while reading and listening, he should pay attention to what the Holy Spirit urges at his heart. He should keep this in mind and pray. For the verse, lesson, and comfort he receives in such a time in his heart through the power of the Holy Spirit is the lesson he should learn; little by little he will understand more. If one stretches ones mind too far and (as eager souls do) tries to remember everything one has read and heard and is still unable to because of his weakness, then one becomes full of fear and, in addition, loses the especially desired blessing. If he, therefore, reads one or several chapters of the Bible, he should remember one or another verse or a special divine truth which impresses him at the time or fits his present condition. I told him the parable of rich food: if one eats too much of it, one prevents digestion and even does harm to ones health. The Holy Scriptures are like a beautiful garden, full of lovely flowers of all kinds; but, if one tried to hold them all or most of them together at one time and wished to take delight in them, one would be overloaded.

During this year we have reminded people several times in public that listeners who have the opportunity to hear much good from the word of God on Sundays should be sparing and careful in reading other good books, since they would probably get acquainted with too many and even with the kind of religious materials that have not been explained to them at that time in the sermons. This would cause them to forget the already inculcated and accepted divine truths. Servants of the word of God take their materials and sermons out of the hand of the Principals; therefore they and their listeners may believe that whatever is preached to them in the name of our Lord is the material most suitable for them. During the service and the catechisation they are always led into the Bible, which they always bring with them into church, and they get the opportunity to read it again and meditate about it. Good books and the regular use of them are also of value.

Tuesday, the 17th of February. A girl, who is among those being prepared for the Lords Table, asked me to lend her Arndts Christianity. She attested with tears that the Spirit of God is laboring strongly and lovingly at her heart to convert her to our Lord Jesus, which is also her earnest desire. I admonished her to enter into prayer and conversation with another girl, for whom I also have good hope, so that the Lord Himself can soon bring her to the point of being accepted for the high favor of Holy Communion at Easter. May God give her and others the sense of those Christian virgins who have concluded a covenant with Jesus, their soul-bridegroom, so that, when she has to do worldly or domestic duties in obedience to her parents or else be together with people and talk to them, every move of her heart and every pulse and beat of her veins should take the place of a sigh and desire for Him as a sign of her love and faithfulness to Him, because she would not wish to live other than in Him, before Him, by Him and on His account.

For the sake of exercise I went home by foot in the presently very beautiful spring weather through most of the plantations; and, while listening to a man telling me about the power of the divine word in his heart, I stepped over a snake, which the man walking behind me saw and killed. I thought of the word that Satan quoted in a garbled manner in the recent gospel: He shall give his angels charge concerning thee; and in their hands they shall bear thee up . . . , etc.21

[A woman by the roadside requested my permission for her and her husband to attend Holy Communion next time. They have been repelled a few times for good reasons. But I will see, when I go to them and they come to me, how far they have come with their preparations.]

When I came home two maidservants from Old Ebenezer brought me a letter from Savannah asking me to help them and their master at Old Ebenezer to get sixteen bushels of corn in the community. I answered that the people are not selling corn any more, since what is left is being used by ourselves and the orphanage. But if the Englishman at Old Ebenezer would help us get back our horse, which ran away three years ago and is now with an Englishman at Palachocolas, and if he would bring it back to us, I would present him with six bushels of corn. This year corn is very scarce all over, which may result from the campaign in the spring. Many people, masters and servants, were deterred from planting at that time by their military service.

Today our good God has given us much edification from His word, and especially from the gospel, both at the plantations and in town. We have started to contemplate some points of the introduction to the story in 2 Samuel 2:8. May He change us to empty vessels, so that He can fill them up with His spirit and grace and prepare them for all good works. The reason that many people do not realize the right essence of Christianity results not only from abuse but also from a wrong understanding of the gospel. We can observe that even persons of our parish let themselves be hindered from the application of the gospel by all sorts of vain and nonessential things, pretending to be careful and cautious; therefore they remain under the law and live in anxiety.22

Wednesday, the 18th of February. N. of N. [Kieffer of Purysburg] has stayed with his sons at their plantation in our neighborhood for the sake of edification; and today he and his wife traveled home again. From his words and deeds one can well see that God has sent him much good from His word and that he is earnestly endeavoring to become certain of his salvation in the divine order of God. He has borrowed a book from us for his own and his familys edification, the reading of which has already been of use to him here. He wishes for one of us to preach the gospel of Christ to the people of N. [Purysburg] and hopes that it will be of some use to them. He recognizes that Satan has built his empire in that region not only in the terrible sinfulness there but also in ignorance; and he considers himself to be an example of the latter. I will see how the dear God will ordain the matter.

I was very much delighted to hear that a pregnant person, who seems to be subjected to many critical conditions, is making good use of the words that I, as she says, told somebody else some time ago during her hard birth pains: If, however, it turns out that you remain true to Him, He will release you; when you least expect it, He will free your heart from such a heavy burden. ...23 By these lovely words I was quite unexpectedly reminded of the fatherly grace of our good God, which He has also shown to my house, Hallelujah!

I visited Mrs. Floerl and Mrs. Gruber and was greatly refreshed with them, especially when I noticed that our dear God is blessing them splendidly with His gospel. They well recognize their unworthiness and complain about it, but they hope through their prayers and their whole Christianity for the pure mercy of their heavenly Father and the perfect merit of Christ. Some points of their confession were very impressive to me; however, I have some scruples against writing them down. On these and other souls we learn what we sing: God will not forsake the soul, He loves it far too much.24 I am also pleased that they perceive the favor and grace of God in other religious women, and every one of them thinks of the other as being better than herself. They also edify each other with cordial and (which pleased me very much) thorough exhortations and instructions and advance each other in good, of which I learned some particulars.

Thursday, the 19th of February. I was very impressed that a woman sitting at a cradle was knitting stockings and at the same time reading in the New Testament, which was placed in front of her, in order to learn the verses. Christianity produces diligent and respectable people, who discharge their Christian and professional duties, even if nobody urges them to do so.

This morning the carpenter Kogler visited me and informed me that he and some other men want to start preparing timber for the church building today in the name of God. Since I know that they like to pray while laboring and wish for one of us to pray together with them, I went with them into the forest where the board sawyers had started working already yesterday. We praised our dear God for all the plentiful blessings He has given us so abundantly so far, in which He has fulfilled in us and our families the text of our last Commemoration and Thanksgiving service: He shall deliver thee in six troubles, yea, in seven there shall be no evil touch thee. ... He has been overwhelming us with spiritual and physical benefits more than other people in this country; among these is the fact that he recently sent us 60 ь Sterling, with which we are now building an evangelical Church of Grace for His glory and for our edification (in which the poor people will hear the gospel of Christ and the precious grace of God that is offered to the penitents free and without charge). We also asked Him for His blessing on this important work so that the whole construction may be made in the fear of God, in Christian harmony, and without harm to the workers. As a reminder I told the workers the precious words of David that had been inculcated during the last Bible story: For the word of the right; and all his works are done in truth. Oh, how much good do we still have to expect from the loving, almighty, and true God, if we fear Him with all our heart.

Since people are still in the first stage of equipping their plantations and households, they badly need some help for clothing and other vital necessities. They have worked a long time at the mill with much diligence, ruination of their clothes, and neglect of their own houses. Therefore it will do them good to receive some cash money for the church construction, because they will have to wait for the payment of the mill costs until God grants something. Because of my own house and the orphanage I still owe some money to several people, which I am unable to pay at the present time. They will gladly lend it to me longer, since they are now getting some payment. We have always hoped for a word from Europe whether our dear God may have inclined some benefactors to a voluntary contribution for the construction of a solid church. We know that the esteemed Senior Urlsperger has wished to notify all the friends of the Salzburgers in writing of our desire for a house of God and our own inability to pay for it and thus give them an opportunity to turn to good account here in America whatever they can spare from their temporal means without suffering. But, since no messages have arrived yet concerning the building of the church, we presently plan to continue construction only as far as God gives us the means for it. It is not our business to cause any new debts, and we have no promise; also there is no necessity for it.

Knowledgeable men have recently let me know their opinion, which they have meanwhile tested and considered even better. They suggest that we first build a spacious house either of thick wood or boards, which shall be equipped with a lower and upper floor as well as with sufficient chairs and benches for men and women. Its construction should be so calculated and arranged that it would not exceed the sum which we have on hand, i.e. some 60 ь Sterling. This house should be placed on the spot near the church, where the place for the school-building is now destined; and later on, if a real big church can be built, according to the will and given blessing of God, we could use it for the schoolmaster and the school, for which provision will have to be made in time as much as for the church. This way we would have these advantages: 1) we would not incur new debts; 2) the men would not be away from their housework for too long a time to the harm of their farming; for, if they leave the planting undone and do not grow enough crops, the damage will be too great; 3) we get a church soon and I can use my own house again; because, up to now, especially in autumn and winter, I have not had a study because of the cold.

On the other hand, in case the church should be built high and large according to the suggestion of Mr. N. [Whitefield] and the first intention of our carpenters, one would have to lay a firm foundation of stones. These would have to be carried at great expense from other points or quarried in the Savannah River, and therefore we should have to postpone it until summertime, when the water is warm and low. Now they are making the thresholds. In the meantime God will help them make up their minds whether this provisional church should be built from boards or from thick wood like my house. The latter they like most, if only the present costs would cover it. If it is used as our school some day, it will be easy to make a partition out of thick boards in order to get two rooms and two chambers for living and for holding school. I hope that nobody will mind our circumspection. The planned church will be spacious enough not only for the present listeners but also for some more people.

Friday, the 20th of February. At last nights prayer meeting we heard from the story of 2 Samuel 2:8 that God, our Lord, abundantly recompensed his servant David for all the many hardships, troubles, and toil he had with the enemies of God and His people on all sides of the land of Canaan, by sending back to him much of the spoil [from the battle] such as gold, silver, metal, and other things. These goods David returned to the Lord and consecrated for the use of the temple that was to be built in time to come. In this way he gave his son Solomon not only peace and quiet but also supplies for building the large temple of the Lord, not only for the good of the Jews, but also as a prefiguration for other nations (Isaiah 60:10-11) and Revelations 21:24). Since the building of our long desired church was started yesterday with prayer and in the name of God, this circumstance in the story reminded us that God, in His wonderful grace, had sent us a good stock of money and hardware collected from all sorts of people unknown to us through the service of our dear Senior Urlsperger and Mr. N. [Whitefield]. All these gifts now enable us to build a solid church.

God has given us peace until now and not allowed the enemies, whose arrogance and wrath are greater than their power, as in the case of the Moabites in Isaiah 16:6, to disturb us in the least. Therefore we could take the start of the church construction as a good sign that He will guard us in the future. For me it is very striking that God has given us not only the first mill, but also the first church in this country, since in Savannah and Frederica people have no church and must manage in other houses. Also nothing has come of the intended church at Palachocolas in General Oglethorpes barony, although the money was available.

Just as our dear David contributed, from cordial love for God and in humility and under many tribulations (see 1 Chronicles 23:14) toward the building of the temple (which he himself could not build), so we, who cannot help with money or labor, are reminded to do our duty by heartily praising our benevolent Father for the blessings of money and hardware we have received and by praying for the known and unknown benefactors and the dear workers on the building and asking God to give them a clear heart and eye, also sense and strength, to start the building to His glory and to the benefit of many people, even to those in the neighborhood who are now against us because of envy and malice and who lie and slander us from want of judgment. It is very edifying to read how the Jewish people behaved during the preparation of the temple building (1 Chronicles 30). Time was too short, otherwise I would have read something to the listeners about the first Christians, from whose example our workers and all members of our parish could learn how one can praise our dear and holy God and pray to Him not only during meetings but also in solitude while working. With the help of God I will read this to the parish this evening.

The introduction to the prayer book of the German Chapel in London reads as follows: There was nothing more common among the early Christians than the singing of Davids psalms, so much so that, before the spirit of the world inundated everything, one could occasionally hear everyone singing, the farmer at his plow, the helmsman and mariner at their wheel and oar, the digger at his clod of earth, the weaver at his loom, and the woman at her spinning wheel. In fact, the children themselves, even before they could speak, tried to sing something for their nurses and tried to express, as best they could, the tender feeling which they received from the force of that world and which they had imbibed with their mothers milk. The author of this adds that people in the past had a very great love for such religious songs, whereas now most people, and even the clergy, have an aversion against them. Yes, they even feel an aversion!

The workmen are now fully determined to build the house, which is to serve as a convenient church for as many years as God wills, not from boards but from thick wood like my own house. They hope to cover the construction entirely with the money on hand and not only to build the house completely but also to prepare solid benches and chairs as in Germany for men, women, and children. Walls out of boards, as one sees them in Savannah, are not very durable; they split from heat and rain, while coldness and warmth penetrate easily. Nevertheless, the whole building would cost even more than if we do it our way, as one can see from the example of the orphanage.

The whole house is to be 45 feet in length, 30 feet broad, and 12 feet high from floor to ceiling or upper floor. Inside, the walls will be smoothly planed, outside they will remain as smooth as they can be chopped with a broad-axe. According to the advice and example of General Oglethorpe we plan to paint the outside walls with turpentine so that the rain will damage them less. Since no rooms or chambers are being built, but only four walls, the carpenters have obligated themselves to deliver the four walls up to the roof for 21 ь Sterling, which seems little to reasonable people in comparison with the building costs we have had before. I am glad that we will get such a well protected and spacious house for our church, which can serve the parish instead of a church for many years. Should God send us money for a bigger and better church, the present building would be as good a schoolhouse as we could ever wish for, in which a partition of strong boards can be built easily and with small cost. All knowledgeable people of the parish approve of this kind of construction, and we hope that our friends and benefactors in Europe and in this country will like it too. Hallelujah!

Saturday, the 21st of February. The water in the river is rising higher than in the last several years, so most of the Salzburgers land near the mill-river is being flooded and at the same time richly manured and fertilized by the mud which the Savannah River carries with it. Kieffer, however, who has built his plantation on low land, runs a great risk of suffering much damage from the water. Yesterday before the edification hour I was at the mill where they are grinding without stopping, despite the high water, now that the millrace up to the mill wheel has been raised one foot so that more water can be let in to drive away the backflow which impedes the wheel.

The Englishman at Old Ebenezer, who takes care of the Lord Trustees cattle, writes to me in a letter that on Thursday night a thief came into his cowpen and secretly slaughtered a tame cow and carried away all the meat, except the head, skin, and intestines. He rode out this morning with several men from Abercorn to search all over the forest. We also notice somebody roving about our place at night, but we cannot surprise him in the very act and catch him. Since more men are in town now because of the building, they are seriously trying to catch him.

Sunday, the 22nd of February. The dear Lord has again given us much edification today from His word as well as from the common prayer hour, which is held in the evening and in which we pray about the word of God we have heard and accepted. We eagerly present our planned church building to God and I feel that He is leading us to various and useful views, for in this important construction nothing shall be done according to mens advice and will but according to the Lords intention. Before the prayer we sang the lovely song: Das leben unsers Knigs siegt . . . which, besides the text, also has a beautiful musical composition. Since the evenings are short now, our singing lessons are being discontinued. We have learned enough new songs now, and it is good not to overload ourselves but to sing them often together with other people of the parish and thus make them known to the public.

Kieffer of Purysburg has sent his two grownup daughters and his [Reformed]25 son-in-law up to us to give them the opportunity to take earnest care of their salvation. I notice that the father, now that his own eyes have opened, bestows more care upon the salvation of his family than he has done before.

Monday, the 23rd of February. Last night, Mrs. N [Leimberger] suddenly became so sick that she did not show the least sign of life anymore; but after some time she regained her consciousness. She is one of the good natured souls, and we hope that she will yet convert to God even more thoroughly and will find forgiveness in the blood of the Lamb for all her sins, which are also known to the public.

I held the edification hour this morning at the plantations about the last chapter of 2 Samuel 8,26 since I will travel to Savannah tomorrow with the help of God. A boat loaded with calves and cornmeal is leaving for Savannah, so I will not burden the community. Mr. Habersham wrote to me the other day that he wishes to talk to me. Maybe he will give me, for the orphanage, what Mr. N. [Whitefield] announced in a letter before his departure from England. Because we now need everything urgently at the orphanage, I do not want to neglect anything on my part. I will also write to Mr. /Thomas/ Jones at Frederica and ask him to procure from General Oglethorpe the long promised corn subsidy, as well as the building costs for the cornmill, which would be of great value to the Salzburgers in their present need for clothing and other necessities. I will also ask him to remember our orphanage to General Oglethorpe. May our Lord, however, do as He pleases!

Tuesday, the 24th of February. My dear colleague (Mr. Boltzius) traveled to Savannah this morning as announced. May our Lord Jesus accompany and strengthen him in soul and body and let him accomplish much for His glory and for the best of our community, and may He soon delight us, according to His will, with goods news from our Fathers and friends.

Last Sunday, Steiner told me, to the praise of God, that the Lord has now given him assurance that He loves and has accepted him. For some time he was in doubt and did not know how he stood, but the contemplation of the passion story has caused him to understand in his soul that he should no longer doubt the grace and love of God. Praised be the Lord for that! May He give us such grace that the contemplation of the passion story shall be of great blessing this time too, that those who sleep will be awakened to earnest work on their salvation, those who mourn will be truly comforted, and those who believe will be strengthened in their faith so that Christ Crucified alone will be great in our parish.

Wednesday, the 25th of February. In school God sends me much pleasure and refreshment. I would not have believed that so many wonderful and beautiful things are included in the Catechism as, by the grace of God, I have realized for the past year since receiving the commentary of Horbius to the words of Luthers Catechism.27 With this our dear Lord has sent a great blessing to my soul; and I believe He will also have mercy on the poor children. This much I can see, that their hearts are being moved by the sermons and Catechism. I hope that a good seed will fall in many a heart, which may perhaps grow up in a short time, strike roots, and bear fruit. I gladly blame myself that it has looked bad up to now with the children; but the Lord will have mercy upon me, yea, He is helping me already and will also help me in the future.

Thursday, the 26th of February. In the afternoon after school I took the opportunity to talk with two women. One of them always has good ideas about herself, is able to speak clearly and claims much good, but she does not know herself. Therefore I admonished her that, if she wants to be helped, she must be cured by our Lord Jesus and ask Him to have mercy on her and accept her soul as He thinks best for her. The Lord knows all people from outside and inside, and whoever enters His cure will never be deceived. The other woman, although she cannot read and is a very simple person, could not cease praising the goodness of God; but she was very depressed because of her faults and weakness. God does grant her grace; but, before she really notices it, it all vanishes again; and this destroys all her courage. I admonished this woman to have more confidence in our Lord Jesus, who gladly has much patience with His weak children and does not reject them because of their errors. He wishes neither to break the bruised reed nor to put out the glowing wick until He holds His victorious judgment. May the Lord bless all admonitions by His spirit. Amen!

Friday, the 27th of February. Today I held the prayer hour at the plantations about what followed in the sequence of stories in the New Testament. It was the one in which the Lord Jesus prophesies to his followers His passion, death, and resurrection for the second time, likewise, what follows in Matthew 17:24 ff. From this our dear God granted me and, without doubt, also the others, much edification. May our Lord Jesus make us better understand this mystery and let it be the main business in our life to study it.

Steiner marvels and is delighted that our dear Lord has led him out of darkness to His light. He was much edified by the verse that was taken from Psalms 34:6-7 the other day as an exordium. He wishes more and more to become a true exile. The word of God and, among others, the Psalms are becoming dearer to him every day. I showed him the verse: Thy loving kindess is better than life. Thereupon he made the remark that it is written in Psalms 119: Thy law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver, but here David says: Thy loving kindness is better than life, which means even more, because life means more than gold and silver.

Saturday, the 28th of February. In todays prayer meeting at my house only three women were present, among them Mrs. N. [Schweighoffer], who edified [and shamed] me very much by her prayer. One can well call her a real jewel of our parish. She can pray to our Lord Jesus so humbly and simply and with such childlike confidence that He cannot help being delighted with her childlike simplicity and grants her supplication. Such simplicity seems to be folly to the world, but wisdom to God and His children. I cannot really describe how cordial and humble her prayer was. From her appearance one cannot really expect it, but inside she bears the treasure all the deeper in her heart, which becomes evident now and then when she does not expect it. How heartily she prayed for the orphanage and its superiors and for a heart obedient to them so that she will not make life difficult for them. Although she is not young any more and has reached a certain age, she is willing to be subject to others even if they are younger.

From the Kalchers, I know, however, that they highly esteem this widow, and from this we can see that our humble Jesus puts His grace in such souls. If one wants to know what humility of heart one learns in the school of Jesus, one can observe it in this widow as a living example.

MARCH

Sunday, the 1st of March. On Thursday afternoon the wind had turned to north-east and thereupon we got a rather cold weather with rain, which hindered me (Boltzius) on my return journey. I was longing very much to be at home today -- Sunday -- but because of wind and rain we could not start from Savannah before yesterday noon; and since night overtook us between Abercorn and our plantations, so that in darkness and rain we could hardly see each other in the boat, we were forced to go ashore last night. The three rowers had not provided themselves with axes, clothes, or blankets, because they had not expected such rough weather; and therefore they and I suffered a lot during the cold rainy night. However, God helped us through this without harm to our health; and this morning we rowed up to the mill in 2 hours. After I had dried and warmed myself at the fire, I traveled the rest of the way to Ebenezer, where, by the help of God, I arrived after 12 oclock in good health and found everything in good order at home and in the community.

[Most people from the plantations have been prevented from coming to town and to church by the lasting cold, rainy weather, and bad roads. Therefore I would have liked to tell them something from the word of God at the plantations, if only we could have traveled earlier from our shelter in the woods to the mill.]

Mr. [Thomas] Jones was not in Savannah; therefore, I had to send the letter which I had written to him with regard to the community by a special opportunity to Frederica. A letter from General Oglethorpe was being held in the storehouse, very kindly answering my letter of January 3rd of this year. It reads word for word (translated from English) as follows:1 I am very glad of the Progress your People have made and particularly, that they have got the Mill built, but I fear much, its standing upon a branch of the Savannah may expose it to be carried away by the Floods.2 I approve very much of a Mill, with respect to the Stones you mention to lye at Savannah I think it would be very right that you should have them, though we wanted them here, yet as I see the endeavours of your Congregation, that they are ready for them, I should therefore prefer your having them. I will also represent the Matter of the money that you have laid out, to the Trustees, for the reimbursement of the same.

I sent up money for Horses and Orders to Col. Stephens to get them for the Rangers for your Place, and hope you have received the Horses before now. You have sent me word of a barrel of Indian meal which I have not yet received. I should be very glad to know at what price the meal would come, for we should be glad of Indian meal to make cheap bread. With respect to the Clothes for bolting, I really know not what kinds they are, but will speak to Mr. Jones to get them when he goes up to Savannah. I wish you all Prosperity and am Rev. Sir your obedient humble Servant J. Oglethorpe.

[Some points he has not answered; and he will not be willing to give us what we have asked for, since he himself does not want to contribute anything for the costs of the mill, but recommends it to the Lord Trustees. I wish he would be willing to let the Salzburgers receive the long-ago promised corn-shilling, whereby the poor would be refreshed and enabled to buy a few necessary clothes.]

I showed this letter to Colonel Stephens, who put the blame for our not having received General Oglethorpes promised horses on Mr. N [Thomas Jones]. He wrote to him as well as to General Oglethorpe; and we will see, how it will end. With money matters there are always difficulty in this country; and it would not be desirable for our community to live by the money and so-called generosity of rich people. [I am really tired of reminding, admonishing, and traveling, since we can gain only a little but draw on us even more the indignation of people who are not very well disposed towards us.] God has been our best Helper up to now and will be also in the future.

[Concerning Captain Thomson we hear everywhere that while he has lost his ship and cargo, he himself and all his crew and passengers have been saved. Since this happened while they were still in the Channel, they surely must have reports about it in London; and, in case there should have been something on this ship for us, they should send us a message soon.] We are longing for good news from our friends and benefactors in Europe. In Savannah the population is shrinking more and more; there is no profit to be made; and provisions, clothes, and all merchandise are extremely expensive, therefore they cannot subsist. On Wednesday at noon I traveled to Bethesda or to the orphanage, where I arrived on foot in about three hours; but I had to speed up because it is a long, although rather good, road. Bridges have been built with great expense across most of the wet ground, the costs of which were borne by the orphanage alone. The orphanage consists of simple walls made of boards, is 60 feet long and 40 wide and has many rooms and chambers. The costs have already been very high and it is not yet half finished. Several small wooden houses for domestic tasks are almost completed, also a very big kitchen garden is being laid out. The region is not the best one, and the land is mostly unproductive; also the water is not as good as in Savannah. The children here, girls and boys altogether, number over forty, who are all -- as I hear -- very well provided for with food, clothing, and information.

I was welcomed very kindly by Mr. Habersham, who is responsible for the management, by the orphanage preacher, Mr. Barber, and others. They like our melodies very much, so I had to write the notes to some of them under English verses, which was a great joy to them;3 the pleasure in the music had such an effect that Mr. Habersham granted us a barrel of flour and a small piece of white linen for our orphanage, whereas he had previously thought it impossible to give us anything, because of the orphanages many debts (which, as he said, amount to about 1,000 ь Sterling), although I reminded him of the letter of Mr. N. [Whitefield], wherein he had promised me some goods.

[Everybody living at the orphanage, especially the principals, are fully convinced of the selection of men to salvation ex absoluto decreto,4 so that they at once start to talk about it. They claim to find much comfort and refreshment in this theory that serves the Roman heresy (secus sentientes roman.);5 yes, they would even say that they cannot look upon a person as converted who does not believe it. I showed my pity for them and told them of our dogma, sufficiently well founded in Holy Scriptures, of the everlasting, impartial love of God in Jesus Christ to all mankind and held up to them some evident verses of 1 John 2:1-2, 1 Timothy 2:10, Matthew 23:37, Romans 5, Psalms 17-19, which they answered in a shallow manner. Since they pray that God may convert all the children entrusted to them and lead them to salvation, I asked them whether they believe that God would like to have those children saved.

[Their answer was that they did not know, but it was their duty to make such intercession. However, I showed them: 1. that they, with their theory, do not have any joy in praying for the salvation of all men. 2. If they would do it and wished for all men to be helped, then their love would have to be greater than the love of God, who nevertheless effects this impartial and general love in them. 3. Their prayer was against the will and command of God: God has, according to their opinion, decided from eternity, by virtue of His sovereignty and great power, to let only a few be saved and these alone and no others to be redeemed by Christ. How could they now pray (without acting against the will of God), that God show mercy to all?

[I have never believed that Reformed people go so far in their theory and that so many errors succeed each other, as I have understood this time from these peoples conversation and from a booklet, printed in Boston a short time ago and communicated to me. I thanked God from all my heart that He has let me be born in the true Evangelical religion and brought up under the leadership of honest Evangelical teachers, also that He has led me to these people today, by whose discourses, arguments, and the way they twist the meaning of the Holy Scriptures I was even more convinced of our holy doctrinal theology.

[The orphanage preacher told me that Mr. White-field had previously talked the same as I do now but had begun to see his way after he had grown in the grace of God. When I returned to Savannah, an honest servant in the storehouse told me that, from a few arguments he heard from me some time ago, he is convinced that the conduct of war generally and in itself is not a sinful matter against Christian doctrine, as Mr. Whitefield had claimed a year ago. Mr. Whitefield is now also of another opinion, he said, and people in his orphanage also talk differently about it now. So they fall from one extreme into another. I believe and also say that, if one day Mr. Whitefield were convinced of the universale meritum6 of Christ, all people would respect his opinon. Because the preacher /Barber/ is a Presbyterian, all ceremonies and forms used in the English Church during public worship are abolished. They told me with certainty that Mr. Stewart, the most intimate friend of Mr. Whitefield (from whose diary we reported something some time ago), came off so badly during a riot of the mob in Wales that he died.

[In Savannah the German people asked me to visit them soon, since they had a great desire for Holy Communion. They would very much agree to my holding back those people who live in an unchristian way, but there were, they said, some people who deserved to receive it. However, their language is such that we cannot see any beginning of a conversion in them. I will consult with my dear colleague in our prayers as to what we can do about it. We do not hesitate at the difficulty of the journey, if only we can do something good for the salvation of people. I was asked to baptize a few children; but, since Mr. Norris is in Savannah again and is celebrating the divine services, I refused to do so, because the above mentioned preacher is our opponent and would consider it as an interference with his ecclesiastical duty if we baptized a child there (although procreated by German parents). However, I was told by the midwife that this man was not worthy of baptizing a child, since he behaved very badly at Frederica with a German maid and took her with him to Savannah; in six weeks she will be brought to childbed.7 He wants to keep it very secret and has his helpers in Savannah; and he would have carried the person off to another place if Mr. /Thomas/ Jones had not already prevented it by a letter. She is a Reformed woman and had been suggested to a pious Salzburger as a wife by the slovenly shoemaker /Reck/ of Purysburg. However, since I had observed much weakness and frivolity in her, I advised against the marriage. Now everybody can see that my opinion was not wrong. May God continue to keep away from our place all such persons who do not wish to lead a Christian life!]

Nobody in Savannah has any news of how things are in England and Germany with regard to war and peace. Also, no one knows what is happening at sea between the Englishmen and the Spaniards. Before my journey we read the following words from Psalms 60 to strengthen our faith: Through God we shall do valiantly; for He it is that shall tread down our enemies.

Monday, the 2nd of March. At the prayer meeting in my home we are still benefiting from the gifts of the three main articles of the Christian religion which are presented from a separate booklet and confirmed by verses from the Scriptures. This is a fine way for us to awaken each other to the praise of God for all the good things He has given to us with His merciful hand from childhood on, for we usually do not realize all these special benefits.

[Mrs. Ortmann stayed behind after the prayer meeting and requested that a house be built for her and her husband, since they have to suffer much cold and inconvenience in their present dwelling. This desire came as a great surprise to me, because everybody knows that Koglers house is one of the best in our community and that we had given it to them because we hoped that they would now have patience until God sends us something for a proper school house. So I had to admonish her to wait.]

We visited the carpenters and found them in good health. They work in a very good harmony and accomplish so much work every day that everbody who sees it must marvel at their industry and zeal. They work in two parties and have different tasks. Six are cutting the timber for the walls and three are cutting the wood for the roof above the walls. Four men are sawing the boards for two floors; and during my absence they have already sawed a good stock of boards. If the water would subside from the region where the cypress trees grow, some of the men would split cypress shingles, which are much more durable than other shingles. The water is much higher than it has been during the last four or five years.

Tuesday, the 3rd of March. On Sunday night the sky cleared, and yesterday we had cold air but sunshine all day long. Today, however, it again rained very much, and therefore I had a rather uncomfortable trip home from the plantations. But by Gods fatherly care neither this one nor the last very uncomfortable journey from Savannah and the cold, wet, and dark night in the woods have hurt my health. I heard from some pious people that they had prayed to God for me [diligently] while supposing me on my trip home, which was very helpful to me by making all hardships easier and by shortening the night.

[Since the carpenters were prevented from doing their work on this rainy day, some of them have helped with threshing rice at the orphanage, because they see that Kalcher has no male helpers and there is no money available to hire anybody.]

Wednesday, the 4th of March. Yesterday evening the weather changed again and the air became clear; but at night a very heavy storm came up that lasted nearly all day long and presumably has done much damage to the peach blossoms. During night and day it was almost as cold as in the middle of winter with very hard frost. [I had to talk to Mrs. Helffenstein, and therefore I visited her in her lodgings. She thought I knew about some recent bad conduct of her boys, so she started making excuses. She turns her back on them most of the time and encourages their naughtiness by her weakness. Only her eldest son is living with her, the other three boys are being provided for at the orphanage; and I would rather like it if she would have less to do with them, because she just has unnecessary problems and the children suffer harm.]

Because the anniversary of the first transports arrival at this colony seven years ago after a troublesome and dangerous sea journey will soon be celebrated, our mind is already directed towards the imminent performance of our commemoration and thanksgiving day. May God prepare our hearts so that we will praise Him with ardent minds, for He has proved the truth of His word, upon which we reflected a year ago upon this occasion, in spite of all dangerous war troubles: He shall deliver thee in six troubles. Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. Perhaps our wise and gracious God will bestow upon us satisfactory news from Europe for this feast, and some blessing for the orphanage and for the poor members of the community, whereby old and young people will be even more encouraged to the praise of His name. A short time ago I read from Isaiah 1:19-20 the following words: If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. But if ye refuse and rebel, etc. and today I remembered the nice verse Hosea 11:3, I taught Ephraim to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. I hope God will give me something from these beautiful proverbs to my own edification so that afterwards they will also be of use to my listeners.

Thursday, the 5th of March. [We still have some difficulties with the towns cowherd. He is faithless and answers with evil words if people remind him of his duty; also, he is never content with the payment he gets for his work. Instead of clothes and provisions he now receives 10 pounds Sterling a year; and his wife is in nobodys service so that, if she wants to work, she can plant as much corn and other things for herself and her husband as they would need for their household during the year (if they dont breed too many pigs and chickens). He prefers to shoot while he is cattle tending and is said to carry home various animals. Because he will soon have earned 5 pounds Sterling, he is talking about redeeming himself, but I cannot agree to this but must refer him to the Lord Trustees and their agents in Savannah.8 Up to now the herdsmen at the plantations and at town have cost us very much, and they have been paid from the money God has sent us for the orphanage. Since it has now pleased God to let the orphanage suffer much need, the community will not blame us if we go no further in providing for the herdsmen than we are able to through divine Providence.]

Besides his present small dwelling Mr. Thilo desires a new bigger and more solid hut in order t store away his things and to treat his patients. Since the community has furnished him with some necessities after the last harvest and has also provided him with as much wood as he needs, I cannot expect them to build him the desired hut. Therefore we previously decided to repair the old hut which is already standing in his courtyard and to furnish it with new thresholds; but, because it is not [proper and] convenient to him, I have bought Bischoffs hut for 24 Shillings, which is quite new and stands opposite Mr. Thilos lot; and I have promised to pay him within a year from the money which God will, I hope, send us. A carpenter has assured me that this solidly built hut, as it now stands with thresholds, walls, and roof, can be easily moved on rollers by some skilled men to the desired place without any damage.

Friday, the 6th of March. Before the edification hour Lemmenhofer informed me that our dear God had released his wife of the fruit of her womb and granted them a healthy little daughter, whom he would like to have baptized today. I stayed at the plantations until he fetched his godfathers from town, which took until three oclock. In the meantime I visited several people, to whom I did not have much to say, because I had previously explained to them all about 2 Samuel 9, rather I wished to hear how they apply those things that God offers them by His word, and whether they lead a good or a bad life. And I had much joy and edification from their testimony about the grace of God they were experiencing in their hearts. One of them told me that in his home country he had been in great danger of being kept from accepting the Evangelical religion, partly because of his kinsmen and partly because of some obviously deceitful matters, in which there was no truth and strength of Christianity; but God had given him strength to tear himself from everything and break through.9 At that time he had been as if in darkness; and, when he now remembers it, he cannot but marvel at the grace of God that he alone among all his kinsmen has experienced for the recognition of the truth. I also heard that, while working together, the Salzburgers often remember the former darkness of their spiritual condition and praise God for their release from their spiritual Egypt and Babel.

Some people intend to have a letter written to Prussia in order to find out who of their families are still alive and how things are going with them: on the other hand they wish to inform them of the mercy our Lord has shown to our community in earthly and spiritual goods. They wish that the messages they have received from their countrymen in Prussia had been more detailed and had described not only the names of the Salzburgers, but also the jurisdictions or districts as well as the mines and farms where they had lived before their emigration; then they would know exactly whether things that are being reported deal with their own families or other people who have the same name and fatherland. They plan to write in this way.

Another Salzburger whom I visited said: Not until now was he able to thank God from all his heart for bringing him to Ebenezer, because now He has fulfilled His merciful intention to make him a real Christian through His holy word. He did not understand the gospel for a long time, he said, and did not believe it until he was cleared from his many errors and debilities. He had wished to be free of all his sins so that he would not feel guilty any more; and, because he could not accomplish this, he had not been content with himself but very restless. He added that he noted that mental laziness is the reason the self-willed human being wishes to be a Christian and attain salvation without a continual ardent struggle against inherent sin. He remembers that some time ago he wished to marry a Reformed woman near Savannah under the condition that she would conform to our divine service. Therefore he prayed earnestly that only the will of God would happen, and now he often thanks God for not having agreed to this intended marriage, but sent him a lawful spouse with whom he can serve God in one spirit and mind. They are both very content.

Mrs. Lemmenhofer suffered much while giving birth to her child, and this may have been largely the fault of the unskilled midwife, Mrs. Gr. [Grimmiger]. While her great physical weakness was still lasting, she told me that, during her utmost misery, her husband read a few quotations from the Bible out of Schaitberger,10 i.e., Neither is there salvation in any other . . . etc., whereby our dear God helped her very much. When her child was baptized I told her, her husband, and other persons present the contents of the short pleasing passage of 2 Samuel 9 and showed them that our loving God has shown even greater mercy to their newly baptized child than the charitable David had done to the lame, poor, and miserable Mephiboseth. For the application of this pleasing history means to us that all of us may realize by the example of Mephiboseth partly who we were in Adam and Eve, partly who we had become through the fall of man, and who we now can become through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shows His mercy upon us and sends us, who are only unworthy and miserable creatures, the emissaries of his love -- one after the other. We may and can again back our lost heritage, we can be accepted again as the children and at the table and under the very best communion with the King of all kings, if only we desist from our animosity and sensuality (2 Corinthians 5:20), humble ourselves before our Lord, and follow the acts of grace which He is showing to us constantly. I recommended in public and also to these people the wonderful song for singing and reading: Sey hochgelobt, barmhertzger Gott . . . etc. Here the important matter that is preached is presented very emphatically and effectively.

Saturday, the 7th of March. The Englishman /Barker/ at Old Ebenezer, who is in charge of the Lord Trustees cattle, came to me today and informed me that he found some of the Salzburgers cattle far away in the woods and that he has driven them to his home, for which the people shall pay one and a half bushels of corn for each (which is as much as 3 sh. Sterl.). He is in need of corn and could not find a better way to get it without payment than to drive our communitys cattle, which we have purposely driven into the woods, to Old Ebenezer and let himself be paid for this unsolicited and unneeded work. We have asked him to let the cattle go; if our people want to get them back, they will search for them themselves, especially since they hope to get the promised horses soon, as we understood from General Oglethorpes last letter. [One has many inconveniences with unconscientious neighbors.

[The carpenters had to stop working yesterday and today because it was raining and thundering; the rain this time is very warm and we now hope for fair and warm spring weather.]

The strong and lasting winter has made the pasturage in the woods very scarce. Therefore, the cattle of some of the people who could not feed them became very weak; and, moreover, two cows got stuck and perished in the morass through the negligence of the herdsmen, which means a great loss to poor Brckner and Krause. The withered grass in the woods is completely burned down, so now we can hope for new young grass soon if only the warm weather will last for a few more days and nights.

Mr. Thilo is now suffering from a double quartan fever, which is preventing him from visiting the evening prayer meeting. I would have wished him to be able to attend it today, because we have contemplated a certain part of the passion story, as we usually do every second Saturday. Our dear God would without doubt have conferred His blessings upon him. Oh, what a treasure we have with the passion story of our Savior, but unfortunately it is only too little perceived and esteemed! Since my return from Savannah I have conferred with him several times about the method of Dr. Ploss of Augsburg and of the English medical men, who used to cure the febres intermittentes with an emetic and the Cortice Peruv.11 I would welcome his making an experiment with the people, who are eagerly asking for it, particularly since there are examples at hand that no harm is being done with it, rather the fever is being cured safely. However, because he wants to proceed with caution, he will reflect upon it again. He told me that Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen as well as a celebrated German physician in London had recommended this method to him multis verbis;12 he, however, always had many objections against it.

Sunday, the 8th of March. Today we have announced to the parish here and at the plantations that our commemoration and thanksgiving festival will be held next Saturday and that everybody should eagerly pray to our Lord to send much grace for the celebration and rich blessings from above for ourselves and our families. We have good reason to remember with thanks the mercy of God, which has kept and embraced us all year long, and to invoke His further protection and benediction for our spiritual and worldly affairs. If the planting season were not so near, we could hope that our church would be finished in a short time. In that case we would have postponed our commemoration and thanksgiving service until the time that the church was consecrated with the word of God, prayer, and thanksgiving; but, as it looks now, the church will hardly be finished before Whitsuntide, especially since the work is often interrupted by the present rainy weather and water is still covering the low regions where the cypress trees grow from which the shingles are to be made.

Monday, the 9th of March. [Last Saturday we received news via the Englishman /Barker/ of Old Ebenezer that Mr. /Thomas/ Jones left Frederica more than eight days ago. He should have been in Savannah by now; but two men came up from there who claim they know nothing about his arrival. I hope that he has already received the last letter I sent him from Savannah, wherein I again reminded him of the corn-shilling for our community and some other necessary things and asked him to recommend our communitys welfare to General Oglethorpe.

[Hans Maurers wife had a dangerous and painful sore on the inside of her throat all winter long, for which Mr. Thilo gave her some doses of purge pills and the prescription to gargle with sage water and to wait for a sweat; but nothing has helped up to now. The sore is now said to be very dangerous and to be spreading further and further; and therefore her husband, who is sawing boards for the church building, is handicapped in his labor.] Her soul is in such a fine condition that her frame of mind will continue to conduce to her benefit as it happens to everyone who loves God. I had her husband recite to her the verse that was very refreshing and comforting to me yesterday in the exordium, Psalms 40:18: But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me.

This evening the Honorable Senior Urlspergers beautiful preface to the third Continuation13 came to my hand, which, for different reasons, made me and my family very much ashamed indeed. On the other hand we were again admonished to fervent praise of God for His fatherly care and for my and the communitys circumstances as well as for a heartfelt and eager intercession for our known and unknown benefactors. This was even more impressive to me because in todays prayer hour we heard from 2 Samuel 10 about the example of David who showed mercy and thus wished to prove his thankfulness. We learned from this that a Christian should be thankful even to heathens and disbelievers if they have done good to him. How much more should we be obliged to fulfill our duty towards our kindly disposed Christian benefactors who, with deeds and intercessions, have done and still do much good to us in spiritual and physical matters! And, because we are not able to repay in any other way, we can still heartily and eagerly pray for them and their families, as we have done during our commemoration and thanksgiving festival and will also do in the future.

Last week the present trials at the orphanage touched my feelings very much and almost made me faint hearted; but the true Savior strengthened my belief again when I meditated about yesterdays gospel for mid-Lent Sunday; and today the Lord gave me a new strength of belief from the aforementioned preface. Be He praised! The grace of our Lord is really marvelous, since we have gained so many dear benefactors both in Germany and at other places who support Ebenezer in all possible ways, even though most of them are not known to us face to face.

In this we are faring almost the same as the poor nobleman in the Netherlands to whom a certain generous archduke, out of pure sympathy for him and his poor condition, would send various dishes of food every day by an unknown servant tecto nomine,14 whereby the poor man was much astonished the first day, even more so after the first week, and most of all thereafter, because he received the undeserved benefit until his death. Since he never came to know his benefactor, he regretted very much having to die ungrateful, etc. Through Gods grace we will eagerly pray for our known and unknown benefactors and hope to meet them before the throne of God in eternity. There we will thank them for having shipped their gifts to us across the ocean and we will be only too glad to hear the mouth of our true Savior apply to them what he says in Matthew 25:34-36.

Tuesday, the 10th of March. It rained all day long today, therefore it is difficult to pass certain places on the way to the plantations. In spite of this the listeners gather diligently to hear the word of the Lord about the story of 2 Samuel 10. We heard that David, the servant of the Lord, like other children of God, had several sorts of external and internal anxieties, to which he could resign himself since he accepted them all as coming from the hand of the heavenly Father and since he was also familiar with the Messiah, as the real resting place and refuge in religious faith. Our wise God also lets us suffer various troubles of life so that we will flee into the clefts and crevasses of our Savior, who said: In the world ye have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation.

This new war anxiety (which is mentioned above) arose from bad advisers. What evil can be done by them, is to be seen from 2 Chronicles 22 [Psalms 4, and Kings XII]; and that people still have to suffer much misfortune, our Salzburgers can well remember from their homeland. It would have been very unwholesome for their souls if they had been kept back from emigration by the advice and plausible remonstrations of their relatives and countrymen. I cited the example of my deceased mother-in-law,15 who could be held back neither by her husband nor father nor friend and peacefully ended her pilgrimage at Old Ebenezer. A man who had previously rendered her and her family a good service by reading and encouraging, later proved to be a bad adviser when he was to turn his back on his belongings. He told her that one could join in Popish things outwardly yet remain Evangelical in ones heart at the same time. She should stay home because of her little children, whom one would not let go with her etc. . . even the Lord did not cast off St. Peter because of his denial, etc. Our listeners indeed escaped this adviser, to be sure, but there are still others holding some people back from true conversion, etc. [We also encouraged each other through the example of grateful David to thankfulness to our dear benefactors, as was done last night at the prayer meeting in town.]

A pious Salzburger remained behind and praised God for the many good things that He has given to him this year, including a blessed harvest. He was so joyous that he seemed to have no shortage whatsoever, though one could see his poverty from his torn clothes. Oh, how much we would like to give some physical gifts to the poor but very cheerful listeners, who also are thankful to God and other people, if only the Lord would send us the means for it! I am thinking of the dear words of God: 2 Corinthians 9-8: And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, etc.

The carpenters finished the wooden construction for the four walls of the church today and received their promised pay, i.e., for the thirteen beams: 19 sh. 3d. and for the remaining lumber 7 pounds Sterling. Before they went home they unpacked the hardware which Mr. W. [Whitefield] brought from the collection in London. It consists of two beautiful door locks, fittings for doors and windows, bolts, and many small and big nails. God be praised for this benefit too and crown the benefactors with His grace like a shield! Now the carpenters wish to repair their fences, till their fields, and do the necessary things in their households. After that the construction will be continued in the name of God.

Wednesday, the 11th of March. Today we had the opportunity to travel down the mill river for recreation, as I had wished to do for a long time, in order to see how the river looks on which the Salzburgers plantations are situated one after the other, and through which the community has many advantages, especially in the mill. It is a real pleasure to travel down the river, especially since one can better realize the industriousness of the Salzburgers and their establishments on the plantations. As soon as more land on both sides is cleared of trees, bushes, and reeds, it will be a very pleasing view. Although the water is now at the highest level, the mill is grinding as much as the community needs for its provision. Before the mill was constructed, we reckoned with the fact that it would have to stop working several times during the year at a very high water level; but now, to our astonishment, we have learned otherwise. God be praised! The millwheel stands deep under the backed-up water (because the water above and below the dam is on almost the same level), and yet it is strongly whirled round by the water that is flowing down with great force from the mill dam and is driving back the backed-up water.

The miller showed us rice flour that he ground from the smallest rice (which is called Negro-rice and costs only half the money). It is as white as snow and looks better than wheat flour. He is using it in his household the same way as wheat flour. The orphanage had him grind unstamped rice, the flour of which is not as white as from the aforementioned but is also very beautiful and as good as good flour. How much this experience will encourage our dear people to plant rice; the hardest work will be to stamp it as white as it must be for sale. If they but get such good flour from unstamped rice, they will not need wheat-flour, which now costs 15 sh. Sterling for 100 pounds. [We do not yet notice that other people in the country wish to use our mill, and therefore our community is sufficiently and plentifully served with the one stone we have (for this one 10 bushels can be ground every day, not counting the night).] Should God send us some means, the other stone would be installed in the mill and arranged in such a way that we could grind even at lowest water in the dryest summer weather. Or the other stone would be installed into a machine, such as is well known in Germany, for stamping the rice and making it suitable for sale. God will give us everything at the right time. Be He praised for the great benefit of the mill!

[While at the mill we received word that Captain Thomson has certainly arrived somewhere in Georgia; and so we hope to learn soon whether he has brought letters for us (which we hardly doubt). A short time ago a report came to Savannah that he had had an accident in the Channel and lost ship and life. When I was in Savannah last time it was said that his ship and everything on it were lost but that he himself and some other people on board the ship had been saved.]

Thursday, the 12th of March. At yesterdays prayer hour I encouraged a woman whom I know to live in great poverty to have enduring confidence in the help of God; everything will turn out well, I said, and many poor people will be comforted also physically in due time. She, however, considered her poverty to be wealth and abundance, because the spiritual profit she receives from the cross surpasses all physical poverty and want. It would not be a good omen, she said, if God let us remain without the sign of the cross, by which He honors His children (Hebrews 12). I remembered what I had heard about a patriarch who was visited by a certain sickness every year and who, when it failed to appear one year, asked God: Why is it, my Father, that Thou hast not visited me this year?

Another woman also learned much last night about the fatherly care of our dear God for our parish in order to awaken a Christian preparation for our commemoration and thanksgiving festival; and she was distressed that she had struggled greatly against the call of the heavenly Father to move to Ebenezer; He had to force her to do so for her own good with the effect that she is now persuaded not to choose for herself anymore or follow her own heart but only to be simply obedient to the guidance and leadership of God, for thus one will not be misguided.

The same person told me how much she had suffered in her conscience during her illness, that her heart was more attached to her husband than to our Lord Christ, her soul-friend and bridegroom. When she was praying to Christ in her anxiety, which must have been very great, physically and mentally, it appeared to her that somebody was clearly whispering into her ear: go to your husband, what do you want from me? etc. But the Lord Jesus had again shown His mercy upon her, she said, and she became quite aware of His grace, so that she would have died with pleasure at that time; but now she is often deeply grieved for having not truly kept the dear treasure after becoming healthy again. [At that time she was longing very much for Holy Communion but could not attend for various reasons. However, it was a boundless consolation to her to be told that a faithful soul can enjoy Christ every moment with all that He is and has. Therefore, at every drink of water she very emphatically felt as if the Lord Jesus was offering her His blood of reconciliation, and thereof she had even more hearty and heavenly comfort than at the time she really went to Holy Communion.]

H.F. [Hans Floerl] is a reasonable, intelligent, and careful Christian, to whom God has granted various gifts for being useful to his neighbors in spiritual and material times. Up to now he has always lived near his town in his poor hut; but, since it is becoming dilapidated, he is under the necessity of moving to his brother on their common plantation, which is situated near the influx of the mill-river where, already last autumn, he and his brother prepared a respectable piece of land for planting. For a long time we have considered using this man as our schoolmaster, especially since we will eventually have to give school lessons at the plantations, where the number of children has increased. But we did not wish to hurry about it and decide something without sufficient knowledge of Gods providence and direction; now this matter has again come to my mind very firmly and I have new hopes of putting some of the lambs under his charge. [With the schoolmaster Ortmann teaching in town, we have to be patient until God Himself makes a change; he indeed shows in his way every possible effort with the small children and advances them in reading; but, since he cannot keep right order, various confusions arise so that the good that has been planted in their tender hearts in the catechism hour is choked again.]

On my inquiry about two girls, Mrs. Kalcher told me that the work done on their souls in the preparation hours and otherwise was not in vain, rather they prove eager in their private prayer and lead such a humble and quiet life that the pious persons at the orphanage have all reason to praise God for this. I intend to let these girls attend the Lords Table as soon as possible, especially because they have a methodical knowledge about all articles of Christian religion and are able to give a thorough account of their belief. They are already kept at different kinds of female work at the orphanage, yet after confirmation it will be even better, since then they will not be allowed to go to school any more but will have to be satisfied with other good opportunities for edification on Sundays and workdays.

Since N. [Catherina Holtzer] was again received at the orphanage upon her request, she has not only become healthier but has proved that the Holy Spirit has set a good basis of Christianity into her heart, whereas in the past she was no good at all. [She moved through her own obstinacy from the orphanage and brought some honest persons in great confusion by her lies and slander. Afterwards, by Gods grace, she recognized what benefits she had forfeited by her bad behavior, ingratitude, and moving out. Then she felt repentance, tears poured down, and she begged and waited until she was again accepted at the orphanage with the consent of her master. She is slow in her work and awkward by nature, but we readily have patience with her.]

Friday, the 13th of March. For some time E. [Ernst] has had several bodily misfortunes and the greatest poverty in his house. He came to me and showed me his hand, in which he has a hidden injury so he cannot use it and suffers much pain. He received a small glass of Schauer Balm together with the reminder not to regard these and similar torments as happening by chance; he should remember his sins, committed in Germany and here, and the terrible curses which he has sputtered for their palliation; and for all that he has not done atonement. If he further disregards the admonition that God has often given him through several misfortunes, I said, and if he does not do true atonement, much more harm will happen to him.16 For God is a holy and just God, who will punish all unrepented and unforgiven sins here and in eternity. He realizes that he has deserved these and still more suffering, also that God has not yet treated him according to his sins, otherwise he would, e.g., have slashed his foot in a recent accident. His conscience is disturbed very much by his former sins and he has resolved to convert to God. I admonished him to pray and ask God to let him recognize the horror of his heart and the corruption of his soul through the punitive power of the Holy Spirit. I advised him to get acquainted with his neighbor and talk to him sometimes about the state of his soul, for this would be good training for further progress.

Last Tuesday at the meeting on the plantations I tried to stir up the listeners, as I had done before in town, to gratitude to God and men for so many spiritual and physical benefits by citing the example of the grateful David who had thanked God, his Lord, with a song for every benefit and was also thankful to other people. Because the memory and recognition of the received benefits must precede gratitude, I promised to read something today from which they would not only realize what benefits our loving God has already shown to us, but what kindness and mercy are ready for us in His storehouse and are all but on their way to us. Both may and can arouse us to heartfelt joy and cordial praise of God for His mercy. Before starting to read I urged upon them the verse: How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings, etc. This we have plentifully experienced here in spiritual and physical things, in the previous times as well as during this year.

I reminded them that we have duly celebrated a commemoration and thanksgiving feast every year to the honor of God and the edification of us all; for, according to His grace and wisdom, the Lord has shown special and exceptionally great benefits to our congregation every year. E.g., in the first year of our pilgrimage at Old Ebenezer, namely 1734, He sent us many afflictions but also much comfort from the Psalms of David and supported us so that, by the help of His strength, we have overcome the greatest difficulties. This is a joyous recollection to those of us who are still alive and experienced the difficulties at that time.

At the beginning of 1735 God enlarged our community with the second transport, to which God had granted many excellent benefits at sea, so that all, except the Salzburger Glantz, arrived out our place hale and hearty. Some people who got sick later on have met with the dear grace of God on their sick and deathbed so plentifully that they have been and still are a remarkable example for me and others as often as I read again about their contented and peaceful end in the first Continuation in the printed reports from Ebenezer. At Old Ebenezer both transports had to suffer many afflictions (which we should not have missed because otherwise we would have missed a real matter of importance), therefore we were driven to more and better prayer. Although the barren land did not bear enough for our living, our good God bestowed so many vital necessities upon all of us through the care of the Lord Trustees and the generous Society that everybody has eaten his bread with joy and praise of God and the diligent and blessed consideration of His word and the holy sacraments.

Finally, at the beginning of the third year, namely 1736, our prayers and sighs found Gods hearing, and He directed the hearts of the Lord Trustees, especially to General Oglethorpe, to give us permission to move to the Red Bluff and to build our huts and fences there, like a small flock. God also sent the third transport to us at that time, which the Lord had rescued from danger and privation. To be sure, the community wished at that time to get land on the other side of Ebenezer Creek, but now we see that it was a great advantage that we met with a serious refusal. Because now we know from experience that there we would have found no good land, little pasturage, and big inconveniences and harm, also evil neighbors, of which everyone of us is convinced.

During the years 1736 and 1737 it pleased our miraculous God to let the whole community get seriously ill one after the other but, after having attained His aim, He gave back health again at the right time; and, although the worms had eaten up all field products, the almighty Creator of heaven and earth knew how to find means so that nobody had to suffer hunger and harm in these scarce years. This was because the authorities had previously been very economical in distributing provisions, since they had supposed that we had already received our allowance and allotment; but they discovered later on in the accounts that very much rice, corn, beans, meat, molasses, and other things were still set aside for the community, which we rightly received one after the other and from which we could live up to the next harvest.

By 1738 we had learned more about the country and understood better than before that the high and dry soil, although good, was not the best; and, since very rich soil was available in our neighborhood at Abercorn Creek, some men were sent out to investigate it. At first they brought a moderate, later on, however, a hopeful report. Therefore we presented our request first to Mr. Causton, whose answer was completely negative. However, God set him aside, and we went with our Supplique immediate17 to General Oglethorpe, who had just arrived in this country. At his first glance at our Supplique God had already directed his heart to grant us the land for which we asked. If this land had been given to us the first time, we would have regarded it as a great misfortune; because at that time we did not understand it better. At the beginning everybody wanted land which was dry all year.

How mercifully God helped us to occupy and cultivate this land in 1739 is still fresh in everyones memory. He wisely directed that all people live side by side in one row from east to west, almost as in town, and help each other in fence-building, farming, cattle breeding, etc., which is a great physical benefit to them and corresponds to the purpose for which the Salzburgers left their homeland, namely, to be constantly near Gods Word. No human mind could arrange things so well, and everybody must say that our Lord has done it! Free provision from the storehouse had completely stopped and the Salzburgers sincerely wished to eat their own bread, and -- Behold! God gave them such a rich harvest in all crops that they could sell part of it and buy clothes and other necessities, not to speak of the many good gifts from Europe of linen and other things. They also had an opportunity to earn something at the orphanage.

A remaining troublesome matter that caused them sweat and sighs was that they had to grind their corn to flour on very incommodious hand mills; and this caused them more trouble than planting the corn. However, in 1740 our heavenly Father took care of this too by uniting the hearts and hands of all men in the community to build a flour mill in the so-called Abercorn Creek, where the plantations are. This mill He so well protected during the twice repeated great floods that it seemed quite unbelievable to strangers and even to General Oglethorpe. Now they make good use not only of their corn but also of rice; and that gives them new courage to plant their land rather than to look for other profitable work. And, although reports are being spread of war and rumors of war, we remain undisturbed under the wings of Gods grace, except that we have been somewhat disturbed by one or two renegade servants, so that we realize how it would be if God permitted a whole swarm of enemies to fall upon us. What our gracious God has already given us during this year is especially worthy of consideration and gratitude. That is to say; the start of the church-building was made, for which He had already sent us a bell the previous year and much else [much iron material and some 60 pounds Sterling]. How excellent is Thy loving kindness, 0 God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.

When would I finish (I added at the end of my report), if I counted up all the special benefactions which our dear God has showed to my dear colleague, to myself and our families, and to every individual of our community at Old and New Ebenezer in spiritual and material things. Forget it not, oh my soul! Because at our commemoration and thanksgiving feast, which will be held tomorrow, we will remember as best we can the mercy God has shown us in former days and still now, and thank Him with mouth and heart for it, I wished to read to them for this purpose from some letters from the worthy Dr. Francke and also from what the worthy Senior Urlsperger had printed in Germany on our behalf and which he sent to us some time ago. From the former they should recognize what splendid benefits God has shown to our community, and from the latter, what He will do for our good in the future so that we may be thankful for the already received and still coming favors. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me, and to him . . . etc.18

The other thing I read to the listeners to encourage them to celebrate our commemoration and thanksgiving service rightly was the Honorable Senior Urlspergers short encouragement for a voluntary Christian charitable contribution for Ebenezer, and also something from the preface of the Third Continuation, which includes a beautiful passage from the letter of our dear Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen. From both of them it can be wonderfully seen what God has done for us already and what else He will do for our good later on. Our merciful God has given Senior Urlsperger a special religious security and joyousness, and he also mentions several good examples of the wonderful care of our Lord for Ebenezer. Since our dear Senior already proposes a Hallelujah to our Lord in advance and in hope, why should we not do the same? And why should we not praise God in the hope that He will bring all our troubles and afflictions to a desired end. The verses that are referred to on this occasion and are applied to Ebenezer serve us as a special encouragement, joy, and comfort. May the Lord be a rich compensator for everything and may He do further for us what is well pleasing to Him. We knelt down at last together and praised the Lord with all our strength, prayed also for our known and unknown, but to the Lord known, benefactors.

Because I received new assurance today that Captain Thomson (of whom we have often heard up to now that he had an accident) has certainly reached Frederica with his ship quite without a damage, I remembered that this message too could incite us to joy and the praise of God. For, even if there were nothing in the ship for us (although we hope for the contrary), then at least fresh goods would be brought to this almost barren colony, which can probably be bought cheaper and better than until now. Moreover, the Lord Trustees, as our dear benefactors and provincial authorities, usually load this ship with various goods for this colony. Now, just as an honest child is pleased and thanks God when his parents goods arrive without damage, this is also the duty of every inhabitant of this colony and especially of us, etc. What was read and impressed on the listeners here at the plantations was done in town too, both last Tuesday and also this evening, so that all members of the community, both grown-ups and children, would be prepared for the right celebration of the approaching day under the blessings of God.

Saturday, the 14th of March. Just as the Lord God lets the sun shine refreshingly on the vault of heaven this day: in the same way He has let the sun of His grace rise and shine upon us and into many hearts through the preaching of the gospel at this our dear commemoration and thanksgiving day. For He has powerfully edified us through singing, praying, preaching of some chapters and psalms, and by the preaching of the word of God in the forenoon and afternoon, so we believe and hope that a fruit of this feast will be noticed in the later life and found again in eternity. Oh, may the Lord grant it for Christs sake! In the morning we had as an exordium the word of God from Hosea 11:3: I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms, etc., whereby it is shown that our community has much in common with the old Israelites whom God with His mighty hand led out of Egypt, and therefore these words suit us excellently too. For therein is shown, on one hand, the friendly mother-heart of God, who took the children of Israel by their arms in Egypt, led them through the Red Sea, provided for them in the deserts, had unspeakable great patience with their sins, helped them after leading them to Canaan, guarded their land, and heaped spiritual and material benefits upon them. On the one hand it shows the careless and unthankful heart of Ephraim or the Israelites, etc.

In the application it was shown that the Israelites were cast down because of their sins and that, after Gods richly shown mercy, we have taken their place and that our fatherly and motherly disposed God has shown His astonishingly miraculous kindness to the Salzburgers in their spiritual Egypt, in Papism, on their journey over land and sea, and also here in this country, all of which was pointed out to the audience with specific examples. It was left to the meditation of the audience whether or not many of the grown-ups and children still have a thoughtless and unthankful heart; and necessary comfort was given for those who, as believers, recognize their imperfection. As a text we had the important words of Isaiah 1:19-20; and from them we heard partly a comforting promise, partly a terrible threat to those people concerned.

In the afternoon my dear colleague had as an exordium Hebrews 13:5-6: For He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, etc. and as a text Psalms 68:20-21, wherein it is shown to us what use the already received help of the Lord will be to us. Here two points were considered: 1) The help of our Lord, we have already experienced, 2) How we should make use of it, namely, to His praise and in confidence of His further help.

In the morning and afternoon we read such chapters and psalms as very well fit our present conditions and the sermon, such as Deuteronomy 28, Psalms 37, and Psalms 78. Instead of the epistle, which is usually read in the morning between the first and second hymns, a few children recited Psalm 23 iteratis vocibus;19 and in the afternoon, instead of the catechism, Psalms 145 and 146, which they have learned by heart as usual for the day. To our known and unknown benefactors, who from the beginning have done much good to us spiritually and materially, we wished in cordial intercession what is said in Jeremiah 32:38-41; and those dear promises of the Lord were cited as an explanation of the promises in the morning text.

Because there was no time left yesterday to read anything from various very beautiful, instructive, and consoling letters from our dear Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen as a remembrance of the mercy of God shown to us, it happened today at the repetition hour, which passages gave me and others much pleasure, strengthened us in our belief and confidence in the grace of God, and encouraged us to His cordial praise. They deserve to be given a place in the diary for our constant memory and for the edification of others [which our dear Court Chaplain as well as Dr. Francke can best interpret according to their fatherly love. It is done in humility and childlike joy at the blessings received from them and from the humble desire to grant edification also to others who might deign to read our diary.]20

Sunday, the 15th of March. Praise to the Lord who has given us also on this day much edification and spiritual pleasure from His word and has also let us come together towards evening with the grace hungry listeners for common prayer and praise of the Lord. May this praise, prayer, and intercession for the sake of Christ be agreeable and pleasing to Him and may He soon put in our mouths matter for His Praise through hoped-for news from Europe.

Monday, the 16th of March. Three weeks ago the wife of N.N. [Hans Schmied] was in a very painful and dangerous condition from a fright and she had to take some medicine which, however, did not prevent her from having a miscarriage yesterday, as he told me this morning. For some time God has begun a very good work in her, wherein, by His grace, she has also shown more faithfulness than at first. Therefore I do not doubt that this heavy blow will serve for her spiritual good. How confident a believer can be in difficult circumstances if he knows that our Almighty God is his father in whose hands is placed everything, our ways and paths and whatever meets with us and who directs everything to His glory and our good. She was frightened one night by a crashing noise and feared that the thievish person /Carpenter/ was breaking into her hut just when her husband was not at home. This evil creature had not been seen at our place since the time he slaughtered the cow at Old Ebenezer; but for some nights now he has again sneaked into some huts and courtyards and in two nights he purloined some brood hens with eggs, an iron pot with wash, four young pigs, and whatever else came into his hands. Old Mrs. Spielbigler saw him and could have grabbed him with her hands if she had not been too weak. Landfelder also surprised him and retrieved from him a piece of canvas that he had stolen in his courtyard at night, but he could not catch up with him. Our people will have to resolve together more seriously to find him. I have also informed the Englishman at Old Ebenezer [that he, and presumably more than one man, has appeared again and] that he, together with others on horseback, should make an effort to find him. He told me that the other day he had, together with some other men, spared no pains to find his trace but had ridden around in vain. [If our community had received the seven horses promised us by Mr. Oglethorpe for reconnoitering the woods, this creature would possibly have already been found or driven away.] All the lower places are full of water, therefore he must be staying either on dry land in the fir or spruce woods or on an island, where our people do not know the trails for going by foot. [Today it has again rained and thundered heavily, although for some days and also nights we have had very pleasant and warm weather.]

The Savannah River is now rising again very much and is higher than before. Therefore the good Kieffer family has fled from their land, which stands completely under water, with their belongings and cattle and have moved into an empty hut of the orphanage. None of us has had to suffer such inconvenience, since even the Salzburgers whose plantations are situated on the mill river have their lodgings and households on high lands, which people here call bluffs. This is a real blessing which should be appreciated with much gratitude towards God. At Old Ebenezer our people would have had to suffer the same, since their house lots were placed on swampy, low land.

One Salzburger had such a revival from our thanksgiving texts that he recites them eagerly to his wife and children in the morning and evening for them to learn by heart. The introductory verse from Hosea 2:3 reminded him forcefully of what God had done for him, especially before his emigration. He had been in the house of Catholic people, he said; and, while the Protestants were being pursued and banished, he had fallen down on his knees in a corner and prayed to God imploringly to lead him as a mother leads her child, etc. Although he was interrupted in his prayer by the Catholic people in the house, our dear God had heard him favorably and given him much joy and comfort during his pilgrimage. He told that with great cheerfulness and to the praise of God.

Tuesday, the 17th of March. The water in the river has risen almost to the highest point and is standing high above the dam in the mill river but so quietly that we cannot hear it flowing, because more water is flowing back from Abercorn than down from the Savannah River. Even on horseback it is almost impossible to go to the plantations without danger; therefore I had myself ferried back across the river by boat. The large tree trunk along which one lets the horses swim through the river is now lying for the most part under water and is also floating, so that we cannot walk on it.

[Yesterday without our knowledge the people of Old Ebenezer brought to our place the maid made pregnant by the preacher of Frederica, Mr. Norris.21 Her master had taken her with some pounds Sterling and her belongings to Musgroves cowpen; she was ordered to travel via Purysburg to Charleston and wait for her master there. But, since the boat she had taken at the cowpen had come up the mill river and did not get to Purysburg, she came to our place and wanted to be taken to Purysburg today in a small boat. Since I encouraged her and she understood that I already knew of her questionable affairs, she told me of such unpleasant things and such bad behavior of her master and other persons against her that I was shocked about it. She herself wanted to return to Savannah because she does not want to stay away from her master but wishes to follow him to Frederica, for which he has already left, because she can see the deception. I was in any event obligated to send her down, because I had learned from a letter from Mr. Jones, which he had written to his bookkeeper concerning her, that she should not be let out of the colony because she belongs to the Lord Trustees and because her case should be investigated. I was glad that she herself wished to return to Savannah and therefore no pressure was necessary. I hope that our people will be well rewarded for their trouble. Oh, these terrible things, whereby only harm is caused to the colony, if they are not settled by divine and human judges. I am therefore sending a letter with her.]22

Wednesday, the 18th of March. Yesterday afternoon an Englishman came to tell us that he had found the place where the thievish person has his shelter and camp. He has built himself a hut deep in the bushes on Ebenezer Creek, where there is nothing but water around and where large heaps of ashes and many egg shells are lying, also many feathers from poultry. Two young pigs which he had stolen recently were still hanging in the hut. The fellow himself he could not catch, because he disappeared as soon as he heard a noise. Our people had already agreed yesterday to search the surroundings together, which they also did today, but this time too they went in vain. If he is not caught during the night when he is slinking about the peoples huts, it will not be easy to get him in the woods. He is very fast on his feet and does not shrink from water even if he would have to go in it very deeply, as the Englishman reports. Our dear God, who has kept mighty enemies away from us up to now, will free us from this evil person if we heartily appeal to Him.

In this country grow many large and small sassafras trees, which bear very pleasantly smelling leaves [blossoms]. We have been assured that one can dry the blossoms and use them instead of tea, and they are said to be preferable to the usual tea from East India. We have gathered some and will make a test with it.

The Frenchman in our neighborhood on the other side of the Savannah River, whom I have mentioned several times, will move away from here soon and wants to earn his living either in Charleston or else in Holland. We will be glad to get rid of him because he sells rum from greed and has attracted bad people like Indians and other rabble, who afterwards cause us trouble in their drunkenness.

The orphanage is short of corn; and, since none can be obtained in the community because everybody needs much for his own cows and pigs besides his own needs, I have bought ten bushels from this man and must pay him 2 sh. for every bushel. Corn is scarce in the whole country, and one is lucky to get it in the vicinity for this much money. The orphanage needs much cornmeal for bread and other food and must also fatten pigs with corn because no other meat can be brought to this country. Should God bestow some money upon us, we would buy live oxen and let them graze all summer; in autumn they could be slaughtered one at a time and the meat conserved with salt for a long time. Some time ago a planter in Carolina offered me four or five-year-old oxen for 12 pounds in Carolina paper money, which equals 30 sh. Sterling, which he will deliver up to our place together with some cows, which are said to be 2 sh. 6 d. cheaper.

Thursday, the 19th of March. Our people brought me a very friendly letter from Mr. /Thomas/ Jones, who came to Savannah at the end of last week. He informs me that he has received some packets with letters for me from Captain Thomson which he does not wish to hand over to anybody but myself. Besides that, he had to talk over some necessary matters with me, therefore he would be pleased for me to come down immediately after receiving this letter, before he returns to Frederica, which he will do in a few days. Although I would rather have stayed home during this important Passion time and prepared myself together with my congregation in silence for the holy Easter and the celebration of Holy Communion, I had to resolve to travel to Savannah this afternoon. May our Lord bless my departure and return.

[Friday, the 20th of March. I plan to read the Passion story with the help of the Holy Spirit next Sunday in the morning as well as in the afternoon. Luke 23:26-28 now follows in the right order. Our dear God has sent me great benediction and refreshment from previous contemplations and also for future meditations; and therefore I am glad that God has ordained that I will be able to repeat here in town during three prayer hours what I will read next Sunday on the plantations; and how also since otherwise, if my dear colleague had stayed here, I would have had only one hour for it, namely on Saturday. I started yesterday and will continue today and tomorrow with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Lord be praised for all that He has already given to us and will give us further from reflecting on the Passion story. This gives us the greatest comfort and strength; and therefore I wish nothing more than to lie down at the feet of our Lord and His cross, so that His warm blood may flow down on me along with all the salvation and blessing that He has merited; if I hold to Him, our Father cannot reject my request. May He send me and all others the Holy Spirit to teach us how to get on according to His will with His dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.]

Saturday, the 21st of March. Since Sunday is so near and I would like to be together with our dear parishioners in quiet, especially during this holy time, I accomplished my business with Mr. /Thomas/ Jones with the greatest haste possible and rejoined my family around noontime today under divine guidance. To be sure, a man who was helping as a rower became sick on the way back, when an unexpected fever afflicted him with chills and a headache, but nevertheless the providence of our dear God brought us home soon and safe. I had much pleasure from the company and conversation of my fellow travelers but took even more pleasure in the beautiful supply of letters from Europe which was delivered to me by Mr. Jones. As much as my time permitted, I had read them already in Savannah; because my desire to know what our Lord is doing [has sent us] through the service of His servants, our dear Fathers23 in Europe, was all the greater since we had waited for news for such a long time with ardent longing. Next week, God willing, I will note what kind of new blessings our merciful God is offering me and the whole parish from them, especially those eager souls who know to esteem the benefaction of letters written to us by annointed persons; and, as far as the preparation for Easter will allow, I will also read one or another for common edification.

Mr. Verelst has not written to us this time, because the letters we and other benefactors sent him in the past year had not arrived there before the departure of the ship that brought Captain Thomson across and because he had already answered the preceding letters a short time ago. Besides, Mr. Jones told me that a certain man who has been sent to us as an English schoolmaster has brought some more letters along, but he is still in Frederica.24 God be praised for His kindness and benevolence in keeping our dear Fathers, brothers, and friends in Christ alive up to now [and supporting their infirm bodily condition with His strength], and giving His blessings to their spiritual and physical activities, for which we in the New World are again very pleased. For, in spite of the high cost of living and other troublesome circumstances that our beloved Fatherland has had to go through during the previous years, He has blessed their thoughtfulness and loving efforts before God and men so that in Augsburg (and Halle)25 a considerable amount of money has been received for various necessary things, e.g., for the house for widows and orphans, for construction of the church, and for needy members of the parish, also for paying the building costs for my own house, which will be drawn as bills here in Savannah in the name of the Honorable Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen. The sum amounts to 40 pounds Sterling.

Several months ago necessity required us to draw bills for 24 pounds Sterling for the orphanage and other urgent expenses for the community, whereas I also informed the honorable Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen in two letters and asked for approbation of such proceedings. I did this with confidence in the providence of God which has been granted to us in such a singular way up to now. Now I am happy that our dear Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen approves and permits it, although he has not yet received the mentioned letters. My faith was also strengthened by the fact that before the bill of 24 pounds Sterling had arrived in London and the payment had been demanded of him, God had put in his hands this amount and even more from Germany. Oh, what a true God! After trials He sends us comfort, as we very well have observed from many marvelous samples which the Honorable Senior Urlsperger has mentioned in his preface to two Continuations.

How much joy and praise of God will be caused in the hearts of our families when they hear that our omnipotent Ruler, whose name sounds glorious in all countries, has provided for linen, shoes, and various things necessary for clothing as well as for edifying books, which, to be sure, have not arrived with this ship but are waiting ready in Augsburg and Halle to be sent to London. Everything is lying in His almighty hands, He will, as in previous days, let us receive it in good condition. May His name be praised and spread itself out like an ointment poured over all known and unknown benefactors and benefactresses. Yes, in these sorrowful days in which Germany finds itself,26 may it be a mighty fortress for them, to which they can confidently escape and be abundantly and powerfully protected.

Besides that, Secretary Newman has written us a very friendly, loving letter and assured us again of the incessant affection of the Honorable Society.27 He has sent us some copies of the thank-you letter from our community to all dear benefactors in Europe, which they have translated into English and printed. He notifies us that the Honorable Society had them printed in order to send them now and then to their corresponding members, so that the benefactors in England too may realize how their charitable gifts are being received and used. Perhaps God will dispose their hearts anew to some gifts for our community [which the Honorable Society will gladly bestow on us].

May the dear Lord make us grateful from all our heart not only for these benefactions, but also for the affectionate memory of His servants and children before God and men of which we rightly deem ourselves quite unworthy. How great is the goodness of God that our dear benefactors, although they have enough to do with their own rural and urban poor of which there are certainly very many in these hard times, think of our poor community and orphanage with much love and benefaction, [and managed to bring together a tidy gift, partly in money and partly in various other things, which we hope to receive with the next ship]. In our days too we see the truth of what St. Paul extols as a true grace of God in the believers of Macedonia: 2 Corinthians 8:1 ff.

Mr. /Thomas/ Jones was especially friendly to me and assured me he had tried everything possible to persuade General Oglethorpe to pay the money promised to the Salzburgers for the 1739 harvest, which was paid to other colonists completely, if not twofold (because our community will be satisfied with one instead of two shillings for each bushel), [but has not succeeded this time, for which he revealed to me special reasons one better keep to oneself]. In the meantime Mr. Oglethorpe has a kind affection for all of us, so we will hope that the dear Lord who knows about the want and need of the community especially for clothing will provide us with ways and means from near and far, which will compensate us for the things that we might lose in this promised benefit, as, for example, by the aforementioned and eagerly expected crates. He knows counsel and deed for all things. [I am sorry that I have now and again given the community sure hope of this benefit from the mouths of Mr. Oglethorpe and Mr. Jones and must now inform them of the contrary. If I could only quote important reasons why the superiors have changed their mind, it would be easier. We would like the listeners to maintain the good opinion they have of their charitable superiors and be preserved from all the defamatory gossip that other people exercise.]

Mr. Oglethorpe has written a letter to me which, however, was misplaced or lost at the storehouse, but Mr. Jones knew the contents, i.e., he found the recently sent cornmeal from our mill very good and wishes a number of barrels of the same meal for his soldiers. [But he wants to pay no more than 5 sh. 6 d. per hundred pounds and the Salzburgers should bring it down to Frederica. Mr. Jones made it clear to him that, since a bushel of corn costs 2 sh. and that approximately 2-1/2 bushels make 100 pounds, we cannot hand it over for less. He also explained that, although wheat flour costs 15 sh. and the third part of it is baked in the bread, nevertheless one pound of bread costs no more than one penal and is therefore cheap enough:] I had a planter test our cornmeal bread, in which far less than a third part is of wheat flour, and he was most astonished and prefers this bread to that baked from pure wheat flour, as everyone must do, since its appearance and taste make it clearly preferable. Our people also mix the cornmeal with some rice flour and bake an exceedingly beautiful, sweet, and tasty bread from it, which one would not disdain even on distinguished peoples tables.

Pious people among us praise the grace of God, which He has shown to us by the gift of daily bread (which they all enjoy plentifully from the hand of our Creator during their hard work), and especially by the mill; and they marvel that our merciful God has gradually and in so short a time (as it seems to them after enduring many trials) ordained that they can now eat their own nourishing bread, even though they have only little or no money at all to buy wheat flour. Who would have thought of this some years ago, they often add. One of them told me on the way that he would have been content if, in Old Ebenezer at the time that things sometimes looked very miserable, he had just had enough roughly ground and crushed corn, which he and other Salzburgers had eaten without fat and only with a little vinegar. Since his iron pan, in which he cooked it, was always bright and shining (which was the effect of the vinegar), a carpenter who cooked his meals with fat and meat was amazed that he could not polish his pan as brightly in spite of all scrubbing. Well now, our Lord Jesus let Himself be given vinegar to drink on His cross; and by this He merited for us to have it better now. Hallelujah!

The manager of Mr. Ns (Whitefields) orphanage (Habersham) wrote that he too considers the flour we sent to be extremely good. He wishes to have still more barrels of it. Our orphanage owes him some pounds Sterling for different things, which we plan to repay him by and by with such flour, if we can purchase corn. Our people are not able to spare any of theirs, and it is scarce in the whole country. That is probably the reason why so few strangers have their corn ground at our mill. The mill needs something for its maintenance and, since Mr. Oglethorpe can contribute to neither the building costs nor to this, we must wait until the dear Lord lets us have something else. Rice is also very expensive and costs more than usual, since much is demanded for England and the warships. [The Lord Trustees Sola-Bills are discounted in Carolina and one loses 2 sh. 8 d. on each pound Sterling, which is also a reason that the merchandise in Savannah goes up, because the merchants do much business with Carolina. It is astonishing that the value of money is so different and variable in one kingdom, which does much harm.

The annoying matter of preacher Norris has been better investigated since Mr. Jones arrival, but his followers do their utmost to maintain his reputation. When the maid was examined by the magistrates, a Jew28 interpreted, since she understands only little English; but he interpreted her maliciously and superficially in favor of the said preachers followers, whereupon the maid complained through me to Mr. Jones. He asked me to put the maids statement down in writing.29 I, however, do not wish to get involved in this matter, which is none of my business.] Mr. Jones has a German maid in his house, who was well brought up by her parents who died in this country and is very serviceable. However, since he is noticing that Englishmen hang around her, who wish to redeem her and seduce her under the guise of freeing her, he suggested setting her free and also presenting her with gifts if she found the opportunity to marry at our place; for he thinks highly of our people and believes that she will be supported best at our place. Most of our young men are now provided with helpmeets, it is true, but there are still some [such as Riedelsperger, Zant, Paul Mller, Ott, Zettler, C. Floerl, Zbli, Peter Reuter, Leitner] who would like to get married if they had the opportunity. Perhaps God will ordain for the said maid to be brought to our place.

Sunday, the 22nd of March. Because Holy Communion will be held next Good Friday and the congregation will assemble in town on the previous Tuesday to prepare for and hear the dear dogma of Holy Communion, divine service was held at the plantations today as it was eight days ago, and I was alone in town again. Our dear Lord has strengthened my body and heart very much since our commemoration and thanksgiving day service, so I found it easy not only to preach the morning sermon and have the repetition afterwards but also to read something from the letter of our dear Fathers at the evening prayer hour and thus contribute to our common edification. To all this our dear Lord gave His rich blessings, as I not only heard after the hour but could also recognize from our dear parishioners hearty prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving in connection with the sermon. The children too were strongly moved in their hearts, because this time I did not send them to schoolmaster Ortmann during the prayer hour as usual, but let them attend the reading of the letter. [Old Mrs. Spielbigler was present in the morning and at this prayer hour, and I hope from all my heart that she has comprehended everything that was preached also on her behalf and has made use of it for her own salvation.] Eight days ago, which was the 5th Sunday in Lent, we dealt with the dead faith and today with the gospel Matthew 21:1 ff. concerning the living faith, which proves alive and effective, partly by taking, partly by giving; and in the exordium speciale30 the contents of the last sermon about the dead faith were repeated.

Monday, the 23rd of March. A pious young husband, who wishes to save his own and his wifes soul, consulted with me about certain matters of married life and received by Gods help such information that his conscience, which had some scruples about a certain thing, was satisfied. [When unknown sins have to be chastised in the sermon, we cannot be cautious enough not to disturb tender consciences and make them consider quite innocent things as sinful; but it is very good if they talk to us about it soon. Being scrupulous and anxious, however, is better than becoming too sure and full of comfort in the old lees of sensuality.]31

Because this mans wife does not earnestly wish to practice her Christianity and to lay a real foundation, this causes him many sighs and tears. He is working on her loyally and, since she is very much in love with him, she accepts the admonishments and chastisements willingly; but the improvement he wants is not yet taking place. It also touched his heart that so many people in Europe are praying, caring, talking, and writing for us and that he and others are so ungrateful to God and man for these great benefactions. While praying, people sometimes use expressions from which we can hear that they feel themselves unworthy of the grace which God has given to them through letters and other benefactions; and they praise God humbly from the bottom of their souls, as occurred again in todays prayer hour.

Pastor Plaschnig from Petersburg has sent me a letter together with a message about the kingdom of God in that town, from which we get much material for the praise of God, cordial intercession, and imitation of Christ. Whereas it sounds deplorable when he writes of certain persons [of the corps of cadets in Petersburg]:32 Not much can be effected on the N.N. [cadets]. Even those who were awakened before and strove for the good for some years, have, to my regret, turned completely around again, all the more pleasant is the following message about the blessings he notices in his office among the burghers and also among some of the people of rank. What he says about N. [Reval]33 sounds especially wonderful: In N. everything looks very glorious with regard to belief in God. The number of believers is increasing rapidly, and I have positive reports that there is almost no house in town where the effect of Jesus grace is not being experienced.

Tuesday, the 24th of March. The wife /Anna Elisabeth/ of young K. [Kieffer] has eagerly visited the preparation hours for Holy Communion till now and has learned the most excellent dogma of our dear religion from the Compendium Theologicum of Pastor Freylinghausen and before that from some psalms and has also understood it fairly well, although she came to us in the most deplorable ignorance.34 Since some girls and a boy, who give reason for good hope, will attend the Lords Table for the first time, praevio actu Confirmationis,35 she too asked for this benefit but left the decision up to me. I told her some of the reasons why I would prefer her to visit the preparation hours for some time longer and perhaps she could participate in the Holy Sacrament when, in the new church, we again admit some children who have submitted loyally to the discipline of the Holy Spirit. In the meantime she would be better established in the knowledge and practice of Christianity, would have learned to read better, and would have memorized more basic Bible verses and Verba Catechismi,36 etc. She seemed to be quite satisfied.

[Her husband told me later on that she was rather depressed because she could not fulfill her wish. I instructed him to teach her, for he well knew that it would be better for her to wait than to hurry too much.] I noticed from his expressions that dissension sometimes arises between some members of his large family, therefore I admonished him to be careful that the devil not separate them like wheat and hinder the good work the dear Lord has started on them. Satan soon notices where God is building a temple, therefore he tries to build a chapel opposite it; and if he can disseminate disunion on believing minds, all blessing soon disappears as if it were cut down with a sickle or scythe. A man [this Kieffer] intends to travel to his mother-in-law at Orangeburg in North Carolina37 after the Easter holidays. On this occasion he will take with him and deliver personally the money which has been destined and sent here by a benefactor in Switzerland for the preacher Giessendanner (who died a long time ago) or his grandchild.38

The middle son /Balthaser/ of old R. /Bartholomus/[Reiser] is also asking to be admitted to the Lords Table, as he has been preparing for it for a long time. I called on his parents in order to hear whether they noticed any grace in him. They gave him a good testimony, and he himself made a confession about the grace which God has begun to send to his heart; he has also earnestly resolved to use the means of salvation to devote himself to our Lord Jesus as His own forever. I as well as the parents reminded him of the example of his brother, who started very well but by and by has neglected the good, which has caused much grief to his parents. Both the old people talked very edifyingly and emphatically about matters of Christianity, so that I could well notice that God is blessing His word in them. With deep humility and thankfulness they remembered the much good they had received with their children at the poor-house in Augsburg;39 and they can cite many special benefits rendered to them before starting their journey to America.

In the prayer meeting last night we began to make use of the blessed Luthers explication of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah dealing with the passion and the glory of Christ, which the late Professor Francke40 has prefaced with a very edifying and golden extract from another sermon of the blessed Luther about the passion of Christ; the same I did today with divine blessing and assistance at the edification hour at the plantations. We have remained at the preface this time, it is true; but we have learned so much from it that everybody seeking salvation could go home with an awakened heart. From different people with whom I afterwards had the opportunity to talk about it, I heard that the power of God has worked in their hearts mightily, so that they are able to realize the horror of sin as well as the incomparably great love of God in Christ for fallen sinners and the way to their complete and blissful salvation. [Here in town we will cover as much from this booklet as possible during the passion week. The people of the plantations, however, will have to be content with what they heard today, because no more edification hour can be held out there this week. On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday we shall assemble in town to hear the word of God from the regular text and to take Holy Communion.]

Wednesday, the 25th of March. The widow Gr. [Mrs. Gruber] told me of her heartfelt desire to partake of the Lords Supper wth the congregation on Good Friday. She is full of Gods praise for all the mercy she has experienced in the Salzburger country and also here, especially that He had assured her two years ago of her remission and His mercy. With tears she bewailed her unfaithfulness; and she is very depressed because of the evil in her heart that bothers her very much, so she creeps like the biggest sinner to the cross of Christ. I was very much edified when she told me different things that our dear God had blessed in her from the sermons, prayer hours, and common conversation. About her girl, who has been hard and unimpressionable until now, she told me the happy news that God blessed the last Sunday prayer meeting in her when the letter of dear Senior Urlsperger of 11 June 1740 was read to the congregation, and the important truths mentioned in this letter were brought to the conscience of the listeners, so that she has fully resolved to deliver herself up sincerely to the Lord. Her heart had been quite shaken [and something like a hard knot had risen from her heart to her head as if she were being strangled, but it disappeared and she felt light and life in her heart. She gave the following explanation: Satan had been expelled from her heart by our Lord Jesus and He had installed His kingdom in her heart, etc.]

I was told about another girl who had previously been lightminded and ill behaved, but in said hour God gave her so much edification with the power of His word that she lost the hunger she had had before [because the prayer hour was held before the evening meal]. I notice that ever since last Sunday God has been working on the listeners to awaken the ones who feel safe41 and are indolent and to draw the beginners more and more to His son. [From the preface of the explication of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, about which some necessary details were preached in yesterdays evening prayer hour, people had great blessings, as I often hear.]

My dear colleague read to me last night the exceedingly edifying verses our dear Mr. Bogatzky sent to Senior Urlsperger with a material gift for Ebenezer, and from these God gave me great refreshment. May He never let me forget the lasting impression effected in my heart by it, and may He let the esteemed author fare well in time and eternity. Until now my time and business have not permitted me to read attentively and completely the beautiful writings and messages from Europe that have come to our hands this time as a special benefit. This will be better possible after the Holy Day with the help of God; and the congregation can also hope for much spiritual elevation. God has already given the first fruits with said letter, Hallelujah.

[After the Easter Holidays necessity will require me to travel to Mr. Jones in Savannah. One and another thing have to be discussed and cleared up before his departure to Frederica. For this reason] I wrote a letter to General Oglethorpe that Mr. Jones will take with him and insinuate in the best possible way. The contents consist of the following: 1) I thank him for the mill stones he has given us as a present for a new course for the mill, telling him at the same time that we will not be able to install them before God puts some money from our benefactors into our hands to arrange one thing and another at the mill. 2) I report to him that we have higher and stronger water at the mill this year than we have ever had before and yet the dam is still standing immovable through the providence of God, and the mill has not suffered any damage. I said I knew that the Lord Trustees will approve anything that Mr. Oglethorpe attempts for the best of this colony, therefore they would not mind if he would present us with some money for the maintenance of the mill and the miller, without awaiting a reply. 3) That our inhabitants cannot sell any more corn or corn meal this year, otherwise they would gladly supply Mr. Oglethorpe and his regiment with flour. If, however, he would order up corn from Savannah [for which the mill river offers a convenient and pleasing way of transportation], our people would gladly grind it for him. 4) That Doctor Francke is willing and ready to send an honest Studiosum Theologiae42 as a preacher to the German people at Frederica; but, since the Lord Trustees do not know yet of this fact and therefore cannot provide for his travel expenses, I asked Mr. Oglethorpe for instructions as to what can be done in this matter. 5) That [Reverend Mr.] Senior Urlsperger is very happy to hear that General Oglethorpe is still well and always shows much affection towards our community. He is being informed by letters from different places that prayers from many humble souls are being offered to God for him, etc. I also enclosed the letter of thanks from the community to all dear benefactors in Europe, translated into English, and asked him to accept it benevolently. 6) I asked again most sincerely for the benefit of the corn subsidy which General Oglethorpe promised to our community here in Savannah for the harvest of the year 1739; and I also gave reasons to persuade him. 7) I recommended our orphanage to him in the most humble way and assured him, if ever he took interest in it by word and deed, he would surely receive the reward of the One who is called a Father of the orphans and a Judge of the widows.

Thursday, the 26th of March. By the grace of our dear God Mrs. Kalcher gave birth to a child /Maria Magdalena/ at the orphanage, and she and her husband are blessed with a healthy and well formed little daughter who was baptized before the divine service in the presence of the congregation. Her bodily health has been rather defective for several years because of a dangerous condition, which caused her to even more prayer before the birth of her child. God heard her prayers, although there was much pain and misery, which she is putting to good use. She still attended last nights prayer meeting and heard the verse from the blessed Luthers aforementioned explication of Isaiah 53: Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, . . . etc. At the same time something else was also told to the female sex, especially the married women, from the comparison of Matthew 8:17 with Genesis 3:16 for their comfort and good advice; and this was was of much use to her, also Mr. Kalcher told me this morning. Thank God, there is enough comfort and instruction for fallen sinners like us in the gospel!

Today, besides the regular text of Maundy Thursday, 1 Corinthians 11, we contemplated some important points of Holy Communion, whereby the true God has again strengthened me noticeably and has let me and others realize what an inexpressible treasure we have in Holy Communion. As an exordium we had 1 Corinthians 2:12. After the sermon we held the repentence and confession ceremony as usual, in which a few people from Purysburg also participated. In the evening prayer meeting we continued to read from the mentioned booklet, which is to be esteemed more highly than gold. In a masterly manner and with the help of the Holy Spirit our blessed Luther has understood the most important article about the justification of a poor sinner before God; and therefore to us he is a blessed preacher. Whoever reads this book superficially and does not ask for a right teacher, the Holy Spirit (as he himself says), will find little or nothing for his edification, and it will be for him like a hidden treasure in the field. God be praised for the blessings He gives us from it in this desert.

Z. [Zant] visited me yesterday and today to complain about his spiritual plight; according to him, he is not making any progress. He is fighting, but cannot get free from his evil thoughts and ideas and therefore thought himself unworthy to participate in Holy Communion. I asked him whether he believes that it will go better with him without the continuous and earnest use of the means ordered by God? He answered that he surely knows that it will not become better that way but even worse; and he explained that some time ago he had felt perdition working in him very strongly. However, on my advice he had not refrained from Holy Communion, which God blessed in him already the evening before, so that his heart became soft and he received great blessings and grace. Such experience I turned to his advantage and admonished him to be faithful only through the grace he has received and to become more and more faithful and to wait confidently for the help of the Lord, from one morning vigil to the next, for it certainly will come. Did God not have to wait for him a long time? Now he should also have to learn to wait. I gave him something to read, fitting his present spiritual condition, from one of the Contributions to the Building of the Kingdom of God,43 which gave him instruction and comfort.

During the sermon today Mrs. R [Rottenberger] was strongly moved and awakened to understand her sinfulness; therefore she was afraid to go to the Lords Table but discussed this matter with me. I reminded her that she had been drawn to God several times but had again slipped away from Him and sided with the world. If she acted this way again now, how would it finally end? She realized very well how much harm it had done her. Therefore I admonished her not to be so bashful toward other people who also come from the plantations and stop at her house on Sundays and not to let herself be deterred from prayer and Christian conversation after the sermon by her own bashfulness. [One is as bashful as the other; and it is a pity for all] because she knows well what a great advantage her former neighbor, Mrs. N. [Maurer] had from her company with pious women, so I advised her to seek it too. In case she could not go out because of her two small children, others would come to her if she wished.

Friday, the 27th of March. On this Good Friday, which is celebrated among us every year as a high holiday, our Lord has gloriously revived us not only with His dear gospel from the last part of the Passion story from Luke 23 but also through the use of the body and blood of our Lord in Holy Communion. May He let us never forget what He has done in our souls. Sixty-two persons went to the Lords Table, among them were four girls and one boy, who praevio Actu Confirmationis publici44 participated for the first time in Holy Communion. Since this confirmation ceremony and the public renewal of the baptismal covenant have made a great impression on the parish and caused much blessing at other times, I hope the same also from the one today, all the more so as the dear Lord had strongly prepared us for it through His word. For we saw various examples from the Passion story in Luke 23:39-49 that our Lord Jesus has opened and spread out His hands and heart extensively to all lost and damned sinners. At such a renewed confirmation ceremony God sends a new emotion and revival especially to those who have stood on this same spot in previous years to renew their baptismal covenant after previous preparation through the word of God and prayer but who may have perhaps slackened again in the good they have begun. At such an opportunity we do not neglect to persuade those people in the most friendly way and to awaken them to remember their dear promise given before God and the congregation. To the five children, whom we have commended to the five wounds of our Lord Jesus, I hopefully apply the dear verse which the Honorable Senior Urlsperger has sent to the beginners in Christianity. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it, . . . etc.

Last night Ruprecht Zittrauers wife bore a little son, who was brought here this morning from the plantations and baptized in public before the divine service. People are now accustomed to give their children names that have a good meaning45 in order to remind them of edifying and blessed persons for Christian imitation. [Therefore some are named Jacob, Israel, Samuel, Johannes, David, Maria, Magdalena, Hanna, Elisabeth.] God has given much edification and comfort to Mrs. Kalcher in her struggle for atonement from the example of Maria Magdalena and of the great sinner in Luke 7, who is also taken for Maria Magdalena by some people, so that she gave this name to her little child who was baptized yesterday.

Saturday, the 28th of March. Some parties of Indians, men, women and children, have turned up and pitched their camp here. Therefore another family, belonging to the Uchi Indians, who has been staying here for more than half a year partly near the town and partly at the plantations, had to flee across the water to Carolina, since they would be in great danger of life because of the newly arrived Creek Indians. For they live in constant conflict, and the stronger ones suppress and destroy the weaker ones. Because the often mentioned Frenchman in our neighborhood will move away after the holidays, they will find no opportunity for drunkenness in our region, otherwise there will be unrest and disturbance. God has always kept His hand above us so that they cannot commit excesses and do us harm.

[Mrs. Rauner has not yet received any payment on account of her late husband, who fought at St. Augustine;46 and therefore she had a letter written to a certain gentleman in Charleston. The Frenchman will take it with him and promise to lend her a helping hand with the payment. There are still several persons at our place who have not received anything up to now; and, when I asked Mr. /Thomas/ Jones the other day to assist the poor people in that matter, he said that it is the same in Savannah. The government in Charleston is not well disposed towards General Oglethorpe and this colony, therefore all sorts of anomalies happen. Nothing can be expected before they are obliged to by the Kings authority, which General Oglethorpe will try to accomplish. Whoever wishes to receive money in this country has many difficulties.]

A Swiss girl from Savannah /Magdalena Meyer/ has been at our place for some time and has performed all sorts of domestic chores and attended school a few hours every day. But since Hans Floerl, at whose house she has lived, is now moving to his plantation and there is no vacancy for her at the orphanage, or any other possibility to shelter her, I will have to take her with me to Savannah after the holidays. Some people at the plantations would be glad to have such a girl for their little children, but this would not accomplish her mothers purpose to have her go to school. This is also the desire of the girl herself and is necessary for her.

We still have to act according to circumstances because money is scarce and things are expensive; and we have to use the blessings we have received until now to appease those who have worked for the orphanage or lent it money. Furthermore, we have to buy clothes and other necessary things; and therefore we cannot accept other poor children, especially from strange places, before God sends us the means for it. The same God who has let the well of His grace flow plentifully upon us from Europe will certainly send us enough at the right time to enable us to let more children enjoy the benefit of education. This girls mother is serving a well off and pious merchant and receives sufficient wages; so perhaps she will be willing to pay for her girl here. I will have to talk to her about that. I hear that, in Savannah, children from Purysburg, who are badly provided with schooling, pay 5 sh. Sterling a week for lodging and food. Nobody would have to pay that much at our place, since people manage as economically as possible.

Sunday and Monday were Holy Easter.

Young Mrs. K. /Anna Elisabeth/ [Kieffer] was very much awakened again last Friday by the sermon and the confirmation ceremony and also by this holiday to devote herself with all her heart to our Lord Jesus. In some members of her great family she does not find what is always insisted upon in the sermons: they are especially lacking in a diligent and eager prayer and in the necessary silence, therefore she asked me to contribute my share to make things go better for them.

Our loving heavenly Father, who has been reconciled by Christ, has again granted us many blessings, as we have learned from the prayer and talk of our parishioners as well as from our own experience. May He be praised! On the first day of Easter the divine service was held separately here and there. On the second day all of us were together in town. The weather has been constantly dry and pleasing for eight days and was very agreeable at this holiday too. The water in the river is still so high that we cannot cross the little river between our place and the plantation without a boat, so our people have used it at Easter.

Tuesday, the 31st of March. My dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, traveled to Savannah this morning. May our Lord accompany him and bring him back to us soon. [The past holiday certainly was very much blessed. Yes, I may say that the days before Easter and the Easter days themselves have been very silent days. Today I went for a short time to the orphanage, where I also heard of much blessing.]

To a person who could not attend public worship this time and was in a sad cast of mind I cited the words of Isaiah 40:1-2, which were the exordium on the first Easter holiday; and I showed her that it was Gods will for me to preach to her also according to this verse. She should accept it as a word of God and take all the good enclosed therein from the hand of the Lord. [Also Hertzog at the orphanage has received a blessing, has again placed his confidence in the dear Lord and now wishes to surrender to Him completely.] F. [Mr. /Hans/ Floerl] and his family, who will move to the plantations tomorrow, God willing, came to see me in the evening after the prayer hour and we bade farewell to each other with a prayer. They would rather stay in town because they have greater opportunity for edification here. However they are also asking the dear Lord to give them a resigned spirit.

APRIL

Wednesday, the 1st of April. Toward evening I had the opportunity to speak with the older N. /Ambrose/ [Zuebli] who could also praise the kindness God showed him at the Easter service. He said that his heart was moved so much by the sermon that he had to force himself not to weep. Quite a fire arises in his soul, so that it may be said of him as of the disciples traveling to Emmaus: Did not our heart burn within us . . . etc. He and his younger brother /Johann Jacob/are indeed poor but they are also cheerful, and God always gives them as much as they need for their utmost necessity. Their brother /David/in N. [Purysburg] is much better off materially; however, since he has to live there amid great distraction they would not wish to change with him, because at our place they live in greater quiet and have more time and occasion to save their souls. These two brothers live together harmoniously. They help each other in spiritual and bodily needs; if one of them is dejected the other tries to comfort him through friendly words from the word of God and by prayers and songs.

Yesterday and today I continued to read from the previously mentioned interpretation of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. [The dear Lord has given us a right great blessing from it. May He be praised for it. May He fill us with the Holy Spirit so that, in His light, we may grow and gain in the grace and recognition of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.] Our blessed Luther in fact thought highly of the article: Christ has borne our sins and He has died for us. May our dear God be praised for having made us better understand during these days what that means. [May He give us grace to let this be our main study from now on; because, where this is, the other is also.] Among other things the mentioned interpretation reads as follows: The devil has never been so concerned with any other article as with this one in order to overturn it. For he knows that everything depends upon it and that this is the only article that makes a great and eternal difference between our religion and all other human religions on earth. For only Christians believe in this article, and they alone are therefore called Christians, not because they do good works like the others but because they believe in this article that Christ died for us and because they rely on the alien work that Christ has done and appropriate it to themselves.1

This really is a unique description of Christians, whereby the works of all other parties and sects, even if they were miraculous, and also all their virtues, are brought to naught if they lack this elementary basis. [What does love for Christ mean, even if it is avowed, without this foundation? For it is very common for these or other people to say that they love the Lord Jesus. We will gladly let it stand, if their love is based on this foundation. If this is not the case, then all their pretention means nothing and we cannot let them pass as true Christians. For, if it were true that their love for Christ originated from this cause, then they would not leave us and start a new sect! Oh, may the Lord strengthen us in this belief more and more by His Holy Spirit! That gives us comfort and refreshment in all circumstances, that also gives us the strength to honor God through a pious life; and the good works that arise from such a belief are such as are inspired by the spirit of faith and are therefore agreeable to God through Christ, on whom the poor sinner depends despite all his good works. Hallelujah for such comfort and powerful dogma! May God let the same resound after this Easter feast with right special vigor and blessing so that our whole congregation will be only one community in Christ, in which much praise and honor is offered to Him, Amen!]

Thursday, the 2nd of April. Soon after dinner, thanks be to God, I (Boltzius) came back from Savannah and have all reason to thank the dear Lord, who again assisted me in a fatherly way during the journey and in Savannah to accomplish the aim of my travel down there. To be sure, Captain Thomson had not yet arrived in Savannah with his ship from Frederica, since the investigation of some great thefts from his merchandise has kept him there. Meanwhile, I could buy the most necessary items for the orphanage as well as for others in our parish and for our house from Mr. /Thomas/ Jones and from other stores and bring them home with me. [It is said that the said captain is not only selling most of his goods very expensively but is selling almost everything already in Frederica; therefore only things that others do not wish will come to Savannah.]

Things are becoming more expensive all the time. In Charleston a bushel of corn is worth almost half a crown Sterling and all export is to be prohibited. A certain captain in whose storehouses we are accustomed to buy many things will procure fifty or sixty bushels of corn and a barrel of rice for our orphanage and will transport it up to the region of Savannah in his sloop. This, I think, is a sign of the fatherly care of God, since the Salzburgers in the community now need their goods themselves and cannot sell anything (except in emergency). Although the price is high, our dear God will know how to grant us enough so we can pay for this. [Mr. Jones is not yet traveling to General Oglethorpe but is waiting for Captain Thomsons ship. I let him read my recently mentioned letter to General Oglethorpe, which he approved and will present himself at a favorable occasion. Perhaps God will incline the mind of this gentleman to the favor of our community and orphanage, as Mr. Jones heartily wishes along with us and is prepared to further to the best of his ability. Since the St. Augustine campaign many things have deteriorated, of which he told me some sad details.]

Since I have no opportunity to talk privately with the German people in Mr. Jones house, I have asked him for an uninhabited house (of which there are many in Savannah), which is to be repaired the coming week. Here our traveling companions and the members of our community will find their own comfortable shelter as often as they travel to Savannah, to pause there quietly and to lock up their goods; and I expect a great spiritual and physical advantage from it. [This time I took with me two copies of Arndts True Christianity for some men, who are very glad about it because God has given them much blessing therefrom already and has shown them the corruption of their hearts. One man lost all his books and other belongings in a fire near Savannah; and, because his little child was alone in their hut, it was very badly hurt too and died shortly thereafter.] It is being told for certain in Savannah that Admiral Vernon has destroyed a French war-fleet of fifteen or seventeen ships in the region of Mexico and that the war against Spain is to be continued with great force here in America. In Germany the death of the Roman Emperor is expected to have some bad consequences.2 May God hold back His judgments for some time, which He certainly will do because of His great mercy and on account of the prayers of His children, since He in His omniscience sees that some people still want to convert to Him and save their souls.

A man named Hamilton, together with his wife, came to Georgia on Captain Thomsons ship. He is a born Englishman; but he lived for ten years in Germany, especially in Breslau, and also married there. His profession is wig-maker, and he has requested the Lord Trustees to let him join the Salzburgers at Ebenezer where, he said, he will honestly support himself. Since he speaks the English language thoroughly and also a rather good German, he will hold the English lessons if we find him competent. For that, as Mr. Verelst writes in an open letter brought by this man, the Lord Trustees wish to pay his own and his wifes travel expenses; and instead of ready money Captain Thomson will take a written testimony of this mans ability and will be paid after his return to London. In case he should not suit us, the Captain has the power to sell both of them as servants wherever he can get the most money for them. Mr. Newman accompanied this open letter of Mr. Verelst with a few lines of almost the same content and sent it with him unsealed.

For this man it is a great benefit to gain his freedom under the said conditions, but he seems not to believe it, since he has heard that he will have to work in the fields too and earn his living by the sweat of his brow because it would be impossible for him to make his living as an English schoolmaster. If he is faithful and honest he will receive an additional five pounds Sterling as a salary from the Lord Trustees storehouse; and, if he will turn to God and live with his wife in a Christian way and if God presents us with some means, I would like to use him to supervise the children at the orphanage and to use his wife for all sorts of womanly occupations, but already in advance this does not seem to suit them. They act very grand yet have no money, no beds or blankets, and no housewares or working tools. Indeed, they are beggarly poor, since they, as they say, have lost everything through lawsuits. Mr. Jones is not willing to give or to lend them the slightest thing in the way of provisions and other necessities, so I cannot see what they are going to do at our place.

With regard to the open letters they have brought along, I talked to them on Tuesday and Wednesday in detail about their present circumstances and distinctly told them how hard the Salzburgers and other people in the country have to work if they wish to survive with divine blessings. However, they still wish to come to Ebenezer and try to establish themselves. Mr. Jones has promised to take them away from us again in case they are a burden on us. May God grant them to be won over by His word and then they will be content and will also experience what our Lord has said: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, . . . etc. and all these things shall be added unto you. As soon as a boat goes down from our place to Savannah, they wish to come. Here they will soon be assigned an empty hut and a piece of land on which no other work has to be done except the actual planting.

[In Savannah a Jew3 told me what abominable horrors are being practiced quite with impunity in the town through adultery and fornication, although it is patently against the Torah and the Sixth Commandment of the Almighty. Such abominations are known to me well enough; and I also hear from Mr. Jones that he shows his highest detestation of it. However, since he has no power by himself alone but has to act in conjunction with the other persons of the town council, it remains at his detestation, so that the punishment of such and the like scotfree sins will have to be taken by our Lord into His own hands. In Frederica it is said to be even worse;4 what will finally result from this? May God have pity, and may He let us realize what a special grace we enjoy at our place, where we do not have to hear and to see such insults to the Christian name. When I went down there on Tuesday afternoon I saw some inhabitants and their friends squandering their precious time by playing ball with crying and cursing on the public market place and thereby giving offense to the youth. They are said not to have behaved any better even during the Holy Days (though in a different way).]

In Purysburg the often mentioned German shoemaker /Jacob Reck/, together with his wife, is said to have practiced his usual disorder at the inn even on Holy Easter. At the very time his dwelling caught fire and burned out completely; and much leather, shoes, boots and tools were destroyed by the fire, too. But he does not recognize the hand of God; rather, as our people tell me, became drunk again recently in Savannah. Oh that such people would sober up and escape from the devils snares, with which they are bound according to His will! However, they withdraw from every opportunity whereby their conscience could be moved. This shoemaker is now moving away from Pursyburg and will settle in the country even further away from Ebenezer, although he has not visited the public worship at our place for a long time.

Friday, the 3rd of April. Today a great number of people from the plantations came to Ruprecht Steiners house, where the public worship is still being held, to listen to what I had promised the other day to read to them after Easter. After songs and prayers, we used the whole hour to apply the contents of Senior Urlspergers short letter that I had already made known to the listeners in town before the Holy Day, to the great edification of my and their souls; and I do not doubt that the Lord has given us much blessing from it. Since on the occasion of this letter I also told them of the physical blessings gathered for us in Augsburg and Halle, which should be on the way to us now, and also mentioned the letter of thanks from our community to our dear known and unknown benefactors which is now being printed in England and Germany in our favor. I told them that scarcely a parish in Christendom could be found on which our Lord heaps His grace spiritually and physically in such a singular way as on ours. For, besides the fact that He is working heavily on all our souls by word and sacrament in a great physical peace and Christian freedom, it is a true benefaction that at many places in Europe people are kindly thinking of us and speaking, writing, praying, and caring for us and that the righteous people in Germany are as eager to get news about our situation as Ebenezer would be to learn how their sons are faring in strange countries. What they learn about laetis and adversis5 affects them as if it were happening to themselves.

The fact that people are praying so much for us in many places I consider more than whole chests full of gold and silver, for these cannot save us in times of want, whereas a faithful prayer can. If the prayer of one righteous person may attain much, how much more will be attained by the prayers of so many? Because most people of the parish are lacking in clothing and because God cares for it from time to time, as in this case (even though there is need and poverty enough in Germany itself), we have to recognize that our dear Father in heaven is letting us experience the Fata6 which the poor believers in Judea experienced, according to the testimony of Holy Scripture [which means a great honor and benefit to us]. In this connection I read to them 2 Corinthians 8:1-4, and I especially showed them the words: the saints v.4, for what reason the gifts are flowing to us in America through the hands of the benefactors. Whoever has not been a saint up to now can become one according to 1 Corinthians 6:11. This evening I read to them the first part of the long and very pleasing letter of last October 8 from our dear Senior Urlsperger, in which we especially enjoyed the beautiful verse: Let us hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised.

Saturday, the fourth of April. Although the water has risen very high until now and overflowed the low land all over and also along the mill river, it has done no damage to the mill; and therefore the mill has, as far as we can judge from a human view, passed its test this winter. Because Mr. /Thomas/ Jones, our great patron, will soon travel to General Oglethorpe at Frederica, some knowledgeable people of our community hope he will see the mill himself beforehand and thus be able to recommend its durable construction to General Oglethorpe as testis oculatis,7 in order to persuade him to pay some of the construction costs. Therefore it is resolved that our boat will be sent to Savannah next Monday to bring him quickly to our place, if he is willing; for that reason I will also write him a letter. [There would have been no room for him in the boat I used some days ago, since it was carrying many things. Should he be unable to come up to us, the boat would not go down in vain, because the previously mentioned couple, if they abide by their decision and cannot be sheltered in Savannah, should come up, for it is high time for planting and I should not like them to miss it.

[This evening I could not continue reading the letter mentioned yesterday; because, as is usual every two weeks at the Saturday prayer meeting, my dear colleague discussed a part of the catechism, which will also be treated tomorrow afternoon at the plantations. Perhaps the dear Lord will strengthen me enough to enable me to continue with the instructive and consoling letter during the evening prayer hour in addition to the sermon in the morning and the repetition in the afternoon.]

In todays house prayer meeting I read a letter written to me by a Christian patron in which a fine testimony was given about the fatherly care and intercession of Mr. S.U. [Senior Urlsperger] for our community.

Sunday, the fifth of April. At the beginning of the morning servicea sudden fire arose in the [Mrs. Rheinlanders] kitchen and quickly destroyed the kitchen, the hut, the stables, and a great part of the garden fence. Her daughter was at home and tried to extinguish the first small fire on the little roof above the fireplace, but the wind spread it too quickly; and, since the people were in church and could not help swiftly, everything caught fire. I had the men go out of church; and, with Gods help they managed to stop the fire from spreading further. Most items of the house were saved, but one and another thing, especially much corn and paper money, were burned. After the fire had been extinguished, the people came together once more; and in my sermon I continued meditating, as long as time allowed, about the peace of God as an unspeakably great benefaction of the Lord. The remainder was added in the afternoon, along with a short repetition of what had preceded.

Zuebli8 came back from Savannah today and told us that six houses in Savannah had burned down with their furnishings in only a few hours. May God let us be strongly awakened by this hammer of His chastisement to be devoted to Him with all our hearts and, by His grace, to discard what is displeasing to Him so that He may find us innocent and at peace with Him. I hereby think of our feast proverb: If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. In todays evening prayer meeting we continued reading the fatherly letter from dear Senior Urlsperger and included the contents of same in our common prayer. We are all glad to learn from this letter how things are going in our dear fatherland; and, since we hear that great spiritual and physical want, turmoil, and shortages can be found everywhere, it drives us to prayer, and we see how much reason we have to thank and praise the dear Lord for His great kindness that is still ruling over us. Without doubt the heart of our dear Senior will be comforted by seeing from our letters and diaries that, by the time he was worrying about us because of newspaper reports, the hardships we had feared had not occurred, but, on the contrary, we were enjoying special signs of Gods help and His fatherly care. For we had a good harvest, and besides God helped us to a flour mill for using our corn in the best possible way. Oh, a true God! That should awaken us anew to keep to the confession of hope and not to waiver, etc. [I do not doubt that God is giving great blessings from the letters received from Europe not only to the two of us and the others in our house, but also to all of our listeners, so I intend to read them all one after the other during this week. We are taking our time for it so that we can be edified from every point.]

Senior Urlspergers letter is dated 8 October 1740; and, since our wise and kind God, especially by the verse Hebrews 10:23, has strengthened his belief that He will help us through all afflictions at Ebenezer, I looked up the notes in our diary from 8 October of that year. From the comparison of the Seniors religious strength and our understanding I was awakened to holy admiration for Gods gracious care, wisdom, and grace, and to fervent praise of His glorious name. For on the same day and at the same time He gave us much spiritual and physical edification from His care and from the believing and hopeful behavior of our dear listeners. Also at the mill construction, which suffered various difficulties at that time, He gave us much comfort and edification from His word, of which only the least part has been put down. That means: O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea. Psalms 65:5.

Monday, the sixth of April. This morning Peter Reiter was married to /Magdalena/ the widow of the late Simon Steiner, and I explained to them and their friends who accompanied them to their wedding the words of Christ from yesterdays gospel to their benefit: Peace be with you, because it includes the whole complex, the core, and the quintessence of all the good which, through the redemption and reconciliation of our dear Savior, flows upon all who convert to Him and also upon those who sorrow and mourn, even if they were as weak and frail as the Apostle Thomas.

A woman attending the wedding told me that her late husband had often thanked the dear Lord that he was not married in the Salzburger country because then, like most of the people, he would not have started his marriage with God and thereby would have called upon himself curses instead of blessings. I had some thoughts of my own about that, especially that God is only mocked at most weddings. For the word of God, singing, and praying are almost empty ceremonies, as I could well observe in Germany during and after the wedding feast of most so-called Christians. Consequently, all misfortune and misery may later pour on most married couples matrimony and child raising. May God prevent such disorder among us! The wedding was held in Ruprecht Steiners house, the place of public worship on the plantations, since Peter Reiter, the bridegroom, has his plantations out there too. The wedding guests, of whom there were but few, made use of their time during the meal by a useful, edifying, and intimate talk, for which we readily provide an opportunity. We also pray and sing with them, and this is the only reason that one of us willingly attends such an occasion at the request of our dear listeners. I also like to ask young married couples who have been married among us from the beginning about their wedding text; for this gives me an opportunity to remind them of the former admonitions and the comfort they received.

[The honorable Senior Urlsperger has written an answer in Latin to Mr. Whitefield and mailed it in the last package. However, since he had traveled back to England via Charleston already around Christmas, I found it necessary to send the same by the manager of his orphanage to him to London or wherever he is staying. At the same time my mind was strongly inclined to write a letter to him myself and inform him about the just started church construction, the mill, the still uncovered expenses, and the orphanage and its circumstances, etc., also most sincerely to thank him and the unknown dear benefactors who have contributed so much in ready money for the church building. While writing the letter I found the special help of God so that I believe it has not been only human impulse and inspiration. Maybe God will bless the same for the best of our community. Before his departure Mr. Whitefield wanted a report of our situation anyhow; and the manager, Mr. Habersham, also admonished me to send it.]

Tuesday, the seventh of April. I hear that our people see a special care of God in connection with the fire at R.s [Mrs. Rheinlnders] hut, because it happened not only suddenly during daytime but also at a time when all men were together at church and not scattered at their field work, so that they could save many things from the fire with the utmost speed and tear down the nearest fences and huts to prevent the flames from spreading out. Also the wind turned towards the water, where there is only an empty field and no houses; and this was almost the greatest advantage.

R.s [Mrs. Rheinlnders] rotten and hypocritical character has become evident through this conflagration. She had always, last Saturday too, pretended to me to be living in the utmost poverty so that her children do not have a whole shirt and she does not have a bit of flour and so that she is also lacking blankets and other things. Since she wanted to travel to Savannah on the following Monday to buy some necessities of life, she had to borrow money here and there. She had also made a certain debt difficult for Mrs. Gruber, a poor and honest widow; and she told me the most scandalous lies about this upright woman and accompanied them with the best make-believe and cover of dissimulation.

As soon as she came to her burning hut on Sunday, she cried for the money which she had hidden in her bed and which her son handed over to her through the window, whereupon she thanked God in front of other people with uplifted hands and then put the money in her pocket. Right after this she pretended, with many accusations against the very bad people in our community, that nine or ten pounds Sterling in Spanish and English silver had been stolen; and she tried to accuse the very people who had saved her belongings of theft. However, since her supply of money did not concur with her pretended great poverty, she calls this her emergency money, which she did not wish to touch, and therefore she could plead poverty. I also noticed that she had saved half a barrel of flour from the fire; yet on Saturday she had complained of not having a speck of flour or any fat, of which she still had a great pot half filled. To say nothing of other obvious lies and snaky slyness that God revealed all at once.

Last Saturday during the prayer meeting my dear colleague had explained the ninth commandment and impressed extensively, clearly, and earnestly the important words of God in Psalms 50:19 ff., which she also heard, but it did not stir up her fresh sins in her conscience or lead her to atonement. Therefore God had to awaken and excite her through fire and call her to repentance. She had been led to this already, but I fear she will again make hypocrisy her refuge as before. It is a great benefit for her that God has torn off her cap of simulation and disgraced her in front of the whole parish, since almost everyone knows of her pretended poverty, which is untrue; and now we all know what we have in her and can work on her more seriously if she agrees.

[Since I have heard that the young /Johann Jacob/ Zuebli wishes to marry her and is therefore now always sticking close to her, to the scandal of others, I summoned him tonight after eight oclock from her quarters and warned him with hearty love against an overgreat hurry in such a marriage, which could make him, like the deceased Rheinlaender,9 into a miserable wretch for all his lifetime, because she has not converted to God but has cheated us with flagrant dissimulation again this time. Also, for some time now she had already proved herself not so much with regard to us but to others to be an unconverted, dissimulating person. I asked him therefore not to look at the present situation with blind love but impartially and to watch her further before actually marrying her. I added it was my duty to warn him against misfortune, otherwise he would give me no thanks for not having done it, since I had well known what the matter is with Mrs. Rheinlaender. But natural passion and over-haste flared out from his blind love in a way which I had not foreseen, for I had expected more grace and control of his natural emotions.

[He called Mrs. Rheinlaenders gross lies and simulations mistakes and furiously railed at our community and the true members of same and accused them of many bad acts -- all this in defense of the Rheinlaender woman. When I urged him to tell me the ones of whom he knew so many offenses of unkindness, defamation, etc., he mentioned his fellow-countryman, the old Swiss carpenter /Krusy/ who is demanding back the money lent to her for flour and meat, and nobody else.

[Afterwards he withdrew so far as to admit that he did consider some of the people to be upright souls. He complained about having suffered great poverty at our place and having lost much by thefts at his plantation; and he belittled all the good he has enjoyed despite the fact that he is not a Salzburger! He thinks himself fortunate that he and his brother got work at the orphanage in Savannah, and he used very crude expressions towards me, for which at last he repented and begged my pardon.

[I pity this poor man because he has been so taken in by this tricky and double-faced person. He will forfeit all good things; and who knows how else he will deteriorate, because his temperament is very dissolute, unstable, and inclined to unbidden interference. I only told him I believed that there would come a time when he would realize that I have spoken the truth and have really meant well; but he took it in bad part. Maybe he will soon remember, to his shame, that he has received more good things from people whom he has now abused to please Mrs. Rheinlaender than from his own brother in Purysburg,10 although I understand this quarrel between them and the reasons for their separation now better than before. I hope God will set him right again. With people like him, who are not Salzburgers, we usually have the most trouble.]

Wednesday, the eighth of April. [This morning poor /Johann Jacob/ Zuebli came once more and railed against some unnamed people in a coarser way than any man of the world would do if he knew even a little bit how to behave himself. He had heard from our cowherd that someone had spoken behind his back about his bringing Mrs. Rheinlaender provisions and money, as if this were such a great and awful matter. Since his spirit was assuaged last night, I asked him where he thinks the Englishman who helped to extinguish the fire might have lodged. One of them, who is a disgraceful and ill reputed fellow because of his uncleanliness, had acquaintance with her in Purysburg and also here; and, because I know this, I asked this question in order to make sure of it.

Instead of informing me, he grew extremely angry because I listen to people who say such things about Mrs. Rheinlaender; and he spoke of Gods judgment which would come upon these bad persons. People abandon the poor widow, he said, do not give her anything, and will make her desperate if they treat her like this. It is a lie to say that she has gotten her money and would deny it; by this people will be held back from conferring benefits upon her. I looked with pity on him in his emotion and recited to him the verses in 1 Peter 2:22-23; and I asked him to examine himself as to whether he is acting like our Lord Jesus, to whose example we are directed.

I also told him that, by the miraculous governance of God, it will come to light at last whether Mrs. Rheinlaender is denying the recovery of her money only in order to move others to pity and to get gifts for her; for avarice still governs her. He should only keep quiet, wait, and hold his eyes open, etc. His complaint that we are not giving her anything is another groundless matter. He himself had to admit that some people have brought her various and ample food, her children have received food and drink at the orphanage. People have given her linen and also wood for a new hut, in summa she has easily gotten as much back as she lost in the fire, since the burned-down hut too was a gift from the orphanage, for which she had not yet expressed her thanks. I am quite sure in my heart that Mrs. Rheinlaender and this Zuebli have received more material things from us than anybody else in the community. These bitter pills were sweetened for me by some letters.] Several members of the congregation brought me letters to be written to the Honorable senior, letters which show the blessings our Lord put yesterday on the letter read to them on the plantations. We will enter two of them here, which read as follows:

Reverend Mr. Senior:

I and my wife often remember with humble and thankful hearts the many benefactions that the dear Lord has shown to us through you in Germany and also here in this country. We cannot thank God enough and have only realized too little up to now that we were rescued from dark and tyrannical Popery and led to the holy gospel and full freedom of conscience and sent to Ebenezer as a little flock. We feel better spiritually and physically than we would have expected to some years ago. The dear Lord has blessed our matrimony and sent us a healthy little daughter, whose name is Hanna. We have been very much edified by your letters, which have been read to us at our gathering on the plantations; they are very dear to our hearts. God be praised for it. We are longing very much to hear how it goes in spiritual and physical matters with our dear fellow-countrymen who live in the cities of Germany in these bad times, when temptation and bad examples are so common. We will heartily pray for them to save their souls and be blessed with you and we with them.

We send our kindest regards to Mr. N. [Hohleisen] and thank him for his Christian remembrance. May God bless him and his dear wife. May God also bless you and your family, also our dear benefactor in Augsburg and elsewhere.

We remain, the esteemed Mr. Seniors most obedient children.

Martin Lackner, Margar. Lackner, nee Egger,

Ebenezer, the 8th of April 1741.

Highly esteemed Mr. Senior,

May the Honorable Senior not be offended that I am having a few lines written to you. I wish to thank you for sending me together with others to Ebenezer, where the dear Lord through His word is working very strongly on my heart in order to reveal the perdition of my heart to me and also to show me my dear Savior, who calls upon all who are miserable and burdened. Although it goes rather bad with me right now, He will help me to become better some time so I can give a good report. Mr. Senior will probably remember that I served at Mr. N.s [Hermanns] bleachery [and that he still owes me] my salary, i.e., 140 guilders, is still on account in N. [Kempten] at the house of his daughter Mrs. N. [the bleachers daughter, Mrs. Zorn]. I was promised it would be forwarded to me; however, since I have not heard anything more about it, I beg you to take up the matter and help me. God will reward you for such a benefaction. I would like to have linen, instead of the money due me, in case it has not yet been forwarded. I send you the verses which were called to me this morning, as I was going to town: Come unto me all ye who are burdened, etc., He who cometh today, will be accepted today.

I remain Mr. Seniors most obedient daughter

Margar. Zimmermann,11 nee Bernberger

Ebenezer, the 8th of April, 1741.

Thursday, the ninth of April. [Last night the dear Lord again gave us much edification from the very edifying letters from our dear Fathers in Europe, which we will use in the best possible way during this week. I started yesterday to write a few letters in reply, and I will try to finish them all by Saturday, for then with the help of God I will travel to Savannah to preach the word of God to the German people, at which occasion I wish to mail our rather big diary and some letters.]

N.N. [young Kieffer]12 visited me [because of a bodily harm that his brother suffered on his leg] and told me various good things about his helpmeet [Anna Elisabeth], how God is saving her more and more from her frivolousness, and driving her to prayer and tearing mightily at her heart. She is edified by the letters written to us and the parish; and in Christian simplicity she sends to the friends in Europe two powerful verses which have given her comfort: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, and Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden.

[For some time we have noticed some annoyance and vexation in the shoemaker Adde, and today we heard from his wife that he wishes to move back to Savannah. I visited him and told him that in this case he would deprive his child of the benefit of a school and plunge himself into danger. As his reason he told me that he cannot buy provisions here; in Savannah it would be easy to get something. However, when I told him that in this way he esteems physical matters more than spiritual ones, he gave me another reason which was that he was not respected here like other inhabitants, for he has to pay three pence for a bushel of corn while others only give two quarts.13 Since I had agreed to this since he had not worked any on the mill, he was embittered at me. He told me something else, by which we could perceive his suspicious and easily offended sense. I set him right in the most gentle way and wished he would realize how much good he has enjoyed here in spiritual and physical matters, since not only church, school, and books are without charge, but we also advanced him sixty sh. Sterling for his profession, although we needed the money urgently ourselves. Such people always behave like this, and we gladly give in to win their souls. They closely watch the Salzburgers and always know to use them to their worldly advantage according to their evil minds, and they accuse us of being prejudiced.

[In tonights prayer meeting we remembered the runaway Volmer,14 a German carpenter from London, who secretly left our place five years ago and supposedly lost his way and died in the woods between Purysburg and Port Royal. He rejected the grace of God that was working on him, followed his own head, and disdained the good of the ministers. Therefore he came off badly, like some other people. The shoemaker was also present and found his lesson in this. In the prayer meeting we had profited from two short but important letters from Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen and from the inquiry of Mr. Berein concerning Volmer, where he might be, we were led to his running away. Oh, how many blessed hours we have already received from the recent letters sent us; and we will have even more by Gods help, when we take up the letters and message of Dr. /Gotthilf August/ Francke and others.]

This time we have written to the Honorable Society at greater length, partly to render our sincere thanks for their continuous affection toward our community (which they have also demonstrated by publishing our letter of thanks), partly to ask for their future affection, and partly to inform them of the conditions of our community and of the orphanage [where help is still necessary; also, concerning the durability and great advantage of our corn-mill; concerning the newly arrived English schoolmaster and the provisions he is to claim; also of our attitude towards him and some other matters].

[I.N.I.A.]15

Friday, the tenth of April. My dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, traveled to Savannah this afternoon in order to preach the word of God to the German people there in the future, God willing, and to give Holy Communion to some of those who have followed their given instructions. Before he left he held the usual edification hour at the plantations, in which he again read to the listeners something from the received letters. He did not come back to town but stayed out there, and the boat was brought to him. Since I still had something to talk about with him, I went with the boat to S.s [Sanftlebens] hut, where he was staying. He told me joyfully in praise of God that the dear Lord has given him great blessings in the edification meeting. When S. [Sanftleben] came in, he said he would have regretted it very much if he had not been at the meeting; for, even if others had told him about it, he would not have had the same profit that he has now because he heard it himself. He would never let himself be kept away from this meeting in the future unless he were not well. [May the Lord be praised for having already given many a blessing from the reading and publication of the letters.]

Saturday, the eleventh of April. [Under the entry of 31 March I reported that I had brought a certain person a verse from Isaiah 10:12. Last night I visited her again, whereupon she told me that the dear Lord had recently blessed the same in her plentifully. But since that time she has not lacked for great temptations, especially at night, indeed for several nights in succession. In her sleep she has felt great fear and anxiety, from which she woke up; but as soon as she thought of the sufferings of her Savior, it disappeared. When she fell asleep again, however, it came back. Now last night it ceased completely.]

In the evening two women came in from the plantations to attend the public worship tomorrow, God willing. Therefore they remained for the night and visited the prayer meeting, where the dear Lord gave them great blessings. I continued the reading of Luthers interpretation of the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah and especially the words: He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our inequities: chastisement of our peace was upon him. Both the women told me with joy and to the praise of God that the Lord has given them much delight from yesterdays edification meeting at the plantations.

Sunday, the twelfth of April. Today the Lord let us hear a very beautiful gospel. May He bless it very much for His charitys sake. In the morning we had the gospel of the good shepherd who gave his life for his sheep, in the afternoon the tenth commandment and, as an exordium, Galatians 3:13-14. Mr. /David/ Zuebli of Purysburg also attended the public worship. He told us various sad things, how spite and ungodliness are gaining ground in the country, for which divine judgment does not fail to appear. [He also reported of the before-mentioned shoemaker of Purysburg that this man, on the day before he went to Holy Communion, had sat at the tavern making merry; but at night a fire broke out and destroyed his belongings, yet he was admitted to Holy Communion the next day, which was Sunday.]

Concerning a certain planter in Carolina he also reported that, as is quite usual, he keeps his house in good order, prays with his family in the morning and at night, and does not permit ungodliness or cursing. Cursing is common with most people of this country. From Savannah Town, a town situated up near the Indians, such things are so often reported that one is shocked and cannot be surprised that the heathens do not come to a better recognition but become more and more wicked, because those who bear the name of Christians live frightfully godlessly. What terrible judgment will finally follow! [May God have mercy and teach us how to pray!]

Monday, the thirteenth of April. This noon some people came to me for prayers; and this was, God be praised!, a blessed hour for me. We sang the hymn: Guter Hirte willst du nicht . . . etc.; and I read the 10th chapter of St. John, from which yesterdays gospel was taken, then we prayed and again laid before God what had been read and heard yesterday, whereby we strongly perceived the powerful and merciful presence of the Lord Jesus, Hallelujah! Our friendly God has already placed great blessings upon the simple edification of the eager souls among us. Last week I had to stay out at the plantations because of certain circumstances. Since some people were notified of this, they gathered late in the evening at the place where I was staying; and, since I carried with me Luthers explanation of the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, I read them something from it which the Lord blessed, as I was told especially by one of the listeners after the prayer hour. [Thus our dear Lord has already honored us often with His blessings from this booklet so that some souls have been raised up, comforted, and strengthened by this gospel of the passion and death of Christ. Be He praised for this eternally and may He give us the support of the Holy Spirit to work with this gospel truly, eagerly, and carefully.]

Tuesday, the fourteenth of April. I (Boltzius) arrived, thank the Lord, healthy and happy at the mill at 12 oclock last night together with my traveling companions; and, since it was too late to travel further to town, I lodged at Burgsteiners hut and also stayed this forenoon at the plantations and read the letters which Dr. /Gottfried August/ Francke has written to us lately. They again contain many salutary reflections about some points in our letters and the diary, for example, powerful awakenings for a true seriousness in Christianity, as well as some news about various miserable circumstances in Europe, where our loving God has nevertheless caused many charitable gifts to be collected for the comfort of the poor at Ebenezer. God invigorated me in a special way while reading these letters; and, although the listeners this time were held up longer than usual, I did not notice any defects in their attention. Also Mr. /David/ Zuebli from Purysburg came with his son16 to S. [Burgsteiners] house at the time of the meeting to attend the edification and traveled back to his family afterwards. He will return soon to come to an agreement with me concerning his children, whom he wishes to send to school again.

The Lord has again blessed my journey. Kiefers middle son17 traveled with me to Savannah, because he wished for a wound on his foot to be cured there. He gave me much material for a good conversation. The knowledge of the right way to salvation is very deeply established in him; and he truthfully makes the most of the received grace, humbly and without proselytism. We arrived late in Savannah; but Mr. /Thomas/ Jones was still up and handed me the key for the recently mentioned house, which suits me and my traveling companions very well. I performed my external business, which is usually considerable because of the congregation and the orphanage, with Mr. Jones and other people in Savannah as briefly as possible so that I would have enough time on Saturday morning and afternoon to talk of Gods word publicly and privately with the German people. They gathered in the said house in the forenoon, where I informed them in the beginning of the reason why we had not been able to serve them with our ministry for a certain period of time; [namely, because they had wanted to accept it only half way, i.e., for the use of Holy Communion and not all the way by accepting the word of truth for their conversion and by preparing themselves for Holy Communion in divine order.]

Then I showed them clearly from the word of God how miserable a man looks before his conversion and how he does not wish to believe it but thinks himself to be better than he really is through self-love and prejudice, which hinder him from a true conversion and a God-pleasing preparation for Holy Communion. The saying of the Savior in enticing the sinners: Come unto me, all ye who, . . . etc. was still alive and edifying in my soul from the meeting on Friday; and from this my present listeners could also see what kind of happy people they can become if they penitently allow the judgment of the Holy Spirit to convince them of their misery and distress and allow themselves to be brought in faith to this friendly Savior through His holy office. [Who cometh today will be accepted today.] At last we all knelt down and prayed to God for His blessing.

Toward evening even more persons assembled, whereupon I briefly recapitulated and, as a basis of my invitation to surrender their hearts honestly to our Lord Jesus, I recited the verse: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock, etc. . . ., wherein are disclosed and revealed not only the unique treasures from the heart and the hands of our Lord Jesus but also His extraordinary desire to impart them to us along with the things that are required of us in an evangelical manner. After the prayer I asked them whether, through this double sermon from the infallible word of God, they had understood the counsel and command of God concerning mens salvation and had examined their hearts with sighing and praying in order to learn whether they had experienced all this and had therefore obtained from God the preparation for the blissful use of Holy Communion? They should consider that, if God had begun to show them their depravity, they should not hurry at once to the Lords Table but enter into external and internal quietness, fall upon their knees, and implore and pray until they come to a real change of heart and to faith in our Lord Jesus; then they will be pleasant guests at His table. This I illustrated to them through the important example of the prodigal son. I said I would be willing, if they would accept the good lessons, [and obey the word of God] to come to them more often and hold Holy Communion ith those who have been prepared in the right order by God the Lord Himself.

Thereafter the N. [schoolmaster] asked me in the name of the others to give them Holy Communion tomorrow, for God would not reject even a small faith, etc. I, however, warned him and others of self-deception. With this snare of imagined small and weak faith, I said, Satan catches many persons etc. God granted me much grace to convince him and others with love that their small faith was nothing but unbelief and a dead thing, as both words and works clearly show in them. Finally some women stepped forward and offered with humble terms and expressions to postpone the use of Holy Communion. It is better to wait, they said, than to be hasty in this important matter. Some men, and by and by all of them, agreed and asked me to come again and serve them with my office. Now the N.N. [schoolmaster] was left alone with his small faith, rather ashamed, but not embittered, as I perceived from my subsequent relations with him. Already before the meeting this man tried to induce me to let his girl of thirteen or fourteen years go to the Lords table for the first time. He has let her learn by heart many things from the catechism and the Wrttemberg Confirmation Booklet;18 besides that, her knowledge was bad and her spiritual life in Christ even worse, or nothing at all. If the father were to be converted, he would lead the girl to more than a literal recognition.

On Sunday the Reformed preacher /Chifelle/from Purysburg held Holy Communion, therefore we had our meeting again in the house. [If I had preached the sermon in church as the German people wanted (I am entitled to hold the first service), then the Reformed people would have been exasperated at me and would have stayed away from our divine service in the afternoon through vexation, as has happened once before, but] all the more Reformed19 people appeared in the afternoon, and God gave us much grace for the preaching of His word, so that it was preached and moved our hearts like yesterday. In the morning as well as in the afternoon my text was about Romans 5:1, a verse which was very much blessed in our parish a short time ago. As I also wished to make use of the regular gospel for this 2nd Sunday after Easter, as an exordium [whereby, because of the name of this Sunday, Dominica Misericordiae Domini,20 I presented to them the extremely great charity of God in Christ to all men], this time I could only explain the important dogma of justification with the necessary application. The evangelical dogma of peace with God and whatever flows therefrom I saved until next time.

A young man who had lost his health at St. Augustine and has been lying very miserably ill since then had already asked for Holy Communion some time ago and participated on Sunday in a fine state of mind, as it seemed to me. I told him on Saturday and Sunday the necessary things about the verse: Come unto me all ye, etc. and heard from his confession that God has blessed his miserable sickbed for the salvation of his soul. I was told that, in spite of his great pains, he would untiringly listen for five hours and more if one would read to him, encourage him, and pray with him.

I have also heard with much pleasure that the late Arndts Book of True Christianity is very useful to the German people; and at the same time was amazed when I heard from three persons whom N.N. [the Herrnhuters]21 wished to draw to their party that said N. does not make much of it, but talks rather indifferently and disparagingly about it and refers people only to the Bible and his song book. When a Reformed shoemaker asked him what he thought about that book, he answered that it really is a good book but the man gives more glory to God the Father than to the dear Savior. That is the way he learned to reason in N. [Herrnhut] because such unkind, unfounded judgments are boldly passed on pious persons, living or dead, who do not belong to their party, as I myself have heard with great astonishment.

A Reformed woman, intelligent and experienced in the Scriptures, approached me on a public street and asked me whether what N., together with another Reformed family that is devoted to him, teaches is in accordance with the word of God, namely, that nothing else will be required of the sinner but to ask the dear Savior to forgive his sins and that in this way he will receive remission right away and will never again have to ask for forgiveness of his sins or ever have to think of them, even if they occur to his mind. For example, if a proselyte has taken the Sacrament with them only once, he arrives at such a state of perfection that he has and feels no sins any more. She and her husband live in the house of N., and he tries together with the other family to persuade her and her husband to approve his doctrine. She said that as much as he can, he impedes her going to church. I reported Gods truth to this woman and gave her the 32nd Psalm, which reads: For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee, also Revelations 1:8: If we say we [whereby John includes himself] have no sin, etc. This wretched person claimed that he once so stopped my mouth that I could not utter anything against him. If I had not had to leave right away after hearing this, I would have called him to account, because it is a very flagrant mendacity. These people do not consider lies, defamation, and boasting to be sins, as one can see to ones amazement from the reports of their deeds in the world.

[I brought down our letters and the diary at just the right time, since this week a packet will be sent to the Lord Trustees. If we had waited for the return of Captain Thomson, we would have had to hold back our packet for a long time, since he still has business in Frederica. This time we have written to Secretary Newman, to Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, to Senior Urlsperger, and to Dr. /Gottlieb August/ Francke and informed them about the circumstances in our community. I have also answered Mr. Berein about the points he asked concerning the great things claimed by the Herrnhuters in America; and I explained the incorrectness of their pretensions. Mr. /Thomas/Jones in Savannah wanted to have a translation of the mentioned report on the Herrnhuters, whereupon he will inform others in England of his opinion. He also intends to write to Mr. Newman and tell him what damage is done in America by young unconverted preachers so that the Society for Promoting the Gospel will be more careful whom they send over.

[Some days ago the German maid of preacher Norris about whom I reported in the last diary told Mr. Jones and me such horrible things that we were shocked at them. May God restrain such grievance. Oh, how great is the forbearance and patience of our Lord.]

On Saturday I drew a note on the money that our dear benefactors in Europe have gathered for the congregation, orphanage, and church-building. God has also disposed their hearts to give something to the costs of building my house, which I, however, had to leave to the orphanage this time, because it was and still is in need of it and I wanted to pay its most urgent debts. The people to whom I still owe something for my house will wait till some other time. We help each other as much as we can; and God has given us enough little by little to satisfy one another in the community.

Since no corn can be obtained in Georgia and Carolina even if one wishes to pay three shillings per bushel, I asked the members of the congregation after todays edification hour to estimate their stock and to help the orphanage out with some bushels, as some people are already willing to do. It was very bad for the orphanages harvest that in the spring three servants and the tailor Christ22 were talked into engaging themselves for the siege of St. Augustine, for which reason most of the field work remained undone. This year Kalcher is alone again and can plant only a little, since he has his hands full of work at the orphanage with the management and the children; yet he works with the boys as much as he can. Even if we cannot hope for a great harvest from the fields of the orphanage, God can easily send us some subsidies from other places so that we may share in the harvest of the Salzburgers for pay. May the Lord reward richly for the present and satisfy all our dear benefactors as in Isaiah 58:5-11.

Wednesday, the fifteenth of April. The recently mentioned Englishman /Hamilton/ who wishes to work here as schoolmaster arrived at our place today by boat, together with his wife. Both are still a little unwell from the discomfort of the crossing, and therefore they could not go to town yesterday. A hut has been assigned to them, which they will be able to exchange for a very spacious one as soon as I have talked to the owner, who lives on the plantations. They have an advantage over the Salzburgers because they get a roof over their head at once, find a cleared and fenced-in piece of land for planting, and can make use of the mill right away, whereas the Salzburgers lacked all these for a long time and suffered many inconveniences. The edifying letters we have just received have firmly reminded us both of the previous afflictions and also of the assistance we have received up to now. Since 1739, the time to which said letters refer, many things have changed for the better, God be praised. We often think of the verse: If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land, etc. Once more there is a tribulation in our fields, in that worms are causing much damage. In the gardens the items necessary for the household cannot be freed of the worms. The same complaints we also hear in Savannah.

Last week, while I was occupied with letter writing, Mrs. Rheinlaender wanted to see me to justify her exposed guilt; but I could not listen to her, so she has come again today and revealed herself even more as a person who has never felt true atonement but has tried to cheat God and men with hypocrisy and dissimulation. Therefore I admonished her earnestly and with love to do atonement, as God too has preached to her through the lately suffered conflagration. However, she took this in bad part. Her son, to whom I did not wish to concede some ill-gotten goods, was annoyed too and used imprudent and sinful expressions, for he is like other obstinate persons who are bitter if one cannot agree with them.]

In the letter from Dr. /Gottlieb August/ Francke, which we read today, something appeared that gave me an opportunity to express to the parish the grief that often arises because some people get angry with us if, in settling external matters between them, we act according to our conscience and do not agree to evil. Then I pointed out to them how much the devil gains by this and how much harm the kingdom of Christ and the edification of the soul suffers; for by this he proves to be a troublemaker between the preacher and the congregation. This is even more the case since they should consider it a benefaction that, besides the ministry, we also bear the burden of the civil authority and try to arrange everything in the best and easiest way, as good impartial people also realize. Because they have many advantages over other communities and do not have to contribute anything for the payment of ministers and other things necessary for divine service and get free books for themselves and their children and also receive the best possible help in both healthy and sick days, they should know that they are therefore sinning even more by ingratitude, suspicion, and rudeness against their superiors.

[I brought to their attention the verses: He that despiseth you despiseth me, also. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 and Hebrews 13:17. The shoemaker /Adde/ who was mentioned in the diary of 9 April set a bad example.]

It was very impressive to me and others to read this evening in a letter from Dr. [Dresden] to the worthy Mrs. N.N. that our miraculous God has awakened some benefactors in Dr. [Dresden] to spend 12 Reichstaler for linen for the poor Salzburgers at Ebenezer. These 12 Reichstaler He soon multiplied into fifty-six by awakening other people to feel a concern for the want of linen at Ebenezer. Thus, He can add things, make something from nothing and much from little, if He sees that it is necessary. It is also no minor benefaction that the transport and other expenses for sending us the books and other items are being taken care of in Europe adn that we have no trouble and efforts with them other than to receive them and share them conscientiously according to the intentions of our benefactors and to thank our good Lord with heart, mouth, and our way of life. Oh, a good and true God! May He never let us forget how much good He has done for us and still does from near and far!

Thursday, the sixteenth of April. This forenoon N. [the young /Jacob/ Kieffer] had me ride to his plantation in his boat so that I could reason with the N. woman [his wife] who had been seized by a wild fancy to travel with a trading-boat to Charleston and further on23 against the will of her husband. When I arrived I found neither of them at home but had to wait a rather long time until the husband came back from the woods with tears in his eyes and poured out his troubles to me about the excesses she would have committed if he had not held her back with force, when entreaties would not help. Because at first she did not return from the woods, we went to the hut for prayer and intercession; in the meantime she came nearer and, since she had hidden with shame, I went to her and by friendly exhortation tried to persuade her to let herself be led back from the confusion of her emotions and desires and to come into the hut. This she willingly did; and finally, after my encouragement by the word of God, she [embraced her husband] with tears and apologized to him with hand and mouth and promised to change for the better.

I warned her against ingratitude for the spiritual and bodily benefactions she had received and against disobedience to the law of God [in respect to the submission of women to men]. It seems that she wishes, by the grace of God, to become free from the snares of Satan, whereby she has been caught long enough [and served him by indulging in her youthful desires]; therefore he tries everything possible to plunge her again into a new disorder, as could easily happen on the trading-boat and in Charleston. [The young Kieffer lacks wisdom to treat her correctly with love and seriousness, and she must soon ask God for it. I told him various things that I found necessary with respect to the present situation.]

I wrote a letter to Mr. /Thomas/ Jones today in which I sent him, at his request, a translation of the report about the blessings of the gospel the N.N. [Herrnhuters] claim among the heathens here in Georgia and in Carolina. While I was writing, a pious man came to me; and I asked him whether he knew N.N. [the Herrnhuter Doctor], to whom the pretended miracle with a crocodile is attributed. He knew him well and remembered with great amazement that more than three years ago he had almost murdered the Salzburger N., who got sick during some business in N. [Savannah] by his imprudent and violent cure. This man added that it was a miracle of Gods grace that he was saved from his extreme mortal danger, for the said N. [the said doctor, a Swiss man by the name of John Renniger]24 had given him such a great dose of mercury and other strong things to cure his constipation that Mr. Thilo was very shocked and also called it a murder-cure, as far as I remember. The man even had to pay half a guinea for it. Soon after that he had the most severe convulsions; and, after the mercury had been expelled from him, he gradually gained his health again even though the said N. [doctor] had lost all hope for his recovery.

The N.N. [The Herrnhuter Hagen] in N. [Savannah] does not consider said N. [the doctor], who came here as an Anabaptist from Pennsylvania, to be a brother. However, not only is he called a brother in the said report; but in an English letter to Dr. Watts in London, in which the deeds of the N.N. [Herrnhuters] are especially praised, he is even called an elder or superior. How does that make any sense? I hope that such peoples seduction in the name of God will become evident by and by. But the Lord will not leave unpunished him who abuses His name.

Friday, the seventeenth of April. Our dear Mr. N. [Senior] has written a letter to our Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen that he and his worthy family have been very much delighted by the very edifying poetry of our dear Mr. Bogatzky, which he has sent to him along with a gift for Ebenezer. This we also experienced abundantly last night in town and today in the congregation at the plantations, to the praise of God and to the mighty illumination of our hearts. In it he has reminded us with very insinuating expressions of the many spiritual and worldly goods that our wise and kind God has granted us at Old and New Ebenezer during and after various trials, and this was very necessary for us [as we think it a great benefaction that, in different letters we have received from Europe in answer to our letters or as reflections on some points of the transmitted journals, we have been strongly reminded of the latest proofs of divine providence and encouraged to put our trust in the future help of God].

God be praised highly for having erected for us in Ebenezer more than an Ebenezer;25 i.e. we have reason to say every year, month, week, and day: Up to here the Lord hath helped us. It is also marvelous that the worthy author of this edifying poetry reminds the Salzburgers of the great grace of God in having led them from Babels walls and from the Old World and having transplanted them into the New World and having ruled them there in a fatherly way. It is necessary for the Salzburgers in all places in Evangelical Christendom, and therefore here, too, to be reminded that not kings or princes but God Himself has shown them, as formerly the children of Israel, a way, door, and gate through Babels walls. Others inside and outside of Salzburg did not fare so well afterwards, even though important people have interceded on their behalf. What God proclaimed to His people: Forget it not, etc. ... the same He is now proclaiming to our Salzburgers too through His servants and children from afar. Perhaps the most beautiful thing in this very beautiful poetry is the fact that, as a warning, he describes in a most beautiful way the spiritual guidance of a soul which, despite all feeling of sin, yet struggles to enter the wounds of Jesus and His meritorious justification and there comes to peace and is chosen. For example, he describes how a believing soul who sees nothing but death and darkness should act humbly, go through straight ahead and come to peace, and safely avoid all side paths. His own words deserve to be cited here:

Ja so alle Leibes-Noth vllig wre schon gehoben,

Ach. so geht die Glaubens-Prfung in den Seelen-Nthen an, etc.

The last expression:

Bleibt in der Einfalt stehen, gehet ja auf keine Hhen,

Bleibt mit euren Lehrern fein in der wahren Eintracht stehen.26

gave me the opportunity to confirm and impress the contents of Dr. /Gottfried August/ Franckes letter dated April 15th as a most necessary admonition. May God unite our hearts more and more and let cordial evangelical admonishments that have flown into the hearts of our congregation here and outside bear delightful fruit until eternity. May He also repay other worthy benefactors and friends for the great love they have shown to us not only by the gifts sent us from Halle and Augsburg, but especially by these and other letters of the kind. Especially our dear Privy Counselor N. [Wallbaum] has accommodated us with his very edifying letter of 20 December 1739, which arrived at the same time and calls to our attention various matters about our most precious Jesus, who is the common treasure of all believers. This letter too will be applied to the good of the parish soon.

At the beginning of this year, when we treated the gospel of Luke 2:21 concerning the authority and importance of the work of our redemption, it was our intention, by the grace and help of the Holy Spirit, to enter into a reflection and faithful application of the lovely article of justification and thereby to help build up the Christianity of our dear congregation as on a firm foundation which even the gates of hell cannot overcome. Who at that time would have thought that our wise and gracious God would have such excellent material sent to us from near and far for our intention, as it has now happened [e.g. from Luthers interpretation of Chapter 53 of Isaiah and from the letters we have now received, from the recently mentioned poetry and also from the edifying reports? Hallelujah!] The pithy and bold language of the blessed Luther is very impressive to me.27

[Eight days ago, when I was preparing to travel to Savannah, and again today before the edification hour, I was at Kaesemeyers plantation (a former servant of the Trustees, but now a helper of the clockmaker Mueller). In his apparently dangerous illness I tried as best I could to urge him with the law and the gospel to come, through the punitive office of the Holy Spirit, to a realization of his corruption and many sins and to be brought by its ministry to true faith in our Lord Jesus. He claimed, however, to understand all of it and sighed about his troubles, yet he does not wish to confess, although his mouth would certainly testify if his sins were really pressing on his conscience. He was a soldier for a long time and collected a great number of sins; yet he has not troubled much about the rich preaching of the word of God, and this has distressed some of our pious people. On Good Friday he participated in Holy Communion, after we had held him back for a long time and given him time to prepare himself together with his wife. Before he last partook of Holy Communion both of us also admonished him emphatically and told him to think of his salvation and not to participate before a real Christian preparation has taken place. He participated nevertheless, and since that time God has laid him on his sickbed. I told him what a beneficial intention God has in this salvation of his vain soul.

[The water has again risen so high that we cannot take the shortest way to the plantations but have to make a great detour, especially to this mans plantation, which means a great loss of time and debilitation of our physical strength; otherwise we would visit him more often. He told us that Christian people often come and read him something out of Schaidtbergers Send-Schreiben.]28

Saturday, the eighteenth of April. The schoolmaster Ortmann revealed a bit of his life to me, and this was an occasion for me to give him and his wife some very urgent admonishments to prepare earnestly for eternity. The man has traveled far in the world as a soldier and has suffered a lot; he has also experienced some very remarkable things that could still be of good use to him in this life, if only he would ask Gods grace for it. He is almost sixty years of age; and, despite the many hardships he has endured, he still has strength enough not only to hold school but also to plant his field, for which he uses the morning and evening hours.

[Mrs. Rheinlaender well sees that we are not taken in by her trickery, and therefore she is now speaking humbly again and promises to submit to Gods commands so as to be able to do atonement. We will not trust her as easily as we did before. May God grant that the misfortune that befell her will become an opportunity for her to come to eternal bliss. I am always afraid that she will be accommodating only so that we will help her again in her present situation and provide her with another dwelling. We will do whatever is possible, and we have already offered her many things. However, she has not previously been easy to satisfy; and, if we did not act according to her self-will and greediness, we had to hear her complaints about a want of love.

[I was told that Michael Rieser went to Abercorn last Sunday morning to work for the Englishmen there for nine months as a day laborer. Thus he not only ignores me and my ministry but also my dear colleague although, as usual, most of the anger and indignation are aimed at me. I asked his wife whether it was true that, against the express orders of God and others in the congregation and in Abercorn and to their vexation, he had traveled on a Sunday. Of course she could not deny this, although she herself regretted it but could not prevent it because he cannot stand any contradiction or admonition, but immediately flies into a rage. She admitted to having much to bear with him; and this may be to a large extent the cause of her physical weakness. I warned her again not to take part in this mans sins: a Christian should not sin in order to please anybody else, even if it were the greatest person in the world; but he would better suffer the utmost, since God, through His grace, would repay him for this. She should pray God to let her husband recognize these and other sins penitently and hold back His judgment and punishment. For the word still holds that God will punish the transgressors of His commandments to the third and fourth generations. Woe to the man who causes annoyance! In Abercorn things are very profane, they do not celebrate Sundays and holy days; and, if people from Ebenezer act likewise, how greatly they will be confirmed, as it were, in their wickedness. There is a man there who is said to be a Socinianer,29 he celebrates the seventh day, i.e. Saturday, in external matters almost as strictly as the Jews do and thereby also causes offense. God will judge, if this miserable man does not do atonement.]

Sunday, the nineteenth of April. The very edifying letter we recently received from our dear counselor N. [Wallbaum] brought us many blessings last night through the help of the Holy Ghost and gave us rich material for good admonitions to be much concerned in the main thing of Christianity, namely, the living recognition of Jesus Christ. He dedicated to us especially the exceptionally beautiful promise of God from Jeremiah 32:38-41, which has impressed me and others all the more since it was laid on our hearts and consciences during our last commemoration and thanksgiving feast during the interpretation of Isaiah 1:19-20. But today, from the regular gospel for the Third Sunday after Easter, we discussed the comfort of those who believe during their sorrow; and we cited as a special sorrow among others that believers suffer much pain in their souls when they have to see in the case of their families and others that the merits of Christ are lost on them and that they are walking the broad way to hell etc. Therefore we sincerely wished that there would be a total cessation in our congregation of the kind of sorrow that spouses, parents, neighbors, ministers, etc. have to feel because of the dangerous condition of other unconverted members. This would happen if we would search and attain by a cordial and lasting prayer what our friendly God promises us so dearly in the above-mentioned words of Jeremiah 32:38 ff. And, because our wise and kind God is letting us hear these dear words not only from nearby at the commemoration and thanksgiving day services, but also from afar [through a very dear, honest, and also distinguished benefactor, who searches for nothing in the world but to save his own and other peoples souls], we have reason to remain silent in order not to miss the offered grace.

What a blessed situation would exist in the congregation if everybody, old and young, married and unmarried, male and female, would let themselves be favored with such benefactions. Well, it made an impression, and I believe God will let a fruit remain from it. He should make the dear town of N. [Saalfeld] into a blessed field and merry paradise filled with trees of righteousness and plants of praise and let us hear from there in the future many more lovely things for our edification and awakening. May He also reward all high and low people with more than thousandfold blessings for all the physical benefactions that have flown to our congregation and the orphanage [via Halle and Augsburg]. A Salzburger wished to return to his family and plantation last night after finishing his work; but, since he heard that another beautiful letter would be read in the evening prayer meeting, he came back and managed today without his Sunday clothes. [I hope he will not regret it and that God will lay a special blessing to the good because he has acquired an additional knowledge from the edifying poetry that we recited in two prayer meetings.]

Some time ago and again recently one of us was requested to preach the word of God in Purysburg this Sunday; the preacher himself asked me for it last week when I was in Savannah. Therefore my dear colleague traveled down this morning to preach in the morning and afternoon about the important words of the Revelation of St. John 1:5-6: Jesus Christ has loved us, etc. He did not return this evening as he had intended, so I was alone with my listeners at todays evening prayer hour.

Monday, the twentieth of April. A woman from the plantations called on me and poured out many tears about her spiritual condition. Since she did not say a word for a long time and I well knew what desires she had had before, I comforted her from yesterdays sermon, which she had also heard, and from various important scriptural verses. I especially reminded her of what we heard yesterday as an exordium from Exodus 3:1 ff. about the bush wherein God revealed His glory without impugning or diminishing His majesty; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26 ff. with the application that, even if we become quite dry, low, despised, and small in our grief and atonement, God will not disdain our souls but elect them to His throne and royal seat, as is written in Isaiah 66:2 and 57:17. She replied that it seemed to her that she is not lacking comfort at the present time, but she is grieved that she recognizes much too little her depravity and misery and therefore the peace and silence of her heart does not mean a comfort to her, rather she fears that it might be thoughtlessness and false security. She referred to another pious woman who has much comfort and delight in her Savior, but has a true base and foundation in her. She herself, on the other hand, does not know enough about the real cross of Christians, which we treated yesterday. She lays her misery and spiritual distress before God as much as it is revealed to her; and, since her heart then becomes calm and contented much too quickly, she begins to suspect that it might be self-delusion etc. Yet she could not deny that our Lord has granted her the grace to hate all sins heartily and to live in this world only for His glory and by His help to remove from her path everything that hinders her in doing so. Therefore I told her what a fatherly heart God has for her; she can never be as kindly disposed to her child as the heavenly Father is to her.

Because charity, refreshment, comfort, and blessing are His own work (Isaiah 66:13) and because the soul is more important than the body, He hastens, like the father in Luke 15, to proffer His grace to the penitent, mourning sinners. They, however, should not be bashful, shy, and doubtful, but should make use of the offered grace and humbly accept it. And, although many a dishonesty, weakness, and unfaithfulness will reveal itself (just as perdition is even more revealed the further one progresses in grace), this should not cast us down so much that we consider the received grace and comfort to be nothing but delusion. Rather, if we wish to please God, our recognized misery shall drive us all the more to our Savior and into His wounds, to which we should carry nothing but sin and also a heart that is full of regret and pain and longs for grace.

Furthermore she should try to bring into practice the verse James 5: Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? etc.. . . A Christian should accept with true resignation whatever God grants him; and it should be consoling to us that in pain as well as in good spirits we can always do Gods will, for this is why we are in the world. At last I recommended to her the verse: If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your [reconciled] Father which is, etc. ... By a humble prayer she could get Him into her heart not only by His gracious gifts but truly and in essence: He will lead her with truth and in no way deceive her. At last we prayed together, and she left with signs of a grace-filled heart, although she herself hardly noticed it. Before and after the prayer we discussed some matters that served to refresh not only her but also me and to make us recognize the pleasant and wonderful ways of God in which He reveals Himself so gloriously to His simple children, so I praise the Lord for this hour.

It is exceedingly refreshing to hear from the congregation that our gracious and friendly God often lets them hear matters in public sermons that especially affect them and their special conditions and that, whenever they do not quite understand things and have scruples, they unexpectedly receive an answer to the questions of their heart from the sermon as if they had asked for private instruction. May God teach us to leave our hearts and souls completely to His spirit in order that we may teach our listeners the things He puts into our hearts and tongues so that our ministry and work will be blessed in everybody.

My preparation hour for Holy Communion has been increased by two women from town who understand that they are lacking instruction in the articles of faith of the Christian religion. One of them /Engel Koller/ is a relative of the old Swiss carpenter /Krusy/, a quiet, peaceable widow who has been living at our place for some time but has been prevented from regularly visiting our divine service because of her sick little child /Maria Anna/. The other one is N. (Mrs. Maurer), who cannot yet completely understand and speak the German language; therefore it is rather difficult to deal with her and hard to teach her anything.30

[The letters and reports from Europe we have read up to now have strongly awakened us and our listeners to pray for our benefactors diligently and also by name, as I have learned with pleasure both last night in public and also today at the house prayer meeting. Since some of the dear benefactors are still known to us and the members of the congregation by sight, their edifying example, which made a deep impression on us before, is being revived by the reports we have received; and they give us a very refreshing odor of sanctity. The above mentioned woman also remembered a dear benefactress whom she had met in Germany; and she attested that the memory of her quiet and humble conduct was very edifying and that the things that were told about her a short time ago also made a deep impression on her. Last Saturday too the Lord blessed in all of us a similar absent example. Examples make a deep and long lasting impression.]

Tuesday, the 21st of April. Last Sunday after preaching the two sermons at Purysburg on Revelations 1:5-6 for a small congregation of German people, my dear colleague stayed yesterday at Kieffers plantation where he had the opportunity to do good by virtue of his ministry and also to reconcile young married people. In that region there are some hungry people for whose souls something could be done if they could often hear a wholesome sermon from the word of God.

[The preacher there31 takes even less care of the German people than of the French; and therefore they go astray like sheep. However, because they make many unnecessary trips back and forth by water and land, we wonder why they do not come the short way to our place.] The cares of earning a living and the desire to get rich corrupt body and soul. They would like one of us to preach there more often, but our official duties at Ebenezer will not permit this unless the Lord will better convince us of His wish and the necessity.

In his last letter Mr. Berein inquired about an English boy, whom Mr. N. and N. [Bhler and Schulius], two [Herrnhuter] missionaries, brought over and left here after their departure. In our reply we could only report that he is in N. [Purysburg] at a shoemakers place. Now my dear colleague has learned more about his situation, i.e. that he was first treated very harshly and cruelly by Mr. N. [Bhler] and was beaten very hard on his knee-caps and other sensitive places, he was thrust with the tip of his elbows on the top of the table and stood at a stake on top of sharp wooden sticks like the soldiers.32 Thereupon he fled to a Frenchman and finally to a German at Purysburg, where he was treated as severely as a Negro and almost starved, so that his arms became as thin as fingers and he looked like nothing but skin and bones. A conscientious N.N. [Swiss shoemaker], at whose place my dear colleague stayed this time, has taken care of him through pity and provided for him up to now. With him he is quite well off and shows a very active mind by quickly understanding every task given to him. The name of this boy is Simon Harper, and his parents live in London. He speaks English and German well and is well taken care of at this shoemakers. This matter is mentioned here to give an example to our compassionate benefactors in Europe of how deplorably many poor children live, who are thrust back and forth only to earn their bread. A barbarian behavior like this should hardly be expected of the N.N. [Herrnhuters], who talk so much about love, if it could not be proved by examples like this and others in Savannah. Mr. /Thomas/ Jones in Savannah cannot think without horror of the way this poor child was treated by Mr. N. [Bhler] on the ship and, as he adds, not because of over-haste in a passion, but quite intentionally after careful consideration, and repeatedly. Surely this kind of discipline is not practiced at the almshouse in N. [Jena], where Mr. N. [Bhler] had formerly taught. Mr. Jones doubts that Mr. N. [Bhler] had the right to leave the boy at Purysburg, since he very likely was destined by his parents for the colony of Georgia.

[In this connection I remember that H.M. Spangenberg in Halle inclined to the other extreme and did not tolerate austerity and severity at the schools of the orphanage, and the students were led to Christian order and the means of salvation only through giving and withdrawing the benedictions. He thought that hypocrites were created that way, and once he told me in his room that he would rather allow a student to commit harlotry and adultery on Sunday than to force him to go to church, which seemed exceedingly strange to me. The students of the Latin School had to walk two by two to the church at Glaucha on Sunday under the supervision of several praeceptors, and any who withdrew from this regulation and went their own ways would have been called to account and (if deemed advisable) punished. What a confusion would have taken place if they had been granted their self-willed freedom with regard to going to church or visiting other occasions for edification, particularly since we often received students who had already passed through many stages of wickedness and discipline at other places. We know, thank God by experience too, how urgent such a yoke is for the old unbroken Man who always wants to be free and easy, a yoke that also pulls him back externally from bad company and the opportunity for mischief and at the same time draws him to observe good order. The disciplinary instruction for the praeceptors at the orphanage in Halle is very wisely arranged, and therefore the censorious spirit of Mr. Spangenberg and others is all the more irresponsible.]

A man told me that the pious woman [with whom I had an enjoyable hour in the Lord yesterday in my room] went home very much revived and strengthened in Jesus and was very edifying for two others, who also went the same way. Since she worried that the comfort and peace she often feels during her prayer might not be the truth but may be self-deception because it is heard too quickly, I quoted some examples from the Psalms of David, from the 6th and the 13th Psalm, where cries of distress and granting of comfort also come together almost in one breath; and precisely this she experienced on her way back home. A man in this small homeward-bound company had been bled; and before and afterwards he was so weak that he could walk only to the next plantation, where this pious woman and also other upright, active souls live. Today before the edification meeting I heard that our merciful God has obviously strengthened him in soul and body. That means that where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I (Jesus, your Physician and helper) am in the midst of you.

Wednesday, the 22nd of April. Last night we had a thunderstorm and strong rain, which will be very good for the thirsty soil, the plants, and the sprouted corn. On the already cultivated ground we have many worms this year, which are doing harm. Where the soil is fresh and has never been planted before there are far fewer of them. We suppose that this plague will not last longer than this month. Christian people accept everything from God and use it for the purpose shown by Holy Scripture. We also point this out to our people. The river water has continued to rise, so the land near the mill-river has not been able to be planted up to now. This is a sign that the snow in the mountains must have been very high last winter,33 because otherwise we do not know from where so much water comes.

Our worthy Mr. N. [Senior Urlsperger] sent us 40 florins worth of Schauer Balm34 on behalf of the orphanage some time ago. It was on the way for a long time, and therefore the little flasks became rather empty, but the remainder was very useful. It was not possible to sell the balm for the benefit of the orphanage; but we have needed it urgently for all sorts of misfortunes at the orphanage and in the community, and many a poor person has been refreshed by it. Besides, we have received a small quantity of this beneficial balm for our own domestic use and I in particular can say, to the praise of God, that it has done me excellent service in my headaches, gidiness, and other ailments. My family has also felt its rich effect and praises together with me the Donor of all these good gifts for this benefaction and also expresses our humblest thanks to the worthy benefactors. When enjoying the gifts and benefactions coming from Europe I often say in my heart, and I hope many others do too: May the Lord show mercy unto the house of N., for he has often refreshed me.

Today a new arrangement was made regarding the cowherds. [For the present quarter I must still pay the cowherd in town twenty-five sh. Sterling instead of clothing. However, since the orphanage is not in a position at the present time to maintain him and other herdsmen in clothes or to pay the money agreed upon], the community will collect as much as is necessary during the next quarter. [Should our dear God, who holds everything in His hands, grant us enough to help the community here and out there, we would be very glad of it, especially since the people are poor.] We cannot do without a herdsman, since either the people would leave their work undone if they had to guard the cows themselves, or they would lose many head of cattle if they left them alone in the woods. Cattle breeding, if it is made easy for them, is half of their livelihood. There are many extraordinary expenses everywhere for this community, which is still poor and badly needs help; and the dear Lord will repay everybody in Europe who will commend our shortages to their love and Christian charity.

Thursday, the 23rd of April. The blessings that our loving and pious God granted us in the last letters and reports from Europe are so great and magnificent that we were compelled by them to hold a special hour of prayer and thanks, and this happened last night with the congregation in town. After singing the hymn: Dir dir Jehovah will ich singen etc. ... I reminded the listeners briefly of the edifying and striking contents of the letters [how unusually inclined the hearts of our benefactors and friends are toward all of us, how eagerly they pray for us and how they take care of us as much as possible and how they do wish nothing else of us but to pray for them and to humbly beg the Father of all mercy and reward to take care of all those dear benefactors who are traveling.] Everyone, both old and young, should bend the knees of their hearts with me so that the spiritual blessings we have received in the letters will not disappear again and so that what is perhaps already buried will, so to speak, be revived by the Holy Spirit, who is a spirit of memory, and so that, both publicly and communally, we will fulfill our duty with regard to intercessory prayer for our known and unknown benefactors. We prayed therefore in the name of Jesus Christ on His merit, command, and promise; and we did it simply as is written in Matthew 18:19; and we do not doubt that God, who has strengthened and refreshed us by this prayer, will, for the sake of Christs intercession to which it is entrusted in good faith, bless it on our dear benefactors in and outside of Germany according to their spiritual and physical needs. And we do not doubt that He will recompense them with His spiritual and physical blessings a thousandfold for all the gifts sent to us such as books, money, linen, and other things necessary for life.

I was told last night that a Salzburger has a patch of wheat and rye growing in his garden, from which one can quite particularly see the wisdom, mercy, and omnipotence of God. Therefore I went there this morning and saw to my astonishment that 109 and at other places 112 stalks or stems had grown from one single rye seed.35 The ears had a length of eight inches, were full and thick, and a couple were growing on one stem like twins. The wheat was also fine, thick, and high, and full of ears, as I have rarely seen it. The hares had eaten it off repeatedly when it was young, also his wife had again and again made fodder for her calves, and yet it stands a good five feet high.36 Whereas much grass usually grows between the Indian corn and other seeds and is difficult to extirpate, wheat, rye, and barley do not allow it to sprout. Therefore one ought not weed out this German crop as must be done in Germany. It is not yet possible to sow all the fields with this seed, as can probably be done in the future. I believe that, with Gods blessings, they would harvest a thousandfold. Accordingly, those who disdain this land and denounce it as unproductive sin very much.

Friday, the 24th of April. N. [Zettler, who has learned the trade of shoemaker at Purysburg] and has worked in our community ever since, proposed some time ago to N.s [Kieffers] daughter from N. [Purysburg]. Now she wants to give him up, and he is becoming very troubled. The good [Kieffer] people should have learned wisdom from the previous, bad experience [they had already with the marriage of their oldest son /Johann Jacob/37 and one daughter] and use every Christian prudence. But this time too it has not happened as I had wished and hoped, because the two young people promised themselves in the absence of their parents [at the plantation of the young Kieffer]; and afterwards they received the full parental consent, the same as before when, at their request, they were given reason for hope. N. [Zettler] as well as the girl wished me to set them right. He wishes her to stick to her yes, but she says that she is not bound by it, and for this she gives reasons.

I can do no more than to admonish them sincerely to repent of their overhaste in this important matter and to accommodate to the order of God, in which they can pray for a favorable hearing and test His will. Just as they hastened too much in saying yes, they should not do the same now with their no and the rejection of their mutual promise, but ask God to lead their hearts to what is pleasing to Him, so that they will come together or keep apart according to His will. [The parents have already been partially advised of what I disliked about this engagement this time. If I have an opportunity to talk to them, I will tell them more particulars, by the help of God, so that they can bear them in mind in consideration of their remaining children, who will also contract marriages by and by.]

The old Swiss carpenter /Krusy/ told me that God has blessed in him the letters we have already read and the things which were admonished; and he mentioned a point which was also impressive to me. Especially he could not praise enough the great value he received from the explanation and inculcation of some important articles from our blessed Luthers interpretation of the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah concerning the right use of the Passion of Christ, our reconciliation, justification, and peace with God. Perhaps God will give us the opportunity, strength, and joy to take up this booklet once again and turn it to account from the beginning up to the end for common edification, since presently -- because of the shortage of time -- we have been able to select only a few, albeit the most important points from the preamble and the tractate.

We concluded todays edification meeting at the plantations by reading the letters and reports from Europe and, as on Wednesday in town, we collected all the messages and all our benefactors and gifts in a humble prayer, that the Lord, who does not leave unrewarded even a drink of water that is given to His people as refreshment in their need, will richly reward here and there all the spiritual and earthly benefactions which we have received up to now and which are again on the way to us. May He give grace that our known and unknown benefactors, along with us, will be put and maintained in such a position that sometime sooner or later (as was the expression of Mr. N. [Sen. Urlsperger] in the preamble to the fourth continuation) we will enlarge the Triumphant Church, worship the Trinity together, and praise in eternity, according to the Church Militant, all benefactions received on earth according to the three main articles of Christian religion.

Many people of both sexes and some very little children were together today, and to all of them our friendly Savior has offered and presented many blessings. Because I arrived a little before the time of the gathering, I visited several people and heard some beautiful testimonies of the blessing God had given to them hitherto in their Christianity. A man who was hoeing the grass between the corn rows together with his wife rejoiced with me at the verse Psalms 68:11: Thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. He tries to achieve these two points better and better, namely: a real deep recognition of his sin and a living recognition of Christ, his Savior, in whom he wishes to hide with all his sins through his faith. He believes that would be the safest way to heaven: this way all shame is due to us and all glory to God. He also told me that during his work he again suffered a weak paroxysm of fever and, since the work was therefore hard for him, he refreshed himself with the verse: This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. Genesis 5.

[During my conversation with a woman and her husband, the woman reflected and finally said: We have heard from the letters that pious people at other places are praying and caring for us as if we were their children. They must think what a pious flock we are. Therefore my heart aches because so much evil is found in myself, in my family, and in others and that sometimes misunderstandings and dissension arise from external things. God has done so much good for us, we have our livelihood, our own cattle, land, and much more, whereas in Salzburg we were only poor hired hands, etc. . . . and we are still so ungrateful to our dear God, etc.]

Saturday, the 25th of April. I was called to Old Ebenezer this morning to baptize a child of German parents there.38 Godfather and godmother were the schoolmaster Ortmann, his wife, and a young English woman, for whose sake the baptism had to be held in the English language. When I entered this German couples dwelling I looked for the mother and her child and could not have believed that the woman walking about in the room was the lying-in woman, if she had not confirmed it at my question. I was amazed that she could stand up and walk around so early because I thought the child was born only yesterday morning, but she had given birth to it already last Monday, and they had neglected it for vain reasons until today. The early walking around of the mother and the delay of Holy Baptism both displeased me. Our people do not behave this way but are very cautious.

I had the opportunity to talk to the English mother and her daughter for their salvation. [The mother is usually a bad curser, yet she denied this and wished to hear the word of God. The daughter seems to have a better disposition, and a German man testified that she sings and reads the Bible, which one never sees or hears her parents do.] I promised both of them to send them one and another [German-] English tract, and they were very pleased by this. After the baptism I prayed with the German people, the schoolmaster, and his wife on bended knees, which pleased these two people very much. They too bent their knees. They told us that a courier on horseback recently went through Old Ebenezer on his way to the captain of Fort Palachocolas, and that from there another one was sent express with a secret order further on to Fort Augusta. It is said that some Spaniards together with their Indians have killed some people on a plantation near St. Augustine.

[When I was in Savannah the other day, Mr. /Thomas/Jones showed me a letter from General Oglethorpe in which it was mentioned that a man came to him and gave a report on the same, which he at that time could not fully believe; but by now he should have received confirmation. Mr. Jones has never approved of people settling at this dangerous spot, as they without doubt did for profits sake.]

This week Kogler and Rottenberger have built a cart for transporting timber for building the church, because the orphanages cart is too old and too weak for this. It is very light but durable, whereas the carts in Savannah are rather heavy and could not be used by us, since we have only one horse to draw them. They also cost much money, whereas this one costs only little. How good it is that our people can make many things themselves.

Sunday, the 26th of April. For several days it has been very fresh and cool in the nights and mornings, also during the days there is a pleasant cool breeze with warm sunshine, so that such weather is very comfortable and productive in all ways. Everybody who has lived in this country for some time prefers our climate to the one we were used to, since even the greatest summer heat is tolerable and bearable. [We are looking forward to our new church because it is becoming uncomfortable to sit together so closely in my house. We had hoped to hold the divine service there on Whitsuntide for the first time; but this is now completely impossible, since the timber could not be brought to the building place for lack of time and a cart. Also no roof shingles could be made, because during the present high water we could not cut down the cypress trees to make the shingles.]

Monday, the 27th of April. [After the house prayer meeting the tailor Christ bore a fine witness today about the blessing that our dear Lord is showing on his soul from time to time. He complained that he fell into some unrest because of external things, from which God has again helped him before he got quite entangled. He humbly recognizes his faithlessness against the grace of the Holy Spirit, etc. He well sees that we would like to grant him the benefaction of being provided for at the orphanage but that we lack the means right now. I admonished him to realize that it is not in vain that God is keeping him away from the pleasure of this benefaction through our inability, for he has often offended against it before. If God wants him to be helped by the orphanage He will easily make it possible for us. In his profession he is learning more and more the advantages of cutting-out, in which he has always been lacking up to now. His master taught him his profession badly. If he had not come to this place, where he has to work only for humble people who have much patience with his work, he probably would have come into great trouble in Germany with his bungling.]

During last weeks prayer meetings we repeated in summary the main points of the story of Samuel 2:10, dealing with the wars and victories of David with and over the Amorites and Syrians, and applied them for our edification. We have especially seen in a prefiguration to what a terrible end the enemies of Christ and their subjects will come if they do not convert to God, Psalms 7:13. Usually people cannot be convinced that they are enemies, rebels, and haters of God, their highest Benefactor; and therefore our listeners are being led to understand the nature of love toward believers. If anyone does not even recognize believers and children of God in the congregation but regards them all the same, or who hates, slanders, and criticizes the ones whose nature does not fit into his own, he is an enemy of God and does not know what is meant by: We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. The other day it was pointed out to the listeners in detail, and this time briefly, what a grave sin it is to mock the emissaries of Jesus Christ, upright ministers, and to repay them for the performance of their ministry by rude and subtle ingratitude. Matthew 22:1 ff. This evening we heard some necessary points for the illustration of Chapter II, which is now to be discussed. May our gracious God give us much wisdom and strength.

Tuesday, the 28th of April. Mr. Causton as well as General Oglethorpe have often been after us to persuade our inhabitants to plant a sufficient quantity of white mulberry-trees and by and by to start the production of silk, which is to bring profit to this country. Some trees have been planted by our people, but they were not valued because they did not bear any fruit. They did not know how to handle silkworms; and also they had so much to do with farming and establishing their households that they could not think of making either wine or silk. Last year, after General Oglethorpe had seen our orphanage, he took many pains in Savannah to have me and another person from our community instructed in his presence by a French woman /Mary Camuse/, who works with the Lord Trustees silkworms, to show our people how they could earn a good deal of money without difficulty and at the same time fulfill the wishes and intentions of the Lord Trustees, who had aimed especially at silk manufacture when founding this colony.39 He had some young silkworms given to me for the orphanage, which were fed with the leaves grown here until they made their cocoons and gradually produced quite a quantity of seeds. Neither I nor the manager of the orphanage made much of it and, although General Oglethorpe had sent us a printed and detailed report in English as to how to handle the silkworms, I have had neither opportunity nor courage up to the present time to study it, because I thought that such things do not belong to my office.

However, it happens curiously that Mrs. Kalcher is being encouraged by a Frenchman on his own accord to do this easy work and gets instruction in propagating the seed and making silk. This work was assigned to two girls, who fed the leaves to the worms and raised them to such a size that now, to the astonishment of all of us, they have produced some hundreds of balls of silk [as large as pigeon eggs]. Two hundred of them weigh one pound, for which they pay 4 sh. Sterling in Savannah. Since the white mulberry trees [because the black ones are not as good, although a great number of them can be found in the woods], like the willows in Germany, are grown not only from seeds but also by putting the branches into the earth in spring, Kalcher intends, by the help of God, to cultivate a great number of such trees and to make another attempt together with his people. It is a labor for widows and weak women, whereby each of them can earn a few pounds Sterling within two months, if they have enough leaves and trees. The orphanage has only a few mulberry trees, but there are rather many near the town, which the owners have ceded to the orphanage this year voluntarily and without payment. There are many particulars which convince me that the providence of our Lord can be seen in this case, which we will continue to look into. Perhaps others in the community will also be encouraged to undertake the like to their advantage.

[I came by chance to the neighborhood of Kieffers plantation; and, since I saw young /Jacob/ Kieffer returning home from work with his implements, I told him that during two succeeding house prayer meetings we had heard from the Booklet of the Blessings of God,40 according to the three main articles, that (1) a good administration, (2) peace and bodily rest, and (3) blessings for our professional work are very great and indispensable gifts and benefactions of the Lord, which we should only use to His praise. He answered in the presence of his wife /Anna Elisabeth/ and his brothers* and sisters that these three things cannot be found in his house; and he started to tell me what a grief and trouble his wife is causing him. Her last promise of improvement lasted only a short time; she does everything to his displeasure, uses words that he would never have expected from her, and does things at the telling of which I was horrified. No persuasion, remonstration, threatening, etc. will help, but she behaves like one who has lost her sense and become desperate. I do not wish to write down her monstrous terms and her very bad behavior towards her husband because this is too wicked and vexing.

I talked to her earnestly and regretted that she is again rushing headlong into the jaws of Satan, although the Lord Jesus has kept on striving to rescue her and make her His daughter. She will have to account for all the grace received in vain; she will become a wretched instrument to alarm and depress not only her husband but also her old, upright parents-in-law, and that this will go ill with her, etc. I am also very much distressed at seeing that all the religious efforts employed on her openly and especially during the preparation hours were in vain; how much more I would be offended if I, at her and her husbands request, had let her participate in the Lords table last time, since I now, as previously, have come to know such deplorable fruit. The husband was also glad that I had not consented to her request to go to Holy Communion at that time, but waited for certain proofs of a true conversion. I cannot forget that she shall have on her conscience not only the sin of fornication and perjury but also that of murdering her little child;41 and meanwhile I feel and believe that our holy, impartial God will not give her peace until she confesses, or she will have to feel His heavy hand upon her right seriously. God have mercy on her misery!]

The 29th of April. Hans Maurers wife bore a little son this morning before daybreak, who was baptized this afternoon at Ruprecht Steiners house on the planatations. Since the husband told me that God had helped his wife get through quickly, I admonished him to cast all his cares and troublesome circumstances on the Lord from now on. He can turn all misery to the best, better than we think; God lays only as much on His children in the present time as they can bear with His help because He is true; and nothing can assail us that cannot be borne, even if it is only a dram. Some time ago his wife had a dangerous open sore inside her throat near the uvula, and all remedies used did not help. Since her Christianity is based on a solid ground she always kept calm and thus gave an edifying example to others by her patience. Because of the great pains she had inside her throat we had all sorts of doubtful misconceptions before her childbed, which however were quite unnecessary. Perhaps in her childbed God will release her from her sick throat after all these tribulations, because the devouring humors will be able to be purged by nature and medicine better than before in some other way. Yesterday she still attended the edification meeting and collected something for the following night, [and our dear God granted us much good for our edification from the repetition of a main point in Samuel 2:10 and from the introduction of the following history in Chapter XI.]

Thursday, the 30th of April. I hear that [God enlarged his little band] at the plantations [where] a few simple persons associate and edify each other by religious conversations, prayers, and the word of God. May our wise God also bless this in other good souls, who are still just plodding along. A man complained to me how much harm bashfulness and fear of man has done to him; but, after God rescued him from it and let him come to a Christian simplicity, he feels the benefit all the more plentifully in his Christianity. A woman remembered that I advised her some time ago not to be too timid in encouraging her husband in what is good and to edify him more by prayers and a quiet pious way of life than by words; this our dear God has blessed in him very much, since he now is on a good path.

Some pious Salzburgers, to whom the heavenly Father, through the Holy Spirit, has given a living knowledge of His Son from the holy gospel, intend to send an edifying message to their friends and relatives in Prussia. Therefore the other day Ruprecht Steiner, Brandner, and Simon Reiter and today also Brckner talked to me about it. They will discuss it among themselves and tell me the contents of the letter to be written. They will also seek edifying thoughts for it from the Writer of divine wisdom. Hans Schmidt carries on his Christianity eagerly and truly and, just as he works on his neighbor in simplicity and humility, he is also urged by his love for his brother, who lives in N. [Regensburg],42 to have a rather extensive letter written to him, and this was finished by myself and him in good order this forenoon.

Already a year ago he wrote to him how wonderfully the grace of God has been shown in him and his wife since his arrival at Ebenezer; but, since he is in fear that he might be attracted again by the N.N. [Herrnhuters, or the so-called Moravian Brethren], who had fascinated him before, and let himself be inclined to a subtle separatism, he is now writing him clearly how he came to know these people here and how he looks upon their whole case as dangerous and annoying and how he hopes that this reliable message will be serviceable and useful to him and other friends over there. For he believes that these persons will keep their dangerous doctrine secret and try to attract people to their doctrine by illusion as the N. [Herrnhuters] did in N. [Savannah] and as Mr. N. [Bhler] did in N. [Purysburg]. For in public he has not preached anything else but evangelical dogma, as it is taught in our evangelical books. However, whenever he found people who inclined toward him or had good, weak, and docile minds [as they expressed it], then he went on further.

What an advantage and joy we have in our evangelical dogma! With it we can step in front of everybodys ears, hearts, and conscience; we need no mental reservations and ambiguous words, but are ready for a genuine confession towards anybody. [With sorrow I remember Mr. Spangenbergs procedures in Halle. Did he not pretend by mouth and deed that he would harmonize perfectly with the righteous doctrines of the University and the Orphanage, and did he not say many nice things to me about the life of Professor /August Hermann/ Francke and others?

Therefore, after my return from Herrnhut to Halle,43 I could not make his behavior accord with the opinion of Count von Zinzendorff, who told us during the meal that Mr. Spangenberg had accepted a call to Halle and that now one could hope that everything there would have a different appearance. Mr. Spangenberg kept under control for a long time and tried a few changes in the beginning; and, although he did not succeed right away because the then curate inspectors of the Latin school were keeping good order up to that time. He then tried it again and finally rose up publicly, since his brotherhood and followers had become stronger quietly, to the affliction of the dear Fathers in Halle, who had not expected such misconduct and deceit and had therefore delegated much power to him. The same he also did at Old Ebenezer, not only when he was there alone for the first time but also the second time, when he came together with Mr. Wesley.44 On important questions he gave short and thorough information, some things he denied, or he wrapped them up in such phrases that we did not know what to think of them.

[All the while these people do not wish to admit (as I have heard from them personally before) that they are separatists. Rather they have taken the deceptive name of the old Moravian church so that it may not be said that they are only a new sect, as they without doubt are, and at the same time very sly and hypocritical separatists.] May God open the eyes of such souls as are letting themselves be separated from the Evangelical Church in Germany by the make-believe and eloquence of such people, so that they may realize the danger and soon turn back.

MAY

Friday, the 1st of May. It is a great help to us in the community to consider carefully with its leaders all the matters that are necessary for the furtherance and preservation of good order and to be able to hear their opinion and judgment about things that are better known to a farmer than to a man of letters. Thereby we discover many misunderstandings, and it is possible to advise people who cannot agree to this or that or are overly hasty in their judgments. After the edification hour today I had such a conference in the dwelling of a Salzburger, which was a matter of great importance for me and for them, although it concerned an external affair. We often experience that a good purpose and intent do not always suffice to make a good plan; and therefore it is a good thing for one to advise the other with love. All together we are only one corpus, and therefore one limb has to help the other one. While the head is the most noble limb, the others, even the smallest and weakest ones, are not a null -- but stand in the service of the head. In our opinion all classes of Christianity should view each other in that way.1

Saturday, the 2nd of May. This morning a soldier brought me a letter from General Oglethorpe in which this gentleman announces with pleasure that he, from a letter he has received, can give us hope for an enlargement of our community through a new transport.2 He assures me anew that Colonel Stephens and Mr. Jones have orders to obtain seven horses for our community to be used for reconnaissance in our area; and, since this letter was dated already on the 17th of March, he probably imagines that his repeated order has been executed by now and that we are already supplied with the promised horses. He writes various things in praise of our community which, however, I do not accept. May God guide his heart to comply with the things I requested in my last extensive letter.

[Last night the old Kieffer asked me to come to his sons /Jacobs/ plantation today and to try, with the help and blessing of God, to put one and another thing in order. His son rowed me over in a boat; and I heard that the father was very disgruntled with his daughter, who had promised to marry the young shoemaker Zettler and then withdrew her promise. He wished me, in his and other family members presence, to teach her what was necessary according to the circumstances. Also, the young Mrs. /Anna Elisabeth/ Kieffer had been rebellious again some days ago. From this, new troubles have arisen between her, her husband, and his brothers and sisters, for which my ministry and consolation was wanted too. In accord with my knowledge and the grace I had previously prayed for, I talked enough to all of them so that they must well realize that their present situation is pure disorder and would not be found in themselves or persist in them if they would obey the word of God and convert and become like children, as they must become if they wish to enter the kingdom of God, where one loves righteousness (and everything that conforms to the will of God according to the law and the gospel). I also read to them the whole twelfth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, from which everybody took his lesson. At last all of us said a humble prayer; and now I will wait to see how much or little the Lord will bless my desire to support Christian order in that family. There are many children and housemates; and one easily vexes the other, whereby discord is caused. This would not happen if they would turn back and become like children.

[Sunday, the 3rd of May. Mrs. Rauner burst in on me this evening while I was in an edifying and intimate conversation with a Christian man about the many good things that our beloved God gave us today from His word. She has apprenticed her son /Matthias/ to an Englishman at Old Ebenezer. Also a contract was made and signed by her and the master in the presence of witnesses; but, since the boy does not like it there because he cannot follow his old ways anymore, he ran away last night. His master was looking for him here today toward evening; and, since the mother did not wish to turn him over and the man wanted to take him by force, she ran to me with great shouting, as is her bad habit. I settled the matter very quickly, referred her and her son to the written contract, and at last succeeded in persuading her to send the boy back to his master. We in the community greatly prefer not to have this very ill-bred and thievish boy at our place, because we have already had many inconveniences on account of him. I had already told the Englishman the other day that it would be difficult to bring him to a good order and that I could not do anything else but admonish and tell the mother with earnest words not to give him shelter and illegal refuge. If he had any weighty problem, he would have to go to the authorities in Savannah. Quite a long time ago he served as an apprentice with a potter3 in Savannah but had run away from him too, and this was also his mothers fault.]

Monday, the 4th of May. [Yesterday Holy Communion was announced to be held with the congregation on the second Whitsuntide holiday. It should have happened this coming Sunday Exaudi; but, since I had promised the German people in Savannah to preach the gospel to them them and to give Holy Communion to the ones who have prepared in a Christian way, we had to postpone it a little longer this time at our place. This morning the Spielbiegler woman came to me and suddenly wanted to be admitted because she has not participated for a long time. She is a very blind and miserable woman and is not to be convinced of her deadly and errant faith and about the fact that, despite her age, she is lacking conversion to God like Nicodemus before her. Those persons in the congregation who show their real awe of God by external gestures, words, and deeds and behave quite differently from her, she considers as dissemblers, and she imitates their gestures quite maliciously, but I could not convince her that that reveals the bad foundation of her heart. She would rather do without Holy Communion than believe that she still has a very uninstructed and unbelieving heart. She claims to have been a good Christian in Swabia,4 the preachers there loved and cherished her, she also has good books and therefore she does not know why she should become a good Christian only now, etc. She went away from me very angry and was also dissatisfied with my dear colleague, because he told her quite the same that she has to hear from now and has always heard from me from the word of God. May God open her eyes.]

Last night we had a very heavy thunderstorm with strong rain; but our dear God has, by His grace, averted all damage. The rain is very good for the soil, since we have not had penetrating rain for a long time. Although the worms have done much damage to the fields so that various people had to plant several times, it seems to be changing by and by and the damage shows only in the corn planted in April; whatever was put into the earth in March is standing very beautifully. This will be a good reminder for the people for the future, as one knows by experience that a special kind of black worms only appears in April and disappears later on. [The land on the other side of the mill river is not yet dry enough and therefore has not been planted; but there is still plenty of time even if it is not done until right after Whitsuntide, since] the soil is very rich, and everything there grows more quickly than elsewhere.

Tuesday, the 5th of May. This year the white mulberries have turned out very well, they are not only good for eating but especially they have new seeds from which to get young trees. I hope that some people of the community will sow this seed, which can now be gathered plentifully, and will raise mulberry trees for the propagation of which they have land enough. They can set them here and there on their plantations; as long as they are small and young they throw only a little shadow and, when they spread out, they richly pay for the place they are standing on by their leaves, on which the silkworms are fed. Although our people do not yet know how to handle the silk worms or have no spare time for it, it is still good to plant the trees beforehand. Subsequent times will change much, and they will without doubt be happy if they have thought in time of the trees, which cause no trouble and need no manuring or pruning.

We have now an obliging French5 woman in the vicinity who is willing to show our people all that is necessary for silk-making. She made some pounds of silk last month in Carolina and intends to hatch silk worms and spin silk again this summer; and she will also lend a helping hand to our orphanage if only enough leaves are available.

It is a great advantage in this country that, when the worms have cocooned in the spring, one can get new seeds after a short time, also young worms and new silk. The two girls who were designated by the orphanage to pick the mulberry leaves have made some mistake while picking, whereby the young leaves are being prevented from sprouting. The said French woman will show the manager how to pick the leaves most advantageously so that in the future the trees will not be prevented from sprouting soon again. Much seed is now being sown into the soil that will come forth already in three weeks and so give new mulberry trees, which will be set out in the fall.

Wednesday, the 6th of May. NN. [Barbara Maurer], a free and single person, was admonished by me in her hut today to show in all seriousness that she can be saved from her misery6 and dangerous condition, as our dear God has already sought in her by His word. I reminded her of some verses that were known to her. I could not talk to her about last nights prayer hour, in which, by the help of God, we learned many necessary and practical things through the story in 2 Samuel 11, because she was detained from visiting the same because of worldly matters, as careless people are accustomed to do. For some time she has been rather discontented with me because she could not be admitted to Holy Communion in her obviously perverted mind;7 but today she was very calm and behaved in a way which made me believe that she liked my exhortation, which was in any case more evangelical than legal and flowed ex affectu misericordiae.8 Perhaps our Lord will bless it in her. [She is a simple but also vainglorious and malicious person, and this is the reason that nobody has wanted to marry her up to now.]

The defiant and impudent N. [Ernst] pretends much good now. Great poverty and other hard circumstances are oppressing him, wherefrom it is quite obvious that God is not content with him and his work. He is now steadily keeping to the word of God, acknowledges it, sees in it the voice of conscience and the claim of justice, and he has the intention to convert to God. Should he again break away or try to dissemble, then the hand of God will be more and more heavy upon him.

[Our listeners have received great edification from the beautiful poetry that our dear Mr. von Bogatzky has composed for our Ebenezer, and therefore some of them have asked my dear colleague to copy it several times so that they might be edified and reminded often. All of us had much pleasure when it was read privately and in public in town and at the plantations and was employed for our common edification, the same as other letters and messages received at that time. May God repay the worthy author many times for this benefaction.]

It would be a great favor to our congregation if we were provided with some copies of the Treasure Chest,9 which was printed and reprinted in Halle at various times. Perhaps God will awaken a benefactor to buy it for us. In our congregation we need not worry that people will be led away from the well of Gods word by it, as I have heard such worries in Germany from an honest servant of God who has now gone to rest; rather it will serve to lead us better and deeper into Holy Scriptures and their right application.

Thursday, the 7th of May. [was the feast of the Ascension. Yesterday during the evening prayer meeting a thunderstorm came up that soon passed away, but the rain lasted longer. Also this morning it looked much like rain, but it stayed rather dry and cool. The weather now is very fruitful.] The harmful worms are disappearing, and this encourages us to joy and to the praise of God.

[Kieffer and his wife /Anna/ had come from Purysburg to our divine service. Since they wish to travel home tomorrow, they called on me together with their children after the afternoon service to discuss at length the matter concerning the engagement of their daughter with the shoemaker Zettler. The father was, to be sure, of the opinion that his daughter now had a greater inclination towards him and would now renew her at first given but later withdrawn yes. However, he heard it differently, so the whole marriage is being dropped with Zettlers consent. I have exhorted them to recognition and repentance of their sins, also to an apology to Zettler; and I warned them of some things which have been told me as improper. The father may now perform his fatherly functions on her and proceed with her ratione Disciplinae10 as she has deserved it. All their children are too willful.

[A while ago Zettler came to me separately and attested that he is making good use of this rejection as it is proper for Christians to do. He now seems to be on a good path to true Christianity so that I believe, if he would get a true helpmeet, his progress would become even more evident. Kieffer would like to have all of his children at our place for edifications sake; therefore he would have gladly furthered the said marriage together with his wife and the whole family.]

Friday, the 8th of May. Yesterday our dear God gave us much edification from the gospel, at the plantations as well, and I hardly remember that in all my life the contemplation of Christs ascension and His being seated at the right hand of God has ever given me such blessings. May the Lord be praised a thousand times and give us faith. A believer now knows certainly and will become more and more certain that, whenever he dies, he will come to heaven; for he can sing with confidence: No sin, no death shall stand in the, way, He holds the path free and pure, Hallelujah!11 He may still meet with many difficuties, since many things are laid in his way every day, but he is still of good hope; for he has a Brother to the right hand of God through whom he may appear in the sight of God with joy and receive everything from the hands of his Father. Yes, with Jesus he has a breaker, of whom already the Old Testament prophesies, Micah 2:13: The breaker is come before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and their Lord on the head of them. Through this the words of the Easter song Auf, auf! mein Hertz mit Freuen . . . etc. were blessed in me anew, [especially] I cling and keep on clinging to Christ as a member. If my head has got through, He will take me too. He pulls us through death, through the world, through sin and hardship, He pulls us through hell, I am always His companion. He penetrates into the hall of glory; and I always follow Him and cannot be turned back by any discomfort. No matter how great the fury, my Head takes me on, my Savior is my shield, which calms all fury. He brings us to the Pearly Gates that lead into heaven, on which the rhyme can be read into His golden words: Whoever is disgraced with Him there will be crowned with Him here. Whoever dies with him there will be exalted with Him here. Hallelujah!

This morning at nine oclock my dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, traveled to Savannah to preach to the German people there and to give some of them Holy Communion. May the Lord be with him there and with poor me here, and may He bless our work. Amen!

Saturday, the 9th of May. Today I visited somebody in our community; and, since the person who has been mentioned often [since the 6th of May] happened to come along, I admonished both of them at the same time. The admonishment aimed at the complete and sincere surrender of their hearts to our dear Savior; if that would come about, I said, and they would keep praying and pleading, then things would soon become better and they would be placed into a rather blissful condition. It also seemed to me that, by the grace of God, this found an entrance into them. May He help me see the desired fruit therefrom to His praise and glory!

Yesterday and today I read in the New Testament the story of how our Lord Jesus taught His followers about humility both with words as well as with examples, Matthew 18:1 ff., Mark 9 and Luke 9, which is a very lovely and agreeable story. May the Lord bless it! It is something special that the Lord Jesus says: And whoso shall receive one little such child in my name receiveth me, etc. May our dear benefactors also remember this. Whatever they bestow on our orphanage and other poor members of Christ, who are like those children and try to become like them more and more, yea, whatever else they donate in good hope for the children and adults in our community and at our orphanage, even if they are not yet as they ought to be, our Lord Jesus will look on all this as if it happened to Him. The Lord Jesus says: He that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. How could any person be more honored in this world than thus? That is indeed very marvelous. [Yea,] this and what else is said in the lovely story will make sweet and pleasant the work of all those who have to do with children. May He himself help us. When I came out of the room where the prayer hour was held, I met a woman in the front of the house who was carrying her child in her arms. She said she will spare no pains and work now to take proper care of her child.

Sunday, the 10th of May. [As often as we have met today, the Lord has given us His help and blessings for the preaching of His word.] It is a great benefaction of our Lord that we can come together undisturbed, nobody disturbs us even between and after the sermons. Whoever wants to can further meditate on what he has heard and gather from it a real blessing for eternity. It is a shame that Sundays are esteemed so little by most people in Christendom. Some of them drone it away loosely, others [the freethinkers] believe it is a day like other days, even though our dear God has promised to bless it if it is celebrated in the right way as, thank God, many people in Christendom and also among us can say from experience. May our dear God restrain all desecrations of the Sabbath and avert the judgments which are to come upon Christianity because of it.

Monday, the 11th of May. My journey ended this afternoon when our dear God brought me and my travelling companions, among them a redeemed12 German man from Savannah, back to Ebenezer healthy and happy, where I found everything in good order. In Savannah I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with right special joy; for I not only remained healthy and my body and soul were strengthened noticeably in spite of my many tasks in performing my ministry, but I have also seen my hope fulfilled that this time God has not let me be in Savannah in vain, but to His glory and to the benefit of the people there. This time Mr. Caustons house was assigned to me and my companions as a lodging, since he is living at his plantation /Ockstead/. There the German people had a better opportunity to come together to hear the word of God and for prayer. They assembled on Friday evening and on both the following days in the morning and evening; and, after the singing of the songs, I tried to urge upon them the edifying texts from the Holy Scriptures. The texts were: Psalms 55:20, Romans 8:1 and 31:32, and Romans 5:1. Saturday at noon, when the people from the plantations had come in too, the preparation for Holy Communion was held in church; and on Sunday morning the people who wished to make confession came to me, some of them having called on me privately at my room already the day before. After the singing of a song, the verse: But let a man examine himself, and so let him . . . etc. was inculcated in them, so that nobody else might appear than those who, after an exact examination, found themselves as God wishes them in His word. The Sunday sermon concerned the regular gospel for Exaudi Sunday and the unspeakably great benefaction of the inherence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of repentants and believers and its strong and blessed consequences. In the afternoon everything was repeated and completed by the dear words: Romans 5:1: We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, which remained from the other days contemplation. I have a childlike confidence in God, that He will know how to maintain the many good emotions which He has brought forth in the hearts of our listeners by His word and lead them to the right way and essence of Christianity.

A woman followed me to my room with her child and testified with tears that God has comforted her very much by His word; and, since she could not remember by heart one of the main verses, namely Isaiah 61:1-3, she sent her little girl to me with her Bible to mark it for her. She repented and bewailed that previously she had sometimes gone to the Lords table unworthily. She will not repeat this but will honestly open her heart to the Lord Jesus, and she also earnestly commended herself to my prayer and intercession. I gave her Arndts True Christianity, of which she will make good use. I also gave this beautiful book and New Testament to others whom I know as being eager for edification. By the grace of God I was able on Sunday to lead four children to our Lord Christ through Holy Baptism, for which honor and grace I consider myself quite unworthy. For use of the German people at their Sunday meetings I brought with me an edifying collection of gospels and epistles, which was a pleasing treasure for them.

Besides the aforementioned matters, God gave me the pleasure of receiving a little box with medicines and various books from the highly esteemed Society, which Captain Thomson has kept on his ship at Frederica up to now; and at the same time Mr. Oglethorpe sent the following letter to me:

Frederica April 25th, 1741.

Your lettres to England were received and greatly approved of and The Proposal I made pursuant to your Desire for Sending over a Number of German Protestants for encreasing the Congregation at Ebenezer was approved by The Ministry and ordered to be layed before Parliament that Sufficient funds might be found for that purpose, what the Parliament have done there upon I dont yet know. The following Parcells came in a Box directed to me from the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, which I forward unto you by Mr. Upton. If there is any thing that I can be of use to you please acquaint me etc.

Shortly after this I received via Charleston a package of letters from Europe, wherein I also found the message that the three chests mentioned the other day containing linen, books, and other gifts from Halle and Augsburg were sent by the same ship that brought us the letters. However, since Colonel Stephens has not yet heard anything from his correspondent in Charleston about the delivery of these chests, necessity demanded me to go to his room and write to the correspondent [on that account], which letter Colonel Stephens also accompanied with a few lines, so that we now will hear, with the first opportunity, what happened to the chests. Last year during the prayer-weeks God gave us much pleasure, which I have often remembered; and I have hoped the Lord will hear the prayers of His children and give us the pleasure of new letters and other promised gifts. My heart therefore was aroused to a special joy and to the praise of God when I entirely unexpectedly received the beautiful letters and messages in Savannah even before the Exaudi or Granting-Sunday.

Among other things I received the extract of a letter from dear Mr. v. M. [von Mnch], our very esteemed benefactor, wherein he expresses his deep desire that those German people in America who are badly provided with the word of God, the Holy Sacraments, and the necessary spiritual care will also be helped to obtain salvation. This extract about the great misery of most of the people in America I was reading with special emotion when a German woman came to my room in Savannah and asked me to hold an edification hour for her and others who had gathered this very Friday evening. God will help us and grant us wisdom and strength so that we can use our short time not only for the best of our own congregation, but also for other German people in this and the neighboring province, as is also our hearts desire.

The struggle for bread and the love of all earthly things are a dangerous snare for them. To a few of them sin has become their second nature. Most of them have injured their consciences through ingratitude and faithlessness in their duty. For the Lord Trustees have done much for the German servants, have provided for them well, and have given them so much provisions and money for their surely bad work that, if they see fit to do so, they can start their own household and buy several head of cattle and other animals. Others around Savannah and Frederica indeed do not have it as good as the men and women servants of the Lord Trustees in Savannah. I believe, if they would do penance, their unfaithfulness, unthankfulness, and other bad conduct would drop as a heavy burden upon their hearts.

When, after reading the letters we had received, I held a prayer meeting on the verse, Psalms 55:10: Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God ... I reminded them of the great good they have received in this country from the hands of God contrary to their deserts and merits, by which God wishes to lead them to repentance or to a true change. In Germany it looks rather miserable, I said, because of scarcity, inundations, and the threatening rumors of war and other tribulations, so that many a soul sighs like David in the 55th Psalm: Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then I would fly away, and be at rest . . . etc. I heard from several people that they are beginning to realize that God has shown them more benefactions during these three years than they could think of in their whole life in their fatherland. Therefore they do not wish to have back even their little finger (as their expression is). May God convert them all, [and let cease the partiality they have against each other as Reformed and Lutherans. To be sure, the Reformed eagerly attend our sermons and have their children baptized by us; otherwise they are full of prejudices and stubbornly insist on their mouth belief. We do not lead them to mens doctrines and ceremonies, but to Christ, the only way of truth and life.]

The fact that we have withdrawn from these people for some time did not do any harm. It seems to me that this has made some people even more desirous of the word of God. I perceive that the books we have distributed are of good use, so that I hope the benefactors will find a blessing and sweet fruit therefrom in blissful eternity, such as they have sown with all their other charities. Oh how dear to me are the letters I have just received, for from them we receive not only messages about the life and state of health of our Fathers and friends but also much material for a heartfelt pleasure and for the praise of God. From them I again hope for a great blessing for the orphanage and the parish. May God prepare me in the right way to be able to make good use of the instructive and consoling contents of these letters for myself and the parish.

In spite of the fact that things are dear in Germany and matters look poorly here and there, the Lord has moved the hearts of various dear benefactors to refresh us, the community, and the orphanage with their very benevolent contributions of money. How marvelous is God! The orphanage was in need, but my heart and even more so the heart of the orphanage manager /Kalcher/ were comforted by Gods promise. During the last two months He blessed the work of two orphan girls, who made seventeen pounds of silk, which were sold in Savannah last Friday for 3 ь 8 sh. Sterling; from this amount the manager was supposed to meet expenses until God sent us something again. No sooner was the money received than I received the mentioned letters with the faith-strengthening message that God has passed on to the dear orphanage in Halle something per legatum,13 from which our orphanage will receive 100 Reichsthaler. Furthermore, our dear God has again sent something into the hands of Mr. N. [Senior Urlsperger] whereby our people shall be refreshed. Oh, He helps the wretched splendidly! God has also remembered Mr. Thilo, so that 20 pounds Sterling will be sent to him as a present by the Honorable Society in addition to what the Lord Trustees have promised to do for his provisioning. May God make us vigorous and active to surrender ourselves completely to the Lord and His people, so that the intention of the worthy benefactors will be achieved in all of us.

[The two Zueblis came from the orphanage at Savannah to celebrate the divine service and Holy Communion together with us. The younger /Johann Jacob/ Zuebli begged our pardon for behaving so badly in his emotion the other day because of Mrs. Rheinlaender. He had wished to ask my pardon already four weeks ago when he wanted to go to work at the orphanage,14 but his bashfulness prevented him from doing so. May God make him wise and careful through his mistakes and especially by His word.]

Many could not realize at the beginning that we had only their welfare at heart in spiritual and bodily needs, but after some time they realized it and testified to it. But some willful natures have also, against all advice, thrown themselves into misfortune, inconvenience, and danger; and afterwards their arrogance has prevented them from admitting their mistakes and from warning others by their example.

On my way back I visited a dangerously ill woman at Purysburg [whom the doctor has probably ruined even more]; she knew several gospel verses by heart, which I clearly expounded to her and urged on her heart. Everything was done to bring her to true acknowledgment and penitent feeling of her sins and of the deep perdition of her heart so that, as a miserable and heavily laden person like the great sinner in Luke 7 and the prodigal son in Luke 15, she may come to Christ and through Him to the Father. I also gave her some medicine.

Tuesday, the 12th of May. The missionary Mr. Obuch in brotherly love has sent us the report printed in Tranckenbar about the progress of Gods work among the Malabars in 1738,15 of which we will make good use by the help of God in tonights evening prayer meeting. I believe that, because of their thoughtlessness, Christian people realize much too little what an important task the conversion of the heathens of East India represents. But we are glad that honest people can still be found in Europe who, according to their means and at least by hearty prayers, are promoting this important task, which our dear God is also blessing by the conversion of many souls. If anyone knows what conversion and real Christianity mean and how much work our dear God has with those who have heard His word from their very infancy and sometimes with vigorous revivals, he will consider every converted Malabar a living miracle of God and will be edified by it. For our people it was pleasing to hear from this short report something about the condition of this praiseworthy institution, which is established for the conversion of these miserable heathens. Some of our people may use this partly for humiliation because of their present disloyalty toward the grace of the Lord, partly for emulation in the seriousness of their Christianity, partly for a hearty prayer for a blessed progress of the mission. If we had some spare time now, we would write to the worthy Mr. Obuch, but we are shortly before the holy days and in a week in which we have to do one thing and another with the confessors.

Wednesday, the 13th of May. (I.N.I.A.) [Tomorrow in the early morning our boat will leave for Savannah with some calves; and, since Colonel Stephens is willing to send a packet of letters to the Lord Trustees soon after the holidays, a few have been written today as an answer to the lately received ones and have been packed together with the recently written letters and the present diary in order to send them to the said gentleman tomorrow morning for safe forwarding. The letters now to be sent are addressed to the Head Chaplain Ziegenhagen, to Senior Urlsperger, and to Dr. /Gottlieb August/ Francke. We have also written to Mrs. von Hesslin, to Pastor Meyer in Halle, to Pastor Holeisen, and to Privy Councilor Walbaum at Saalfeld; and]; The Austrian /Johann/ Schmidt* has sent in our packet a long letter to his brother Thomas Schmidt, day laborer in N. [Regensburg].16 Time was too short, otherwise some others of the community would also have written.

As soon as the boxes arrive and the presents are distributed we will send a report about it to our benefactors, and by then we will make up for what has now been left undone. We rightly consider it as an example of the special providence that is ruling over us that the letters written to us arrived safely and that none of the items we have transmitted through this dangerous and unsafe voyage has been lost up to now. Our dear God surely knows how important it is for our dear Fathers and benefactors to receive reports of our circumstances and on the other hand of what a blessing it is for our community to receive the reports and written admonitions from Europe. This time also General Oglethorpes two letters, which followed one another closely, have been properly answered; and at the same time some matters have been reported that will, as I hope, be pleasing to him and also useful to us, by Gods direction.

The good people in N.s [Kieffers] family cause much unrest and pain to themselves from which they could be relieved if they would not conform to the views of other people in this country in many so-called indifferent matters. Because they do not want to earn their bread by the sweat of their brows but want to have it easier like others in N. [Carolina], they bought three Negroes or Moorish slaves some time ago, for whom they still owe the money and have to give ten percent annual interest, as it is customary here. One of the slaves ran away at the very beginning and ruined both his feet in the water and cold so that they had to be amputated.17 Then last Monday one of them, on whom they depended very much, left and cannot be found again. Twice, while traveling from Purysburg to our place, their boat turned over and they lost various things and came into mortal danger. NN. [the young Mrs. /Anna Elisabeth/Kieffer] told me today they realized that they had deserved such misfortune because of their sins, [wherein the confused marriage matter bore a great share. With much effort the senior /Theobald/ Kieffer and his wife /Anna Margarita/have finally persuaded their daughter to keep to her promise to marry Zettler. She claims that her heart is now inclined towards him quite otherwise than before. May God grant them to do atonement for their confusion, otherwise they will not take many blessings with them to their married state. Lately I told both their parents that they allow their grownup children too much willfulness, and much evil comes from that because it is against the order of God. Who can hope for blessings in that case?]

Thursday, the 14th of May. N.N. [shoemaker Adde] intends to go to the Lords table coming Whitsuntide Monday, therefore I took the opportunity to talk with him about his spiritual condition and to show him the simple way of atonement and belief to come to Christ, the only physician and helper, for which I especially used the verse: Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, etc. Many people are of the opinion that they can become Christians even without Christ, partly by casting from their mind the sins and indiscretions done in youthful offense, partly as if they could wipe out the former stain through formal religious exercises and through the means of Christianity. Therefore, since they do not crawl to the cross as penitent sinners, their guilt and punishment are not extinguished and their hearts are not cleansed by the blood of Christ in order that afterwards new obedience or improvement of life may be brought about by the article of justification on a genuine evangelical basis. They very likely say: to do it no more will be the best atonement, but this is a vain doctrine even if it can be found in books, because I have experienced how blind people stick obstinately to it. Since this N. [shoemaker] did not like it at Ebenezer in all the ways of the flesh, he was rather inclined to move back to Savannah, and would also have fallen in with NN. [the Herrnhuter Hagen] for the sake of material aid. He has, however, found the right way again. I told him that when unpleasant things happen in the world, a person should not seek aid from other persons but should see the chastising and correcting hand of God, who truly tries through the law and the gospel, which are the real means, to wake up sinners from their sleep of security and to lead them to atonement. If, however, He does not attain His purpose by this, He will come with afflictions too, etc. Only in retrospect does one realize how well it was meant, especially since Gods gravity is always tempered with love and mercy. He understood it well and thanked God, who was still showing him mercy and was not making him suffer too much.

[Our merciful God has again given us a blessing at the beginning from two letters that have been read both at the orphanage and at todays evening prayer meeting; and we hope by His grace that also in this week before Whitsuntide He will strongly awaken us with the remaining ones to truly enter into prayer, so that we will partake of all the wonderful good that is eagerly requested for us from God in the letters, but especially the best gift of the Holy Spirit; that He grants us His divine help for the evangelical exercise of the superscribed fatherly admonitions and that we have a sure testimony from Gods loyalty that we are His children.]

We have received many assurances from all our letters that prayers are being said for our Ebenezer in many, many places by many righteous ministers and parishioners and also by pious children (as is testified by the refreshing letters written to us from the Halle orphanage); and therefore this evening we remembered both the dearest promises of Christ in John 16:23, Verily, verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask, etc. and also those things we had previously read from the story of the diligent and blessed man of prayer, the prophet Samuel, who did not cease from praying for the Children of Israel, for which reason the well merited judgments were postponed during his lifetime but broke forth in great number after his death. Praise be to God, who has several such Samuels in Europe and especially in our beloved fatherland. Since he has not relieved them from their posts but rather has animated them by His spirit to plead and pray, such will be useful not only to us but also to our dear fatherland. It is comforting to us that, in the powerful prayer that was offered on the first day of the year 1741 in all the Evangelical churches of Augsburg, our dear Ebenezer too was remembered in a very hearty way before God and man.

Friday, the 15th of May. Today on the plantations I also started reading the letters we have received; and in this our dear God has given us a fine preparation for the holy day, at which these admonitions were aimed too. It was surely not in vain that God let us receive such dear and fervent letters from Europe last year and now again shortly before Whitsuntide; rather, from these and other things we should recognize His fatherly love and providence that rule over us. Without doubt He will reinforce the work we have done so far on the souls of our listeners close at hand through the lively encouragement of His servants from far away so that, through the conversion of all listeners, the present Whitsuntide will become as memorable as it was previously for [the inhabitants of Zezenow and] others. Oh, what a special grace our people enjoy in spiritual and physical things in comparison with others in Germany, for which we encouraged each other to a hearty and active praise of God. God has granted much spiritual emotion through this edification, and nobody stays away, so the Lord seizes at every soul and tries to bring it around. Even the mothers come a long way with their smallest children for His word [the edification hour]. In connection with the former and the present letters I must call to all of them, We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain, for else there will be a stern judgment.

NN [tailor Christ] is still asking to be admitted again to the orphanage, since he is not able to earn as much as he needs for clothing and food. Because the dear Lord has now granted another physical blessing to the orphanage [through the hands of the worthy Senior Urlsperger and Dr. /Gottlieb August/ Francke] so that we can buy some items of clothing for grown-ups and children and therefore can give N. [Christ] enough work and also because the good of his soul and body requires it, we are inclined to accept him again, hoping he will recognize better than before the grace of God that the people of the orphanage are experiencing. He belongs, to be sure, to those who often let the work of conversion start in them powerfully but do not wish earnestly to deny and mortify themselves and crucify all desires. Since some desires still remain uncrucified, he is, before he realizes it, again carried away by them; and his unfounded Christianity soon becomes evident. He acknowledges and promises much and also attended todays edification hour at the plantations where he is working now and, as he says, has received much edification.

Two Salzburgers from the plantations had business in Savannah yesterday and returned this afternoon. They came to my room and at their heartfelt request I informed them about the good that the Lord had granted the others at todays gathering from the letters I had read to them, and this greatly pleased them. I gave one of them the short report of the East Indian mission from 1738 so he himself could read what the Lord is doing for the heathens there, which I had mentioned only briefly on the plantations. He already knew various matters from the compendium of the mission reports edited by Pastor Kleinknecht, which was given to him for reading some time ago.

Saturday, the 16th of May. /Hans Michael/Held, an unmarried redemptioner, had been a servant at the orphanage together with his father /Conrad/ before the siege of St. Augustine; but he let an untimely desire for freedom trap him into military service, and he as well as others came off so badly that he will think of it as long as he lives. His father even lost his life there. After his return he begged to be admitted again to our place, to which I was not so inclined at the beginning, especially because he had not brought a good testimonial. However, since, although uninvited, he had made a dangerous and fatiguing journey on land to return to us and since the Salzburgers needed a cowherd at the plantations, we tolerated him here; and our marvelous God blessed this for the salvation of his soul. He sees the grace of God in the fact that he was not called to eternity with others, but has still time for atonement; and he has prepared himself for the Lords table, to which he has now been admitted for the first time after his return, in such a way that it was edifying for myself and others. He regrets very much that he had not wished to obey previously and therefore had to feel the heavy hand of God. He is now trustworthy in his work, whereas previously, with better provisioning than he now has, he let us observe much naughtiness [his many tricks, perfidy, and hypocrisy].

This evening we came together according to yesterdays public announcement in order to prepare for tomorrows Hold Whitsuntide [where we put into our prayers the things we had learned from the letters we had received and where we asked in the name of Jesus through the Holy Spirit for all the best in time and eternity for our dear benefactors. May our heavenly Father hear all this by virtue of the merits, intercession, and most precious promises of His son, our Savior: Verily, verily I say unto you, if you but ask something of your father, etc.]

Sunday and Monday were Holy Whitsuntide. Our dear God has granted us much outward peace, good weather, and bodily strength to celebrate together this Holy Whitsuntide without any impediments or disturbances. On the first holy day the divine service was divided, but on the second day we were all together in town and fifty-one persons went to Holy Communion. Our dear God did great things to us ministers as well as to many of our listeners through His word and holy sacraments, as we could see from their emotions and tears. The greatest part, however, we will recognize after the feast from their words and conduct. Just as our dear God has gladly given us a gentle and penetrating rain recently, by which He has wished to refresh our thirsty soil and plants, just as gladly, yea even a thousand times more gladly has He wished to send all of us the Holy Spirit in Christ through the gospel and sermon; and many parched and thirsty souls, which are a spiritual Zion, participated in this very best and dearest gift, for which may the Lord be praised!

The room destined for holding church was too small because the adjoining chamber has to be used for storing various victuals and outside the room the listeners attention will be very much distracted by the windows, and therefore I have ceded my study along with the adjoining spacious bedroom for the meeting. Also, because there is a spacious hallway in front of the study, many people can assemble here and almost everybody can see the minister through the wide open doors. The beginning was made here on this holy day and, thank God, to our and the listeners great relief. After the holy day the church construction will be taken up again in earnest, since the people have been very busy with the cultivation of their fields up to now. One thing has precedence over the other, and we hereby make use of our Christian freedom.

Tuesday, the 19th of May. This forenoon Kieffers third daughter /Elisabeth Catherine/ was married to Zettler. Before and during the ceremony I told them both so much from the word of God that, if they will comply with it, they will be happy people now and in eternity. The parents are very glad that the marriage has taken place, for they would like to have all their children at our place for very good reasons. They still have three uneducated children at home, who were at the orphanage some time ago. They will now board these children with the young married couple and have them to go school again.

Various good garden plants were shown to me in the orphanange garden, especially some apples on the trees, which are the first ones at our place. Thus God gives one thing after the other. Peaches and plums of different kinds we have in great quantity this year; all the trees, even the small ones, are hanging so full that they will break if they are not supported. Although the wheat and rye have been eaten up many times by a certain kind of small hare,18 they are still so beautiful that one cannot want them better. People here have a variety of garden plants but no cabbage, because the worms have eaten up many hundreds of plants down to the roots. The mulberry seeds, which were sown a short time ago, are already sprouting in great quantity, and we hope to get so many young trees from them that we will be able to supply our whole place with them.

If people apply diligently to this land, almost everything grows, as far as I can see, just as in Germany; and various things grow even better and more abundantly, so that it can be called a very blessed country. Because of the lack of people, time, and tools, many things in the country remain useless and cannot be turned to advantage. For example, nobody goes fishing,19 although the most beautiful fish can be seen in great numbers in the large and small rivers near the town and are sometimes caught by the boys with their fishing poles. At the orphanage they showed me a very beautiful carp20 which someone had caught with a small fishhook. God is heartily praised in the orphanage for His mercy, and therefore He will send His gifts to old and young people for their well-being and will always give as much as is necessary for our support. The promise of our Lord is comforting to me: My people shall be satisfied with my goodness.

Wednesday, the 20th of May. Some boys and girls from the orphanage in Halle have written simply and cordially to our orphans; and from these letters, which are very pleasing to me too, I read to children and grown-ups at the orphanage today after the meal. As I noticed, the Lord did not leave this without His blessings. As soon as I can I shall also read the rest of them, for our dear God will give much material to my hand [as has happened today too] to tell our people what they should know for a right foundation in Christianity, even if a beginning is made already, and for Christian caution.

[From the orphanage in Halle our orphanage enjoys much spiritual and physical good. May our heavenly Father richly repay this for the sake of His Son, and may He let so many children be born in spirit from this as there is dew from the dawn.]

The weather is so comfortable and fruitful this spring that every pious heart is awakened to a cordial praise of God. The nights are always cool and have a heavy dew; and during the day the heat of the sun is very much tempered by the cool air. The soil has not lacked moisture up to now, and therefore even the late planted corn is growing rather beautifully. The water in the mill river has fallen so steadily that the people can plant their plantations at the mill river without hindrance; it is even not too late to plant corn there because the rich soil drives the plants upward very quickly.

Thursday, the 21st of May. A conflict arose between two women who want to be better than others, and I tried to settle it. They both wanted to be right, as unconverted people are accustomed to do. The necessary advice has been given to both of them, and at the right time our righteous God will reveal right or wrong, both in their consciences as well as outwardly, as He has done already several times. When people do not wish to be convinced, we cannot do anything else but put it on their own consciences and tell them how much God loathes lies, falseness, and crookedness and how sharply He is accustomed to punish such sins, especially if they happen at hearings before the authorities or ministers. A girl was the cause of this dissension; and, because she was impudent and frivolous, she received her penalty in the presence of her mother.

Today a few letters were written, one of them to a German mason at Charleston in which I inquired about N., a carpenter [Volmer who left us five years ago. He was brought into this country by Mr. Spangenberg, and now his wife does not know what became of him].21 After the great fire much is being built in Charleston; and this carpenter has probably taken work there, if he is still alive, which I, however, doubt very much. I also wrote a letter to the young Mr. /Johann/ Giessendanner, present preacher at Orangeburg, or [as they also write it:] Oranienburg. I informed him that a gift of money [making nine guilders] was collected in Switzerland for him, concerning which a distinguished merchant in Zrich writes that, because the older Mr. /Johann Ulrich/ Giessendanner has died, the money should be delivered to his son or grandson.22 As soon as possible we will also send him the books which are being sent to him in the chests that we are still expecting to receive. I would have liked to send him the money earlier if there had only been a safe opportunity. I am asking him to write to me now and then as the late Mr. Giessendanner did, which might be of use to us.

This time our worthy Dr. /Gottlieb August/ Francke has again written us several long and very edifying letters, the reading of which I have purposely postponed till after the Whitsuntide holidays because, prior to the holy days we were using, for our benefit and that of the parish, some short but powerful letters from our Fathers and friends and were drawing many blessings from them instead of from the preparation. It was very impressive for us that the letter I read today was, contrary to all expectation, an answer to our letter dated this very day a year ago, from which we and our people received many salutary admonitions with regard to the spiritual and physical benefits we had enjoyed and still expected to enjoy and our clearly resulting duty towards God, our neighbors, and ourselves. Oh! God has done great things in all of us from the beginning, and it is very salutary for us to be reminded of it often. What we have not or only too little realized previously we now learn to know better and better by the aid of those beautiful letters and by the grace of God, so that we may praise Him for every benefit with a beautiful song, as David did.

What we were told of the wrong and unfounded method of the NN [Herrnhuters] to convert people, we have found proved in some examples, [e.g., in the case of the renegade tailor Herrnberger, Grning, and another one who lives not far away from us]. NN [Herrnberger] was once on the right path to recognize his sins and to delve deeply in atonement; but some time later he fell by the wayside and considered it a law; and he put into the head of a pious woman various false, untrue, and slanderous things against the right order of penance and against the ministerial office. At this I remembered what I had read in the late Dr. Rogalls jubilation sermons23 as a lovely extract from Luther, which I intend to read to our parish for their instruction; because it may also serve some people who will also read parts of it in our diary, I will enclose it hear. Page 29 reads as follows.

But who can sufficiently express the misery caused by the fact that there are still people among us who fancy they have proceeded far on the path of salvation and who pass severe judgments on their neighbors and think they are fathers and mothers in Christ even though they have never laid a firm foundation in the penance of dead works and have never brought the Lord the sacrifices that please Him, namely, a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart (Psalms 51:19). Therefore, in their entire behavior they show through their dominating pride, obstinacy, anger, unkindness, and other sins that they have, to be sure, arrived at some new insights into divine truths but not to a new birth from God. In Luthers day there were some people who claimed right extraordinary things, strutted about with a great appearance of external sanctity, and won the admiration of the best minds through their righteous speeches and apparent good behavior, so much so that Luthers most intimate friend, Philipp Melanchthon, learned to love them and even accepted one of them into his house. However, when he detected so much impurity in these people, which he could not reconcile with their claims, he asked Luther how he should behave towards them. Along with other things in his answer Luther gave him the admonition to examine their spirits to see whether they suffered the terror and fear in their souls which all the saints had experienced. If they had not experienced that, but claimed only sweet, pleasant, and agreeable conversations with God, then he should not trust them; for the divine Majesty cannot hold intimate conversations with the Old Adam unless he is first mortified and dried out, for it is a consuming fire.

In Savannah Mr. /Thomas/ Jones told me an almost identical example of a very pious merchant from N. [New York] whom he has already known as a righteous man for some years. This man fell for the beautiful words and the good semblances of NN. [Mr. Spangenberg] in such a way that he lodged him in his house, hoping to have a special profit in his Christianity from him and his special association. After a few months, however, he became aware of so many impurities and crooked things, that he could not reconcile them with the simplicity and truth of Christianity. Therefore he disengaged from him and asked said Mr. Jones in a letter about the nature of these people (the Herrnhuters) of whom N.N. [Mr. Spangenberg] without doubt had spoken in the highest terms.

Friday, the 22nd of May. Before the edification hour on the plantations I visited /Anna Catherina/ the wife of N.N. [Hans Maurer] because her throat ailment is not improving, although on Mr. Thilos advice we have given her some of our most dependable medicine. I pointed out to her that, according to St. Luke 18:1 ff. and James 5:13-18 the best medicine in many, even the most dangerous, sicknesses is a pious, earnest, and continuous prayer; both verses I found and read to her. It says in the last verse that it is not the remedy one uses but the prayer of belief that will help the patient and also will be of great value for the soul. She thinks only little of her own prayer; but she is very glad to know that so many believers in the world are praying for our community and that this may include her circumstances so that the dear God may make it tolerable for her.

About her husband, who was out working, she told me that he came home in great emotion on the second Whitsuntide Holiday and told her with tears in his eyes about the grace he had felt from the preaching of the gospel. This testimony pleased me greatly because, since I had been troubled after the holy day, I was now comforted again at hearing that the Lord had blessed His word on these and other souls. Her husband had formerly had a hard and indifferent heart; but, since his wife was touched by Jesus, a remarkable change was also noted in the husband. She also testified that he is very patient with her and is satisfied the way things are, although her sickness had lasted a very long time already and she cannot help him much with the household.

During the reading of two letters [from Dr. /Gottfried August/ Francke] at todays meeting I remembered the hard conditions which our wonderful but also merciful God let come to our community at New Ebenezer, when we all got sick and some married couples had to be in bed at the same time and neglect their work and nobody could help the other one. However, our dear God has also sent us a period in which they got healthy again and could perform their work unhindered. This memory brings us much comfort, joy, and religious strength. In the continuing hardship of their work the Salzburgers were directed by these letters to the wise and good commandment of God: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, in which not only the commandment of God but also a lovely promise can be seen. I remembered what I had said in the fields a few days ago to a weak worker, who sometimes had to work in vain, for even if it seems that nothing is coming out of his work, it is of sufficient value that he is doing the will of God and remaining in the divine order.24 For to do the will of God is an angelic business and certainly has its reward, even if not the way we wish it, but certainly as God wills it and that is all right. Whatever the righteous man doeth, that turneth out well. [God also granted us much material for edification; and the Salzburgers were reminded of many physical and spiritual benefactions of God which they have enjoyed from their departure from Salzburg up to this place, and this is necessary and salutary to them.]

The N.N. [shoemaker Adde] who comes from N. [Tbingen], has asked me several times already to write a letter to his old mother, who is a widow [in Tbingen], and I could not refuse to today when he told me the contents. He had very much offended his mother and had also come to this country without her knowledge and permission, and therefore he has probably caused her many sighs. This, together with many other youthful sins, is now stirring his conscience; therefore he is now apologizing to her for everything and wishes to repay her for all the sorrow caused her and also to pay her travel expenses overseas to our place if she should find an opportunity to travel to this country. [This same shoemaker requested me to return his thanks to the worthy Senior Urlsperger for all the good he has received for his soul from his letters, and this I do herewith. Many in the community wish in humbleness and love to have a good verse (as they expressed it) written to Senior Urlsperger and other worthy benefactors. However, we are accustomed to summarize them in our letters in the greetings from the whole community.]

Saturday, the 23rd of May. Last night before the prayer meeting a strong rain fell which lasted for a few hours, refreshed the soil again, and made it fruitful. At this time it is a great blessing of the Lord, since it very much helps the young corn that had to be planted late because of the worms. We still held the prayer meeting, since I wished to read the last letter so that next week we could continue in the contemplation of the story from the Old Testament. [This evening in the prayer meeting my dear colleague is, as is customary every fortnight, to catechize a piece from the cathechism, which now follows with the second article.]

N.N. [Christian Riedelsperger] is showing great earnestness and truth in his Christianity, and therefore it is easy to get along with him. He has a real Christian conscientiousness, even for his relatives at other places; and he tries to help them with his prayers. He has written several times to some of them in the Empire; but he presumes that such letters were not well accepted, because he has received no answer yet. He considers it the greatest blessing that God has shown him in his life that Senior Urlsperger helped him, according to Gods dispensation, to come to Ebenezer. He is in no way selfish and does not bear the world in his mind; yet God is richly blessing him in his external work so that he is very well off, whereby he serves his neighbor in every way. He still has to receive the blessings of the orphanage, for he is an honest friend of it, although I have not been able to repay him for his kind services so far.

Sunday, the 24th of May. On todays Trinity Sunday we dealt with the marvelous gospel St. John 3,1 ff. about the important differences between nature and grace; and in illustration of this most important and necessary material we read aloud in the evening prayer meeting about the example of the town mayor of Erfurt who was thoroughly converted to God, which example Pastor Sommer has printed in Cthen along with some other tracts. Glory be to God, who by His words and by this example has edified and awakened us in a special way to work earnestly for our salvation. When I have to preach the word of God in town alone and my dear colleague has to do his work for the parish at the plantations, I treat, for my own and the audiences sake, only one main subject of the gospel in the morning and afternoon and repeat it with young and old people as much as time and strength allow. Our dear God does not leave this without His blessings, as I heard today again from the joyful confession of a righteous woman.

After the divine service at the plantations a pious man confessed and repented his former blindness to my dear colleague, which he will remember in a salutary way every year on Trinity Sunday when the respective gospel is preached. In a repetition hour treating todays gospel five years ago, it was attested to young and old people that, as far as one can see, only a few of us show unmistaken marks of rebirth and therefore only a few would see the kingdom of God and enter it, if they did not come to a true change. Now because both this dear man and others to whom one cannot deny a good beginning were startled at this and considered it to be a hard speech, they joined together in order to ask me about it. He can no longer remember what kind of an answer I gave to them, but he still knows this much, that I was very depressed because of their self-justification. Perhaps I myself thought that it was too rigorous and that we would alienate the affections of people by this, etc.; but God convinced this man and others by and by of the necessity and possibility of a new birth and brought them to a blessed experience of the same, and therefore they are now even more ashamed of their former blindness. I do not know how it comes about that some of our listeners attest that in various places in Germany they have not heard a sermon on rebirth, etc.

Monday, the 25th of May. This morning I visited N. [Mrs. Kronberger] at her plantation because I was told yesterday that she wished to speak with one of us in her hut. She is heartily pleased at the obvious change in her husband, thanks God for it with tears, and asks God with prayers and supplication that he will not again fall back but become confirmed in grace and the good he has received. Previously, when she had seen his bad habits and unchristian behavior, she had become angry and embittered, whereby he too flew into passion and so they both hurt each other. When she complained to me of the trouble she was having with her husband, I looked up this verse among others, for her: The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God, and reminded her of her wifely duty and directed her to prayer. God has, she said, very clearly granted her prayers and broken her anger so that she treats her husband, who has to work hard, in a friendly way and always prays for him that God may change his disposition. Whenever he went to his unconverted comrades she would eagerly call on God that He should not allow her husband to sin by words and works; and, whenever he came back home and became angry and indignant at her friendly admonitions, she would again kneel down in her corner and complain to the Lord of her domestic troubles and ask for a merciful change.

At first her husband did not like such prayers and said that she did it in passion, but God finally convinced him that he was on the wrong path and she on the right. Then he began to pray with her eagerly and is quite a different man now. She cannot help him in the fields, because she has enough to do with her housework, but she prays that God may strengthen her husband doubly. God is doing this so that he now has enough physical strength to cultivate a large field. She sees in many ways, she said, that God is with them and is blessing them. From the story of David she heard that, in his good days, David used to pray three times a day, i.e. in the morning, at noon, and at night; and, since they formerly bent their knees before God only in the morning and evening, she has agreed with her husband to use the noontime for prayer too, and he willingly does this. I opened the Bible for her to where it says that David prayed in the morning, at noon, and at night and also prayed very eagerly and imploringly for recognition of his misery. That was in the 55th Psalm v. 18.

I also showed her the sixth chapter of Daniel where it also says that the dear prophet knelt down before God three times a day and prayed. I also referred to v. 23 of this Psalm: Cast thy burden upon the Lord. . . etc. If she does the same, I said, she will save the peace of their souls; and, since she knew how to praise so many benefactions and blessings of her dear Savior I told her the words: Thou shalt see even greater things than there. Also, Have I not told thee that if thou wouldst believe, etc. This married couple is very poor but very contented, and this caused me to promise to buy them a piece of coarse linen for five sh. Sterling in Savannah, which gift they will accept from the hand of the Lord with many thanks and praise of God. The husband was at the mill, for all men have gone to the mill together this morning to stop up two little streams which take away the influx of water from the mill and to build something at the dam so that the mill can grind even at low water in summertime.

[If only Mr. Oglethorpe would give us a little money, a mill course could be made with another pair of stones so that we could use it even at the lowest water. The people are poor and cannot do much extra work without pay, rather, if they can get away from their fieldwork for a few days, then they have to try to earn some shillings for clothes and other necessities.]

I was at the orphanage in the evening and knelt before the merciful throne of God in the name of Jesus Christ together with two honest persons [souls] who, in the school of the Holy Spirit, have learned the right art of praying. One of them [a cordially humble and believing woman] seems to carry on her heart the whole world, especially our Ebenezer, todays work at the mill, and all friends and protectors of our community, and poured it out before the Lord in a way that was most edifying for me. When it was my turn to pray, I presented to our good Savior with the above-mentioned verses: Thou shalt see even greater things than this, and Have I not told thee that if thou wouldst believe, . . . etc. and asked for strength and for the right interpretation of religious faith. I also praised the Lord for showing such wonderful grace for our orphanage right from the beginning and always turning afflictions to our benefit and for letting us feel such a beautiful blessing for this small institution from the last letters from Europe. I closed with the words: The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. What happens? My helpmeet opens the door after the prayer and informs us that letters from England have arrived; and I was told by a passing traveler, who delivered the letters to my house, that Mr. /Thomas/ Jones wished me to come down right away. When I opened the letters I found very enjoyable signs of the fatherly care of God, for Mr. Newmann writes:

1)that the Lord Trustees will accept a new transport of fifty Salzburgers as soon as Senior Urlsperger can assemble it;

2)From his letter as well as from the one from Secretary Martyns I can see that the Lord Trustees and the Praiseworthy Society have thought of Mr. Thilo very lovingly and have arranged a better provisioning for him.

3)Mr. N.N. [Privy Councilor Walbaum] gives us a quite excellent report of the kingdom of God which is spreading out here and there [in Mecklenburg and Pomerania]. Furthermore he is sending us some tried prescriptions against fever and some very evangelical edifications and is donating ten guineas to our orphanage as compensation for the fire damage suffered last year.

When I had not even quite finished reading these enjoyable letters a man came back from the mill and told me that they had succeeded in stopping up the break in the dam so that the mill has water and can start again, although the small streams in which most of the water gathers cannot yet be dammed for lack of planks. I intend in the name of God to use part of the ten guineas for this purpose, since, as mentioned above, nothing for it can be expected very soon from General Oglethorpe. May the Lord be praised for His mercy and wonderful dispensation! This morning, when I visited the above-mentioned Salzburger woman and also two others who are also poor in goods but rich in faith, I wished from the bottom of my heart to be able to help them in their misery; and this evening I have already experienced what the Lord can do and further will do, when we fulfill what Tobias impressed on his son and I today on a poor Salzburger girl: We are poor to be sure, but we shall have much good if we fear God, avoid sin, and do good.

Tuesday, the 26th of May. Because my dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, traveled to Savannah very early this morning, I held the edification meeting at the plantations today. Yesterday I visited the workers at the mill and talked to some of them about the good that the Lord let us hear last Sunday; and I also told them that in the evening prayer meeting in town a special example was read which quite beautifully illustrated the gospel. If our dear God ordained for my dear colleague to travel sometime to Savannah and for me to hold the prayer meeting out there, I said, I would make known such an example to them also, and this pleased them greatly. Therefore I was all the more pleased that God gave us the opportunity for this so soon, namely today, since the gospel is still fresh in their minds and I hope the Lord will bless it too. A man stayed behind after the lesson and asked for the booklet, because the example contained therein was very impressive to him and he wanted to read it to his wife, who could not attend. [I also told him something from the letters, especially that I believe that the letter from Germany from which our dear God has given me such a great blessing will also procure great blessings for the parish, by the support of the Holy Spirit, when it will be made known by my dear colleague.]

Last Sunday [Saturday] I visited the person who was mentioned on the 9th of May and asked her how she had made use of the last visit. She told me that she had tried to make good use of the week before Whitsuntide, which is named the granting-week, for she thought that God would hear her too and give her a Pentecostal blessing. Therefore she had prayed to God wherever she was walking or standing, and God had heard her weak prayer and had not let her celebrate the feast without His blessings. She told me this with joy, and I hope she will be awakened by this to persist in prayer more and more with the certain confidence that God, our friendly Father, who is reconciled by Christ, will hear her and grant her still more, especially what is most necessary in her circumstances.

Wednesday, the 27th of May. Today our dear God has given me several opportunities to work on some people and to direct them to where they ought to be directed if their souls are to be saved. A person [that is, Mrs. Pletter] came in from the plantations and brought fourteen pounds of flax which she has spun [for Mr. Whitefield]. She is one of the seven persons who came to us last.25 Our dear God is certainly showing her that there is more to being saved than she believed before; and it also seems that God will still win this soul. She does not imagine herself to be wise enough, as her sister [the Landfelder woman] does, who believes she understands everything we discuss with her.

In yesterdays and todays evening prayer meetings our faithful Savior granted us great edification. We started with the 10th verse of Chapter 18 of Matthew and reached verse 20 today. The 11th, 12th, and 13th verses have given us a special edification; and it is my intention by the grace of God to eagerly meditate on the wonderful promise of verse 11. I will certainly never succeed in studying it completely; the more I meditate, the more I will find in it, as I can already see. Oh, what a wonderful Savior we sinners have! If somebody who thinks himself to be the greatest sinner comes to Jesus, he will give Him the greatest pleasure and on such a person He can really prove to be a Savior.

After todays prayer meeting our friendly God granted us the pleasure of receiving the things which were sent to us from Halle and one chest from Augsburg. My dear colleague is still in Savannah, since he has not yet been able to finish his business there. Also, one more chest has to be fetched and brought up to our place; therefore he intends to wait that long and return with the boat that was sent down for this purpose today. May our faithful Savior, who holds everything in His hands, give us a very thankful heart for such gifts and presents and grant us to use them in the right way and to employ them to His glory. May He let all our dear benefactors realize and taste the bountiful good and the inexhaustible abundance of all happiness, as is written in the verse Matthew 18:11, to their heavenly delight already in time and more so in eternity, Amen! May that happen, Amen!

Thursday, the 28th of May. This morning the things were unpacked and brought up to my room. Mr. Kalcher of the orphanage and Christian Riedelsperger did it together wtih my and my dear colleagues helpmeet. When it was finished and we saw the beautiful books, the plentiful linen, and the other things, we united in prayer according to Matthew 18:19-20. I had a very special feeling at this union of our hearts and confidently expect that everything we asked of the Father in the name of Jesus Christ will be heard. [First of all we confessed our sins and especially our former ingratitude for so many benefactions and asked for pardon; we also asked for grace and blessings; we praised our dear God for all the benefactions we have received and asked Him to bless our dear benefactors with the blessings written in Matthew 18:11. We begged Him that a new awakening might be caused in our congregation by these gifts and that the purpose sought through them might be reached.]

Among other things we also laid before our dear Father in heaven the special conditions under which our dear Germany suffers, and we certainly believe that everything has been heard. The dear Lord Jesus opened His heart especially during our prayer and imparted much good to us. May He be praised and thanked in eternity! Very remarkable in this connection is what Mr. R. W. [Privy Councilor Walbaum] writes in his very edifying letter of 30 January: About the external conditions of your colony the last reports I have seen sound much pleasanter than the first ones. Thereby God wishes to tempt us to believe in Him and to consider Him our own father. May He do still more and as much in this matter as suits His loving care for you. And behold! Now God, our wonderful and merciful God, is already fulfilling his heartfelt desire. It is written, as my dear colleague told a Salzburger woman the other day: Thou shalt see even greater things than this. Yes, I can say it to the praise of my dear Savior that I have experienced this according to His love in my poor self too [in this matter]; and I believe, God will grant me faith, then I will experience it still more, Hallelujah! For He heartily embraces my soul, Hallelujah!

Friday, the 29th of May. Praise be to God, who has let me (Boltzius) see our dear Ebenezer again and find everything in good order. My time, which sometimes became tiresome for me, I have not spent in vain in Savannah; because, besides the fact that I received the three chests of linen and books and arranged some other necessary things for Mr. Thilo, the orphanage, and the community with Mr. /Thomas/ Jones and at other places, I had much contact with the German people there, who assembled at my room every evening after their days work in a rather great number to edify themselves together with me through songs, the word of God, and prayers. On three evenings in succession I put to their hearts and consciences the three short and important verses: Create in me a clean heart, O God, . . . etc. Ye must be born anew ... etc. and So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom, ... The last verse strongly moved my mind while I was reading the short but important report written from Halle in 1740, which was delivered to me in Savannah together with a letter from Senior Urlsperger and Mr. Verelst, when I learned that our dear God has led to their last long rest through a temporal death some of our dear friends and acquaintances who had helped perform the works of the Lord in Halle. For me, however, who was the weakest and most miserably infirm when I said farewell, He has continued the period of grace up to this moment for an earnest preparation for a blessed departure. May our dear God keep His servants and children there in life and health for a long time and may He let us hear many more enjoyable things about their blessed labor in the work of our Lord.

Already in the past, when we used to preach in Savannah, a pious widow [named Ursula Meyer] availed herself of our ministry and blessings; but, because she lacked other opportunities for edification and was obedient to her master [because Mr. Wesley thinks a great deal of the Herrenhuters], she became involved with the often mentioned N. [Mr. Hagen]. Her little daughter /Magdalena/, however, was led at our place to the knowledge of salvation and to a real beginning of Christianity, while her soul and body had been very badly maltreated previously in Savannah. But, since Mr. N. [Mr. Hagen] is trying to turn her daughter against our ministry and our place and also thinks little of Arndts True Christianity, from which God grants her many blessings, she is growing tired of him and also longs to go to Ebenezer, if only she can leave her master in a proper way as soon as the time of her service comes to an end. She wanted to get an empty hut at our place for her girl, who had been sent back to Savannah a few months ago for reasons mentioned at the time, and to provide for her herself. Because the girl is again showing an eager desire to go to school and church at our place and because a place has just become vacant at the orphanage, I promised her to take her in at her request, and the mother and daughter were pleased at this. I dare say that God is awakening the good that was laid in her heart by our instruction in Savannah now and is making her eager for the word of life and for further opportunity to listen to it diligently.

Some of the German people have asked me to mail the letters they have written to their relatives with our parcel to London [hoping that they will be forwarded from there]. They well realize what advantages they have here in this country in the service of the Lord Trustees over other free and poor workers in Germany. Therefore they wish to have their families, if they wish to come to America, at no other place than in Georgia. From this it can be easily concluded how important and what a great favor it is to be accepted and provided for in the beginning by the Lord Trustees as was done for the Salzburgers. Thank God that, from Mr. Newmans letter, we can take hope of a new transport.

Through a captain who lives in Savannah and is named Robert Williams [who has always opposed Mr. Oglethorpe and the plan of this colony] the Englishmen in Savannah have submitted a supplication in the name of the inhabitants to the Lord Trustees and to the Parliament;26 and at his present return they have received a message giving them reason for hope to procure some Negro slaves and other pretended liberties of which people in their colonies boast (though to their own and other peoples harm). This, however, Mr. /Thomas/ Jones does not wish to believe. At least our dear God will protect us at our place from the importation of those more harmful than useful Negroes, as well as for the liberty of everyone to sell his land in whatever way and to whomever he wishes to and to acquire by purchase other land that seems to be better to him and to buy as much as he wishes. Through this the rich people would get the best, and honest quiet people would have to accept as neighbors those who can give the most money for a piece of ground.

The very great blessing in linen and books had arrived in Savannah; and, since the chests had been sent no farther than to Charleston by Mr. Verelst, I had to pay 30 sh. Sterling for the transport from Charleston to Savannah. The first chests, which contained the things packed in Augsburg and Halle, may have been damaged, and therefore did not have the original markings; and, to be certain, we had to open them. Also two heavy packs of Spanish sewing-needles had been sent to us from Charleston, which, however, had been addressed to us erroneously, for so many sewing needles could not be used in all of Georgia and Carolina in twenty years. Through Mr. Habersham and other friends of the orphanage near Savannah I had a very good opportunity to send the nine florins received for Mr. Giessendanner to Orangeburg via Charleston. As soon as he writes that he has received the money, I shall also send him the books and letters that are in the box. They were sent from Switzerland together with the money by some benefactors. Because there is only little communication and trade between Savannah and Charleston at the present time [especially since people have almost no respect for the Sola-bills of the Lord Trustees and General Oglethorpe], it is difficult to mail something to that place and further on from there, as people in Germany surely cannot quite imagine. Captain Thomsons ship had, to be sure, arrived in Savannah eight days ago, but he had traveled to Port Royal and Charleston to inquire about cargoes. Last year the rice did not turn out as well as usual and therefore it will be difficult for him to find his cargoes here in this country. The goods he brought to this country he has already sold at Frederica except for a few things which have already been picked over and are also very expensive.

A merchant in Savannah, whose wife went away a year and a day since, wishes to have his daughter, a girl of thirteen, at our place under good care so that she will be introduced to various womanly tasks, because in Savannah she would be spoiled without control and instructions. Another German man27 has a little boy, seven years of age, whom he would like to send to somebody, so that he would be raised as a Christian; but he is too young, and there are only a few people in town to whom one could entrust such a small child. He does not suit the orphanage, and the man is a servant of the Lord Trustees and will probably wish to board the child gratuitously. No corn, rice, beans, etc. can be obtained in Savannah and other places in this country; so people have to live on the expensive flour and biscuits that are being brought down from the northern colonies.28 Because food is very expensive, the Lord Trustees have increased the pay that their indentured servants receive instead of provision and clothes so that the men now get five shillings instead of four shillings per week and the women receive four shillings, whereas they previously had to manage with three shillings. Their labor is now quite tolerable, and they can work for themselves in the morning, midday, and evening hours and even cut grass for their cattle during their work. I am concerned that they do not work like the servants who are called Servants in Christ in Colossians 3; but they are of use to the Lord Trustees, as Mr. Jones assures me; for, if they did not have them, they would have to hire people to do much of the work that must be done at the expense of the storehouse, and this would cost them twice as much and would not produce any more. Furthermore, with their expenditures the Lord Trustees are looking out more for others than for their own profit. Not many people had authorities like that in Germany, as they well realize.

Saturday, the 30th of May. Today we all were busy in distributing the received gifts of diverse linen cloth, calico, shoes, stockings, thread, needles, ribbons, etc. in such a way that every member of the community from the largest to the smallest one will receive his portion at the distribution. This time our loyal God has even taken care of the children who are being carried under their mothers hearts and are still to be born, since He has sent us not only midwife-books that have been written from experience, but also swaddling clothes and other things, for which the poor women will be very happy and praise God. I remembered hereby Psalm 102:19: This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. I hope that our descendants, insofar as they fear God, will find much material for the recognition of the wonderful and blessed ways that He has gone with us from the beginning from the printed reports of Ebenezer, of which we have just received the third and fourth Continuations, and that they will be thereby awakened to the praise of God and to faith in Him. May God so bless in our souls the memory of the ways He has gone with us from reading the diaries that we will sacrifice ourselves anew with soul and body to His service and glory. In the written report from Halle of 1740 I was much impressed that, during the hard times in which all Germany was very much afflicted and the poor were very oppressed, the free tables at the orphanage could be increased by the grace of God. The same is true of the gifts sent to us; although everything is expensive and there are many poor people in Germany, our merciful God, who knows about our need, collected a greater supply of charitable gifts than we had ever been able to distribute before. That may well mean: I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord, and here God does not tie Himself to any circumstances of the times.

Sunday, the 31st of May. After the morning sermon it was announced that tomorrow morning after a public service and intercessory prayers we would distribute goods received from God, which came to our hands quite undamaged from Augsburg and Halle at the end of last week. For this purpose not only the grown-ups but also the children were to appear so that everybody would take part in the beautiful and rich blessings to the praise of God and his own joy. They were also informed that the late Arndts Passion and Easter Sermons29 had also arrived, for which our worthy Senior Urlsperger had given us hope in one of his last letters and that they were even bound copies. This is a very special blessing for our congregation, not only because the book is worth reading, like his book of True Christianity, but also because they sent fifty copies so that the whole parish and every family in it can be provided with this special treasure. We had discussed the gospel of the First Sunday after Trinity, about the hope of a future glory that God will give to His children; for this glory our dear God will certainly prepare our listeners, young and old, by the help of this beautiful book.

A woman told me that her husband thanked God last night for these Passion and Easter Sermons. She said she wished to take them to him at the plantation, even though she has a little boy to lead and to bear, because she knows she cannot bring anything that would be more agreeable to him. I asked the listeners to examine themselves as to how they have managed up to now with the late Arndts book True Christianity, whether they all have been brought a real conversion and Christianity by it: [they should not request the new book before they have humbly apologized to our dear God for their former sins and disloyalty towards the mentioned book and have made an earnest resolution to employ both besides the Holy Scriptures in such a way that they may derive therefrom an eternal benefit with the help of the Holy Spirit. For . . .] there is indeed a great responsibility when God sends one good book after the other but does not achieve His purpose in a human being. After the afternoon service those people stayed behind who wished to receive this delightful sermon book for themselves or their families. We came together in my room before the distribution, praised the Lord for this book and for the absolute truth contained in it, and prayed for all who have contributed their share in having it brought to Ebenezer in so many copies.

During the prayer it came to my mind that our dear God has surely not ordained in vain for this beautiful book to be distributed to the parish today prior to the remaining gifts. He wishes without doubt to teach us to practice the verse: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, ... etc. I undertook the distribution of the books with very great pleasure; for the great desire shown for it and the hearty gratitude of the dear people impressed me very greatly and I do not doubt that the Lord will lay His blessings upon the witness of truth that the late dear and highly esteemed Arndt gives us and that they will flow back on the dear benefactors spiritually and physically as a reward for such precious benefactions. Each family could be provided with one copy; but, since I could not refuse the request of the Kieffer family for a book, I had to give them my own copy and must now share with my dear colleague the book put aside for him until our dear God lets me have one of my own, perhaps next year.

JUNE

Monday, the 1st of June. On this first day of the summer season our gracious God has already begun to show us much good; and therefore we hope that, by His grace, He will let flow upon us the ever filled wells of His goodness in the future too as long as we live in this pilgrimage and until we finally come to the real fatherland, where abundant joy and pleasure will be found always and eternally at the right hand of God. Last night we had a soft rainfall; and this forenoon the members of the community and everybody who was able to come in from the plantations gathered in great number in my house, where our Lord, our friendly God, let rain many spiritual and physical benefits upon old and young, bar none, and thereby sought to entice all of them under His widespread wings of grace and give pleasure to them in Christ with heart and soul in time and eternity. The gifts to be distributed were spread out on the floor of my room just as, in former times, God spread out manna, which was prepared contrary to all known merit and desert and to the glorification of His majesty and the astonishment and joy of His people. These gifts we tried to sanctify by the word of God and prayer with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

God awakened my heart anew this morning and encouraged it for this ceremony by the sight of the great blessing that was presented as well as by the confession of a man who told me with joy that yesterday God had shown great mercy to his soul by His word. He has also heard this of other men and women, so that he hopes that, if the grace he has received is not rejected, the congregation will look from now on as lovely as our gardens and fields do in spring and summer time. May God be praised for His boundless grace! At this time, when He has sent us manifold grace, God has let fall strongly into my mind the verse Sirach 50:24: God doeth great things for us, which was also the text in todays assembly, whereby both the young and old listeners were reminded of many good things that our wise, pious, and friendly God has shown to us from near and far, especially at the present time; and their hearts were encouraged to praise our very kind God and reminded of their duty.

It was impressive for me that those words: God doeth great things for us were expressed by the pious Children of Israel with reconciled hearts and to the praise of God when they shared the blessings that our merciful God had commended to be put upon the Children of Israel in His name by service of the priests of the Lord. The perception of this great treasure excited their desire for it, and their recognized unworthiness made them kneel down and awakened their hearts to a heartfelt joy and praise of God so that they exclaimed like one heart and mouth: Now bless the God of all, who in every way doeth great things. Hereby we showed our dear listeners that these words, as well as the attitude of the honest Israelites toward the blessings they received, fit our present circumstances excellently well because our wonderful and friendly God has also put manifold blessings into the hands of His servants in Europe [especially of our dear Mr. Senior Urlsperger and Dr. /Gotthilf August/Francke] through which it has now flowed upon us. And just as they are eager to enjoy the same, it is now up to them to learn to repeat those peoples lovely words from the bottom of their hearts to the glorification of our great God: God doeth great things for us.

I reminded them that it would be impossible for me to demonstrate all the physical and spiritual benefactions in length, breadth, height, and depth that God has shown them just here at Ebenezer right from the beginning, for their weak minds would probably not comprehend everything; but it is the duty of every Christian to repeat the three main articles of Christian belief often and to consider all the spiritual and physical benefactions according to their contents with prayer and by the help of the Holy Spirit, so that they may not owe praise and glory to our most gracious God and Father. For ingratitude is as great a sin as other shameful depravities and bad habits. It is a wonderful joy to the soul to walk often in the garden of the widely spread grace of God in Christ, for one would meet one lovely flower after the other here, well-tasting fruit there, and also some refreshing fountains to the unspeakable joy of ones heart, to the praise of the highest Donor, and to the very marked furtherance of evangelical Christianity. Always it would be said: My God, thou doest all good things for me and us unworthy ones.

In order to give them a good introduction, I opened the precious twenty-ninth chapter of Book Two of Johannes Arndts Of True Christianity and handed it over to children and adults to read at home. This time two points were important in the contemplation, that it be especially shown what our merciful God, reconciled in Christ, has done for us both nearby and far away, so that it will not only be said: God doeth great things for us, but also: Thy kindness is so great that it has neither measure nor end. It is not to be measured, not to be counted, not to be overlooked, not to be explicated, not to be articulated:

I. Nearby, what we enjoy at our place, in our lodgings, at the plantations, and in the country. Here it is most important that our Lord grants us His holy word and the holy sacraments pure, plentifully, and gratuitously. In order to make them understand what kind of a treasure this is, they were reminded of other, especially German, people in this and other colonies of whom one can say with Matthew 10:36 They fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. They may help themselves along by reading a few books; but, since most of them are unconverted and not enlightened, they do not even know how to get on with good books but take comfort in things where there is no comfort. Some children stay unbaptized for a long time: I baptized one the other day that was three weeks old and still without baptism. What a great pity! [Mothers like this must look at their suckling babies as children of wrath and cannot say the words of yesterdays exordium about their child: We (I, your mother, and you my dear child) rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. What happens if they die without being baptized!]

The same happens with the treasure of the Holy Sacrament. Some people cannot obtain it for a long time, or not at all; and, when they do get the opportunity, they do not have the necessary preparation for it, as everybody has at our place. God works quite actively on all of us; the ones He could not win yesterday or in former times, He seeks today, follows them also tomorrow and the following days by calling and tempting them, by doing them good and chastising them. He does not give them peace before He has won them and turned them to love with heart and soul, just as if our sufficient God would win something Himself by the surrender of our hearts to Him. That surely means: He doeth great things for us. I remembered in this connection what the Mr. von N. [Honorable Mr. von Mnch] mentioned in his letter to Mr. N. [Senior Urlsperger]: People, especially our Germans, Wrttembergers, Palatines, and others, leave their countries because of need and misery and become there [a potori] even more, miserable in body and soul, which is deplorable.1 May God improve things soon, etc. Furthermore, it is to be considered a special benefit of God that our parishioners do not have to pay their teachers and schoolmasters either by a salary nor by occasional emoluments, for God has awakened benefactors in England2 for that purpose who are not in the least obligated to do so, a fact which is perhaps not sufficiently realized by all the people.

2. Secondly, among the many good things our Lord is showing nearby is the fact that, although there are war and famine in the country so that neither corn, rice, nor beans, nor other food can be obtained for money, we are not at all oppressed by war and famine, but God has given us so much from the last harvest that everybody can enjoy his bread and what else is necessary for living in quietness and peace. Although they have very much esteemed the benefits from the storehouse, they have always wished to be able finally to eat their own bread. God granted them this and also a mill some time ago by His foresight so that they can enjoy their crops even better now. Senior Urlsperger praised the benefit of this in his last letter of 2 February st.n.a.c.,3 although at that time he had no word of its wonderful and blessed completion. It is a new benefaction that God is letting the present crop grow very beautifully, whereby I am encouraged to joy and the praise of God as often as I see it in the fields, especially since it started out so badly because of the worms. They should again look at this gift (as the late Arndt says) in the light of the cross and consider how it would be if God should send a bad year at this time of want. When would I ever finish if I spoke of the benefaction of our orphanage, of the health granted for establishing their plantations, of the blessings they can perceive in their households etc. It always says: God doeth great things for us. May laud and praise be to His name now and forever. After this we spoke

II. of the good that our merciful God passed on to us from afar, whereby 1) it is a principal blessing that, up to now, God has spared the lives of the dear men in Europe, our worthy benefactors, since He surely could have called them like others, of whose death we read in last years reports from Halle, from this miserable world into His, their Lords delight. Although they sometimes became sick and weak under the burden of their work, our Lord has strengthened them again; and they also hope to have drawn some improvement in their health from our poor prayer in the congregation, which shall encourage us to a new intercession and to the praise of God. They lift their hands untiringly to God so that we will be blessed spiritually and physically; they speak, write, worry about us, are happy when we are well, feel pity when it goes badly with us here and there, and assist us by word and deed. This could easily be confirmed by quite unquestionable and fresh examples. They consider us to be their sons and daughters abroad, of whose welfare they often request information and for whom they wish to care in the best possible way. What is said by Saint John in his third epistle v.4 is the pure purpose of their efforts, pains, and prayers for us to God and men; and they do not seek any other reward than this. This reminded me of the words of the honorable merchant Mr. Ott of Zurich in a letter to Senior Urlsperger: How much I wished that the Swiss people who live in America and are certainly poor people and far from the good fortune of the Salzburgers might also find a fatherly protector as the Salzburgers have in the person of . . . [your Reverend Sir].

2. It is a great gift and benefaction from afar that, despite the miserable conditions in Germany, God bestows on us so many good gifts of books, linen, medicine, and other necessary things that have been brought to Ebenezer undamaged and without costs and trouble to us, although bound books, shoes, and new linen cloth are not to be imported from other countries into England. But God directed the hearts of our superiors and blessed their intercessions. Also for transportation costs on water and land none of us needs to bear a share, but everything comes to our place free and without charge, except that this time 30 shillings must be paid for three crates from Charleston up to here, costs which God has already granted us. Judging by the mentioned 30 shillings for transportation, we can imagine how much the whole freight would have cost us.

3. From Europe the most beautiful and edifying letters and various good news from the kingdom of God, both written and printed, have been sent to us, of which we can again tell them many wonderful things. Some reports from the missions in East India were also included this time, which could serve some people for re-reading and encouragement. Their letters were gladly delivered to their families and they received answers in time, a benefit that other German people in this country long for but cannot have.

Here I had to stop enumerating the many good things from afar, since time did not allow me to mention more of them this time. Therefore I showed in the detailed application: 1) whom we have to thank for all these benefactions, namely, our gracious God, who makes His servants and children into vessels of His mercy and tools of His grace and gifts. The listeners were warned of the very common thoughtlessness of people who live with the pleasure of Gods benefactions without realizing from whom they come and what their purpose is, which is bestial, yes even worse than bestial (cf. Isaiah 1:3). 2) what the intention of our merciful God is. Nobody should quickly conclude from his experience of Gods manifold benevolent care that he could safely rest in Gods grace and be His friend and child. For He will also be kind to the ones who are unthankful and wicked: He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, etc. Matthew 5:45. Here it goes as in the story in Genesis 32:33, where Jacob sent presents and gifts to his brother Esau, not because he was his friend but to become one in this way. Therefore all these persons among us who have a worldly mind, which is an enmity against God, like the rich man and his five brothers in yesterdays gospel, should apply the blessings of God to be led to atonement and to be made friends of God, otherwise they would be worse than Esau, who was at least won by the love of his brother. May God make them ashamed by the multitude of His blessings, also the present ones, so that they realize with humility and regret that up to now they have been enemies of an all-gracious God who has loved them from eternity, still loves them, and will love them in eternity, and that they have offended against His eternal love.

Some others, whom our Lord has granted grace to come to atonement and to true service of God in spirit and truth, would also find grounds in the wealth of Gods grace, by which He does them much good, to blush with shame and humiliate themselves because they have not yet loved and served this eternal love and special grace so eagerly as He would deserve it. It should be said -- as of the honest emigrant Jacob, Genesis 28:20-21: If God will be with me, and wil keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, then shall the Lord be my God. Now it should really say: He shall be my God and highest treasure, to whom I surrender with soul and body as His own forever. In this order they would have to praise the Donor of all the charities and eagerly pray for all the dear and esteemed benefactors, whom He made willing and able to care and pray diligently for all of us as their children, for this is Gods will [1 Peter 2:1 ff], 1 Timothy 2:1 ff. After this we knelt down before God, although the space was small because of the many listeners, and prayed for ourselves and for our worthy benefactors and praised His glorious name for all His blessings in the kingdom of power and grace.

The distribution was made in good order, since beautiful books, linen, and other things had already been tied together and were lying in the opposite room. The name of our Lord be praised for all the spiritual blessings He gave to our souls through these very dear physical gifts. I trust He will ordain for a fruit of it to remain until eternity to the unspeakable great joy of our dear benefactors. They cannot take any of their temporal goods with them when they die, but whatever they give to needy members of Christ will follow them to eternal bliss as glorious undeniable attestations of their living faith, for their works will follow them.4 How comforting it was for us when we heard from the gospel yesterday that just people who have died will meet in heaven. How will we feel (oh God help us over there!) when we become acquainted with our benefactors, whom we do not know by sight down here.

While preaching the word of God and distributing the many items, our strength was somewhat exhausted and noon and mealtime were drawing near, so the special ceremony with the children was postponed until one oclock, but they were also present for everything that was being undertaken for their parents through the word of God, prayer, and the distribution. This surely made some salutary impression on their tender hearts with the blessings of God. When the signal was given, large and small children assembled in my spacious room; the ones who could not walk yet were led or carried by their mothers or fathers. After the song: Nun dancket alle Gott . . . etc. had been recited and sung for them, the larger ones were catechized about the previously mentioned verse: God doeth great things for us. . . and instructed that our dear God has shown so much good to them by holy baptism that I did not know whether He could show them an even greater kindness. For the triune God, the supreme Good, has given Himself to them as their eternal possession, their souls and bodies being temples of God and the Holy Spirit, however plain they might look from outside. Parents should know that they have very dear treasures and pledges in their lambkins; in this intent it is not said of pious parents: Alas for you, but Well for you, ye are well off. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. It is also said: If thou hast grace, then blessing comes upon thy house. God really lives in the already baptised children, therefore they cannot lack blessings and well-being if only their unfaithfulness and weak flesh will not drive away the blessings and will not spoil the children again through nuisance and lack of watching and praying.

The larger children were heartily admonished to pray, to struggle, and to make use of the often given advice to renew their bond of baptism. Then they will understand and know by experience what it means: God doeth great things for us. After the prayer a child recited the twenty-third psalm, and another one said the Lords prayer and we all finished with the Doxology: The name of the Lord be praised and . . . etc.; and they received the blessings and at last everybody received his gift. Many parents attended this ceremony. A man was very sorry that he did not bring his child, who stayed home with its sick mother. We have not had such successive blessed hours as these today for a long time. May our dear God reward in time and eternity those who have contributed to it by their gifts. We believe our benefactors will like to read in this diary the names of those, young and old, whom they have refreshed with their benefits. Therefore we will note them here:

Names, First, of Adults both Married and Unmarried

Ruprecht Kalcher

Margar. Kalcher

Margaretha Schwaighoffer, widow

Georg Sanftleben

Veit Landfelder

Ursula Landfelder

Thomas Pichler

Margaretha Pichler

Ruprecht Steiner

Maria Steiner

Leonhard Crause

Barbara Crause

Hans Flerl

Anna Maria Flerl

Johann Kornberger

Gertraut Kornberger

Dorothea Arensdorff, widow

Peter, her son

Matthias Brandner

Maria Brandner

Johann Pletter

Elisabeth Pletter

Martin Lackner

Margaretha Lackner

Simon Reiter

Magdalena Reiter

Maria Gruber, widow

Thomas Gschwandel

Sibilla Gschwandel

Andreas Grimmiger

Anna Maria Grimmiger

Bartholomus Rieser

Maria Rieser

Ruprecht Eischberger

Maria Eischberger

Georg Schwaiger

Eva Regina Schwaiger

Heinrich Bishop

Frederica Bishop

Christian Leimberger

Margaretha Leimberger

Dorothea Helffenstein, widow

Hans Schmidt

Catharina Schmidt

Peter Reiter

Gertraut Reiter, the widow Steiner

Matthias Burgsteiner

Agatha Burgsteiner

Ruprecht Zittrauer

Anna Zittrauer

Friedrich Mller

Anna Christain Mller

Georg Kogler

Barbara Kogler

Christoph Rottenberger

Catharina Rottenberger

Anna Maria Rieser

Paulus Zittrauer

Margaretha Zittrauer

Ruprecht Zimmermann

Margaretha Zimmermann

Veit Lemmenhofer

Maria Lemmenhofer

Thomas Bacher

Maria Bacher

Hans Maurer

Catharina Mauer

Gabriel Maurer

Elisabeth Maurer

Joseph Ernst

Maria Ernst

Matthias Zettler

Elisabetha Catharina Zettler

Maria Anna Rheinlnder, widow

Christian, her son

Christoph Ortmann

Juliana Ortmann

Mr. Thilo, Medicus

Frederica Thilo

Maria Magdalena Rauner, widow

Martin Herzog

Jacob Schartner

Carl Flerl

Gottlieb Christ

Christian Riedelsperger

Christian Hesler

Carl Sigismund Ott

Joseph Leitner

Bartholomus Zant

Johann Paul Mller

Michael Rieser, Bart. Riesers oldest son

Barbara Mauer

Ambrosius Zblin )

from St. Gall

Jacob Zblin)

Hans Krsy Appenzell

Engel Koller, his kinswoman

The following have come to the congregation.

Hieronymus Salomo Ade, shoemaker

Margaretha Ade

Martin Ksemeyer

Catherina Ksemeyer

Catharina Custobader

Heinrich Hamilton, English schoolmaster

Regina Charlotta Hamilton

Friedrich Ludwig Nett

Elisabetha Magdalena Nett

Michael Schneider

Elisabeth Schneider, Sanftlebens sister

Catharina Holzer

Susanna Haberfehner

Johann Georg Schneider

All these men and women, youths and girls, one hundred fourteen persons all together, have received linen, shirts, cotton-printed tablecloths, bibs, black and blue linen, likewise colored calico for aprons, shoes, stockings, caps, fustian, thread, ribbons, spoons, clasps, and other items. Everybody received his portion of one thing or the other, more than one pound Sterling in value for each. Because the Lord also blessed His word in their souls and some edifying books were distributed too, as well as the gifts mentioned, everybody went home with full load and happy in body and soul. Also we two, our helpmeets, and our children, have received a considerable gift of green-printed and white household linen cloth at the order of our benefactors from Augsburg. May our merciful God reward them richly in time and eternity. Our Lord, the almighty and allgracious heavenly Father, knows His people, including our very true and dear benefactors who have given more joy to all of us in the community than we have ever had before at Ebenezer with their gifts of books, medicines, and various items of clothing.

The very beautiful green printed linen cloth was sent especially for us, our wives, and our children by unknown benefactors; and therefore we wish to render our very special and hearty thanks for it. The hope greens in my heart that everything will turn out well at Ebenezer spiritually and physically, so that the name of our great Immanuel will be celebrated by all members of our congregation, small and large, according to the promise of Jeremiah 32:31-34. To attest such well-founded hopes, I intend to have both my sons, Samuel Leberecht and Gotthilf Israel, dressed in green from this gift we have received, and as long as God grants me life I will teach them with His grace to pray for all known and unknown benefactors, that our true God, who keeps faith eternally and does not destroy the hopes of His children, even if they be young infants and babies, will fulfill what is said in Psalms 92:13-16: The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the Lord is upright: He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

II. The Children of Both Sexes

Ursula Kalcher

Maria Kalcher

Maria Magdalena Kalcher

Maria Schweighoffer

Thomas Schweighoffer

Ursula Schweighoffer

Agatha Landfelder

Maria Pichler

Johann Gottfried Pichler

Christian Steiner

David Steiner

Hanna Flerl

Maria Kornberger

Sophia Arnsdorff

Maria Margaretha Arnsdorff

Dorothea Arnsdorff

Maria Brandner

Elisabeth Pletter

Hanna Lackner

Maria Magdalena Reiter

Johannes Gruber

Margaretha Gschwandel

Catharina Grimmiger

Balthasar Rieser

George Rieser

Catharina Eischberger

Johann Eischberger

Friedrich Helffenstein

Christian Helffenstein

Jacob Helffenstein

Jeremias Helffenstein

Johannes Helffenstein

Barbara Schmidt

Sara Steiner

Johannes Burgsteiner

Maria Kogler

Johannes Zittrauer

Jacob Zittrauer

Elisabetha Mller

Maria Magdalena Mller

Susanna Rottenberger

David Rottenberger

Johann Georg Zittrauer

Maria Lemmenhoffer

Maria Bacher

Appolonia Bacher

Elisabeth Maurer

Johannes Maurer

Gottlieb Rieser

Maria Anna Rheinlnder

Johann Martin Rheinlnder

Maria Rauner

Margaretha Huber

Johannes Schneider

Susanna Ernst

Johannes Ernst

Adrian Krusy

Maria Anna Koller

Friedrich Ade

Johann Heinrich Ade

Clemens Ksemeyer

Dorothea Ksemeyer

Catharina Heinrich)

Juliana Heinrich)these are five

Elisabeth Gebhart)serving girls

Eva Gebhart)

Barbara Waldhauer)

Samuel Leberecht)

Gotthilf Israel) our children

Hanna Elisabeth)

Israel Christian)

All these children, from the most tender infant to the children of fourteen and fifteen years of age, seventy-one in number, have received stockings, skirts, shirts, linen cloth for shirts, kerchiefs, caps, small knives, and one and another thing to their childlike joy. And since we also prayed with them and for them, the Lord will accomplish His word from the eighth Psalm among us too: Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of mine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy, . . . etc. May God bless all these prayers sent to Him today so that the benefactors may be crowned with thousandfold blessings and that from this country and from dear Germany all enemies and the vengeful may be destroyed, if they do not wish to humiliate themselves before the highest Ruler of all countries, Jesus Christ.

Adults and children who died at Ebenezerfrom 1739 to 1741

Adults

1739 Joh. Caspar Ulich 30 years old

Elisabeth Heldt 41 years

Peter Heinrich 50 years

Anna Schneider 32 years

Gert. Lackner 30 years

1740 Peter Gruber 40 years

Magd. Haberfehner 16 years

1741 Simon Steiner 50 years

Children

1739 Catharina Schwaiger 6 weeks

Matthias Schneider 2 days

Maria Eischberger 2 days

1740 Elisabeth Craus 2 days

Ruprecht Burgsteiner 4-1/2 years

Mar. Cathar. Schwaiger 3 days

Hanna Elisabeth Thilo 15 weeks

Tuesday, the 2nd of June. Before, during, and after the edification hour at the plantations I had great pleasure from the spiritual blessing that was revealed yesterday in the congregation. The same was experienced by my wife, whom I took along for some exercise and recreation because of her lasting infirmity; various people revealed to her with great emotion the great good that our Lord has granted them. At the end of the lesson, in which a beautiful letter from Mr. Urlsperger of 2 February of year was read, some men stayed behind and not only told me what I should write to their relatives in Prussia and Lithuania,5 but also asked me, being deeply moved with gratitude because of the recent benefactions, to draft a letter of thanks in their name to those benefactors through whose hands our loving God let flow these gifts upon us (which are very valuable according to the standards of this place). Kogler in particular came to me and said I should tell dear Mr. Urlsperger that God gave us a general awakening yesterday; he knows that, etc. In town I am likewise asked to write a letter of thanks because both young and old people have received so very much good this time.

The books, which were also distributed, are of great joy to them, as they revealed with powerful words; and we should not forget to thank especially for these beautiful gifts. One of the people said he would not give away what he has gotten even for 30 shillings Sterling. (Another one said that the late Arndts sermon book means more to him than two or three pounds Sterling), although he is a very poor man and does not even have one pence at home. Although I was rather weak in the evening because of exhausting emotional work, our mighty and at the same time good God noticeably strengthened my body and mind in todays evening prayer hour, in which the previously mentioned letter from Mr. N. [Senior Urlsperger] was made useful to the congregation. How many salutary awakenings we receive from such letters, how many reminders of previously received blessings of God through which He has saved us from many afflictions and granted us ineffably much good. How much comfort and strengthening in faith we receive from letters like that! How comforting to us that someone is writing for us Gods most powerful promises which fit our external and internal circumstances and that we often read that people are praying for us very diligently before God.

This trusting and constant prayer of Gods servants and children is useful not only to us but also to this whole country at the present time of war, although scarcely one out of a hundred will realize it. This shall be written for the generation to come; and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord [when they read the recorded special proofs of Gods grace upon the little band of Ebenezer 1, Psalm 102. With the comforting dictis biblicis6 mentioned in the letters, like: If thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God, likewise, He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, etc., I reminded the listeners again of our text at the commemoration festival, Isaiah, If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. But if ye refuse . . . etc., whereupon I remembered what somebody had told me about a Negro slave who had run away but was found again. He was afraid his masters would kill him and throw him into the water, therefore he preferred to run away. However, he was assured that no one would kill him, because this is prohibited by the book of God (that was shown to him): Whoso sheddeth mans blood, by man shall his blood be shed, etc., whereupon the Negro answered: This book does not lie, it always tells the truth. . . etc. This I told the listeners so that the careless would be ashamed, do atonement, and earnestly learn to believe that the Bible does not lie and that God is really true in fulfilling His threats and promises.

Wednesday, the 3rd of June. [Ernst has dislocated his left hand. To be sure, he has used the prescribed medicines; but, since the injury was not examined, it got much worse. I urged him to ask other persons who understand something about the injury to take care of him to prevent it from getting worse. Yesterday Mr. Thilo tried to pull the hand asunder and to set it again, whereby he had to use force. Consequently it was very painful, since they had waited too long already and had tried to help, without setting it, by bleeding, bandages, and compresses. He wished this morning to get some Schauers Balm, in addition to which Mr. Thilo wanted to prepare for him in order to cure the swelling and the pains. He also inquired about the chapter of Arndts book of True Christianity, which had been read in public on Monday and had slipped his memory. I told him it was from Book XXII, item 79, the beginning of which fits him very well; I read it to him with the request that he realize that, by this punishment, God does not seek anything else but to lead him to the realization of his grave sins and to true atonement. If Gods intention is reached, it will be to his benefit, if not, God will be even harder than before.]

N. [Ernst] told me so many good things about himself that I hope God will win this formerly very bad man too, whereupon a special joy would certainly arise in heaven and on earth. Whoever knows this mans spite and the terrible curses he makes to hush up his spite will see the divine jus talionis7 from these and other circumstances I have mentioned. Since he has given some hope of improvement by an eager use of the means of salvation and by his and his wifes better behavior, he and his wife and two children have received their share of the distributed gifts as plentifully as the others. May he be led to atonement by Gods grace.

N.N. [unmarried Barbara Maurer] has also behaved more properly for some time, so one can say that there is more hope for her true improvement than before. The books and gifts we have received have now led her dissolute and obstinate mind closer to us and our ministry. May the Lord have mercy on all people so that our kindest and holy God will not need to proclaim the accusing and threatening words upon us, Psalm 95:10-11 (which will be the introductory words on the coming Second Sunday after Trinity) : It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways, unto whom I sware . . . etc.

Thursday, the 4th of June. A short time ago Colonel Stephens in Savannah gave to me twelve grape vines that he had received from Madeira. They had come into leaf already; and, since one did not take the right care of them during the journey or in Savannah, the sprouted buds dried up again. I had them planted according to the benefactors wish, and today I saw to my astonishment that three of them were sprouting again very nicely. The vine expert who had to plant them had also doubted they would sprout, because they were only vine branches without roots and the sprouted buds were withered. According to the opinion of knowledgeable people this is an excellent country for grape growing; therefore the German people in Savannah cannot find words enough in their letters to their families on the Rhine and in the country of Wurttemberg to tell what a wonderful wine country this is. In Savannah a hat-maker and a smiths wife showed me their little gardens beside their houses; there I could not help marveling at the quantity of grapes, their size, and lovely looks. The best method here to get many large grapes quickly is to graft on wild vines. They do not care about the species of the wild vines but transplant them from the woods, where any quantity is available, into the gardens and graft a good cutting on them the next year. This bears quite amazing fruit, sometimes already the first year, but certainly the next.

We already have so many domestic grape vines in our little house garden that a great quantity of wild vines could be grafted. We could not give much attention to them up to now; and this spring we had them trimmed (as we now learn) by a rather unskilled hand, who cut away what should have remained and let remain what should have been cut away. Therefore my dear colleague has a few rather nice grapes, but I have none at all. Dear Mr. von N. [Mnch] has sent us some money; and, since he himself is a great lover of grapes, I intend to spend some of it shortly for cultivating vines so that, if God grants us life, we can send him the good news as to how it is growing at our place.

The old Swiss carpenter Hans Krsy, who has lived at our place for some time and is a great lover of Gods word, had some business with me. I asked him whether he knows the Swiss man whose frivolous letters and lying messages about Georgia and Ebenezer were mentioned in the introduction to the 4th Continuation of the Ebenezer reports. He knew of a man, called N.N. [Gabriel Schlpfer] who, together with his wealthy and pious parents, came to this country from Switzerland and, after his father had died in N. [Charleston] and his mother in N. [Purysburg], returned from a place being established near Savannah Town8 to his fatherland and spread obvious lies there. Here he led a loose life to the great disappointment of his parents. What good can a person like this write or tell?

Friday, the 5th of June. God is sending us the weather we wish with rain, sunshine, and refreshing dew, therefore the crops are very lovely wherever the workers do their part in the sweat of their brow. For N. [Ernst] it is [certainly] a great chastisement that he cannot use his dislocated and very much swollen hand at a time when most of the necessary work has to be done. This he should find useful for meditation and improvement. I believe that, if he would ask some people for help at his work, they would forget the evil he previously caused in the parish and assist him. I can see this from the fact that after the edification hour at the plantations today the foremen and some others emphatically interceded for him and asked me to make arrangements for him to receive medical treatment. I will gladly do all that lies in my power and will spare neither words nor costs and try to do no harm to one side or the other. Twice already they have used the greatest force to set the hand right again, whereby he had to suffer the most excruciating pain, and it seems that nothing is effected thereby. Today another treatment will be used with Mr. Thilos approval, the happy success of which we must commend to our Lord. I hope that it will somewhat change for the better now.

Instead of the letters from Europe we read to the congregation out there today three letters which have been written in their names and at their urgent request. One of them is addressed to the Salzburgers in Prussia and Lithuania, wherein they both give them a brotherly encouragement to take certain steps toward their blessed eternity and also send them a report on their spiritual and physical conditions.9 They also ask them for a message about the circumstances of their own hearts and souls, which we want to apply here by the grace of God to His praise and Christian prayer. The other two letters are letters of thanks to our dear benefactors in Germany, wherein they wish God to reward them for their previous and latest charitable gifts, which the Lord also blessed in their souls. They showed their sincere pleasure in the three letters and thanked me kindly for my small pains. They will now ask God to give His divine blessing for a good passage and a favorable receipt of the same.

Saturday, the 6th of June. In todays house prayer meeting we read the letters of thanks to the assembled persons -- as we did yesterday on the plantations, and afterwards we prayed together over them. Only the letters that we have written this time to our dear Fathers and benefactors in England and Germany are ready now; and during the writing we have noticeably perceived the help of God due to the intercession of our dear listeners. We put these letters (together with some others of the community) with faith into the loving care of our heavenly Father. He will know how to bring them to their destination at the right time, as He has done before, bringing them back and forth. This has often delighted us and strengthened us to rely on His future kindness. Besides the not very thick diary we shall now mail a complete report on the receipts and expenditures of the orphanage and the congregation. From this the benefactors may see how very necessary their charitable gifts have been to us and for how many sorts of things they had to be used.

I hope that our dear benefactors have sufficiently seen from our reports that there is a great difference between the value of money in Germany and here; over there one can buy rather much for a guilder, but here only very little. We hold down the costs of the orphanage as much as possible and also postpone urgently needed purchases for a later time in order to be able to contribute what is absolutely necessary from the gifts toward supporting one and another good institution and relieving whatever hardships occur within the community. In the first establishment of a community whose members are still too poor to contribute something for it and need aid themselves, there are more expenditures than people at other places can imagine. May God be praised for everything!

I was impressed when some pious men proposed that I gather some money little by little in our parish, although we are poor, for the still poorer Malabars. Because they are not supposed to work on Sundays, they have to suffer want of food if they do not receive help through charitable gifts from Europe. We should send them a little comfort, because no one among us is living in circumstances as needy as the newly converted brothers and sisters in faith, disinherited and cast out by their people and also persecuted by Roman Catholics. To our great edification, we had heard the story of the poor and very pious student of Halle who, in his poverty, put aside a little every Sunday for Ebenezer until it finally amounted to an entire ducat. This impressive and apostolically simple example led the above-mentioned men to their Christian intention. However, since I know their and the other Salzburgers poor condition, I assured them that at this time their kind intention will be taken for the deed, we will pray all the more heartily for the mission in East India, which has been started and continued by our Lord, so that our wise and kind God, who keepeth in His hands the hearts, money, and property of all people, may awaken benefactors in all corners of Christendom in our stead to continue to open their generous hands for these institutions.

Sunday, the 7th of June. N.N. [young Kieffer] came to see me after the afternoon service and complained among other things that their Moor, who had run away and then returned, had again run away eight days ago. He is much better provided in every sense than most of the others in Carolina, has only little work, and does not have to fear bad treatment. Since he runs away in spite of all this, N. [Kieffer] sees in it a special chastisement for him and his family that they have drawn upon themselves by acting against Christian doctrine, as they have done for some time. As a Christian, he believes for certain that this is not happening by chance, but by Gods will, and will serve to their best once they turn to Him and love Him more than anything. He regrets that they have saddled themselves with this and also another Moorish slave and put a burden on themselves which is bigger than the profit they receive.

In Savannah people hope (as already mentioned the other day) that the Lord Trustees soon will consent to the petition they have submitted for permission to buy and sell land at discretion and also to use a certain number of Negroes or Moorish slaves for their work as in Carolina and other places. Not without reason I am afraid that the Moors will run away in great number as long as Augustine remains in the hands of the Spaniards, and this will put their masters in need and new debts; for such a slave usually costs twenty-eight to thirty pounds Sterling; and, since they cannot hope for the best treatment in the country, they can probably be kept in good order even less than in Carolina. We hope that the Lord Trustees will grant to our place the privilege that no colonist who might wish to come to our place in the future and take up land will be allowed the said destructive freedom of buying Negroes and making transactions with the land, since this would be dangerous for the loyal people of our community who want to eat their bread in the sweat of their brow, according to Gods commandment. A short time ago a party of Moors in Carolina again rebelled against their masters and caused damage; and in this a Spanish spy is said to have been the leader. Revolts like this have occurred in Carolina several times of late.

Monday, the 8th of June. My dear colleague traveled to Savannah this afternoon together with some Salzburgers to deliver our letters and the diary safely either to Colonel Stephens or to Captain Thomson himself, if he is going directly to London. [We have hurried as much as possible in this because we wished to let our dear benefactors know that their gifts have arrived to the blessing of our souls and have been distributed to the praise of God and general joy, according to the kind intention of the benefactors. Those people who cannot be ready in time with their letters will have to wait for the next occasion. Besides the threefold letter of thanks to the benefactors in Germany and the letters of some Salzburgers from here to their fellow countrymen in Prussia and Lithuania, we have written to the highly esteemed Society, the Lord Trustees, Chaplain Ziegenhagen, Senior Urlsperger, Prof. Francke, Privy Councilor Walbaum, Mr. Berein, Mr. von Mnch, Deacon Hildebrand, and Mr. Laminit of Memmingen. On the one hand we thanked them for the charitable gifts we have received and on the other hand we told them something of our condition of life. At the beginning of a new diary we purposely specify what letters were mailed the previous time so that we can be notified soon if they do not arrive. It is very important to us that our spiritual Fathers and benefactors receive news about our condition from time to time; and, by the blessing of God, this has so far been of manifold use. May God repay with manifold blessings all those who heartily wish the true welfare of Ebenezer and do their best for the promotion of it -- spiritually and materially.]

I told a Christian person that, in the last package to Germany, we sent a specification of the receipts and expenses of all monetary gifts for the orphanage and the community. When I happily mentioned that God had helped me not only to pay all the debts of the orphanage but also to have a little more than three pounds Sterling left for future expenses, he heard with surprise that, in these times of misery and shortage in Germany and almost all Europe,10 God has granted us so much to pay debts made in need and in confidence of His grace. My and other sincere souls were religiously strengthened by what our worthy Senior Urlsperger wrote to us in his edifying letter of 2 February of this year in answer to the news that we had had to incur some debts, relying on the future providence of God: Concerning the debts made on the credit of God, I remembered what St. Paul wrote to Philemon about Onesimo: If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on my account. I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand, I will pay it. 5:18-19. Yes, if you are really caught in such want, just submit an emphatic memorial to our great God. He will surely decree, command, and arrange for help to come to you from near and far.

Likewise it mightily strengthens my and our faith that, in these difficult times, Professor Francke is presenting us with one hundred Reichsthaler from a legacy that God has sent to the orphanage in Halle. In the written report of the year 1740 it says: The number of orphan boys has increased to 120 and of girls to 46, and we have also had to increase the number of tables in the dining room because of the hard times and the many poor students and children. Up to now God has, by His grace, sent us the necessary means and we have not felt any want, although everything is expensive -- may the grace of God be praised for it. While I am writing this with great emotion, I remember from Psalms 92:5-7: For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not: neither doth a fool understand this.

Unfortunately I know from experience that the wonderful goodness of God that is being perceived at the orphanage in Halle is being recognized no more than the priceless blessing in the deserts when the Israelites were given abundant food and drinks every day through the generous and fatherly hand of God without their merit or activity. Here too people say, but not without grave sinning: Quotidiana vilescunt,11 which does not take root in believers, but in simpletons and fools. We are looking forward to the promised reports from the poorhouse in Augsburg in order to hear how our Almighty and merciful God has managed already for several years without capital, also in hard times. This can and will serve us for much good under Gods merciful governance. What a great honor and happiness it is for people whom God has endowed with earthly gifts of fortune to become the blessed instruments by which God shows His wonderful grace from time to time.

Tuesday, the 9th of June. Worthy Mr. R.W. [Councilor Walbaum] has done us a right pleasing favor with his letter of January 30 st.n., since he has not only placed various beautiful reminders for instruction and comfort into the hands of us ministers but also rich material for urging very necessary admonitions upon the hearts of both our converted and our unconverted listeners. The Bona Nova from Gods kingdom, especially from N. [Mecklenburg], are so insinuating that I promise myself great blessings for young and old people of our congregation. Today we have heard only a part of them; but, since very pleasant things were told about a thorough conversion of many persons of both the higher and lower classes, among whom were three Salzburgers, I brought to the attention of those people who can hear such things without a real application the verses Matthew 21:32: John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him; and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not . . . etc. From this one can clearly see for what an end all persons, even respectable people and Laodiceans, should use the example of the conversion of others.

On Sunday we had as an exordium Psalms 95, 10-11, which was very impressive to me with regard to the Salzburgers; and I said the necessary things about it at the plantations too. For just as God led the old Israelites from Egypt and showed them much good in spiritual and physical matters, the Salzburgers have enjoyed the same grace; and, like them, they have caused our dear God much trouble for many years because there are persons among them whose hearts always seek the wrong path and therefore do not want to follow the right way of God. Consequently, as can be seen from the newly received printed diary of 1737, some of us have had to experience what is written: So I sware in my wrath. They shall not enter ... etc. or as it is said in the gospel: I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Today as on Sunday, after I read part of the above mentioned letter, they were heartily invited to Gods grace-laden table, which contains the beginning and the continuation of Christianity and real salvation. God demands no more of them than to come not only with their mouths but also with their souls and bodies, upright and sincere from the bottom of their hearts, 2 Corinthians 6:17-18, and become reconciled with God. Thereby they were reminded of the example of the prodigal son and his honest return, from whom his father could not, to be sure, have demanded any less than he actually accomplished to his own salvation and his fathers joy. People have wrong ideas about Christianity and about conversion at the beginning of it; and these do great harm.

A Salzburger heard that I was unable to read the letter he had handed over to me but had mailed it together with the others in haste, so he was afraid that he had written too earnestly and incautiously to one of his close relatives, whereby harm and offense could be caused if the letter should fall into wrong hands. In it he had confessed that he had sinned by hard drinking and by secretly taking some property from his employer in N. [London] (although they were only petty) and that this fact troubled his conscience. Because he knows that others also sin like him and do not make any fuss about it (as he himself did before), he has from his own experience recognized these sins as sins and has admonished others to do atonement, for otherwise they would not be saved. I told him that he should not worry about this letter which I myself could not read: God has given him the grace to write it with honest intent. Now he should commend it in prayer to the providence of God, that He may hold His fatherly hand over his mistakes and make something good out of it through His wisdom and grace. Mr. N. [Senior Urlsperger] receives our and also his letters open for inspection,12 him God has given the wisdom to test everything well: should he find something offensive and injuring in it he would rather put it aside than to mail it. The man was happy to hear that.

[Through lack of experience and bitter feelings about the many trials, we too have written many things in diaries and letters that caused grief and unrest in us afterwards. But up to now God has always shown us that He is the Lord and keeps everything in His hands and that He can also use the mistakes of His well-meaning children for something good.]

After the edification hour at the plantations I had to settle a misunderstanding between two neighbors arising from damage caused by cattle. They had already discussed the matter and made proposals to avert the damage; I told them, however, that they have received not only a mouth but also hands from their Creator; therefore they should not lose their time with words and proposals, but every one of them should handle the matter without blaming the other in order to avoid further harm, as could easily occur. They were sorry for having worried me with their squabble; I was pleased to make peace because it is said by Christ: Blessed are the peace makers, for they ... etc.

A pious mother is very much concerned, under prayers, tears, admonitions, and the careful use of all means offered by God, to miss none of her children at the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ but to find every one of them at the right hand side of Christ. She knows how long our dear God has tolerated her with great patience and that He has finally won her heart, so she hopes that God may at last grant His blessing to all planting and watering that is done for the children so that they will be converted to Him and be saved. If she should not live to see this joy she will be satisfied to hear it in heaven to the eternal praise of God. I had this verse in mind: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and I told her, for her comfort, something about the power of prayer, also with regard to other peoples becoming spiritually well and vivified. James 5:14-16, 19, 20.

Wednesday, the 10th of June. Last night, Mrs. Kogler bore a little daughter, who was baptized this afternoon. N.N. [Christian Riedelsperger] is a vessel of Gods mercy, and more and more he is becoming a tool of His grace; therefore he is not only of great use in the congregation through his humbleness and humility, but is also forced by the love of Christ to pray eagerly for his cousins in N. [Lindau], with whom he formerly conformed to the world and burdened his conscience; and he is trying to do something good for their souls by writing to them. They have recently written something that is more depressing than comforting for him, since they write of their well-being but write nothing of the condition of their souls. Therefore he worries that they are still the same as before and consider their sins small matters. He had a letter written today wherein he is giving them some salutary admonitions by his own example and is also informing them of the grace that God has shown in the conversion of his old mother in Prussia (as we have read in the report from the arch-priest Mr. Schumann) for their awakening and emulation. May God bless these humble yet Christian efforts too.

I visited N. [Ksemeyer] at his plantation, who has been sick for some time. He seems to me more quiet and calm than before; but, because neither he nor she shows any signs of recognition or feeling of the many sins they have surely loaded on their consciences [during their soldier-life] but remain silent when speaking of spiritual things, I find it a bad sign, especially since they are talkative enough when talking of earthly things. They seldom come to the word of God, since N.s [the clockmakers] plantation where they are is rather remote;13 they can read only a little and I do not know how to advise them. May God just lead them to care for their sins and make them weary and burdened, then they will look to ministers and neighbors for an opportunity for edification.

N. [Sanftleben] asked me to visit him if I come to the neighborhood of his plantation. When I came to him and his family today I heard various unpleasant things about the disobedience and bad behavior of his wife /Magdalena/ towards him and her stepmother /Cath. Arnsdorff/, who lives in N.s [Sanftlebens] home. I wish N. [Sanftleben] had been more careful with his marriage, but my advice came too late. I did not want to hear any details at this time, but only reminded her with love and earnestness of what I had read to her and her husband at their marriage from Ephesians 5:22 ff., which are genuine words of God that were written not only for information but also for the practice of obedience. I also read the first verses of Chapter 6 and reminded her to do her duty to her mother, who is well-disposed to her with all her heart, as I could prove to her with examples. I talked to her about these texts with emotion and asked her to bring me her answer tomorrow to the following two questions:

1. Whether she recognizes her behavior towards her husband and her mother as being a sin.

2. Whether she wants to eliminate it, as ordered by Gods grace, and lead a quite different life?

She also goes to the preparation hour for Holy Communion, so I hope to have a good opportunity tomorrow to talk to her again remotis arbitris.14 During this unpleasant business I was quite glad that she did not justify herself but was quiet and ashamed and showed a pleasing demeanor at my departure. Some time ago she eagerly wished to participate at the Lords Table; but, since she was ignorant and we could not perceive any proof of a real beginning of conversion to God, we could not admit her, and this she certainly did not like. People like her do not understand what is good for them; so it would be good if they would accept advice from ministers or experienced Christians.

Thursday, the 11th of June. My dear colleague returned home yesterday afternoon after finding an opportunity to mail our rather large parcel to Europe. Captain Thomson is still there; but he will soon go back to London, this time as a passenger [and will take our letters and the parcel from Colonel Stephens to the Lord Trustees]. Since he [the Captain] could not find a cargo anywhere, he has sold his ship to somebody who does business in the West Indies. He intends to purchase a bigger one, in which he can bring over two hundred people next time.15

[Some time ago I wrote a letter to General Oglethorpe and informed him of the reasons why the minister desired for Frederica could not yet be sent to us and asked for further instruction what to do. I also asked him to pay our Salzburgers, who are still in need of help, at least half of the promised shilling on every bushel of their crops harvested in 1739 although others have received two shillings for every bushel as encouragement. I do not know why I have received no answer.

[Mrs. Schweiger and Mrs. Bischoff (two sisters)16 have tried everything possible to persuade their little sister at the orphanage to induce me by urgent requests to permit her to move to Mrs. uSchweigers plantation; and, because I was approached by her and Mrs. Schweiger several times, I finally agreed after many representations. The benefactions of the orphanage are not imposed on anybody. If anyone does not wish to enjoy them with humble and hearty thankfulness, then we would rather let him go as is customary; this is also known to everyone, both adults and children.]

Now God is sending us a German [orphan] girl /Magdalena Meyer/ from Savannah. It was mentioned already the other day that she was with a Salzburger at our place some time ago and was diligent at school and was urged to do good things by her host. However, when, for good reasons, she had to return to her mother, who is the servant of a merchant in Savannah, the word she heard here began to prove alive in her there so that mother and daughter felt a great desire to be at our place. Because I have good hope for the girls full conversion and also see that she is in danger in Savannah, I have accepted her in the name of God in the place of [the] another girl who has left us.17 An English merchant has also sent his girl of about thirteen years to our place for education and is paying two shillings Sterling a week to the schoolmaster Ortmann and his wife, who have assumed the care of the child. I hope these two people will remember the admonitions I gave them to let this girl find a good home with them [otherwise they would not be allowed to keep her for long]. Her father has very honest intentions and wants to have her educated in Christianity and in various tasks and also prepared for the praise of God, the service of her fellow men, and her own salvation.

Three or four years ago our people received a number of plum trees from Purysburg, and they enjoyed some plums already last year; this year, however, they received a quantity of plums of different kinds. The trees multiply so abundantly that I have never seen the like with other, even wild, plants. The roots run back and forth from every little tree and often sprout again, so that from only one tree we can have a whole house garden like ours full of trees and bushes in about two years, and all of them bear fruit within a short time. They have a good taste when they are ripe and can take the place of German plums while we are waiting for seeds in order to plant the German varieties too. We never heard that they are injurious to the health even of little children. Fashionable people in Germany would certainly like to make a hedge of this kind of plum, as can easily be done here. Next fall we will send a couple of kernels or stones as well as other requested seeds to Mr. von Mnch and to another benefactor in Switzerland.

Friday, the 12th of June. I visited N.N. [the Austrian Grimmiger] and his wife /Anna Maria/before todays edification hour with the intention of expostulating with him and especially with her on their persistence in impenitence and faithlessness toward the preached gospel about the free grace of God which is established and offered to all sinners by Christ. However, when I entered their hut, God directed my mind to ask first about their attitude toward each other and their child, which had been very bad, as well as about their religious exercises and present state of heart. The usually crude wife [who had spent most of her life as canteen-woman with rough soldiers]18 thanked me with tears for helping her come from Savannah to our place where God by His word is opening her eyes more and more and is also giving what she and her husband need in the way of food and necessities. She also asked my pardon for having previously offended me by contradiction, rudeness, and in other ways, because I always spoke too hard and dashed her belief and hope (which was a null anyhow). She has, she said, considered herself to be better than she really is: I should talk to her and her husband often; they regard this as a special merit and will happily accept my words.

I encouraged them movingly, showed them the way to their salvation, admonished them to an eager association with other pious neighbors who had been helpful to him before his marriage and had furthered his knowledge of himself and the way to eternal glory. I also opened their Bible to the pithy verse of Ezekiel 36:26 and read it to them several times with the comment that I would gladly visit them often again if, with constant humble prayer, they would let God give them all the good included in it. If they will really convert, they will get the wisdom to bring up their naughty little girl to the Lord in fear and admonition. [It seems to me that the man has a dangerous physical ailment; and, because he is too bashful to visit the doctor, I had to encourage him in a friendly and earnest manner to do so. I have had no opportunity up to now to talk to Mrs. Sanftleben again, because she became sick during yesterdays preparation hour and had to leave before the end.

[The water in the Savannah River and the mill river is very low now. Since the dike and the tributary streams, which were built during the cold time of the year, could not be properly repaired at all places and also because more bushes, sand, and soil have to be added to the dike, the men arranged after the edification hour to start this repair together next Monday, God willing. They will also need boards, which will be bought with the monetary blessing we received lately.

[Some people had promised their assistance to Ernst, who is strongly handicapped because of his dislocated hand. But, since the mill-work has precedence, I was glad that he is satisfied with the postponement of this assistance to a further date, which is quite against his temper and nasty nature. It seems that God is bringing this rough man to humility, to quietness, and to a salutary meditation. How much joy will be in heaven and on earth if he is converted sincerely together with his wife. He was very sorry that he was not at home the day before yesterday when I tried to visit him.]

Saturday, the 13th of June. [For some time God has been placing various illnesses and sufferings on Mrs. Rheinlnder, and He wishes to let her feel what misery and trouble it will bring if she leaves the Lord her God and does not break away from her sins by a real conversion. Since the last damage she suffered from fire, she had, among others, many inconveniences and troubles with her son, who considers the piety she has hitherto pretended to be dissimulation, especially because she made believe, despite her rather large stock of money, that she was poor and let her children suffer want. Now in his excesses he wants to listen even less than before to her reproaches and chastisements although they are taken from the word of God; and he is behaving with words and works in a very rough, obstinate, and disobedient way. Yesterday morning she told me of his rude words, whereby I impressed upon her her childrens previous miserable and wretched upbringing, of which she now sees the fruit. She realized it well and complained of her blindness, etc. Last night I ordered her son to meet me this morning; and, when he turned up I told him (without mentioning any special matters, because it easily justifies excuses if one does not hit all the points accurately) how shocked I am about his unthankful and impudent behavior against his own mother, who bore him and raised him with great effort. I told him that his terrible sins, committed the other day and now again, and the punishments that will follow without fail, are causing me great grief and horror.

[I not only reminded him of the fourth commandment and the curse it carries for all disobedient children, but also cited as a lesson the terrible punishment of the shoemaker Arnsdorff, who perished in the water at Purysburg three years ago, about whom the Third Continuation tells some deplorable things, as a warning to all disobedient sons and daughters, even to grown-up ones. Furthermore I told him about Gabriel Bach, who perished miserably before Augustine and who had not behaved better in Memmingen toward his people and here toward his ministers, and I quoted the verse: The eye that despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out . . ., etc. I therewith admonished him heartily to do atonement, because it is not enough for him to change for the better outwardly, rather the former sinful condition must be extinguished in the blood of Christ through a righteous atonement.

[I also told him that I will write down his former annoying behavior by which he also scandalized his small brothers and sisters and drew down upon himself the threatening punishment in Matthew 18. Should he not accept the hearty and friendly advice given him, the time will come sooner or later when I will also have to write down the judgments that befall him. He did not deny his behavior, but imputed a great deal of the fault, or the cause of it, to his mother. However I did not accept this, because children, without exception, must honor their parents with obedience and love, and in this case the mother all the more, since she is a widow. At last I knelt down with him and showed him how he should humble himself before God because of his wickedness and seek his grace for Christs sake. I also had to apply to him what he had heard on Sunday in the sermon and on Monday in the prayer meeting about the words: It is a people who do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. Unto whom I sware in my wrath ... etc. Psalms XCV, for the application of which a very important example pertinent to this point was read at that time.]

N. [Mrs. Sanftleben] assured me after todays preparation hour that her quarrel with her husband and mother is finished and that she now wishes to obey.19 I told her how well both of them mean it with her soul, but she could not realize this because of the not yet crucified old Adam. I told her it was an especially great benefit for her not to be admitted to the Lords table as quickly as she wished, because great precaution is necessary in this matter; and I opened 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, read and explained it, and gave it to her to take home. To show her my hope of her becoming another woman, I also presented her with two booklets that should be useful to her, her husband, her mother, and the other housemates; and she was very glad of this. Her mother has told her about the unhappy death of her husband in the water at Purysburg [because her father is the aforementioned Arnsdorff] and his preceding sins. In warning her, I referred to these sins, especially in respect of his misuse of Holy Communion in spite of all my precautions; and she very well understood this.

Sunday, the 14th of June. Our dear God has granted us very comfortable weather and much edification from His holy gospel, for which our dear listeners have also assembled in large numbers. The walk from the plantations to town every fortnight to the sermon and catechization is being richly rewarded by the grace of God for those who carry with them a heart eager for the pure milk. Because of the repetition hour the people living in town have a certain advantage over the ones on the plantations, since these have to travel home shortly after the afternoon service because of their cattle and other circumstances. /Theobald/ Kieffer of Purysburg and his son-in-law /Zettler/ were also with us last night and today; and our dear God probably gave much edification again especially to Kieffer, as He has done before. At the prayer meeting last night Kieffer also heard a glorious gospel, which was preached to the poor from the first very important sermon by our worthy Mr. N.N. [Senior Urlsperger] about Hebrews 10:23, which was sent in manuscript. We will still make use of it in various prayer meetings with the help of the Holy Spirit. Since God began to make old Mr. Kieffer a vessel of His mercy, He is also making him a tool of His grace, as he not only manages his house well but also tries to do good in humility and innocence in Purysburg and its surroundings with edifying books and by spreading all the good that has been given him.

[We have received some edifying books and treatise from Pastor Lucius20 that Mr. Kieffer has requested in order to lend them to Reformed people, who may be better able to derive something from books by the ministers of their church. May God bless this.]

Monday, the 15th of June. In my house prayer hour that I hold on Mondays and Saturdays with some members of the congregation, I have twice read to them something about the course of life of the late Pastor Freylinghausen and made it useful for myself and for them. This servant of God is especially dear to me, because God let such great blessing flow upon me through his ministry and example that I have detected its use in my ministry and Christianity in many ways up to now. His books, of which I would like to have more, are dearer to me than others because I have heard him deliver his sermons myself; and when reading them now I can once again vividly imagine his gentle evangelical loving nature. Through his words the Lord always came with a soft whisper and a gentle but penetrating rain.

This morning I visited N. [Sanftleben] again but did not find his wife /Magdalena/ at home, for whose sake I had actually come. She had been sent to town on business. I directed him and her mother /Catherina Arnsdorff/ to appeal to God for wisdom to accomplish in her what may further her thorough conversion according to the example of our heavenly Father, who works on us more with kindness and patience than with severity.

N. [Mrs. Sanftleben] I encouraged separately after the preparation hour; and, since she realized that she had been carried away by her emotions even against her will and in spite of her good intentions, I explained to her the verse: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

N. [Ernst] was not at home either, so I encouraged his wife /Sabina/, and said that she and her husband, for whom she attested great diligence in hearing Gods word and in praying, should be serious now in freeing themselves from their old sins and turning to God through Christ and the dear grace gained by Him, so that they will become quite different persons. Then, in spite of their poverty, they will come to know what pious Tobias hopefully told his son: We have become poor, but you have great wealth of your fear of God. . . etc.

Tuesday, the 16th of June. N. [Mrs. Landfelder] had some business to do with me on account of her husband; and this gave me a good opportunity to ask her about her spiritual condition. I have been in front of her dwelling several times but met neither her nor her family, because there is much work to do now in the fields. She still thinks she has done atonement because she has felt repentance and sorrow about her sins; but she can scarcely be convinced that her heart is still clinging to the world, and therefore she never has experienced in her heart a real contrition about [any and each of] her sins by which our good and pious God is offended. Her anger, quarrelsomeness, willfulness, worldly love, etc., are caused, in her opinion, only by overgreat hurry and weakness, for which she apologizes to our dear God because they are, as I showed her from Galatians 5, works of the flesh and exclude one from the kingdom of God as the other great sins mentioned there do too. Besides her obvious love of the worldly, it is another sign of her lack of contrition that the unconverted among us are very dear to her. On the other hand she avoids the acquaintance of and association with the [regenerated and] pious believers among us. Indeed, she recognizes few as being such, but considers herself to be as good if not better than the rest. John 5:1.

I illustrated to her as far as possible the dangerous situation in which she and her family live and asked her to believe in truth what Holy Scripture says of her situation, i.e. that, according to John 3:36 and Matthew 5:8, it is exceedingly dangerous. Since she cannot realize and believe it without the Holy Spirit, this much is certain: I know her better than she herself according to Gods word and I do not wish to deceive her, so she should implore the Lord to let her realize and believe that she is miserable, deplorable, naked, blind, and bare, yea, even dead. If she will not learn to recognize her situation in this way, she will only hear the sermons with ignorance and without any profit, yea even with false application and therefore to her own harm.

Wednesday, the 17th of June. I visited the workers at the mill, of whom several transported material yesterday and the day before yesterday in order to strengthen the dike even better than before and to bank up the tributaries, a work that is going well with the present low water.

I also visited N. and N. [the wives of Gabriel Maurer and Schmidt], who live side by side, and I was satisfied that they love each other as neighbors and Christians and have continued unbroken the friendship they began some time ago. I told N. [Mrs. Maurer] several things about the verses in Matthew 3: Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance, likewise, And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees. . . etc. After my previous admonishments she and her husband are more diligent than before in reading, praying, and repeating the divine truths which have been preached and heard; and, since she and her husband have very good examples in N. [Mrs. Schmidt] and her husband, I hope they will finally come to a real essence of Christianity.

Our dear God is continuing the work of grace he has begun in Mrs. Schmidt; the confession of her spiritual condition she made to me today was very pleasing. She exalts the truth of God she has received to a higher region, praises Him because of His patience and indulgence, and considers herself quite unworthy of receiving physical and spiritual blessings [from God]. She recognizes her poverty and other miserable condition and household as blessings aimed at her salvation, and she wishes to become smaller and smaller, even to become nothing, so that her Lord and Savior can become great, yea, all and everything in her. She thinks highly of the children of God and learns from their prayer, conversation, and way of life as much as she can, so she told me many good things about N. [Mrs. Kornberger], about her eager prayer, her contentedness, humbleness, praise of God, etc. She had recently called on her although she lives [quite] at the other end of the community. For her husband, who is sometimes dispirited in his housekeeping and field work because of his weakness and other difficulties, she knows how to make use of the help she has received from God to strengthen his faith so that she is a real good companion for him. However, at first she seemed to be a burden, so to speak, both in external life and in Christianity. This she sometimes remembers with shame, as she is doing today.

Thursday, the 18th of June. [The two Zueblis /Ambrosius and Jacob/ went to Mr. Whitefields plantation and orphanage two months ago in order to earn some money there; a few weeks ago Mrs. Helffenstein told me that her son also feels inclined to go and work there for some time, but I could not approve of this, since I know his bad spiritual condition. She was of the same opinion I was and was content for me to advise against it when he comes to get my approval. Now she tells me that he himself altered his opinion. He has sinned against his mother just as Rheinlnder did and has not started atonement, although he has been visiting the preparation hour for Holy Communion for some time and also some other occasions for his edification. I told this widow that I noticed that the judgments of God have come down upon the old and persistent sinners of our parish, especially when they left our community for earthly advantages and went to other places, by which they excluded themselves from the means of salvation and the prayers the faithful in Europe send up to the Lord for our place and our congregation. Therefore it would not have been a good sign if her son had turned to another place with his old rebellious heart.]

I was told that a certain person [this woman] is reading questionable books, therefore I asked her about it at this opportunity. She assured me that she does not read any other books than those that concur with the word of God and the Christian doctrine as preached by us. However, she named a certain Theologia mystica by a not very sincere man, and she confessed that many good things but also some obscure and rather far-fetched ideas can be found in this book. I told her that I have not read this book (because I do not read books in which good and suspicious matters are mixed together, since God has plentifully provided us with other good books), but I do know that this man does not have correct principles in many respects. Therefore a solid mind, calm and grounded in the pure doctrine and divine application, is necessary for understanding his books. Then I read her what the late Pastor Freylinghausen explains in his own curriculum vitae, p. 35, about the danger of being misguided to a false dogma in the main principles of Christianity under a very good semblance. Its conclusion impresses me greatly when he writes: Of all the sins that troubled me, none was so grievous (indeed, I felt almost only this one) as the fact that I had tried to achieve in myself what I could already have had in Christ and should have accepted in faith. From that time on this has become ever dearer and sweeter in my heart. . . The justification that comes from the law helps me not at all. Whoever trusts in his own works will be miserably misled. The works of our Lord Jesus alone can bring me salvation, ... I seize them in faith.21

Towards evening God sent us an unexpected and very fruitful rain all of a sudden that refreshed the crops very much after the dry weather we have had. Everybody has good hope of getting a rich harvest with the blessings of the Almighty and thus a good reward for all the heavy fieldwork.

Friday, the 19th of June. Last Tuesday and again today my dear colleague held the edification hour for me at the plantations and benefited the listeners with the two important sermons of dear Mr. N. [Senior Urlsperger] on Hebrews 10:23, from which our merciful God has given us many blessings and lessons on some very necessary points.

This morning I traveled together with the manager of the orphanage and another Salzburger to the orphanages cowpen in order to preach the word of God there to N. and N.N. [the herdsmen /Michael/ Schneider and his wife /Elisabeth/], who, in their own eyes, are full of justification and quite redeemed. This I did on the very important text in the Revelations of St. John 3:14-18, by which [not only] their great misery [and their deplorable blindness] was presented to them, but also the way to be saved and the great salvation connected with it; and we prayed for this with them and the two traveling companions. They come to church only seldom and plead both the long way and their work and other things as an excuse. We presented them with the Bible and Arndts Christianity and admonished them to read them with diligence and to be obedient to the admitted truth of God. The herdsman takes his profession very conscientiously, guards the cattle like his own, and is well content with the subsistence he gets as food and clothes from the orphanage. He was previously one of the herdsmen on the plantations, but the Salzburgers grew tired of him, let him go, and took the orphanage herdsman, Schartner, in his place, which was to our and their benefit. For, as an unmarried [dissolute] man, Schartner fits the people on the plantations better; and this N. [Schneider] suits the orphanages cattle better, since he has a wife and would like to have his own household.

He has planted a fine piece of land here, manured plentifully by the cattle, with corn, beans, pumpkins, and melons for his own use; and we were amazed that there was not a drop of rain yesterday in this region. The hut and the kitchen and pens for the cattle are situated right on the path from Abercorn to Old Ebenezer; and we have reason to thank God that no harm or annoyance has been caused to these people and their household either by Englishmen or by Indians, although the former often pass this way and the latter sometimes linger about there. Furthermore, the two people are always healthy, otherwise the orphanage would have many inconveniences and expenses. Last winter the above mentioned [dissolute] Schartner let his entire herd become scattered to the four winds, and ten head are still missing up to now and cannot be found anywhere. Most of the cattle belonging to the orphanage are still young and therefore not suitable for slaughtering this coming autumn. Perhaps our dear God will send us something so that we can buy some meat for the wintertime.

In todays Lectio biblica22 we heard what our true Savior says in Matthew 6: Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. . . Last autumn so many fat bulls from the orphanage cattle could be slaughtered that no meat has had to be bought for a long time, especially since pigs were raised and fattened too. May God be praised also for this physical blessing. The orphanages cattle raising had to be moved to another place far from town and plantations so that the communitys cattle, which are spreading out and increasing, will not lack pasture-land. For the orphanage such distance is rather inconvenient, because a strong man has to walk at least three hours to get there; but it will become much easier when we finally get a couple of horses of our own, which we have humbly requested several times in letters and diaries.

My dear colleague told me that the work at the mill was finished this noon, and we all expect great use from it. Because the water in the river is very low, they carried up a great quantity of coarse sand with wheelbarrows and handbarrows and put it behind the dike where the water had dried up completely, and thus the whole dike, and a large piece of it, was filled up, whereas at first we had to take sandy soil just as we found it. May God hear our prayer and send us some money to enable us to recompense the workers for their great trouble and heavy work, especially because they always need some subsidy for food and clothing. The time they usually take off from their fieldwork in order to earn something by outside work, they have had to spend at the mill up to now.

Saturday, the 20th of June. Among the letters in the chest from Augsburg we found a very hearty and moving one from dear Deacon Hildebrandt in Augsburg, which will be read in todays evening meeting to my own edification and, as I hope, also of others. From the diaries we have sent he has seen what our dear Lord, in His wonderful grace, has done for us in Ebenezer from time to time and how He has established many an Ebenezer here already. Therefore he ardently praises our all-gracious God and Father and wishes from all his heart for us to receive all salvation and blessings from the fountain and abundance of His grace and providence for our spiritual and physical well-being also in the future. Since our dear God has already fulfilled in us many of such hearty wishes and prayers (of which no reasonable person among us will have the slightest doubt), we can believe and hope that all the good that is being wished and prayed for us in this blessed letter and by many other servants and children of God will come richly upon us and that we will be the blessed ones of the Lord always and eternally. May He only help us so that no one among us will lose such benefactions of God through disbelief.

Just as it was very welcome and useful to us for our worthy Deacon Hildebrandt, in his very evangelical and edifying way, to remind us of the great good that our Lord has shown us, it will be very important for us and our congregation in the future to remember often, and also to tell our descendants about, the mercy our Lord has granted us. For this reason I think it necessary to cite here the beginning of the letter, which reads: I praise the Lord above you and your congregation for enabling you to say, The Lord hath led us thus far! He hath helped in and through so many physical ailments and sicknesses; He hath helped in and through so many difficult times; He hath helped in and through so many tribulations; He hath helped so far in and through so many dangers from war and enemies; He hath already helped so many members of the congregation from previous sins and dead works to penitence; He hath helped so many to faith and continued them in it; He hath helped so many to Christian love, to patience, and to hope; He hath helped so many from one strength to another and from one victory to another; He hath already helped so many from death into eternal life and from the misery and wilderness of this life in the poor world into the joy and glory of heaven; He hath helped the shepherd; He hath helped the sheep; He hath helped the widows and orphans; He hath even helped many friends who have come to them for the sake of the gospel. Praise be to God! Praised be His glorious name forever! Praised be the eternal love of our Jesus! May His so precious merits be glorified! Praised be His loyalty and goodness over you in all eternity. Amen, Amen.

This letter, from which I have extracted this arousing remembrance of the goodness of God that has ruled over Ebenezer, is dated 11 October 1740, just the time we were experiencing the Lords help in a most special way during the building of the mill (when there were many trials but also much proof of divine providence); and therefore it was written here too: The Lord hath led us thus far.23 Now he is also helping us to get a church, later on a school; and He will finally redeem us from all evil as He has already done for some of us during this and the past years and will help us to come to His heavenly kingdom, where we will praise Him eternally together with all righteous deceased for all the help we have received in Ebenezer. May He help us and all our dear benefactors, Fathers, brothers, and friends to get there soon so that we can tell [each other], to His eternal praise and our eternal joy, how wonderfully our Lord has helped every one of us in physical and spiritual ways. Hallelujah! God be praised!

Sunday, the 21st of June. My dear colleague told me that our kind God, who is always striving after the salvation of sinners, has again so strongly awakened the wife of N. /Frederica/ [Bischoff] by His word, especially by the proverb: Strive to enter in at the strait gate ... etc. that she humbly realizes and admits her former frivolous character, which was displeasing to God, and made the earnest resolution to hurry up in saving her soul. She also remembered some of the things we put to her from our hearts and consciences at the time she was preparing for Holy Communion, so we hope that this soul too will honestly turn to our Lord and again seek and receive His often rejected grace with prayers and tears. In this way the physical gifts of linen and other things she received from the last distribution will have been well employed [whereas to our sorrow we heard the contrary last week about Mrs. Landfelder. Her disobedience is so great that she causes much offense and sadness not only to her children but also to all honest people in our congregation. I do not, however, wish to report any details at the moment].

We spoke today about the gospel for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity: Concerning the heart of our heavenly Father and His children and as an exordium we had the precious words of Ephesians 5:1-2: Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love. In the second part of the sermon it was pointed out that the children of God should follow their heavenly father in not judging and not condemning, in giving and forgiving as well as in the evangelical work of reforming their neighbors and also in seriousness and Christian zeal, which is also a kind of love. Especially important for ministers are the texts of 1 Corinthians 2:15 and 2 Timothy 2:25-26, which demonstrate the pitiable condition of the obstinate and disobedient people in the congregation and the proper behavior of an honest minister who is struggling for the salvation of his listeners.

Honest Christians and ministers who perform their office on such poor souls will probably have to accept the judgment of those blind people, who do not realize the truth, that they were sinning against the word of Jesus Christ: Judge not . . ., etc.; and they do not see that they themselves are already sinning by their wrong judgment and false application of such sayings. In their case it turns out to be true: If the disciple is like his master, then he is perfect. They believe themselves to be more intelligent than their ministers, they accept no remonstration and correction, they believe themselves to be perfect and not to need the minister and his ministry except as far as he speaks and acts according to their wish. In return they keep to people of their kind; one blind man leads, comforts, and strengthens the other; and at last they both fall into the ditch. We have examples of this already, also among people who have been called to eternity.

[Mrs. Landfelder, Michael Reiser, Mrs. Spielbigler and her son live together in one neighborhood, and one is the Satan and seducer of the other under the guise of friendship. Spielbigler has come back from Charleston where he has worked as a journey-mason; and he attended both divine services today contrary to his former practice, and he could also hear his part.]

After the repetition a very beautiful example was read to illustrate and further apply the material that had been preached, and this brought N.s [his] youthful sins and his former behavior to his conscience. After that God gave many blessings to the listeners.

Monday, the 22nd of June. Burgsteiner saw the doctor because of his child and visited me also, which was as dear to me as if somebody had brought me a great present. For he told me, to the praise of God, that he had a greater blessing from Holy Communion last time than he had ever had before in his life; therefore he is longing for it again and hopes to see and savor again how friendly our Lord is. He is certain of his state of grace and is astonished that he used to think of himself as a good Christian, although his Christianity existed only outwardly. Although he cannot read and is rather simple, he nevertheless knows very well how to rule his house, and he told me something about it at my request which pleased me very much. He also notices it as soon as the grace of God appears in somebody else, and he knows how to make use of it. On the other hand, nobody is his friend who offends God and acts wickedly. He had a letter written to his old father in which he is sending him such satisfactory news about his spiritual and physical wellbeing that tears were running down his cheeks. He marvels and rejoices at the grace of God, which he experienced the other day during the distribution; and he awakens himself and his wife to the praise of God and to eager intercession for the benefactors.

Our dear God has awakened the whole house of Bartholomus Rieser by His word in such a way that I can hope to say soon: He believed, and his whole house. During todays visit the parents and children (except the eldest son, who was not at home) shed many tears and most heartily renewed their resolution to save their souls through Christ by praying, watching, fighting, and hastening. On the eldest son [who up to now was together with Mrs. Rheinlnder and has caused his parents many a complaint] our dear God is also working strongly so that I am not giving up good hope for him.

While reading the diary of 1737 I remember many remarkable ways of grace that God has gone with this and that one of the congregation, both old and young people. He also gives us grace to make a comparison between the former and the present spiritual condition of our listeners and to work on them for their salvation. Our worthy Deacon Hildebrandts letter, which we read lately, made a great impression and gave much blessing to these two old people, who also remembered most pleasantly the very evangelical encouragement they received from him at the poorhouse in various circumstances, to the praise of God and to a necessary pastoral remembrance for me myself. I opened the Bible for the parents to some pithy verses that we came upon during the conversation, and these were recited by the children. For their oldest son I left some verses that fitted present circumstances well. I will also seek an opportunity tomorrow to talk earnestly to him and his likes who lose their way and cause harm by useless and sinful gossip.

Tuesday, the 23rd of June. [Yesterday our dear God sent a spiritual blessing to Zant too; and, since his relatives in Switzerland live at a dark place in ignorance and wrong ways, he thinks forwards and backwards how to warn them of their dangerous condition and to accomplish something for their salvation. He would like to have his mother and brother at our place, of which, however, there seems to be no possibility. He prays eagerly for them and hopes that God, whose ways are marvelous for the salvation of sinners, will show mercy to them as He has done to him and show them the way to escape His anger and be saved. He came to me because he wanted to have a letter written to them, in which he wishes to tell them what mercy our Lord has shown to his soul and how heartily he wishes that they too will arrive at atonement and belief in our Lord Jesus, because without Him they could have no hope of Gods mercy and eternal bliss.]

Before the edification hour at the plantations I visited two families, whom I encouraged to right seriousness in Christianity, the strength for which should be taken from the gospel of Jesus, who attracts all poor sinners to Himself in the friendliest way if something sure, strong, and lasting is to arise therefrom. Men and women remember eagerly what was presented to them; and we soon hear whether they have understood everything and made good use of it. We also hear that some consider bodily afflictions as a blessed means for the furtherance of their Christianity;24 and therefore they recognize them more as blessings than as chastisements. Today we made a beginning again (after reading the letters and news from Europe) to continue the thoughtful story of David in 2 Samuel 11, for which the listeners appeared again in great number. The other day we considered, as cautiously as possible, the ugly and terrible sin against the seventh commandment, which was finally accomplished step by step through the seduction of the sly old serpent and by his own deceitful heart. Through this, God wished to hold a mirror before everyones very corrupted heart, partly to further true atonement, partly for Christian vigilance. Today we heard that the saying of the Holy Spirit through Solomon the wise, Ecclesiastes 7, 30: Lo, only this have I found, that God hath made men upright . . ., etc., but they have sought out many inventions (intrigues and serpentine tricks) is being illustrated and confirmed by the attitude of David and by the attitude of many thousands of people in Christendom.

Sins in general, especially all sorts of impurity, are so detestable to God that He has laid upon them serious temporal and eternal punishments, as can be seen in Leviticus 10:10, Galatians 5:21, and Hebrews 13:4. Indeed, the conscience of a sinner itself finds it ugly, infamous, and blamable; therefore they are committed in the dark and, as long as divine Providence permits, are kept in the dark, so that John 3:20 is proved correct, For everyone who doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to light, lest his deeds . . . etc. The methods that David used, the way he wracked his brain, the trouble and sorrow he had (which perhaps did not let him sleep or eat quietly or fulfill his royal duties, to say nothing of praying) are presented here clearly and piece by piece by the Holy Spirit. He would certainly have looked upon it as a benefit to reach his purpose and to conceal his sin with Bathsheba. However, for the welfare of the two sinners God did not grant this.

On this occasion we made it a matter of conscience for the listeners not to act like this with their secret sins and be secretly glad that nobody knows anything. The eye of God has seen everything. And how will it be at the Last Judgment when even the counsel of the heart will become known! How will our listeners look at each other when secret and not yet atoned sins appear, whereas the sins of the penitents, in whom there is no fault, are being forgiven and forgotten for eternity. Those who have hidden their sins by lies and excuses, even when questioned by their ministers, and plan to apologize to God secretly, cannot promise themselves a favorable hearing and forgiveness. They must confess, otherwise their spirits will be false. Also the sins of getting drunk and also of persuading others to do so were discussed here in their abomination, and for this the important words of Habakkuk 2:15-16 were cited and explained as the meaning that the friendship that one careless comrade shows by persuading the other one to drink is only fury and poison. It is wicked to take away the goods and chattels from somebody, but it is more wicked to rob his brains by hard drink and to bring him into various troubles and misery [that means to seduce him].

After dinner I had four young unmarried people with me who had sinned by all sorts of idle gossip, which was examined and partly settled. If we get after such things soon, then it causes them to behave more cautiously in the future and they get to know the rotten foundation of their hearts.

[Ernst was accused of a secret theft without any grounds; when I examined it today after the edification hour, nothing but suspicion came out; and the man who had accused him and judged carelessly had to testify that, while working for him this time in order to earn some provisions, he (Ernst) has worked better than ever before. He is very likely walking on the path of atonement, may God grant him loyalty and constancy.]

Wednesday, the 24th of June. Already last night I was asked to baptize Brandners little daughter, who was born in the afternoon. This I did and still returned home early enough for the prayer meeting, which concerned the already mentioned story. A Salzburger from the plantations came to me and reported that already in Germany, when he was impeded in his Christianity by too much work even on Sundays, he had resolved, if God would help him to come to Ebenezer, to arrange his household such that his principal occupation would be to seek the kingdom of God and that the execution of his physical occupation would not damage his spiritual condition. However, he must maintain his family and cattle and fieldwork, and he has two little children who hinder his wife from helping him much with the cattle and the fieldwork, and he is unable to find much quiet during the day to pray and read; in the evening all of them are so tired that they are rather distracted from their prayer and contemplation of Gods word, and evidently his wife is especially harmed by this.

When he had a maid and the work was easier, his wifes Christianity seemed to be better, etc. Therefore he asked me to help him get a grown-up girl, he would gladly do everything for her if only she would serve in the housework and with the children so that he and his family could achieve their spiritual purpose [work]. I intend to let him have one of the German girls who were sent over as maidservants, because I know that he will well provide for her soul and body. Her name is Barbara Waldhower, and her parents live in Frederica [and her two sisters lead a disorderly life in Savannah]. She has already served a long time, and she has asked me more than once to bring her to a place where she can become a pious child.

[The often mentioned Mrs. Landfelder, who was married to the deceased Schoppacher, has annoyed this girl and her own daughter by words and deeds; and, since she is growing in malice and there is no hope for improvement, I have consented to said petition and have received her into the orphanage until we might find a good opportunity like this one for her.]

During our worthy Mr. N.s [Senior Urlspergers] second sermon concerning the words Let us hold fast ... etc., Hebrews 10:23, by which he admonished his listeners [the dear Augsburgers] in a most stirring way and with weighty arguments to keep good order, also with regard to rearing their children, I remembered the remarkable and edifying piece Description of an Improved Principality,25 out of which I read them what we need for promoting Christian order, especially the following point: If there were wicked and unintelligent people who were not capable of rearing their children themselves, then their children were taken from them and brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And in this there was no respect for rank, and not even the wealthy and prominent were allowed to spoil their children as they wished; and the prince himself gave the best example of a truly Christian upbringing in the case of his crown prince (just as we have read a right glorious example of the public confirmation of the crown prince of Denmark in the Halle newspapers that have been sent us). One saw in a short time that the children were better grounded in Christianity than the adults were; and, when the adults spoke wickedly, they were modestly admonished by their children. . . . The children, who had formerly committed all sorts of mischief and wickedness in the streets, one now heard speaking of divine matters; and with joy and pleasure one saw them reading Gods word. ...

[I remembered that, on his death-bed at Old Ebenezer, the late Schoppacher had asked my dear colleague to take his only little girl /Maria/, who was very badly cared for by her malicious and provoking mother /Ursula Landfelder/ away after his death. Against this, however, her mother struggled because she has been full of anger, obstinacy, and disobedience right from the beginning and against Gods and mens laws she is treating her present husband, Landfelder, just the same as she did her late husband. We have tolerated it long enough, hoping for improvement; but, since she is becoming more wicked as time goes on and since, because of our overlooking it other people are following in her footsteps too and are trying to disobey good order openly, we have to take the matter seriously now and, if she will not obey, we shall have to get the help of the officials in Savannah. Everybody who has a Christian spirit or fair mind blames me for giving in so much to that obstinate, unruly, and disobedient woman. Things she cannot do herself she tries to accomplish through Michael Rieser and maybe also through Spielbigler and his mother.]

During our discourse the clock-maker Mller and his wife remembered the special proofs of Gods fatherly care in 1737, which they will not forget as long as they live. During the recent distribution he heard, not without tears, the explanation of the saying: He doeth all things for us, because the grace of God is very great whereas our respect and gratitude are still so little. This year our dear God is showing His wonderful grace again: everything that the worms had eaten up three or four times and that had been replanted as often is now growing so very beautifully that he is looking forward to a rather good harvest. Whereas last year the raccoons scratched up and tore down everything, no harm has occurred this year and everything has grown so plentifully that they have to weed out whole armsful of it for the cattle.

Because some annoying matters happened with N. and N.N. [Mrs. Landfelder and Barbara Mauer] some days ago, these two persons feared some harm to my health. However, I could assure them that, by Gods grace, I did not feel any abatement of my strength or of my joy in fulfilling my ministry for the glory of the Lord and the salvation of souls. This our Lord doeth also. Glory be to Him for it!

Thursday, the 25th of June. Today I had to examine a very intricate and disagreeable matter on the plantations; and in this I enjoyed the assistance of pious people by prayer and good advice. In spite of all the vexation I was very much refreshed by the testimony of grace that I noticed especially in a couple of women. Our Father always arranges to mix in our cup of woe some drops to serve us as a heart-tonic. We experience abundantly what can be accomplished by the believing and enduring prayer of the righteous; and today too I have had some distinct testimony of it. When people have sinned, they readily take refuge in lies; those cobwebs, however, do not last any longer than Gods providence permits, and such sinners usually fall deeper and deeper, so that one can clearly observe the judgment of God in them. Our wise God has probably kept our planned Bible story for us up to this time, but of this I cannot mention any details right now.

A woman was also involved in investigating the matter; and, although she is very humble and only a small light in her own and other natural peoples eyes, she has done so much good by her persuasion, eagerness, and good advice that I marveled and highly esteemed the grace and wisdom I realized in her. An example like this often reminds me of the despised but wise man in Ecclesiastes 9:10-18; and I remember what our worthy Mr. N. [Senior Urlsperger] mentioned in his second sermon about Hebrews 10:23, i.e.: In providing for the common good and averting harm and furthering what is best, we need the advice of even the humble; and, if it is right, it should be followed.

[Spielbigler is now preparing to move away, as he has already planned for a long time. Perhaps he will find at Charleston, where he has worked for some time in rebuilding the burned houses, the worldly goods he has looked for but could not find here. As long as we have known him, he and his mother have behaved so headstrongly and obstinately and have also sinned against our ministry so greatly that I pity them very much, because the judgments of God will not fail to appear, since there is not the slightest hope for atonement. Barbara Maurer has done the same and has moved us and all sincere people to sighs because of her impudence, which she tried to conceal before the distribution of gifts by some show. In her sinful ways she has run into such a spiritual and physical misery that she probably will feel it all her life long. She was already under church discipline and excluded from Holy Communion for some years, but she took it all as a joke, so that I told her I would certainly live to see with my own eyes that God will make a terrible example of her if she will not do atonement in due time. This she very likely did not believe at that time, but unfortunately it has surely happened, about which we will report more definitely another time in some letters. How sorry I am for Michael Rieser and his neighbor, Mrs. Landfelder, who also behave very coarsely, but only as long as our Lord will permit it. The late Pastor Mischcke thought highly of praying away vexing people if they do not wish to convert. May God send us His Holy Spirit for this purpose!]

From Old Ebenezer I received a letter from General Oglethorpe in which he writes that he is making our community a present of several bushels of wheat and oat seeds which have been grown in Augusta or Savannah Town. He probably thinks we do not have enough of them at our place. However, we have no need of those and other European seeds but rather of horses and oxen for plowing. Also people at our place have to plant such crops as are most necessary for them at the present time and which they can produce in the easiest and most certain way. The hares and other wild animals would do much damage if the land where this is to be sown were not fenced in firmly in the same way as the house lots near town and on the plantations are. When they are better established on the plantations, many things will be more practicable.

[He mentions no word about the remaining points of my letter, for example, the preacher for Frederica, the promised shilling per bushel of crops for 1739, the payment of the mill costs, etc.; and therefore I will send him a copy of said letter. Perhaps the silence is supposed to be a negative answer. If the Salzburgers received the money as an aid to their difficult housekeeping, like others in the country, they could sooner plant the said crops according to the wishes of the Lord Trustees and also cultivate grapes, for which he is promising to send some vines. God will send help in His time; and what we lose at one place He will repay to us at the other.]

Friday, the 26th of June. The captain from Palachocolas /Eneas McIntosh/ visited me together with two of his people in order to set me right very ceremoniously on what had caused him to speak against me and thus make up for his errors. He has rented the plantation opposite us for several years from the Frenchman, who has told him many lies about me. He is afraid that I will report the matter to General Oglethorpe, whose favor he would not like to forfeit. The man talked very sensibly and offered his services to me and the community. He also promised not to allow the sale of rum at said plantation to the prejudice of our community, as was done in the Frenchmans time. The manager employed at his plantation also reassured me. He offered to supply our people with tame cows and oxen, which they themselves may select from the herd; and he wants 45 shillings Sterling or two pounds 5 shillings per head. To be sure, another captain from Carolina wished to bring us some cattle at a low price; but we had to take at least 30 head and also be content if they were wild and old, so we did not make the bargain. I will discuss it with the congregation and write him the answer next week. He also wishes me to marry him next week, but I cannot agree to do this before I have the consent of the authorities. I will have to do it, under said conditions, sooner than it usually can be done, because there is no preacher in Savannah.

The Germans in Savannah let me know that four children have to be baptized there; but I was surprised that they did not come up to us by boat to fetch one of us for the baptism. We cannot trouble our people with this, especially right now when they have much work. The weather is very fruitful, we have enough rain and good weather. After the time for plums is over the time for peaches begins, and God has granted us more of them than in any year of our pilgrimage in this country. We have a very delicate kind of peach that have the color and size of apricots; they ripen first and refresh us very much. There are also pretty melons, and therefore we do not miss any sort of fruit in this country.

[In her wickedness and evil temper, in which she resembles the woman described in Sirach 25: 21-24, Mrs. Landfelder has sent her husband and Michael Rieser to Savannah in order to bring an action against me before the authorities there because I cannot allow her willfulness and evident malice. By this she wishes to cause damage and harm to the entire community, and I have shown severity after having taken previous steps. They returned today, evidently having had little success. Therefore Landfelder and his wife submitted to external order in the presence of my dear colleague and two men of the community. However, we have not noticed any sign of atonement. The nuisance they have caused here by their spiteful behavior and in Savannah by their presumably manifold defamations was brought to their attention. In case they have caused difficulties for my ministry by discrediting it in Savannah and in case they have lied to the authorities, they should get their deserts as an example for others. Today during the assembly at the plantations I talked to the community about this very spiteful disobedience as well as about the spiteful behavior of Barbara Maurer, so that now all circumstances for observing our common duty have been made public. Therefore one of these days we will have to consider further how we can control the present evil and prevent it from gaining ground.]

From the story in 2 Samuel 11 we repeated the recently preached material concerning Davids efforts to conceal his works of darkness; and we elucidated and laid on our listeners conscience, as we had previously done in the following prayer meeting in town, verses which were, moreover, very suitable to my purpose: 1 Peter 2:11, Abstain from fleshy lusts, which war against the soul. Original sin is a terrible enemy if one lets it have its own way and rule by desires and everybodys emotional bent; and it devastates and ravages the poor soul by the very desire that seems to give some pleasure to the lost person, just as an invading army devastates a country and everything in it, so that one can well see that an enemy has been there. The example of David makes it obvious, and from his mirror many of us may learn to know themselves. Because they did not dampen their desires by a true atonement and have not refrained from them through daily revival and have never really crucified them, the work our dear God has begun in them has often been devastated and spoiled, as is also seen in several young people of the community, just as it was seen in David.

Ecclesiastes 7:30: Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright ... etc., wherein the condition of mankind before and after the fall of man is described briefly [and firmly]. Since God is the sincerest and most honest being towards Himself and towards all of His creatures, He has also created men in the same sincerity and honesty; but they have lost it through the seduction of the old serpent and are now full of tricks, especially of tricks that are against the sincerity with which they were created. Satan is an arch-trickster, and those who are with him help him with his tricks. And the arts, intrigues, and deceits that some people do not have, they try to obtain, as we can unfortunately see in the children too, who, in committing and excusing a sin, already give evidence of their terrible congenital perdition. The older people grow, without doubt renewing the picture of God in a new rebirth, the more wicked they become; and they know how to misuse their intelligence and experience skillfully to extricate themselves from their provoking nature by all kinds of tricks, and also how to pull the wool over the eyes of their ministers and other authorities.

I explained to all the listeners again that sins will not be forgiven to persons who get off by lying and cheating their ministers and authorities, who are here in the place of God, Acts 5:4, and do not do real atonement. The sign of an honest atonement is the openhearted confession of the matter that has been denied, Psalms 32:2. This point had to be emphasized here and on the plantations with energy because of some lightminded sinners. From my own experience I could point out that some penitent sinners among us have already insisted that their secretly committed sins be revealed and punished in public because the disgrace they would then suffer would be more tolerable to them than the sin they felt.

Some children who were previously publicly confirmed in their baptismal covenant wish to participate in the Lords table again this time. They assembled this afternoon in my room; and I tried to inculcate in their hearts from Matthew 11, verses 5, 12, and 28, what is necessary for them to know and to practice. True Christians are poor and at the same time weary and burdened individuals, but they show great earnestness in the recognition and feeling of their great sin to draw down by an eager prayer the kingdom of heaven that is offered to them in the gospel. If they come to the Lords table like this, our Lord Jesus will present himself to them with all the merited goods of salvation, whereby they will become richer than even the holy angels, for whom there is no Holy Supper. What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

I asked the orphan girl N. [Holtzer] at the orphanage whether she would like to die because physically she is always so sick and miserable. Because she did not say yes, I told her that in eternity there is not only a beautiful heaven but also a terrible hell. She should just remember what she saw during the ocean voyage. If the whole sea were full of fire and a person were thrown into it, how dreadful that would be. However, such a poor person would be soon freed from the torture; in the real hell, however, it is quite different. Revelations of St. John 9:6. She said that she thought of that during the great fire in the kitchen fireplace and had promised to free herself of all her sins by the grace of God, and she has already humbly confessed and apologized to Mrs. Kalcher and me for some inconstancy and injustice.

Saturday, the 27th of June. Johann Christ cannot sufficiently praise the grace of God that happened to him a few years ago as a child of Jewish blood when he was admitted to the bosom of the Christian church, especially since our loving Savior is leading him more and more through the use of the means of salvation to the interior of His kingdom, where pure grace is offered and presented gratuitously to poor sinners. In memory of the physical and spiritual benefits he received in Reicheltheim near Frankfurt he had a letter of thanks written to the pastor there, Mr. Crecelius, which will be sent over with the next parcel to Augsburg. He would also have liked to mention, to the praise of God, some examples of the grace that has befallen him through the word of the gospel here at Ebenezer; but this time he had to avoid great detail, and something has deterred him from it as well.

Today our dear God let me know from the declaration of two young married women that their conscience was stimulated by the word of God that has been preached during the last days, and therefore they heartily regret their misconduct and offenses, including some against our ministry; and this gave me an opportunity to inquire about some things that seemed offensive to me and to remind them of their duty. Oh how glad we are when distracted and idle minds come to an earnest meditation, to a feeling of their sins, and to the way of atonement. May God help further to victory and real firmness in truth!

I now hold the house prayer-hour on Mondays and Saturdays at about noon jointly with my dear colleague, and this is advantageous to me and others.

Sunday, the 28th of June. Today we held Holy Communion with forty-eight persons, among whom were two people from Purysburg and two from Old Ebenezer. May our dear God also attract by the inexpressible great treasure believers have in Holy Communion, those who cannot be admitted because of their rough and impenitent minds and those who are deterred by vain reasons not known to us! Confession was held last night with the people of the town and with those who could come in and, this morning, one hour before the sermon, with the people from the plantations. Since some of them are physically weak or have small children and other obstacles, we have accommodated ourselves to their circumstances, because we wish to make it as easy as possible for our listeners. Oh, may all of them thankfully realize the benefaction of having two preachers in our community!

Hans Maurers wife /Anna Catherina/ has gotten such a bad throat from her longlasting sore [although she is well taken care of medically] that she cannot swallow any liquids unless she holds her nose. Therefore, after the public communion, I had to celebrate private communion with her. Our dear Savior, who heartily yearns for the salvation of sinners, has striven yesterday and today to lure all people to come to Himself by the gospel; and those who had refused the grace that has come so near to their heart would have been worthy of pity.

Monday, the 29th of June. [I answered General Oglethorpes letter of last week and included a copy of my letter of 24 March because I do not know whether it was delivered in the right way or laid aside and forgotten. In it, I asked General Oglethorpe to write his resolution in favor of the preacher wanted for Frederica; I had also humbly asked him for the payment of the promised shillings for the harvested crops and for some monetary help to pay the mill costs.]

Some time ago Lemmenhofer asked me to consecrate his house with the word of God as soon as it was ready for him to move in and live in it. I asked him at that time about the text of the verses we had used when consecrating his little house in town, from which our dear God had granted much edification. He knew it well, and it was very edifying for him and his wife /Maria/. It was Luke 10:5. This forenoon was destined for the Christian consecration of the newly built house, therefore I traveled to the plantations this morning as early as possible and turned the well-known text of the Christian church to the advantage of the owners and their neighbors who had assembled from both sides: Where thou (Lord Jesus) art with grace, blessing cometh in the house. Yesterdays gospel of Luke 5:1-11 gave enough material for an evangelical explanation of this little verse, since it showed what kind of blessing is right and best and how willing the heart of Jesus is to present abundantly all merited blessings to those who realize their nothingness and unworthiness and are willing to obey His word. He will make them into vessels of His mercy and tools of His grace, which is more than all the treasures of the world. We also used Luke 9:5-10 and 2 Samuel 7:11-12 for our purpose.

[Tuesday, the 30th of June. Michael Rieser is growing worse in his obstinacy and disobedience and despises and thinks little of everything we reproach in him with Gods word. Indeed, today his impudence grew so far as to withdraw his obedience from me because he considers the way we rule our congregation as popish, for there too the spiritual and temporal ministries are united. We must leave him to Gods judgment. Meanwhile I have notified Mr. Jones and the authorities in Savannah of his and Mrs. Landfelders malice and of my tactics towards them and will see whereto God will guide their hearts. It seems that the aforementioned Rieser is ripe for the judgment of God, since he jeers at all threats and keeps very far away from them. Perhaps the country will soon spew him out so that he will go away from our place.

His neighbor, the malicious Spielbigler, has moved to Charleston comlpetely without saying goodbye to me, and his old mother /Rosina/ is selling her cattle and other things to move there too. These also shall stick in their filthy sins; and the office of the gospel has not been the odor of life for their life. Therefore we shudder to think about their end, for which they will surely be even less prepared at other places, since there is no opportunity there for spiritual good. It says here also: Whosoever is pleased with sin, he shall fare otherwise; he shall be blown away like chaff. . . etc. He who is wicked must perish. At present we have various inconveniences and troubles with wicked persons in the community, whose malice God has begun to make known; but during todays evening prayer hour, during the singing of the evening-song: Der Tag ist hin. . . etc., God greatly blessed me in the words: Thou art righteous, be it as it may...

[We also have trouble now with Mrs. Rauner and her boy /Matthias/. She has hired said boy to an Englishman at Old Ebenezer for four years at five pound Sterling; however, she incites him to be faithless and run away. At the incitement of his wicked mother he broke into his masters house and chest and took out his indenture of apprenticeship and some clothes and brought them to her. The mother burned the indenture and hid the boy in her corn field, where, however, he was discovered by his master, the Englishman, and taken back to Old Ebenezer. There he got a beating, and he ran away despite all efforts and precautionary measures to guard him. Since I cannot approve of this disgraceful conduct, the enraged woman is said to have sinned very much and caused annoyance. God is probably allowing such unpleasant things to happen among us so that I can offer the authorities in Savannah proof of the harm that can be done if they make no effort to punish wicked people in our community according to their deserts and as a warning to others. I cannot understand why they give so much of a hearing there to disobedient people who come to the authorities with their unfounded and slanderous claims that they investigate their cases and also wish to hear me for all this causes much inconvenience and harm.26 This time I shall put my opinion in writing, and in the future I shall also give it by word of mouth.

[There must be a reason that the Lord Trustees letters to me have never used any expression from which one could clearly recognize, and not merely presume, that they have granted us temporal authority for the secular administration of our community. The matter of provisioning was, to be sure, entrusted to our care; but otherwise General Oglethorpe has not further declared that we would have the power to do anything in our community without the aid of the authorities in Savannah. To our oral and written questions in this regard we have received no answer, nor have we particularly insisted on it as long as disobedient people could be put in order again by our ministry, especially by the keys to the kingdom. If Christian authority were granted us in this matter, we could refer the misbehaving and disobedient people to it; and, if we could make an example of those persons who wrongfully accuse us and lie against us in Savannah, it would be of manifold advantage. Previously, when I brought charges to the authorities in Savannah against malicious people who do not wish to conform to the situation here, I did not notice any seriousness; rather they shoved the matter back to me as if they did not wish to be entangled in our affairs. But it happens that they listen to obstinate persons who are against us; and, what is worse, they use a Jew /Sheftal/as an interpreter, and this causes annoyance.]

JULY

Wednesday, the 1st of July. Young Mr. /Jacob/ Kieffer was asked by several people in Purysburg to go to Charleston for an important matter, and he asked for our intercession. He realizes he is entirely unskilled in such important matters, but he is willing to serve his fellow man to the best of his abilities. I referred him to James 1:5: If any of you lack wisdom. [Many people in Purysburg believed their trip from England to Purysburg had already been paid for by the late Queen or others, but now they are being officially and threateningly dunned by young Mr. /Charles/ Pury to pay back the money for their trip, as well as the outstanding interest of ten percent for the last eight years, as soon as possible; that is why they are seeking help from the officials and the government in Charleston. Old Mr. /Theobald/ Kieffer told the people gathered in Purysburg that all mankind could be spiritually redeemed but that, according to the word of God, they had to strive for it earnestly and that no one was willing to strive for it as much as for material redemption and liberation. Only a few could be assured of their salvation and state of grace.]

Yesterday evening we finished the important story of David from 2 Samuel 2; and, through this mirror and the expostulation of other writings, our holy and wise God revealed to many of us the horror and deception of the natural and totally depraved heart, and prepared us for the subject of repentance and mercy, which we will find in chapter twelve. There is no lack of awakening, of pricking at ones conscience, of good intentions [if only God could note true repentance and faithfulness towards His mercy], which are still missing in many souls among us. It also pleased our wonderful God, during the time the distressing conditions of Davids case were publicly discussed in the sermon, to reveal similar abominations and secret transgressions of several sinners before the community [one of whom was overcome by his sins just one year ago before St. Augustine], and all tricks and subterfuges were as useless here as they were in Davids case against the filth [or, to disguise the filth], which causes us much grief but also gives us the chance in this case and others to work on these impure and carnal paths that have also become known to us here, through the law and gospel.

Today a woman told me she wished she could tell all young people how terrible and dangerous it is to burden ones conscience and to insult our holy God with intentional youthful sins, the terrible shape of which one cannot recognize until God brings one to repent. A certain minister wrote something that applies to this and other persons in the community: One ounce of carnal desire causes two hundred pounds of physical and spiritual pain. Because she and others sinned and caused annoyances in their youth, she has often had terrible yet unnecessary visions of herself and her fellow sinners appearing before the judgment seat of God and has worried that she would be accused and condemned by the others whom she had troubled yet not converted, especially since many have passed over into eternity. Yesterday, however, she learned to her comfort that, when David unexpectedly sent Urias and many other soldiers under his command to eternity through the sword of the Amonites, many of whom were non-believers, his strength had been taxed in vain, and nothing would have been effected thereby if he had burdened himself with such ideas. It was better that he found the [true] repentance and a God-pleasing life. The God who demonstrates the wonder of His love to sinners and forgives and forgets all sins forever so that they will never be thought of again will also make it possible that past vexations and temptations will not be repeated in the future through words, script, or example or be used for the public accusation and prosecution of the pardoned ones. It is written: How can the many sins harm me? etc. Who shall condemn? Christ is here, etc.

In this evenings prayer meeting we began observing the twelfth chapter and it was wished that it could be truthfully said of all members of the community, not only, first, that they had sinned with David, but also, second, that they no longer sin, but have truly repented. It is terrible to be a still impenitent sinner, for this mispleases the Lord in all his ways, as in chapter 11:27; and He will say: Depart from me, thou sinner. In the name of the Lord they were reminded today of the great need to convert; they must decide to convert or to be damned. Likewise they were instructed about the possibility and bliss [spiritual poverty] of converting: it is a work of the triune God; what He does is praiseworthy and glorious; and therefore conversion must be praiseworthy, wonderful, and holy work of God. Among other things we explained the verse: Ye uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, etc.; and we demonstrated that those amongst us who are not converted are evil people who resist the Holy Ghost and partake of the sins of their fathers and ancestors who, as disobedient sinners according to the forty-ninth Psalm, have gone to a terrible place and are thus justifiably called stiffnecked and uncircumcised of heart and ear.

Thursday, the 2nd of July. During yesterdays evening prayer meeting I ordered the schoolchildren to come to me today so that I might speak to them from the word of God about the grace that God would grant; and this was done this morning. Jesus let us feel His merciful presence; therefore the simple and childlike encouragement from Gods word so affected some of the children that, contrary to their usual manner, they were quiet and even wept. During our talk I reminded the children of Magdalena /Haberfehner/, who died not long ago in our orphanage, and of the wonderful Bible verse she sent to Augsburg: I am glad in the Lord, etc., which gave me the chance to ask the children whether they still remembered the verses they sent; and I was very happy that they could recite them by heart. They promised to come to me often on their own, which our loving Savior will crown with His blessing, as He has done before.

Ross, the surveyor from Purysburg, again sent me a letter in which he announced that he was working on his map of our town and of the plantations and that, as soon as he was finished, he wished to come here and complete his surveying of the plantations so that, with my certificate, he can finally receive his full payment in Savannah, since a part thereof has been rightly withheld up to now. [I do believe that he wants to come. However, unless he brings workers or provisions (as is required by his contract with General Oglethorpe), his presence will be in vain because our people badly need their provisions themselves and they will not work for him, since they know full well from his excessive demands and his unbearable way of dealing with people. Besides, they also have no time for it. I informed him of this in a letter today.] The Honorable Councilor N. [Walbaum] appreciates being told something about our physical arrangements. Therefore, not long ago, I sketched out the position of our town, the gardens, and plantations as well as I could and sent a short description along with it. If the package we delivered four weeks ago has not yet been sent from Savannah, the said sketch will be enclosed for Councilor N. [Walbaum] along with a letter [which I have addressed to the Honorable Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen along with other letters from several members of the parish. My dear colleague hastened down there to baptize several children and to arrange other matters, since an opportunity was available. The haste prevented me from writing to the Court Chaplain, as something important had to be reported to the authorities in Savannah.

[I was very impressed that a pious woman implored her husband to take back their house lot by the town which they had exchanged, because God is showing her and her husband very special mercy and is graciously hearing her prayers. Whenever she sees the spot, she says, she is reminded anew of Gods mercy, which is very profitable for both of them. It will be easy for them to regain their old house, since the other Salzburger likes his own as much as this one. By building altars and other things, the dear Patriarchs (or rather God working through them) created monuments and memorials to the miraculous kindness of God our Lord; on their pilgrimages these reminded not only them but also their families of Gods blessings and strengthened their belief. How wonderful it would be if, in the course of time, the converted parents would show their children the places and corners where they shed thousands of tears because of their sins but where they were also assured that their sins would be forgiven. I am always impressed when I hear about that.

Friday, the 3rd of July. Even before the devotional hour at the plantation our dear Lord had informed me that He had blessed the story in 2 Samuel 11 so that the sins of our previous lives and the malice and hidden corners of our hearts would be revealed by the bright light of Gods words. Someone told me secretly that God had given him much recognition and that he was prepared, if demanded for Gods glory, to be disgraced before everyone in the community. Through the grace of God he can now understand the difference between a superficial and self-made Christianity and a true Christianity. It seemed to him as if a curtain had been hanging before his eyes, and he was amazed at his previous blindness and shocked when he looked at most peoples lives which have nothing in common with the word of God. He informed me of several examples of Salzburgers from the Empire2 who had become falsely converted to the Evangelical faith and of their defiance and claim to having achieved evangelical truth while conforming to the world. He said they ridiculed those Salzburgers who were concerned with their salvation almost more than any others.

The beginning of the story in Chapter 12 caused us to marvel at Divine patience and to praise our very kind God who not only put up with David for nine months but also put up with us for many years in our self-assurance and waited for us to repent and was merciful enough to give us the grace to do so. For the sake of their salvation, the secure and frivolous among us were asked in the name of God not to remain a moment longer under the wrath of God, which is like a double-edged sword that destroys both body and soul, but to remain joyful and without worries on the brink of hell. They were also asked not to find any carnal solace in those means of salvation that are commonly used in certainty because (as is apparent in Davids example) no sign of conversion and state of grace lies in them and God will not be deceived by such; as with David, one must first truly repent if one expects his service to please God. He looked with grace first on Abel and then on his sacrifice; on the other hand he did not look on Cain with mercy because he was impenitent and unbelieving, and therefore his sacrifice [service] was unacceptable. 1 Genesis 4. This is probably the meaning of the words in Psalm 51: For thou desirest not sacrifice; else I would give it, The sacrifices of God are. . . Oh how it troubles us when people depend only on their external church service and good works and do not wish to be moved from that security through true conversion and be put in a blessed state of grace.

On my return from the plantation I met my dear colleague at home, and in his reports I noticed clear traces of divine blessings that crowned this trip to Savannah. May God teach us to act according to His will, then there will never be a lack of blessing and every evening we will be able to say and sing: Praise, laud, and thanks be sung to Thee, my God, glory be to Thee because everything has succeeded according to Thy counsel, even if I do not understand. Thou art just, however it goes. [I have received no written response to my report and letter to the authorities this time, as there is much disharmony and factionalism among the members. However, I have learned enough from what Mr. /Thomas/ Jones told me orally. Ever since the return of Captain Robert Williams, who was previously the Tax et Tuba3 for this and nearly everything that was to be brought into the colonies, people have been ganging up again in Savannah to gain permission through force to import Negros and Moorish slaves into the country. As we oppose the Negros and other injurious liberties and exemptions in our town, they hate us, especially me, which, however, can hurt us little, if at all. Our slogan in this and other confused matters was and is: Take counsel together and it shall come to naught, etc. . . . for God is with us. Even the magistrates are opposed to Colonel Stephens and Mr. /Thomas/ Jones and are undertaking incorrect and dubious actions against their advice. For example, they recently served Mr. Barber, the preacher for the orphanage near Savannah, with a warrant to appear before the court in Savannah, although they had no right to do this, as Mr. Jones stated. They are said to have compiled a book4 in which I am also discredited and in which they will try to turn the truth into lies; but they will not come any nearer to me with their intrigues than our wise, holy, and good Lord will allow them to. My dear colleague baptized two chidren; the third child lives on a plantation which is far away and will be baptized when we next hold public services there.]

Saturday, the 4th of July. The late N.s [Simon Steiners] wife /Gertraut/, who recently married Peter Reiter, came to me for a word of admonishment. I was happy that she now recognizes her late husbands great honesty and seriousness in his Christianity more than before, so I warned her to make good use of all the good she had heard and experienced with him [especially since she does not perceive a genuine, but rather an apathetic and lazy form of Christianity in her present husband]. Also she should be very careful not to even think of the sins and weaknesses of her late husband, which our compassionate God has forgiven for Christs sake and banned to the depths of the ocean for everlasting oblivion, because this could only be damaging and would not be a good sign for her. I reminded her at the same time of her honest father on earth, the blessed N. [Schoppacher], whose struggle to repent and believe and whose temptations and blessed departure to his Savior did not impress her any more than her stepmother [the present Mrs. Landfelder], because of her blindness and foolishness back then. If she follows in the path of these two warriors of Jesus Christ, both of whom were her closest relatives, she will give them cause for eternal happiness through her blessed imitation. I admonished her of several things, e.g., I told her to get together with pious women neighbors [for edification] and to care for the Christian upbringing of her daughter [Sara] from her first husband, and then we prayed.

A woman eager for edification asked me in the presence of her husband for tomorrows introductory verses, for which she wished to prepare herself in advance. I referred her to the short and yet unusual story in 2 Kings 2:19-22 and told both of them that because of their frequent troubles they should trust in Jesus, confide in Him, and trustingly and humbly accept His help, which He willingly gives. He is many thousands of times more willing than the prophet Elijah to eliminate everything which torments us and to give us what we need, as one can also see from examples in the New Testament, where He leaves no sinner or wretch helpless. He accepts the first penitent and trusting plea, etc. They could, I said, believe that the Lord Jesus felt the same way about the mistrust and lack of faith of his people as pious Joseph did in Genesis 50:15, who wept that, after the death of his father, his brothers went back to their old sins and troubles and could not be brought to a stronger trust even after so many proofs of his love. Nevertheless it was good that they sent for him, went, and humbled themselves, and were reassured anew of forgiveness and total reconciliation. All this is not written in vain in the Bible. Belief and perception are not the same. What kind of faith would it be if one were not to believe the words of Christ, which are so gracious to penitent and grace-hungry sinners, until one has perceived it oneself? A resigned Christian has said: I wish to trust without perceiving, etc., If I find no consolation, I will comfort myself with the knowledge that I belong to Jesus.

Christian Riedelsperger requested that todays noon prayer meeting be held in his house; like Lemmenhofer he wishes it to be sanctified and consecrated through Gods word and prayer. Several other people joined in prayer. Before the prayers I read to them from the Book of Gifts and Benefactions5 according to the First Article and reminded them of three especially divine benefactions, 1. Gods patience and forbearance, 2. gentleness, 3. chastisement for our betterment. As long as we have been together in Ebenezer, our all-loving Father has shown us this, the remembrance of which causes us great joy, praise of God, and heartfelt humility, as well as trust in future divine benefactions. We prayed here not only for ourselves and the residents of this house, but especially (as is always done in accordance with our Christian duty) for our beloved known and unknown benefactors in Europe [and since there is now confusion and contradiction among our superiors in Savannah, this trouble too is a matter for our unworthy prayer, which is founded in Christs merits.]

I was very impressed that Mr. /Thomas/ Jones showed my dear colleague the powerful words of God from Isaiah 41:10, 11, which he can apply to the present [distressing] circumstances. He is a very honest man and a lover of holy scripture. I always profit from his theological discussions.

Sunday, the 5th of July. The old [Swiss] carpenter /Krsy/ showed me a letter written by a fellow countryman, a schoolteacher, who is in the wilderness near Savannah Town with his family. He asked whether we needed a schoolmaster. He, his wife, and their eight children would like to move here [because it is as annoying and scandalous up there as among the heathens]. Another single man, a carpenter, would also like to be accepted into our community if he could earn a living here. We do not need a schoolmaster, nor can we promise anyone else a good living here; but, since these people have a good recommendation from the old carpenter, we will not prevent them if they ask for permission to move here. There would be room and land for them near the town, but the land near the occupied plantations is reserved for the Salzburgers who are expected to arrive with the next transport.

The present plantation owners have firmly resolved to specifically concede to the late arrivals a large area near them as their specific property for houses and stables. However, like the present inhabitants, they will take up plantations jointly, partly back in the pine forests and partly on the lovely island. If the eight nearest neighbors join together, they can clear out and prepare a large piece of land for planting; and because the whole island is fenced in partly by a common fence and partly by the rivers, they are spared the initial difficulty of building fences.6 In this way they will be able not only to establish their own households more quickly but also to achieve the purpose for which they left their homeland: for they will be able to live with the word of God and spiritual care and to send their children unhindered to school. For it has already been agreed upon that, when the new arrivals come, the school will be held in the middle of the plantations, where church is now held. If, however, contrary to our expectations, people were sent who are not Salzburgers but hostile and aggressive people, this intended arrangement would not be satisfactory and such people would not be able to manage without similar arrangements. If people among us who are not Salzburgers fear God and are simple and honest, then they will be of one heart and mind with them; if this is not the case, then much damage will be done, as we know from experience.

Young /Jacob/ Kieffer bid us farewell this evening before leaving for Charleston and asked to be remembered in our prayers. I reminded him of the verse: And be not conformed to this world, and All that will live godly in Christ shall. . . etc. The last cannot be separated from the practice of the first. For the world loves only its own kind and cannot endure verbal or actual punishment of its dubious deeds and hypocrisies. [On 21 May, I wrote to Mr. /Johann/ Giessendanner, the minister in Orangeburg, and forwarded the present of 21 sh. Sterling from Switzerland to him by a safe hand, but I have not yet received any word that he has received it. As Mr. Kieffer is not only going to Charleston but to Orangeburg to his mother-in-law /Mrs. Depp/, he will pick up the letter and money in Charleston and deliver it if it has not already been forwarded. We will forward the books that also belong there when we are informed that the money has been received. One has to be very careful here if nothing is to go wrong.]

Monday, the 6th of July. N. [Pichler] visited me this morning and gave a beautiful testimony of what our merciful God has done for him and his mother [wife].7 With tears in his eyes he expresses shame for his previous blindness and for having been unable to endure it when we insisted upon righteous behavior and having refused to admit that he was still lacking it. He borrowed the Third and Fourth Continuation, in which his and his deceased wifes confused situation in 1737 and the beginning of the following year is recorded; and I was pleased to see that he well recognizes everything and praises the grace of God for saving him from it and never relenting in trying to show him the better way.8 He also recognized how close he had come to committing a terrible sin; God had, however, made him ill and removed him from the danger by placing him in another hut rather than letting him commit the sin. For he could not trust his own heart any more than David could trust his own, therefore it was a benefaction to be removed from the temptation of sinning. God has already bestowed much good upon him from the diary, as I too must confess to the praise of this heartily loyal God.

The lesson of satisfaction and the ineffably great and wonderful sacrifice of Christ is very dear and valuable to him, and he is certain that his sins will be forgiven; yet he complains that his assurance weakens now and then and he is not sure where he stands with God. I referred him to the song: Eins Christen Herz sehnt sich nach hohen Dingen, and especially to the words: O, open up the depths of my sins, let me see the depth of your mercy too. Likewise, Let me seek or find no peace except with Him who has it for me and who has called out: I will revive you when your sins and burdens oppress you. Steadfastness is best, if one weakens, debauches, or goes astray at all, one will become restless; therefore one must penetrate into Christ and rest and perservere in Him.

Of his wife, N.s daughter [Kieffers oldest daughter /Margaretta/, who is indolent9 by nature] I was happy to hear of her simple, heartfelt prayers; even in her case grace is triumphing over nature. God grant both of them sincerity and faithfulness! [I admonished him to join together with other people and to work on the people who came to our congregation from Memmingen,10 as most of them are still in a miserable state. God has revealed some of their hypocrisies and sins, of which they do not wish to cleanse themselves through repentance, so everyone can see what is wrong with them.]

The little daughter of an English merchant from Savannah, who has been placed in the trust of [the schoolmaster] Ortmann and his wife, has violent fever and other symptoms and is very weak. When I entered the room she asked me to pray with her, complained of her misery, and thanked me for the comfort I gave her and gladly accepted the admonition to call on Jesus in her physical and spiritual misery (which is the best means of recovery). In this summer heat various old and young people are getting fever, but it is not nearly as bad as in the first years. In Old Ebenezer too the German and English people have it; and it is remarkable that during the first two years in Old Ebenezer, where we had to endure many physical and spiritual trials, we did not suffer from the fever, with the exception of a few men; but then it was more the case of fever attacks rather than regular fevers.11 God did not burden us with too much at one time, for that we should thank Him and never forget His kindness.

The construction of the church began anew today in the name of the Lord; and, since Rottenberger was not among the workers because of an injured finger, I visited him and his wife with the blessings of God. He was much impressed by yesterdays exordium from 2 Kings 2:19-22, from which, concerning the gospel for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity, I discussed the corrupted heart which can still be improved and changed through Christ; and he was unhappy with himself for having so little recognized the poison source of his heart because of his frivolity and for not having been as seriously concerned as he should have been about Christ and His help, which should not be lacking. One wishes to be rid of poisonous water and other dangerous things, I said, yet one puts up with a poisoned heart. I told him that, if one takes the following story of mockers at Bethel, the prefiguration would show that only a few, and namely those who recognize their misery, search for the true man of God (Theanthropos), while others scorn and mock him and that this leads to a terrible end. He recalled that he had reflected a lot about the fact that pious Abel was the first to enter heaven and that Cain was presumably the first to enter hell, thus both brothers were eternally separated. This is a prefiguration that such a wretched separation could occur between parents and children who do not wish to convert, and that ones hair would stand on end if one thought about it.

I warned both of them to hurry and save their souls, etc. I also reminded them that they had several little children who had been baptized as Gods children and in His image and that they had already gone on ahead of them to the throne of God, etc. His wife interrupted me and said: My cousin, Madereiter, who found his rest in Old Ebenezer as an honest Simeon, was also an example. Back then, she said, she had not recognized his Christianity, now much was awakening in her. He confessed with weeping eyes that he had not followed the words or the edifying example of this pious man; he could have come much farther by now in his Christianity. He added that he was a great lover of the blessed Arndts book True Christianity; and, because God had given him many blessings in the Empire and here, he always said that, if the heavenly Father helped him reach heaven, he would first look for the blessed Arndt (among those who had attained salvation).

Tuesday, the 7th of July. Before the edification hour on the plantations I was called to Simon Reiters sick wife /Magdalena/ to give her a word of comfort and to pray with her. She is very ill. Her husband spoke kindly to her and repeated what I had told her about our merciful and helpful Savior. She is a Christian woman and will find eternal peace if she should die. I also visited Pichler, prayed with him for his sick child, and spoke to him extensively about the preparation for a school on the plantations. Many of them are now aware of my ideas, and I hope they will discuss them among themselves so that something will come of it. [Michael Riesers wife told Mrs. Rheinlnder some shameful stories about Barbara Maurer to hurt her reputation and strengthened the Maurer womans evil ways. She had heard these shameful words from her insolent husband and then passed them along. I therefore asked her to visit me and give me some evidence, which she could not do. Thereupon she spoke as insolently and rudely as her husband does when he speaks to me. She refused to be corrected in any way and considers herself and her husband pious. Whatever good she had gained from God during her husbands absence was completely lost.12 Her husband is going to Savannah with Landfelder for outside work, and both of them are to be pitied.]

During the prayer meeting we learned that it was one of Gods benefactions that penance can be preached to the sinners in our community in the name of the Lord. However, because several avoid such sermons or harden their hearts against them or even move away, they will no doubt remain unconverted and suffer misfortune. For, if God does not act directly but rather deals with people through people (just as the Lord God did not ask David directly to repent, but rather through Nathaniel), if such people remove themselves from Gods order, how can they be helped? They would depend upon their good books and do not believe that they cannot understand them in their natural blindness. As I heard from the mouth of N. [Mis. Rieser] today, they expound the Bible incorrectly to fit their circumstances and apply divine truths only partially so that they can persist in their security and worldly outlooks.

We received the following lessons from the severe yet just judgment which David imposed upon the rich and merciless man in the presence of the prophet Nathaniel, in regard to our present situation now that God has revealed the terrible sins of N.N. [Barbara Maurer and others] 1) not only to look at others and condemn their sins severely while forgetting their own, for rather God holds up other peoples sins as a mirror and warning; on the other hand it can be very destructive when man is more out of than in himself and justifies himself by pointing out other peoples mistakes, as is often done when reading about the evil behavior of the Jews towards Christ and his teachings, 2) not to be indifferent, foolish, and self-assured towards the sins of the world and especially of the congregation, rather to actively follow the Bible and eliminate vexations in a Christian manner, and not leave everything to the ministers. Here I read to them from 1 Corinthians 5:1 ff., i.e., that the apostle was not pleased with their indifference toward vexations and took matters in his own hands to remove the filth, and this had a good effect. This reminded us of the remarkable story from Joshua, Chapter 7, where we read that a secretly unpunished sin brought Gods wrath upon the whole community and that, although God could have punished the sinner as an example for the others, He did not, rather he demanded the diligence and zeal of the Children of Israel, otherwise their prayers and struggles would not have helped. Now, since God himself had helped through His providence to reveal wickedness [especially that of the Maurer woman],13 His wrath would fall upon the community if the revealed sins remained unpunished. Therefore we pray that the Lord give us wisdom.

Wednesday, the 8th of July. [I have not seen Mrs. Craus for a few weeks at the edification hour on the plantations, she has been kept away because of her female condition; therefore I visited her and her husband this afternoon and spoke to both of them according to the state of their souls. The husband /Leonhard/ needs a spiritual awakening, which, according to his own admission, he received from the lovely proof of mercy which reigns in his wifes soul and, as he confessed, from the encouragement he received through me from Gods word. They have a young girl /Gebhart/14 in their service who was publicly confirmed along with others before Easter and who partook of the Lords Supper last time with the congregation. They give her a good recommendation, and I gave them further instruction for encouraging her through word and deed in what she has begun. When she grows up and has her own household, she will thank them as her sister /Magdalena/, Mrs. Simon Reiter, now thanks her previous master and her childs godfather, Ruprecht Steiner, for their love and care and will profit from the edifying things she has seen and heard. I wanted to stop at Peter Reiters hut, but I saw that his wife /Magdalena/ (the widow of Simon Steiner) was not at home, and therefore I will wait until both of them are there. I had an edifying talk with Mrs. /Anna Maria/ Floerel and Mrs. Bacher in Mrs. Floerels hut. Both of them are closely united as sisters in the Lord. Our merciful God will hear the prayers we said together, for the sake of Christ. On the way back I visited Floerel and Schmidt while they were sawing boards and called out a gospel verse and my best wishes. I also offered Floerel the position of schoolmaster on the plantations; he did not respond this time but will speak with God about it all the more so that His will be done. Because I had to be at home at 11 oclock for the preparation hour for Holy Communion, I could neither talk very much here nor visit anyone else.]

This afternoon I felt a strong urge to visit N.s [Simon Reiters] sick wife /Magdalena/, which I did after the rain that had begun at two oclock. She was out of bed, but very depressed and crying violently. I asked the cause of her sorrow and tears, and her husband said to me she was experiencing the same thing he had gone through earlier: when he was impenitent, he consoled himself enough. However, after he had recognized and felt his sins, no consolation lasted and, even though he had gained trust in God through the gospel, it disappeared as soon as he felt rashness and new temptations to sin. She has been recognizing and sensing her sins for a long time and longs for forgiveness yet does not find it. The pain in her soul and her tears did not allow her to confess her misery and what was burdening her; she only testified that it was neither her sickness nor any other physical circumstance, rather alone her sins which caused her trouble and tears. Yesterday she was so weak she seemed to be standing before the gates of eternity, and today she was strong again although she had not taken a single dose of medicine and had only been bled a little, which was a clear sign for all of us that our prayers were being answered right miraculously.

Yesterday our wise Lord arranged right wonderfully for me to go to her uncalled and without planning and to pray for her physical and spiritual condition with others before God, our true physician, and therefore I could tell her to her spiritual strengthening that my feelings had compelled me to travel the long distance to her this afternoon and that neither my work at home nor the many obstacles on the way could prevent me from coming. Her soul was crushed by her feeling of sin, she said, and she was troubled and burdened. It is now the will of God for her to find comfort in the gospel and in the name of Christ and for her sins to be mercifully forgiven at the command and in the name of Christ. I told her several things about the correct kind of faith that is effective in the workshop of a penitent heart and expresses itself in desire and longing, turns humbly to the loving Lamb of God, who bears the worlds sins just as the snake-bitten Israelites turned to the raised serpent, comprehends Christs universal sacrifice, and rests like a poor little bee on His rosy wounds. Her husband /Simon Reiter/ confirmed all this from his own experience and encouraged her to trust Christ despite her feeling of sin. It is written, Trust in His word though your heart loudly cries, No. Do not despair,15 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity? etc., also, If we say we have no sin, etc., If we confess our sins, etc., and If any man sin, we have an advocate. Because she is named Magdalena, I recalled the great sinner in Luke 7 and told her briefly how Jesus felt about the sinner. We knelt together, and after the prayer I read her the beautiful text for penitent invalids from James 5:13-20, which impressed and edified all of us so that I could say at my departure, This day is salvation come to this house, and both husband and wife will sing, Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is in me, etc., who forgiveth all iniquities, etc. The current story of Davids confession and quick absolution also served me well in this case. As it was becoming evening and I did not wish to delay the prayer meeting, I returned home without visiting anyone else in the neighborhood.

Thursday, the 9th of July. Since the repair of the mill dam the water in the Savannah and the mill river has sunk to such a level that we cannot grind anything and the people have learned to appreciate even more the benefaction of the mill now that they have to use hand mills again to prepare their corn and rice for meals. Today the miller sent me a message that the water has risen enough for him to begin grinding again. If the water continues to rise, our people will soon again be provided with flour, and this is a blessing for those helping to build the church. The mill is suffering because the little stream in front of the dam was not sufficiently dammed last time. The water soon tore away the protective boards and took its old course. Money is needed to seriously undertake the kind of work needed for a dam; in the meantime we have to be patient. We cannot dam up the river completely because, when the water is high, it is greatly needed for leading it away from the plantations and mill. Therefore such a weir and wall of boards should be built such that the water can be held or let off as conditions demand. Also a jetty should be built at the mouth of the mill river in order to direct more water into the mill river from the Savannah, especially when it is low; all of this is impossible at the moment because of a lack of money. Perhaps God will help the Lord Trustees to do something. If our people had the means, they would build something to make the rice white and saleable, which would refute the argument of people eager for Negroes who claim that this cannot be done without slaves.

The N. [shoemaker Adde] and his wife do not yet recognize the state of their own souls and suffice themselves with external means of grace rather than lay a solid foundation for their Christianity through repentance and faith. Therefore I advised them not to overlook the foundation, for which purpose they should kneel diligently before our omnipresent and merciful God and follow the directions of the little booklet Dogma of the Beginning of Christian Life.16 Because much listening and reading but little praying are more pernicious than useful, I showed them the right way.

A pious woman told me yesterday that she gathered from Mrs. Rottenbergers edifying words and deeds that she was seriously trying to repent. I went to see her afterwards and informed her how she could realize her resolution earnestly. Several of the church builders are lodging here; and, because I heard that each of them kneels down before God and prays after the evening prayer hour but neglects the common prayer and repetition of the gospel because they are too shy in front of one another, I told her how damaging this is and what she should tell the men in my name.

Friday, the 10th of July. Shortly before yesterdays evening prayer meeting the miller sent me word that the water had risen considerably and that the mill wheels were turning well and that we should thank God for this benefaction. I also resolved to inspire the community during the prayer meeting to praise God; however, during the sermon about Nathaniels penetential sermon, I forgot to do it, contrary to my intentions and plans, and this worried me afterwards. Nevertheless, I believe the silence was the will of God to find out whether the members of the congregation would remember to thank God for this benefaction on their own. Before todays prayer meeting I went to the mill in order to encourage myself and my listeners to recognize our duty. The water has risen so much in the little creek between the town and the plantations that one cannot ride through without getting wet; and, because the river water is very muddy, we can imagine that it must have rained very hard in the mountains. We often have lightning and thunder here but not always with rain, although we have had enough for the fields. Last night too it rained penetratingly here and on the plantations.

I reminded the listeners today from 2 Samuel 12:7-8, in which Nathan reminded David of the Lords many benefactions, that a Christian must attribute all good he experiences and all evil that is averted from him not as causis secundis but rather primario17 to God who rules over all, otherwise one would act worse than the heathens and Philistines, Judges 16:23-24, Acts 14:16-17.

I met N. [Mrs. /Margaretha/ Leinberger], who was going into the town to get some medications because of her infirmities. God has made her mellow and humble in the continual physical weakness she has had since her marriage to honest N. [Leinberger], so that she recognizes sins as the cause of all evil and is submitting herself to Gods omnipotent hand. She sincerely detests her previous sins and the godless ways of her previous deceased husband [Gabriel Bach from Memmingen]18 and humbly praises the Lord for His goodness for saving her from such snares and bringing her here where her soul can be saved. A Salzburger recently told me that she would not leave our village for any amount of gold, now that she has been shown the way to her salvation.

Because of her almost constant illness, N. [Leinberger] has not had much help from his wife, rather hardship and expenses; yet he is quite resigned and does only what is best for her body and soul. He would be very happy if she would (as I hope) convert to the Lord and achieve a certainty of a state of grace. Sinners can be saved through Christ. If one truly believes, His merits cover everything. During the Bible story yesterday and today we were impressed by the verse 1 Samuel 2:30, Those that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. It is the greatest honor for the heavenly Father when poor sinners conform to His order and let themselves be saved and justified by His Son; and this is also the poor sinners greatest glory.

N.s [Simon Reiters] wife /Magdalena/ has been quite comforted since the last gospel reading and has felt the strength of the gospel in her soul. Her limbs are still very weak and she is totally debilitated. I repeated Davids sigh to her several times, Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice, etc.; and I opened up to and read to her what is written in Isaiah 61:1-3.10 about those who mourned at Zion, indeed about all of them and what blessed changes our loving Savior has in store for them. She wished true improvement for her little sister, who was staying with her, and cried for her. I expressed my hopes for her improvement, for she seemed to have improved greatly in external matters in a short time. The sooner N. [Mrs. Reiter] could learn to speak to God her Father as a child in her prayers, the better she could pray to Him for her sisters change of heart. [She is one of the most obstinate and disobedient children and has become even more defiant and disobedient during her stay with her sister, whom she did not take seriously. However, since I wished to send her away and put her in stricter hands, she is now trying harder.]

Saturday, the 11th of July. The English schoolmaster /Hamilton/ and his wife /Regina Charlotte/are recovering from the fever, and this morning both of them were out of bed. They are receiving much good from good people, and I wish they would recognize the hand that strikes and kisses them and humble themselves before it. They are full of self-righteousness and believe they have been pious for a long time, even though they have never truly converted. When we talk to them about religion, they sit there as quietly as during a sermon and assure us that they understand everything and already know it. I read to them today from Psalm 50:14-15: Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows, etc. and Call upon me in the day of trouble. The first would be payment of the baptismal vow. To be sure, then one would have both inner and outer troubles, but one would be free to step before our reconciled God in prayer to ask for His help. This He will so demonstrate that one will find a new song of praise in his mouth, etc. God has sent them their present troubles, I said, so that they will recognize themselves and renew and pay their broken baptismal vow through atonement.

The carpenters finished their weeks work at noon and called me to the construction site to praise God with them for His goodness and benevolence this week. They have their own work at home, and therefore they are hurrying home and will continue work on Monday. The summer heat is quite bearable this year, there is always a cool breeze as well as a refreshing rain now and then. This week they planed the wood for the church walls and arranged it so that one piece fits exactly into the next one without any space left in between, and this task was done very successfully. If God keeps them healthy, we hope to consecrate the church in a few weeks. May God prepare our hearts for this. It is very important that in the present war God wants to give us a church in this wilderness, which will be the first one in the country.

Sunday, the 12th of July. [My dear colleague went to Savannah yesterday to preach the word of God to the Germans there, and therefore I have had to perform the official duties by myself today. Our faithful Lord gave me so much strength that we gathered together twice for edification and once for prayer. During the prayer meeting I have some helpers, in that some men are touched by God and can tell the Lord in loud, clear words their and others needs and praise Him.] The weather is quite bearable today as it has been all this summer. This is pleasant when the entire congregation is gathered in my house for the divine service. It will be more comfortable in the church. Since it is taking so long to pay for the construction costs of my house, it would have become a burden for me if I could not consider it a public house, one built for the glory of God and the good of the community because of the services held there on Sundays and weekdays. I would not know where the congregation could have gathered together all this time for edification and Holy Communion if we had not had this house. I still trust that our almighty and benevolent God will inspire the hearts of either the Lord Trustees or other benefactors as has already been done in part, so that they will enable me to repay fully the construction costs I have borrowed in part from the storehouse and in part from General Oglethorpe.

Monday, the 13th of July. Joseph Leitner and Dorothea Catharina, the widowed Mrs. Arnsdorff, were married this morning in Ruprecht Steiners house, the house of public worship on the plantations. For them and their friends I applied the pithy proverb from Romans 14:17-18, The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness. The bride and bridegroom, as well as the others who attended the ceremony, understood clearly that the purpose of marriage is not what merely natural people search for according to blind, carnal reasoning, but rather that the Kingdom of God be founded. This consists not only in the observance of certain duties, but especially in the means of salvation achieved through Christ in the enjoyment of which God can rightly be served. [For the sake of Christ] not only those Christians should enter into the holy state of matrimony who have received Christs mercy or who are true Christians, otherwise this holy state would be dishonored. What a terrible sin it is to abuse this holy order of God, to turn it even into a cover for evil, at which God took offense in the case of David, 2 Samuel 12:9-10, for which he had to endure hard punishments after his conversion. [Because the wedding party gathered at Pichlers before going to where the wedding took place, I saw with pleasure how useful the mill is for our people; it works well night and day, and in a few days everyone will be supplied with flour. Each is content with a bushel for now, and afterwards each will grind as much old corn as is left in supply. This blessing is really appreciated now that we have had to do without it for awhile because of a lack of water.

[Yesterday before the prayer hour Mrs. /Margaretha/Leinberger] N. spoke to me to arrange a time when she could visit me to talk about her soul. She came this morning one hour before my trip and confessed, trembling, fearful, crying, and moaning that she was the worst, most despicable sinner. Her sins oppressed her, she said, like heavy stones; and she will not have any peace until she has purified her soul through confession. Oh, how a single woman is subjected to many dangers here as well as in many places in Germany; and, as she thankfully recognizes, it is a great benefaction of God when such people who are exposed to sin [the filthiest horrors] through much temptation and their own sinfulness [acquiescence] can still find their way to Gods word, to good people, and to reflection. Both before and during her marriage she committed many sins despite my warnings at the wedding and afterwards, based on Mark 5:18-20; and her conscience is also burdened with sins committed against the seventh commandment.

The unfortunate Bach had taken her from our place to Ogeechee or Fort Argyle and had left her there alone after his departure for the siege of St. Augustine. She knows from experience that several people who committed such sins [with her] have suffered in their bodies and she is now in holy terror [about her sin and the curse it observes]. She can almost put her hand on the source of her lasting infirmities [which she has had since her marriage to Leinberger], and she knows what a salutary purpose God has. I reminded her again of her abominations, which were committed before the eyes of our all-seeing and holy God and warned her, since God is appealing to her conscience, to implore God day and night from now on with prayers and tears that her heart will be crushed and be strengthened for the good [in faith]. God is seeking her salvation, I said; and she will partake of it if she seriously uses the means to salvation. And, because she sees what value there is in associating with other converted people (she lived here several days with N.) [Mrs. Kalcher], she shall seek such companionship here and elsewhere and not be content with herself until she knows that Jesus has forgiven her, as He forgave the terrible sinner in Luke 7 and in the First Epistle to the Corinthians 6:9-11, as she promised me with hand and mouth while weeping copiously. She will wait yearningly at home for a word of encouragement, which will be of even greater use, since she is letting herself be brought to a recognition of the dangerous state of her soul. We finally knelt down before the countenance of the Lord and prayed to Him about what had been said.

Tuesday, the 14th of July. [Yesterday toward evening we again had a fruitful rain, which was not long, but penetrating. The corn is flourishing, other crops have already ripened; and the corn will form good ears with such fruitful weather, for which we could not ask any better.] A pious man from the plantations talked to me about several things regarding marriage, as he had many scruples concerning it. However, they were eliminated through the instructions he received from Gods word; and he was very happy that he had not let his timidity keep him from asking for instruction any longer. Praise God that He has provided us with His word so that we take no uncertain steps but can live in all ways according to His merciful and benevolent will.

The foundation for the church should have been laid yesterday; however, since the carpenter, Kogler, was somewhat ill, it took place this morning. We gathered at the construction site and knelt down on the ground as if on the footstool of our most beloved King of Mercy, Jesus Christ, and gave Him our praise and offerings of thanks as well as prayers for all people, especially for our worthy benefactors, who have contributed to the building of the church according to their means. It occurred to me during the prayer that the church foundation was laid, with prayers and Gods word, on the day which takes its name from the word serve, whereby God in His providence wishes to give us a hint that, in this house of God, as well as during our entire lives, we should follow in truth what is written in Psalm 110:13, After thy victory, thy people will willingly serve thee in the beauty of holiness, thy children will be born like the dew from the morning dawn. These words especially touched my soul so that I trust our dearest Savior Jesus Christ, to whom all souls shall belong after creation and redemption, will bless the preaching of His word in this house, so that all who have failed to do so will be born again and be made worthy of evangelical divine service. I consider it a good omen, yea, a sign of Gods mercy, that we have a child to baptize this very day and that in the Bible story both on the plantations and in the town we are contemplating the story of the fallen David after his repentance and confession of his sins, as well as after he received merciful absolution.

Because we have become aware this week of several clear examples of poor penitent sinners to whom the Lord has begun to show mercy, this strengthens my belief all the more that God will not only let us hold many sermons on penitence and grace in this house of God but also show mercy to all of our present and future listeners so that they will experience what was preached to the wedding party yesterday: The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Romans 14: 17-18. The fatherly love of God and of His beloved incarnate Son our Savior has filled my heart this morning in regard to our sick Gotthilf Israel as never before.19 Oh, may He enable us through this great and unfathomable love as Father and Savior to preach to all the poor sinners so that none of them will lose hope but flee to Him with humbled souls into His loving outstretched arms and to seek and find protection and salvation in them. We praised God, our all-highest benefactor, for not only having provided for us these seven years in the wilderness, according to the number of the seven loaves as said in last Sundays gospel, with the necessities of life and for having let us also build a town in this wilderness, but also for having blessed us so far with His word and sacraments. It would have been grace enough if, while giving us spiritual nourishment, He had commanded us to camp on the ground like that nation. However, He is giving us a comfortable house and granting us the costs for it so that good is also done through paying the workers, who are poor in any case.

We accept the gift of this house as a definite sign that the Lord will not let us fall prey to the claws of our enemies, rather He will take care of us as He cared for that Ebenezer in the time of Samuel by scattering the enemy who wished to attack the penitent people who had joined together in their God-pleasing purpose. In the previously mentioned 110th Psalm, v.2., it is written: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies, as He has clearly shown in our Ebenezer-Zion up till now. We surmise that a new transport will soon be coming from across the sea to our community of people who are truly concerned with Gods word. There would not have been room for them where we now gather, and thus our heavenly Father is providing for them already in advance. During the devotional hour on the plantations I repeated Nathans penitential sermon to King David. In the first part, in which David is reminded of the benefactions God has bestowed upon him, I told the listeners what kind of prayer incense God had granted us at the site where the foundation for the church was being laid: those were the points which were included in detail before and during prayers.

Mr. Thilo accompanied me much of the way to the plantations; and during our discussion I remembered all the good that God has abundantly bestowed upon me and others, especially a certain matter which happened one and one-half years ago to my poor self and which I am only now beginning to understand. At that time my illnesses indicated that I was going to die soon. Underneath a tree on my way to the plantations I poured out my very distressed heart to the Lord and humbly told Him in the name of Christ about the debts for the orphanage and for my own house and about all the failures of my office and my Christianity; and I asked for help and release from my debts. My heart was greatly relieved, and I was impressed by the words that came to my mind: I believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, which I understood as my imminent passage from temporal death into blessed eternity; and therefore I selected these hopeful words for my burial text. However, God let me recover especially after our last memorial and thanksgiving celebration so that the seemingly serious symptoms gradually disappeared. Since He is now granting us a church and many other blessings in His kingdom of grace at Ebenezer, I realize His words have been fulfilled even before death came; and I believe God will show us much benefaction if we have faith and let our place become a land of the living where there will be no spiritually dead. In numerous gatherings our merciful Lord has given us as much grace for edification, prayer, and songs of praise as if we had already consecrated the church for which the foundation has been laid today.

[My dear colleague has returned safely from Savannah and hopes that God has blessed his ministry among the Germans there. They eagerly met twice on Sunday in large numbers for prayers and met in his lodgings on Saturday and Sunday for the evening prayer meetings. He also had the opportunity to talk with individuals in Savannah and Purysburg about their souls. It looks very disorganized in Savannah: the last Grand Jury opposed the Lord Trustees and General Oglethorpe, they do not want to be ruled by the Trustees but by the King, as the people in other colonies are. Mr. /Thomas/ Jones and Colonel Stephens are being treated disdainfully, and this is most distressing.]

Wednesday, the 15th of July. N. [Mrs. Rheinlnder] visited me this morning and acted and spoke quite differently than she did when we tried to appeal to her conscience through Gods word. She claims that her sins are a terrible misery for her (which they unfortunately are) and that she had long since deserved to be snatched away by our holy and righteous God, before whose clear eyes and holy presence all sins were committed. She confessed (tearfully) that she regrets having insulted me and others with her lies and deceits, and she said she was resolved to confess freely to everything relating to her sins so that others can use it for their salvation. I do not trust her yet, and therefore I warned her not to commit other sins through hypocrisy and twisting the facts. Praying with her, I told the Lord about her miseries and my fear that there was not yet a true repentance in her case, and I asked Him to show mercy towards this person [sinner].

Before I went out this afternoon to visit people I presented our Lord, among other things, the miserable situation of this woman who had fallen out of grace; and, when I came to the orphanage, I found her with Mrs. Kalcher and Mrs. Schweighofer profiting from these two pious womens prayers and advice. Because they wanted to pray together just then, I prayed with them; and, for the third time today, I told our gracious God about this great sinner and her public scandal. He granted so much mercy in this that this poor person was especially moved and it seemed to me that God had sent her a powerful penitential sermon during the prayer and touched her formerly sleeping and secure conscience with His law. I believe the said circumstances indicate something which will soon be better clarified through Gods fatherly rule.

Before visiting the orphanage I visited the Swiss carpenters kinswoman /Engel Koller/, who came here after the death of her husband a year and a quarter ago. I was very happy to discover that since her arrival God has not only let her increase in her knowledge of Christian dogma but has actually shown her mercy, for which she praises God. Compared to this treasure, she considers all material poverty and troubles to be negligible. She heartily wishes that her two brothers, who are still in N.N., could be here. She is a great lover of Gods words. So that her sickly child, who is almost a year and a quarter old, will not prevent her from attending the evening devotionals, she carries it around with her all day to make it tired so that it will fall asleep toward evening and so that, when she returns from the church, the child will be sleeping just as she left it. She regularly visits the preparation lessons for Holy Communion, through which God does her much good. [She had not learned how to keep house and is not learning very much now, since the carpenter, although he is a good worker and attends services, is neither tidy nor orderly at home. He does not care whether clothes, dishes, or house are clean. This good person would have a chance for a Christian marriage here, but everyone is repulsed by his disorderly housekeeping. Perhaps God will show her a way to better herself, but the old carpenter is incorrigible. He prays and diligently follows the word of God and is not without grace.]

Thursday, the 16th of July. This morning a man [from the plantations] came running to me, preferring to drop his work than to disobey the voice of God in his conscience. As he came into my house he asked me with a troubled and fearful visage to go with him to a concealed spot in the house because he had so much to discuss with me. I closed my study and he confessed, crying bitterly, that he was a terrible sinner and wanted to confess the sins which were troubling him. Before letting him talk, we fell upon our knees and asked the Lord for mercy and wisdom so that we might deal with what was forthcoming according to His pleasure, to His glory, and to the salvation of this burdened soul. God our Father had worked on this man with His word for the past six years, he has always been serious in his use of the means of salvation and has tried to achieve a state of certainty about his salvation, yet he complained to me that he had not yet succeeded. Four or five years ago he had confessed his youthful sins to me with many tears; and since then has proven to be very serious in his Christianity and has worked on others with blessing and also suffered for the sake of good. Therefore I did not doubt the honesty of his heart when he complained he was not progressing in his Christianity, especially when I asked him about several points which had been suspicious to me, and he gave me a good and sincere answer.

Now, however, he recognizes that more than one thing was preying on his conscience, which is why pangs of conscience were always bothering him like stones lying about his head whenever he heard the word of God; and, as he said, he will not be at peace until he has confessed, no matter how I might deal with him. He had deserved every disgrace and punishment; there was not another sinner like him under the sun, he said with many tears. Even N.N. had helped him commit terrible sins when he was still very young and taught him what he did not understand, and committed further sins against the 6th and 7th commandments, which would be a disgrace to mention; there is no commandment he did not grossly violate. Even during the sea passage and here, when greatly tempted, he has committed carnal sins unasked and he willingly revealed the people to me with whom he had sinned and had urged to penance, and he assured me that one of them would come to me to confess the sins which were troubling her soul.

I told him several things concerning the verse from 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 which impressed us yesterday regarding Davids heartfelt repentance: If we would judge ourselves we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, etc. If he will not deceive and flatter himself, I said, but sharply attack the Old Adam and his sinful ways in his confession and humble himself before the powerful hand of God, then God, who has been reconciled through Christ, will not wrathfully judge him but will let grace and forgiveness follow his penitence, as He has promised. However, God reserves the right (as He did with David) not to judge those who are penitent but to chastise them. He has already felt the rod of chastisement, but this should not hinder, but help, his repentance, so that he will not be damned with the world. His heart is contrite and sorrowful about his sins, especially because he has so greatly insulted our dear Lord who had been so good to him even when he was a child, yea, even before. Therefore I could comfort him by telling him that God had already forgiven him his sins with his first honest attempt to repent, so that I could borrow the words of Jesus, who cleansed our sins for us through Himself and who is our reconciler and intercessor (not before the judge but before the Father): Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. God will give him the assurance in due time, I said. He must take the 51st Psalm as his own. He must pour out his heart to God in prayer, and I closed with prayers and thanksgiving.

[Although N. has improved herself in many ways, she still has many traits that do not concur with Gods word or the example and mind of our Savior. As a result, the evil in her heart which has not yet been mortified through repentence reveals itself at given external occasions as it did today during an affair with N.N. We summoned these people, who had argued and fought, in order to establish peace and to convince them of the bad state of their Christianity. We spoke several times separately with Mrs. Rheinlnder, who was most at fault and who tearfully recognized her wrongdoing again. We spoke to her again and hope that our Lord will bless this for a change in her ways. As she cannot yet control herself, she is unable to control her three children, especially her oldest son, and this brings about various sins. Otherwise the son seems to have a willing nature, and I think his mothers foolish behavior causes him to be disobedient and contrary. But one cannot ask mother and son to inform against each other, so they are instructed separately from Gods word. However, I still hope that everything will turn out the way it should with this mother and her children if they are not to wish they had never been born. They often take the opportunity to be edified through Gods word.

[My dear colleague also noticed that the old schoolmaster Ortmann is better recognizing his perdition and sinfulness and is departing from his own self-righteousness and is learning to search for the grace of Christ, as I too have perceived lately from his behavior. He no longer blindly follows his wife the way he used to do but tries to soften her anger and overhastiness with Christian encouragement. To be sure, his wife hears the word of God gladly but applies it improperly to herself so that we can see she does not yet know herself.

Friday, the 17th of July. [Yesterday evening after the prayer hour a young English boy was caught at our place, whom we suspect to be a runaway servant. He told me many obvious lies and named people at our place who could testify that he was not a servant and therefore could go where he pleased. This time he wanted to go to Charleston. We finally discovered that he had run away from a captain at Fort Augusta, and this morning he was taken to Savannah by three people. It was fortunate that he was quickly caught and sent away, otherwise he could have caused us a lot of trouble just like that bad fellow last winter and spring. He could easily have hidden and fed himself in the fields at this season.

[Mrs. Arnsdorff, who was married early this week, has not only a stepdaughter /Magdalena/, who is Sanftlebens wife, but also three little girls and a very weak but clever, diligent, and pious son /Peter/. Two of the girls are at the orphanage, the third girl has been with her brother, her mother, and Sanftleben and has helped them as long as the household has been together. Said young Arnsdorff asked for advice this afternoon, whether he should stay with Sanftleben or move in with his mothers present husband, Leitner. His mother is letting him choose and she also would have preferred to stay on her sons plantation next to Sanftleben if Leitner were willing to give up his own land. The young man realized that Sanftleben is just like a real father to him who especially cares for his soul, for he himself is very concerned about the salvation of his own soul. He also helps him a lot with his work, he needs him in his carpentry work and cabinet making and in the fields, and he shares everything with him that God grants him. I advised him to stay with Sanftleben and to follow his instructions and example, which he will do very gladly. In our prayer we offered some matters to the Lord which, in His time, He will reward in this young man.]

An [old] man came to see me this evening and said his wife was asking for me to come to see her; it seemed to her that she could not be saved as she was. I found her lying in bed, and she asked her husband to leave us alone. She cried greatly and explained that on Tuesday she was overcome with fear and broke out in a cold sweat all over her body. She remembered all the sins she had committed during her whole life, and she prayed to God to let her live through the night so that she could confess all the sins that she had concealed up until now. However, she foolishly let Wednesday and Thursday pass without confessing; but yesterday evening during the prayer meeting she heard about the death sentence passed upon Bathshebas baby son and learned that parents should not be foolish when their children are ill and die young but should humble themselves: the parents are often to blame for what the innocent children suffer. Her conscience was troubled again by the adulterous conception of a child that died yesterday. She had been forced to marry against her will back then, and such actions are accustomed to bring forth such fruit. She confessed her lack of love for her husband to a pious woman who led her into a concealed room and advised her to pray devoutly and eagerly to God to grant her the love she was lacking. When she prayed diligently, her situation improved. [She is also deeply troubled about her angry reluctance to accept my judgment which I had given by lots over two misplaced kettles.20 She asked for forgiveness; I confess that I can hardly remember the circumstances because it occurred already five years ago. This last confession will be of some use to me with the other party.]

This penitent and heartily humbled woman prayed sincerely during and after her confession while shedding many thousands of tears and sighed hungrily for the forgiveness of her sins. She accused herself severely for having held back and having been hypocritical for so long although many years ago she had heard someone read from Schaitberger that hypocrites do not have a ghost of a chance in heaven. Her spite was at fault, she said, and prevented her from being a good Christian. It was the same with her husband, and she prayed to God that He would have mercy on him and help him confess. I suspected several years ago that she had wrongfully taken some property, and therefore I asked her whether she had sinned against the eighth commandment. She assured me, however, that she was never aware of having done that in her life; but she did not consider this a sign of righteousness. She had sinned against all of Gods commandments.

Since she was truly honest and penitent, I spoke to her heart from the gospel and I showed her that her contrition was a great blessing of Gods and that she should now know that God joins repentance and forgiveness closely and had ordered the Evangelical minister to preach both. Our reconciled God prefers no greater benevolence than forgiving sins. I cited several important pithy gospel verses and read to her from Luke 7 what is written there about the Lord Jesus kindness towards the great sinner. She herself recited lovely verses and prayers which occurred to her in her anxiety. Her heart was greatly revived. She rejoiced at the treasure of the promised forgiveness of sins, we prayed together and praised the Lord. She will visit me often.

Saturday, the 18th of July. We have had a very bearable, pleasant, and fruitful summer this year. Although these are the dog-days, it is often cool at night, also in the mornings and evenings; and during the day the heat is so bearable that the workers are not hindered in the construction of the church. We have all types of peaches in such great quantities this year that the tree limbs break off and no support will help. Some were ripe four weeks ago, and from then on we have always had some fruit. Some are still quite green on the trees; and they will ripen even before we can enjoy the ones that are already ripe now. For several months we will thus not lack various types of peaches; and all thankful people regard it as a great benevolence that God has so abundantly replaced the lack of apples and pears that we had in Germany with these pleasant and juicy fruits. This year our people harvested some bushels of wheat, which they are having ground. Yesterday they showed me the flour, delicate and white, but not as white as the flour brought down from the north country. The mill, where their wheat can be put to use, will encourage them to plant more of the same crop, which grows so plentifully.

Sunday, the 19th of July. There are several Indian families here now who do not have a good reputation. We are afraid they could damage the crops in the gardens and the fields as they did last year, which cannot be prevented. [Kieffers middle son /Theobald, Jr./, who is not yet married, extolled the glory of God to me, which opened his eyes to the difference between true and false Christianity. He is very happy that he and his family have the opportunity to edify themselves on his brothers /Jacobs/ plantation, where God is blessing him with recognition of himself and his dear Savior. He notices how much of youths lust is still alive within him and that he would have fallen into various sins if he were still among worldly people and without the chastisement of the Holy Ghost through the word of God. He /Theobald/ does not trust in his own goodness. His brother-in-law, a Reformed young man /Valentin Depp/, is at his brothers /Jacobs/ plantation in our neighborhood to help him in his work; and, although he regularly visits the prayer hours and sermons, there are still no results as far as one can see. The said Kieffer and his brother, who has been gone for fourteen days,21 are working on him but they run across much contradiction because he stubbornly holds onto his party.22

I warned young /Jacob/ Kieffer not to get involved with him in any of the discussions and arguments that occur between the Reformed and ourselves but only to try to convince him from Gods word that true conversion and change of heart are necessary and possible and that they themselves must lead a right Christian and cautious life so that he can see that Christianity consists not only in word but in deed. He cannot believe that a man can be assured of his salvation, etc. Once, when they had him in a corner, he said that if only he would relinquish his belief and take Holy Communion with us they would be content with him, but now they were always finding something wrong with him, etc. They were able to refute his absurd opinion with the case of young Mrs. /Anna Elisabeth/ Kieffer, who has not yet been allowed to take communion despite her frequent requests, because she is still lacking true recognition and the fundamental truths of the Christian religion, as well as righteous behavior, and therefore still attends the preparation hours.

Monday, the 20th of July. /Hans Michael/Held, who is the Salzburgers most distant herdsman, came to visit me this morning to talk to me about the state of his soul. [He claimed repentance and said that his sins do not leave him one moment of peace, but I still cannot quite trust him. However,] I was happy about his visit because he gave me the chance to advise him about the essence of Christianity and to pray with him. In tending cattle he practices Mensas ambulatorias23 and sleeps now and then with a farmer, where he is fed for a few days; therefore he had to be admonished in his association with people not to follow those who only talk about Christianity, but to conduct himself according to the example of righteous Christians and to follow them, and he should chastise with word and deed the evil that speaks against Christianity even if only through foolish gestures and words. [He found this reminder necessary and told me something he had heard from Bruckner, who likes to joke and talk foolishly, on his way home from the town church on the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, which I will know how to put to use even if I am not sure how much of it I can believe. The dear Lord seems to have broken Bruckner with recognition of his sins and with epileptic attacks; and He even brought him to an open confession of his evil doings in Germany and here, and I would be unhappy if he were to begin again to act frivolously and secure.] Held had received the book Dogma of the Beginning of Christian Life,24 which he claimed was very useful to him. I told him what I had recently heard from a pious Salzburger, who believes shepherds have the most blessed life because their solitary life follows the example of other pious shepherds in the Bible. This thought reminded him of the verse in Hebrews 11:27, He endured as seeing him who is invisible, which had impressed him greatly as a sign from the Holy Ghost from Moses.

/Theobald/ Kieffer from Purysburg came to his sons /Jacobs/ plantation to ask his second son /Theobald, Jr./ and son-in-law /Depp/ to come to his plantation, which lies not far from Purysburg. He came over land and was up to his waist in water, although the path is usually dry in summertime. His plantation is so badly located that in the summer he has no water for either man or beast. The wells he dug out last year are dried up; and he needs help to dig them deeper in order to find water so that his animals will not die. What advantages our people have here in this regard: men and animals have an excess of river, spring, and well water not only in the town but on the plantations as well. We consider the orphanages well by the town as a special gift from God, even in the driest periods it has the coldest and healthiest water. There is never too much water and never too little in it; there seems to be something which carries off the extra water.

Tuesday, the 21st of July. I spoke to N. before the prayer meeting to warn her to be serious when praying to God in order to be able to truly repent her dead works. To further her repentance and godly contrition, I recommended both ardent prayer and the diligent and pious reading of the story and songs of the Passion, from which she could recognize how abominable a sin is in the holy eyes of God, because He so seriously punished our sins through His only begotten Son, who, in His inexplicable love for us sinners, took them upon Himself. The Lord Jesus also said to her: Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

N. lives not far away, and I also had an edifying talk with her. She considers Mrs. /Magdalena/ Steiner more fortunate than other women because, the services being held in her house, she can hear Gods word and be edified despite her sick child. Nevertheless, she comes to the services with her four-week-old baby; and I hope the Lord will bless her, as I have seen in the case of others, through the Bible story we contemplated today and through reading from Psalm 51. When her husband comes home, he always tells her about the words of God that were helpful to him. When he came home from town yesterday evening he told her that he had been impressed by the verse 2 Corinthians 5:1: We know that if our earthly house. ... When he was at the late Peter Grubers plantation and saw the ruins of the poorly built cabin and recalled that the owner had abandoned the cabin at the beginning of the year, he then knew what is meant by, We have a building of God.

She now has two little children; and, because she wishes to raise them to the glory of God and their own salvation, I told her what I had read about the mother of St. Bernard, namely, that she was accustomed to take her newly born children on her arm and to give them as a sacrifice to our Lord Jesus so that afterwards she loved them not as her own children but as property of her Redeemer that had been placed in her trust; and she saw to it that, with the blessing of our Lord, she succeeded in making all of her seven children into pious, godly people. There is no doubt that the enemy of man, as we learned from the life of blessed Monica, must have tried his best to take these children away from our Lord and embroil them in the world and sin, and it must have cost prayers, waking, struggle, and tears.

Yesterday evening during the prayer meeting and today on the plantations we learned what followed Davids confession and absolution. We read that Nathaniel went to him again and undoubtedly prayed to God fervently about the performance of his duty and the circumstances of his dearly beloved confessee, David, which is the duty and obligation of all righteous confessors and ministers. In both Psalm 51 and in the Bible story we are covering, we read that David sincerely and humbly prayed for himself and the child and that the prophets prayer was helpful to him in this matter. There is more than one Nathaniel among the dear servants and children of God in Europe who bear the welfare of Ebenezer in their hearts and earnestly pray for us. That not all of them have truly repented and gained a new spirit from this is to be blamed on their lack of personal and righteous prayer. Cf. Psalm 66:18 and Psalm 51:8. We are taught about true repentance by Davids repentance before Nathan and the absolution he received, which first resulted in his evangelical repentance, remorse, shame, humility, and penitential prayer. As soon as the grace of God gives them strength to return with the prodigal son and to cast themselves down before the throne of God, repenting and longing for grace in Christ, God will, for the sake of Christs merits, forgive them all the evil they have ever done and all the good they have left undone. The more they recognize in the light of the Holy Spirit the wondrous grace and love of God and what He has also done for them in their state of security, the more they will shame and humble themselves and, as David said in Psalm 51, they will always be aware of their sins. They would do God an injustice if they mistrusted His forgiveness, as happens often enough when such souls think they are not sorrowful enough and their repentance is not pure and when they still fear hell and the wrath of God and think they have not been forgiven but fall more and more under the law. O, how dear to us were the verses Ezekiel 16:60-63 and Jeremiah 31:18-19!

Two men had business in town this afternoon; and, since they also came to visit me they attested that the Lord had given them and their families much blessing and insight today on their way. One of them stated that when he contemplated the fourth and fifth petition the day before yesterday he realized that God, if we ask Him as He teaches us to, will give us in the name of His Son everything we need in the Kingdom of power and mercy. He still thanks his mother for having made him and his two brothers learn to read, even though she could not do so, and for having taught them the catechism and the gospel. It was three hours to walk to school and, because they could not go that far, they had to practice among themselves.

When I went to the orphanage this evening to edify myself through a spiritual discussion and common prayer, I saw, to my great pleasure, three or four young Indians contrary to their habits (for they consider work to be a disgrace) helping the construction workers place the timbers on the almost half constructed church, which was a lot of fun for them. I recalled what I had read yesterday about the building of Solomons temple, namely, that he used not only born Jews but also strangers and foreigners, as a prefiguration that during the time of the New Testament God would build His holy temple through and among Jews and heathens. Although I do not wish to compare the church we are constructing with that splendid temple, I was greatly impressed by what I had read and even seen in the case of this church. In minimis Deus saepe est maximus.25 Most of His works have begun small and expanded later. We hope that one day He will show the heathens of this land the door to life through the gospel, although we cannot determine how or when. Nothing is impossible for Him, nor is it possible that His promise will not be fulfilled concerning the winning of those other sheep that do not come from the Jewish fold. The church construction is progressing well, and God is strengthening the workers against the fairly intense summer heat. Sanftleben and others are finishing the roof shingles of cypress wood; each shingle is two feet long, and eight thousand are needed for the roof.

Wednesday, the 22nd of July. Our storehouse, which was previously Mr. Zwifflers house, has now collapsed, and this would have happened long ago if the side walls had not been supported by lengths of wood nailed to the posts. In the beginning we had neither time nor money to lay foundations for the cabins, and therefore the posts which are set in the soil have begun to rot. Now the beams are laid on thick pine-wood logs and the posts are fitted in them; all of this is done most industriously and accurately even if it is only a cow-barn and especially when better houses are built. Almost all of the cabins and stables built five years ago have collapsed, but the house lots and gardens have been kept in good order so that the town looks presentable. I hear that the heads of houses on the plantations are going to build themselves solid houses in town as soon as they find the time in which they can lodge with their families when they come into town for services or temporal business and which they can also relinquish as lodgings to those who arrive later. It is not necessary at the moment to build a new storehouse at the communitys cost; some of the supplies are at the orphanage and some at my house. Should another transport arrive, the Lord Trustees will have a public house built for them as they have done elsewhere. A useful storehouse could be built for 40 ь Sterling as long as wood is nearby and easily accessible.

/Martin/ Lackner would like to consecrate the new house on his plantation with prayers and the word of God, and for this he has invited me; we will have to postpone it for several days until the river falls and the shorter road to the plantation is passable by horse; otherwise, if I take the /longer/ detour, I have to miss the preparation for Holy Communion (as I must do on Tuesdays and Fridays when I do not wish to walk in the heat), and I do not like to do this. The river water has risen somewhat of late and is now so high that the men working on the shingles would be forced to leave their work place if it were only a bit higher. It has not been raining too much here, so it must be raining more frequently in the mountains.

I was surprised that N. was praying with someone in a small room in my house, but did not come to see me. When I met her [on the way home] and asked her why, she complained of her timidity and shyness, people were saying that those who came to see us often are gossiping about others, i.e., denouncing their evil ways. She knew that it was not the pious but the wicked who thought and said such things. Therefore I encouraged her not to forego what had already helped her so much because of evil people. In the meantime I was greatly depressed by this matter, the like of which may have occurred among us several years ago and which is the doing of the devil. I cited her the verse: I am with you every day, which she was to take with her and say to the sickly Mrs. Flrl, for whom she had fetched medicine; in it lies a great consolation for the healthy and the sick, for travelers, workers, and various situations.

I spoke with the clockmaker Mller about the wonderful benevolence of the Lord that is seen in the fields, gardens, and homes; and we recalled the verse: If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land, likewise, Psalm 81:14 ff. Oh that my people had harkened unto me, and Israel, etc. I should soon have subdued their enemies, etc., I should have fed them also with the finest wheat and honey, etc. Besides the usual fruits of the land, God has granted us lovely wheat, which several people are having ground by the bushel. Nor are we lacking honey; just yesterday as much was gathered from one tree as a man could carry. And fruit is so abundant this year that much of it can be dried in the oven and also made into spirits. God is bestowing this much upon us even though we do not all fear Him yet; what would happen if everyone devoted himself to true godliness, which is useful for everything and is the promise of this and future life?

Thursday, the 23rd of July. The girl from Savannah who is under the guardianship of the schoolmaster Mr. Ortmann and his wife has had fever for a long time and has complained about the soreness in her throat and mouth. Now it turns out not only that her uvula is affected but also that much damage and a deep cavity have appeared in her throat, which is a cause for concern. It is also feared that she would fare like Hans Mauers wife /Catherina/, who can barely eat, drink, or talk anymore. Mr. Thilo is taking care of her and believes that little can be done externally unless she is treated internally with effective medicine. The girl does not like to take the medicine, and therefore I tried to encourage her today. She enjoys being here and does not want to go home. Her father will be informed of her situation as soon as possible.

[We sometimes have problems with the old Swiss carpenter /Krsy/. He loves to dispute and always believes he is right; and, when he cannot win, he grows angry and uses harsh words. Yet he believes he is a good Christian because he knows the Bible well. I must make the best even of this and use it as a lesson not to let such people settle in our town so that, if there is trouble afterwards with the neighbors, I will not be to blame. Zettler told me of some confusing things that happened between him and his wife /Elisabeth Margaretha/ lately. I asked young26 Mrs. /Anna Elisabeth/ Kieffer about this; she was also involved in this misunderstanding and candidly told me everything that husband and wife had done that was punishable. When I arrived this afternoon, the husband /Jacob Kieffer/ told me that they were reconciled but they were pleased that I was aware of their fault and had come to them; and they asked me not to tell their parents anything.

I admonished [them] certain people, as they had recently been told publicly, not to be content that they had been reconciled with one another. Rather, since they had sinned against God and annoyed others, it was up to them to seek for true repentance and to ask for forgiveness in the blood of the Lord Jesus. Then they would not only dispose of all the guilt they had incurred before and during their marriage but would also become good trees that bear good fruit. For both of them lack conversion, on which my entire lecture had concentrated. Otherwise they would experience what they learned from Davids example, namely, that sins will bring one misfortune after the other into their home and marriage. Even if other unconverted people in the country succeed and have good luck and progress in their work, God will judge the disobedient in our town more than others because they have been shown more mercy and given more chances to convert and lead a holy life than others.

I wished they had listened to yesterdays prayer meeting, but they were hindered by their squabbling, although they claimed the cause was something else. We learned that God not only visited Davids little son with a special illness but also let him die on the seventh day, shortly before circumcision, a terrible punishment that David had surely earned by not respecting Uriahs sacrament of circumcision but allowed him to be killed by the sword of the uncircumcised Ammonites. Although the child was not damned because of this (as even David recognized in v.23), it caused him to humble himself before God [as was done especially in the temple]. Through the grace of God we are herewith warned neither to underestimate nor to abuse the means of salvation and mercy, which both adults and children here are so richly enjoying without having earned it. God could punish us by retracting His benevolence (against which we sin contrary to Gods intentions), and we would be justifiably punished if God should take away the candlestick of the gospel and of the entire Christian Service (to which belongs the administration of the holy sacraments). It is only a candlestick (although a golden one) which can be easily removed from one place and put in another, according to Gods help and just will.

It is, I said, a grievous and critical sign that on several occasions newborn children have died without being baptized. One should not be so casual about this, but reflect upon it, for such unusual cases do not occur without special reason, since there are ministers ready day or night for performing holy baptism. This is a great judgment over non-believers, and even for believers it is a chastisement which they will surely feel. N.N. (who often becomes very indifferent toward the means of grace during his marriage) let two of his children die without being baptized, although he was my dear colleagues nearest neighbor; and it happened once to N. Oh, how many examples of Gods right of retaliation do we find in the Bible stories, which clarify the well-known verse from the Book of Wisdom 11:17, As one sins, so shall he be punished. Likewise, the Saviors With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.

Friday, the 24th of July. Yesterday evening the sick little English girl told me that she had had scabies while at the orphanage in Savannah and that it was cured with yellow sulphur, which she had to swallow as well as rub all of her limbs. I told Mr. Thilo, who had not yet been able to determine the cause of the ailment but who now understands clearly what caused the serious eruption in her throat near the uvula. Her throat looked worse today than yesterday, and the cure dare not be delayed. As the scab has softened and broken loose, a deep cavity can be seen near the uvula; and it looks generally bad. Mr. Thilo is now even more determined to cure it from within. All the children and adults in the /Bethesda/orphanage had a bad case of scabies, even the doctor and his wife; and Mr. Habersham, the manager, told me they had all cured themselves with yellow sulphur. They took whole spoonsful for ten or twelve days, made a salve of it and rubbed it over their entire bodies in front of the fire, and bathed afterwards.27 They call this a dangerous but successful treatment, yet none of us wishes to have anything to do with it. [Ortmann, the schoolmaster, went to Charleston because of his retail trade;28 and his wife is therefore entirely alone with the girl. As she has her own work to do, especially picking fruit, which she, like others, tries to put to good use by making dried fruit and spirits, it is difficult for her to nurse the said girl. I hope the girls father will repay her for her trouble. He promised to pay 2 sh. 6 d. for her food and lodging every week, and this will probably not cover any extra costs and accidents.

I hear that the miller will be finished tomorrow with the corn, rice, and wheat that he is grinding for the community and for Savannah, and therefore many others could be served if it were necessary.]

The two mill stones donated by General Oglethorpe are still lying in the storehouse in Savannah; and today before the edification hour it was resolved to fetch them at the beginning of next week with a large boat, which has been repaired, now that the people have time. As the water in the river is high enough, they can best be brought to the mill now. Although they cannot be set up now because of lack of money, it is still good to have them here before they are taken elsewhere. At some point we will construct a millrun that will enable us to grind even when the water is low.

[There have been complaints that Grimmiger and his wife /Anna Maria/ treat the girl /Catherina/from his previous marriage too harshly. I wished to visit them, but they were not at home and I found the girl locked in the house so that I could only talk to her like a prisoner through a crack in the door. I finally found the father, who tried to justify his actions and complained about the girls naughtiness. He and his wife prayed to God to change the girl and to bless their discipline, but nothing changed. He begot the child dishonorably with his former wife, who died four weeks after her arrival, and he has not yet repented. It is irresponsible when parents try to drive out the evil in their children without trying to do away with their own, and I admonished about this loyally. Some change will probably be made regarding the girl, as the community itself hopes. After the death of her mother much was spent on her from the poor-box; and now that she has gotten through the worst we must not let her go to ruin.]

Saturday, the 25th of July. Yesterday evening the carpenters raised the four walls of the church with the help of God. Both of us were there for the sake of exercise when a worker came to us to let us know that they were almost finished and wished to conclude with a prayer. My dear colleague led the prayer this time; and I went home because of the planned prayer meeting, where I met two strangers who brought me a welcomed letter from General Oglethorpe, which was even more enjoyable because it arrived at such a remarkable time. [For the pleasure of our friends I am including the entire letter which reads, word for word, as follows]:

Frederica July 17 1741

Rev. Sir

I received the Pleasure of Yours the Copy of one dated 24th March the original of which I do not remember to have received, otherwise should certainly have ordered Corn from Augusta to be ground at Ebenezer.

I desire to know whether Mr. /Thomas/ Jones has paid for the Indn. Corn Flour you sent down which if he has not I desire he would, I should also have given you the Assistance which I now send for Erecting the Mill.

I am still more concerned at the not receiving your Letter, since it has so long Deprived the People here of a Minister. At the same time I spoke to you of a Minister for here, I wrote to Mr. Verelst to defray the Passage et other Expences from Germany to England, et from England hither, of the Minister, Mr. Professor /Gotthilf August/Francke should recommend; by the Trustees answer it seems that, that letter had miscarried; I am affraid wicked people often stop Letters besides the accidents of War. I send you a Letter to Mr. Verelst which I desire, you would inclose to him. I send it to you open that you may see how this office must be managed.

[I desire you would make my Respects acceptable to the Revd. Mr. Senior Urlsperger at Augsburg, I rejoice much in hearing of the health of so devote a Man, et worthy a Pillar of the Church of Christ.]

I wrote to Mr. Jones to Pay all the Bounty on Corn that is allowed by the Trustees.

[This is the Answer to the first Letter (of which you sent me the Copy) which I should have answered long ago.]

With respect to your second. I am very glad to find that your Congregation is able et willing to Plow in case they had Horses et Oxen, also that you intend to go upon Silk, Mulberry Trees et Vines. I therefore send you enclosed a Bill of Exchange for One Hundred Pound, which the Trustees will Lend without Interest to such Persons, or in such manner, as you shall think proper to enable the Building of the Mill, the buying Horses et Cattle for Plowing et the Planting of Vines and raising of silk by the Salzburgers. The said Mill et Cattle bought to be security for the repayment of said sum after the Expiration of 5 years.

I am sorry that the Accounts you heard of my Health are not so true as I could wish since I have not been thoroughly well since the seige of S. Augustine, though thank God I am better now than I have been. [I desire you would make my service acceptable to etc. Pray also. Let me know how the young Man Bishop does. I am

Revd. Sir

your very humble serv.]James Oglethorpe

[Frederica, 17 July 1741]

His enclosed letter to Mr. Verelst [regarding the minister requested for Frederica] reads as follows:

Frederica 17th July 1741

Sir

I Desire you would do what I mentioned in a former to you, which for fear you did not receive I now repeat, viz that you would Pay the sum of fifty Pounds Ster. to Defray the Charge et Passage for such a Minister of the gospel as Mr. Professor Francks shall recommend from the Place he shall be in Germany to London and from London this Place, for there are many German Familys in want of a Minister. I hope the Trustees will make him an Allowance, but if not, I am willing to Pay this myself et also to give him fifty Pounds Ster. a year during his Residence here. I desire you would acquaint the Trustees with this Letter, we are very healthy here and lately Destroyed one of the Spanish Privateers and the Indians are continually bringing us in Spanish Prisoners.

I am Sir

your very humble Servant

James Oglethorpe

[I rarely make extracts, much less copies, of the letters which are sent to Savannah or elsewhere in the country, partly because of other duties and also because we receive an answer before the contents have been forgotten. However, with this letter that General Oglethorpe answered to our pleasure, I entered it into the letter-book with Gods blessing so that it can be recopied in case the letter is not properly delivered.] During the evening prayer meeting we sang a song of praise and I informed parishioners of the contents of the said letter before we continued with our lesson so that many of them would be humbled by their disbelief, doubts, impatience, etc. because the corn subsidy or bounty had been delayed for so long and so that they would learn through the grace of God to wait and believe in His help and not always to depend on people and their tools. It is written: What slowly creeps is surely caught and What is delayed is all the sweeter. Be content. The fulfillment of Gods promise takes time, as He has always proved it to us so far. The listeners were also called upon to praise God and to pray for our dear Lord Trustees and especially for General Oglethorpe, who is so kindly disposed to us, and to take to heart that he and others who mean so well with the inhabitants of this land are caused much distress and vexations by unthankful, evil people. We are also very happy that the German people in Frederica will have a preacher, who is now going to be called to them.29 Oh, what a blessing for these people. They are more concerned about their cattle than about a minister, and God is sending them one without their having asked or troubled themselves for one. May God make this great benevolence contribute to their salvation and not, through their own fault, to their judgment, and may He hear all the intercessions sent up to Him!

We learned from the story in 2 Samuel 12 how effective a humble, continuous, and pious prayer is for the salvation of the person praying and for the persons being prayed for. David was blessed during and after the prayer. Although God did not bless him with the health and life of the child as a constant and humble remembrance of his fall, Jeremiah 31:19, He nonetheless gave him composure and total resignation to His will and revealed to him the meaning of his prayer in Psalms 51:10, Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice, etc. He left the tabernacle with an enlightened heart and visage and happily ate his bread after receiving Gods grace. Now he could, as he had resolved in Psalms 51:15, teach transgressors His ways and convert sinners to Him and he could console the other, especially Bathsheba, who had sinned with him (and who had also truly repented with him, as it is written in the caption to the 51st Psalm and indicated by other events in the following story, i.e., the blessed approbation of their marriage through the birth of Solomon, or Jedidiah (Friedrich Gottlieb), cf. Proverbs 31:1 ff.) He could comfort them with the comfort by which he was comforted by God.

Oh what blessed changes occur through true conversion in soul and body in all circumstances, if all believe and wish to carry it through. If all fathers who are similar to David in sin and security would follow in the footsteps of the converted David, they would preside over their wives and homes rightly and no longer be tools of Satan to seduce and hinder, rather tools of God to promote His Kingdom. They could teach the paths of God to those whom they have helped seduce or have hindered their conversion through words or deeds (there are a few of them among us), so that the sinners would be converted to Him; and then they would comfort the penitent, the mourners, and the sorrowful in Zion not perversely (as worldly people do to assure themselves), but in a godly manner and with good success. We learned from Davids example how much blessing and profit a penitent person can have during prayer if he prays with trust (as can be seen in many Psalms) and how he will be granted his prayer, if not according to his will, at last according to that of God, while still on his knees.

I recalled what the late Pastor Mischke (whose life and ministry are remembered with blessing) told me joyfully and with praise to God. He had a well dug in Glaucha in Silesia for the orphanage at a spot God had revealed to him in prayer. After much digging they still had not found water and people began to question and argue whether or not this was the right place to dig. Meanwhile he had to take a trip; and in a strange town he prayed to God about the well. During his prayer the word water resounded in his mind; and this aroused him to praise God for the discovery of water although he had not yet received any news. When he returned home, he learned from his people that the very moment he had felt it in his prayer the workers in the well, who had driven an iron bar through the iron-hard soil, had called out water, and the word had spread through the entire orphanage from one room to another to awaken them all to praise God. Psalm 25:14.

Sunday, the 26th of July. N. came into town as early as yesterday evening for todays services. She attended yesterdays evening prayer meeting and heard that David and Bathsheba, who had both been converted by Nathan, had a sincere love and deep trust in their father-confessor, this tool of God, as could be recognized by the fact that he trusted him with the care and raising of his beloved Solomon (i.e., Friedrich)30 and named another of his sons by Bathsheba Nathan, as can be seen in 1 Chronicles 3:15. We learned from these historical circumstances that only those parishioners who are of one heart and mind with their honest ministers and are devoted to them with sincere love, simplicity, and trust who let themselves be brought by their ministers to penitence, to reconciliation with God, and, thus, to the incomparably blessed state of grace. On the other hand, others are least content with them when they perform their ministry honestly because they judge their sincere and loving zeal to save their souls as hostility and interpret their words and deeds falsely.

I did not know that N. had expressed her discontent and mistrust towards me to my dear colleague shortly before the prayer hour; and therefore she received a lesson at this prayer meeting as she had from him. Today, before the [afternoon] services, she came to me and confessed that she had sinned against me in many ways, with and without my knowledge; and she gave me the chance to show her her improper way and lack of penitence before God, as well as the divine judgments she had already felt. She was absent recently when the Bible story gave us the occasion to talk about the judgment passed upon parents whose children die without being baptized. I admonished her to recognize and repent her sins before and during her marriage, especially her disobedience and irritating behavior towards N.N., and to beg God for a different heart; then everything, even in her housekeeping, would fare better and she would be a good example for others, which she has not been up till now. N. was once on the way to change her heart, as she well recognized; but afterwards she lapsed into unfaithfulness and committed many sins: as I could not condone her evil ways, she spoke very badly about me and interpreted my well intended advice in such a manner that she disgraced herself before other Christians. Only time will tell whether or not she took our discussion to heart.

H. Flrl indicated that his wife /Anna Maria/ was very ill and weak and that she would appreciate it if I came to see her again, since both she and her husband believe she is going to die. He told me that God had blessed him through His word and that, if I visited her, I could also impart some of the blessing to her. Before he came to town to go to church this morning, he opened up the Little Treasure Chest39 to the very impressive verses on p. 128, which are her spiritual condition, and left her life or death in the hands of God. Both of them truly love each other for the sake of God and in His love; and their composure and contentment impress me greatly. [She appears to have arthritis vaga.]40 Tomorrow I will try to visit this pious patient as early as possible, she is truly an Anna Maria.

During the afternoon service we had a very strong thunder and rainstorm, which was over in a half an hour without damaging anything. Last week it was said to have thundered excessively at night on the plantations, and lightning struck now and then in the forests; but we noticed nothing in town.

After the afternoon services Ruprecht Steiner gave me a letter which he wishes to be sent along to N. [Senior Urlsperger]. The distribution of donations from Europe among the adults and children has edified him and others, and he wished to acknowledge it in the letter. He wished to thank the dear benefactors who had occasioned their edification and spiritual blessings and wish them Gods blessings. [His writing is so illegible that I do not know whether everything can be read. The Salzburgers unclear handwriting is usually the reason we often guide their hands and pens when they write a letter.]

Monday, the 27th of July. [My dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, went to Savannah this afternoon. When the Lord brings him back home again he will tell us the reason and benefit of this trip.] N.N. [Hertzog] visited me today; he is doing very poorly physically, but the Lord is doing much thereby for his soul so that I surely believe he will be saved. He always loved to argue and take exception, but now he is quieter, sighs for grace, and trusts that our dear God will have mercy on him: he no longer fears death as he did before; he was deeply affected by the death of the late Magdalena Haberfehner, which he saw with his own eyes, and he had observed everything [all her gestures].

This evening our dear Lord blessed /Gertraut/ the wife of my dear colleague (Boltzius) with a healthy daughter /Catherina Maria/. Her labor pains began before he left on his trip, yet he did not let that interrupt his plans. He must have prayed all the more for her during his trip, and I believe the Lord assured him his prayers would be answered. This will strengthen his faith even more when he comes home and sees with his own eyes what the Lord has done. We should say: the Lord can do so much more than we can ever understand or pray for. For a long time she was sick almost every day, yet our dear Lord made it so easy for her even in these circumstances and helped her through quickly. I sent my wifes sister /Gertraut Boltzius/ the verse I used as a text for our Thanksgiving, Psalm 68:20-21: Praised be the Lord daily. God lays a burden upon us, but He also helps us. We have a God who helps, and the Lord, who saves from death.

Tuesday, the 28th of July. Kalcher visited me this morning, and on this occasion he confirmed what I had reported about N.N. [Hertzog]. He recently recited for him the verse: I am the Lord that healeth thee, which was a special blessing for him. He told me about the German girl from Savannah /Magdalena Meyer/ who has been taken in by the orphanage, that the dear Lord is working on her powerfully in her illness. On Sunday he read her the verse my valued colleague had used in the sermon; she cried and said how she wished to be rid of her sins. May the Lord help her and teach her the truth, then everything will be well.

Today our dear God especially blessed me twice and gave me great edification and refreshment when, in the presence of other godly and grace-hungry souls I poured forth my heart before His throne of grace and lauded Him. It happened once before at a baptism when I was praying on my knees to God with the pious godparents before the ceremony; we praised Him for the great mercy He shows us in our childhood and afterwards, when He searches for us and finds us like lost sheep. This we could all acknowledge to His praise, and during the prayer the words with which I had been especially blessed at another baptism came into my heart again: Is Ephraim not my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I spoke against him, I do earnestly remember him still (oh what wonderful things He told me even during holy baptism), therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. It can truthfully be said of such society: God inhabits the praise of Israel.

We prayed to God about various matters and asked for His blessing on our plans. The other time our dear God granted me His blessing was during one of my visits where I met two other pious people.41 All of these people were of the kind, as the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 5, who are blessed for they are poor in spirit, mourners, and hungry and thirsty for righteousness. They could not help but praise God for His mercy, even though they recognized their sin. We look forward to that eternal life where we will be delivered from all evil and will praise the Triune God without sin. It will be glorious there. He will surely help us achieve this.

Wednesday, the 29th of July. [I visited the sick English girl today after school; she still looks right miserable. Mr. Thilo also came and looked at the damage to her throat and applied something to heal it, so I could see it all the better. I reiterated for her the little verse, I am the Lord thy physician, and I showed her briefly how her sins were the cause of all of her pains and that she should first recognize her sins and turn as a spiritually sick person to Jesus, who is the best physician so that she will be cured, especially in her soul.42 In the end I prayed to Jesus about her condition and laid it at His feet, as the people there did with their sick ones in Matthew 15:30. I believe our dear God did not lead her to our town and make her sick in vain; I believe it happened for the cure and salvation of her soul. May He let us see this joy.]

Yesterday and today the Lord granted us great edification during the prayer meeting. During the Feast of Tabernacles we read in John 7:2 how during the time of the New Testament we should celebrate every day as such a feast day not only to remind ourselves of the good merited through Christ but also to enjoy the fruits of His death and resurrection. The days of the New Testament should be right joyful days; and, although we, as strangers and pilgrims, encounter all types of evil living here in tabernacles, that should not hinder us from rejoicing in the Lord. When we are transferred to the eternal tabernacles in heavenly Canaan, everything will be perfect. Because we have been redeemed so dearly by Christ, it is written in Psalm 81:11, Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. We also read from Luke 9:51 ff. how the Lord Jesus sent His servants ahead as messengers to ask for shelter in the hearts of men and that men did not wish to give it to Him. If the Lord Jesus were like mankind, we would all have been consumed by fire long ago. However, He has borne us with great patience and forebearance until He succeeded in a few cases to find not only shelter but a lasting home. Oh, may He help everyone in Ebenezer to be moved by His entreaties [so that we can all understand Him and learn meekness and humility].

Thursday, the 30th of July. This morning I saw a young man working in his workshop. I soon went up to him; and, because I had not seen him yesterday during the prayer meeting, I asked him whether he wanted to give someone shelter. He answered yes. I said, But it is a very distinguished man. Oh, he said, does such a man want to come to our town? I said, He wants to come into your heart, and he understood whom I meant. I said that, if he was so willing to take someone into his home (which is what he first understood), he should rightly be even more willing to take in the Lord Jesus. May the Lord make me happy and show me that He has opened his heart to Him.

To be sure, certain domestic circumstances43 as well as some physical weaknesses would have required me (Boltzius) to postpone the planned trip to Savannah; yet my duties and the well-being of the parishioners caused me to take the trip, which had been planned for Friday, according to Gods will, last Monday afternoon. I completed it safe and with divine blessing today after the noon meal, and I have seen much evidence of the Lords goodness and guidance. Last week I had written several letters to Europe which, along with the voluminous diary, was to be sent off at this time. The opportunity for this was so perfect that for this reason alone I did not regret the trip. I also had an opportunity to answer General Oglethorpes last letter quickly and to send him humble thanks for the especial good will he shows to our congregation in many ways and to inform him at the same time that the money he is lending the congregation for five years without interest will be used for the mill and agriculture, etc., to the best of our abilities, as we discussed and decided upon Monday morning within the congregation; more will be written to explain the matter. I informed this benefactor that Mr. /Thomas/ Jones has no order or money from the Lord Trustees to pay us the bounty or so-called corn-shilling for 1739 (as has been done for others in this land and has been promised us too). Therefore I asked him to give me the authority to cash a bill of exchange in Savannah, as the money could solve many of our needs.

I discussed several important things concerning the welfare of the congregation with Mr. Jones and Colonel Stephens and was treated very kindly by them. the long awaited horses for seven men in the congregation to inspect the forests from time to time to drive away evil people have arrived in Savannah; and, since they are stud mares, we are hoping they will fill more than one purpose, so we do not mind waiting. General Oglethorpe gave orders that, along with the money for furthering agriculture, our congregation should receive six young oxen from the Lord Trustees herd in Old Ebenezer, which I have not yet accepted because I have not yet discussed the matter with the congregation, as he did not mention it in his letter. Our people would prefer young stud mares rather than oxen for plowing; the work is easy, because of the loose soil, and horse breeding is a very necessary and useful thing.

From the ь 100 Sterl. loan, fifty pounds will be needed for the mill, partly to pay for the work already done and partly to install the grinding stones that are being picked up in Savannah. If only ь 10 are allocated for silk and grape vines, then ь 40 remain to buy horses to plow the fields. No more than ten or eleven mares or horses can be bought for that. So that as many as possible (even if not all) can partake in this benefaction, either the nearest neighbors will join together, or, if anyone wishes his own horse, he can pay half. Some of those who are earning money from the church or elsewhere are willing to do so. To be sure, General Oglethorpe had intended this benefaction primarily for the orphanage; however, since we gladly give the Salzburgers preference, there will be nothing left over for it, as I explained somewhat in my letter. We plan to begin plowing the fields near the orphanage, since there is enough land nearby which has been cleared of trees and roots. Perhaps God will grant us something more for this purpose. [No letters have arrived in Savannah from London for a long time, therefore it is no wonder that we have not heard from our friends and benefactors for some time. The letters we sent at this time were for Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, Senior Urlsperger. Professor /Gotthilf August/ Francke, Mr. Verelst, and Mr. Newman.

[In Savannah several so-called gentlemen44 ganged together and arbitrarily composed a petition to the King against the Lord Trustees; and they hope in this manner to receive permission to introduce all sorts of harmful liberties as are found in other colonies. This attempt will not only fail, but will also cause them problems, for they have treated the Lord Trustees and their subordinates poorly before. Several of them were involved in this plot believing it was something good, but they now regret what they have done and are sick with worry. They were joined by people from Carolina, who probably wish to sneak in here and practice their evil ways, which harm the poor here as in Carolina. The regiment of the Lord Trustees and the previous arrangements of the colony have hindered them up to now.

[People who are clients of the Lord Trustees and have borrowed several hundred pounds Sterling from them and are still in their debt are kicking up their heels and believe their government to be an unbearable and damaging yoke on the country. Also, noble and common people have protested against the storehouse and complained that it should not be permitted to sell all kinds of things and food because it hindered free trade and did not allow the subjects to make a profit. Now that nothing more is being sold from the storehouse, they can clearly see the damage and punishment their stubbornness created; for they must pay more for most of the things bought in the shops elsewhere, and most are not to be had. Food supplies are scarce, and the people would gladly pay four shillings for a bushel of corn and beans, if only it could be had. Not one of us knows anything about this famine. There is also a lack of money and food at the orphanage at Savannah.]

On Tuesday evening the Germans in town and on the plantations around the town gathered at my lodgings to hear the word of God; with the help of the Holy Ghost so much was preached to them again that they will have no excuse on that day. Although they had worked hard all day and had work to do at home in the evening, they came eagerly and in great numbers. In Purysburg I spent that night with a captain and judge of that place [Lindner] whom God had visited with a severe illness for a long time. My dear colleague had recently visited him, and God had greatly blessed what had been discussed and prayed with this patient and he considered it a great benevolence that God had arranged it for me to stay with him on my way back home. [He was treated horribly by an unskilled doctor with vomiting and six Sesicutoria;45 two hands wide and long, each was laid on various parts of his body for several days and not only did he suffer indescribable pain in this torture but he was extremely weakened and has severe stomach and breast pains and is weak in the head. What a blessing it is for us that our patients are not exposed to such tormenting cures.

While I was in Savannah, a lying-in woman who had given premature birth was neglected almost to the point of death, and she has probably died. There is no doctor in town and the /Bethesda/ orphanage doctor /Hunter/ is rather far away.] Our dear God gave me much evidence of His blessing during this trip, which I cannot yet report. May He be humbly praised for everything. The authorities in Savannah are entirely pleased with the arrangements with our community and do not wish us to be disturbed by evil, rebellious people.

Monday, the 31st of July. [Following the edification hour I informed the congregation that I had not yet received their corn-shillings when I was in Savannah and that I hoped they could be patient a while longer. They were all content; pious people leave everything in the hands of God, who will give everything in His time. However much they would have liked to plow the fields as General Oglethorpe wished, it will not be feasible this year, since the present native crops are still standing in the fields and other land is not yet ready to be plowed. There are old fields near the town which could be cultivated soon. In the meantime, almost every family wishes to cultivate the fields the European way with a plow because it is less laborious and more profitable than working with the hoe.] In the afternoon the captain and judge, Mr. Lindner, came from Purysburg with Mr. Thilo, who had traveled to him by boat yesterday. He was seeking some peace and quiet medical attention. He is being cared for in my house to the best of my present abilities. He is a welcome guest, because I hope his presence will serve more than one purpose. His room is right above the room where the prayer meetings are held, and he can hear every word clearly; even this evening he heard much from the Bible story for the edification of his soul. May God realize His salutary purpose in him better than in a certain woman in Purysburg who was recently strongly convinced from the sermons and prayer hours; but I was just told in Purysburg that she has cooled off again and has learned to love the world.

AUGUST

Saturday, the 1st of August. In our church construction we have reached the point of laying the rafters, and we have more and more hope of being able to hold our public services here soon. At about noon we and the builders concluded the work with prayer and thanksgiving to God; and we knelt down right in the middle of the church. We had scarcely begun to pray before being overtaken by a great and entirely unexpected cloudburst, by which we were wet through and through. Our hearty wish in this was that the Lord will pour out the Holy Spirit like a fruitful rain abundantly on all those who, in the future, will properly use the means to salvation in this house of God and that He will make everyone green, flourishing and fruitful [as it is now in our fields and gardens]. I remembered our ordination text, Isaiah 44:3-5, on which Court Chaplain Laue in Wernigerode based his sermon at that time.

[Today we have made a start at paying for the larger part of the work done on the mill, and this has made the carpenters willing to construct the new mill-course as soon as possible so that we can grind even when the water is low. Of the hundred pounds we received through a bill of exchange in Savannah at General Oglethorpes order, fifty pounds were used for paying the costs of the mill. The people will gladly let the remaining wages be postponed to the future and will also gladly continue working in hopes of more later on and not demand any pay at present. It is a new and great benefaction of God that, although the Salzburgers have built the mill for their own good and must maintain it, they are gradually getting money for their mill that is very useful to them in many ways in their housekeeping. May He make them all grateful, and may He hold before our eyes and spirits the great benefactions, the great sins, and the great judgments on the people of Israel that we can recognize in tomorrows gospel.]

Sunday, the 2nd of August. Today toward evening the previously mentioned Mr. Lindner returned to Purysburg when an opportunity for travel appeared, after having been strengthened in body and edified in spirit. Like David, he would like to remain in the house of the Lord all his life and see the beautiful services of the Lord, as he had an opportunity to do at our place. He complained of the poor situation of the Purysburg plantations, which lie so dispersed that much spiritual and physical harm is caused. [If God helps him back to health, he wishes to come back to us. Mr. Thilo gave him some medicine to take back home.]

In the evening two men called on me whose visit struck me at first as very inopportune because I was right weak and tired after having held divine services twice and also having held prayer meeting. Afterwards, however, I was very pleased, because we carried on an edifying conversation and prayed together; and this noticeably restored my spiritual and physical strength. They remembered their former circumstances in Salzburg to the praise of God. It has been precisely ten years since they were sought out and expelled;1 and they could not marvel enough at the goodness of God they had experienced during this time in spiritual and physical matters. God has brought both of them to a recognition of their sinfulness, but also to a faith in the Lord Jesus so that they now know in Whom they believe and are compelled by the love of Christ to lead others to Him too in as far as God gives them opportunity and ability.

[Monday, the 3rd of August. Both Sanftleben and his stepmother-in-law, the Arnsdorff woman, have requested that their two little girls, Sophia and Dorothea Arnsdorff, be sent back home from the orphanage; and they were dismissed today with the necessary clothing. They wish to use them in their own household, and we are pleased to let this be done, since the orphanage does not seek any gain from the children but only endeavors to raise them up to the glory of God, to the benefit of their neighbors and themselves, and to their own salvation.]

I was recently told that the Indian who had remained for a long time in our area with his two women, one of whom is the natural daughter of his wife, had been bound and shot to death by an Indian; but the report was wrong as to the person, since this family has now returned here and therefore must have escaped the anger of their enemies who had been looking for them. This much is certain: an Indian in Savannah was dreadfully shot up by another one and was buried by his wife near the water. This abuse [disorder] rules among them: they avenge all insults, especially if anyone shoots their brother or friend, by shooting or killing him; and the Englishmen do not intervene in this. In Savannah lives the frequently mentioned Mrs. Musgrove, who has the liberty of selling the Indians rum or brandy; and the Indians had drunk themselves full on the days I had business there last week. They were shouting and making a lot of noise, and this caused a great nuisance.

The Lord Trustees mean very well with their regulations in general, especially with the prohibition against selling rum, and are seeking only the good of the Indians and colonists; but they can accomplish very little because of the great resistance of the greedy people. I was very much amazed when Col. Stephens told me that even people whom the Lord Trustees have helped by advancing them money for their subsistence and advancement are opposing them with word and deed and with all sorts of obvious intrigues and wish to introduce an unbridled [improper] freedom, or rather a licentiousness, which would be very harmful for the public.

Tuesday, the 4th of August. Before the edification hour I visited N.N. [Ruprecht /Zimmerebner/ (who has been erroneously called Zimmerman so far)] and his wife /Margaretha/ [on her plantation] and tried to speak especially to her conscience so that she might free herself from her secret sins that have made her conversion difficult, indeed impossible, so far. God has been working on her for some time very powerfully through His word; and a start in this had already been made [when she was single in the orphanage, where she was a maid]. Her husband is a righteous and serious Christian who knows from experience that it indeed costs a lot to be a Christian2 but that it is surely worth the effort; and therefore he has sought nothing so sincerely up till now as to bring this wife of his [the Berenberger woman] along the path of penance and faith. It is known to me only through the confession of a certain man that she sinned grievously in her single state yet wishes to be considered better than she is. I told her various things about the order of salvation, in which God looks for frankness and honesty above all things. If anyone does not conform to that, he is merely holding himself back. I have known examples of people who have borne the best resolutions for year after year and have used the means to salvation diligently and yet, because of their secret trickery, have not achieved a true state of Christianity. When we have visited them, their Christianity consisted only in complaints and wishes, which will save no one.

Her husband discussed this and that from personal experience; and his wife took this so much to heart that she fell on her knees with us and shed many thousands of tears during the prayer and was so depressed that she could hardly stand up from the ground. She asked me with [sighs and] loud crying to visit her again this week because she wishes to speak with me alone; and, with Gods aid, I shall do this [by Friday before the edification hour, if not sooner]. I was pleased that she had diligently used the opportunities to hear the stories of Davids sinful fall and penitence and that she will learn to understand them and apply them better if she allows herself to be brought to a recognition of her sins. Today I was visited by a man who told me he had thought himself well able to understand everything that had been preached to him in the sermons and the prayer meetings and what he himself had read but that he had been much mistaken; for, now that God is revealing to him his heart and the sins hiding in it, he is beginning to see with other eyes. He added that he had often heard and read the verse, He leadeth to hell, and back out again, but he could not understand how that was possible. But now he feels hell and fear of hell in his conscience and hopes that, through Christ, God will save him from it.

N.N.s [Peter Reiters] wife /Magdalena/ registered for Holy Communion yesterday; but I did not have time to speak with her about her circumstances because the home prayer hour was about to begin. She herself did not have time to remain in town, so I promised to come to her on the plantation, since I had some things to discuss with her husband anyway. Although he is very weak in body [for it appears that last year before St. Augustine he caught the tendency to have hectic fever], he came to me today and God granted him much blessing. For a long time he was a coarse man, even though he kept his wickedness hidden from us. Once here in town, while he was still single, God laid him on his sickbed; and the grace of God that was working on him so mightily came close to making a true Christian of him. He accused himself greatly of the disloyalty he had shown and of the hardness of heart he has since felt; and he well knows he was greatly hindered from becoming a Christian by frivolous companionship, gossip, neglect of fervent prayer, etc. But he has now made the honest resolution to convert truly to the Lord.

He was very humbled and spoke of his sin with tear-filled eyes; and he could not marvel enough at the divine patience and forebearance God had shown him in his impenitence [not only in the danger before St. Augustine but also here] for a whole year. However, because his heart was very hard, he thought it almost impossible for him, as a great sinner, to come to conversion. He is usually timid by nature, therefore it is difficult for him to take leave of his comrades and let them notice that his heart yearns for conversion to God and for the salvation of his soul. He could also tell me that the grace he had received and gathered from Gods word and from prayer had been lost again in a quarter of an hour of gossip and that he hoped this loss and danger would make him wise. [Because he is named Peter] I told him what is written after the fall of our dear St. Peter in the Passion story: He went out, and wept bitterly.

Departure from frivolous companionship belongs to the first step of conversion, I said; if he comes properly to external and internal solitude and quietude, raises his heart diligently to God [and prays for the grace of tears], and diligently contemplates Gods word, especially Christs passion story and edifying passion hymns, then God will surely soften his heart and show him that this is true: As I live, I wish not the death of a sinner, etc. That God did not wish him in hell but in heaven, he could see not only from the said verse but also from the fact that God had not snatched him away but had suffered him so long and was now working on his heart. It should now come true in his case, I said, that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner, etc. He wishes to come to me often, and it is my resolution to visit him as often as I can in the hope that the Lord will grant grace that this soul can be saved. [His wife is the widow of the late Simon Steiner, and I was pleased that he said of the deceased that he was a true Christian and had well governed his wife, which made it all the easier for me to set him an example in the deceased.]

Wednesday, the 5th of August. The young N. [the unmarried Kieffer /Theobald, Jr./, is endeavoring right earnestly to seize the jewel that the heavenly vocation of God in Jesus Christ is holding out to him. When he visited me yesterday, I was too weak and tired to speak with him about the state of his soul, so he visited me again today. He had been greatly impressed by yesterdays prayer meeting, in which instructions were given for a correct understanding and application of the sad story in 2 Samuel 13. He can well see what sin causes; and certain other people have reason to reflect about this story and to eradicate sin, which is the cause of all evil, through true conversion. Like the children of David, they too have had enough opportunity so far [especially at the time of their preparation for Holy Communion] to become righteous, and the grace of God has come close to their hearts. However, because they have dealt with it disloyally, some very evil and distressing things have occurred [in their family, especially in the marriages of three children]; and now they can observe what it means when God withdraws His hand and leaves them to their own desires and devices and what judgment follows upon the rejected grace.

In the case of Davids punishment for his offense, we have tried to profit from the verse 1 Peter: 17-19, which must be of great importance. This young N. /Theobald/ [Kieffer] wishes to go to the Lords Table and let himself be examined according to the command of the Holy Ghost through St. Paul: But let a man examine himself. I gave him some instruction for his recognition of himself and of his dear Savior in my conversation and recommended to him, among other things, a daily testing and examination of his heart, the practice of which every Christian will find very profitable for furthering his Christianity.

Our dear God has so powerfully awakened N.s [Sanftlebens] wife /Magdalena/ through His word [and through a couple of remarkable dreams] in which the danger to her soul and the path to salvation were presented to her that I have good hope for her conversion. I visited her this morning, and she used such expressions about her feeling of sin that I could conclude that there were murmurings in her soul. Her conscience was burdened and disquieted by some sins for which she was given the opportunity and actually incited and driven by many people [by her own father, who had died unfortunately, and by the people in Carolina, whom she had had to serve six years for her passage money.]

I warned her against disloyalty, frivolity, and indolence and encouraged her to quietude, diligent prayer, and diligent examination of her conscience, also to true application of the word of God that she had heard and read. I assured her from the experience she has already had that God would gladly have mercy on her and pull her from all sin only if she wished to grasp the merciful hand He was offering her. Since she has now come so far that she is penitent like the prodigal son, she should follow in his footsteps to a total conversion. This time she was particularly pleased with my visit, especially since she had visited me twice but had never been able to speak with me alone. The secular affairs we have to worry about rob us of many a lovely hour we would like to apply to the spiritual good of our parishioners. [Her husband was not at home, being very occupied with a couple of friends in making eight thousand shingles of cypress wood for the church.]

Thursday, the 6th of August. N.N.s [Peter Reiters] wife /Magdalena/ was with me this morning too and testified that our dear God had granted her much grace and refreshment the last time she had taken Holy Communion. She was now resolving to be more concerned with being saved than she was previously. I admonished her to use the word of God earnestly and to say her prayers; for without these means of grace and their proper use her resolutions would only remain resolutions and never be seriously realized. She would have to recognize the good and gracious will of God from holy scripture and derive strength through prayer to become obedient to Him. She promised to follow my admonitions, the grace of the Lord willing.

N. [Mrs. /Ursula/ Landfelder] wishes to move to New York with her husband and child, and for this purpose she is already beginning to sell her cattle and belongings. She is undertaking this change, which is no benefaction for her and her family but a judgment of God, in pure obstinacy and disobedience, which was also caused by a letter the wicked Muggitzer had written from there. This miserable person had led a very dissolute life in Savannah for a long time and finally moved to New York with his equally perverse wife; and now he is said to have greatly praised the splendor and the good life of the people in that country in a letter sent to I do not know whom. [Mrs. Landfelder was formerly very fond of him and even wished to marry him before her present husband, although she was aware of his disgraceful life in Germany and here in this country; I later learned that she had acted against the seventh commandment in Germany.]

She is very well established here in her household and has cattle, and her husband earns many a shilling from barrel making as well as from agriculture. As other Salzburgers tell, on the sea voyage she enjoyed more good than the others as a pregnant person under the supervision of Commissioner Vat. Here in this land too she has received so many benefactions, and people have put up with her so long despite all her misbehavior and wickedness in hopes of winning her, that her ingratitude is an even greater sin and she is surely running into her perdition because of it. Among other things last Sunday we inculcated the verse 2 Timothy 3:1-3, in which she can especially find her image and description. Let her go where she will, she will take her abominations with her and will make her own time and everything she does abominable. [Her husband is her slave and must follow her blindly, and this is most regrettable for a Salzburger; but he has been made totally corrupt and refractory by her and Michael Rieser, who is a very harmful man. Previously we could neither let these people go to the Lords Table nor approve of their vexing ways, for which reason they are not a little bit embittered against us and our office; and they claim that in Memmingen they never experienced such doings as we perform in our office.

[This Mrs. Landfelder, Michael Rieser, Spielbigler and his mother came together from Memmingen, have lived next to each other here, and have caused us much grief these six years through their disobedience against the gospel, even though Mrs. Landfelder was able to conceal her disgraceful wickedness for a long time through hypocrisy and good pretenses or else paint them a good color. She has a little girl of eight or nine years /Sara/ by her former husband, the pious Schoppacher, whom the dying man already wished to have taken away from her wicked and vexing mother and to have better cared for; but after his death she would not allow this to be done. Kalcher offered to take this child and care for it as his own, because he and others are heartily grieved that the child is to be led from light into darkness and from good opportunities to all sorts of uncertainty; but she will hear none of that but considers herself clever and cautious in all this and thinks (as she pretends in her sin) she is acting according to Gods will in this obviously harmful change.

[Last Sunday we had as an exordium Revelations 3:17, Thou knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable, etc., which certainly applies especially to this woman and the other said people. Because, in all love and meekness we have frequently held up to them their lamentable blindness and the dangerous state of their souls, they have not only claimed that they know themselves better than we do but have interpreted such ideas as hostility and have hardened their hearts all the more. They rely on their literal and, in addition, inadequate knowledge of the Christian religion, their faith, their diligent prayer, and great longing for Holy Communion and the fact that they do no one harm as long as they are left in peace, etc.] It is surely a great judgment over such people that they are willfully leaving our place, where God is giving them an opportunity to come to penitence and faith. But we can also look upon it as the hearing of the prayers of the faithful in our and other places when such people leave who are merely disturbers of the peace and cause grief for the ministers and others.

Poor N.N. [Landfelder, Michael Rieser, and Ernst] almost suffered a great misfortune recently when they journeyed from here to Savannah by land. They ran into a party of Cherokee Indians who are patrolling around in the forest to protect the colony. Since these thought they were Spaniards, they led them bound to Musgroves Cowpen, where they were finally let loose again after other people testified that they were not Spaniards but local colonists. The captain who told me this added that it was lucky they let themselves be tied up and made no attempt to escape; for otherwise they would have been shot on the spot. About a half year ago our worthy Senior Urlsperger wrote in a letter a verse for the disobedient in the congregation: How shall ye escape, if ye neglect so great a salvation? which words have often echoed both publicly and privately in the congregation. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God, and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

I found Landfelder at work on his sister-in-laws /Elisabeth Pletters/ plantation and spoke with him most movingly to dissuade him from his intention; and I told him about the weaver Schnmannsgruber, how at his wifes willful urging he had wished to return to New York or Pennsylvania and how on the way he had perished miserably with all his things and how his widow, who finally arrived there, had written a pitiful letter to me and to /Theobald/ Kieffer in Purysburg. I reminded him of his many physical infirmities and the great danger to his soul into which he was plunging himself, etc. He put the blame on his wife, but I reminded him of his duty by citing the catechism and what was read at his wedding, namely, his duty to be his wifes master and not to let the dear Lords order be perverted.

He should merely think of Rheinlander, who died there from distress and yearning to be back in Ebenezer. He should also inquire of the potter /Duche/ in Savannah, who was born there, whether everything Muggitzer had written was true. He and others would have surely remained there if that land had any advantage over ours. His sister-in-law /Elisabeth Pletter/ also asked him not to follow his wife, who is her sister, so blindly. There had never been any good in her all her life. She had never wished to obey her father, and that his why he so gladly let her move to America. He would never have let her (Mrs. Pletter, Mrs. Landfelders sister), as sister, follow her if he had not thought that she had been converted. She reminded him, she said, of the good situation of his household and the good opportunity for edification and of the danger into which he was subjecting his child, but it was all in vain for him and for his wife, to whom she had also spoken.

Friday, the 7th of August. Our dear God has ordained a tribulation on our mill: the water has risen unexpectedly and has made a hole on one side of the dike, which has spread out rather far in one night because the miller was in Savannah for a few days with some of the men. It has also forced one corner of the dike a half foot further, although it consists of very heavy wood. As soon as it was reported yesterday, all the men of the community went there without delay to prevent damage with communal effort, for which may God grant them blessing and assistance. God is coming at the right time with this tribulation; for the people have no fieldwork now and can best leave their domestic chores. Also, the water is very warm so that they can work in it without harm to their health. Also God had especially inclined General Oglethorpes heart to advance some money with which most of what was previously done on the mill could be paid. Nearly all the people have earned something, some of them a considerable amount, depending upon how much each of them worked; and therefore they are doing the new work all the more willingly and spiritedly even though it is very difficult and hard on their clothes.

I called on N. [Mrs. Zimmerebner], who spoke very frankly this time and emptied before God and with many tears her conscience, which was burdened by all sorts of sins. How much harm is done in so many places in Germany by permitting man and maid servants and boys and girls to join together for dancing and other pleasures of the flesh! Both the Christian authorities and righteous ministers should seriously and emphatically oppose this impropriety and heathen abomination. This N. [Berenberger woman] /Margaretha/, behaved very unruly when she first arrived at Ebenezer and caused vexation with her misbehavior; but now I know the cause of this better than before from her accounts. Both on the sea voyage and in N.N. [Charleston] she inflicted such wounds on her conscience that she will feel them all her life even if she comes to grace and forgiveness at once. This poor and so evilly treated woman has resolved to keep nothing on her conscience but to clear away all her abominations through the grace and strength of Jesus Christ. For this reason she will gladly follow the good advice given her by her pious husband and ministers. She is also tormented by her greedy, earthy, and world-loving heart, and she would gladly be free of such evil.

N. [Mrs. Schmidt] has been seriously sick since her severe accident [miscarriage, and it appears that Mr. Thilo himself cannot get to the bottom of her sickness]. In this case it can be rightly said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. For several years already she has repeatedly felt the Holy Ghost working mightily through the word of God, and for some time a noteworthy change has taken place in her. Because of that, her pious husband, to whom she has been much more profitable since that time [Philomen 11], has praised the Lord right heartily.

Now the Lord is fully realizing His purpose in her, for her heart is free of everything and she lies bare and naked in true denial of her self and of the world and only in the will of our heavenly Father, and she is very well contented with His good, even though painful, dispensations; and how that He has had mercy upon her, she would rather die than live if it be His will. She cannot describe her previous blindness and state of sin dreadfully enough: on the other hand she cannot praise Gods patience and forebearance with her enough, especially since she knows that many of her kind have remained and died in blindness and selfmade piety. But in her case one can well say, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. She shed many penitent tears and was troubled because she could not pray much because of her great physical infirmity, yet she comforts herself so that the sighs of her soul were also a pleasing prayer to God. May God look at the heart, etc. I recited for her the verse, Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble, etc.; and I directed her to the Lamb of God that has carried her sins. She was very pleased by my visit, for she had yearned for it for a long time. She thanked me for it most gratefully and commended herself to our intercession.

Saturday, the 8th of August. The English girls father came at her request from Savannah to our place to visit her in her sickness. This morning he told me that several children of prominent people in Savannah who had been cured in the orphanage of scabies with yellow sulphur, as his daughter was, had gotten such sore throats and that some were in a miserable state. That strengthened his belief in what I had written about the chief cause of his daughters sickness, which he had not been able to believe at that time because this cure with sulphur is the usual method in England. They have still other cruel and dangerous cures in this land too; and therefore many men, women and children have been brought to their graves prematurely. The driving away of fever3 is also very common, and some are very proud that they can predict the day on which it will cease. But they could grasp the fatal consequences with their hands if only they wished. However, they attribute such symptoms as dangerous colic, bloody dysentery, tumors, epilepsy, etc., to things other than this fever-stoppage. At least we do not have such things here, since the said evil fever cure has not been introduced here. I believe the fever would not last so long among us if, among other things, the patients would observe a better diet [and the doctor would be more active in his applications]. During these dog-days several adults and children have had fever, which is very beneficial for their Christianity.

This morning we disposed of a serving girls affair that ran counter to Gods word and Christian order; and now we have some hope that this procedure, which took place with Gods word and prayer (the actual punishment, however was deferred), will contribute to her true conversion, since she sees that God will not long let Himself be mocked by the continued rejection of His grace, but that things will go worse and worse for her. She is the oldest child of the family; and therefore in both the public prayer hour and in todays Bible story we called to her heart and mind that it is disgraceful and dreadful if (as can be seen in the case of Davids children) the oldest are the worst who, after all the great effort their parents have made, cause nothing but vexation instead of gladdening them with Christian behavior, and also cause scandal for their smaller and younger brothers and sisters. Such wickedness and ingratitude are, I said, followed by woe and lack of blessing, and such children usually do not prosper, as can be clearly seen here in certain examples.

Yesterday we recommended to our listeners the important first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, especially from v.18 to the end, from which one can conclude that, if God had so emphatically punished the heathens because of their disloyalty and misuse of the light of natural recognition of God that He granted and especially because they had held the known truth in unrighteousness, how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? We read this to the girl this morning too and repeated what was most necessary to awaken in her a holy dread of sin. The said passage is very parallel to the sad story we are about to contemplate in 2 Samuel 13 and shows what a dreadful judgment it is when God withdraws His hand from the willful sinners who reject His grace and punishes sin with sin. Amnon, the firstborn son of David, gives a warning to everyone, especially to grown sons and daughters (for it is written in 1 Corinthians 10 as a warning to us): Do not lust for sin or the pleasures of the flesh, which strive against the soul, destroy and devastate body and soul, and rob one of temporal and eternal welfare, as we have also seen in the case of Ruben and Esau in Hebrews 12:15-17. Brief worldly pleasure is followed by pain and disgust. If only people would believe it rather than experience it.

N. [Mrs. Schweiger] called on me today; and, for the sake of her salvation, I had to remind her again of these points that she had heard yesterday at the edification hour on the plantations. She had sinned not a little against her parents and scandalized her younger brothers and sisters4 and had not yet done penance; and for that reason she has had to feel enough on her body, in her marriage, and in her housekeeping. Recently, when I reproved her in a friendly manner, she sinned angrily and wrathfully against a man whom she thought to be her accuser; and I had to hold this up to her as a bad sign. She seemed to accept everything better today and promised to convert sincerely, and she testified that God had begun to soften her heart and to bring her to recognition. She asked for my intercession.

Sunday, the 9th of August. Based on the very edifying gospel for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, I preached to the congregation about the good and right way to true conversion and salvation; and beforehand in the exordium we profited from the impressive words of the dear prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 12:23 to consider it a valuable benefaction if God gives a congregation righteous ministers who perform their office honestly with hearty intercession and the thorough instruction of the parishioners. Otherwise almost no one would find the narrow path to life, rather everyone would journey calmly and secure in his blindness on the way to damnation.

In this connection we remembered the great benefaction we are enjoying beyond all others in this wilderness, namely, that our pious and good God is inclining to us the hearts of so many of the righteous servants in Europe, who are looking out for our congregation so earnestly with intercession and instruction in the letters and in edifying books they have sent us as if we were their own; and it would be a grave sin against all our parishioners, which would be followed by punishment and misfortune (as in the case of the Israelites in Samuels time), if we did not wish to pray with them earnestly and follow the instructions we have received for true conversion and salvation.

In the afternoon my dear colleague preached about various very important matters with regard to the fourth main article of the catechism, which concerns the holy baptism, to wit, its institution and power. May God superabundantly bless His word and the partaking of Holy Communion, in which forty-eight persons participated, in all souls through the Holy Ghost and give us the pleasure from now on of seeing all our parishioners walking in truth and on the good and right way we have again shown them so that we may say our prayers and intercessions not with sighs, but with joy (like dear St. Paul in Philemon 1:4). But those who scorn the dear and inestimable ministry, how can they answer to their consciences and to God? [as Spielbigler, his mother, Michael Rieser, and Landfelder and his wife are doing at the present time? Today too they were physically present at the preaching of the divine word, and they as well as others were told that unconverted people are miserable, lamentable, poor, blind, and naked yet do not know it yet make for themselves a vain comfort from their literal recognition and from the Bible and good books, as if they could find their way to heaven from them without the ministry, and are plunging themselves into the danger of losing their souls forever.]

We have many examples in the congregation who formerly considered themselves very clever and knowledgeable in scripture; but, after God has brought them to penitence, they are ashamed of their former blindness and thank God for the blessing He has granted them through the service of the ministry. During todays sermon, the coarse and subtle disobedience of many parishioners against the dear grace of the gospel preached among us went to my heart so keenly that I was almost hindered in my sermon by sorrow and tears. May God convince everyone, even those refractory persons who sin against us in all sorts of ways in both spiritual and secular matters (the latter of which are always weighing on our backs), that we mean very well with their souls and also with their physical wellbeing. When we consider paralelismum praeteriti & nostri temporis5 and reflect on what kind of spiritual and physical judgments have always followed upon the benefactions of God when Gods purpose could not be achieved thereby among His people, we become frightened and afraid, because so many ungrateful and disloyal people are found among us. In the repetition hour that which is written in Romans 1:28-32 was impressed on our hearts in great detail, and this well suited todays sermon and the matter of the Bible story intended for today.

Monday, the 10th of August. [Schoolmaster Ortmann returned from Charleston at the end of last week and complained that he had suffered loss because people will not accept a shilling of Georgias paper money for more than nine pence Sterling and that this amounts to a lot in the long run. However, it is good that we can do without the Carolinians, who are going to great efforts to cause distress for General Oglethorpe and also for the Lord Trustees.] Several years ago, when people were buying a great deal in Savannah and needed people for all sorts of work, Carolina and especially the poor people in Purysburg, as well as many planters, received much good from this colony; and who knows how the leaf will turn in the future through Gods dispensation? In regard to such practices I often think of what occurred to the late Ehlers in Leipzig, who comforted his boy who had been frightened by the stones thrown through their window by enemies and jealous people: he would wait quietly, in the future these people would bring money instead of stones. Indeed, this was proved by the success of this blessed [and widely expanding] bookstore.

In many places in Carolina no rain has fallen for three months, and therefore the crops appear entirely burned up. So far, and even today, our dear God has granted us and others in the neighborhood as much rain and good weather as is needed, and therefore the crops in the field are standing nicely. We have such a quantity of peaches that we are not only distilling brandy every day and drying many in the ovens; but many people must feed them to the pigs because this fruit does not last long and would otherwise spoil. Who would have thought that a few years ago! While I was writing this, a man brought me a big basin full of blue grapes he had cut in the forest in large quantities for eating and making vinegar. They taste sweet and have the same appearance as in Europe; and this again confirms my belief that very good and useful wine could be made from these wild vines if the necessary work were applied to the task. Praise be to God who grants us to enjoy all sorts of good here! This evening in the prayer meeting we had, among others, the verse Proverbs 1:33, which well agrees with the verse we had on our Commemoration and Thanksgiving Day ceremony, Isaiah 1:19-20.

N. [Schmidt] called on the doctor because of his sick wife; because it was too late to go home, he remained overnight in my house and gave me much pleasure through his conversation and deportment. Because he is now leading a contented life with his wife, who has converted righteously to God, he would like to keep this wife longer if our heavenly Father finds it right. Nevertheless, he will be content with His dispensation, even if it hurt him. He knows that Christian spouses are only lent6 to each other: if one of them is prepared first for departure through the grace of God, that is only for a short time, and soon they will be together again forever. He can never think without the deepest joy in his heart of what happiness will arise when the blessedly deceased children and spouses receive their parents and spouses who have followed them to the Pearly Gates. He also has a little son at the throne of God.

He hopes that his older brother is still alive in N. [Regensburg] in whom, as far as the external practice of Christianity is concerned, he has perceived much that is good and edifying. However, since he himself has discovered that one may, to be sure, be externally pious but not yet converted and changed in heart, he wishes to write to him sometime and to call to his mind this so very hidden [and subtle] self-deception. He told me a couple of points that cannot rhyme with true Christianity. May God open all their eyes and teach them to distinguish well between nature and grace! His other brother, to whom he had sent letters several times, died a couple of years ago. He had had very beautiful insights and many experiences in the ways of Christianity; therefore it is more than probable that he served his brother with his gifts.

Tuesday, the 11th of August. I traveled very early this morning to the edification hour on the plantations, both to visit some people before the meeting and to put in order a matter of which I had been informed. Again many trees are being felled for strengthening the mill dike; and, because the men prefer to take the nearest trees on the adjoining plantations because of the lack of draft horses, the owners have complained against it and wish to prevent further cutting of their timber. I had already been asked out there yesterday evening to settle the matter; and I discovered that God had heard our prayers; for I found everything in good order. The owners of the plantations, namely, Pichler, Leitner, Lackner, and Zimmerebner, had each allowed a certain number of trees, in return for which they can take wood, in case of need, from the empty plantations behind them that are called Trust-lots and are for the good of the entire community; and the congregation will allow them the wagon and horse free of charge because the wood will have to be brought from somewhat further away.

I was pleased at this willingness and promised to grant them some payment for it if God gives us the means. They will have finished preparing the wood by tomorrow, but they will have to postpone the actual repair of the dike until the water, which has now risen as high as last time and is rising even more, has fallen again. The current has violently eroded the soil on the left side of the dike and has made a new channel that is causing the good people much work. However, I am most pleased that they are working very willingly and in Christian unity; and I hope God will give the means to pay one thing after the other.

Wednesday, the 12th of August. Young /Theo-bald/Kieffer brought me some sweet grapes and a kind of pear that is so sweet that one can well compare its juice with honey and therefore call it a honeypear. He found it, like these right beautiful grapes, in the forest, where they grow on rather high trees and become as large as pears in Germany. They are worth being planted in our gardens, and we can hope to improve their fruit greatly if we plant the trees in the open air and on good soil. The bears like to eat them. This year the beasts are doing much damage to the peoples corn on the plantations. Schmidt alone has lost over ten bushels, even though his corn was planted later than the others and is still young. From the accounts of the Salzburgers, all of whom make this complaint, we can conclude that there must be a great number of bears on the fertile island in the mill river. It does not help to follow and seek them there, because everything is so overgrown with reeds, thorns, and bushes that you cannot get through it. They are still losing pigs and are therefore suffering a lack of food and nourishment. May God let no one lose courage but help these and all tribulations to take such an end that we can bear them!

I sent word to N. [Mrs. Landfelder] to come to me for a few words; but, because she refused, I went to her myself. However, I did not find her alone, rather N.N.s [Michael Riesers] wife /Anna Margaretha/ was with her in her room as usual. Nevertheless, I discussed what was most necessary with her and her little girl /Ihler/,8 for whom her father had cared so earnestly even when dying. To her too applied the verse that Senior Urlsperger called out some time ago to the disobedient in the congregation: How would ye escape if ye neglect so great a salvation? She belongs among those miserable people who do not recognize their spiritual misery and great danger because of their spiritual blindness and do not contemplate Christs dictum: For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world? etc. Her ingratitude for the great good she has received on the voyage and here in this country from the Lord Trustees and other patrons in England and Germany is so great, I said, that she cannot answer for it to God or man because its purpose has not been reached in her.

Because she is selling her cattle and possessions before departing and has sought permission to lay claim to the things she has received from the Lord Trustees such as cows, pigs, tools, and kitchen utensils, it seems to me that she wishes to do as Riedelsperger did and leave secretly while retaining what does not belong to her, a thing that would not do her any good. She denied this and knew how to justify herself in all matters as if she had a perfect and divine calling to leave our place, and she makes much of her conviction; but through this as through other ways she reveals her miserable blindness. She believes that, if she died in her present intention, she would certainly go to heaven. She thinks she is so firmly based in her religion that she could not be diverted by any sect in Pennsylvania or New York or wherever she might end up.9

In the prayer meeting we heard that it is a characteristic of unconverted worldly-minded people to prefer to follow the wicked counsel of their like-minded friends that will lead them to perdition rather than the voice and counsel of our true God, which He proclaims to man through His word and through His servants; but by this they will plunge themselves into temporal and eternal misfortune just as the filthy Amnon did. Then they cry, alack, alas! to such unhappy counselors, but too late. In this regard the parishioners were referred to the remarkable first chapter of Proverbs, which very emphatically expresses what great harm is caused when blind and foolish people follow the evil counsel of their hearts or of unconverted although worldly-wise friends (as Jonadab was) and thereby disobey the counsel and will of God. Here too was applicable: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, etc. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory.

Thursday, the 13th of August. [Last night we had a great storm wind with heavy rain, an it appears that the rain and wind will continue. The water in the river is already unusually high again and is rising ever higher so that they cannot work on the mill.] Gabriel Maurers wife /Elisabeth/ brought a little girl into the world yesterday evening; and for this reason I was asked to go out to baptize the child. [Because it was raining, the baptism was held in Gabriel Maurers house, otherwise the children on the plantations, when healthy, are brought to the place where church is usually held.] Before the baptism I admonished the parents as well as the sponsors not only to bring the little child to Christ and to His inestimable grace through the means of holy baptism but also to become participants in this grace through divine order or to become better grounded in it.

What our Triune God now wishes to grant this little child through pure mercy, I said, He wishes just as sincerely to grant to each and every one of us; and this treasure of grace is well worth our humbling ourselves together before the throne of grace. This was then done, and the baptismal ceremony followed in Christian order. Mrs. Schmidt had recovered so much through Gods help from her dangerous and painful illness that she could help Mrs. Maurer in her childbirth and also attend the baptism to her and her little childs edification. She praises the Lord for the undeserved grace she has enjoyed in her soul during her sickness; and she has earnestly resolved to apply her still remaining healthy days entirely to a worthy preparation for that day of glory and for that reason to let nothing keep her from a humble and trusting prayer. Mrs. Leinberger calls on her from time to time; and I was pleased that she could testify that she regrets her sins and wishes to be freed from them through Christ.

N. /Ruprecht/ [Steiner] told me yesterday evening that his wife had felt such great sorrow on Sunday while they were going home together from divine services in town that her health had suffered greatly from it and that Satan was planning something similar for him, namely, to do him harm. From a certain speech she had concluded that she had formerly been impenitent all the time and had gone to Holy Communion unworthily and therefore to her judgment; and, because she had again gone to it last Sunday after preparing herself penitently for it [as she and her husband believed], the previous and present unworthy partaking of Holy Communion had penetrated so deeply into her heart, she said, that she could not free herself from immoderate sorrow, and her pious and very honest husband was seized by fear. Yesterday I set him aright and gave him some words to take with him to instruct and comfort her troubled soul.

Today I came to her myself and found her in such a condition that I believed that, from her testimony, I can consider her a sinner who is hungering for mercy in Christ, a sinner who was at the Lords Table with profit this time too. This profit was not abolished by the fear and distress she felt, rather its right enjoyment had been postponed. She has her weaknesses, which she regrets; and she yearns sincerely for improvement. Her husband himself, who does not flatter her because he too wishes to take certain steps on this path himself, notices a remarkable change in her; and I too know from experience how much good our dear God has done for her soul. By quoting her several verses, I presented her our Saviors good and pious feelings for poor sinners and then catechized her briefly about them in order to come to the foundation of her faith and to apply the Bible verses. May our dear Savior, who was sent and still sends His servants to preach to sinners and to comfort all the sorrowful, bless His word in her soul to console her in her present sorrow and to enhance her growth in Christianity.

The oldest son of Kieffer in Purysburg /Theobald/has returned again from his trip to Charleston, where he had been sent by his father and other German people to arrange for remission of their passage money, but he accomplished nothing. Therefore the said people wish to compose and send a memorial to London, I do not know to whom, because, as they say, it is impossible to pay the passage money with the accrued interest. Because some of these people have lost their cattle, or at least some of them, through a cattle disease, they are all the less able to pay this great debt. What a benefaction it is for our people that they are not such debtors but were transported here free, and how great is the ingratitude of those who do not recognize it [like Mrs. Landfelder and her husband and childand wish to move away, after so much money has been spent on them, from the land where they are provided for in both body and soul, and where their benefactors would continue to help them].

In Charleston a Negro set a fire that could have turned the second half of the city into ashes before the first half was rebuilt if the misfortune had not been discovered quickly and the fire not put out in time. One often hears of misfortunes caused by the Moorish slaves in Carolina, yet people in this colony are yearning for such folk. In Charleston they claim that they have trustworthy letters that the Lord Trustees have already given the establishment and government of this colony back to the King and that it would therefore be attached to Carolina and be ruled by one set of laws and by one governor, who is to be sent here (for they have had no governor for five years). I shall not believe this until I learn more about it. Foodstuffs are very expensive and hardly to be had because Spanish privateers capture many provision-laden sloops from the English.

Through letters, orally, and thrugh young /Jacob/ Kieffer, I have inquired about the German carpenter Volmer, who has been mentioned a couple of times in this diary, to see whether he ever reached Charleston, as was his intent. However, no one there has seen him, and therefore he may well have gotten lost on his way between Purysburg and Charleston and lost his life, which he had already lived for sixty years, as has happened to many people on such paths. A German tailor, who had sinned greatly with a certain single woman /Anna Elisabeth Depp/ and boasted of his wickedness [against this Kieffer too] in Charleston and threatened all sorts of other evil, died a few days afterward. This may have been a good example for those who knew the tailor, and I hope it will continue to be. [Said woman is now on the way to repentance in her present illness. May God help her through and give her faith and an honest heart to this end! On the Sunday Kieffer was there the preacher did not preach but took a trip, and therefore there was no Sunday among the people. The conversation the preacher had with him sounds very bad; but the letter he wrote to me is better, so I do not know what to think of the man.]

Because Kieffer had time, he traveled to his mother-in-law /Depp/10 in Orangeburg or Oranienburg (which is, to be sure, very far to the north, yet still in South, Carolina).11 The town appears even more miserable12 than Purysburg. The people there are almost all Germans and live very scandalously. The land is fertile, but because it lies very far from Charleston and has no communication by water, they cannot turn their extra crops into money, and therefore there is not much money among them. One sees no trace of godliness, and there is nothing but misunderstanding between the preacher N. [Giesendanner] and the parishioners.13 The money that was sent to us for him by some benefactors in Switzerland has arrived safely; and he sent me the address in Charleston to which I should forward the books that belong to him. Opportunities to send things from Charleston to Orangeburg are rare and difficult, yet he will arrange to get the books from there.

[Friday, the 14th of August. I came into N.N.s dwelling; and, because his wife as well as himself have neglected participation in Holy Communion for a long time, I asked her the reason for this neglect. She should reveal it to me, I said; perhaps I could set her right through Gods word. I hoped she had no scruple or objection to the office of the gospel that was entrusted to me. She told me that she had shown her husband the reason for her previous failure to take Holy Communion and that she had nothing against the ministry. What Mrs. Rheinlnder had said about her was not true, namely, that she had sinned through a very bad opinion of us and our office. I requested her to reveal her scruple against Holy Communion; but, since her husband was absent, she did not wish to do it.

[I had requested him to disclose to me the reason his wife had confided in him so that I might better understand her, and today he himself came to my room. I at once reminded him ofthe words I had held with him recently, namely, that it was according to Christs express command, the duty of a true and spiritually humble Christian to take Holy Communion often as a valuable treasure of our salvation; and I reminded him that he had answered that Christ had not prescribed any law as to how often one was to partake of it, rather it was a matter of Christian liberty. It was his custom, after partaking of Holy Communion, to begin his preparation for the following participation; and he could not say when he would complete it.

[Because he had abstained from Holy Communion this time too, I asked him whether or not he was finished with this preparation, which struck me as entirely unusual and unheard of and unfounded in Gods word and Christian practice. I added that I could assure him before God and according to the testimony of my conscience that I felt a cordial and hearty love for him and would therefore like to unite with him and also try to help him in every way with the congregation. However, I was being prevented from that by his protracted withdrawal from Holy Communion; for the people must be offended by him and also by me if I consort in a familiar way with someone, who does not act Kata taxin kai euchemosynen,14 1 Corinthians 14:40.

[He soon interrupted and asked why a Christian should be concerned with others if he surely had enough to do to look after himself. There was no reason, he said, for other people to be offended because he did not go as often as they. One should give everyone his freedom and not judge at once. I said there were weak and strong Christians among us; the weak, to be sure, are offended and are harmed, especially when one cannot give any real reason for being absent. He surely knew the verse, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, etc. How could this be accomplished in this way?

[Again he could give no reason for his absence from Holy Communion this time other than his continued and never-ending preparation for his next Communion; and therefore, among other things, I answered that I trusted that he was a Christian and was ready to die any day; therefore he had to prepare himself every day and complete his preparation for that. Therefore he would also be able to prepare his heart to go worthily to the Lords Table with other people. God, I said, demands from us no perfection that cannot be achieved in this world. Man should merely come to poverty of spirit and to true hunger and thirst. If he did not have that, he could, as he knew, achieve everything through a humble and trusting prayer. However, that we should take Holy Communion often we can see from Christs command in the New Testament: For as often as ye eat this bread, as our dear Apostle Paul, who received it from the Lord, inculcates in detail in 1 Corinthians 9:26.

[He well knew the meaning of often, I said; and he could recognize sufficiently ex praxi primitivae Ecclesiae15 of our blessed Luther and other solid Christians, who are known to him from church history. It also behooved him to believe that the dear Apostles and the early Christians, who took it so diligently and actively, had well understood the meaning of Christs words: Do this, so often as ye, etc. and had given us through their example very salutary admonitions concerning this dear feast. If he believed, I said, that the worthy use of Holy Communion contains and imparts an incomparably valuable treasure, namely, the entire Savior with His entire reconciliation and merited treasures of salvation that are applied individually for the trusting communicant for his superabundant comfort, and if he valued these treasures right highly and also felt his misery and sin, then hunger and thirst would arise afterwards. He would be able to find further instruction in the last two questions of the interrogative parts16 of our blessed Luther (which are disdained by many, not without great sin, just as the entire catechism is disdained), and also from the verses that accompany them. He answered little to that, yet it was enough for me to recognize that he is not to be dissuaded by any arguments from the errors of his opinion, by which he causes scandal for others and sorrow for us, as he does also by his general behavior.

[Several times he expressed the opinion that one might well believe that the Holy Ghost would lead to truth those who give themselves to Him, and he almost said that the Holy Ghost would lead them and do his work in them even without intercession. However, he could not quite succeed in that argument in view of the people who enjoy the means of salvation regularly, adequately, and often as we do in Ebenezer. Rather I affirmed that God had obliged us to the means of salvation and that we are not free to separate what God has joined together and that therefore those people are sinning who, like him and his wife, use the gospel diligently, to be sure, but never or very seldom use one seal of the gospel, namely, Holy Communion. If a patient who knew how to gain his health and strength would not act according to his doctors prescription or use his medicine in proper order, one would not believe he was serious about getting well.

[He finally came around to his wife and to the reason she had revealed to him for remaining away from Holy Communion for so long. She did not, he said, like to let her peace of mind be disturbed, as would happen if she should go to Holy Communion to please some other person. I was amazed at this unexpected reason and told him that, according to Colossians 3:23, a true Christian would not do external things merely to please men, far less would he do it in such a holy matter as Holy Communion from so impure reasons and for such a reprehensible purpose. He should just tell me how she can imagine she can go to church, read Gods word, and go to Communion just to please men. She should do it to please the Lord Jesus, whose command it is and who through this has given the sweetest and dearest promise to invite to Himself and His Table all poor sinners who feel their sin and weakness.

[At the same time I told him my fear that she has been decreasing greatly in her Christianity since she has lived in wedlock with him, as can be clearly recognized from her present behavior toward Holy Communion an also from her indifferent attendance at divine services. She had, I said, made good resolutions at their marriage and had, as he recently revealed to me, asked to retain her freedom to go to divine services regularly, but she must have been harmfully influenced. In the diary he had borrowed from us he would find evidence of how righteous she had shown herself to be in her single state both before and after her first attendance at Holy Communion. He agreed that he knew that she loved the Lord Jesus and that she was sorry that she had loved Him so late. But I could not comprehend how anyone could love the Lord Jesus yet disdain or disobey His express command, 1 John 2:3-6.

[The said amazing reason for missing Holy Communion thus far suggested some thoughts which I expressed to him clearly: she was, as he knew, born of Reformed parents, perhaps she still adhered to the erroneous dogma of Holy Communion that is taught in the Heidelberg Catechism17 and feels it a disturbance to her peace of mind if she must go to Holy Communion in our church in order to please people. If it were true that she always believed in the significatio and not in the realis Participatio Corporis et Sanguinis Christi,18 then it was very serious that she had let herself be publicly confirmed in our church and had gone several times to Holy Communion, especially before her marriage; for this would, of course, mean to please people and could not help but cause unrest. He could not answer anything to that. I further showed that I could not condone her never using my office privately as other grace-hungry parishioners do: she never asks me to come to her and she never comes to me to get counsel or instruction in her Christianity, rather she just lives without direction.

[She must consider herself already rather clever and must think she does not need her ministers counsel, encouragement, or help in prayer. If she would allow herself to be instructed from Gods word concerning Holy Communion, she could come to me or I would call on her. However, he said, she loved her rest and quietude and a ministers encouragement would therefore be a disturbance, whereas our honest parishioners consider a private visit to be a great benefaction and are much saddened when they have to forego it for some time. Its value has been very remarkable so far, praised be God. For later reading I offered him and his wife the late Professor /August Hermann/ Franckes and the late Pastor Freylinghausens very thorough and often blessed sermons: Necessary Examination of Oneself and Holy Observance of Holy Communion.19 However, he did not want them, so we can well see that they do not wish to let themselves be convinced.]

Saturday, the 15th of August. Young N. /Jacob/[Zuebli], who left us last spring with his brother /Ambrosius/ to work in Savannah as a day laborer, sent me a letter by way of our boat in which he requested some medicine for his violent fever. He had engaged himself for six months as a rower on a so-called scout boat, which is sent out from time to time to reconnoiter; and, as he wrote, he has had to suffer much discomfort among the rough people.20 Therefore he would like to be free; but he cannot get free and would be pleased if I would help him do so, which, however, is not my office. He will surely have often remembered how heated and angry he was at my frank and well-intended advice when he and his brother were about to leave our place, his profession, and divine services. The wicked N.N. [Michael Rieser] is also a rower on the same boat, and from that we can see what kind of comrades he must have, among whom his conscience will have to suffer greatly.

[Both brothers were day laborers at the /Bethesda/orphanage near Savannah for three months. However, because they were not up to the work, they were dismissed; and the manager /Habersham/sent me many complaints of their poor work. Because they had come there from our place, these complaints did not please me. I am sorry for them: they left at planting time; what will they do if they return at harvest time, as the older /Ambrosius/Zuebli will do according to the letter I have received? The money they have earned will soon be spent if they have to buy all their food. Many people do not recognize what advantages they enjoy at our place in healthy and in sick days. If they become wise through their loss, then they can warn other people from their experience. A couple of knowledgeable men, one of whom tried to earn money at the siege of Fort St. Augustine, approached Landfelder to dissuade him from moving away; they would have persuaded him to remain if only his wife did not have the upper hand. What good can come from such a perversion of Gods order in a marriage in which the wife is the husbands master and head?]

Sunday, the 16th of August. Young /Jacob/ Kieffer has brought his wifes brother /Depp/ from Orangeburg in order to learn the trade [of shoemaking] at our place. He is said to be very ignorant of the basic truths of the Christian religion; indeed, his sister /Anna Elisabeth Depp/ was so ignorant that we could hardly believe it. It was surely not without reason that God let this young man of some sixteen years come here. Perhaps he will let himself be won through the word of God, which he can hear on Sundays and work days and which he has heard diligently since his arrival here. Perhaps he will let himself be brought to the Lord Jesus like the miserable person in todays gospel, Mark 7:31 ff., which would cause us unusually great joy. If N. [Zettler], from whom he wishes to learn, becomes a true Christian [he has already resolved to several times but has fallen by the way], then we could promise ourselves much good from their association.

[Monday, the 17th of August. On this my bloodletting day, the old widow Spielbigler treated me very badly. She wishes to follow her son to Charleston but first to sell all her belongings and cattle, even what was given her and him as aid by the Lord Trustees; but for this she must first obtain permission from Savannah. Since I cannot consent to her sales until she brings the permission, she is attacking me; and this morning she spewed forth right dreadful things. God gave me the grace to remain silent, and I listened to all her accusations, reproaches, and curses without feeling the least insult. I thought of the Saviors words: Let them curse, but bless thou, and from my heart I wished her the experience of divine mercy for penitence and salvation.

[I shall soon instruct the congregation as to what General Oglethorpe, and consequently the Lord Trustees, are seeking when they prevent those who leave from selling their cattle and other things with which they had supported them and wished to help maintain them as colonists. They are demanding nothing for themselves, rather they wish the said gifts to remain in Ebenezer. Whoever remains here and wishes to support himself honestly can keep everything all his life; but whoever wishes to move to another colony can ask the government there to do the same for him (if it can be done) as the Lord Trustees have done for him here. They are not obligated to give such help to other colonists as they do to their own. Besides, it is ungrateful enough of such people to have enjoyed free passage, a couple of years provisions, and other benefactions and then to leave the country as soon as they have progressed enough to bear the costs of a journey to another area and to establish a new household.

[By the same token it is entirely irresponsible to claim the right to take along the cattle, household utensils, and tools that were to be used here. In other places one would demand an emigration fee.21 What such ungrateful people must leave behind (although they use such tricks and stratagems that little is forthcoming, by which they greatly sin), General Oglethorpe has donated for public use, especially for the orphanage. However, because we do not wish for wicked people to gain any apparent reason to malign this institution, it will be given to the community and to cover the present costs and expenses of the mill. I am a thorn in the eye of poor Mrs. Spielbigler and others of her kind, because I have to bear the secular authority and look out for the temporal affairs and arrangements in the community; and this she calls Papist. I believe, however, if another authority were here who did not give in to wicked and obstinate people, they would come running to me and wish to misuse my office against the authorities. If we would not concede to them and would not or could not let ourselves be pitted against anothers office, then they would act like unknowing people in Germany, of whom I have heard, who have called righteous ministers dumb dogs and so forth who fear men more than God and do not wish to bite big people, etc.]

Tuesday, the 18th of August. In accordance with His wisdom and holiness, God ordained for this and that parishioners impure paths to be revealed; and now I do not wonder that such people have not achieved much in their Christianity so far even though they have sometimes made much effort. In view of such disloyalty toward the grace of the Holy Ghost, the judgments of God cannot fail to take place. He has withdrawn His hand, and they have fallen and struck deep wounds in their consciences. On the occasion of the Bible story in 2 Samuel 13 may God draw from darkness into light all the evil in which this or that person is mired so that it will be abolished and the poor captured souls may be helped. May He also give us wisdom to deal rightly with all the sins we recognize in our parishioners and to prevent not only the sins but also the opportunity to do them, especially since, from the examples in the Bible story we are to have and also from our own experience, we sufficiently recognize that it truly means almost as much to avoid the opportunity to sin as it means to avoid the sin itself. From the first part of the 13th chapter of 2 Samuel, both in the prayer meeting in town and today on the plantations, parents and children, as well as single people of both sexes, have received the most important admonitions to recognize their Christian duties at present and in future times, and may the Lord not let us forget them.

Before the edification hour the orphanage herdsman /Schneider/ gave me an opportunity to lay on his heart something from Gods word to further his conversion. He too is one of those who (as the blessed Luther says) has already passed through faith even though he knows nothing of remorse and sorow because of sin and nothing of the fearful and contrite heart in which faith is born. He considers himself not like the Pharisee, but like the Publican in Luke 18. He and his wife /Elisabeth/ [who is Sanftlebens sister] are probably like the Publican in his sins but not in his conversion, as I was trying to explain to him. However, I shall accomplish just as little with him as with N. [Mrs. Spielbigler], N. [Michael Rieser] and his wife, and N. [Mrs. Landfelder] and others of their kind.

We can rightfully apply to such people what I have read in the clever writing of a theologian: Concerning such people one can say that Satan effects and maintains such false belief in them; and from it, with Gods just dispensation, he gives them such assurance that they audaciously scorn all warning and admonition and are indignant at anyone who dares to tell them otherwise and wishes, as they say, to send them back to school in their old age. They can recite their three articles of faith and have also learned a few verses of scripture; and they wish to be saved by that even though they live in daily sin and know nothing, or wish to know nothing, of any struggle of faith, of any sighs and yearning for Christ, of any savor or feeling of His power, of any zeal in godliness, of any self-denial, or of any rejection of the world.

The vestrymen have complained to me several times that N.s [Grimmigers] little girl /Catherina/ has been very badly treated by her father and her stepmother and has not been made to go to divine services or do anything else that is good. Therefore the congregation have requested me in their name to take away the child, who is about six years of age, and to have her better cared for in the orphanage or else with Christian people. I have also endeavored to persuade the parents to let the child go, but they have not wished to. Nor have they let themselves be convinced of their severity, and I have not been able to use force because there has been a lack of sufficient witnesses and testimony to convince them of their wickedness and unchristian behavior toward the child. I advised some knowledgeable men to speak with the parents and give them some suggestions for the Christian treatment of the child; if that did not help, then I would speak about it to the authorities in Savannah. However, it has now come to the point that they have willingly given the child over to N. [Leinberger] to bring up, who, with his wife /Margaretha/ will make every effort to raise her in a Christian way and to send her to school regularly.

Since Hans Floerel cannot serve as schoolmaster on the plantations because of the remoteness of his place, the calling has devolved upon the very industrious and zealous Ruprecht Steiner, who enjoys a good testimony from everyone and has a plantation right at the spot where church and school are to be held. He has had experience in Christianity and is most anxious to learn and experience more and more, and he is also skilled in reading. It will be easy to teach him whatever he lacks in the accustomed way of getting on with children. [I shall speak with the parents who have children on the plantations in order to learn whether they are willing to send their children to school regularly, as I do not doubt they are. A start in this can be made with Gods help after the harvest.]

N.N. [Ruprecht Zittrauer] and his wife are both ignorant, and for several years I have been after them to persuade them to go to one of their neighbors for the purpose of learning. They did this for a short time and learned a bit; yet they have dropped it again despite being reminded repeatedly and being kept from Holy Communion. Now this /Ruprecht/ Steiner is taking the trouble to go the considerable distance to their hut to recite to them the words of the catechism, Biblical verses, and little prayers for them to memorize and to work on their souls in simplicity and humility; and these people are now feeling a new joy in this. May God give them seriousness and steadfastness!

Wednesday, the 19th of August. [It rained a great deal yesterday afternoon and last night and began again this morning, but then it cleared up again. The water in the river has fallen almost visibly in a few days; if it does not rise again because of this violent rain, the people will soon begin to repair the mill dike, for which they were encouraged yesterdy in the edification hour.] This morning three men traveled to a certain plantation in Carolina to fetch sixteen horses from there for the community that General Oglethorpe has advanced and are to be trained for plowing. They are requesting only mares, from which the people hope gradually to acquire more horses for that will help lighten their lives in many ways. I wrote to a planter I know named Jonathan Bryan, who is a Christian man and a good friend of our congregation. He will serve us as best he can in buying the horses.

Our dear God let some men recognize their images in the mirrors that were held up to us in the Bible stories to help us know the state of our hearts. Therefore they came to me today individually to discuss their situations. One of the men showed me a little verse from a song in which the condition of his heart is expressed. He thinks of more and more youthful sins that so discourage him that sometimes he almost despairs of his state of grace; yet our dear Savior, he says, helps him again and again. Among the many especial tests of Gods patience and forebearance he counts the fact that He did not let him get mired down in his Popish fatherland, even though he had plunged himself into the danger of being misled again into such error, for after having escaped once, he became mired in it for several years. Even among the Protestants he had not worried himself much in his heart about experiencing the gospel; and he was satisfied with fulfilling the verses 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 by having physically left the country.

Nevertheless, in his blindness and mouth-Christianity of that time he was vexed that a certain learned and famous preacher arranged all sorts of worldly entertainments until late at night with merchants and other people, entertainments that had never been found in Christ or His Apostles. He considers it a great benefaction that the parishioners, in their remorse, can lament their sins to their ministers according to the directions of our catechism: We should acknowledge before our confessor the sins we know and feel in our hearts (without any legal compulsion) and can profit from their advice and encouragement. He does not begrudge this benefaction but wishes it for all people in Protestant Christendom because he knows from his and his wifes experience how much blessing our merciful God, who is accustomed to deal with men through man because of His love for man, has laid on such simple and intimate intercourse.

The other man had sinned against his neighbor through anger and rather rough and threatening words. However, he had been very frightened about it during and after yesterdays edification hour (in which, on the occasion of the situation in the story in 2 Samuel 13:21-22, we applied the words of St. Paul in Ephesians 4:26-27); and he could not rest until he had been reconciled and had spoken to me about it. His great enemy is his lightheadedness. However, God is beginning to open his eyes so that he is learning to recognize his previous blindness, shortcomings, and danger. The Devil sometimes attempts to strew disunity among neighbors; but God is so loyal as to get after it at once with His word and with the discipline of His spirit in order to put out the first spark. We show our parishioners from Gods word that, after having had angry and discordant altercations, it is not enough for them to get along with each other externally and become good friends, rather, because anger and strife are damnable sins according to Galatians 5, they must be redeemed by the blood of Christ and the sins they have committed and incurred must be abolished.

Thursday, the 20th of August. N. /Martin/ [Lackner] fetched some medicine from the doctor for his wife and told me that our dear God was bringing her to a recognition of her sins by her sickness. She was very worried, he said, whether she will attain grace because of her many and great sins. She recently complained to me that she had previously considered herself a good Christian, but now her sins are becoming so great that she does not know whether or not she will be saved. I encouraged her, however, at that time; and today I gave her husband a little verse to take to her: Come unto me all ye that labor, etc. and promised to visit her tomorrow, God willing. He should remind her, I said, that God loves sincerity and that she should therefore freely confess the sins that are on her conscience if she notices that she cannot come to rest. She had her husband ask me and my dear colleague to intercede for her.

We hear that last week a more violent storm arose along the sea than has been felt for some years, and therefore that people fear there has been much damage to the ships before Charleston. The large boats that wanted to go from Savannah or Charleston to Frederica have returned suddenly through fear of the storm. The corn has been blown down for several miles between Savannah and our place and been leveled with the ground. To be sure, we have had some strong wind here too, but not nearly so strong as it is described in Savannah. Also, God averted all damage from the fields.

Friday, the 21st of August. Before the edification hour I visited two neighboring families [Lackner and Zimmerebner] and told them various things about the little verse: Fear not, for thou hast found favor with God and prayed with them. A misunderstanding had arisen between N. [Zimmerebner] and his wife /Margaretha/ because of some external matter, of which they complained in such a way that I could easily see that it was all but settled. After thinking about it, the wife admitted she was in the wrong, and I showed that she was even more so by citing what had been read to them at their marriage. She recognizes her worldly-minded and mistrusting heart and will try diligently to rid herself of this enemy as well. They were greatly frightened by the verse in Philippians 3:19, Destruction is the end of those who mind worldly things.

N. [Ernst] came to me after my return and told me the diagnosis he had had to hear from the bone-setter and surgeon in Purysburg concerning his hand, namely, that it was entirely putrid and that there was nothing to do but amputate it before gangrene or cancer set in, and he had resolved to have this done.22 In Purysburg they like to use all kinds of violent Negro-cures23 before necessity demands, and therefore I advised him to seek better advice first before taking this brutal and extreme step.24 [For this reason I went with him to Mr. Thilo, under whose treatment he had been until now and who also told him that there was still time with the amputation. Beforehand he should try all other alleviating means, I said; and he and his wife were satisfied with this.] He has much pain in his hand. I wish, and I always direct my conversation to that end, that he will penitentially acknowledge his sins with which he has piled up his measure of sins in Germany, on the voyage, and here in this country and that he will cry out to the Lord about them day and night. He reads Arndts True Christianity diligently because he now has time to do so; and he claims that he now recognizes much in it that he did not recognize before. In my presence he behaves very well, but N. [Sanftleben] gives him and his wife a very bad testimony. Nor can I persuade them to seek a good opportunity for edification or perhaps to seek the acquaintance of a good Christian man to edify them through prayer and simple conversation.

[Today he expressed the opinion that he finds that only a few people in Ebenezer will be saved because they do not live as it is described in Arndt; but I diverted him from other people and to himself, for it is the nature of such people to judge and quickly curse those who do not do as they wish. If anyone approaches them at all earnestly and tells them the truth, then he is sinning against the rules of Christianity, as we have discovered to be true so far in the case of Michael Rieser and others.

[Sunday, the 22nd of August. Old /Theobald/ Kieffer of Purysburg has been here several days with his children and will remain here until Monday in order to be edified from Gods word. Today he had me write a letter in his name and that of other Germans to a man in Charleston who had told young /Jacob/ Kieffer that he had received reliable information in a letter from a member of Parliament in London that the passage money for all the people in Purysburg, and therefore also for the first transport, had been fully paid by unknown benefactors (perhaps even by the very blessed Queen) and that the merchant Simons,25 who had advanced it, had been appeased. However, because he had lost this letter and the poor people in Purysburg would like some certainty, they are asking in their letter that another letter be written to London to inquire again more closely about the paid passage. I wish dependable settlement would come of this; but it seems to me that it is only imagined that the travel costs should have been paid for all people who have come to Purysburg since the beginning, some of whom have died and some of whom have moved away.

[I consider young /Charles/ Purry too honest to demand this money in the name of the merchant Simons if it were already paid. However, the people are not to be convinced, and we are immediately suspected in all sorts of ways if we will not speak according to their sentiments, as has already happened to me with the German people in this country and their unreasonable demands and as is now happening in the case of the English schoolmaster /Hamilton/ and his wife. What I had feared and what I told him in Savannah before these two people moved to us is being fulfilled more than enough, namely, that they would cause me much distress and inconvenience if they did not have their way in Ebenezer. These people, who wish to play the lady and gentleman, desire complete subsistence from me; and, because that is not within my means, they deceive me and judge me in every way. He claims he was sent here from London as schoolmaster at my request, although he had been accepted as an indentured servant by Captain Thomson more than three months before I mentioned a schoolmaster in my letter to the Society.

[It seems too much for him to instruct for two hours each day for four years to pay off 16 ь Sterling for his and his wifes passage money, unless we also give them their entire subsistence. We have offered him the orphanage several times if he will let himself be used for the children and his wife will perform various female tasks. However, they would rather be alone; and, since they do not wish to work the land and support themselves like other people (even though they were assigned a prepared piece of land just in front of their dwelling), I do not know how they will support themselves. They contracted themselves to Captain Thomson by a usual indenture as man and maid servant for four years and are therefore angry that I will not give them back the said written contract and thus let them pass as free before their time. As a wigmaker who is a native born Englishman and has been in Germany for several years, he is not well suited to head the English school. Nevertheless, in the hope he would be diligent and make himself useful through practice, I gave the captain a receipt and thus accepted him into our place, because otherwise he would have been sold along with his wife for four years of service elsewhere, a fact that these poor people should recognize with gratitude. I believe that for various reasons it is necessary to write down here what Mr. Verelst wrote concerning this man in an open letter of 29 October 1740, which this man himself brought me:

[The Bearer, Henry Hamilton being disirous to settle with the Saltzburghers at Ebenezer in understanding both the German and English Languages; I persuaded Capt. Thomson to carry him and his Wife and Child over and in case of examination you will find him of use to the Saltzburghers, for instructing them in the English Tongue or teaching the Children, please to give the Capitain a Receipt for them to intitle him to apply to the Trustees for Payment of their Passage and the Capitains Charges on them. On which Receipt the Indenture for Security to the Capitain is to be vacated, but otherwise to continue in force for the Benefit of Such Person as will reimburse the Captain. I am etc.

[Together with Mr. Jones I spoke with him a great deal in Savannah before he was brought to our place and I tried to persuade him to go somewhere else if he did not wish to support himself by the work of his hands; for otherwise there would be no means to maintain him among us. Nevertheless, he wished to come here; and now we have enough burden with him and his wife. The man is an unprincipled curser who has angered not only some members of the congregation but also some Indians; and, in addition, he is said to have been punished by an Indian woman from whom he had bartered some game. Right at the beginning a pious Salzburger woman heard his wife cursing and had admonished her in a friendly way according to the content of the verse Leviticus 19:17, which is well known among us; but it was received very evilly. So far they have shown no love for Gods word and have made it clear that they greatly adhered to the opere operato26 and external ceremonies in the largest churches in Germany and therefore take little pleasure in the simple arrangement of our divine services.]

Sunday, the 23rd of August. This morning N. [Ernst] sent his neighbor [young /Peter/ Arnsdorff] to ask me to come to him as soon as possible because he had things to discuss with me that concerned his eternal salvation, and he asked me not to delay. I could not go out to him until the morning divine service was over. I would have gladly taken the doctor along, but he considered it unnecessary, and it was good that I could speak alone with this N. [Ernst], whom I found lying very weak in bed. God has now driven this sinner so far into a corner that he can no longer conceal his great and right loathsome sins any longer, rather he had revealed them to his wife who, to be sure, wished for invalid reasons to keep him from revealing them honestly to me and before the countenance of God; but she was unable to do it.

He complained that he had great pangs of conscience because of his great sins but that he had formerly not wished to confess them through fear of disgrace and loss; but now he would tell everything because it was high time for him to repent. God might attack him as hard as He wished, he would suffer it all gladly, for he had deserved Hell a thousand times [and some dreadful things came out], because he had stolen various tools from the N.N. [Herrnhuters], who had hired him for some jobs in Savannah for a few weeks. He asked me to write to them in N. [Pennsylvania] to learn where they should be delivered. [Hagen is in Savannah, perhaps we can ask him whether he wishes to accept everything that Ernst wishes to restore]. He requested a couple of pious Salzburgers, a man and his wife, to come to him so he could ask their forgiveness for the sin he had committed against them, also for his murderous assault (which God mercifully averted). He asked me to write down all his debts, which he willingly promised to pay off if only God would let him recover again. Moreover, he would commend everything to God, who would know how to pay it. After his death his wife too should give up what she has. He requested me to ask the entire congregation to pray God to bring him to penitence and receive him in grace.

Because he had vexed the entire community, he was asking for forgiveness; and, if he had sinned against any one person in particular or owed him anything, he should tell him so, and he would recognize it as a benefaction. [He had committed something with a Catholic student in Germany that he has not been able to make good, so he must humble himself before God so that He will do it.] He had greatly offended his father and caused him much sorrow, he said, as he had also caused us ministers, and this also causes him great sorrow; and he asked our forgiveness sincerely and with tears. He acknowledged that he had told innumerable lies and had also cursed and conducted his married life very scandalously, also that he had had little interest in divine services and the means of salvation and had pursued all sorts of debauchery in other places at the time of divine services. He recognized it as a blessing that God was attacking him so severely, for by this he had been brought to quietude and given the time to reflect and to read in Arndts True Christianity and thus have his eyes opened.

He begged most sincerely for my and my dear colleagues intercession and promised not to let anything distract him from his resolution to convert to God with all his heart. I talked with him about his circumstances; and after our prayer I commended him to Gods mercy, which is as great as He Himself is and which has often been granted to many a great sinner through the reconciliation of Christ. His example reminded me of King Manasse, who did not come to true penitence until God let him feel on his body the bitter fruits of his sinful life. He also told me he was thinking of what he had heard from us but had not wished to believe, namely, that a man disregards sins while he is healthy and feels secure; but, when he is lying on his sickbed or deathbed, they lie on his conscience as heavy as whole mountains.

Monday, the 24th of August. [My dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, must tend to various important affairs in Savannah; and, because he just found an opportunity to go there, he left here early this morning long before daybreak. May the Lord accompany him and strengthen him in soul and body, may He let him arrange everything well and bring him back to us soon!] Yesterday N. [Ernst] spoke with my dear colleague [Mr. Boltzius] also about his physical condition; and, because he had promised to report it to Mr. Thilo, I went to him yesterday evening and asked him to visit the man so that he would better judge what was to be done. He said, however, that the condition was so bad that he believed it could not be postponed any longer, rather the man should be brought to Purysburg as soon as possible so that could be done which the doctor there thought best.

Because N. [Ernst] had recently asked if I would be so kind as to accompany him, and my dear colleague considered it good and necessary; therefore this morning I went to N. [Ernst], took him into the boat, and traveled in Gods name to Purysburg. Just as I entered his house, we were joined by the pious Salzburger woman whom I mentioned yesterday and with whom he wished to speak alone [her husband had been there already]. Before we went away, we [knelt down in prayer and] prayed to our dear God about these important circumstances. The Salzburger woman also spoke movingly to N. [Ernst], and we departed in Gods name.

Underway I spoke much with the man, and showed him how these were punishments for his sins, he should beg God diligently for right recognition and confession of his sins and not merely recognize and confess sins in general [rather he should recognize specifically how thereby he insulted such a pious God, who has never done anything against him, and how they have caused his Savior so many pains, as the Lord Jesus Himself says: Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities, etc. If it came to the point that he would come to Him with all his sins and look upon Him on the cross like the raised serpent,27 I said, then he too would hear these words: I shall blot out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Already in his hut and afterwards in Purysburg he told me things which are terrible and which have wounded his conscience. In all this I directed him to and showed him the right way to his comfort thus: when sin has become great, mercy is much greater. He well recognizes that the reason he has never seriously sought true conversion was this: he thought he would not come through because the sins he committed were too many. However, I directed him to Jesus, of whom it is written: Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. [He should invoke God diligently for a right recognition of sin and for true faith in this Lamb of God.]

In Purysburg we at once went to the doctor [who, however, said he had not expected me and had therefore not prepared for anything. The operation cannot take place until tomorrow morning after breakfast. This displeased me because I would have liked to be back home today because my dear colleague is also away; but I had to accept it because I had come for Ernsts sake and because I wish to begin and end the treatment with prayer. Because I had time, I went to Mr. Lindner, who had been with us recently, and I discussed various things with him; and I especially admonished the children with the parable of the prodigal son and prayed with them. Then I went back to Ernst, admonished him again, and prayed with him.] Because the operation had been postponed, I went to Mr. /David/ Zuebli on his plantation, where I spent the night. Here our dear Lord granted me right great edification and first we sang [the song Nun freut euch liebe Christen gemein, etc.]. Afterwards I told them something of the words I had used yesterday as an exordium, Galatians 2:19-20, I am crucified with Christ, etc.; and I closed with prayer. [During the prayer God especially refreshed and strengthened me and also assured me again of His grace, and He strengthened me in His covenant of grace so that I could eat something and fall asleep in joy.]

Tuesday, the 25th of August. [As soon as I had prayed to God concerning my and other peoples circumstances and had eaten some breakfast, I went to the doctor accompanied by Mr. /David/Zuebli. Because the doctor now wished to eat breakfast first, I had time to speak and pray with Ernst alone. I especially brought to his mind the words He hath not dealt with us after our sins, etc. Likewise, Surely He hath borne our griefs, etc.] When the doctor was actually about to perform the above-mentioned bloody and painful operation, I fell on my knees with the other people present and presented the situation to God; and this made an impression on the others, even on those with unusually harsh dispositions. When it was over I thanked our dear God for His aid, commended N.s [Ernsts] spiritual and physical condition to our dear God [and assured him that, if he would let himself be completely won, he would henceforth be able to serve God better with one hand than formerly with two] and took leave of him with the words: Lo, I am with you always, until, etc. [He asked me movingly whether I really believed it, and I said yes, he could depend upon it.]

The doctor cut open the amputated hand and showed me that it was all putrid and could not have been healed again and that it had been necessary to delay no longer. I departed again in the afternoon in Gods name with my companions and reached home sound and strengthened in soul and body so that I could still hold the prayer meeting. [In the prayer meeting I sang the beautiful song Sei mir tausendmal gegrsset, der mich je und je geliebt, etc. and repeated the exordium verse Galatians 2:19-20, about which I catechized the children in the presence of the adults.]

May the dear Lord let us all recognize what a blessing it is to have all our limbs whole. May He convert us all to Him so that we will all be put in a position to use all our limbs for His glory and for the good of our neighbors. Mr. Zuebli is willing to go to N. [Ernst] regularly to speak with him from Gods word in his spiritual and physical misery, and this will be right salutary for N. [Ernst] through the grace of God.

Wednesday, the 26th of August. Toward the time of the afternoon school I (Boltzius) returned to Ebenezer safe and sound. [The water in the river has risen very high from the strong and lasting rain, so the rowing was very difficult for the people in the boat. This time I did not have to trouble the people of the congregation to take me to Savannah, rather I found enough room in young /Jacob/ Kieffers boat to travel down and back with him and his brother /Theobald/]. In Savannah I complained to the authorities that even last year the Uchee Indians had taken corn from the fields and fruit from the gardens both openly and secretly and are now becoming so audacious as to ride around on their horses in the corn and beans, cut cords in the stables, and take away milk, butter, laundry, and whatever they wish. The same complaints are made in Savannah, and there is even more trouble there because they have an opportunity to get drunk. [Because the members of the magistry gave me only cold comfort and the opportunity presented itself], I also wrote concerning this to General Oglethorpe requesting him to prevent such violence through his authority, because otherwise there would be sad consequences for our poor people, who work hard enough already earning their bread.

[I also reported to him that a certain captain near Palachocolas /Eneas McIntosh/ has been using our strong draft horse for five years and that, when I requested it, he denied he had it but kept on using it secretly in his service. There are witnesses who say that the horse belongs to our congregation; therefore we are demanding it rightly and justly and hope that Mr. Oglethorpe will require the unjust man to make good the loss we have suffered for so long for lack of the horse. The horses Mr. Oglethorpe ordered to be brought a long time ago for our place are loose in the woods near Savannah and cannot be given to the riders for their reconnaissance until all the horses that were bought for the same purpose at other places can be collected; but this will proceed very slowly. Mr. Oglethorpe is of the opinion (as a certain captain told me) that everything has been in order for a long time. I do not wish to mention this in my letter to Mr. Oglethorpe, because I would arouse anger in Savannah.]

A ship that lost its mast in the last storm has arrived off Savannah. A good while ago the Spaniards had taken it from the English and made a warship of it with which they did much harm to the English shipping; and just before the last great storm they captured two rice-laden ships not far from Charleston. The two captains and fifteen sailors who were in the two merchant ships were put into this warship as prisoners and well guarded. However, before St. Augustine the storm drove the ship into the region of Frederica; and, because the Spaniards were afraid of being captured, they took off with the longboat, threw the cannons overboard, secretly bored holes in the ship, and plugged up the pumps with the intention of sinking the ship. Nevertheless, the captured Englishmen noticed the treachery, plugged up the holes after the Spaniards had fled, and finally reached the shores of Georgia with a good wind. [The captains and sailors are to be examined in the next few days in order to learn whether they are telling the truth. The Spaniards are said to be very active at sea, whereas the English are rather sleepy, so the latter are suffering losses on all sides.]

In four weeks a man /Duche] is going to England with the permission and at the expense of Mr. Oglethorpe to gain some advantage from the Lord Trustees. He is willing to take our letters along and perform whatever we commission him to do. He is a potter by trade and has so far supplied the country and the neighborhood with earthenware; and, because he generally has great skill and understanding, he has discovered the secret of making porcelain that is just as good as that made in China, but for this he needs some advances from the Lord Trustees. He was born in Pennsylvania and still has a father and brothers and sisters there, but he finds so many advantages in the climate of our colony that he does not wish to go home. He is assured that, if the Lord Trustees would concede one great point, hundreds of people would move here from New York and Pennsylvania, where they must work very hard and can scarcely earn their livelihood. There are far too many people there already, and there are already many complaints.

On Monday evening I held a prayer meeting with the German people on John 8:36 and presented them with the misery outside of Christ and the bliss in Him [Cf. v. 34-35] and briefly repeated what I had preached to them four weeks ago on Hebrews 11:10 [Cf. 13-14] and Colossians 3:22 ff. Two English families asked me to baptize their children, which occurred on Monday before the prayer meeting and Tuesday afternoon.

[No letters have come from England to Savannah for a long time; and people there, as here, are yearning for good news from our patrons and friends. The older /Ambrosius/ Zuebli is tired of the disquiet in Savannah, and therefore he came to Ebenezer with us in our boat. His brother /Jacob/ has not only had much difficulty in his present service and has even been beaten and thrown into prison; but such disorder will probably last as long as he performs his six-months service, for which he can thank no one but himself and his overhastiness. He was not in Savannah, but at his post. At night he has fever; and by day, if he is not rowing in the boat, he must work on the land and with this he has poor provisions and bad company, which causes him much external and internal distress and disquiet.

In Purysburg I let our boat go on ahead, while I went to N. [Ernst] at the surgeons plantation to talk with him briefly and to pray. Almost his entire left arm has been cut off so that you can see only a stump of about five inches. Last night he had great pain, which, as the doctor said, will last another two days. In this condition he cannot pray, as he said to me, but he can sigh to God, whom he has so greatly insulted and whom he would like to serve well in this life through Christ. I reminded him of the little verse, Sin is a reproach to any people, with the request to let himself recognize his sin and deep perdition of heart better and better; because the wounds of the soul cannot be thoroughly cured unless one reaches their foundation and removes all that is harmful. He is not out of mortal danger, I said, and therefore it is all the more necessary for him to prepare earnestly for death. The surgeon himself is supplying him with food and drink in the way he finds necessary for the patients circumstances, and for this he should be paid one shilling a day in addition to the medical fee, which we will not know until the man is cured again. It will amount to a great deal. The man himself has not a single penny in his possession except for his crops; and therefore we will probably have to cover the expenses from the blessings God has granted us. This will happen with heartfelt pleasure and joy, if only God can achieve His purpose in this poor soul.

After this I journeyed by way of /David/ Zueblis plantation to the bank of the Savannah River, where the boat that was to pick me up was to land. However, because of the high water I found so many difficulties and so much danger on the way that I cannot describe them. Our dear God had wisely ordained that /Christian/ Riedelsperger, who had been sent with two others to Carolina to buy horses, was just then at Mr. Zueblis plantation and carried me on his shoulders across the ditches that were filled with water. He could travel home with us in the boat, whereas he would otherwise have had to wait longer for an opportunity if I had not come this morning; and thus we were both helped by Gods fatherly dispensation.

People in Europe cannot imagine the miserable condition of the roads in this country or that they are as bad and dangerous as they really are; and, although the people in Carolina have many Negroes, nothing is put into good order anywhere. Even those who call themselves gentlemen and cut a fine figure when they come to town have to get along so badly with food, clothes, and dwellings as any among us; so we have good reason to praise God heartily for the good He grants us. The three men just mentioned also underwent much hardship on their journey yet could not accomplish much. From Jonathan Bryan, to whom I had recommended them, they received so much love and kindness that they cannot praise it enough; and they also saw and heard many edifying things in his house, where Gods word dwells abundantly, which is something very rare in this country.

[He wrote me a friendly letter in which he reports that at present he can procure us not more than three mares and that these will be rather expensive. He promises to buy us more in six weeks if it suits us at 4 ь 10 sh. Sterl. for each mare, without foals. If they were delivered to our place at this price, then they would not be too expensive; but the expense and danger of fetching them runs very high, and therefore I must speak about it with the congregation. The three mares, which are said to be young and good, are still on a plantation at Palachacolas because they could not be brought down here on account of the very high water, and therefore it will be very expensive to fetch them. In this country everything has its difficulties. Danger is also involved with these horses. Our people say they have been grazing on salt water meadows; here they will find only fresh pasturage. This change, however, can often have serious consequences, and they often die. May God avert all loss! Many cows are dying at Purysburg, and the people fear the cattle disease will spread further.]

The Uchee Indians have also driven off horses from a plantation there and committed other offenses, so one must be serious and cautious. We are also worried that they will capture our few horses and ride off on them as they have also done in Savannah and Old Ebenezer. This evening I told the congregation how they should behave toward this thieving band to get rid of them and not to draw back again. We should not buy anything from them and not associate with them and be serious toward them when they misbehave. The more friendly we are and the more we give in and trade with them (which, in any case, is strictly forbidden by the Lord Trustees in order to prevent harm), the more we will have them around our necks and suffer trouble. Selfishness always brings harm.

Thursday, the 27th of August. We have had steady rain for almost two weeks, and the Savannah River has risen so high from it again that it is leaving its banks and will probably cause some damage to the beans and squash and to the corn and rice that has been blown down. All of /Theobald/ Kieffers people are badly off, because rising water prevents them from working and even forces them to flee. During this high water that keeps them from working on their own plantations they wished to make some tar on our side and to use their two Negroes or Moorish slaves for it too. However, we cannot permit this because it is against the colonys laws, even though otherwise we like to serve them as members of our congregation in all lawful things, especially since they show themselves very friendly and helpful to the community.

They do not get as much use from their Negroes as they had expected; and therefore they have been regretting it for some time yet cannot sell them to anyone else to get their money back. In buying them they had the good intention of leading them to the Christian religion; but they, just like N.N. [Mr. /David/ Zuebli] and others, have extended themselves too far and find no time to teach their slaves even the first letters of Christian dogma. We can see in their case that they were not concerned with the souls of those slaves but with their labor, and therefore with self-interest. As an excuse, many claim that these Negroes are such stupid people that they cannot understand anything; yet they make no effort to teach them anything in the course of time.

With himself and with others, a Christian should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these things shall be added unto him according to Christs promise. But here in this country it is the opposite with most people, even with those who wish to be better than others: they seek temporal things with all their strength and use all their people, both free and servants, to that end. Many die in doing this and must render a grave account for such a perverse domestic economy. In contemplating the conditions in this country and in our neighborhood I sometimes think of the words of St. Paul: But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare. Gods commandment is, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, etc. If the people would remain with this wise commandment of God and be content with what He let fall to them from their work, how much inconvenience, unrest, and trouble they would avoid! May God make our people wise and lead them more and more to simplicity and contentedness!

Much harm is caused here and there by the Negroes, and the most atrocious things are done by and among them; but, unfortunately, their masters make little of this if only they do their work. In Savannah I heard from the authorities of a new example of what harm is caused when a master has Negroes and white servants. The things that occurred at Fort Augustine28 are so dreadful and ugly that I shrink from expressing them with my pen. There are sworn witnesses, so the atrocities and monstrous wickedness committed there cannot be denied; and I have been requested by the authorities to send some people with our small boat up there so that two Negroes and two German children, namely, a boy and a girl, can be brought down and so that the two Negroes, together with their masters as accomplices in the shameful matter, can be emphatically punished (perhaps with their lives) and the two children be saved from their clutches. The two children belong to the man /Peter Heinrich/ who died two years ago in my house as a pious servant and whose oldest daughter /Anna Maria/is married to a Salzburger /Paulus Zittrauer / while the two little girls are in another house.29

Friday, the 28th of August. This summer some people are being afflicted rather severely with fever, and I do not know what the reason is that we have so much longlasting fever in our place, while one hears little about it in Savannah and Purysburg. N.N. [Ruprecht Steiner] has it so violently that he is delirious with paroxysms and has hallucinations. I told him for his comfort the little verse: All things, and therefore sickness too, must serve for the best of them whom the Lord loveth. He and his family had read in the book of Tobias, in which he has found much good instruction and comfort for his domestic situation, since his wife and both children are sickly. What is written in Chapter 12, verse 12, and several other things seemed suspicious to him, therefore he asked me and was quite content with my answer. I told him among other things that the Apocrypha (to which this book of Tobias belongs) are not divine but human books, which are, to be sure, very good in most ways. Yet it is always said, Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

As far as his strength allows, he is instructing N.N. [Ruprecht Zittrauer] and his wife /Anna/loyally; and he testifies that the husband has ability and is showing zeal in learning. To be sure, his wife is not so capable; yet she grasps this and that and will come along all right if she diligently repeats with her husband what they have learned. May God bless the good encouragement of the honest N. /Simon/ [Steiner] in their souls! For a long time they were [coarse people] almost like N. [Ernst] and his wife, and it was high time for them to turn seriously to a true conversion. The husband belongs to those exiles who, like Absalom, go from one country to another with a bad conscience and can therefore be better called vagrants than exiles. He has already been in Prussia;30 but, because it did not suit him there, he ran away again and finally came here.

Oh, if only all those in this country who came across the sea with a guilty conscience might look at the example of Absalom and fall humbly and penitently at the feet of our insulted and angered God in the name of Jesus Christ instead of being carefree about it and secure because they do not have to fear any further punishment here for the misdeeds they have committed in other countries. There are many people in Georgia and Carolina who have fled from the hands of the authorities after committing evil deeds in Germany. We are amazed when we hear German people in Savannah tell of their compatriots with whom they crossed the sea. The judgment that someone made about Holland, namely, that because it is low, all sorts of filthy sects and sectarians flow there,31 one could especially apply to America not only because the most absurd sects and opinions are tolerated but also because the most shameful things go unpunished if only the malefactors can get out of one colony and into the next.

The Indians have been very willful and have caused great damage on the plantations, about which I received a special report today [with special assurances which are to be sent to the authorities in Savannah and then on to General Oglethorpe]. They have even shot pigs, chased the cattle with horses and dogs, taken shirts from the wash tubs and from the clothes line, taken new shoes, salt, and household utensils from the huts and corn from the fields; and they have stamped down the beans with their horses and also eaten milk, butter, bread, etc. without permission and carried away a great quantity of peaches. They had ridden off from Old Ebenezer with two horses, which the Englishman fetched back by force without meeting any resistance on the part of the Indians. Both in the parishioners sickness and in this tribulation humble and trusting prayer will be the best means to guard ourselves from this hardship and at the same time to raise up our hearts through the word of God. Yet all permissible temporal means should also be used to remove these wild and uninvited guests from our place or to hinder them in their wickedness.

[Saturday, the 29th of August. The English girl from Savannah is still dangerously sick in Ortmanns house. Some time ago she seemed to have a hectic fever, whereas the throat was getting better. Now the fever has abated and the throat is again taking the previous bad appearance. When medication is applied, the child must suffer very much, and the schoolmaster and his wife have great disquiet and difficulty. They gave me a letter to read that the father of the girl recently wrote to Mrs. Ortmann in which he reports in his postscript that the people in Savannah are very embittered against him for having sent his daughter to them but that they should not make much of it, etc.

[Whether this expression concerned Ortmanns family alone or our entire community, I do not know. But so much we know in advance, there will be no lack of lies and calumnies about our place and judgments against the father if the girl were to die. He is neither willing nor able to take her down to Savannah because his wife is in London and he already is having much trouble with his two small children. He is also assured that the girl is being cared for here better than at his home, and I must give Mrs. Ortmann testimony that she is doing more for her than would be done for her by her arrogant and vexatious mother, from whom the husband himself has much to bear, as the girl herself well knows and makes very clear.

[Today there was trouble again with old Mrs. Spielbigler, and a couple of men in my room could see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears what kind of spirit dwells in her; and therefore they know from experience and also tell others what difficulty we have had with her so far even when we were busy furthering her spiritual and physical good. She had made a bargain with the old Swiss carpenter /Krsy/ about her cows and hut and had even let him move in, about which, however, a very angry squabble arose yesterday and today, during which the woman was like an infernal fury. She told me that, when Michael Rieser returns to our place, he will do to me what no one else has ever done. What that is, experience will tell. She has now sold everything and will probably soon move to her son in Charleston. We cannot accomplish anything in her through the word of God: full of unrighteousness, she is determined in her perverse mind to do what is wrong.

Sunday, the 30th of August. Today we gave salutary instruction for both the sick and the sound from the gospel, Luke 17:11 ff.; and our dear God granted much blessing for our edification both in the preaching of this material and also with the exordial words from John 5:14, Behold, thou art made whole, etc. It is surely most necessary to be instructed from holy scripture how we should conduct ourselves in healthy and sick days according to Gods will, since health and sickness are still alternating among us. Christians should see all of this with other eyes than natural men do. Who remembers that it is a very great sin, which draws new and even greater judgments after it, if a man, despite all good promises and resolutions, resumes his old sinful ways after recovering his health? Many a person has already suffered something worse, and clear examples of such judgments have been seen among us, yet the blind and secure32 people have not recognized them. In this connection we gave the parishioners the important 26th chapter of Leviticus to take home to read, in which things are written that apply especially to us in this country and from which one can see that sin is the root of so much of the evil that can be found in this country and in the neighborhood.

[The flock in town today was very small because several were sick and several had traveled to Augusta at the command of the authorities; also Kieffers people had obstacles that kept them from attending public services as regularly as they are accustomed to do. Landfelders family, Mrs. Rieser, and Mrs. Spielbigler come very irregularly and are generally right bad off in all matters.]

After sunset we had a very violent cloudburst with wind, thunder, and lightning, by which our majestic and holy God again revealed Himself to the godless as a terror and warning and to His children for their childlike fear and humble reverence toward such a holy God. [Such dreadful storms are surely always a sign of His wrath, with which He could visit the earth and destroy the sinners if He wished to deal according to His justice and mans merits. But it is still written: He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Therefore His name, so worthy of adoration, should be praised and lauded among us and in the whole world.] We never hear of any fire damage being caused by the heavy thunderstorms that are customary here. The only signs can be found in the woods, where some of the trees are marked by lightning. Also, Jacob Kieffer told me that during his recent stay in Charleston, a woman had been felled by lightning in her very doorway, yet the small child she was holding in her arms had not been harmed at all. This, if I remember correctly, is the first example I have heard in this country of a thunderstorm having caused fire damage.

Monday, the 31st of August. [The English schoolmaster /Hamilton/ has been sick again after having previously recovered somewhat. I still hoped he would ask me to come to him, but he would rather send for bread, wine, and other things than for me and my dear colleague, since he and his wife have little concern for his sins and how he should find the way to life. Even if we go to them and wish to say something for the salvation of their souls, we cannot get into any spiritual conversation with them, rather we must, so to speak, just preach to them, which is against the purpose of the house visitation. When he was healthier and could go out, he never came to church; and now his wife can remain for whole hours where she bakes her bread, but she never sets foot in the meetings. A serving girl heard her say that she was amazed that the girls mistress went to church even though she had a suckling child, for in this condition she would never have gone to church.] Pious women among us [for that reason] have themselves churched as soon as possible so that they can attend public services soon again for their edification. They are as thirsty for the rational pure milk as the newly born babe; but natural man and mouth-Christians know nothing of this but find hypocrisy in the simplest and best actions of faithful people.

[This afternoon I called on the schoolmaster, whose name is Hamilton, and led him into yesterdays gospel with the request that, like the lepers, he learn to recognize and feel sin as the source of all evil in this and the next world. This hardship, which would be the greatest, should drive him with sighs and prayers to Jesus, who accepts only poor humble sinners and dignifies them with His help. Even his present bad circumstances had sin as their chief cause. I repeated these words twice, but he remained silent about everything until I began to speak again about external matters. He complained that he had had many temptations because of his belief: certain wicked people had dragged him to a neighboring town and had tried to persuade him to defect, and he was surprised that I knew nothing about it. Last Friday he was in a delirious state and attacked his wife very angrily and otherwise acted most unruly, and his present speech well showed that things were not yet right in his head. Therefore I asked him to avail himself of the directions and cure of Mr. Thilo and gave him a little vial of Balsam Cephal nervino33 that I happened to have with me. He said, however, that he was not sick but just tired in all his limbs, he would soon be better if he just had meat to eat and other things that pleased his palate. His wife was not at home, so I could not speak with her.]

SEPTEMBER

Tuesday, the 1st of September. The honest N.N. [Ruprecht Steiner] has a rather violent quartan-fever, and in his paroxysms he has been quite beside himself now and then. Mr. Thilo sent him some medicine through me, and I found him in his bedroom teaching Ruprecht Zittrauer and his wife from his catechism, although he had had a strong attack of the fever. This was a good admonition for me, through the grace of God, to put aside all indolence in the execution of my ministry as well as in the necessary care of my body when the situation demands it, because time is very short for ministers and listeners. He took the medicine I gave him according to the doctors prescription and God gave a favorable hearing to his prayer so that, despite his fever, he maintained the complete use of his spirit and frame of mind so that he was able to hear the whole sermon on the story from 2 Samuel 14 along with the repetition of the preceding one in his little room.

After the lesson he had me come to him again and told me that God had again presented him a great blessing through His word, and that he felt very much urged by his conscience to reveal to me certain things that are very painful to his heart, until then he cannot find peace. It concerned some youthful sins, for which his parents lack of caution was partially to blame. It is of great harm if parents, who sometimes cannot help it because of their poverty, let their children sleep together. This is a point in which we must also remind the parents in our community to show Christian caution. He recited for me the verse Isaiah 44:22, which helped him in his pangs of conscience; and I added the dear words of Isaiah 43:24-25; and from the gospel I proclaimed the gracious repentance of all his sins, including the ones he had just confessed. He asked me to watch him carefully and to point out his faults to him, he would thank me for doing this. He considered himself completely unworthy and incompetent for many necessary tasks in the community to which we had assigned him so far; but I referred him to the little verse in James 1:5: If any of you lack wisdom (even if he be among the believers), let him ask of God, etc. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. ... He gives them simply to simple people and makes them become diligent to the praise of His glory.

We heard from the example of David that Christian parents and other true Christians are not only painfully distressed if their house-mates lead a godless life and cause scandal but also if they do not come to Christ through true conversion and do not want to participate in His grace for living a holy life; because in them can be found the aim of Christ, who is very hungry and thirsty for the salvation of men. This aim N. /Simon/[Steiner] also finds in himself in spite of the humility of his spirit, and therefore he should not doubt about his state of grace despite his feeling of misery. That our dear David accepted the fratricide Absalom without a real punishment, against the Lords express commandment, was his great weakness, for which the Lord sharply punished him through this Absalom as a warning to all parents. This is a sign that he did not make good use of Elis example. Therefore our people are often reminded to make better use of the examples of Eli and David in bringing up their children, to use love and earnestness with godlike wisdom. This, however, can be done only by converted parents who share in the spirit of discipline (sophronisma); for the intention of God is completely perverted if unconverted people marry, or remain unconverted and produce children whom they do not know how to lead back to the God who has given them. But it is not always the parents fault if children do not turn out well, since true Christianity is not transmitted with blood but must be achieved and preserved by struggles. Therefore this conclusion is incorrect: Since the children are good for nothing, the parents are of no use either, etc. Great trials come upon the children of pious parents, who -- more than others -- have good opportunities for righteous behavior, if they disdain them, as can be seen from this story as well as from the house of Job.

N. [Leinberger] and his wife, who also have the fever, do not consider it as a sign of Gods anger but of His grace that our community is being afflicted by sickness more than other people in this country. I admonished them to learn better and better to recognize sin as the cause of all evil, including sickness. Although sin has caused, right from the beginning, and still daily causes, so much evil on earth, it is loved by frivolous and secure people, which is a testimony of deep corruption of the human heart. If sin is recognized and felt correctly, I said, an earnest and steadfast hatred arises against it as a filthy, and highly dangerous matter; and, since one cannot rescue oneself from it and cannot guard against new attacks, one begins to yearn for the Redeemer and Savior Christ, who gladly helps and saves. The main thing in conversion is the true surrender of our heart to Christ, which must be continued later on by a constant fight against everything that would draw us away from Christ.

N. [Bruckner] is also finding his way to salvation better and better, and he confirmed some new matters to my dear colleague that caused him great obstacles while his heart was still on a wrong path. He found a companion in N.N. [Peter Reiter]; and, as they have been rather similar in their sinfulness, I hope that from now on they will both struggle for the crown through denial of self and the world.

In hearing about Absalom, whom God did not condemn at once in his sins but gave much time for atonement, we remembered the great patience and forbearance God has shown to all of us, even the most wicked ones, not only during this August but also during all the summer. He alone knows whether or not many of us, like the leaves on the trees, will fade and fall down sooner or later; therefore the listeners were admonished to put their house in order in time and to seek with atonement and belief for the grace of God in Christ that has been held in readiness for them for a long time already. Since Christ has established an eternal salvation and reconciliation, our dear God is much more willing to show grace to poor sinners than David in respect to his undutiful son Absalom. For a long time His heart has had a great desire for them (2 Samuel 14:1 according to the Hebrew). The example of Joab also warned us against such good deeds as our blessed Luther called Splendida vitia.1 Joab spared no pains to cause David to take Absalom into his favor and therefore was a peacemaker. However, since this happened from a rotten, stinking reason of selfishness and false intention, it did not help him before God. Matthew 6:22-23.

Wednesday, the 2nd of September. The Indians who were here a short time ago with their horses also scattered the congregations cattle that graze between the plantations and the orphanage cowpen. Therefore our people gathered the few horses we now have and rode out in order to gather them together again, after having been unable to accomplish much on foot. These wicked people caused much damage this time. Our dear listeners have enough trouble, since bears and wolves are still killing many pigs and also doing much damage to our corn. May God show us His mercy and avert greater damage and also help all of us to remember what can be found in Leviticus 26, where we can see that God held wild animals and other harmful things in His hands for the chastisement of His people. If all of us at Ebenezer, both great and small, would heartily fear our Lord, it would be easy for Him to fulfill in us, as in the above-mentioned passage, the promise given to His people cum exceptione crucis.2 If even manifold trials came upon us, all of this would have to serve us for our best in this order. I hope that God will continue to use love and earnestness so that all people will be drawn towards Him.

[N. /Johann Gottfried Christ/ led me to a lonely place to reveal to me a matter that has held him back from Holy Communion a few times already. Whenever his master in Germany had to measure his women clients for new clothes, he had seen and heard various scandalous gestures, words, and actions that he now remembers during his daily work, since he is already entertaining thoughts of marriage. From this he has very bad fantasies at night and, since he does not think he can get rid of them except by marrying and since he can find no opportunity to do so here, he has resolved to go away from here to another place. For this reason he got involved with old Mrs. Spielbigler, who wants to move away shortly. But good people, he said, have touchingly persuaded him to stay here, especially Mr. Kalcher and his wife /Margaretha/, of whom he said that they were bearing his physical and spiritual welfare in their hearts and were showing him all their love. Now he has changed his mind again and wants to stay here.

[However, since he wishes to participate in Holy Communion again, he wanted to reveal to me his anxiety that he has sinned several times at night in his sleep.3 I clearly displayed this sin to him as a stain of the flesh and admonished him to watch and to pray so that no thoughts would come up in his mind which might give him an occasion to shameful fantasies, etc. In case it should happen again against his will and doing he should, as soon as he notices it at night or in the morning, humiliate himself deeply before our holy God and apologize for such sins in the name of Jesus Christ, for it is said: Before God the thought is like the deed, and how much more this is true of such dirty fantasies and acts. But, as far as his intentions of moving away are concerned, I believe he would plunge into a great misery. Here he is under supervision and has no such opportunity to fall into real uncleanliness, which Satan, who well knows his inclination, would procure for him in other places if he went away from Gods word, control, and discipline. It is also not easy to marry well; and by his hastiness, which is especially great in his case, he could easily fall into such great misery that he would be a beaten and unhappy human being all his life. He knows, he told me, that he has often been obstinate and caused himself great hardship, but God in His great mercy has always helped him out. From the Bible stories he has heard so far he has learned that, if people push away His grace, God will finally withdraw His hand also away from them and let them do what is wrong, etc.]

Thursday, the 3rd of September. Since my dear colleague is planning to travel to Savannah tomorrow, if it pleases God, to perform his ministry among the German people there, I have composed for the authorities an account of the damage the Indians have done to our place lately, which I want to send along in the hope that it will reach General Oglethorpe. I hope the damage suffered by the poor people will be made good and also that necessary measures be taken to prevent future damage.

Sanftlebens wife /Magdalena/ has borne a little son, who was baptized in his house this afternoon. She was hurt by the kick of a cow, but our gracious God has averted greater damage, for which we and the godparents praised and glorified his name.

Friday, the 4th of September. N. /Ruprecht/ [Steiner] told me that God has granted him a large measure of sadness but also of joy. He has never before felt his sins so much as at this time, but it is all over now and his heart is filled with consolation in Christ. Although there is much tribulation in his home since all his family are sick with fever, he is not at all anxious about it: everything will be all right again. He told me something from the Epistle of St. John 1, because he was impressed that one was able to give the others an opportunity to come to Christ, who, despite their weaknesses, graciously accepted all of them who let themselves be brought to Him. I referred him to the verse: And of His fullness have we all received, and grace for grace. This fullness is open for us too, because Jesus is the savior of all men. I also recommended to him Isaiah 38 where it is written: Behold, for peace I had great bitterness, etc.

[The men who have been searching for their scattered cattle on horseback and on foot for several days already are still continuing but are accomplishing little. May God keep their trials from damaging their souls!. The Englishman at Old Ebenezer has found some and wants 2 sh. 6 pence Sterl. per head, which is much for poor people, but better than losing the cattle.

[The repair of the millrace cannot be started yet, since the water is still rising. If all of us would really seek first the kingdom of God, then the mill and everything they need for conducting this life would be given to them as a bonus: but cum exceptione crucis. It is remarkable that God is giving us our church so quickly yet is letting great damage occur to the mill, which we thought to be very well protected. All this should serve for the good of those who love God.

[The floor will be finished this week, so that, if necessary, we will be able to hold the public sermon there. But, since my dear colleague has traveled to Savannah on official business and will stay there over Sunday, we will postpone the consecration of the church for two weeks, when the whole community will be assembled in town again. May our good and pious God, who does so much for Ebenezer, prepare our hearts for the Christian consecration of this House of God so that we will gratefully remember His grace and the benefactions we have enjoyed at Ebenezer and will encourage ourselves by His word to further trust in His help, which we urgently need at this difficult time, so it will often be said: Ebenezer, up to here the Lord hath helped us.4

[Last night old Mrs. Spielbigler traveled with a trading-boat to her like-minded son in Charleston and took with her all her belongings she had not sold, so that we are rid of her at our place. Her conscience is like a big wide sack, in which she gathered much evil to the very end and took it away with her. As before she used her slanderous tongue against me just in the last days, as I have never heard or experienced in all my life. It should not be put to her account: I wish her true atonement which, however, can scarcely be hoped for because of her utmost blindness, whereby she as an old widow with all her wickedness always wants to be in the right, contrary to the express commandment of God in Exodus 23:3. She and people like her do not make it the hardest for me to exercise my ministry; that is done by those among us who wish to come to a literal recognition but actually delay truth through injustice and therefore become less and less fit in their faith and fall deeper and deeper into the spiritual judgments of God. If we used real official severity against them, some would gang together and move away, because here in America it is almost the fashion to move from one place to the other and run to a place where people can live as they please according to their carnal minds in emulation of other worldly people or mouth-Christians. I fear similar judgments of God will fall upon some of them, if atonement does not follow in due time. May God, on account of His Son, our dearest Savior, grant us wisdom, gentleness, and patience but also good zeal!

The burden of worldly duties that still presses heavily upon us does much harm to our spiritual ministry; and necessity will finally require for it to be taken away from us. I hope the next letters will bring us some clarity in this matter. If we put down the adventures we encounter in taking care of external matters with strangers and our own people, when would we finish and what great distress it would cause our friends! Enough can already be seen from matters we report from time to time. May God present us with an able man who will have the physical and spiritual well-being of our people at heart. The other day the judge at Purysburg, Mr. Lindner, who has already been mentioned in the diary, told me that he intends to turn over to his very selfish and self-willed son all his trade with various goods at Purysburg, whereas he himself would like to spend the remaining days of life together with his family at Ebenezer near the word of God, if he could become a judge here and receive a yearly pension from the Lord Trustees like the official persons in Savannah. Even if the man suited us (to which, however, I would not contribute anything), there is much to be concerned about in regard to his family. Nor do I believe that the Lord Trustees would spend 50 ь Sterl. for a judge at Ebenezer, as is done in Savannah. May God have mercy on our circumstances.]

Saturday, the 5th of September. [It is still raining very strongly off and on, and the water in the river is still rising, so that it is now almost as high as it was in the spring.] The Kieffers, along with their neighbors, are suffering great damage at their plantations because the pumpkins, beans, turnips, rice, etc. are ruined in the water during the continuous rainfall, which has overflowed the whole plantation; and, since wind and bears have overturned much of the corn, it too must rot in the water. Our people who have planted something on low land will also have to suffer. May God grant them the grace to be able to resign themselves to it. May we recognize the punishing hand of God and kiss it in atonement and humility! Otherwise, according to Leviticus 26, still worse things can be expected.

N.N. [young /Jacob/ Kieffer], who has a weak body, complained about the lack of a Christian life in himself. A short time ago God let him experience a divine sadness about his sins and also gave him the assurance of forgiveness; but now all that, he says, is dead in him. I encouraged him to fervent prayer, by which he can obtain everything, if it is done in the name of Christ. At the same time I warned him against distraction by too many matters. But one thing is needful, etc.

Sunday, the 6th of September. Yesterday and today it stormed heavily, and at sea there may be very bad weather and great danger. Today the public sermon was held in town, and I was glad that our dear listeners, who like newborn children are eager for the rational pure milk, were not afraid of the rain or the bad road and came in from the plantations to listen to the word of God; for this loyalty our gracious God has surely rewarded them through the sweet gospel. This time we heard from the regular gospel the important words, Matthew 6:33. From them we learned our Lord Christs command and promise, and as an exordium we made use of the magnificent verse Isaiah 48:18. Five persons from Purysburg came up to us, whom the Lord also, as I hope, has given a blessing from His word as He has to me and others.

Today it was also announced that in a fortnight we intend to consecrate our House of God and to hold Holy Communion together with those who would prepare for and be worthy of it. The parents were asked not to leave their children back home, for they are a considerable part of the Christian church and our hope to have them as Christian inhabitants in the future. It is said of them: Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained thee a praise, and therefore ours and their praise, which the Holy Spirit puts in their tender hearts in a way unknown to us, shall be united; and the benediction in the name of the threefold God shall be given to them as well as to others.

[The river has swollen up and backed into other small rivers between the plantations so much that people cannot come back and forth except in big and small boats.]

The Kieffer family had to flee from their plantation already yesterday because of the flood and is staying at our place. This is a great handicap for them in their work and is destroying almost the whole harvest. God has already helped them so much by His word that they are resigned to His will and are content with His guidance. The present flood exceeds the one we had last spring, which in our opinion was extraordinary. May God impress todays gospel deeply into the hearts of all people, especially the dear words: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. . . . Then it will be unnecessary for us to worry about the adverse circumstances we meet here and be fearful about our daily bread as heathen hearts are. He gives it to His friends in their sleep, He lets them get their necessities so wonderfully that they often do not know where this and that comes from. We have had manifold proof of the kind care of our heavenly father at our place, and these should strengthen our belief.

At the end of the divine service today we read especially Leviticus 26, which made a good impression, as I heard afterwards. For tribulations teach us to listen to the word, and experience makes everything clearer. May God give us grace to regard everything that happens to us as coming not by chance but from the hand of God and to thank Him for His grace and to fall down penitently at His feet when He punishes!

Monday, the 7th of September. The storm at night was rather terrible and drove the strong rain through the walls into my house. It surely broke into other houses and huts also. A man from the plantations requested that he and others be helped to get wheat. A certain captain has promised General Oglethorpe and me to send some bushels of wheat for seeds with the first trading-boat that passes us, but there have been many opportunities already and nothing has been sent yet. I will see whether our people, to whom I am giving a letter to this captain, will bring something with them. This Salzburger told me that the water had never risen as much as at this time and that, while the corn in the lower places was still standing out of the water yesterday, the heavy wind beat it down last night so that everything is now lying in the water. In spring they were prevented from an early planting by the high water and therefore it is now not even as ripe as on dry land; consequently the damage the poor people have to suffer is very great. It pleased me and gave me comfort that this man did not care about the damage that he and his neighbors have but believed that God will send some help in time and that what He takes with one hand He can easily give again with the other one. This may happen so that those who are honest5 will become known and their confident trust in God will be distinguished from others who have not yet let the words of the gospel affect them.

[For some time now we have had much trouble and unrest with Mrs. Rheinlnder, in spite of her diligent use of the means of salvation and all her good pretenses. She misuses her tongue against her neighbors, meddles in many affairs that do not concern her, is a burden to people in many ways and complains about others; but she does not know herself, nor does she believe that she is still lacking a real foundation of Christianity. For good reason the Salzburgers do not want to have much to do with her, and she interprets this as enmity. For a long time already she has made do with a miserable hut of a Salzburger; and, although we have allowed her ready cut lumber and some men for help, she has preferred to let her son earn money by outside work than to let him work on a better hut. Egotism and selfishness are not yet crucified in her.]

Tuesday, the 8th of September. Yesterday morning some men from the plantations informed me that Peter Reiter has injured his foot6 very badly and therefore is longing to see Mr. Thilo and myself. We traveled out there together, and as soon as I crossed the water I was informed by /Martin/ Lackner that Mrs. Zimmerebner had borne two little girls and that, because they were very weak, they wanted them to be baptized as soon as possible. In the meantime the husband had taken much trouble to come to town across the high water in order to get Mrs. Rheinlnder as midwife for his wife, and during his absence he did not know that, by the help of a neighbor woman, God had already helped his wife through. This was a great strengthening of his belief, because while running back and forth he had laid his obvious need before our most merciful God by hearty sighs. And for me God cast a light on the verse that I so dearly love: So he giveth his beloved sleeping. Likewise: All these things shall be added unto you. Mrs. Rheinlnder made up her mind yesterday not to work for anybody anymore as a midwife or in other ways; and today God showed us that He can devise means even without her help, although Mrs. Bacher, who is liked by everybody because of her deep devoutness, is sick in bed.

It was a rather long way by foot to Zimmerebners plantation; therefore I hoped our Lord would let the weak little children live until they could receive holy baptism, which also came true. Indeed, they had, as the neighbor woman told me, visibly recovered and had become stronger. We praised our good Lord together with the pious godparents and performed the devotion in the fear of the Lord.

People complained of N.N.s [Mrs. Zimmerebners] lack of faith and patience, and she too accused herself and got to know her heart better now to her confusion. It was only after the edification hour, which repeated what was recently preached about 2 Samuel 14:21-27, that I could go to the above-mentioned patient /Reiter/, with whom I spoke as necessary from the word of God; and I prayed with him and those present. For some time he has appeared to be a penitent sinner; and our dear God, who likes to hasten the conversion and salvation of men, is again seizing him for that very reason so firmly that he, by His grace, may get rid of the obstacles to his conversion and use the means for this purpose even more earnestly. Last night he, together with his neighbor, chased a very big bear, which had done much damage to the corn, up a tree and shot it; and, because it did not fall down, they wanted to fell the tree. In the meantime the bear tried to jump to another tree but fell down like a young ox or a big sack of corn and knocked this N.N. [Peter Reiter] to the ground. From this he suffered no harm other than that his whole left leg up to his hip was dislocated or otherwise injured, and this is causing him very great pain. It is very easy to talk to him, because he is concerned about edification and salvation. His neighbor told me that he had complained to him with weeping eyes about the corruption of his heart, etc.

At his safe return from Savannah my dear colleague met me at the plantations and brought with him some letters that were written to us from Europe. The Lord Trustees have sent us through Mr. Verelst a very kind reply to my letter of 29 December of last year, for which they have not only paid the correspondents of Mr. Schlatter of St. Galls the long since requested 71 ь Sterl. for the Swiss linen,7 which has been mentioned several times in the diary, but also completely approved the costs of our mill and sent orders to Savannah to pay them to us. They also offer to grant money for building the rice-mill, if the costs are proposed to them. May God be praised for this gift, which He lets fall to our share just in this time of trial which is coming over the mill because of the high water; by this the pious people will be strengthened and encouraged no little bit in their belief and the unbelievers will be put to shame.

A pious midwife in our dear N. [Augsburg] has written a very long Christian letter to one among us in answer to certain matters that were written to her, and has listed various very necessary means, which she knows from experience, to proceed in certain delicate circumstances, for which we have lacked advice up to now. May God repay her for this benefaction and also for the practical remedies that are to arrive later on in a chest.

[It seems that this letter, which was written already the 11th of February of this year, remained in London for lack of an opportunity. Mr. Verelsts letter was dated the 27th of April of this year. The previously mentioned letter from Augsburg as well as the new benefactions of the Lord Trustees will awaken us and our people to the praise of God, wherefore our Lord, who dwells above the praise of Israel, will send rich blessings to our worthy benefactors.]

We are preparing ourselves for the consecration of our church; and our Lord himself is making new preparations to lay a new song in our mouths so that we may humbly and ardently praise Him for past and present benefactions, indeed, in belief and hope also for future ones. How wonderfully God treats us! Last week I had many troubles, and this week He is already giving much cause for a real joy in His fatherly care. Already last Sunday He comforted and strengthened me poor man from His word; and even today He is letting me experience some beautiful fruit from the gospel preached to the people. Hallelujah! Soli deo Gloria!8

Wednesday, the 9th of September. Today I was again confirmed in what I had written to Europe recently from our previous experience, namely, that under the blessings of God the good, well cultivated land here bears not only hundredfold but a thousandfold, which seems almost incredible to others. A woman brought me German corn or rye to send to Europe together with other seeds at the request of a certain distinguished benefactor /Chretien von Mnch/. A few years ago she picked out and planted only three grains of such rye or German corn from some Indian corn that had been brought into our country from Pennsylvania, and at the time of harvest she got a whole little sack, like a shirt pocket, of beautiful, full-grained seeds. From a single seed about 170 beautiful ears have grown.9 Wheat, barley, oats, etc. grow just as abundantly. A Salzburger once showed me a similar little sack full of beans, all of which had grown from one single bean or red Indian pea (as they call this crop here). Nevertheless, in this wild country that is filled with dangerous animals, those people who, as it were, have to break the ice suffer much in spite of all the fertility of the country. But their descendants will enjoy it, if they fear God. It is a country where almost everything grows, and there are good pastures everywhere. It is very easy to make hay: for the best grass grows astonishingly where crops have stood, but at present this is only a burden to the inhabitants.

The saddest thing in this country is the excessively great malice and sinfulness of most of the inhabitants, especially amongst the Indians, which is not especially prevalent among those who are employed and well paid by the government. We are really shocked when we inquire about the behavior of the people now and then; therefore, it is no wonder that we also hear of the great punishments of God which, of course, cannot fail to appear. I know of no example that such people (as one says) prosper, although it seems that they earn much from their cattle and other trade and also get good wages, rather they [generally have large debts because they] consume their wealth with harlots and lose it in other ways. May God see to it and grant much wisdom to the Lord Trustees, as the countrys authorities, to put a stop to all the evil that calls down curses upon the country and may He fulfil the 85th Psalm also in this colony.

Zimmerebner informed me today that his two little children have died, one last night and one this morning. Both of them were buried this afternoon on the plantations (where, as in town, a certain place near the church is destined as the cemetery).

N. [Schartner, who is one of the cowherds on the plantations], has already sinned seriously at N. [Old Ebenezer] and God in His wisdom and holiness has now ordained for it to be revealed; and I wish from all my heart that it will serve to his true conversion. I had summoned him to come to me, and he has searched in his heart for the reason and has stood in fear about it. But he was so honest as to confess it in every detail. May God grant us wisdom to meet all the evil among us according to His word so that it will be settled in a Christian way and so that further seduction and spiritual harm will be prevented.

Some days ago someone told me that the stories of the Old Testament had never been urged upon his mind as strongly as after the time of his fall. Many old sins are awakened on such occasions, when God holds up to us such living mirrors of deep human corruption and His judgments. Otherwise some fare like the field-captain Joab, who concluded from Davids merciful behavior toward the fratricide Absalom in 2 Samuel 14:22 that David had pardoned him too, which was a great error that, to his astonishment, he had had to experience to the contrary at the end of his days. 1 Kings 2:31-32. How terrible it is to imagine the forgiveness of old forgotten sins and then, before the judgment-seat of Christ, to find them still written in Gods account book and to suffer eternal punishment because of them.

Thursday, the 10th of September. The Salzburger N. [Hertzog] is again feeling the grace of God strongly in his soul; and, since he is subjected to much bodily weakness, he surely believes that our dear God is again earnestly touching him with His grace and that, if he refused it this time, it would not be good for him. We have to deal with him very carefully if we do not want to avert his feelings. Therefore I have thought about it for several weeks and sought a convenient opportunity to call one matter to his mind especially [privately] and to bring him to an awareness of its sinfulness. Today our Lord mercifully granted me to accomplish some of my purpose with him. Because of Davids very merciful conduct toward his undutiful son Absalom in 2 Samuel 14, my mind was full of Gods inexplicably great mercy with which He pursues with love and earnestness even those sinners who seem to be lost already, according to Matthew 18:11, and likewise already have, as it were, one foot in hell, and is highly pleased at the return of a penitent sinner, as can be seen by the lively presentation of our Savior in Luke 15 and Jeremiah 31:18-20.

I told him something of this lovely subject and also informed him that I wished an opportunity to speak alone with him sometime during his field-work, since one has to speak very loudly with him because of his bad hearing. He wished it too and said that he already knew what I wanted to talk to him about. He had understood it the other day from some words of my dear colleague; he would be pleased and he had wanted it for a long time but had not had the courage to begin. I warned him against his great emotions of rage and exasperation, since he knew from experience what damage he had suffered from it. Also through them the devil had suppressed and stolen the word of God. As soon as such evil comes upon him, he should pray rather than indulge in it, otherwise our dear Gods good work would often be ruined in him and perhaps to the bitter end. During the first attacks it would certainly be hard to bridle this sinful habit and bad inclination, which has become his second nature; and upon his earnest prayer Jesus will give him the strength to overcome it, and afterwards it will gradually become easier through the grace of God. Already here our good Savior gives every believing and self-controlled person a kind of crown through a new flow of grace. How much will finally happen in blessed eternity after the good fight is fought and complete victory is achieved!

He wanted to know what it means to seek his salvation not elsewhere but only in Christ. I tried to make it clear to him partly from the example of the lost son and partly from the example of the deadly wounded Israelites in Numbers 21 who, at the feeling of their deserved death, had to make retreat with penitence and pains, as much as they could, to the sign of salvation. Also, since he was of the opinion that believers should reach such a perfection in this life that they should not suffer any inducement to sin, etc., I gave him necessary instruction in this respect too.

Friday, the 11th of September. After the sermon from the last part of the story in 2 Samuel, I informed the listeners on the plantations as well as in this evenings prayer meeting how our living God is continuing to let us feel the footsteps of His fatherly care for our community even in this present time of trial that has come over the mill and the fields by inclining the hearts of the dear Lord Trustees to bear the costs of the mill and also to spend as much money for the future building of the rice mill and the stamp mill as will be necessary. The disbelievers among us who were rather irregular in their work on the mill because no ready money was at hand were put to shame; but others, who had done their work fruitfully and trusted in Gods grace, were strengthened in their belief with us and encouraged to new diligence. May God not send us this new help in vain at a time when we are preparing to consecrate our church, but may He rather encourage us to marvel at His mercy and praise His name also to intercede for our dear benefactors heartily and eagerly. We may well exclaim together with other believers from Psalms 20:6: We will rejoice in thy salvation and in the name of our God we will set up our banners.

[For some time young Mrs. /Anna Elisabeth/ Kieffer has longed to participate at the Lords table together with the congregation, but she could not be admitted for want of necessary knowledge in the basic truths of the Christian religion and also propter curentium criterium conversionis.10 Therefore she came to me again this afternoon, and it seems to me that she is penitent and that her longing for this heavenly meal is sincere. I asked her to come back again with her husband.]

I visited the two patients, Mrs. Bacher and Peter Reiter, on the plantations and talked and prayed with them so far as my strength allowed. In both of them our Lord Jesus will certainly reach His merciful intention with respect to their sickness; their words and hearty attestation give very good hope for it. They realize what a very great mercy it is when God leads hearts to quietude and into a wilderness where He can talk kindly to their souls and continue the work He has started. Peter Reiter realizes better now how beneficial it is to have the gospel in healthy and in sick days and regrets very much that N. [his wifes stepmother, Mrs. /Ursula/ Landfelder] wants to move away with her family in her deplorable blindness.

[Saturday, the 12th of September. Zettler was kept from Holy Communion last time because of his disagreement with his wife and other people. He is now applying again and promises to prepare earnestly for this holy project with the help of God so that nobody will hear any more about his former bad behavior. He has already reconciled himself with some of his neighbors and he wishes to keep on doing so. To further this necessary matter I read to him and his wife, from Matthew 5:23 ff., our dear Saviors important idea and showed them that, according to our Lord Jesus, our sacrifice and divine service will be unpleasant and displeasing to our Lord if we have not made peace beforehand with our neighbor in a Christian way, and that it is not only a matter of mere words but of the honesty of ones heart. From the political behavior of Absalom towards Amnon we have seen that some people can consort and speak to each other in an ostensibly friendly way yet bear enmity in their hearts. We have warned our people against this Belial-perfidy.

[Mrs. Rheinlander finds it hard to be reconciled with others. She is full of suspicion and hard to convince. Therefore she finds it objectionable if one or the other person participate in the Lords Table without admitting guilt. Also, her words and deeds give people reason to be dissatisfied with her, as happened to Zettler. Afterwards she insists on an apology; and, even if this is done according to my advice and discretion, she brings up things that disturb rather than advance peace. She is firmly convinced that the change in her heart has taken place, but it seems to me that there is no more than a good and gradually acquired literal recognition and some proficiency in an outward exercise of Christian religion. She cannot be convinced of the bad quality of her Christianity.]

Sunday, the 13th of September. Today our listeners were given an opportunity to remember with thanks the rich mercy of God that they have experienced, both in the old church hut and also in my house, from the preaching of the gospel and the enjoyment of the Holy Sacraments and to search their hearts as to whether our dear God has reached His purpose in all of them. Ministers and listeners humbled themselves before God at the usual Sunday prayer meetings and humbly asked His pardon in the name of Jesus Christ for all faithlessness towards His word, the Sacraments, and the grace of the Holy Spirit. They heartily implored Him for wisdom to preach and to put to good use His holy word, which He will also present to us in the new church. Since Holy Communion will be held eight days from now during the Christian consecration of this little church which has been built to the glory of God, it is our thought and intention to take it with His help and blessings as if it were for the first time in our life, etc. It so happened that, according to the order of the catechism, it was now time for us to consider the fifth main division concerning Holy communion, and at this time the first two questions were thoroughly catechized. As an exordium we heard the very comforting words of Psalms 23: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. We also meditated on the gospel St. Luke 8:11 ff., concerning the resurrection of the faithful to eternal life, whereby we stressed 1) its certainty, and 2) its majesty. The preamble was taken from John 5:28-29. May God bless the word that was preached today to His glory and our eternal bliss!

N.N [Michael Rieser, Landfelder] and their wives are so wicked as to withdraw from the public hearing of the word of God, which gives me and the pious listeners reason for sighing. They should know, and they will remember too late, that the kingdom of God was near to them; and at the Last Judgment the heathens of the country will fare better than those people, as the future Judge himself has clearly announced in Luke 10. They care nothing about the verses: He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you. ... etc. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves. ... etc. May God have mercy on them!

Monday, the 14th of September. [For eight days we have constantly dry weather, which is very useful for the ripening and harvesting of the crops. For some days the water of the river has begun to fall and we have started to hope to undertake the repair of the mill the sooner the better; but it will be necessary to wait because the water is again rising noticeably. What God does is done well.]

At the beginning of last week the mother /Ursula Meyer/ of an orphan girl /Magdalena/ came up to us from Savannah to visit her girl and to edify herself here from the word of God. She had something to talk to me about today, and she gave testimony of the good that God has shown to her soul. She wants to be freed of her voluntary (but good) service the sooner the better and to move completely to Ebenezer. She trusts that her heavenly Father will take care of her poor body here as well as in Savannah. He has taught her by His grace to be content with everything. Our dear God has also shown much good to her little girl here, both spiritually and physically. The mother, who still remembers her past bad circumstances, is very happy at this and is revived to the praise of God and is also edified by the prayer and good discourse of her girl. She is a very pious woman and very eager for the rational pure milk.

Tuesday, the 15th of September. N.N. [Peter Reiter] is very happy whenever one of us encourages and edifies him by prayer and the word of God on his sickbed. He is penitently recognizing sin as the root of all evil and would rather remain lame than to give offense to God, his Benefactor, with healthy legs, since he still well remembers the sinful paths he has gone since his youth, indeed, even since childhood, and that he has misused his body and soul to insult his Creator and Savior. Today, when I visited him upon his urgent desire, he made his confession in such a way that I was, to be sure, disgusted at the amount of sins that he admits to, but also glad in my heart that God has been able, through His word and the chastisement of physical pain, to bring this soul to the point that he feels a real horror, disgust, and hatred for all his sins and also complains that his heart is still so hard and that tears of atonement will not flow. He knows what harm other youngsters have done to him; and because he has sinned together with them in various ways, he will recall their sinfulness to their minds so that they will do atonement too.

He is very bashful by nature, but our dear God will help him like Nicodemus in John 7:50 to overcome his fear of man. He regrets very much that his parents did not look after him but let him grow up in blindness and let him have his own way; therefore he has committed very great sins. To be sure, he has begun to hope that Jesus will show him grace as a great sinner, but this hope soon disappeared again, etc. [He shudders when he looks at his wifes child /Sara Steiner/, remembering that he had run into bad things even as a little child, etc.] I paraphrased Psalm 130 for him and gave him the instruction he needs for persistence in atonement, for loyalty for the grace he has received (Acts 3:26), and for the careful and continuous use of the means of salvation. Now that he is confined to his house, he is suffering loss because the deer are eating up all his beans at night, which he has guarded all summer. Also the bears would damage much of his corn if he did not have it harvested and carried to his house by other people. Some ill-feeling arose in him because of this, but God has helped him to defeat and overcome it.

This morning my dear colleague traveled to N. [Ernst] at the surgeons11 plantation near Purysburg and returned from there this evening. Since the water was very high, he was able to travel by boat across Mr. Zueblis plantation up to the high land and could return earlier this way. Besides the pain of his amputated hand,12 the patient had a dangerous catarrh; but this has improved again. He hopes to be discharged by the surgeon in fourteen days and to be sent back to Ebenezer, which he is longing for, since it is rather turbulent at this plantation, where many people come and go. He still seems to be true to our dear God and His mercy and has a strong feeling of his misery, and sometimes it strikes him that he will never find grace, etc. During the present cool nights he is supplied with poor bedclothes, therefore some blankets will be sent to him at first opportunity.

Wednesday, the 16th of September. [The merchant from Savannah whose daughter is sick in bed at schoolmaster Ortmanns house wants her back home again now that his wife has returned from London and wishes to see the girl. Her health has varied very much; even though her hectic fever and bad throat sometimes begin to improve, there is often an unexpected change and a rash is seen over the uvula that looks like scabies on the outer skin, and it spreads so quickly that abcesses can be seen after a short time, so the illness must be very sharp and scorbutic. Following Mr. Thilos prescription various things have been tried up to now both internally and also externally, but nothing has had any lasting effect. Mrs. Maurers throat looks more and more dangerous too; and we do not know whether to advise her to go to another place for a cure.]

N. [young /Jacob/ Kieffer] registered himself and his wife /Anna Elisabeth/ for Holy Communion next Sunday. As long as she has been married, she has visited the preparation hours diligently and has heard all the Christian doctrine according to the instructions of the Compendium of late Pastor Freylinghausen, which is now finished. Therefore she knows what Christian doctrine and Holy Communion mean, whereas she was previously rather ignorant. Her heart is now in such a condition that I hope she will partake with profit and that her Christianity will be founded deeper and deeper in Christ, the rock and keystone of our salvation.

[She started her married life in a very irregular way; before her engagement to Kieffer she had lived together with an impudent journeyman-tailor at Charleston, who recently passed away in his sins, and five months after the marriage she bore a well-built but dead child. About these and other things concerning her conscience, she was earnestly and lovingly examined today according to the words of God, in the presence of her husband (as had been done before privately) in order to find out completely in what means the death of her little child and other alleged things were her fault, so that all this could be settled before God and men before taking Holy Communion.] They both most willingly agreed that next Sunday the whole congregation will be informed that she has, to be sure, caused great scandals, as already known, but that she has been brought to atonement by Gods grace. Therefore she heartily regrets all her sins and is longing to reconcile herself with God and men. They do not regard the public confession and apology as a punishment, but as a beenfit; and they do not care what unconverted people, who look at such church-discipline as a disgrace, will say of it. Just as she did not hesitate to sin, she will not hesitate to do atonement for her sins in a Christian way, even though some people from N. [Purysburg] will attend the consecration of the church and the divine service next Sunday.

Thursday, the 17th of September. N. [Hertzog] is also longing to participate in Holy Communion, but he wanted to talk to me beforehand in a field where nobody could hear us about a certain matter that weighs on his conscience heavily. He certainly stands in the fear of the Lord, but this fear is still very slavish for various reasons [partly because of his temperament and his very frail constitution]. I tried to set him right as far as I could by the grace of God. He deeply wounded his conscience in N. [Salzburg] and, since he has done some forbidden things here too that are known to several people [including the children], he is in great grief and sorrow because of the public vexation. [I told him what I would do to avert this; but it was up to him, in penitent, steady prayer, to concern himself about the dear blood of Christ that can cleanse our conscience from dead works to our living God and also to plead diligently to our dear God that He by His omnipotence, wisdom, and grace, may remove the vexation so that it will be of no harm anymore.]

A penitent woman who for several years has painfully regretted sins she committed in her single state and has struggled for forgiveness in Christ complained to me that she could not yet reach the grace that another woman she knows has achieved, and she said it must be her fault. She has formed the hearty resolution not to bring any old sins into the new church; and, since she has not completely confessed them publicly as her conscience has been urging her to do, she wished to do it today. Therefore she came to my house and bent her knees before the Lord together with me and my family, and then she revealed the very heavy wounds of her conscience to me as if to the Lord. She regards herself as being worthy of all temporal and eternal chastisements of God and does not shrink from accepting all adversities in the world, if only our dear God in Christ, the world-Savior, will have mercy upon her. As long as she lives, she will certainly feel what a misery and heartbreak it is to leave our Lord and God and to insult Him with coarse sins. The Bible stories from the Old Testament gave her great insight into her own affairs and she finds a clear commentary in them for her sad circumstances and diverse internal and external sufferings.

The girls who have attended the preparation-hour diligently up to now asked me movingly to admit them to the Lords table this time. However, this will not be possible right now; and it will also be better for them to wait until next time. Perhaps the two boys will accept the word of God to their conversion and Christian preparation too, so that later on all the more children can be confirmed and admitted to the Lords table and perhaps with greater blessings. In this important matter we should not hurry but should use great caution.

Friday, the 18th of September. After the edification hour on the plantations a pious man told me that our dear God has blessed all that he told me a short time ago about his spiritual condition and also the instruction I gave him from Gods word so that he is convinced now that God has forgiven his sins in the name of Christ. The 15th Chapter of Luke is very dear to him, therefore he often reads it and wants to learn it by heart. He too is longing for Holy Communion, and I believe our dear God will so strengthen him at this wedding-table this time that he will become more and more certain of his state of grace. If only God can cause a poor man who is separated from Him by sin to recognize and feel that he has made himself a horror to God and all saints in heaven and earth through his inner and outer sins and is therefore under the wrath of God and in the utmost danger of being rejected, then (as was the case of the old Israelites in Deuteronomy 21) the longing for the Savior will soon appear through the working of the Holy Spirit until there is a final victory of faith in the enjoyment of all the good that our Father has let us achieve through Christ and which He most lovingly offers through the gospel to the most miserable sinners.

Most people do not wish to put their confidence in God in Christ until they become more pious and better; and they do not wish to accept the freely acquired and freely presented dear grace of the New Testament through a simple belief which shows itself in spiritual hunger and thirst, until they really [almost physically] feel the forgiveness of their sins, peace with and in God, etc.; but faith and feeling are still two quite different things. May our dear Savior teach us through the Holy Spirit to understand better the high, important, and comforting article of the justification of a penitent sinner who has completely shed his own justification and works, etc., so that we will not confuse it in the least with sanctification but leave each in its own place. In our Lord we find both righteousness and strength, which, to be sure, belong fully together and certainly cannot be separated but should also not be confounded. This, however, commonly happens to penitent sinners, who would rather come to Christ piously than in their utmost sin and shame.

Today our carpenters finished their work on our little church, so both of us were asked to pray with them and to thank our heavenly Father for the divine help we have clearly felt so far. We did it unanimously and finished with the beautiful verses: So come before His countenance with jubilant dances, perform thy promised duty and let us sing joyfully. God has considered all things well and made all things right. Give glory to our God.13 The church is completely finished except for the attic floor, the doors, and the shutters. The pews are arranged like the benches in the singing-hall at Halle; and, together with the elevated pulpit, they give a beautiful appearance to the whole church. If we had not lacked boards, the attic, doors, and shutters would have been finished too. Now the carpenters will do their harvesting until the sawyers are healthy again and finished with their house-work so they can saw the remaining boards. When this house of God is completely constructed, we will put an adequate description of it in the diary. The previously mentioned items that are still missing at the church do not prevent us from holding divine services here from now on; and surely everybody among us in whom there is even a small beginning of good is looking forward to its consecration with the word of God, prayer, and song of praise, which will take place next Sunday, God willing. May God fill up this house and our hearts with the Holy Spirit and fulfill His very sweet promise to ministers and listeners as well as to our dear benefactors, Jeremiah 31:14: I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord. Amen, Hallelujah!

Saturday, the 19th of September. [Last evening it started to rain and continued all night. The wind was again so strong that it caused much damage to the fences and perhaps also elsewhere.] The posts in the earth become rotten rapidly here; and the cross-timbers on which the six-year-old weather boards are fastened perpendicularly are thrown down easily by the wind when their two ends hanging from the posts are dried out; so there is always something to be fixed. People who have to live in weather board huts are badly off because wind and rain can easily get in. If there are rain and wind at the same time and the former is thrown against the houses with force, nobody is very dry even in well-built houses.

It would be very difficult for most of the parishioners on the plantations to come in for the confession today and for the divine service tomorrow, since the road is not yet passable because of the high water, rather the people must be ferried over by and by in small boats. Therefore I proposed to them yesterday to assemble at the time of the usual edification hour at the place of public worship, where I would preach the word of God to them. The weather cleared up so that the journey back and forth was not difficult, except that the heavy movement of the highest trees during the very strong wind was fearful to look at. They had already assembled before my arrival, and after a song I interpreted and applied to them the excellent and beautiful verse of Luke 15:10: I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, etc.

I visited N. [Peter Reiter] on my way back and found him very depressed and downhearted. He had longed to see me already yesterday, but time and strength did not allow me to visit him then. After his last confession he had remembered another old sin that was bothering his conscience very much. I recommended to him the 15th chapter of Luke along with the lovely song: Weg mein Hertz mit den Gedanken... etc. A pious Salzburger had visited him and comforted him from personal experience, and this had been blessed in him. It seems to him that something is broken in his left leg, therefore he wants God to ordain for somebody experienced in such things to look at him and order the necessary treatment. He is quite resigned.

During todays confession service in town, in which God gave us great edification from His holy word, the scandalous case of N.N. [young Mrs. /Anna Elisabeth/ Kieffer], for which she is undergoing real penance, was settled with her and her husbands assent in a way that made an edifying impression on all persons who have a Christian mind; it will be of great use for the congregation. God Himself inclined my mind to do it today rather than tomorrow, when we will consecrate our little church that has been given to us by Gods grace, and therefore I did not want to act contrary to my inclination. This was of good use to everybody. Although not all the members of the congregation were present, this was by no means necessary, since we asked those present to make this act known to others who were scandalized by her, and it cannot be kept secret. She has promised much good, and the whole congregation will now witness whether she will keep her promise and intent through the grace of God.

Sunday, the 20th of September. Today was a very blessed day for the inhabitants and also for the visitors who came here from Purysburg, a day on which God gave us the pleasure of consecrating the church, which was built to His glory and our edification, with prayer, Gods word, and song. For this purpose many people from the plantations assembled and also brought their children along. God granted us very pleasant weather so that they could be ferried across the water rather comfortably in small boats.

After men, women, and children had assembled at a given signal, we stood before the countenance of the Lord; and, standing, we sang the song: Komm Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott. . . etc. After that my dear colleague said a prayer and read the 24th chapter of Joshua and after we had sung two more songs, namely: Sey lob und Ehr dem hchsten Gut. . . etc. and Sey hochgelobt barmhertzger Gott. . . etc., we preached to the congregation concerning the regular gospel for the 17th Sunday after Trinity from Luke 14:1 ff., the sermon: The Friendly and Helpful Heart of our Lord Jesus towards the People of Ebenezer. We meditated 1) upon some special signs of the friendliness and helpfulness of our Lord Jesus that we have experienced, i.e., that He has shown us, like the people of the gospel, His grace in the past and also wil gladly show it to us in the future, etc. and that He has also taken care of our need and still will do so in the future; likewise, that He has also shown us, like them, the good and right way to our salvation and will show it further on too. 2) upon the duties we are bound to do because of the friendliness and help of our Lord, partly with regard to the foundation and conduct of our Christianity, partly with regard to the church which is to be consecrated now, in order to make good use of it in the name of God.

The introductory words were taken from Psalms 20:6: We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. Both in the exordium and in the sermon various details were mentioned of the help and gracious care of our Lord upon Ebenezer for the encouragement of a hearty gratitude and praise of God our Lord. In the afternoon before and after the catechisation we read the complete First Epistle to the Thessalonians and from 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 we preached The Believers as the Temple of the Living God, i.e., 1) its great majesty, and 2) the method of reaching it. The exordium was Revelations of St. John 21:3: Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men! We also held Holy Communion with fifty-five persons, both residents and guests; and in the afternoon Mrs. Sanftleben, who was there for her churching, was blessed in public with her little child. May our heavenly Father be well pleased with this exercise in His holy sight for the sake of Christs merits and may He hear all the prayers that were sent up to Him for His divine blessing on all services in this church [e.g. for the preaching of law and gospel, for the administering of the Holy Sacraments, for catechisation, marriage, confirmation, and churching of women.] May He also give the worthy benefactors in Europe whose generous gifts swam across the sea for the construction of this comfortable little church, all the grace and blessings as abundantly as we have heartily desired and prayed for them.

[Continuation of the Diary

[Monday, the 21st of September. Our three men who were sent to Savannah Town three weeks ago by order of the authorities came back Saturday evening and brought two Negro slaves and the two German children whose sisters live in my house.14 It is all too certain that they were treated very badly there and that they forgot everything good, even their mother-tongue and that they would have become completely brutalized if God had not ordained that they be rescued from the claws of these wicked people. They should be thankful to God as long as they live. Tomorrow morning they and the Negroes will be brought to Savannah, and we will wait for the judgment that will be passed on them and their tyrannic masters.

[On this occasion the old Swiss carpenter /Krsy/ received a letter from a Swiss living near Savannah Town, in which the following expression was found: the poor Swiss are regarded like Negroes or dogs by the Englishmen in and around Savannah Town, therefore he and his family long with all their hearts to come to our place. But before that he wishes to know whether it is true, as he heard from his countryman, Governor Dobler /John Tobler/, who is also living there, and from other people, that one has to change ones religion at Ebenezer. The old carpenter had already written to him the other day about our whole organization and that we do not direct people here to parties or human matters, but to the only way to come to God through Christ and be saved. He also wrote that we keep good external Christian order so that people who do not conform to Christian order better stay away from our place rather than disturb themselves and others. But people who love the word of God and wish to regulate their conduct accordingly are welcome here, and nothing will be demanded against their confession and conscience.]

Tuesday, the 22nd of September. [This morning some men went to Savannah with our big boat to deliver the chained Negroes to the authorities. The two German children, whose father /Peter Heinrich/ worked and died in my house, are orphans without father or mother and have nobody in this country to take care of them; therefore I am traveling with them to look out for their best according to my means. I am taking our diary and a few letters with me to send to London if a safe opportunity can be found there. Furthermore, there are many things to do for the congregation in Savannah; I have also to talk with Mr. /Thomas/ Jones about some very urgent matters; and, if he approves, also with the authorities. Therefore I am pleased not to have to bother our community with my journey separately, but to be able to make use of this opportunity. Perhaps Mr. Jones is willing and able to pay me the money the Lord Trustees have ordered for the payment of the mill costs; at least it will be good to ask for it, for money matters are very difficult in any case here in this country.]

Since my dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, traveled to Savannah this morning, I went to the plantations today to hold the edification hour there. As a basis for the edification I took what had taken place in town last time during the prayer meetings in the absence of my dear colleague, Luke 9:51 ff., and explained to the listeners how it is the will of our Lord Jesus for me to install a shelter for Him in their hearts, and I heartily admonished them and asked them to consent to everything, etc. This material was very dear to me because it was a continuation of what I had preached last Sunday about 2 Corinthians 6:16-18.

[Oh, what joy it is! God does not only forgive the penitents sins but also makes His permanent dwelling in them and bestows Himself upon them with all His treasures.]

On my journey to the meeting place I visited Peter Reiter. I found in him a well composed mental state; since God has brought him to a realization of his sinful condition, he is not concerned for anything else but to find grace before God. He is glad that God has not swept him away in his sinfulness as He has done with others, of whom he mentioned two examples. What God has done with this Peter Reiter and others in the community is something really great, as everybody can understand who knows of the circumstances. This gives us courage and gives us good hope that others may be won too. May He help us in this! To Him be fame and praise for everything. It is written here too: We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of God we will set up our banners.

Wednesday, the 23rd of September. For some time our dear God has been doing very great things in our community, so that we find various souls to whom our Lord has shown His mercy. As long as we have been at Ebenezer I have not known of such a blessed time in which so many examples have been known to us. Especially two persons came to my mind who were formerly enemies of the children of God and despised them, etc., as they now confess with shame and humility. Now, however, they love them, cherish them more than themselves, and are ashamed that they thought so little of them, since they themselves are nothing compared with them. On the other hand, how happy are the people who have already received grace about the penitence of such persons, how gladly they visit them, whereas they formerly fled their company! How much they rejoice together with them at the good that our Lord is showing them. There is fulfilled what is written in the First Epistle of St. John 5:12: Everyone that loveth him that begat loveth also him that is begotten of him. Therefore we realize that we are Gods children when we love God and keep His commandments. Likewise, Chapter 3:14. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.

Among other things N.N. [Peter Reiter] confessed with shame and sadness of heart that he has often deceived his ministers when he wanted to take Holy Communion and had pretended to be better than he actually was. Oh what a grace it is if the sinners eyes open in time! Yea, there is joy among the angels of God for a sinner who does atonement; and how could it be possible for the children of God not to be glad when the little band of believers is increased? Now our gracious and merciful God will have mercy on even more, even on those of whom one would not have expected it!

[It seems to be something special that during these days a certain matter is being reported and urged upon our hearts several times. Last Sunday morning we heard, among other things, in the gospel of Luke 14:1 ff. that our Lord Jesus likes to visit people and take shelter in them; and in the afternoon we heard how glorious the believers are who are such living temples of God. Last evening during the prayer meeting I had to ask the listeners again in the name of our Lord Jesus to render their hearts to Him; and in todays prayer meeting I again showed them, according to Luke 10:1, how the purpose of our ministry is to prepare the way for our Lord Jesus. From all this we can learn that our Lord Jesus is always ready to seek and to bless everyone who is lost at Ebenezer, not only to save the inhabitants from their perdition but even to come to them with His whole kingdom of heaven. Oh may our Lord equip us teachers with His strength and let us experience such great joy also in the case of the most hardened hearts.]

Thursday, the 24th of September. [About midday I visited a person; and, since I discovered that she had not been able to visit the prayer meeting because of her two small children, I asked her, by the grace of our dear Savior, to render her heart completely to our Lord Jesus. I told her not to consider it something human, because I was not doing it in my name, but in the name of our Lord Jesus, for it is written, He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me. If she would look at it this way and let her heart be turned completely to our Lord Jesus, a real beginning in her Christianity would soon be made. A struggle would not be lacking, to be sure, but our Lord Jesus Himself would pave the way, break through all things, thrust sin from the path, and take His place completely in her heart. Then there could be no possible lack of strength. We will learn in time what profit this admonition and the prayer we then sent to our Lord Jesus will have. May our Lord in His great mercy let me see a good gain from it.]

Mrs. N. [Schweighoffer] came to my room in the afternoon after school to pray with me. I prayed first, later I let her pray. She prayed right heartily for herself and others. It is her yearning desire to be presented some day with joy before the countenance of Jesus Christ, together with her ministers. She prays right heartily to our dear God to make her an upright widow; and, since He calls Himself the father of orphans, she diligently reminds Him of it with respect to her three children and asks Him to show mercy upon them and to draw them to Himself. She also thanked our dear God for the new church and at the same time for the good He presented her during its consecration. She is able to report all these circumstances to our dear God in a very special way. In her the orphanage has one who can pray diligently. She prays right heartily for the superiors there; and, although she is older than they, she begs our dear God to make her and others very submissive and obedient to them.

Friday, the 25th of September. Praise to the Lord, who let me [Boltzius] finish my journey with blessings last night during the prayer meeting. We traveled up the mill river;15 and thus I came home quickly, in spite of the strong and high water. In Savannah people ask very urgently about the repair to our mill, since they have no flour, bread, or biscuit. The flour and hardtack from the recently salvaged ship was sold at auction very expensively in Savannah, and now one hundred pounds of flour is being sold for 25 sh. Sterl. They are also lacking salt, and therefore our people and others are hindered from slaughtering. Col. Stephens showed me a letter from the Lord Trustees in which they asked him to buy the beautiful land on the other side of the Ebenezer Creek from the Uchee Indians for fifty Salzburgers who are said to have been in Rotterdam already at the beginning of this summer and who will be sent over here as soon as possible, and to have it surveyed before their arrival.16 Who would have thought we could expect such dear friends at our place during this time of war and that the Lord Trustees would let our congregation have the above mentioned land, which they had previously refused us point-blank. This means a lot to us, not only because of the land and pasture but also because of the neighborhood. That surely means: Therefore even after pain, he who can wait shall rejoice.

It is a great grace of God that the Lord Trustees refused to give us the land at that time, because it would not have been nearly as fitting and fertile for the construction of our town and plantations as our present region to and across the mill river. The other day we received notice that no new transport could be expected before a years time; but, since we now have a reliable message of their certain and, God willing, happy crossing, it will lead us to a hearty and humble prayer of intercession in our congregation that our Lord give His protection to this small flock on the wide and dangerous ocean at this dangerous time and bring them safely to our place. This pleasant news will also serve to make us hold back corn and other provisions and not to sell them at any other place, but to keep whatever everybody can spare for the good of our dear guests, especially since in this and the neighboring province no meat, flour, corn, rice, etc. is to be had and everything is very expensive.

[Col. Stephens intended to mail letters to London the following day; therefore it was good that I had taken our thick diary along, with which I enclosed a letter written to Mr. Senior Urlsperger shortly before my trip and also some words to Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, which I wrote in Savannah, besides a short extract from the diary for Prof. Dr. /Gotthilf August/ Francke. A well-known man from Savannah who is willing to take our letters with him will soon go to London to request something from the Lord Trustees on the advice of Mr. Oglethorpe. Therefore we intend to write in greater detail in the near future. A small box is being held for us in Charleston which is presumably the box Senior Urlsperger mentioned at the end of the letter from Mrs. Wiedemann. It will be sent to us care of Col. Stephens at the first opportunity together with another little box, which is said to contain letters. Of all this we will report after receiving the box through the above-mentioned opportunity. We would be happy if there were also some letters to us from Europe, in which, without doubt, something will be written in advance about the conditions of our future listeners.]

I have talked with Mr. /Thomas/ Jones about some necessary matters concerning our community and have received very good news and instruction. He is a very honest man who has our and our communitys welfare at heart like a father with his children and is seeking to serve us to the best of his abilities. The two /Heinrich/ children who were saved from the claws of the Indian trader the other day are as well provided for in his own household as one could only wish for people who are servants elsewhere. The treatment they had to experience for several years was so miserable that one could scarcely hold back tears when reading what a judge of that place wrote down as being true. Their father well prepared himself in my house for eternity and a peaceful death, and now I see in his children too the fulfillment of the promise that our merciful God will do good to the seed for the sake of the pious parents.

I had two prayer meetings with the German people of Savannah, which they attended willingly and diligently. Many annoying matters among them have abated so that they have been receiving a good testimony for some time. They have reason to be thankful to our dear God, who has inclined the hearts of the Lord Trustees to give the German servants, after they finish their service years with good conduct, not only 50 acres of land and various house, kitchen, and working equipment, but also 8 d. Sterl. (per day) for a whole year, which means a great help to all of them. Their service up to now has been quite tolerable, they have had ample food and so much spare time that they could also plant and earn something. Therefore almost every family has bought some cows and other animals so that they can sell milk and what else they can spare at high prices. One thing I am afraid of: many of them get ahead to the detriment of the Lord Trustees and besmirch themselves with ill-gotten gain, which will go ill with them in the long run. I like to recite for them the verse: Colossians 3:22 ff.

Ten Englishmen who escaped the Spaniards from Havana arrived in Savannah last Sunday, hungry and miserable; but Gods care has been so especially shown on them that they should thankfully recognize all their life long.17 They had had enough of the miserable treatment in Havana that imprisoned Englishmen had to suffer. Therefore they broke out of the fort and hid themselves in the woods for three days, although they had no more than three hardtack and had to drink their own water. Necessity required them to move closer to the water, where they saw a fishermans boat on the other side of the river. They drew lots, and one of them had to go get the boat in the mortal danger of being drowned in the water or being seen by the enemy. All the ten sat down in this boat which, for lack of oars, they had to propel with sticks and the seat board found in the boat. In the evening they came between two small forts in Havana, where they heard the Spaniards talking. However, they moved their boat so quietly that nobody heard them; and before dawn they reached the open sea with their boat.

At daybreak they could still catch a glimpse of the land on one side, toward which they rowed along the shore until they saw a sloop. Although they assumed that there were Spaniards in it, their utmost need drove them to the desperate intent of attacking the people in the sloop with knives and sticks if they would not surrender peacefully. When they approached it with screams and bravura, three people in it begged for mercy and promised to surrender willingly. They inspected the sloop and found only these three men, who had left Havana to get wood. Here too they found no bread or water, except for seven hardtack. Therefore they sucked a few limes, which have a sourish taste like lemons, to quench their thirst and ate a very small piece of the hardtack or ship-bread. Then they soaked and boiled the hide of a cow or wild animal to appease their hunger somewhat. Although they had no compass and did not know the region at all, they sailed toward the English plantations until they arrived at Tybee at the mouth of the Savannah River and learned to their great relief that they were no longer on hostile but on English territory.

[We usually do not hear what happens at sea between the English and the Spaniards. Somebody told us for certain that Carthagena was taken and that people in Havana are in fear of the Royal Navy.] Praise be to God, who does not make us feel the least inconvenience from the war.

I had myself disembarked at the extreme end of the plantations in order to be home in the evening. Ruprecht Zittrauer approached me near his lodging in a deplorable condition and told me that on Tuesday evening he could have had a great misfortune if God had not saved him from it. [He would have fared well.] He wanted to return home from town across the water; but, since his boat was very small and soon ran against a piece of wood, he fell into the water. He pulled himself up from the depths by grasping the tail of his big dog and some thin branches, and he finally got ashore after much trouble. From all this he was still weak with fright and asked for some medicine from town. [This poor boat, that looks like a little trough, belongs to Sanftleben. Recently I requested him to cut it to pieces and throw it away rather than use it in case of need and take a risk to their own harm. Since I had him ferry me over the water near his plantation, I reminded him again to do so; and he promised to lock it so that nobody could misuse it and cause harm to himself. He is always short of time, otherwise he would have built a better one already. If one wishes to have even a small boat built by people who know how to do it, it would cost 25 sh. Sterl., which is too much for poor people. Therefore they make shift as best they can.]

I reminded Zittrauer that he had already had to feel the hand of God several times and that he had promised much good but had done only little. He added: Praise and thanks to God; He has visited me severely several times this year, etc. I reminded him that it is a great blessing that he is so closely acquainted with Ruprecht Steiner, he should imitate him and it would turn to great account.

Saturday, the 26th of September. Young N. [Zoberbller], who has served as minister for some time at Purysburg and later on at Palachocolas to earn his bread, has submitted a request to General Oglethorpe to become preacher in Savannah for the Reformed people there. Mr. Oglethorpe wrote me a letter in this regard asking me to report on his adequacy and good behavior, because he could not agree to his request otherwise. This poor man resembles the Levite in Judges 17:7 ff. and the theological students in Germany who regard the preachers ministry as a worldly profession and when, as it were, they have completed their masterpiece by giving one or two sermons, they consider themselves qualified and are also considered qualified by unconverted people like themselves to become preachers and to earn their bread with this profession. However, they do not consider what frightful damnation will be brought by a thus undertaken ministry on those who will not let themselves be made qualified for it and loyal in it. If we did not know how this poor man is, we could only judge according to the old saying: noscitur ex socio, qui non cognoscitur ex se.18 [He himself has sent me a letter from Purysburg and asks me in it not to answer General Oglethorpes letter until he has spoken to me. In Savannah Mr. /Thomas/ Jones told me that recently in Frederica he had halfway married a certain captain who is known everywhere because of his vicious life and who belongs among Mr. Zoberbllers friends. After the marriage was half completed, he remembered that he had first to ask Mr. Oglethorpe about this intent; then he learned that the bride is the wife of another man. He has neither calling nor ordination, yet he dares to baptize and to marry.]

I heard today that N. [Mrs. Landfelder] is beginning to regret her intended moving away and the selling of her belongings, as I came to know even more definitely when, at the request of the authorities, I sent two men to her to warn her candidly against continuing her present and past disobedience. [She sent me word that she and her family want to move away because I have made it difficult for her to go to Holy Communion. The poor woman does not know what she is saying.] She is full of blindness and imaginary piety; and, if we kindly warn her of this dangerous rock on which she can suffer the shipwreck of her eternal salvation and if we show her the right way to God through Christ, then we are her friend no longer. Even our sermons concerning this matter have seemed offensive to her because, in her opinion, they disagree with her old postill. We would gladly use all the love and gentleness on her as far as our ministry and our conscience allows, but we cannot agree with her in her malice that has been revealed in recent times or let her misuse Holy Communion.

[Sunday, the 27th of September. Although the English schoolmaster Hamilton and his wife are healthy again, we do not detect in them the slightest desire for the word of God and we see them neither at prayer meetings nor at the sermons. Last week he went to Savannah and brought back the information that Col. Stephens and Mr. Jones have given him permission to move to Savannah and hold class there if I agree to it. Although I was not consulted about it, Mr. Jones has already heard from me and my dear colleague that we do not wish to keep this man, who is not an upright fellow anyhow but only concerned with worldly matters, and that we would not begrudge him a better opportunity to get ahead. So he intends to move away at next occasion. He hopes to earn enough money in Savannah to be able to pay his passage from England to Georgia, which is 16 ь Sterl. I regard it as very questionable for him to settle down in Savannah, where he will not find any assistance or support as he has here. He is not allowed to practice his profession as a wigmaker and barber, because he would deprive another already installed man of his bread.19 From teaching he will have only a small income, and everything concerning clothing and food is excessively expensive there and not even available.

[If he does not realize his purpose but suffers need, he will again be after me with his slander, for he sets the blame on me that he came into this country and that he is faring so badly. He even says that I am banishing him from Ebenezer. Thats what we have to suffer, we are already rather used to it. In a trashy book, printed in Charleston, with the title: True and Historical Narrative of the Colonie of Georgia, etc.,20 which was contrived and manipulated by three evil-minded former inhabitants of Savannah, the expression is used that my journals and letters had tricked many Englishmen. They are unable to quote any examples, but only refer the readers to such journals and letters that are written in German. They make great efforts not to tell any good of me and our community; but, since they are not able to quote anything bad (although they endeavor to place suspicion on every person in the country), one can easily see that they have intended to report no good of this colony.

[It would disconcert me if these lying scandalmongers, who led sinful lives in Savannah, had praised me or our community, since they treat even General Oglethorpe, Mr. Jones, and many others, yes even the Lord Trustees, in such a derisive and scandalous way that they could hardly have done worse. The greatest annoyance to them was that I and our community did not sign their petition and make common cause with them in applying to the Lord Trustees to get Negroes and other harmful things. It also displeases them that the members of our community earn their living honestly and respectably without Negroes and can also send various things for sale to Savannah. This they do not attribute to the blessings of God (because they do not know anything about God) and the industry of the people, rather they say we are being plentifully supported by benefactors from Europe and have more freedom than others in this country.

[In this trashy book, that is quite similar to a pasquinade, so many obvious lies are being expressed with great audacity and under the pretence of truth that misinformed people will be tricked, especially since the wretched authors, a doctor of medicine, a bankrupt merchant, and a lawyer, are bold enough not only to sign with their names but also to dedicate this mendacious calumny to General Oglethorpe. To be sure, some things in the book are true, but it is not the full truth and therefore all the more harmful. This is the gratitude the Lord Trustees get from most of the people of this country for their trouble and benefactions.

[Besides, an English letter has come to my hands that Mr. Whitefield sent from the orphanage near Savannah to Mr. Wesley (former preacher in Savannah and his very intimate friend and helper) and had printed in London. In it he wishes to refute the doctrine of the election by divine grace of our church, which is also taught by the English church as well as in the sermons and writings of Mr. Wesley. However, he only tries to refute it and should better drop it. Also, the things he cites in this letter are so bad that he would better have kept them to himself so as to avoid the offense he has caused by his very coarse contradiction and very unkind specification of certain matters and errors of Mr. Wesleys he has heard and observed, at which the enemies will triumph, particularly the aforementioned authors, who have written the very worst about Mr. Wesley. All this, even the the unkind reproaches and condemnations, are being covered by make-believe devotion to the glory of God and the welfare of His church. It also seems that he regards the blessed Dr. Luther and Johann Arndt as people who endorse his wicked dogma of the Particularitas Meriti Christi and Electio ex absoluto Decreto.21 I wish that this young man, who cannot distinguish between natural ardor and enthusiasm for the glory of God, may become that which we used to our profit the other day on the occasion of the story from Sirach 3:19-30. We pray for him and are bound to do so, since God uses him as a helpful instrument to do good to our congregation and the orphanage. We regret that Mr. Wesley absorbed many errors from the Herrnhuters, as can also be recognized by the above-mentioned letter.

[Monday, the 28th of September. Mrs. Landfelder visited me this morning and asked my pardon for her disobedience and rudeness. She regrets having been persuaded by Michael Rieser to sell her cattle and move away from our place. She puts the greater blame on the said Rieser, although he himself testified to me and my dear colleague the other day that he has advised her and her husband against moving away because they will not find it as pleasant as here at any other place. For this woman it is now as clear as day what mischief can be done by bad company. She has not only distressed us but also caused the whole community great public annoyance and has also greatly offended God. Therefore I admonished her to atonement and to a conduct from which others may realize that she regrets her former bad behavior and really intends to change. Michael Rieser did not wish to receive a plantation up to now; but now, as Mrs. Landfelder tells us, he has gone out in our area to look for good land. Some years ago he was offered a very fertile piece of land near the mill river, which he will now probably accept, since it is one of the best plantations in our whole territory.]

Saturday and Sunday, the 27th and 28th of September. We now learn from the Bible story that David, who sinned in his dealings with Uriah in Jerusalem and especially in the castle of Zion, was expelled from it by his own son and his followers. On this occasion our listeners were warned not to pollute the land by sinning so that they will not be spewed out like other inhabitants of this country. This serious threat can be found in the Bible several times; Leviticus 18 and 22. This threat of God was already executed on several people in our community; [and Michael Rieser, Landfelder, and others will experience it too, if they do not do atonement]. The present 15th chapter of the second book of Samuel contains very lovely prefigurations that have their fulfillment in Christ and His members; and it is very edifying for us that the wisdom of God has arranged it in such a way that we read about the state of humiliation and sufferings in Christ not only in the passion-story but also in all the prefigurations of the Old Testament and therefore in the material we are presently engaged in.

Tuesday, the 29th of September. [Ruprecht] Steiner told me that N.N. [Ruprecht Zittrauer] visited him before the edification hour, and he is of the opinion that he has become quite another man and an upright Christian through the grace of God, although he had been very wicked before. The physical affliction that God had sent him various times during the past year made him quiet, set him thinking, and taught him to better listen to the word and to recognize penitently the danger in which he had formerly remained because of his impenitence. Today we heard the important verses Isaiah 1:2-3 and Jeremiah 2:12-13 about the apostacy of Absalom and the Israelites from their pious father and king, David. May God bless him and others and bring them to a holy dread and shame and also to a true conversion to God, who is kindly disposed even to the greatest evil-doers, Jeremiah 3:12.

When contemplating Davids calmness and resignation to God we heard the verse: Peter 5:6: Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. It is very necessary for this to be known and to be exercised by all beginning and advanced Christian persons in our community, to whom God has sent many afflictions. They get by easiest if they, like children, comply with the discipline of their parents. I also told Steiner of the penitent Peter Reiter, for whom everything he thought to have done well before, even his prayer and divine service, is turning to sin, of which he told me some details today. The believers among us whom he was mockina before are now as dear to him as his soul, and he considers their visits and consolation to be a great benefaction.

Our dear God gave me and others who were present a great refreshment at the home of the sick Mrs. Bacher. She is lying on her sickbed like a lamb bound with ropes of love and is quietly waiting for her Savior. Among other things I comforted her by saying that, after his conversion and attainment of forgiveness, David had many external and internal afflictions; and it would be wrong to conclude therefrom that God was still angry with him and had not forgiven his sins; rather one should judge as in Hebrews 12:5.

After the edification hour N. [Schweiger] asked me to visit him sometime. He has much trouble with his disobedient wife /Eva Regina/ and much loss in his household. I hope God will bless this domestic cross in him in a way that he will feel remorse and penitently discover sin as the cause of all evil. In his case, too, it is true that, As a man sinneth, so shall he be plagued. During his security and frivolity he often sinned with his wife by joking and tomfoolery, and he did not accept a warning when choosing this person as his marriage-partner.

Wednesday, the 30th of September. N.N. [the herdsman of the town and his wife] have been admitted to the Lords table only once as long as they have been at Ebenezer; and, since he has not registered for it as other people did, I admonished him to prepare for this holy and beneficial meal the sooner the better with his wife. He said that he realizes now better than before what is necessary for a worthy partaking in Holy Communion and that he and she are lacking many things before they can participate properly. He told me something else from which I saw that the prejudices he had formerly had against righteous behavior and our institutions aimed at it were gradually vanishing. What the heathen philosophers noted about worldly wisdom also applies to Christianity: Multi ad sapientiam pervenissent, nisi jam eo pervenisse credidissent.22 How much it costs our dear God to convince a blind man that he is lacking the true beginning of Christianity despite all ecclesiastical and religious exercises and that he is therefore without Gods grace!

This afternoon, contrary to my expectations, it happened that I could visit N. and N. [Schweiger and his wife] at their plantation, which is almost the furthest from town. [She has been constantly sick for nine weeks with epilepsy, which is her actual bodily misfortune, and there is probably no other reason for it than her anger and chagrin which she causes herself by her willfulness. In the presence of her husband I led her to recognize the sin as the only cause of her illness and all other evil in her marriage and household, and I endeavored to move her to do atonement. At the same time I told her what I had heard from other people about her completely wrong attitude towards her husband and asked the man whether this was correct, which he confirmed and she could not deny. Therefore, she dropped the suspicion she had entertained that her husband had often complained to me about her. I urged the two words of the interpretation of the seventh commandment upon them: Everyone should love and honor his spouse. Of these the first one seems to refer mainly to the duties of the wife towards her husband, as is confirmed also by other verses that are included in our marriage-formula, i.e., Thy will shall be subject to thy husband and he shall be thy master, likewise Ephesians 5:22-24, 1 Peter 3:14. At last all the hitherto existing confusion between them was settled and she apologized to her husband and me by mouth and hand for all she has done contrary to him and me.]23 Although todays journey to them was very hard for me in the present summer heat, I was glad that it was not quite in vain and will be even more glad if the people comply with the given admonitions and convert to God, so that once we will be able to observe them in a Christian state of marriage.

[They have a girl with them who was educated at the orphanage; and, since they have caused her indignation by their bad behavior, I pointed out to them the damage that will result from it to them and to the girl and admonished them urgently to show her by word and deed that a change has taken place in them. The girl is Mrs. Schweigers sister.]24

OCTOBER

Tuesday, the 1st of October. This afternoon, with prayer and the word of God, we dedicated /Martin/ Lackners new dwelling, to which he had invited his neighbors. We profited from the weighty verse drawn from the words of our Savior in last Sundays gospel: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, etc. . . . and thy neighbor as thyself. My fatigue, which I felt from speaking and especially from the long road from town to the plantation, prevented me from visiting anyone else. [The water is still so high that we are forced to make a long detour to reach the plantations. As soon as it becomes possible, the men will jointly build a bridge which we hope will be passable even at the highest flood mark.]

An English merchant from Fort Augusta recently got some of our Schauer Balm for his sore eyes.1 Today he sent for more through a man on horseback because he perceives more benefit from it than from anything he has used till now. His sight was formerly good, but when driving cattle the great summer heat and copious dust have brought him to a point that he can hardly see any more. He is offering to pay a good 200 guineas if he could be cured. Along with the Schauer Balm I sent him some of our medicine and sent him written and oral instructions on its use and on the appropriate diet, which such people often fail to keep. If God lays a blessing on it, the Englishman should make a gift to our orphanage. [Most of this Schauer Balm, which the Reverend Senior once sent to our orphanage, had evaporated during its long voyage, but the remainder has been put to good use among our people for a variety of ills. Apart from a small gift made to people in Purysburg, it has not been requested elsewhere.] This noble balm is now running out, and it would be a great boon to us, the orphanage, and the congregation if our dear God should incline the heart of Mr. Schauer or other benefactors to send us more such medicine, which is almost indispensable in this wilderness.

[Although it started to rain this afternoon and there was some thunder in the distance, the clouds passed after several hours, so that clear weather for the harvest continues and the crops can be brought in dry. The flood in the river has not really subsided, so that work on the mill is still delayed, although we need it badly and the men are more than willing to start repairs the sooner the better.] We hear that the high water has done very great harm in our and the neighboring colony to crops like corn, beans, and rice through most unusual flooding. Hence even now 5 sh. is being offered for a bushel of corn. We cannot thank our dear Lord enough that the damage has not harmed us nearly as much as others in the vicinity and in other places. Some are losing most of their rice, but practically no corn and beans. There is so much corn at our place that we can hold a good quantity in reserve for the support of the Salzburgers who are said to be underway. The providence of God over us is quite miraculous, and here too it is written: The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. In the spring we had no one in the orphanage for field work and planting, and because the manager has much work with the housekeeping and the children I did not wish to demand of him that he take on such difficult field work, even if he himself was inclined to it at first. But I see now that God has disposed his heart to it and that he and the orphan boys have planted a big field with corn and beans and our dear Lord has caused right much fruit to grow upon it. I would not know where I should buy corn and beans even if I had the money, since at our place whatever anyone has left over is being put aside for the new colonists, our friends and brothers.

Friday, the 2nd of October. It is very profitable that the children on the plantations are diligently attending not only divine services on Sundays but also the edification hour on weekdays. We then have the opportunity briefly to repeat what we preached of the last time; from these repetitions the eager listeners get a great deal. In the evening prayer meetings near the town we arrange it so that the material of the previous days catechism is repeated before we take up the lesson of the following Bible story. In this manner the most important verses and matters are again laid upon the hearts and consciences of the listeners.

Before the edification hour I called on Brandner to give him comfort from Gods word for his domestic cross (which he and his entire household have been carrying in the form of bodily illness for quite some time). Man and wife were quite well satisfied with the dispensation of our heavenly Father and thanked Him heartily for what He had granted them in the last harvest, although the bears, the deer, and the last flood have done no small harm to them, almost more than to others. He recounted to me that the Maurer woman /Catherina/applied the story of David and his flight from the city of Zion to herself, saying tearfully and sadly that she too had surely deserved through her sins to have to go from our place to Purysburg with her sore throat. She had long used the prescribed means, yet nonetheless experienced no relief or comfort. Because the ailment in her neck, mouth, and nose has become extremely dangerous and Mr. Thilo is predicting no good outcome (since a violent quartan fever has struck her as well), she and her husband and a few other people, amongst them Peter Reiter, have traveled to Purysburg to the surgeon who recently took care of N. [Ernst] . He is said to understand external defects of all kinds very well.2

This autumn a trial is again afflicting our dear parishioners, in that not only almost all small children, but some grown ones and also many men and women, have tertian and quartan fever; and we have no means to cure these fevers thoroughly so that they will not come back soon. [Mr. Thilo does not have much medicine and can dispense very little.] The above-mentioned surgeon prides himself that he cures fevers of every type quickly, but I worry that it is more a blocking and suppressing of the fever than radically curing it. If we were to be properly instructed from Europe and provided with practical fever medicines, we would be happy [better placed to apply this knowledge. The concepts which I learned in Halle regarding the consideration and care of fevers prevented me from counseling anyone to make use of the cures that are customary here. But] on account of our dear parishioners physical condition we are now feeling much distress and trouble, and yet we cannot help as much as we would like to.

Just as I am writing this my dear colleague has returned from Purysburg. He had accompanied the honest Mauer woman (Mr. Hans Mauers wife) and the penitent Peter Reiter there, who, forced by necessity, had wished to place themselves in the care of the already mentioned French-Swiss surgeon there. Dear Peter Reiter has had to undergo a harsh treatment with his wrenched leg, and in his current circumstances he needs, as much as N. [Ernst], the heartfelt intercession of all the faithful. [Previously, it has always been said that the leg had not really been wrenched from the socket, and for four weeks he has been put off with all sorts of good instructions and false hopes. Now the leg has been reset in the socket, but with such brute force that ones hair stands on end to hear the story of it. I wish my dear colleague would write down all the particulars, which resemble those of a torture treatment also practiced in Germany, so that our friends and Fathers may learn of the turmoil which this causes us and our flock and assist us with word and deed. They are both capable and willing to do so, of which I gave Mr. Thilo some specific examples today.]

The surgeon is hopeful, however, that the leg can be cured well enough with Gods blessing that he will be able to use it. Still, it is assumed that he will have to limp, if not for good, at least for some time. He would rather have both legs broken than have the setting of the one leg drawn out so long. The tale my dear colleague has told me of this surgeons activity and willingness to serve has given me quite another concept of him than I had before.

The surgeon is promising to say for certain within a week whether the Mauer womans very dangerous ailment [which has been patched up for fifteen months now, to her great harm] can be cured. N. [Ernst], with his almost cured arm, has again been in a new mortal danger: he had an internal apostema3 which broke open and almost brought him to the grave. He is now said to be out of danger. With all these immensely distressing matters our comfort is that our heavenly Father is holding His hand over everything and is arranging for all the best, for the patients and for us. My dear colleague has mentioned some right edifying details of their very Christian state of mind. May God further awaken Christian hearts who will come to our aid with charitable gifts so that we can assist these afflicted people in a material way. [The physical condition of our flock causes us much difficulty and grief, and we cannot help them as we would wish. May He mercifully avert the sad consequences that are to be feared now more than ever. We are glad to speak nothing but the best of such a man who is here for the sake of our patients and to put the best interpretation on all events, but we stand the danger of becoming the object of suspicion as well as he.]

Saturday, the 3rd of October. This year the acorns have been quite plentiful. We see this as a benefaction from the Lord because the flooding and in some places the lack of rain have damaged the crops. The people have brought quantities of them together as feed for the pigs, and therefore have been able to save that much more corn and beans. The trees are said to be so laden everywhere that the boughs are breaking down, as the peach trees did formerly. This autumn there are so many of those very tasty nuts similar to little chestnuts which grow sometimes in low bushes, in poor, dry earth and sometimes on trees standing in watery areas.4 Similarly, on the tall walnut trees we find many so-called walnuts or Welsh nuts of different kinds. They have a thicker shell than those in Germany, yet the kernel inside tastes just as sweet and lovely. Now is the time when we gather the little berries from which a green wax can be prepared by boiling.5 By mixing it with suet we can make fine green candles. The bushes on which the little berries hang so copiously grow in great profusion in swampy areas; but the berries are so small that we have to gather a great deal of them to make a pound, especially as the seeds and skins must be removed. They ripen just at the time when people have enough to do with the harvest, gathering acorns, making hay, and other things.

Sunday, the 4th of October. After the morning services we had to dispose of a certain scandal before the entire congregation. Doing so has proved to be the salvation of the sinner and an edification and good impression for the parishioners. All young people not yet admitted to Holy Communion were dismissed so that everything could be treated in an all the more orderly manner before understanding people. We instruct the congregation diligently on the necessity and profitability of church discipline. From our procedure they can, if they themselves fear God and look at it in its true perspective, realize that they should look upon the affair not as a legal punishment, but rather as a benefaction for the sinner and for the congregation. We are acting here from a feeling of pity and are seeking nothing other than to reset the dislocated member, straighten it out, and make it useful. [We will give particulars of this matter in one of our letters.] Many of the parishioners wept gently during the proceedings; and this affected me greatly.

On previous occasions our dear Lord has employed the public use of the keys to the kingdom of heaven to open up the conscience of many a hidden sinner and blessed what had to be spoken in order to touch the conscience, so that they came to a salutary repentence and understanding. As a woman said to me today, the sins of her youth now appeared so immense and abominable to her that it was not N., but she herself who was standing before the congregation, etc. The sins which she had previously regarded as negligible and minor were becoming immense and abominable to her, she said, and she was seeking only to be certain of the grace of forgiveness. In the case dealt with, the congregation was instructed not to look upon this procedure as strange and unusual: we showed that it was based on Christs teaching, as we had learned recently in the catechism concerning the keys to the kingdom of heaven. The fact, horrible as it is, that in many places in Germany it has come into decline, we said, was in large part the fault of the listeners themselves. Righteous ministers sigh that their hands are tied in such a manner.

Our congregation is still small and this procedure can be practiced better than in other places where the parishioners are in the hundreds and thousands and where scandals have inundated everything. They are always performed with the consent of those who caused the scandal. By contrast, those who do not like to subject themselves to such church discipline are relinquished to their Judge. Indeed, our gracious God Himself come to our aid with His providence by causing some sinners to come into such a dilemma and to feel His heavy hand in such a way that they would wish rather to absolve themselves of their abomination here in their time of grace and flee the wrath to come through the prescribed order of penitence and faith. The acknowledgment of the sinner today, which he declared with shame and tears after a few questions and answers, sounds thus: I acknowledge here publicly that I have sinned . . . (such and so) against God, and have vexed the entire congregation. I ask all heartily for pardon, and promise through the grace of God to do true penance. Thereupon we all fell to our knees and prayed to God according to our circumstances. We expostulated on the proper Gospel according to Matthew, 9:1 ff.: The only way to be saved through Christ from sin as the most frightful abomination. We said (1) that sin was the most horrifying abomination, and (2) that salvation from it was the very greatest benefaction. The exordium was taken from Psalms 51:16, Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness, which material was very useful to the present extraordinary procedure.

Monday, the 5th of October. [This morning, our large boat was sent to Savannah to fetch a German man and his belongings. He wants to settle here in Ebenezer. The English schoolmaster, Hamilton, and his German wife whom he married in Silesia have also gone down. He wants to work in Savannah as schoolmaster, church reader, wig maker, and barber to pay off his passage money. The shoemaker, Adde, had some money to claim from him, on which occasion this Hamilton sinned by anger and cursing and thus at the very end revealed his true spirit. I admonished him for his behavior and repeated to him the well-known adage: He who curses, curses himself and all that is his.]

Four men took our little boat up the river so that they could fetch the horses at Palachocolas that had been bought for the congregation six weeks ago but could not be brought across the river and the deep swamp because of high water. [I am using this opportunity to write again to the captain whose illegitimate use of our strong draft horse is now in its fifth year, to ask him to either send back the horse or, if it is still in the woods, one of his other horses. We need this horse to transport the long and thick timbers required to repair the mill dam. I have not yet received an answer to my letter to Mr. Oglethorpe, wherein I mentioned this horse and our loss of its use.

[Through an Englishman we have heard that two packets of letters had arrived for us in Savannah. We shall learn the truth of this rumor when our boat returns in a few days. Nothing could please us more than to have news from the hands of our Fathers and friends and could edify ourselves from their letters. We also hear that the dear friends whom we already consider as members of our community are expected shortly in Savannah. We shall soon learn the source of this news. In the meantime, we pray both publicly and privately for them, that the Lord may carry them on His hands throughout their dangerous and difficult sea voyage, may guide them with His eye, and bring them here in good health for their physical, spiritual, and eternal salvation. And may He prepare us through His holy spirit to receive them well and be useful to them in all manner of ways. Meanwhile, we wish for them what David wished for the honest Ittai, 2 Samuel 15, that is, charity and faithfulness of the Lord.]

Tuesday, the 6th of October. One of the elders told me he had heard that the N. [Landfelder] woman wished to stay among us. He asked whether she would also accommodate herself to proper Christian conduct. Until now she had considered her sermon book more valuable than the opportunity to hear Gods word. In fact she had scorned the sermons when they did not agree with her sermon book, and this may mean that the preaching of the gospel does not concur with what she finds in her book of sermons. While weeping, she promised to accommodate herself to proper Christian conduct, but that will go no further than external appearances. In previous times she could not be convinced of her dangerous condition; time will tell whether from now on God with His word will succeed better with her. We read Bible verses and divine truths in the prayer meetings and sermons which, we hope, will cause them all to see into the nature of their spiritual condition and, from this moment on, will turn them away from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. But prejudices and falsely absorbed doctrines are strong bars by which Satan keeps his nest, the unconverted heart, locked up so that for many old sinners it seems almost impossible to break through with Gods word. The deceit of sin, of which Paul warns in Hebrews 3:13, is very common.

The old N. [Spielbigler] woman had a copy of Dr. Luthers Haus Postille and, although the divine truths are set forth therein abundantly and forcefully, she has not yet recognized the truth. Rather, she has applied everything in a perverted manner through false comfort and has not allowed herself to be shown the proper way. [To such cases we may well apply Galatians 3:1, O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? That is the devil, helped by the perverted heart, so that many do not see with seeing eyes and hear with hearing ears; and the longer they have good opportunities the longer and more wicked and more perverted they turn away from the good. This we see clearly in poor Michael Rieser, who has come right close to the judgment for the unconverted. He makes no use of our ministry; but, in his undying hatred of us, he believes he will persevere by praying and reading at home.]

Wednesday, the 7th of October. [This morning, we dedicated in a Christian manner Hans Floerls new house and edified ourselves with the comforting words from Ecclesiastes 9:7, God now accepteth thy works. The Lord has given me and, I hope, all those present much edification from this. Lemmenhofer joined us and told me after the service that his little child had died, and that in his grief he had benefited much from the words that had been said with regard to the above passage. This afternoon my dear colleague went out to assist at the funeral in the Christian and customary way. In the afternoon an Englishman on a passing trading boat delivered a letter from Mr. Oglethorpe in reply to a letter I had written regarding the ill conduct of the Uchee Indians at our town a few weeks ago. There was inserted a note to a certain woman /Hewett/ living among these people in which she is requested to come to me with the chief of these Indians to discuss in detail several matters so as to prevent further damage. There are several points mentioned in this letter which our friends might wish to know. I shall therefore repeat the passage which treats of these Indians:

You certainly know that the Indians were Natives and Owners of all America. When I came into this Country, the river Savannah was the Boundaries between the Indians and the English planters of Carolina. His Majesty gave liberty to the Trustees to purchase lands from the Indian Natives. I treated with the Indians and have obtained from them the rights of settling such lands as they gave unto the Trustees. The Creek Indians gave us liberty to settle from the River Ebenezer to the Sea, excepting what lies between Pipemakers Creek and the Town of Savannah. The Lands beyond the River Ebenezer, that is to say to the North thereof as far as the River of Briars, belonged to the Uchee Indians, who would not grant the same, and therefore I could not allow any settlements to be made beyond that river.

[I suppose therefore some person has settled beyond that river, or injured their Com(?) there. If so, they do this by way of reprisals; if otherwise, perhaps it may be some young men that are set on by ill-minded people. However, the method is to apply to the chiefs, or King of the Uchee Indians, and he will see to get the matter right, for we must not injure the Indians, nor must they injure us. They by the Treaty are to complain to me of the white men, and I am to complain to their Chiefs of them. I send you inclosed a Letter for Mrs. Hewett who speaks their language, and she will bring to you the Indian Chiefs, who will settle this matter.

[With respect to the Indians taking peaches or corn in the field, their Hospitality is such, that they allow all strangers to take and eat what they will of Corn, Watermelons, or Fruit in the Fields, and they naturally take the Same Liberty with our people; but if this matter is explained to their chiefs, they will speak to the young men, who will leave it off.

[Concerning the matter of our draft horse, Mr. Oglethorpe will speak directly to the captain who has so long used it for his benefit.]

I had asked General Oglethorpe for grape vines, and on that account he gave out orders in two places in this colony for me to be supplied at the right time with cuttings which are inserted into the ground without roots. Also, from a certain man we are to get 5 ь worth of young mulberry trees, for which Mr. Oglethorpe himself paid the money. Praise God for these new benefactions! May He give grace that we may zealously pray to Him on account of the Indians; this is the best weapon for resisting these evil guests. They pay no attention to their chiefs or kings; and these act just as wickedly as the others. They plant not the least little thing, hence they cannot have had an opportunity to make good for the damage they caused us. [Mr. Oglethorpe has not even mentioned the excesses they committed here, although he probably knows that they behaved badly, if not worse, at Savannah and other places.] They are intractably unbridled and lawless folk, and General Oglethorpe, especially at this time of war, may not himself know how to guard against all misfortune.

Our people who fetched the horses from Palachocolas say that up there the Indians rode away on some very fine, expensive horses, and since then have not let themselves be seen anywhere. If our dear Lord had not turned away harm and had not blessed the Salzburgers diligence and precaution, the best horse would have drowned swimming across the stream. [The captain to whom I wrote concerning our horse was not at home, and a German doctor who trades with him wrote me that he did not know anything of this matter. He also pretended to our people that neither he nor the captain would keep the horse back if they had it. However, these are nothing but empty words.] We hear unbelievable stories of the way English act among themselves. None has honest intentions toward the other, and each acts slyly and deceitfully. Everywhere up there food is lacking; and corn, rice, and sweet potatoes cannot be had for any money. We, thank the Lord!, are experiencing nothing of that lack. This is once again a clear testimony of the fulfillment of Matthew 6, But seek ye first, etc., and all these things shall be added unto you. Especially, it is a new testimony of the paternal providence of God ruling over us that the little chest from Augsburg which the worthy Senior Urlsperger mentioned in the previous letters, most lately that of Mrs. Hber, came to us here by a trading boat this afternoon. In it are not only the four very useful broadaxes requested for our industrious carpenters and a small box full of red marking stones,6 but also two trusses, hot water bottles for sick lying-in women along with a few remedies from the pious midwife and also porridge pans,7 little bonnets, and (childrens) drinking utensils of glass and pewter. There was also some linen, twine, and Bomasin8 packed along therewith. In like manner we have been provided with seventy-six vials of Schauer Balm at a time when our current supply is running out. [Both the Reverend Deacon Hildebrand and dear Mr. von Mller, the amanuensis of our Senior Urlsperger, have sent most edifying and pleasing letters to us and the congregation. May the Lord bless in you and our benefactors this benefaction as well as the other gifts we have received.]

Thursday, the 8th of October. At the beginning of this week something happened to one of our most skilled and industrious carpenters that made him lose his spirits to the point that he would have given up all his carpentry and applied himself simply to farm work, especially since his work had been made quite difficult by some people, and indeed there was also much willfulness in the matter. But God ordained for him to be invited and called to yesterdays dedication of /Hans/Floerls dwelling; and the sermon on the previously mentioned little verse: Thy work pleaseth God, etc., sprang into his mind in such a way that he had gentler thoughts. He perceived, among other things, what bliss it is for the faithful that not a great potentate but rather the King of all kings, for the sake of Christ, has a paternal good will towards their persons and towards the products of their general and special professions. Thus, all their works, even the outwardly very modest ones scorned by haughty people, are a genuine service to God which are to be rewarded here in time and there in eternity.9

To the contrary, it is said of unbelievers: God detests them both, the godless man and his godless doings. God is displeased not only by their evil works but also by their natural and merely liturgical ones, and it does not help even if they are praised by everyone else, etc. All this we clarified and corroborated with verses from the Old and New Testaments.

Just yesterday evening or this morning someone told him that the broadaxes had arrived. This moved him to come to me with the request that the newly arrived gifts might be accepted by him and others in a way that would cause no sinful offense. At the same time he recounted to me what his state of mind had been before, during, and after the dedication hour and how our dear Lord had calmed his spirit further by means of the newly arrived blessing, so that he had even made new arrangements at the mill for bringing up the lumber. On Tuesday he had wished to hear nothing of it. He received not only a broadaxe but also marking pencils, a vial of Schauer Balm and something for his child; and this turned his spirits to great joy, praise of God, and thanksgiving. At the same time he came to such a good material agreement with someone else through mutual compromise that we were justly pleased with it. [There is much joy at the orphanage, in our own families, and among those who have already received some of the blessings we have received; it will be equally great among the others once they have received their share to the extent possible. Each family will have a glass of Schauer Balm.] Because the carpenters can be copiously supplied with red marking stones, and yet a good share remains, other men are receiving some too.

The linen which was sent along is being cut into pieces; and, as far as it will last, shirts are being given to those who need them most against the winter. The women who have very small children or are expecting them are receiving cotton bonnets. In like manner they are to be lent small porridge pans and drinking cups for weaning their children away from the mothers breast or other necessary use so that others in the congregation may enjoy this benefaction by and by. The N. woman, who is in especially painful physical circumstances, is being particularly strengthened in her faith by the hot water bottles, sponges, herbs, and roots sent over especially for her. She considers herself unworthy of any gift, rather she believes she has earned the long lasting disorders and pains by the sins of her youth; and thus she has also made it a matter of conscience not to use anything against them. However, since she sees that God Himself has caused all sorts of things to come over to her from Europe to cure and alleviate her dangerous condition, she will gladly use everything in faith, humility, resignation, and in praise of the Lord; and she wishes the worthy benefactors and their families thousandfold blessings. A year ago God granted her a stove for keeping herself, in her bodily frailty, and her sickly children and others in the orphanage warm. However, since the ovens warmth by itself will not suffice for the aggravated disorders and pains, He is also supplying hot water bottles and other very useful things against the winter, by which much good will come to other ill persons and lying-in women. Lord we are not worthy of the least of thy mercies, etc. Genesis 32:10, 2 Samuel 15:20.

Friday, the 9th of October. [Mr. Zouberbhler came to me and asked for a written statement attesting to his suitability as a preacher for the Reformed community in Savannah.10 I could not accede to his request because I have no contact with him whatever; and if I were to write Mr. Oglethorpe what I have heard from the people of Purysburg and elsewhere, it would hardly be a recommendation. He was content with my prudence and will now ask the Reformed minister /Chifelle/ in Purysburg to write a few words in his favor and take them to Mr. Oglethorpe. That man is much better able to do so than I, since this candidatus11 takes communion from him. He also showed me a written testimony which his deceased father had put down shortly before his death and in which he declares his son suitable for the office of a minister and recommends him to the readers of this statement. I will, however, be able to inquire about him from the Reformed people in Savannah, whether they hold him in esteem and confidence, and he is now content to ask only that of me. He is a very young fellow and has nothing but bad companions, whether English, French, or German, which is much to his disadvantage. I presented to him the importance of the ministry from my own experience and gave him the most important little book by the blessed Korthold, on the heavy burden of the ministry, to take with him, which he will return to me after reading it.

[This very same Mr. Zouberbhler brought me a new letter from Mr. Oglethorpe in which he reports having received certain news from the Trustees that a transport of Salzburgers had been expected in England toward the end of July, and that said transport would shortly arrive here to our pleasure and the greater success of our labors. He then goes on to mention German people; and I do not know whether he is referring to the Salzburgers or other Germans who are supposed to be sent over here. He informs me that certain people had persuaded the Honorable Trustees to settle these Germans on the other side of Ebenezer Creek, that is to say, a little ways beyond us up the Savannah River. He refuses to consent to this plan, and has sent orders to Col. Stephens to prevent it by all possible means because this scheme would lead to these peoples ruin in many ways. They would be placed among new people and experience much suffering at their hands, in particular the Indians. The following paragraph makes me think that he is speaking of other Germans who are come to this colony together with the Salzburgers. I quote him,

But, if they are joined under your prudent directions, they will have the benefit of both temporal and spiritual instruction, and NB being mixed with the Salzburgers, who know the country, will be by them instructed, how to work to advantage. I have therefore wrote to Col. Stephens, that he should according to your advice place the New Comers in such Lotts, as you shall think best, etc.

[But if these are to be other German people, particularly a mixed lot, as in Savannah and Purysburg, I would very much wish that they build their own town and be supplied with their own minster. For we have only been appointed to minister to 300 Salzburgers, and this number will eventually be reached. We are quite busy enough with their public and private affairs. Quite apart from the fact that the so-called] The Salzburgers whom we are awaiting with desire and joy will, we hope, join most scrupulously with their compatriots, and I am impressed that our people are preparing themselves with huts, foodstuffs, butter, etc., for their worthy and loving reception. The so-called High Germans,12 who, as long as they remain unconverted, think themselves better than the Salzburgers, do not fit well at all amongst our simple parishioners, as we have sufficiently experienced. Whenever German people convert to God, they feel righteous love for us and soon with our people; but prior to that they are actual enemies.

[Nonetheless,] it would be very good for our increased congregation to be given the fine piece of land beyond Ebenezer Creek too. Even if they did not live there themselves, they could use it very well on account of the pasturage because the cattle are increasing from year to year. [But if Mr. Oglethorpe does not feel so inclined (as can be inferred from his letter), nothing can come of it (and one would be ill advised to propose this matter to him as practicable and advantageous.)] The Uchee Indians, who are very bad neighbors anyway, would let this piece go for a song, as Mr. Oglethorpe well knows.13 Hence he does not consider it impossible or difficult to get it from them by a fair contract. They have abandoned their old dwelling places and have moved off in the direction of Augusta, so that we see they place small store on the narrow strip of land. It is our comfort that whatever God grants us and has intended for all eternity will have to become a certainty in His time, Acts 17:26.

A German named Dresler moved here from Savannah this week with his wife /Catherina/ and will settle amongst the Salzburgers by the mill stream. He is an honest man and is weary of the miserable14 life amongst his compatriots. Shortly before his departure he had the misfortune of having a well-known thief among his people steal from his locked hut and strongbox 4 ь Sterling that he had earned by the sweat of his brow. A short time previously his hut had burned with many things in it; also his child, who had been alone in it, had been badly injured and had later died from it. Without the mans prior knowledge other people used forbidden prophetic arts by means of certain secret things (apparently similar to magic) to seek out the thief, and were so bold as to accuse a certain Reformed man of the robbery. He was this Dreslers comrade in service and labor; further than that there was no witness and the matter rested simply on the secret (black) arts. It is said to have caused many difficulties in Savannah and I will have plenty to hear when I go there.15

All kinds of satanic arts are in vogue amongst the people there; one could hardly find superstition any greater in popery and no remonstration from Gods word does any good. This Dreslers wife does not yet have the same mind as her husband and is not yet well-grounded in Christianity. However, we hope she will receive the desire for truth so that they can dwell amongst us with joy and blessing. This man has a very thorough understanding of viniculture and is quite willing to impart all the benefits of planting, cutting, grafting, etc. to our people. Today a very pleasant tasting blue wine grape was brought to me from the neighborhood, and it amazed me that the vine bloomed only at the beginning of August and that the grapes have become ripe at this time. The vintner recently told me that he knows how to cut in such a way that some vines bloom late and bear fruit twice (if I understand him correctly), but I will not believe the latter until I see it myself. In the meantime it is nonetheless peculiar that the one vine bloomed so late and bore grapes. Usually the grape vines bloom here already in April and have ripe grapes in mid-summer. The wild grapes ripen late because they are hidden in the bushes and grow entangled amongst them. I have seen in the Lord Trustees garden, and learned from the gardener, that in the winter he plants a wild grape vine, and in the spring he grafts a cultured shoot upon it (which here is the easiest and best way to get quick-growing and good grapes), and the grafted shoot blooms and has grapes even in the same summer.

The 10th of October. Today we answered General Oglethorpes two letters that had come to my hands just this week [and they will be sent off to Col. Stephens hands next week for posting. Since he seems displeased at the Trustees decision to buy from the Uchee Indians the plot of land on the other side of Ebenezer Creek for the newly arrived Salzburgers, I wrote him that I had not really given any occasion for this decision in my letters, except for the fact that at the time of our request to move from Old Ebenezer, we had stated our desire for this land both directly and in writing. Even if the Salzburgers were not to settle there, it would be good if we were given it for pasture, which is quite excellent there. Else the Honorable Trustees might wish to establish their cattle pastures there for their numerous cattle so that our people would have for their exclusive use the whole plot of land between the mill creek and Ebenezer Creek, particularly since, with the advent of a new group of Salzburgers, the stock of cattle will increase with the blessing of the Lord.

[In this manner we would be rid of our wicked and uncontrollable neighbors, the Uchee Indians, whom we have not hindered in any way but against whom we have most scrupulously observed the laws of hospitality. However, we have reaped nothing but much damage from them, as he will have seen from the list of particulars which we sent through Mr. /Thomas/ Jones. However, we shall not insist on our will regarding this land but submit ourselves to the good advice and understanding of Mr. Oglethorpe, in particular as we know from our seven years here that he has acted as a father toward this colony and in particular toward our congregation.]

Amongst other things I reported to him that I was very pleased he had given orders to Mrs. Hewett, who speaks the Uchee tongue, to come to me with their chiefs. I hope that I can accomplish so much through her that they will not again disturb and harm us. I gave him most grateful thanks for the 5 ь Sterling he had again dispensed for the purchase of young white mulberry trees for our congregation; and I reported to him that the gardener in the Lord Trustees garden also wishes to let us have a good quantity if Mr. Oglethorpe consents. We too had raised a good quantity of seeds; but, because the Salzburgers have a great desire to produce silk by and by, it will be hard to bring too many of them to our place. What we do not need we will give over to the expected transport.

[I am also obliged for his order, which was transmitted through Col. Stephens and a captain in Purysburg to his gardener in Savannah and on his estate at Palachocolas, to let me have, at the customary time, a number of good cuts from his vines. These slowly take root and yield very good grapevines. I also informed him that, in his letter of April 27 last, Mr. Verelst had let me know that the Trustees had paid in London for the Swiss linen which I had delivered to the storehouse.16 However, he had not mentioned with a single word the costs for my house, which I had recommended to the Trustees generosity and kindness on several occasions; I therefore was not yet able to pay him the ь 20 Sterling which he had advanced to me for the construction of said house. I would be much obliged if he should mention this matter on my behalf to the Trustees. For the house is part of the public buildings, and after my retirement it will revert to the Trustees disposal.

[Since he had previously worried that we might build the church not in the town but on the plantations, I now informed him that the church was now almost entirely completed with the funds which God had provided through Mr. Whitefield and from Germany; if I now could receive from some benefactor about 6 ь Sterling, I could pay for everything that is still missing in the upper floor, the windows, and doors. The church itself is not only large enough for us but for all those who will come after us. I also did not wish to miss the opportunity to mention that the high floods have damaged the mill dam, which the members of the congregation are now ready to repair.]

Mr. Oglethorpe made it very clear in his letter that I am again to be closely tied in once more with the management of external matters of the expected Salzburgers and of the Germans whom he would like to settle in our area. Hence I am writing him very humbly and clearly that I would like to be spared that, because such outside duties are harmful and hindering not only to my health but also to the performance of my duties. I said I had made my desire for a Christian and understanding justiciary17 felt several times in letters to patrons and friends in Europe, and that hence I was asking that he himself might be helpful therein. I find myself quite obliged to be of utmost service to the General for the great good will he has borne me and the congregation; but, I said, I could no longer engage in such external details and adjudications.

Sunday, the 11th of October. [The rain started yesterday and is continuing throughout the night and today. Public services were held on the plantations today, as is customary every fortnight, so that attendance was not quite as hard on the people as if they had been forced to come all the way into town. Those who live in town are much better off in many ways, since they have the prayer meetings and Sunday night services right in front of their doorstep, as it were; and we must attest that they attend services diligently and constantly, although many are beset by attacks of the fever. May God grant that nobody remain content with outward appearances and acquiesce therein, but that everyone be heartily concerned with the wedding robe of which todays gospel treated.]

Our loving God and Father strengthened me once again so much today that I was able in the morning to recite the important and very comforting doctrine in the regular Gospel Matthew 22:1 concerning Gods gracious invitation to the wedding feast of our Lamb; and in the afternoon to reiterate the catechism and to pursue the matter in more detail. And, because I still had strength left at the prayer meeting, I read aloud, to my own and others great edification, the right heartfelt letter in which our esteemed and right dear Deacon Hildebrand had written to us both and had poured out many heartfelt good wishes on us, our families, and the congregation. Also his dear little children added a few short verses to the end of the letter, which gave me cause once more to inspire our children by means of the Gospel honestly to surrender their hearts to the Lamb of God, our dearest Souls Friend and Bridegroom, from which they will have the most blissful profit in time and eternity according to the content of the introductory words of Revelations 19:9, which we had today.

Monday, the 12th of October. Lemmenhoffer asked me to come to him and his wife at their plantation. He said they were very downcast because of their child whom God had gathered to Himself through temporal death last week. It seemed to them they had overlooked and neglected something during its illness or that God considered them unworthy to bring up a child, since this one was the third taken away so soon through temporal death. God willing, I will call on him tomorrow. In the meantime I gave him instruction and comfort from Gods word. [Since the water has fallen and run off into the lower lying areas, two of our congregation left today for Carolina, to fetch the mares bought for the community and a riding horse for the orphanage, which is indispensable for our cattle in the woods. A pious and interested Englishman of my acquaintance in Carolina bought them for us, and we can rest assured that we will not be cheated, as is customary here.]

In the crate from Augsburg we received some sermons that Inspector Rende had held on the annual thanksgiving feast at the local Lutheran poor house. Today after the home prayer meeting and to my great blessing, edification, and strengthening of faith, I read the sermon that was preached in 1740 on the forceful verse of the apostle St. Paul (Ephesians 3:20) concerning the boundless omnipotence of God. The appended short report of the Lutheran poor house itself as well as the edifying and fundamental exposition of the worthy author in his sermon reminded me of our almighty, wise, and most indulgent God and heavenly Fathers miraculous and blessed guidance of our congregation and orphanage in Ebenezer, where, with every trial that came to pass, He has acted with superabundant kindness for more than seven successive years, surpassing all that we prayed for or understood.

At this autumn season, when provisions and clothes are very expensive partly on account of bad harvests and floods and partly on account of the continuing war and when our dear benefactors in Europe have enough to do and to care about with their own poor, there are still new trials, to be sure. But they move us only to prayer; and we wish by the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Friend of the poor, to do as we are taught in the song: Act like a child. Lay thee in thy Fathers arm, ask and implore Him to have mercy on thee [as He is wont to do], etc.18 To this end the above-mentioned important sermon and the fine report of the Lutheran poor house should again encourage me and the widows, orphans, sick, and suffering. I am advising our pious orphan-father and mother /Kalcher/ to read it devoutly as if it were composed and sent to us at the command of our miraculous and gracious God Himself for the strengthening of our faith.

In the recent evening prayer meetings these days it has been very impressive to us to see how Davids heart was full of the compassion and fidelity of God even in his troublesome circumstances while he was going barefoot and in great dearth during his exile, 2 Samuel 15, surrounded by his equally miserable and troubled little band of people. The great emigrant Jacob also remained faithful, Genesis 32:10. We ourselves desire to hold to our faith like a mighty immovable anchor; thus will our little vessel of hope and faith not rock unsteadily; rather stand unswerving even in the depths of all misery and even if it were abandoned by all human help. We wish and heartily request the experience of this compassion and fidelity of God for all our worthy benefactors in Germany in the current troubled times so that through it they may be sheltered, nourished, and warmed as beneath the two wings of our loving God and Son of Man, through whom we have received grace and truth. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. [How much we enjoyed, in yesterdays evening prayer meeting, Deacon Hildebrands reminders of the spiritual and physical benefactions of the Lord which Ebenezer has received in the years past. Here, we found good occasion to remind our listeners, both adults and children, to take care in discharging their duties. For all this, may God be praised. We have a Lord who helps. Hallelujah.]

Tuesday, the 13th of October. Lemmenhoffer and his wife were very happy when I visited them prior to the edification hour, imparted comfort and instruction to them from Gods word, and prayed with them. The husband asked me how matters would stand with the little children in heaven and whether those who did not yet know how to talk in this world would be able to use their tongues to praise God, if they died at so tender an age as his child had done. I told him my simple opinion, to wit, that the great weakness and imperfection in which our little children must be born and brought up stem from our terrible fall from grace. If the fall from grace had not intervened, all little children would be born in the image of God, without pain and with a certain perfection. But now they bring a wretched and lamentable form with them and must feel the bitter fruits of the fall, as their parents who bore them must too. I said that in heaven the blessed, hence even the smallest little children, have the perfect image of God and that frailty and sorrow will lie beneath their feet. Hence, although it might be well that they retain their small stature, as may be conjectured from Revelations 20:11-12, they will be as capable as the full-grown of all blessedness of the children of God. The small stature will be no impediment to it; in itself it is no imperfection. All consummate righteous and chosen ones comprise one most glorious temple of God, in which not only the great columns and cornerstones but also the smallest things redound to its completeness and splendor. Here in this world, to be sure, they did not know their parents, but when the latter follow them in Christian faith, the children will learn about them from their most dear Savior and rejoice eternally with and about their pious parents, who led their children to the Lord Jesus and who helped advance their eternal salvation. What mutual joy that will be!

This simple tale [(although based only on conjecture)] drew sweet tears from the mother and gave both parents new courage to prepare for eternal salvation with evangelical fervor. In its great fever the child had had spots. From this I was able to assure them even more than I had assured the husband yesterday that they had overlooked nothing in the childs illness. In fact nothing occurred intentionally (for their love for the little child was very great); if an omission crept in from weakness, then they should heartily and humbly beg Gods forgiveness for it (as did David with the words, Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret errors, etc.), in the name of Christ, cf. I John 3:20-22.

In the edification hour I read aloud the two letters received from Augsburg, just as their pleasing and edifying content had been revealed to us on Sunday in town and yesterday in the evening prayer meeting. Initially I recited to the dear listeners the little verse: The Lord hath been mindful of us; He will bless us! That He is blessing us from near and far we can recognize from the blessing which has reached us safe and sound in the chest from across the broad and dangerous sea. It is a clear testimony that He has not forgotten us but is remembering us with grace, which means more to us than if all the kings and lords in the world were to remember us. In both letters we are told much, to our inspiration, concerning how we should apply this gracious remembrance of God and His spiritual and physical blessings: children and adults must come to a heartfelt, spoken, and active praise of God. We told them we must look not only upon the gifts but also upon the circumstances in which they were sent to us through the good hand of God. This, we said, would place into our hearts and mouths all the more material for praising our so good and kind Lord. We said nothing in the works and gifts of God was to be regarded as insignificant, for it all came from the great Lord upon us insignificant men, who are not worthy of a splinter or bean.

During the building of the mill, I told them that I had had the opportunity to write to our worthy Senior Urlsperger regarding some broadaxes (because our best one was broken beyond repair) and not only was he willing in the matter; but God, I said, had awakened still more patrons and friends in these troubled times to contribute something until there was an entire crate full. I explained that not only were the carpenters right kindly provided for, but also lying-in women and other ill persons were supplied with hot water bottles, and children with the sponges, small porridge pans, caps, and little drinking vessels. Indeed, even the still unborn children were provided for by means of edifying hymns and a printed prayer for pregnant persons. Since two boxes of Schauer Balm and a few pieces of linen were included too, the adults also will be gladdened. From the letters and the report of the Lutheran poor house it is clear that there is much need and dearth in our dear fatherland, hence plenty of indigenous poor to provide for; yet even so the Lord thought of us in grace and inclined our benefactors hearts in genuine love towards us.

I cited some words from the above-mentioned report, namely, that the contribution for the support of the poor collected in the poor-boxes of the six Lutheran churches in Augsburg consisted in the main of quite small gifts so that for many a guilder more than 400 hands had given something. Indeed, this should arouse us to consider what our miraculous Lord does for us not as insignificant, but as exalted. Everyone should say, Should I not sing unto my God, should I not be thankful? He would have to be an arch-miscreant who neglected this duty!

A Salzburger /Sanftleben/ who was hurrying with me from Lemmenhoffers plantation to the edification hour attested his joy at the newly-arrived Schauer Balm and recognized in it a special providence of God. A short while ago he had only a few drops of it left, part of which he gave to his very sick little child to ingest, and part of which he spread over a certain part of the childs body. The effect was so good that the little child became lively and well. He said he believed that, if he had had more, he would have been healed sooner of the disorder in his foot, etc. At the same time he complained about his wife /Magdalena/, who, he said, would not allow herself to be led to penance through Gods kindness. The Schauer Balm was distributed after the edification hour, and it awakened joy and praise of God. On this occasion our dear Lord graciously caused a few bothersome points to be properly settled and attended to, to my own and others amazement (since we were expecting some problems). Thus God knows how to prepare a way so that everything will go better than anyone could have imagined. Here too the word is: God can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Wednesday, the 14th of October. A certain inhabitant of Savannah, a potter /Duche/, intends to travel to London on business shortly and is willing to forward some things for us. In the summer and autumn we gathered all sorts of seeds and kernels for planting, which we hope to be able to send best by this opportunity in a little chest to London, and from there further to Augsburg to Mr. von Mnch, who has asked something like that from us. There are not yet many rarities amongst them because till now our people have been able to worry only about extreme necessities. Should the Lord bestow life and capability, we hope by and by to acquire all kinds of very good plants, flowers, and herbs. Since wheat, rye, barley, oats, etc. were also requested, such things have been included, but I fear that not much will be left by the worms, which are very injurious to these grains in this warm land. In the meantime I hope the above-mentioned benefactor will accept the intent for the deed this time, till we are in a position to serve him with something better and also with a few curiosities. [We have written some letters to our benefactors and friends this week so that everything will be ready when the opportunity arises.] The above-mentioned potter is a very capable and intellectually curious person, who has found out a lot about many things in the country and can give the people very good advice about how to profit as he himself does from these things in the realm of nature that God has already granted to this land above all others.

With General Oglethorpes authorization he has traveled amongst the Indians up in the mountains and has seen all sorts of singular things or else learned them from reliable persons. Amongst other things he recounted to me how amongst the Cherokees (a very populous nation, and amicable to England) where upon a cliff the footprints of an entire fleeing people, to wit, many men, women, and children, and all kinds of poultry, birds, and animals may clearly be seen. One also sees an imprint of a fallen man who is trying to rise by supporting himself on both hands; this can be seen because his posterior and his heels are imprinted on the rock as in sand. I believe this from this righteous mans tale as certainly as if I had seen it myself. The Indians themselves can tell all about this phenomenon. In the same region there are also some fire-spewing mountains,19 also a great cave in the cliff from which flows constantly a certain material which turns to stone when it falls to the ground.20 There are very many deep caves, just as in Canaan. He can hardly find enough words for the bounteousness of the country and the evil of those traders living amongst the Indians. They not only give the Indians every opportunity for disorder, but also set their own bad example.

Amongst the whites themselves there is nothing but enmity, deception, and treachery, and all this from selfishness. Each strives by all kinds of practices to attract many Indians to himself for business purposes.21 Thus one undermines the next, and they all incur debts and finally run away from them. The Creek Indians are more addicted to excessive drink than the Cherokees. To be sure, the latter are happy to drink themselves full if they can get it for as good as nothing, but they prefer trading their deer and buffalo hides and beaver skins for things like clothing and other necessities rather than for rum or brandy. If the English did not supply the Creek Indians abundantly with such strong drink, they would seek it amongst the Spanish and French and shift their trade to them, since both have storehouses and trading posts on their frontiers. Of religion, by whatever name it may be called, there is not the slightest trace to be seen amongst the Indians and Christians.22 The Lord Trustees are still looking for a way to give the heathens who are allied to the English an opportunity to recognize Christ the Savior of the world. For this purpose they recently again asked for suggestions from Col. Stephens and Mr. /Thomas/Jones in Savannah in order to realize their good intentions. [I recently inquired of the Herrnhuter, Hagen, whether he was still willing to go among the heathen with the word of the Lord, for which purpose he had recently come into this colony. He replied thus: If the Savior will open the door for me, I shall go, but not before that. He has been staying with a merchant in Savannah for some time, and we hear little of his affairs. When we hold public prayer meetings and Sunday services in Savannah, he never shows up because he considers himself a minister on his own and is much enamored of his own supposed perfection.]

Thursday, the 15th of October. Schmidts wife /Catherina/ recounted to me that her husband had thought he would hardly get three bushels of rice because the land and crops on it had been inundated, but now he is discovering that his reasoned calculations had deceived him. He was getting more rice, she said, than he got last year, and corn as well, and thus God was able to preserve the crops even beneath the water. This Schmidt would have had the greatest loss from the water if our wise, gentle God had not diverted it in the manner just mentioned. This will serve the husband and wife, who both conduct their Christianity seriously, to put their disbelief to shame and to strengthen their faith. The things they said about this experience of Gods goodness were very heartfelt and impressive.

The high water has kept me from visiting more than a few of the dear people on their plantations till now. They regard it as a right great benefaction when one of us comes to them; and this, by the grace of God, has manifold spiritual and physical benefits. As soon as the members of the congregation have the time, I shall earnestly advise them to build a high, stout bridge between the town and the plantations, for this is almost indispensable for spiritual and physical reasons. [Now they are in full harvest and much occupied, but once the water has quite subsided, they will return to the mill construction and afterwards will finish the church. From time to time the carpenters also find an occasion to erect houses both in town and on the plantations.]

What a relief it will be when we receive more honest people in our locality, and amongst them those who know how to proceed with carpentry, construction, and cabinet work. May God bring them to us soon and in sound health! [I hope to have detailed news of these expected dear guests in Savannah, where I shall travel tomorrow, with Gods guidance.]

The Germans in Savannah wish very much to avail themselves of our office again to hear Gods word and to take Holy Communion; and in this we can likely serve them better this coming Sunday than at any other time. For that reason I shall travel there tomorrow morning. May God give me clear indications that I am making this journey according to His good and favorable will and will accomplish much good to His honor and to mens salvation! General Oglethorpe is proving very kind towards the young Englishman Bishop.23 Within just the last few days he sent me a note to the effect that he shall have as a present a tame young cow along with a calf from Old Ebenezer and over and above that 20 sh. Sterling. [The man there refuses to obey Mr. Oglethorpes orders because he is using the tame cows for his own profit; thus, he will have to take what he can get.] Tame cows are rare in this country, and it costs our people considerable trouble to make wild ones tame. But it is gradually becoming practicable to tame wild oxen, as I have seen at the orphanage.

Friday, the 16th of October. [My dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, has traveled to Savannah today; may the Lord assist him and bring about much good on his behalf.] Because I (Gronau) had the opportunity today to travel to Purysburg (Hans Mauer went to fetch his wife from there), I accompanied him and I was not disappointed that I did. Peter Reiter was very troubled and downcast and had a great desire for one of us. Our dear Savior so blessed our conversation that things became somewhat easier for him, and I hope God will strengthen and finally perfect his faith. My question to him was taken from John 5:6, where the Lord Jesus asked the man who had an infirmity for thirty and eight years, Wilt thou be made whole? My question in this regard concerned spiritual health, about which he is especially troubled; and, since I noted clearly that he desired no more than this, I told him in Jesus name that he would be healthy and all his sins would be forgiven and he would have grace: he had no punishment from God to fear, rather he should be reconciled with Him through the blood and wounds of Christ and have peace. Now, I said, he should proceed with God as a child does with its own father and expect nothing but good. If he would accept in faith this message that I was bringing him in the name of Jesus, things would progress even though he might not yet feel the comfort, and his hitherto weak faith would become perfect. I was very pleased to be with him. The doctor was also pleased, for he had seen that the man was sad but could not give him proper consolation. Temporal things no longer delight this good Peter /Reiter/; hence a conversation concerning temporal matters could give him no comfort. As to his physical circumstances, he no longer has the pains he had before, yet he is still very weak and unsteady.

The Mauer woman /Catherina/ went home again joyfully because our dear Lord apparently blessed the medicines. The doctor gave her something to take along and was of the opinion that, if she used it regularly, her mouth would be fully cured. She has had to endure much. Last Monday he burned out some of the flesh in her mouth, being of the opinion that it was cancer. He showed me what he did it with; it is called lapis infernalis.24 On the way home we edified one another with edifying conversations, and at last our dear Lord presented me with great blessing from the verse: He that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about, Psalms 32:10.

Saturday, the 17th of October. The day before yesterday I had something to do in old /Barthomus/ Riesers hut. His wife was just having a fever. She called me and told me how our dear Lord was pulling on her so powerfully. Whenever she had fever, she said, she could best remain quiet and reflect. She thought of how her spirits were when she had lain ill in the poor house in Augsburg and Deacon Hildebrand had visited her. It appeared to her as if an angel of God were coming to her. Her second son Balthasar was very frivolous, hence Senior Urlsperger had recited for him the verse: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, etc. She (the mother) did not place much importance on it at the time, but now she does because she recognizes how badly she spent her youth. I talked with her according to her circumstances and closed with a prayer.

Sunday, the 18th of October. Yesterday and today were very cold, so cold that we had frost last night (for the first time this year), yet the dear parishioners came in great numbers from town and from the plantations to divine services. Our dear Lord is working on our parishioners very powerfully; and, in order to attain His goals all the more, He is sending them many kinds of illnesses and other circumstances, all to the end that He may bring forth the glorious work of faith. Then it might be said of each of them that he now believes, as it is written of the nobleman, and himself believed, and his whole house. Profiting from todays gospel, we showed how our dear Lord had sought this with the nobleman and had succeeded: He was seeking the very same thing with regard to our entire congregation. Now I hope that, through the mercy and loyalty of God, it will finally come to the point that we can say the words: The ministers (in Ebenezer) believe with their entire congregation.

[If some do not wish to be won over, God will cast them aside, or they will not be considered true members of the congregation. In the morning] we observed the verses in the Haus-Tafel25 concerning the ministerial and ruling classes. In general we heard how God promised that, at the time of the New Testament, He would give the law into our hearts and write it into our minds so that each faithful person will not only happily perceive the duties he must observe in his station and calling, but will also seek to carry them out with joy. A minister may be especially inspired to carry out his office earnestly when he considers that his congregation is a congregation of God, which He has gained through His own blood. Acts 20:28.

Monday, the 19th of October. The home prayer meetings we have been having till now have been greatly blessed by our kindly God. In them we are now contemplating the benefactions according to the second article of Christian faith [and in particular that which Christ has won for us]; and in this connection we cite the most glorious and forceful verses. Today we heard how Christ won for us the cleansing and calming of our consciences. In addition we cited the glorious verse Matthew 11:28-29, wherein our kindly Savior calls the troubled and laden to Himself so lovingly that He may refresh them and bring their souls to rest, to the end that they may thus free themselves from their guilty consciences and enter into salvation through the blood of Jesus.

In todays prayer meeting we used the story in Luke 10:10 ff., to remonstrate with the parishioners about what our kindly God is doing with them in our place: He is bringing the Kingdom of God so near that they can well feel it in their souls. Hence no one should remain a scorner of such treasured grace, as would happen if one did not truly let oneself be brought to penitence and to faith in the Son of God. [To His end God was working forcefully on them through His word and showed them so many physical blessings, but also much trouble and labor, so that even those who still lagged behind would finally convert: They should let themselves be won over fully, so that God will not descend on us with His severe judgment. May the Lord invest these words with His blessing and confirm His children in His grace and recognition!]

The 20th of October. I (Boltzius) had arranged with my dear colleague to be at home, with Gods help, at the time the edification hour was to be held on the plantations. Our dear Lord even advanced our journey so expeditiously that we arrived safe and sound at Ernsts plantation between 8 and 9 in the morning, notwithstanding the high and strong waters. I had the boat rowed home and visited the still dangeously ill Ernst, whom my short consolation made very happy. The Purysburg surgeon has given him a bottle of medicine which may well cause more harm than good. Because of the external cures he has effected and is still effecting on Ernst, the Mauer woman, and Peter Reiter, the man has acquired a reputation amongst many here so that they would entrust themselves to him in all sorts of cases if he were closer by. [Those who know of our circumstances can hardly blame them.] However, because I know this above-mentioned surgeon has little understanding of medicine,26 as a matter of conscience I must discourage rather than advise people to entrust themselves to him. God will certainly bring about an improvement in this matter as well!

The daughter of the honest merchant in Savannah, about whose bad throat we have reported, has been fully cured by a wise woman in Savannah within a few days. [The father seemed somewhat annoyed to be asked for another three guineas over and above what he had already paid, and all that for an unsuccessful cure.]

From Ernsts I went directly to the place where the divine services are being held; and there I read aloud three of the edifying and very pleasing letters delivered to me in Savannah, to the great invigoration of myself and the parishioners. In them we found plenty of material for the praise of God and the heartfelt intercession for our worthy benefactors. The first letter was from our most worthy Senior Urlsperger. It was so written that we well see that it should have reached us before the above-mentioned crate. Yet, as our wise God does everything in His time, we were pleased that the letter arrived later and reminded us anew of the great good the Lord has done and is still doing for our benefit, in the hearts and through the hands of our benefactors and reminded us to bring Him our offerings of thanks with contrite hearts and on bended knee.

The second letter was from our dear Mr. Berein, writing in name of the worthy Court Chaplain /Ziegenhagen/ and wishing us much good. From him we received the first news in a letter to ourselves that a transport, almost complete at the time of writing, is certainly to be sent here. The letter was dated the 30th of May st. vet.27 We encouraged each other to receive these dear guests with blessing and to prepare for their arrival, spiritually and physically for their and our refreshment (as one is wont to do for the arrival of a good friend). There were also a few (albeit quite sad) stories in the letter which should move and incline us to ask for intercession for our dear Fatherland.

The third letter, whose main contents we read aloud today, was from the dear Mr. von R. [Reck] from N. [Halle]. It moved me so much in Savannah that I wished to find time to answer it right away. Today God sent me and others new edification from it. I note from pieces of evidence in it that our dear Lord has drawn the dear mans heart right close to Himself and has, through His spirit, made him right honest and upright towards Himself and his neighbor. He has once more become right dear and worthy to us, for the sake of Gods grace which is in him [and now everything that has happened previously both on the voyage and here in this country is fully forgiven, resolved, and forgotten].28 May he requite him the love he bears in the Lord for the entire congregation and its principals, and which he is showing in practical matters according to his ability. May He make him into a blessed instrument of His grace in Mr. von N.s [the Baron von Endes] esteemed house and elsewhere.29 The above-mentioned great patron /Ziegenhagen/ is still thinking about our congregation in a material way, for which may the Lord Jesus richly reward him in time and eternity! We will shortly put to use the remaining letters and the main contents of the preface to the 5th Continuation.

[These letters have been held over in Charleston for quite some time, and I shall ask Mr. Berein and Mr. Newman to address future mail to Mr. William Hopton an industrious and loyal merchant in Charleston who, as the Trustees agent, takes care of forwarding letters and other mail from here and receives mail on their behalf. But when the captains take letters to the mail-house, they cost money, remain undelivered, and can end up in the wrong hands. At the time of Mr. Bereins writing, no letters from Germany had arrived, else he would have sent them along. But we were glad to learn that our letters and diaries not only of last year but also of the beginning of this year have reached Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen and have been sent on by him.]

From Halle only two letters were enclosed, one from our worthy Pastor Majer, and the other from Mr. von Reck, which is quite old. How gladdened we are to hear that the work of the Lord is still going on through the labors of His servants in Halle [particularly the townsfolk] even though Satan is resisting the kingdom of Christ and the work of His servants in gross and subtle ways, as in Pauls time, 2 Timothy 3:8-9.

In Savannah I held prayers with the Germans several times, preached a sermon Sunday morning, celebrated Holy Communion with eighteen persons, and held a repetition in the afternoon. On each occasion our dear Lord granted me much assistance. Provisions are scarce and expensive here; and it is the same in Frederica, where a short time ago a sloop from New York with all kinds of provisions and a large boat with hundreds of bushels of corn went aground before reaching Frederica. The Spaniards got some of the stores and the rest was spoiled by the water, and this is a new chastisement for this country. General Oglethorpe got two hundred Indians from upcountry to help him and found almost no provisions on hand for them, so that the dear gentleman will certainly be in a tight dilemma. He is said to be considering besieging St. Augustine once again, but since the last siege was raised the Spaniards are said to have fortified the place rather strongly with new walls and other things.

Till now the northern part of this colony has been governed by three magistrates in Savannah, but now the Lord Trustees have decreed an advisory council consisting of a director and four assessors30 who will decide everything. The Lord Trustees will accept no other suits and petitions but those which pass through their hands. They have passed many other very salutary decrees and published them in Savannah, but some of the disgruntled [and restless] people, who are full of British liberty, are still not complying, rather, they are making every effort to stand directly under the royal government like the other colonies and not to recognize the Lord Trustees as their superiors.

[Before I returned home, Col. Stephens son /Thomas/ had come here at great inconvenience and cost and attempted to make our people join the side of the Malcontents by promising all sorts of sweet-seeming liberties. However, they all referred themselves to my decision and also told him to talk to me, so nothing came of it. A reasonable Salzburger came to me and told me of his attempts at persuasion, adding that this had made him think of the recently discussed story of Absalom, who in the same unlawful and finally unsuccessful manner had attempted to deprive his father of his throne: thus was the way these people treated our benefactors and authorities. Another man came to me and recalled the same passage; so that I could see anew the good that this holy story has wrought among us. The man /Thomas Stephens/came also to me and listed many considerations concerning future problems. I refused to hear him for good reasons, taking care that he and his accomplices would not become embittered against us. The good Col. Stephens, who is president of the above-mentioned council, must suffer much grief and anguish because of this son, who is letting himself be used to speak against the Trustees before Parliament in England, where he will shortly return. And this he must reconcile with obedience to his father and his superiors.]

Wednesday, the 21st of October. The potter from Savannah /Duche/ is at our place to install a small stove of fired tiles in my house, according to which model others can be made in the Salzburgers houses. It is the kind that is usually called draft-ovens in Germany. It is heated in the room and the smoke is led out through a pipe so that one needs no separate chimney or flue. The tiles are hollow and a little concave so that the cement, which presses in very tightly, does not fall out. In this manner the sides of the oven are made thick and durable. He has fired several hundred of these tiles at my request, so that several people can be supplied with them, since only sixty are needed for each oven. The fact that in times of both health and sickness the people cannot keep themselves warm may contribute much to the fevers which last so long at our place. This kind of oven will be a simple and good means of getting warm dwellings. For little infants, who can least stand the changing air currents, it will be an indispensable benefaction to get such inexpensive ovens. Everyone can make the stones required for the base of the oven, since they have only to be baked in the sun because no moisture gets to them.

The potter Duche is very obliging and is helping our people in every way. (In Savannah, I gave him a little box with all sorts of seeds for the Honorable Mr. von Mnch in Augsburg, and today I wrote several letters which I will also ask him to take to London, where he will go in a few days to obtain some benefits for himself from the Trustees and through them from Parliament.) He has mastered the art of making chinaware or porcelain; this is much cheaper than that bought from China, yet his work is not the least bit inferior to it in quality. He is taking along much to London for display and also has General Oglethorpes emphatic written recommendation with him. But we worry that the East India Company would rather give him good compensation than let such wares be sent to Europe from here.31 He also knows a marble quarry in this country from which he is taking along samples. If he is successful in his intentions, he will bring many people into the country whom he will be able to employ in his work. He will have work for several hundred people in the country and on the river. [The letters we sent along with him are addressed to the above-mentioned merchant, Mr. von Mnch, the Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, Mr. Verelst, and Mr. Newman. Our diary is not yet fully up to date and we also have not yet answered the most recently arrived letters. All of this takes time, and we shall therefore send both letters and the diary through Col. Stephens, who will be glad to be of service.]

Thursday, the 22nd of October. [The Indian trader and captain32 in the little fort above Palachocolas who has been keeping our strong dray horse for the last 5 years has written me a kind note in which he let me know that he had only now returned from the Indians and found my letter at home. The horse was at his place, he had taken it from an Indian two years ago; and, since he did not know its owner, he had used it in the service of the Trustees. The man who brought the letter told me what a miserable horse it was and that it would never make it to our place.

[There are witnesses that the man had used it as a cart horse for roughly five years, and I shall therefore ask Mr. Oglethorpe to see that our rights be considered in this matter by making the man return a useful horse to us. Our two men who went to fetch some brood mares from Carolina told us that this captain had received them well and would even have fed them if he had had anything but unsalted, dry corn mush. These people care less for food than for drink, if must be; and they never want for the latter, and that is why they are rarely sober.]

A selfish man, through his cattle trading, has caused the cattle-scourge to be brought from Carolina to Savannah. Already a hundred head of cattle near the city have fallen victim to it. May God turn such evil away from our place according to His gracious will! We have warned our people to use Christian caution and not to let their cattle range close to Savannah. Perhaps the Lord of All will make use of the current cold weather to wipe out this sickness. If the cold should progress gradually as it began, we may have a hard winter this year too. The great supply of wood in our country was brought home to us when we read in one of the recently received letters of the great lack of wood in some places in Germany; and this taught us a very necessary lesson. One little regards what one has profusely and richly, and this furthers our ingratitude for and our abuse of Gods gifts. Against this we must always admonish ourselves. What God caused to happen near Frederica to the recently mentioned provision sloop and corn boat (both run aground) serves to make us all recognize with thanksgiving the special care God has taken for the gifts which have been sent us from Europe lately and previously.

Through such sad instances which are known to us God affixes a light for us to recognize what advantages He causes us to enjoy; and it would be irresponsible to conform to other unthankful people in this country, on whom God Himself does not bestow the same treatment as on us. In reading the letters of our worthy Senior Urlsperger and our dear Mr. Berein, we were deeply impressed that everything they had wished for and requested from God had been fulfilled amongst us before their letters arrived. In the former it said, concerning the crate from Augsburg: May God cause the (previously specified) gifts therein, all of which God presented to me in a few days, to arrive at the right time, safe and sound on the spot. Dictum. factum.33 To God be the glory! Among other things in Mr. Bereins letter are the words: His caring and paternal hand shall know in His time how to pay the outstanding costs of the useful mill, which was built under many trials. How kindly and miraculously our dear Lord has acted nearby and from afar has been indicated in the diary, and we also mentioned various things, to the praise of the Lord, in the letter to Doctor Professor /Gotlieb August/ Francke, of 14 October of this year. Yesterday, as well as day before yesterday in the prayer meeting near the town, we read aloud both these above-mentioned letters for our edification and very necessary information, and we prayed to God about the matter.

That which we missed this time in edifying news from our worthy Professor Francke our loving God has presented to us in a very fine letter from Pastor Majer in Halle. This letter has proved itself written in the Lord to our own and our peoples souls to the extent that we cannot glorify our heavenly Father enough for the blessing presented to us through His spirit when we read it both in private and in public. May He reward him in time and eternity with superabundant blessings for all the love and pains he has so willingly undertaken till now, on our own and on the congregations part. May He cause all the good for which we begged in todays prayer meeting when the letter is read, for him, his office, and his worthy family before the throne of God, abundantly to descend upon him, to the joy of his and our hearts. May He also reward the most treasured Mr. B. of N. [Baron von Ende], Privy Councilor N. [Mozstern], and Mr. von N. [Reck] for the physical gifts and benefactions which they caused to flow through the hands of the worthy Paster Majer upon us, the congregation, and the orphanage, with thousandfold physical and spiritual blessings, and may He cause His holy Name to be greatly praised and glorified when they reach here!

Friday, the 23rd of October. Along with the already mentioned letter from Pastor Majer we read aloud today, to the copiously gathered parishioners on the plantations, a few things from the recently obtained manuscript of the preface of the 5th Continuation, which we applied to our mutual edification. We have great cause to praise our miraculous God from our hearts for causing so many good things to come to us from the hearts and hands of his servants, of whom we do not consider ourselves at all worthy. The letters in the preface, which were sent along with material gifts for Ebenezers benefit, are full of vim and vigor and, through Gods blessing, will be of use to even the hardest and till now unthankful hearts among us. The faithful amongst the congregation heartily rejoice with us that so many righteous people in Christendom are mindful of our physical, spiritual, and eternal salvation and pour upon us the most heartfelt blessings, which even the Lord, as we have already had many proofs, will fulfill in His time.

May our dear Savior teach us simply and obediently to make note of His word, written to us by Pastor Majer from John 11:40, and may He help us both believe and practice through His word what we also find in his beloved writing: Previous experience has taught you that God holds back and lets flow at the time He recognizes to be correct. Therefore our eyes should wait for him and look upon His hands. For God has pleasure in them who hope for His gifts. Where would hope otherwise remain in its practice? Hope awaits the correct time, etc. Oh, what the Lord has done for you so far! Yes! . . . if you consider with what love and kindness God has led you through so many miraculous paths all your life (especially in recent years), you can find no limit, etc. Now it is good to trust further in this known Lord! Happy you, happy we, that no temporal or material limits are set to such trust, rather that it is imperatively written to say: Rely upon the Lord eternally, etc. As long as you do this, you are rich! To that end the Lord will bestow power upon you, etc.

The dear pastors reflective and to us very gladdening words clarify the refreshing contents of the above-mentioned preface, when he writes: Praise the Lord, who has always shown till now that He desires good for Ebenezer! You cannot and should not pronounce, write, or think of the name of your place without being strengthened! Oh, yes! Just as we see once more from the letters we have received and from the previously mentioned preface that the Lord desires Ebenezers good, so too will our Fathers, benefactors, and friends quite clearly see the same from the letters and diary we have sent and are about to send; and with us they will highly praise the sacred and glorious name of our most treasured Emmanuel for the solicitude He holds over us. The word amongst us should always be: If only I had a thousand tongues and a thousandfold mouth, etc.

In the above mentioned preface there is a short letter mentioning some books presented by two good friends of the congregation. An error has been committed with regard to this package. There were two packages in the crate, both designated G.O. These letters were also on the letter to the Preacher Giessendanner in Orangeburg; and, because there were instructions in our letter to send him the books and a small amount of money, we sent him both packages marked G.O. some time ago, and thus he received those books that belong to our congregation. Now that we are aware of the error we regret it very much. The road to Orangeburg is a long one and dangerous, so that the books, if they are sent back here, would suffer harm. Hence we will have to leave them with him, and our dear Lord will know how to redress the loss. Nonetheless, I am writing the man in Charleston who forwarded our books to ask that those not yet sent to Orangeburg be sent back to us. The previously mentioned note to Senior Urlsperger was worded as follows: The accompanying little box with bound volumes, to wit 6 hand Bibles, partly the Ulm edition and partly the Lneburg edition, two Little Garden of Paradise,34 eight communion booklets, most with gilt edges, along with the Glory and Dogma of the Augsburg Confession,35 have been dedicated by two good friends to the Salzburgers in Ebenezer; and, because your hands extend to there, we entreat Your Grace to pack this little box along with the other physical gifts. May our dear Lord cause everything to arrive in good fortune in His time and to attain His goals! etc.

Saturday, the 24th of October. I was very impressed by the fact that in the edifying preface to the 5th Continuation the worthy Senior excellently commends our congregations want to the benefactors in Germany, saying that some assistance is still indispensable to procure some horses, which we need for plowing, dragging up of building materials, searching for lost cattle, and many other jobs. Just at the time this came to our attention, our kindly Lord arranged to have a small number of mares purchased on credit, with payment over five years without interest. They are to be used in the above-mentioned labor and for breeding and have been brought to our place and distributed by lot. [The men who brought the mares here from Carolina did so with much inconvenience and danger; not only was the river which they had to ford very high, but the swamps and low-lying areas they crossed in the woods were still under water. They praise the Lord that He has let them overcome much difficulty and saved them from clear danger. Also, he let none of the horses drown, although on several occasions they came very close to it, and thus prevented much damage to this poor congregation.]

Even such secondary things (as they seem) strengthen us in our faith in God [qui in minimis saepe maximus36 and] whose solicitude stretches out even over birds and beasts. Two of them ran away from the men while they were still in Carolina and doubtless went back to their previous pastures, for which reason I wrote two letters to the owner /Bryan/, who is so honest as to keep them until we have fetched them with the remaining ones that are still to be bought. The most expensive cost 5 ь 15 sh. Sterling. Riding horses and stallions, however, cannot be bought for less than 10 ь. or for more. [We do need at least one, however, for breeding.]

A captain from Purysburg /Lindner/ requested in a letter that we send him some of our medicine at the first opportunity. [It seems he had himself purged of the fever and became constipated, so that now is abdomen is bloated and he is suffering many inconveniences.] We are happy to serve even outsiders, wherein we can only follow the prescription and example of Christ, if only they will apply everything to Gods glory. He is offering us many favors in return.

Sunday, the 25th of October. Today in town and on the plantations those who intend to take Holy Communion this coming Sunday registered their names. Yesterday evening a person from the plantations made known to me her desire to go again this time; but her conscience was once more uneasy and made her very timid on Sunday when a certain scandalous matter was dealt with publicly before the congregation. She thought it might also be necessary for her grave case to be made public and, as it were, for her to be punished, although she well recognizes that, for many reasons well known to her and me, it is to be looked upon as a benefaction of God that the matter may be disposed of between her and God out of public view, just as He, through His providence, has allowed it to remain hidden and not become public. She was instructed as to why public scandals must be dealt with publicly, etc. Today she and others received from the gospel according to Matthew 18:23 ff. instruction concerning the gracious forgiveness of sins as an invaluable benefaction of God in Christ, as it is granted 1) from pure grace, where the horror of the Popish leaven of merit through works was revealed not so much to us as in us, and was dismissed as a matter prejudicial to the all-sufficient merit of Christ. 2) richly and abundantly, in that not a half or most but rather all debts and their merited punishment are remitted, more than the supplicant could ask or understand. At the same time the parishioners received instruction that the chastisements which the faithful must experience after their pardon for their salvation are not real punishments nor signs of Gods wrath. 3) not outside of but rather in divine order, etc. The Lord has shown today too that He desires to benefit Ebenezer and to bring the people not only to a recognition of their many sins and thereby merited punishments but also to His Son, the kindly Savior, so that everything may be forgiven them in His name at once for ever and ever.

Monday, the 26th of October. Yesterday I asked Sanftleben to visit his neighbor, the sick N. [Ernst] from time to time and to talk and pray with him from Gods word according to his spiritual situation. When I came to Sanftlebens this morning I heard that he had been with him yesterday evening, had shared some things with him from the sermons, and had read him the 130th Psalm, which I had sent him for his reflection and perusal. The patient was so pleased that Sanftleben intends to visit him more often. When I walked into Ernsts hut he thanked me for the psalm which I had sent and which had been blessed in him. I took pains to make clear to him and his wife from yesterdays gospel that sin is the most dreadful of evils and will plunge the poor people who do not separate themselves from it through true conversion into temporal and eternal destruction. However, those who feel their sins and what they have committed since their youth in their consciences, those persons cry out from the depths from which neither they nor any other human can save them to the almighty and merciful Lord, who, as it says in the introductory verse in Psalms 130:4, bestows not only forgiveness but also fear of Him -- the latter being a clear and infallible criterion of the former.

The feelings of the pardoned sinner are written in the verse of the pious Joseph: How then can I do this great wickedness, etc., which I especially recommended to this Joseph N. [Ernst]; and I helped him beg God for this feeling. When I said something to his wife about the verse: Sin is a reproach to any people and described the torment of the damned in hell, he interrupted and told her that the body, which has to suffer from filthy worms, is a minor thing, whereas the pains of the soul are the real pains, etc. With that he was clearly alluding to what he must have been suffering in his conscience on account of his sins. He owes quite many people in the congregation labor for provisions and other things, but they have been happy to give them to him, and a few have even begun to build him a little hut wherein the harvested crops can be stored safe and dry. The two of them were also gladdened when I told them that a certain tool which he had purloined from someone was his as a present. For that, I said, his little boy would have to give thanks with mouth and hand, since it was to be put away for the lads use, the father not being in a position to use any hand tools. With regard to his bodily circumstances, he is still in danger, even though he no longer feels much pain. He becomes very weak especially at night and seems to have a dangerous ailment in his chest. May God let everything turn out best for him.

Tuesday, the 27th of October. No one has yet claimed the two large packages of sewing needles which were sent along with our three big boxes from Charleston to Savannah. On the small packages we see Spanish needles from S.N. in Latin letters; further than that we have no information about where they came from or to whom they were sent. Mr. Thomas Jones and others are certain they belong with the aforementioned boxes because they were delivered for us by the captain from the ship in Charleston and also because the writing is German even though the letters are Latin; also such needles may not be brought to England. Such a circumstance confirms even more the notion that they are sent here for us. Although all is still quite uncertain, since we find not the slightest mention of them in our letters, I recently brought back 12,000 and more of several types of sewing needles from Savannah and distributed them today on the plantations and in the town, but, to be sure, with the stipulation that whenever the owner makes himself known, all of us will have to consent to making a fair payment. Mr. Jones is selling them also in Savannah for our account, but we will not claim it before we acquire better justification for it. Each of the two packages wrapped in oilcloth is so heavy that it takes a man to lift it. We have wished to announce this matter in the diary again to see whether the error may be discovered in London or Germany.

Dresler and his wife, who moved to our place from Savannah not long ago and have settled down near the Salzburgers by the mill stream, are conducting themselves so well that everyone is gaining great love for them and is happy to have them as neighbors. We hope he will let himself be brought to a new birth by the word of the gospel so that the good in him may not be merely nature, but may rather be blessed by grace. In this way he will still be useful to himself and his neighbor. He still has a confused quarrel in Savannah, on account of which I had to advise him today not to rush to Holy Communion so quickly, but rather first to make his peace with God and his neighbor. Before his departure from Savannah he had lost 4 ь Sterl. from his locked house and chest. Since he was not at home, his wife allowed herself to be persuaded by evil people, mostly French, to attend a demonstration of black magic performed by a Frenchman who spun a sieve in order to ferret out the robbery.37 Then, at the instigation of the same evil man, she laid the blame for the robbery on her husbands comrade. Because of that a complaint was lodged with the authorities. To be sure, Dresler knew nothing of this godless performance, yet he did not conduct himself in all particulars as fits a Christian. The accused man wishes to save his good name with the help of the authorities, and this will cause Dresler trouble. This coming Monday I have business in Savannah, and Dresler wishes to accompany me; but I will take pains to bring about peace. In the meantime I have attested to the man my displeasure with this evil business and admonished him and his wife to repent heartily.

Wednesday, the 28th of October. N. [Schartner] acknowledged that he was very sorry for having caused me much sadness by his unrepentant and frivolous behavior. He said he was asking my forgiveness and wished to improve himself thoroughly. I reproached him with his evil deeds and showed especially how much harm he caused not only the orphanage but also himself by looking after the cattle so poorly and neglecting his duty by running hither and yon. Even now we have not recovered all the cattle we lost because of him. I read to him several verses from Holy Scripture wherein are to be found not only his sins but also their well-deserved eternal punishments. I told him a little about the pious shepherd Henning Kuhsen; and I also recommended to him such people for constant Christian company as could teach him by living example what pertains to Christianity. He himself acknowledged that it was more than a worldly kingdom if a person can truthfully say that he is now converted to God, has received a new heart and the Holy Spirit, that all his sins are forgiven, and that he is a child of God and an heir of eternal salvation.

Brandner is growing right noticeably in Gods grace. Recently he spoke with me on the road and in my rooms about the condition of his soul; and, as he acknowledged today, our dear Lord has thereby caused a marked advancement of his Christianity. He intends to go to Holy Communion, since I explained briefly to him what a great treasure of God it is. In it each and every penitent sinner is offered the external means which the great friend of man, Christ Jesus Himself, decreed, everything, nothing excepted, which He merited for us individually so bitterly and gladly. Therefore the Savior bestows in a special way the forgiveness of sins and life and salvation itself even on him who, during the preaching of the gospel Christ Himself bestows, is too shy to appropriate to himself with comfort the good which is proclaimed in it to poor penitent sinners. The day on which the faithful go to Holy Communion should be a festive and joyful day, for they are encountering a grace of which no angel can boast. Thus it is written so remarkably in Luthers exegesis: Whoever believes these words has that which they say and proclaim, namely, the forgiveness of sins. The words here are of faith, not feeling; and it is too bad that many honest souls amongst us do not properly rejoice at the treasure of Holy Communion and do not let joy in the Lord be their strength. Such persons still feel so much evil, upon which they commonly look more than they do upon faith in Christ, who expiates and forgives all past and present sins.

Today I held up the very glorious verse Hebrews 4:15-16 to a pious woman who, through fear of making false comfort for herself, often looks more at her perdition than at Christ, the priceless Physician, and His medicine. To be sure, that verse mentions the weakness of the faithful but also the merciful high priest; and surely her weakness and feeling of sin should not hinder her from stepping forward with joy and, indeed, not to the seat of judgment but rather to the seat of grace. In the mysterious Jewish religion I am very impressed by how the most wise and merciful God ordained that each and every one of the children of Israel could appear in the forecourt by the altar with his guilty conscience along with a sacrifice and, for the sake of the perfect merit of the Messiah, could always receive forgiveness for all his sins for all time in this divine order. And, when the solemn feast of atonement arrived and the high priest came with blood into the Holiest of Holies before the seat of grace, then his and his entire peoples sins were at once disposed of. What then should we not attain, to whom the New Testament gives freedom every day to approach, with humble and trusting prayer, the seat of grace, which is Christ our most meritorious Savior Himself. Oh, if only everyone might properly avail himself of this not legal but evangelical joyousness, which poor sinners have in Christs name! What happy steps they would take in their Christianity, and how right glad their Christianity would become! I told dear Brandner something of the glorious freedom and superiority of the New over the Old Testament.

Thursday, the 29th of October. [We have learned from news brought here that there is a rumor that the English took Havana, and thus Cuba, from the Spanish.38 This good news is said to have come from New York to Savannah. This would be a great benefaction for this colony and it would thus be said here too: God treats us not according to our sins, and pays back, etc. For if He treated this country according to the merits of its citizens and His justice, we should be as Sodom and Gomorrah!]

Since many thousands are praying so heartily and zealously in Europe for our congregation and hence for the entire country wherein we dwell, as we encounter anew so many right refreshing particulars and attestations in the fine preface to the 5th Continuation, I remembered, to my great strengthening, the noteworthy story in Genesis 18 that tells what the intercession of Abraham the friend of God brought about: if only ten righteous people were discovered in the entire region, the Lord would have spared the remaining wicked ones, of which there may have been many hundreds.

Our worthy Mr. Rende, Inspector of the Lutheran poor house in Augsburg, has written a brief but powerful letter to Bartholomus Rieser and his family, which Salzburger, with his wife and three children, enjoyed much good in the poor house. This morning I read them the little letter, and this gave me an opportunity to speak of many good things with all of them. They said they are ashamed that they recognized far too little the many spiritual and physical benefactions they encountered there, and hence they had not been properly thankful either to God or to men for it, as would have been fitting, etc.

Last night the two black slaves were at our place. A few weeks ago they had been brought from Augusta to Savannah as miscreants and put into prison there. One night they burned away a large portion of the prison door with tobacco fire and, notwithstanding their iron chains, stole a small skiff. With it they finally came to us, sought food, and went off during the same night. Two of our people went after them, discovering the skiff, but no Negroes, on a steep shore. We have reported this to Old Ebenezer, where they may likely set out after them on horseback and soon find them. In this way they will hasten their gallows-punishment even sooner.39

Friday, the 30th of October. My dear colleague has visited Peter Reiter in Purysburg once more and learned that the local surgeon has found it necessary twice more to pull his leg apart and set it properly, in the recently described torture-like ways, with cords and the greatest of force, and this caused the poor man much pain. But God strengthened him right extraordinarily. He is as quiet as a lamb and resigned to Gods will. The work of Gods grace, which began some time ago in his soul amidst the physical distress, is growing and increasing in such a way that we have cause to glorify the Lords miraculous kindness. [Friedrich Rheinlnder desires to go to the Lords Table this time and it would seem that he has made Christian preparation to this end and continues to do so. He asked my forgiveness for having insulted me through the gross disobedience towards his mother and in other ways, etc. I said that as a man I was fully ready to forgive him, and that he would find the Lord Jesus and in Him the heavenly Father a thousandfold more willing to forgive him everything and bestow on him his eternal grace as long as he was willing to come with the prodigal son from the wicked to the good. At the same time he was given extensive instruction; and, if he heeds these, things will continue to improve with his Christianity.]

The first plow has been finished for the orphanage, and Kalcher tested it today. He has only one horse broken in for plowing, hence it went poorly. In the meantime we can already see what a benefaction it will be when our workers can set themselves to plowing. There are still some horses which can be gradually trained to plow, and God will provide for still more. I sense in myself a certain kind of convincing certainty that our dear Lord will, in His time, know how to bless our worthy Seniors intercession amongst our very dear benefactors in Germany so that this intercession, which appears in the preface to the 5th Continuation40 and concerns the procurement of horses, will be every bit as fruitful as all the others.

Today on the plantations and in town we concluded the reading and necessary application of the said preface; and, as we have always done till now, we praised God on the bended knees of our bodies and our hearts for His miraculous providential care for His little flock in Ebenezer, which we have recognized in the preface. Through the support of the Holy Spirit, as we felt especially in our hearts with this edifying preface, we were also inspired to further praise of God and to ardent intercession for our known and unknown benefactors. The love-gifts sent in by so many dear benefactors of all stations also reminded us of the little verse: But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Even if we in our need cannot recompense them in the least, they themselves will nonetheless recognize that it is a special kind of compensation of grace that their good deeds and sharing, even if only a widows mite or, lacking that, a heartfelt good wish or bit of advice and intercession before God and man, are called a God-pleasing sacrifice that counts for more than if all the kings and lords in the whole world found pleasure in it. Concerning their love-gifts, heartfelt good wishes, and intercessions it is written, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. For Christs sake they have penetrated like a pleasing incense directly into the All-holiest; and God will not forget such works of love, rather on the general Day of Judgment He will praise and eternally reward them before all the world, Matthew 25. His word says it, and that for us is an assurance enough. We still cry out to them from hearts desirous to thank them: May the Lord grant you and your houses to find mercy and faith in the Lord on that day, for ye have so often refreshed us. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever. Amen. Hallelujah!

Saturday, the 31st of October. It has now been announced to the parents on the plantations that in Ruprecht Steiners house, where the church gatherings are still being held, some arrangements have been made to instruct the children in singing, praying, and reading and in the catechism and that the knowledgeable and heartily pious /Simon/Steiner himself wishes to place himself at our disposal for the purpose. He is doing it only as a test and will happily subject himself to our examination so that, if the children are not properly attended to, another may be put in his place. Till now he has been quite sickly; but, if God strengthens him and he retains his present willingness to teach the children along with the otherwise burdensome duties of his calling, we could not desire a better person at this time. He is certainly a spiritual priest, anointed by the Holy Spirit, and this promise applies to him as it does other Christians who are desirous of salvation: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, etc.

The glorious characteristics of wisdom from above are found in the dear man as described in James 3:17; and therefore we can also hope a blessing from his dealings with his children, which, he said, he would also consider the desired salary and reward for his work. The worthy Senior Urlsperger wrote in his last letter of 10 February: Gods little streams of blessing are still flowing and wish to pour over Ebenezer. In a few days God has granted me everything you expressed so great a desire for, etc. At that time we wrote only about various external things needed by the carpenters and others in the congregation, and God made hearts willing and capable for it. From this our faith and hope are strengthened that He will cause His little streams to flow upon Ebenezer so that this currently installed schoolmaster may be paid a salary, as we really cannot ask him to work gratis, and the parents are not yet in a position to pay any tuition.

NOVEMBER

Sunday, the 1st of November. On this day of our Lord fifty-one persons among us attended Holy Communion; and the Lord granted much blessing through it and through the preaching of His word concerning the regular gospel of Matthew 22:15 ff. and from the catechism urging the last part of the Table Talk. May He maintain this blessing into all eternity! A few people from Purysburg were with us, and some of them took Communion. A Purysburg widow with three small children was aroused by Gods word some time ago and again today and was brought to the idea of moving to us and supporting herself as best she can with Gods blessing by spinning, knitting, sewing, and a little farming. It is her purpose to make use of better instruction in Christianity here and to put into school her oldest girl, who must walk, or rather crawl, on her knees. If God ordains for her to find a dwelling here, I will not be against it because of some material difficulties people may have. If a soul may be won, then all difficulty is repaid superabundantly, even if it were the greatest.

Mr. N. /David/ [Zuebli] of Purysburg, who has been visiting the prayer meetings and divine services again for a few days, is learning to love and trust us so that he wishes he could change his circumstances and live among us with his family. However, he is still buried too deep in material involvements that cause him much spiritual harm. May God help him out of them! He has a commission from two Christian friends in Germany, who would like to live in quiet and prepare themselves for eternity, to seek out a place of residence in Carolina or Georgia. He has a strong inclination to recommend our community to them because he hopes they would achieve their good purpose here with Gods grace. They wish to live from their own means, take up some land, and perhaps begin a little business to serve their neighbor, if an opportunity can be found for that.2 He knows them personally from his own experience; and we would gladly grant their wish provided God has ordained for them to win eternal salvation in our place. There is space enough, also room in the wounds of Jesus for all weary and burdened sinners on the whole earth who are earnestly seeking quiet and refreshment under the soft yoke and light burden of our Lord Jesus.

Monday, the 2nd of November. Necessity required me to go down to Savannah today in our boat. I must baptize some children, deliver our bundle of letters and our diary to Colonel Stephens for safe forwarding, serve the recently mentioned Dresler in his confused affair, and help a couple of young men with their intended marriages. Therefore I cannot free myself of this trip even though I would rather remain at home and perform my regular duties here, which are dearer and easier for me than making such trips. We are always bogged down in material matters which we must take care of. I hope that, with Gods help, we will be able to transfer them to someone else when the expected transport arrives.3 [This time letters were sent off to Senior Urlsperger, Prof. /Gotthilf August/ Francke, Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen and Mr. Berein in one letter, Deacon Hildebrand, Pastor Majer, Baron von Ende, Mr. von Reck, and other Christian friends in Augsburg and Halle and also to our families at home. May the Lord accompany these letters by water and land, and may He deign to lay His blessing on them.] My heart is now filled with the little verse of Psalm 33: For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

At eight oclock my dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, traveled in Gods name down to Savannah. [The Lord Jesus, who said: Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world, may He fulfill this in him abundantly in all circumstances on the journey and even in Savannah; and also in me who am remaining here.] This morning I read through the sermon and the Contemplation of the Use of Scriptural Solitude4 and find so much beauty in them that I laud and praise God for them and wish the servant of God who sent them to us rich blessings from the loyal and blessed Savior. I believe the Lord will grant a blessing from them to our salvation-hungry souls in our congregation and surely even to those who have not yet had any real seriousness of purpose so that they too will be encouraged to come to such a blessed acquaintance with the Lord Jesus; and I am therefore planning to read them aloud today and tomorrow in the prayer meeting, God willing, and tomorrow at the edification hour on the plantations. May the Lord grant for this the spirit of wisdom and understanding so that it can be made useful for each of them according to his circumstances.

Tuesday, the 3rd of November. When I reached the plantations in my pursuit of edification, I found Steiner teaching at school. The children were very quiet, and they all showed pleasure at going to school. I recited for them the little verse: I love them that love me; and those that seek me early will find me, Proverbs 8:17, and prayed with them. Steiner is a true Israelite in whom there is no guile; and, since he prays diligently, God will grant him wisdom and blessing too for his work. His honesty is also attested by what he told me Sunday a week ago when I was out there for the sake of divine services and dined with him (as I am accustomed to do when I hold divine services on the plantations every fortnight). He reminded me of the exodus from Salzburg, and he marveled at the miraculous guidance of God in that they were expelled not to their harm but to their good. Their enemies had to help them come to the gospel and to a recognition of the good that is in it. He wished God to reward them for this. If he could do good unto them, he would gladly do so.

In the evening a person told me that our dear God had granted her a great blessing from the repetition hour on Sunday. Therefore she felt very good yesterday; and, when she got fever in the evening, our dear God had granted her from His word a new assurance of gracious forgiveness. Thus she realized how the dear cross [which our dear God lays upon His people] is actually something useful; and that concurs with what I said this evening in the prayer hour about the dear cross from the Contemplation of the Good Use of Solitude. For there it is shown how even the dear cross for which true believers praise their Lord is an especially dear fruit which faithful and God-loving souls offer to their Savior in solitude. The Contemplation of Solitude has many devotees in Ebenezer who have been revealed to me yesterday and today, and I believe that even more will be revealed. [To be sure, I had not thought that there could be so much good in it as I actually found in it and as, with the help of God, I shall still find in it. Because it is so glorious, it is now my true and sincere resolution to spend all my time with it so that I may someday be a beautiful fruit on His table in heaven. If the Lord Jesus already has His pleasure and joy in those who belong to Him here, even if they must make their lamentations to Him, how will it be there?]

Wednesday, the 4th of November. Toward noon I called on a Salzburger who also attested how much the readings in the prayer meeting yesterday pleased him; and he regretted that he, like some others, had been prevented by necessary business from attending the prayer meeting [the day before yesterday. He said he hoped there would be a time when he would be able to hear the first part of the beautiful Contemplation of Solitude being read; for I have promised, both here and on the plantations, that if a few souls wished to hear it again, I would gladly read it to them once more. This Salzburger told me that yesterday during his work his mind had recalled something he had heard being read twelve years ago in Salzburg. The book treated of Refreshment Hours5 (he could not name it more closely), and in it [on the first page] was shown how a man must leave all and come to Jesus, and then he will be truly refreshed. This recollection had penetrated deeply into his heart [and therefore he told it with great emotion. This well agrees with what is said about this in the Contemplation of the Good Use of Solitude, where it shows how such a reminder soon serves a man either to greater humiliation if he has not used such signs of mercy well or to the praise of God if he has made good use of them with the aid of the Holy Ghost. Both are a pleasing natural fruit that such a soul offers in solitude to its dearest Savior, who is greatly refreshed by it.]

Because my dear Savior, who putteth all aright, has put this Contemplation of the Use of Solitude into my hands [and before my eyes], I recognize better what a benefaction it is that God has led us into this wilderness, where we are removed from the hubbub of the world. To be sure, there is no lack of external and internal enemies; but we do not have as many obstacles from the bustle of the world as others in Germany and other places who, if they have faith, can still overcome them. [From now on our loving Savior will grant us mercy to make far better use than previously of this beautiful opportunity in this wilderness, into which we came not without a regular calling. May the Lord abundantly bless the dear minister for the Contemplation he has sent and let him have great joy in his family and all his congregation. Since I took more time in town, I finished this text only today, mainly because at the end of Mondays prayer meeting someone asked me not to rush through it so that he would have a greater benefit from it.]

Thursday, the 5th of November. Today I spoke with two men [a couple of men]. One of them wished to perform faithfully what he had heard at the prayer meeting. He said it will be easy now to turn his heart toward Jesus during working time too because his present work is an easy one; but, when he has to work harder again, he will not be able to. But I answered him that he should garner a store during his present work and then it will be easy afterwards during the harder work too to get along with the Lord Jesus. One must fight for it, and one will accustom oneself through practice. [Another man told how it had come especially to his mind last night that God would show him mercy today. I told him that God would rather do it today than tomorrow, and I reminded him particularly of the words of Isaiah 30:18.] Motivated by his conversation, I told the other man the words of Isaiah 30:18: And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you. In the evening after the prayer meeting I recommended to him the following words of verse 19 to read later: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of the cry; when He shall hear it He shall answer thee.

The late Moshammers widow /Maria Gruber/told me her husband /Peter/ had said he sometimes became very tired from hearing Gods word even more than from working. The reason for that had been that he listened seriously with all his physical and spiritual strength, which had been weakened by hardships and severe sicknesses, and had tried hard to take it all to heart and mind. Concerning the first words of the third article: I believe in the Holy Ghost, he said they are very important. When you reach these words you must keep calm and think about them. [His widow recognizes well that she lost something great in her husband; she would have liked to keep him longer; but, since it pleased God otherwise, she at least hoped to see him again in eternity through the grace of God.] Not long before his death he told his wife she should always try not to remain behind.

Friday, the 6th of November. My /Boltzius/return from Savannah was delayed much more than I could have expected; for my fellow travelers and I reached the Salzburgers plantations only at nine oclock yesterday evening. Because it was cold and dark, I had to spend the night here. This morning I held the edification hour and baptized the child of Dresler, whose wife had unexpectedly borne a daughter during his absence. My present travel has had many advantages, of which I can tell only a few here. On the way down I visited Peter Reiter, who is lying sick near Purysburg; and he was very pleased at my visit and encouragement. I spoke to his heart from the verse Hebrews 2:17-18 and used the gospel for next Sunday concerning the superabundant strength of Christ in healing a sick woman and in reviving a dead one. Thereupon we prayed.

It was a comfort to him that the Lord Jesus had been led into temptation kata panta6 in just the way that he, Peter Reiter, was being tempted. For example, He too had to allow His limbs to be torn apart, He had also come among strangers who were mostly irreligious and worldly. He had borne these and all other sufferings and temptations for us and for our reconciliation. He also knows how all His members feel, even this Reiter, who has been honestly converted to Him. He knows and recognizes what bites and burns, He well understands how a sick person feels and He will let him profit from all his suffering through His omnipotent, wise, and kind providence, and He will finally save him from it. The re-setting of his leg takes no end, for which reason he must indeed suffer the most excruciating pain. Although in this regard he often thought, and still thinks, of his trip to the siege of St. Augustine, I nevertheless told him that God is not acting toward him in anger, but rather everything that is happening to him is part of His fatherly and salutary chastisement and that there is no wrath in it. For the God who forgives sins for the sake of Christ also sends all punishments, and there is no anger left. He had a certain request, which he revealed to me with tear-filled eyes, but his spirits soon came to rest and peace again.

I had scarcely reached N. [Savannah] before a little girl, [is among the children in the orphanage and] who had been called to her sick mother /Ursula Meyer/, told me that her mother was asking for me. When I came to her, the first thing she did was to accuse herself of being a great sinner. Contrary to my expectation and in the presence of various people she confessed such a quantity of sins against the eighth commandment that I was all the more appalled [because she had previously appeared to us and others as a pious and Godfearing person]. She pointed out two places where her stolen goods were lying, which she wished to have fetched and returned to their rightful owners. Hereupon I questioned her and her little girl more deeply; for several weeks ago it had already seemed suspicious to me that the latter had [brought] so many, and also expensive things and clothes [to our place]. Even though I had investigated the matter then in N. [Savannah], I had been unable to find anything definite. Through this violent fever God extracted more than I and others were able to expect or were willing to believe.

I gave her instruction from the law and the gospel and showed bow she might free herself of all her sins. I happened to have a little medicine with me which I gave to her and which our loyal Physician and Savior has obviously blessed. It will not please N.N. and a few others [the Herrnhuter Hagen and a few Englishmen who are on his side] that this woman [whom he is trying to win to his party] has used my office in this way. I visited her several times and commended her to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. She is inclined to come to Ebenezer.

Several times I held edification hours in the evening for the German people, during which I have been able to detect clearly the blessing and effective power of the Holy Ghost. God be praised! Also, three children were baptized, the third one only yesterday morning, because of which my return journey had to be deferred longer. The parents, who are otherwise accustomed to give gluttonous feasts at baptisms, were severely warned not to sin against God by such misbehavior and disgrace the baptism their little children would receive. A very wicked father, who does not even respect the means to salvation, is now getting better thoughts. Other people spoke boldly to him, and he promised me to improve. Dreslers matter is now settled, so we are pleased. [Our letters have been delivered, for forwarding, to Colonel Stephens, who has received new letters and will therefore make arrangements to send his and our letters as quickly as possible. He has received news that some sixty Salzburgers are underway and are expected toward Christmas. May God lead them with His eyes.]

The matter of Mr. Thilos provisions has been put into perfect order at the storehouse; and an additional 5 ь 17 sh. 7 d. has been paid to me for him, which he was still to receive for provisions for the first three years, which ended already early in the year 1740.

In Savannah there are no foodstuffs to be had for money; and therefore they prefer to give money instead. I had a safe opportunity to transmit fifty-five pounds to the righteous planter /Jonathan Bryan/ who had bought horses for us and wishes to supply rice for the orphanage and for the newly arriving Salzburgers. In a little letter I asked him again for the rice, which will hardly be obtainable this year; and I also asked him to deliver it into the storehouse in Savannah.

Mr. Jones and Colonel Stephens paid me 77 ь Sterl., which is to be applied to constructing the mill at the command of the Lord Trustees. In recent days the water has again been rising rapidly, which is something extraordinary this year. It is said to have rained steadily for three months in the mountains.

An honest man from the plantations was fetching medicine in town for his child; and he told me that this childs words were very meaningful and refreshing for him. Last night, among other things, it said in its violent fever that it believed that the dear Savior would soon take it to its little brother, who died here a few years ago. He and his wife are trying to raise this child of three years, which is their only one, in the fear of the Lord; but in this he realizes that it costs much and is beyond ones natural abilities. He is very poor, and he and his family lack clothes and blankets for the cold winter season, which has just begun. The Lord, who has now provided salt for the entire community and the orphanage so that we can get it at a very cheap price, will also provide other necessities at the proper time.

Today on the plantations the story of the 15th Chapter of the 2nd Book of Samuel was repeated, and in it we saw what a great honor it is to belong to the order of Emigrants and Exiles, who, to be sure, fare badly in this imperfect world, as we see in the case of Jacob and David, but who stand under the special care of God, who can provide counsel even in the greatest shortage and in the greatest danger. May God grant to all our people the mind of David, who was a faithful and God-trusting exile and wished nothing more than to have a pure divine service, even if everything should go so badly in external matters. [To be sure, there are weaknesses and faults to be found in him, as we can see from v. 34, but for all that the good in him must not be overlooked or even questioned, as is often done in the history of emigrants by malicious people. In this time of war and dearth of all things, our listeners have again been referred to the right strong weapons of Christians and all honest exiles, as shown in the New and Old Testament, that is to say preces and lacrymas.7 This we find not only in David, v. 30,31 and Psalm III, but also in Jacob 13:15. Many use these blessed weapons for our benefit in Europe, and thus we shall not lack in them either. The company that these emigrants and exiles must suffer in this world we can also see from David, ch. 15 and 16. He had good and honest people with him who strengthened him always, but also was surrounded by vicious people of all kinds in whose behavior he did not have any share. His conduct in all internal and external circumstances is immeasurably beautiful, and we cannot thank God enough for this heartening and useful story.

Last night there was the first heavy frost of the winter, and I could share, during my stay on the plantations, what it means to be living in a mean hut and to lack sufficient covers and clothing. May God remind our benefactors, in view of our poor congregation, of that which is said of faithful, loving and much tested Job, ch. 29: 12, 15, 16, and ch. 31: 16-20; God surely did not include this text in His holy word for the sake of Job only, but also to move with this beautiful example other Christians and successors who have been blessed with material belongings. And, God be praised, this has happened with many. He is fulfilling His promise in them. Isaiah 58: 7 et. seq.]

Saturday, the 7th of November. Because there are no winter clothes to be got in Savannah, some of the Salzburgers wanted to buy some in Purysburg; but they find all the wares very expensive. Besides that, the tradesmen accept Sterling money only at a quite low value, that is 1 sh. for 9d, which makes a big difference in the total. In Charleston the bills of exchange are still very high, although gold, silver, and our Sola-Bills8 are valued very low. Because of that, some of the Salzburgers have resolved to go to Charleston themselves to buy some goods, for which they would get a bill of exchange either from us or from Mr. /Thomas/Jones in Savannah. In this matter we must wait for more divine guidance. We are still lacking a big boat and a helmsman who knows the way exactly. If our people had only gone this way one more time, they would no longer need helmsmen from Charleston. I wish there were someone among us who would collect a lot of goods at reasonable prices. The tradesmen in both Savannah and Purysburg seek very great profits. Because of the war everything is very expensive anyway; and, when the confusion with money and the greediness of the tradesmen are added, then poor people come off badly with their limited money. [We have news that two more merchant ships have arrived at Charleston that have brought all sorts of new goods. We had wished that they had also brought letters for us so that we would know with certainty whether or not it is true, as we read in the Charleston newspaper in Savannah, that war has broken out between Sweden and Russia and also that the French have crossed the Rhine with 60,000 troops, in which case our dear fatherland must have suffered very much again.9 May the Lord let all this serve to the good of his servants and children!]

Sunday, the 8th of November. Today two boats with Englishmen arrived at our place. The first arrived during our afternoon prayer meeting and the other one came during our evening prayer meeting. Both times there was a message for me, but we did not let it disturb us in our devotion. In general the people in this area do not attach great importance to Sundays and holy days. So our Lord makes nothing of the violation of the holy commandments, but pursues them with His holy judgments [which, however, are as little recognized as His blessings are]. While I was in Savannah a couple of days ago they buried a captains helmsman who had fallen out of a small boat not far away from the shore and was drowned. This same captain sent me a letter by these people, who arrived at our place yesterday evening and continued their journey to Palachocolas. The first boat, which came from Savannah Town, brought us wheat for seed; but instead of letting it disturb us during our prayer meeting, we let it go on to Savannah. Tomorrow our boat will go to Savannah to get salt, which has already been bought for the community and the orphanage at a reasonable price; and I am writing a letter to Mr. Jones to ask him to send the wheat up here together with the salt.

The great cold is continuing day and night; yet we are not disturbed in our prayer meetings either in town or on the plantations. Both children and adults attend diligently, and God is repaying this with much spiritual blessing. We are holding the Sunday prayer in the church too because there is more space and convenience for it than in my house. Because the evenings are getting longer and longer now, we are planning to resume our song lessons soon. It is too bad that the people with good singing voices here mostly moved to the plantations. Perhaps some people who like sacred music will come with the new transport and will wish to join the few here in town for that purpose.

Monday, the 9th of November. [Last week while I was in Savannah the Reformed minister from Purysburg /Chifelle/ was with my dear colleague and informed me through him that he cannot give General Oglethorpe a recommendation for the young Zouberbhler, who is applying for a parish for the Reformed people in Savannah. Although he goes to Holy Communion with him, he does not know him any better than that, except that he once heard him preach. For that reason he had already written to the General and excused himself. This same preacher learned from a surgeon who had returned from Frederica that this Mr. Zouberbhler had also applied for a position as ensign in the regiment and, because he could not receive one, he is now seeking an ecclesiastical office. This sounds rather scandalous. He will not receive a recommendation from us because we do not know him. If we were to report what is told about him in Purysburg and elsewhere, General Oglethorpe would hear some right wicked stories. I shall write to General Oglethorpe this week and will report to him that I know of nothing for which to recommend this young person, yet several Reformed people in Savannah would like to have him because he well suits their purpose.]

There is no preacher now in the whole country of Georgia, except a student of divinity /Barber/in the orphanage at Savannah. But he is not yet ordained and he does not perform any sacraments. In Darien, close to Frederica, the Presbyterian preacher Mr. [Mc]Cloud10 has moved to Carolina, where he is now preaching. I do not know the actual reasons why he has left his congregation. He is said, incidentally, to be an honest man.

[Zant has suffered losses with his cattle several times; and recently he would have lost several pounds Sterling if a couple of Christian men had not taken a risk on his behalf and borne the greater part of the burden. I am happy that he has received help and relief in this manner because he might otherwise also suffer harm in his Christianity. He has an overly hasty disposition and soon loses hope when hardships and tribulations appear too great and long lasting, and this does him much damage both physically and spiritually. He is supplied with neither a helpmeet nor a plantation. He had joined with the late Peter Gruber to establish a plantation near the town, and they had already made a start. Now that Gruber has been dead and gone for almost a year, Zant has not been able to continue on this plantation, where there are no neighbors at this time, but has cultivated some pieces of land near the town and made a crop on them. God will look out for him also, and we too are always intent on finding him accommodations. He works gladly and always earns something as a day laborer and otherwise and can get along that way. But a regular household is far preferable for such people.]

Tuesday, the 10th of November. The whole community shows great desire for us to buy all kinds of winter clothes and the most necessary things for housekeeping, so we will send a big boat and some men to Charleston for that purpose. Today the people on the plantation sent me an entire catalogue of all sorts of necessary things with which they cannot do without. It is mostly concerned with winter clothing, blankets, cooking utensils, heavy and medium linen, shoes, stockings, soap, etc. It also seems that this trip can be made with Gods will; because there is not only a general demand for necessities but also four men who are ready to undertake this difficult trip. Also young /Jacob/ Kieffer has offered himself as a guide. Today I received a letter from Savannah, in which the captain of the orphanage there11 offered us a passage in his petiagua.12 We would prefer, however, to use a big boat, which we hope to get gratis from an Indian trader and in which we can bring a large quantity of different things, including salt and rice for the expected transport. I have already ordered a quantity of rice from a pious planter named Jonathan Bryan [who is often mentioned in Mr. Whitefields journal, and has provided us with very good mares.] The boat will go to his place first, and then it will go on to Charleston so that two important things can be done all at once. May God grant His blessings to this.

The most difficult thing in this matter is that we do not have any express order to draw a bill at this time. Lacking this, we would suffer great loss with our Trustees sola bills; because, like gold and silver, they are accepted at a very low rate in Charleston. [Almost no one in Charleston will accept General Oglethorpes regiment-bills for 1 ь Sterl. or less (for there are none for over one pound).] We want to ask Mr. Jones if he could send us a small bill of exchange instead of the sola-bills. But that would not be enough to buy such a quantity of necessary things as would justify the trip. With the kind permission that Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen recently sent us we are going to risk drawing another bill on the well-known Mr. Wm. Tillard in London, in the hope that our dear God will collect enough in Europe for our poor community and our orphanage so that everything can be paid for as it has been previously. [Therefore we will write regarding this to the Court Chaplain.]

To be sure, with Gods blessing our Salzburgers have received food from their harvest, but they cannot sell enough of it to buy clothes and other necessary things; especially since everything is very expensive during this time of war. The little money that they can spend is needed for building houses and a lot of other things. In contrast to the other people in the colony, they have not yet received the bounty for their harvest in 1739, although they have always been given hope as formerly.13 They are still to receive something for their work at the mill too, but that is not enough either. Therefore we will advance them the most necessary things from the blessing that the Lord may grant from Europe, and for that purpose we will have to run into debt. We know it is the intention of our worthy benefactors to help our people during their difficult start and not to let any of them come to grief with regard to health or food and even less in their Christianity, as would indeed happen to them if they had to seek work at some other place in order to earn money for clothes and other things.

This afternoon I received letters from Mr. /Thomas/ Jones and /Habersham/ the manager of the orphanage at Savannah. They requested me to unite a couple of Christian people, who are employed in that orphanage; and so it was done in my room in the presence of various Englishmen who had come along. Gods blessing on it! Both Mr. Jones and the manager assured me that I could perform the marriage without any hesitation, because the two engaged persons are beginning their marriage in a Christian manner. If we do not have such an assurance, we will not have anything to do with it. We have been spared from such things for a long time, because everybody knows that we will not unite a couple without the written assurance of the authorities regarding the Christian order in which the engaged people must live.

Thursday, the 11th of November. Several years ago we introduced a praiseworthy custom of appointing a certain time after the harvest for meeting in public in order to awaken ourselves from Gods word, song, and prayer to thank our dear Lord (who watches over our harvest faithfully every year). We scheduled this morning for it in town, and tomorrow we will offen the same thanksgiving sermon on the plantations.14 The ancient Israelites had been obliged to these exercises by God himself, as is witnessed in the remarkable 26th Chapter of Deuteronomy. This year more than any other, we are obliged to bring our thanksgiving offering to our Lord in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, because we have heard that a lot of people in Carolina and elsewhere have had a very small harvest because of the lack of rain or because of floods. In Europe many a farmers crops have been destroyed by the enemy, or he has been disturbed in his enjoyment of the harvest. Under the protection of our Immanuel we are not subject to such things; but along with our good harvest we are able to live calmly and quietly, with all godliness and honest.

During the spring the worms devoured the sprouted grain, but God demonstrated that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask. We sang the beautiful hymn which seemed especially applicable to us: O dass ich tausend Zungen htte. And before the prayer we profited from the words of the Apostle Pauls gospel 1 Thessalonians 5:18: In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God Christ Jesus concerning you. From that we clearly learned: 1) who is able and obliged to realize his evangelical Christian duty, 2) for what purpose it should be performed, 3) what obligates and drives us to do it. In the evening prayer meeting the first part of the sermon was repeated in public, and this is to be repeated during our next prayer meeting so that both old and young people are impelled through Christs power to realize the Proprium15 of the believers in the New Testament namely, Prayer also shall be made for him continually (for the Lord Messiah), and daily shall He be praised. Psalm 72:15. We have learned from Romans 1:21 what a punishable sin the neglect of this duty was even among the heathens.

Our boat returned from Savannah and brought back only part of the salt for the community and orphanage which I had bought and paid for. Our people tell me no reason for this. Yesterday I learned that General Oglethorpe had ordered that many oxen from the Lord Trustees cattle in Ebenezer should be herded together and butchered for his regiment. Without any doubt they need the salt very much for themselves. Perhaps we will get a big trading boat so that we can buy a large quantity of salt in Charleston and bring it here. In the meantime what has been brought up has been so distributed that nobody is prevented from slaughtering. We are just sorry that we sent the big boat to Savannah half loaded and have burdened four men, who have their hands full at home. Things like that happen sometimes if we are not present ourselves, but this runs counter to our own function in our community.

If the trip to Charleston takes place (as I do not doubt), it will be absolutely necessary for my dear colleague to accompany them; because we must buy our goods with bills of exchange we do not wish to suffer loss with the sola bills. At the recommendation of Jonathan Bryan, to whom I will write a letter, he will try to become acquainted with a certain merchant in Charleston who is supposed to send us various goods on credit in the future in case of emergency. At his order we will repay him everything with sola-bills, or with bills of exchange, in Savannah or in Purysburg so that it will no longer be necessary for one of us to travel to Charleston in person. Who knows what other purpose, through Gods providence, will be served by traveling with them.

Thursday, the 12th of November. Kieffers son-in-law /Depp/ told me that his wife /Anna Elisabeth/has borne a son whom he wishes us to baptize. The baptism was supposed to occur this morning on the father-in-laws/ Theobald Kieffers/ plantation; but, because I was to officiate at the harvest thanksgiving on the plantation, my dear colleague made the trip to Purysburg this morning in my stead. My listeners were waiting already eagerly for me at the place for the divine service in order to unite themselves with me, through singing, the preaching of Gods word, and praying and thanking God for the blessed harvest they had received. I was much encouraged by their eager desire and full attendance; and God granted me much pleasure and physical and spiritual power to preach His word so as to animate us communally to gratitude toward God. May our Lord take pleasure in our simple exercise for the sake of Christs expiatory sacrifice and for our high-sacerdotal prayer. May He let Ebenezer become a valley of praise, where it will be written: Let no hour pass without praising and loving.

Our Salzburgers and other inhabitants are very busy at this time with preparing the ground for planting wheat. This year they have to do it mostly by hand, because the horses are not yet trained to plow. They are hindered a lot in their work by tertian and quartan fever (which is the most usual one). But the physical harm is slight compared to the spiritual profit they receive through this lasting cross and tribulation. And because, according to the content of the text we have been contemplating, we should be thankful for everything, these salutary tribulations should not be excluded, but included, with our duty of gratitude. It is written: Let it come, since it comes from loving hands; it will quickly stop and take an end when God wishes to avert it. Children whom a father should rear to all good things, they seldom thrive well without the rod and discipline. If then I am Gods child, why should I wish to flee, since He wishes to draw me from sin and to something good?16 Cf. 1 Peter 2:1-2; 2 Corinthians 12:7.

In dealing with the subject of this edifying verse, we also thought of the words of our loyal Immanuel, For I am the Lord that healeth thee. Just as we thank a medical doctor and surgeon when he advances our health with all sorts of amara (bitter medicines)17 and when he lances and presses boils and cauterizes putrid flesh, etc., such thanks are far more due to the true Physician and Savior for the dear cross. But no natural people, but only true Christians, are adept at this; and they must learn it ever better; then all tribulation will become very easy, if one believes what is written in Romans 8:17 and 2 Timothy 2:11-12. Meanwhile we are allowed, indeed commanded, to use our God-given remedies in our sicknesses, which consist so far only in fevers, and also to be helpful to our people in this. And because such remedies have not been adequate in our place so far or [as long experience has taught] not had the desired effect, we have resolved to have the prescriptions that our worthy Councilor N. /Walbaum/ sent us some time ago in cordial love prepared in the prescribed manner and to apply them in Gods name and with trust in His help. We hope that, in Charleston, we can acquire all the ingredients for it that we are lacking here. [We do not wish to take part in any of the incautious cures in this country, but the caution that has been practiced among us so far has a strong dose of negligence and carelessness, as everyone can see.]

Friday, the 13th of November. Because he was in Purysburg to baptize two children, my dear colleague also visited the sick Peter Reiter and learned that his leg is now beginning to improve. The most important thing, however, is that Gods work is beginning to reveal itself gloriously in his soul and that he is finding all sorts of physical harm, pain, and discomfort bearable because of the grace of God in Christ, in which he is participating as a truly penitent sinner. With others of his sort he had sinned gravely against the pious people among us, and this causes him pain in his soul. For this reason he wishes to apologize to the entire congregation for his sins and vexations.

The surgeon has sent me a note announcing that the expenses for Ernsts care amount to 11 ь Sterl., which we had surely not expected. In German money it amounts to more than a hundred guilders; yet he believes that he has done a great deal gratis and is not requesting any payment for it because the man is poor. In this we wish to do whatever is in our power. I will also ask Mr. Oglethorpe and Mr. Jones for a contribution. The Lords arm has not been shortened, He will know how to give counsel and aid in this and other difficulties that burden us in the congregation.

Saturday, the 14th of November. We have obtained a trading boat from Palachocolas in which we can bring a great many things from Charleston at one time. Because God is facilitating this journey Himself through His providence and has made us and our congregation look forward to it eagerly, we have fully resolved in His name to go and we expect His blessing and aid on the journey. Armed with Gods word and prayer, my dear colleague /Gronau/ traveled with three men in the said boat to Savannah in order to preach to the German people there tomorrow. /Theobald/ Kieffer and his son /Jacob/will follow to show our people the way to Charleston and also to tend to their own business there. I have written to several people asking them to further our purpose in this journey.

Sunday, the 15th of November. Crauses serving girl was injured on her eye; and, because he does not wish to fail to help her, he took her to the surgeon in Purysburg and left her for several weeks of treatment. Now he has fetched her back again; and, although improvement is still only hoped for, he still had to pay 20 sh. Sterl. This same Crause brought me a letter from the recently mentioned German captain /Lindner/ on a Purysburg plantation in which he thanked most gratefully for the medicines recently sent from Halle, which, with divine blessing, helped him back to health.18 If we had enough such proven medicines and if it were our office to serve the people of our place with them whenever necessity demanded, we do not doubt that God would give His blessing so that the fever would decrease among us, would not last so long, and would not return again so often.

Monday, the 16th of November. The Negroes who recently broke out of jail in Savannah in all their chains and manacles have been caught in Carolina not very far from us. The authorities in Savannah have, to be sure, requested them again and even put a high price on each of their heads, yet they have been sent to Charleston.19

The discord that has existed for several years between Carolina and Georgia has also done much harm to the trade with the Indians. The traders who depend on that province and have their Indian-trading licenses from there do not get along with the traders from our colony; and some of them, in order to draw more Indians to themselves, offer their wares cheaper than others, even though they suffer a loss thereby.20 Now they would like to change things, but this would incite the suspicious Indians against them. Therefore the Indian traders are incurring debts they will never be able to pay. From the Indians they buy only all sorts of skins, which must always remain at the same price; but they take advantage of the Indians with regard to the weight. It is surprising that they do not ask the Indians for deer horns, which are consumed in great quantities in Europe for all sorts of uses and could be obtained from the Indian women for very little. Our clockmaker /Mller/, who can run a lathe, has used some for buttons, knife handles, etc. and finds them as good as in Germany.

Tuesday, the 17th of November. The wheat which came from Augusta last week as seed and which I bought for this purpose has been received very eagerly, and there are many requests for more. Therefore I would like to have an opportunity somewhere in this country to buy some more as seed for our people, because they are very desirous to plant wheat and other European grains. I do not consider it by chance that God granted us several bushels of wheat and oats as seed in the very same week in which we brought our dear God public thanks for the harvest we had received. At the same time, and without our selecting it, we made a start to prepare a bit of land for planting grapes. Similarly, last week things worked out for us to send a large boat to Charleston in order to buy inexpensive clothes, blankets, and other necessities. This reminded me of the verse: Whosoever offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him who ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. Our people are yearning for summer wheat and summer rye, but we do not yet know whether we will be able to get any. Perhaps it will be possible for us to get such things and other necessary seeds, for example flax, from a good friend in New York or Pennsylvania. Today I am going to write General Oglethorpe to thank him for the wheat and oats we received through his help; and I shall also mention that our people also desire the summer crops and flax. But the main purpose of this letter will be to intercede for the unfortunate Ernst so that he may receive some help in order to pay the 11 ь Sterl. he owes for medical treatment. The orphanage will not fail to give him and his family some tokens of charity if the dear Lord lets His wells of blessing continue to flow to it; but at present it is not possible for us to pay such a sum of money for him.

Wednesday, the 18th of November. The authorities in Savannah wish me to notify them as to the total of our harvest, because the Lord Trustees have to be informed every year about everything that has been harvested in the whole country. They do not desire to know about wheat, melons, peanuts, and other things God has granted us this year but only the quantity of Indian corn, beans, rice, and sweet potatoes. This year few sweet potatoes were planted because many of their seeds and seedlings had rotted in the fall and winter on account of all the great humidity. Afterwards the mice and ants ate the planted potatoes so that there were not many vines from which to get sweet potatoes (that being the kind that grow most abundantly). Yet the people are well content that God had granted enough for them and others to plant in the future.

Because I not only have the whole amount of the harvest but have also registered the amount of every single head of family on the plantations and here in town today in my notebook, I shall try to find some little space here so that the name of the Lord will be praised by us and others, not only in general but also for each gift that each family has been granted.21


Name of Inhabitant


Corn


Beans


Rice


Potatoes


Ruprecht Steiner


90


12


20


8


Christian Leinberger


100


16


30


3


Christian Hesler


33


8


18





Matthias Brandner


91


10


15


11


Johann Pletter


40


4


6





Andreas Grimmiger


80


6


18


8


Ruprecht Zittrauer


60


4


16





Paul Zittrauer


60


10


10


8


Ruprecht Eischberger


50





18


8


Ruprecht Zimmerebner


95


7


25


2


Martin Kaesemeier


38


5


80


88


Johann Flerel


70


5


10


3


Carl Flerel


70


5


80


4


Thomas Gschwandel


70


12


30


9


Johann Maurer


50


8


9





Gabriel Maurer


90


7


15


2


Martin Lackner


70


6


30





Johann Schmidt


50


4


18


4


Simon Reiter


100


10


80


8


Peter Reiter


70


10


18


9


Georg Kogler


60


10








Georg Bruckner


50


6


7


3


Leonhard Crause


80


10


24


6


Georg Schweiger


100


2


24





Veit Lemmenhoffer


50


6


16


10


Thomas Bacher


100


9


9


9


Heinrich Bishop


56


1


80





Matthias Burgsteiner


74


5


30





Carl Sigmund Ott


60





20





Thomas Pichler


50


6


8


2


Joseph Leitner


30


3


12





Johann Cornberger


80


15


15





Bartholomus Rieser


180


10


15


8


Maria Gruber


18











Bartholomus Zant


30











Johann Paul Mller


100


5


40


8


Friedrich Ludwig Nett


80











Christoph Ortmann


30











Christian Riedelsperger


60


1


1





Michael Rieser


40





5





Veit Landfelder


44





18





Christian Colmann Rheinlnder


80


3








Maria Magdalena Rauner


50


3








Christoph Rothenberger


30





88





Georg Sanftleben


80


15


15


4


Joseph Ernst


40


9








Ruprecht Kalcher


170


20


8


8


Michel Schneider


88


8








Johann Georg Held


88











Total


3129


887


651


139

Someone told me that N. /Ernst/ had sinned against his wife with hard words in anger, so I lost my hope that his penitence had been real. He had already asked me to come to his place at the end of the week; but my blood-letting, indisposition, and important business kept me from coming to him. He was unaware of the said affair: if he had said and done such things in a paroxysm of temper, in which he is often beside himself, he is heartily sorry, as he has already told his neighbor. He well knows that he had previously used such bad language, to which he has grown accustomed, so some of these old things may arise unconsciously and contrary to his thought and against his will. I find him very serious in his penitence; and he recognizes and regrets his sins deeply and from his heart; and he asks only for the Savior of poor sinners, Jesus Christ, to forgive him all his sins and to wash him in His blood and to take him thus to heaven from this miserable world, where he no longer desires to live. His remorse is honest and his longing for Christ is ardent and reveals itself through constant sighs and tears so that I greatly rejoiced at recognizing the grace that is being revealed in him.

I hope that our dear Savior has also accepted this great sinner and will dine with him here in spirit and there at the table of His glory. He remembers that he insulted and annoyed not only me but many people in the congregation, and that is why he wishes to apologize publicly through my person. I asked him whether he wished to take Holy Communion before his departure from the world. Thereupon his face showed joy and, with tears in his eyes, he said he would consider it a great benefaction if he could still attain it. Oh, how he thanked me for not permitting him the Lords Table in an impenitent condition. Because he had taken it badly in his blindness, he is now very sorry. Both the sick man and his wife recognized that they would have had to pay at Doomsday if they had received the venerable sacrament some time ago.

I asked the wife whether she too wished to prepare herself through hearty prayer to take Holy Communion with her husband tomorrow morning. Thereupon the husband turned to her very seriously and asked whether she considered herself worthy, for it is very important. The wife is on a good path too, and she recognizes now much better than before what an evil sin is and what it causes. I admonished them both to a Christian preparation, directed my prayer with them to this end, and promised to come back to them tomorrow morning. The man is much like the son who was lost and found again, especially in that he could only be brought back after great physical tribulations and judgments.22 He was received even though his purpose in returning was not very pure at first. How miserable and dried out his whole body must have appeared, since he had to support his life just from the husks and was hardly able to get even them. This mans body is so scrawny and miserable that there is nothing to see but skin and bones. Yet, be he as miserable as he can be, it is written: There will be joy among the angels of God for a sinner who does penance. Today he again said that, if God had not given him that tribulation, he would never have converted but would have perished in his false security. Still, he is very content with everything God has ordained for him.

Thursday, the 19th of November. I was met on the street by a pious woman who was planning to come to me in order to complain that she was not progressing in her Christianity: she sees nothing but sin and perdition in herself, etc. I told her briefly what she already knows from Gods word, that our Father in heaven demands from us human beings, whom His Son has reconciled to Him through an eternal redemption, no more than what pious parents demand of their children when they have sinned: namely, they must recognize their wrongs, rue them sincerely, apologize for them, and promise and effect an improvement. That is the way God wishes us to be. That is the way we should come and request mercy in the name of His beloved Son. When a child insults its parents and then comes to them in that way, I think they will have already forgiven everything, even before the child finishes asking for pardon, as you can clearly see in the image of the father in Luke 15.

During that parable I remembered what our Lord Jesus Christ had said: Except ye be converted, and become as little children. Oh, what damage is done to good souls when they imagine our heavenly Father, who has been reconciled through Christianity, as more severe than natural fathers are towards their children! Like as a father pitieth his children, etc. God has a fatherly spirit, and our pain pains Him. It is written not only Father, but the true Father of all who can be called a Father of all mercy, a God of all grace, etc., rich in mercy on all those who invoke Him, even if they are the poorest and most miserable.

This morning I found N. /Ernst/ physically weak and full of pain, yet patient and content with Gods dispensation. Before I came to His hut, I had heard from Sanftleben, who had talked to him and prayed with him yesterday evening, a fine testimony of his desire for Christ and His Redemption. Because I wished to hold Holy Communion with him and his wife, I talked to both of them from the Order of Salvation23 and reminded them that our Lord Jesus has assumed the sins of all men and has paid for them with His own blood and life. Because of that, our heavenly Father wishes to forgive all sins, even the worst, of all those who recognize and repent their sins and believe in Jesus.

At this point he interrupted me and said: Our Lord Jesus had enough to do with all my many sins. By this he meant to indicate the size and quantity of his sins, for which he was truly sorry. In addition he revealed to me that, after emigrating from his Bavarian homeland to the Empire,24 he took a false baptismal name because he had always had a wicked and deceitful purpose of running away after committing evil deeds here and there because he thought he could remain better concealed in that way.

When I examined his wife, he encouraged her sincerely, even though he had found speech very difficult, to desist from her wicked nature and, in the future, to lead a different life before God and with her children. If he were to live longer, then he too wished a Christian life and would no longer insult God as he had formerly done. After I had prayed a confession to God for them and asked them about their penitence, faith in Christ, and their new resolution and had received good answers, I gave absolution in the name of and at the command of the triune God, which they sealed with a humble and confident Amen. They received Holy Communion with such yearning that I and two other people who were watching were deeply impressed. Finally I instructed them concerning what a treasure our Lord Jesus had granted them through His holy body and blood, and I thanked God and recited Psalm 23 for them in prayer. Because he could receive only a few drops of wine (since he can drink only a little bit), he asked me whether it would be enough. I satisfied him by quoting the little verse: Thy blood, the noble juice, has such strength and power that even a little droplet can cleanse the entire world, etc.25

Yesterday evening there were three people with him, and during the night two, who read to him, prayed for him, and encouraged him. Despite his great physical weakness, he diligently requested people to read good things to him. Peter Reiters wife told me that, when she visited her sick husband on his harsh sickbed in Purysburg, he had said that, if our dear God had not attacked him so sharply, he would probably still be hurrying with false security on the broad way to hell; and this other man also recognizes and confesses this. God be praised for His ineffable grace!

Friday, the 20th of November. N. /Ernst/ died last night between eleven and twelve oclock as fast as you can snuff out a light. After Holy Communion he hoped that the Lord Jesus would soon redeem him from this sinful and miserable world; and this hope was fulfilled sooner than I and the others had expected it to be. Among other things, Sanftleben had called this verse to his mind: I know that my Redeemer liveth. After that he asked quite impatiently several times, Do you believe He will soon redeem me too? He was content after being assured of this. We had noticed not the least impatience in him on his hard sickbed, and this too was testimony of the grace that had changed his heart. Formerly he had been a very angry, impatient, and unbearable man.

Yesterday I told some pious people about the grace God had granted this man for his conversion; and they rejoiced heartily at this great sinners penitence and praised God for it. I joined some righteous people in the orphanage, and we invoked God to continue helping him with his grace during his final struggle. He did this abundantly and gloriously as a faithful and true God. After receiving Holy Communion he had not wished to eat or drink anything more; he just said he was satisfied now and did not need anything more. He wished his dear brother Sanftleben /upon whom he could hardly look in his unconverted condition/ to come and pray with him as long as he could still hear, because he would die the following night.

During the reading from Schaitberger26 he asked Sanftleben whether he thought God had forgiven him this and that sin. Because he received a favorable reply, he said: Well, now I wish to die. Before his death he was once again able to speak loudly, and he told his wife that she should not continue her old sinful ways but convert herself righteously. Thus she too would become a child of bliss. He would pray for her in eternity so that she might follow him into the kingdom of heaven. He had held his eyes constantly raised to heaven and had moved his tongue; and from these and other motions you could see that he was always sighing to God.

He told his little daughter that, if she wished to go to bed now, it would be the last time she could see him alive, for tomorrow morning he would be dead. During the night he asked Mrs. Sanftleben whether midnight and therefore his hour of departure would come soon. She had only assumed it, she could not tell him definitely; so he told her that he felt in his breast that midnight would come soon. She should call Sanftleben once again; and he still recognized him and still understood what he was calling to him. At last he beat his breast and then passed away. Doubtless there resounded in his heart the words: God have mercy on me poor sinner, then he entered into Gods house justified.

The day after tomorrow, God willing, we will treat the gospel for the twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity concerning the joys of eternal life. For our exordium we will have, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been, etc. To be sure, N. /Ernst/ had been faithful over few and he had belonged to those who had agreed to work in the Lords vineyard only in the eleventh hour, yet he is deemed worthy to go into the joy of the Lord. How great is the mercy of the Lord and His forgiveness for those who turn to Him. Oh how great is the Lords mercy, which graciously reveals itself to those who convert themselves to Him.

Saturday, the 21st of November. This morning N. /Ernst/ was brought to town from his plantation, which is near the Savannah River, and was buried in the churchyard, because it was much easier to bring him to town on the water instead of taking the long and crooked way to the cemetery on the plantations. After the dirge had been sung in the house from which the body was to be carried, we read the important and most comforting 15th Chapter of Luke. Whoever had known him during his earlier days and his last days must say that it applied perfectly to him. At the churchyard I said something about the verse, Jesus receiveth sinners and dines with them for the edification of the pallbearers and discussed in some detail this and that about his true conversion.

Some pious people from the plantations had also come for the funeral; and, with the people from town, they accompanied this man, for whom God had shown His miraculous love, to his place of rest. Formerly he had been a very lazy, disorderly, and unfaithful parishioner. Because he had injured his left hand and could not work anymore, he spent his time in reading Gods word and the late Arndts books on true Christianity and on the Passion Story. Because he had also begun to pray, God set His work on him in such a way that He is to be praised and glorified on earth and in heaven. When a pious woman heard about this mans repentance, she praised God for it and said, Behold, from the multitude of miserable sinners our blessed God maketh blessed children.

Sunday, the 22nd of November. On this last Sunday of the church year our dear God has made, if not the most glorious, at least a very glorious day by granting us a very rich edification from His holy word. Much was also contributed to our edification by the example of N.27 as a sinner, on whom divine mercy has been made splendidly manifest. After the sermon I had to mention him because of all the vexations he had caused. I am comforted that during this church year our dear God has not called anyone into eternity unprepared, rather the three men who have died since the first Sunday of Advent fell asleep in the wounds of Jesus, as did some children who were taken away from us by temporal death during this year. Thus, after their departure from this world, they have heard from the dear mouth of our Lord Jesus the words, Oh, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast. . ., and they will hear, Come, ye blessed of my Father, etc.

Today our listeners were told that, if our gracious God had not borne the unrepentant sinners among us with great patience and forbearance and if He had not given them time and place to come to penitence, many of them would have experienced the terrible judgment that befell the unprofitable servant in Matthew 25:28-30, and they would have had to suffer in such judgment in all eternity. However, today He has wished, by holding up the joy of eternal life, to lure and incite us to penitence and true righteousness and thus to a God-pleasing preparation for a blessed hour of death. It is not without purpose that God let Peter Gruber die at the beginning of this church year, Simon Steiner after him, and Ernst at the end of this church year. He wished to show what He could do with many in the congregation; but He had not yet found them ripe for eternity. That surely means: God has patience with us and does not desire for anyone to be lost but that everyone turn to penitence. Glory and praise be to His holy name for ever and ever. Amen.

Monday, the 23rd of November. Yesterday evening a thunderstorm arose with heavy lightning and brought us a lot of wind and rain. May our Lord rule according to His free power, but only in a way that is useful and good for His creatures.

Last Friday I returned home sick from the plantations and had to suffer somewhat that afternoon and the following evening from a fever that caused me much pain in my body and all my limbs. But God heard our sighs and blessed our use of our blessed medicines in me, so that on Saturday morning I was freed of all my pain, even of the pain in my breast. Thus I was able to attend the burial, joyfully hold the evening prayer meeting, and prepare myself from Gods word for Sunday; and I also accomplished some business. Yesterday I was stronger in body and mind than I have been for a long time /which I mention only in order to praise God/, so that I was able to edify myself with the members of our dear congregation three times from Gods word and through prayer.

The late Dr. Richter is very useful to us with all his blessed medications and gives us much occasion to praise God. However, we are refreshed most by his songs and his other good reports. At last nights prayer meeting, in order to clarify a certain point I had made in the sermon, I read the parishioners the edifying letter the late Dr. Richter had written to his mother about the faithful and blessed departure of his brother from this world. Through it our dear God granted me and others much edification and encouragement at the conclusion of this last Sunday of this church year, which has been so blessed for us. Now we must say, Make your lamps ready and fill them with oil.

This morning Johann Paul Mueller (the clock-makers only son) married the girl Anna Maria Kraemer, the only daughter left by a German servant who died in Savannah. During this wedding the 15th Psalm was brought to the attention of the bridal couple and their friends. If married people conduct their lives as we see in examples of the patriarchs and others in scripture, especially in Zachariah and Elisabeth, they will be happily married forever. And this should always be the aim of a Christian life; otherwise it would just be a life of misery.28

Tuesday, the 24th of November. We have again held our edification hour twice at the mill because many men are working there. They are working seriously now, and on the side where the water had torn a hole they are now driving strong pilings with such force that one must marvel. The water is getting higher again, and this is making the work much more extensive. Still, they hope to make the mill operate as soon as the river falls again.

An Englishman not far from Savannah sent me a letter asking me to come down to baptize his child, which is already four weeks old and has now become sick. However, I answered him that I cannot leave my congregation during my dear colleagues absence and that he should look around for another minister. If they wish to be married, they will travel or send a long way to get a minister who will please them and do what they wish; but in the case of a baptism most of them do not wish to take much or any trouble or expense to send a boat or bring the child. The Englishman simply wants me to come down to baptize the child and thinks that I can merely use the people from our place to carry me down there. However, we are rightly cautious because our inhabitants already have enough work and have to make many other unnecessary trips.

Wednesday, the 25th of November. A pious man complained that it grieves him greatly that he is often hindered from the common morning prayer with his family. The children are ill and restless so that his wife is tired and exhausted in the morning and therefore needs rest. I told him not to worry about this, because there is no express commandment saying that we are obligated to pray at a given time or under certain conditions. If he could not pray with his wife very early before his work, then perhaps it would be possible during the early hours or at some other time. Whatever his wife is doing for their children day and night in faith and from obedience and from love for Christ is a divine service too. And it will be true someday that Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

To counter the doubts that occur to this man during his prayers, I presented him some of Christs promises with the words: Let His words be certain to you, and even if your heart says only No, then let, etc.29 He remembered that it has now been ten years since God deigned to have him expelled from Salzburg with his fellow countrymen. He had had a very strict governor, of whom he had been afraid and because of whom he feared he might not hold firmly to the truth he had discovered but apostatize. He had devoted himself to prayer; but then in an hour of need he had felt great joy at confessing the truth to the authorities, a joy greater than he had ever felt before. He marvels at Gods miraculous guidance and is humbly pleased with all the good he has received. N.s /Ernsts/ blessed death made a great impression on him as it did on other pious people because he had known him previously during his state of impenitence and disbelief. He had considered him the most insolent and evil person at our place, as he actually had been. But God be praised that he had changed and that he had finally become obedient to the gospel Romans 6:17. He was sorry for other people in the congregation who are mired in external respectability30 and are therefore hard to convince of their great danger.

Thursday, the 26th of November. We persuaded N.s wife not to remain with the external exercises of Christianity, where many defects may be found, but to recognize her deep perdition and disbelief through the chastisement of the Holy Ghost. I reminded her again of the verse: Thou knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable. It would be frightful if someone were to be found among those people who are introduced so expressively in the Wisdom of Solomon, Chapter 5: It was we who strayed from the way of truth.

During their time of grace they had thought themselves wiser than the pious people, and they considered their own way the way toward heaven, even though it led to hell. It says of the broad way: Many there be which go in thereat, whereas it says of the narrow way: and few there be who find it, namely, because they are not looking for it in Godly order. On the other hand, no searching and finding are necessary for the broad way to hell, for everyone walks on that way from nature. She has more literal knowledge than her very ignorant husband. I admonished her to help him come to a better understanding, which could happen only if she would become righteous. In that man there is no more zeal to learn, otherwise he would come diligently to Gods word and would miss no opportunity to observe, repeat, question, and pray about it. She was now speaking better than before, but deep in her heart she still may not believe that she is in a damned condition and is still walking on the broad way.

In the meantime I had to tell her what I think about her so that she can never say, This is the man who did not tell me the truth clearly and did not warn me enough against self-deception. She said she believed that I did not wish her to go on a wrong path, but on the right path, for everything I told her agreed with Gods word. Her neighbor is again beginning to go to church regularly every Sunday and to appear to be devout, for he had withdrawn himself from the divine services for some time out of sheer opposition to our office. Yet we see no further evidence that he hates his former life and is letting himself be convinced that he has not made the least start in a true Christianity. As often as we try to persuade him of that, just as often we burden ourselves with an almost unreconcilable hate.

Friday, the 27th of November. The widow from Purysburg31 of whom we recently reported something arrived at our place today with her three little children and all her things in order to go to church and keep her children in school. She had very wicked parents and a very wild husband, who died a miserable death in the water. We shall soon see whether or not she is going to do the right things. May God bless His word in her for her conversion! She understands tailoring, with which, if she is honest, she will be able to serve the community, and from this she too will profit. Gottlieb Christ is the only tailor among us, and he can do just a tenth of the work that needs to be done.

In Dresler, who recently came to us from Savannah, Kogler has received a knowledgeable and loyal co-worker, who has worked with water power in Germany. Dresler also has some good ideas concerning our damaged dike, so we hope that the damage will turn to our advantage and to the strengthening of the entire mill dike. The pilings are being driven very orderly and successfully on various sides with united forces; and many fascines have been prepared for filling the holes and dangerous spots very fast and for covering them with earth. We see it as a merciful dispensation of God that this man has come to our help in this important water work quite contrary to our expectation and without our desire. He also fits in very well with the Salzburgers because of his Christian simplicity and honesty.

Some months ago they cut lots of wood in the forest that they were intending to use in another way to strengthen the dike and to avert further breakthroughs by the water; but it would not have been so practical or useful. This wood can now be used very suitably, because it has been cut apart with a board saw and prepared as pilings. Since these are hard and thin, they can be driven very deep into the hard earth as if they were tipped with iron, which could not possibly be done here for lack of a smith and sufficient means. If it should please our dear God to let the water go down, we hope to be able to use the mill soon again, and for this we will all praise God. Sometimes I remember that General Oglethorpe had, not without reason, feared that the mill would not be able to stand firm in the strongly running water, for the river flows very violently here when it rises. We will learn from the damage, but we are not sorry we placed the mill here. Even if it requires more labor and money, it is more useful than if it had been placed on a river like Ebenezer Creek, which is fed only by rain and some little springs and is almost dry at some places during the summer. Our heavenly Father has already granted many expenses for it, so He will easily grant even more. For when he speaks, so it comes to pass; when He commands, it already stands.

Saturday, the 28th of November. Praise be to God who has again let us conclude a church year with blessings and in peace. We concluded it in our home prayer meeting in the evening and publicly with Gods word and prayers. We confessed to our Lord our sins of commission and omission and begged Him in Christs name to forgive us; and we renewed our resolution, through the help of the Holy Ghost, to live an honest Christian life from now on so that someday all of us in the congregation will be able to sing an eternal hallelujah in heaven for all the blessings we have received. In our Old Testament story tonight we finished the 16th chapter of 2 Samuel. From it the spiritual emigrants received much instruction and consolation on their way to eternity. Although it was very cold, especially in the evening, the parishioners who live near town did not let it keep them from attending the prayer meeting diligently.

May God grant that the eager desire for His word and its faithful application and preservation will always be combined; for then they will find a blessed profit from it even in eternity. It is an ineffable kindness of God that none of them, neither adults nor children, died unprepared during the last church year. It is said that Spielbigler, who moved to Charleston some time ago with his mother, died over there, which news makes me shudder, for he would not let himself be warned. If he were dead, his mother could palpably see that God had overthrown the support on which she had so greatly depended and perhaps He wishes this judgment to lead her to penitence. In the long run it cannot turn out other than bad when people separate themselves arbitrarily from the means of salvation that God grants at our place, either through hate for our office or for worldly reasons. What begins and continues in sin can last no longer than the nature of Absalom and Ahithophel, of which we heard some important points today.

Sunday, the 29th of November. Our good and pious God granted us much edification from His word on the first Sunday of the new church year. He also repaid in my soul the spiritual work I have had to do in the congregation because of my dear colleagues absence and which has made my body quite weak; and He let me perceive some fruit in my parishioners. In this year, in addition to the regular gospels, we shall use the Sunday and holy day epistle lessons as a basis for our edification, after having catechized the entire catechism last year with much spiritual profit. It so prepared both the ministers and the congregation that all of us, be it this year or in the following ones, can go into our joy and be together forever in the church triumphant.

Monday, the 30th of November. General Oglethorpe has donated 5 ь Sterling to our community with which, according to his order, I have bought young white mulberry trees from an Englishman in this colony; and these were brought here on Saturday. There are twelve hundred of them, and twenty-two such young trees will be allotted to each family. To be sure, they are very small, but that does not matter because, as we have already seen from the test at the orphanage, they grow rather high in one year and are usable soon thereafter. In all this we see what God has granted us, including the new transport, which will have the advantage that everyone who has an inclination for it will be supplied with peach and mulberry trees (of which a good quantity of seeds have grown at our place this year).

If our people had had instruction right away in making silk, as they now have, and if they had been supplied with a good number of white mulberry trees, then they would now be enjoying a considerable advantage with little effort. However, the first establishment in Old and New Ebenezer were so difficult for the first three transports that they could not have become involved in such things. They lacked private property for a long time? and, after they finally acquired it, they had to concentrate, with Gods blessing, on producing those foods that are the most common and most sure. The mulberry trees must stand in a place that is protected by a good fence, for otherwise the leaves are devoured by cattle and especially by deer. It happened to the young Kieffer that he had, to be sure, sown good seeds for white mulberries in his land yet received a wild variety. That is said to occur sometimes, but we do not know the reason for it.

It is a major difficulty for farmers in this country that they must well fence in everything they sow and plant, because everything would be destroyed by wild pigs and cattle that are free to run around in the town and the fields.32 Especially the fields where wheat, rye, barley, etc. are sown must be protected with a firm fence of stakes, otherwise the sprouted seed is not safe from wild animals, especially from the little hares, which creep through the smallest holes. The raccoons, which look almost like monkeys, and the wild cats, are caught by the dogs and the hares are caught by the house cats.33 Little can be accomplished by shooting, since they make their forays at night.

DECEMBER

Tuesday, the 1st of December. Ruprecht Steiner is running the school at the plantations very properly, he treats the children in a very tender and fatherly way, and he is led to all necessary truth by the Holy Ghost that dwells in him. In addition to spelling and reading he teaches them all sorts of Bible verses, which I have them recite to me when I go out there on Tuesdays and Fridays for the edification hour. I also let the children recite their reading lessons to me, and from that Steiner can better learn the method we consider the easiest and most comprehensible for the children. He is poor in spirit and considers himself quite unworthy of this important work. However, because he prays diligently, studies in advance, and controls himself before teaching and controlling others, God has glory, the children have profit, and we have joy from his work and behavior.

When I came home I found my dear colleague /Gronau/ at home fresh and healthy. Our dear God had led him and his traveling companions in such a way that we are fully convinced that the trip occurred according to His gracious and good will and that much good had been accomplished with his blessing to the advantage of the whole congregation. The goods were bought inexpensively and were brought here undamaged and without any danger; and they will be used by pious people with praise to God. God also gave him an opportunity to preach the word of God to the German people in both Charleston and Savannah and to baptize two children.

Wednesday, the 2nd of December. Ott was in Charleston with the others. Because N. /Ernst/had died in the meanwhile and had given so much evidence of a true conversion and a resulting blessed death, this made a deep impression on his spirit. With this emotion he came to Peter Reiter, who told him, with impressive and heart-moving words, of the magnalia Dei1 which the Lord had done on his soul too during his bodily tribulations. This has again awakened Ott to such a seriousness in his penitence that he can hardly testify it to me without tears. Previously he had sinned with Peter Reiter (as young lads are accustomed to do); and, since God had converted the latter, He is using him as a good tool among his old comrades. He had already resolved to confess openly such sins that others had committed with him and for which he had to feel so much fear in his soul as well as the heavy hand of God on his body; and he had resolved to show his friends the opportunity and circumstances by which they might come to a recognition of their sins and to true penitence.

To be sure, this dear man was fetched from Purysburg last Monday and brought to his plantation; however, he is not yet entirely cured but must walk with difficulty on two crutches. Nevertheless, he is improving; the surgeon let him return to Ebenezer with the certain hope that in some time he will be able to use his injured leg as well as formerly. What the cure will cost, we have not been told. It is good that he is with us again and can enjoy better care and also good company and Christian encouragement.

It is very edifying for me and others to hear that my dear colleague and his traveling companions heard a Moorish slave woman on a plantation singing a spiritual at the waters edge. After they had come to her master, they learned that, a few days ago, this heathen woman had attained a certain assurance of the forgiveness of sins and the mercy of God in Christ and that she, along with others who love Christ, was shouting and jubilating because of this treasure. Her masters themselves fear God heartily and endeavor by word and example to further the kingdom of Christ in the hearts of men, also in the hearts of their and other peoples Moorish slaves, who gather from the vicinity at this plantation for the sake of spiritual exercises and edification.2 On the other hand a certain man told my dear colleague in Charleston something about a certain N. in Carolina that sounded very bad, namely, that he treated his Negroes more tyrannically than any other wicked man in the country.

Previously we had never heard anything about Saxe Gotha in America; but now we hear that it is a city that has been laid out in South Carolina on the way to Orangeburg one hundred English or twenty-five German miles from Charleston and is occupied by Germans. Most of them must be Reformed; a Reformed man, whose character we do not know, is preacher there.3

Thursday, the 3rd of December. The things that were brought in Charleston for the congregation have been distributed in good order by our parishioners; and it is too bad that they will not go far enough for every hut to be completely supplied with necessary clothes. Yet every family has received something; and perhaps our dear God will give an opportunity for them to be served further in the same way. The things were bought inexpensively, and only a small charge has been laid on the more important pieces to cover the travel costs. From that everyone has recovered his expenses abundantly, yet the goods have still remained very inexpensive. For what they have now received for one shilling six pence they would have had to pay at least three shillings in Purysburg or Savannah. Our people have now received these goods for their work at the mill, for which I should have paid them some time ago. I myself do not know what kept stopping me; but now I see that it was so that they would not have to take their little money to Savannah or Purysburg and bring home expensive and shoddy goods. For the orphanage I have had to borrow various items of these goods; and I hope our dear God will soon grant us something in order to pay them back.

Today, already by noon, two employees of the storehouse in Savannah came to us and brought letters and at the same time the news that the dear Salzburgers, for whom we have been waiting a long time, have arrived at Tybee. Mr. Jones has written to my dear colleague Mr. Boltzius that the captain is planning, God willing, to come to Savannah with the ship tomorrow and that it would be good if he were to be present at the time. Therefore in Gods name he traveled already today with said dear friends, who had made the long trip up for our sake.

The dear Lord, who hath helped them so far, will continue to help them at our place so that they will be able to say Ebenezer!4 It was my prayer when I returned to our place from Charleston that our dear God would help the dear Salzburgers for whom we were waiting so that they too might say what I can now say, namely, Ebenezer! And behold! God has now brought them near to us and will soon bring them to us. Hallelujah! Thus God hears our prayers for Christs sake. For, all in all, I must confess to the praise of God that on my last trip everything went for me just as I had prayed it would! He showed my soul and my body so much goodness that I do not know of ever having taken such a blessed journey. May the dear Lord never let me forget it! Now the Lord shall be my God!

On the way there I asked Him, among other things, to point out to me a house in Charleston where I might pass my time in quiet; and behold! God heard my prayer. With the man with whom I lodged I could sing and pray both mornings and evenings; and, when I came home at noon from my business, I could compose my spirit in quiet. On the way back I asked the dear Lord, among other things, to bring me at least as far as Savannah before Advent Sunday so that I might spend my time there well with the Germans; and behold! It came to pass. I arrived there early on Saturday and could hold a prayer meeting in the evening and preach to the people twice on the following Sunday, for which the dear Lord strengthened me and prepared me underway.

The dear Lord had also stood by me especially while I was preaching His word in Charleston. A rather large crowd of German people gathered both mornings and afternoons. On the way there I had thought that, if I should have an opportunity to preach in Charleston, I would take the gospel for the Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity. However, when the time came, I thought it better to lay a short verse on their hearts which they could better note; and the dear Lord granted me the verse from Isaiah 45: Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. The dear Lord stood by me especially in this sermon and, as noted, did not leave it unblessed. And, since I had used this verse as my basis in the morning, I constructed upon it what is said of the Lord Jesus in the said gospel. May the dear Lord be praised now and forever for all help and blessing!

Friday, the 4th of December. Because the dear Lord had shown me so much goodness on my journey and because we had received the news of the happy arrival of the Salzburgers, we cancelled yesterdays actual evening prayer meeting in order to praise God publicly and communally. We sang Solt ich meinem Gott nicht singen, nicht danckbar seyn? etc. Then I showed the reason why this prayer meeting actually should be postponed. Thereupon we bent our knees, prayed, and praised God. May the dear Lord let all this please Him for Christs sake.

In this evenings prayer meeting I read the congregation two letters, one from the Commissary /Vigera/, which he had written to us from Savannah and in which he gives us some reports of what the Lord had done for them, including, among other things, that on the whole voyage no enemy ship had met them, which is quite amazing during this time of war. We who belong to the first transport and came here in peacetime experienced things quite differently; yet no pirate ship could have harmed us because God was with us. The other letter was from Court Chaplain Butjenter; and in it he announced, among other things, how the flames of war had broken out everywhere in Europe and are still breaking out. We made use of these circumstances and presented them to the dear Lord in communal prayer.

Saturday, the 5th of December. Today the dear Lord again reminded me of the journey I had taken, and I well recognize that it was made according to His will; and that too brings blessing and comfort in all circumstances. I believe that the trip should have been made neither earlier nor later. If it had occurred earlier, then I would not have experienced what I actually experienced on Mr. Bryans plantation; for God had helped the Negro girl through on the evening before I arrived.5 Previously she had been in difficult circumstances; but on the evening before my arrival God had granted her comfort and filled her heart with His love, and this is something truly great. It is surely a great thing when God holds such a person in the work of penitence, as He bears witness of it in His words; but it is something even greater when He is finally through.

If I had traveled later, then the dear guests would have arrived while my dear colleague was home alone, and then he would have had to leave either the congregation at Ebenezer or the newly arriving friends alone. But thus they came while I was at home again and after the things we had brought back with us had been put in order. Should one not always allow oneself to be led by such a pious God, since He always knows how to arrange things so well? Yea, yea, I herewith offer myself to Him again, to be and eternally remain His, and to let myself be led by Him alone. May He strengthen me for this through His mercy and through the Holy Ghost.

Sunday, the 6th of December. Today it has been excessively cold; yet the dear parishioners gathered in a good number; and the dear Lord let us hear much good and granted much good to our souls. Also, we baptized Pletters child, which had been born the previous night and had been carried to town by the midwife. Although it had been born on such a cold night in a poor hut and had been brought such a long way in the intense cold, one could not see by looking at the child that it had been harmed. Thus our dear Lord knoweth how to preserve such weak little children even in such circumstances! All that should indeed strengthen us in our faith so that we will resign ourselves entirely to Him and be content with all His guidance. Last Thursday Mrs. /Eva Regina/Schweiger also bore a healthy little son into the world. The dear Lord helped the mother through her birth circumstances very quickly, which was all the more marvelous because she had been very much afflicted with epilepsy until then. Thus the dear Lord shows that He can perform far more than we ask or understand. May He be praised and glorified for that!

Monday, the 7th of December. I can well observe that God is in the school with me; and, even though I cannot yet see any really noticeable blessing in the children, I can at least see that they are attentive and listen devoutly. Therefore I have hopes that the Holy Ghost can accomplish something in them all the sooner.

This evening I heard from a pious person that N.s /Ernsts/ conversion made a deep impression on the congregation. She had probably never seen so many people at a burial as at his. On the following Sunday, she continued, she had been walking with another person and had come to the grave of this man who had died so blessedly, and she had again discussed and contemplated the great miracle that God had performed in this man before his death. May God ordain for it to incite all frivolous people to an emulation and to awaken all penitent people more and more to a childlike trust in the Savior of poor sinners.

Tuesday, the 8th of December. Today I held the edification hour on the plantations and, because the dear people of the new transport who had come to us yesterday by land via Abercorn had assembled in a large number, I took something exceptional for my text, namely, Psalm 57:10, For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. From it I tried to present my dear listeners the goodness and truth of God in detail and to impress them on their hearts and to show how concerned God is to grant them the wealth of His goodness in this new land and to gather them under His two great wings. Then they would be assured, comforted, and content in all circumstances; and God would also care for their physical needs and let all things be allotted to them. All those with whom I spoke are very well satisfied and contented; and they tell how much good God has done for them through other people too.

Wednesday, the 9th of December. A week ago tomorrow I arrived at Savannah late at night and was received very kindly by Mr. Jones, who immediately arranged for me to go in a few hours with the Commissioner, Mr. Vigera, in the captains boat to our dear people on the ship. Dear Mr. Vigera was lodging with Mr. Jones and praised not only his civility but also his edifying household devotions, from which no one could keep him and his family. What he had recently let me know in his letter, he now told me in more detail, namely, that God had shown untold blessings in Germany, in London, and on the sea to the entire transport, which had been dispatched with millions of blessings and had been accompanied at sea with the most heartfelt and constant intercession. It was a special blessing that our dear God had brought them from land to land in six weeks and kept them entirely unharmed in storms and bad weather and had mercifully averted dangerous sickness and cases of death.

As I was approaching the ship at nine oclock on Friday, I called this verse to the men and women of this fourth transport, who were coming toward me in large numbers: We have a God who helpeth. At the same time I told them that ever since we had received letters about the gathering of the fourth transport we had prayed publicly and implored especially the Lord of heaven and earth that, through His wisdom, omnipotence, and kindness and to His praise and our and their joy, He might soon bring us our dear friends who had set their minds on Ebenezer. Likewise there had been many prayers for them in Europe, I said, of which they and we now had clear evidence that He had heard them mercifully. For they had completed the difficult sea voyage quickly, had come ashore healthy, and had not had the least fear of the enemy. No warship had escorted them; and the Lord had probably ordained this so that they would put their trust in Him alone and now give Him alone all the glory.

Just as our marvelous God had obviously furthered the entire sea voyage of this transport, which had received such abundant blessings and prayers, He would do it today and on following days too with their complete transportation from the ship, which was lying at anchor in the mouth of the Savannah. For He had so ordained that, at the hour I was going to the ship, I received a petiagua to bring half the rather bulky baggage and a rather large number of men, women, and children without any delay from the ship to Savannah and to a house that had already been prepared and provided with wood, food, and helpful service. It was also a very special benefaction that a certain Englishman had prevented us from sending home the trading boat we had used in going to Charleston, for it too fetched people and baggage from the ship so that they could then be brought to Ebenezer in our boat.

At the news of the arrival of the new transport, whose subiecta,6 names, and professions had been sent me by Secretary Newman in a very friendly letter, our parishioners were so pleased that they came to Savannah in four boats, namely, two large ones and two small ones, to fetch these dear guests. Sunday arrived during the unloading and the arranging of necessary things, and we spent it with other German people both publicly and privately with the preaching of the divine word, with singing, prayer, and good conversation to our great enjoyment. Even on the petiagua on which I was we sang and prayed diligently and made this or that salutary admonition, which was well received; and whatever errors were seen to have been brought from the ship were redressed.

It was not until Monday that Commissioner Vigera arrived in Savannah with the remaining new colonists who had been left behind because of their baggage, for a strong wind had prevented them from leaving the ship. Several times the wind tore away one of our boats, which had been attached to the ship by a chain, with the greatest violence and carried it far away, yet it was finally found again to our amazement and contrary to our expectations. News was now brought to me that a colonist by the name of Knlin, who had come aboard ship sick, had died. I had called out to him too the verse: We have a God, who helpeth, which he himself recited back very cheerfully with the rest of the words,7 and after my departure he said that God had now comforted the man and that he was content. Our Salzburgers who had come to the ship sang and prayed with him, and then he died. I would like to have seen him brought ashore with the first petiagua so we could have taken better care of him in all sorts of ways; but this time it could not be done. His wife /Maria/ is now a widow, and their child a fatherless orphan. Our orphanage stands open for both of them. Our honest Rothenberger has now taken them into his house and care until she herself says what she would like to do.

Before I departed from the ship with the dear people, we saw a large ship that was approaching ours under full sail and finally cast anchor. On the previous day heavy firing had been heard and our pilot had not yet returned with his boat, and therefore we assumed that it was a Spanish privateer. However, we soon learned that it was the ship that was to bring more than a hundred Swiss to Georgia.8 At the same time we heard that the poor people in the ship were lying very sick and that over forty persons had died. There were many young children in it who had lost their parents through death. In spite of that, they had to remain from Friday to Tuesday evening, that means five whole days, in the crowded and stinking ship until Mr. Jones himself finally made arrangements to bring them ashore. In the meanwhile I had to travel home with our boat and know nothing more as to how they are faring.

The Lord Trustees have written to Colonel Stephens that the adults among these Swiss are to receive in all fifty shillings sterling instead of provisions and other necessities, and the children half that amount. Oh, what advantages our fourth transport has had in all things! They have had sufficient healthy food; and, if any malcontent wished to complain, his healthy color, good physical condition, and good spirits would contradict him. The ship provisions had been entrusted to an honest Englishman /Terry/ who was on his way to Frederica and who proved to be very paternally inclined toward our transport, so that they all took leave of him with gratitude and tearful eyes. He also showed me his respect and love for these dear people and recommended them as a pious and diligently singing and praying little flock.

In Savannah they were richly restored with fresh and healthy food in two quarters, where they could maintain a fire and keep themselves warm against the cold weather; and they were awakened to much praise of God. Fresh meat, vegetables, and sweet potatoes were a remarkable refreshment after the ships provisions they had had up to then. They remembered diligently and with great gratitude what kindness had been shown them, especially in Cannstadt by His Excellency Privy Councilor Georgi and other benefactors of all classes. All of us who hear and read of the charitable gifts that have flowed abundantly to them and all of Ebenezer must marvel at the kindness and providence of God and also say, Lord, we are too insignificant for all the mercy and loyalty which Thou hast now done for old and young, large and small, healthy and sick!

Already in Savannah I had informed my dear traveling companions and current parishioners something about the great benefactions from Wrttemberg and Halle (which had been brought along in several chests especially for the fourth transport but also for the entire congregation, for the orphanage, and for us). I reported this so that they might be encouraged with me to praise the Lord and to intercede zealously for all our dear benefactors. Oh, what a spiritual blessing we hope to attain from the splendid letters which have already come to our hands from Augsburg, Halle, and London and which are said still to be in the chests.

I was very distressed at heart when I heard in Savannah that someone in our congregation had been suspected of having written to the Lord Trustees that our dear M. Jones treated the people here in a very strict, unfriendly, and severe manner.9 It would be not only the greatest ingratitude but also the most shameful untruth to write such a thing, since we have experienced exactly the opposite, namely, nothing but upright love and a right paternal inclination toward us and others and have enjoyed very many benefactions from him previously and are still enjoying them. We cannot tell with what love and kindness he receives us and how well he accommodates us when we and our people come to Savannah. He is serious and strict with wicked people and cannot tolerate injustice, desecration of the Sabbath, etc. I fear that some people who do not like the dear man write evil about him and then put the blame on other people. They would be pleased if Mr. Jones affection for us would turn into disfavor or even if he were dismissed, which, however, would redound to the great harm of the whole country. As soon as I write to the Lord Trustees, I shall write the truth so that they will know that Mr. Jones is no cruel man and tyrant but a father toward all who conform to good order; and I shall ask them to reward him for the great kindness he has shown us.

Three days ago, while I was traveling down from Purysburg to Savannah, I received a long and at the same time very friendly letter from General Oglethorpe in which he attempted to persuade me with many arguments not to relieve myself, as I wished, of my secular duties and judicial office, but to bear this burden further, etc. Thus, even before I came to the fourth transport, I received from him a new calling to assume these secular duties, and to this I was also driven by the love that God had placed in my heart for the fourth transport, which He has led here so marvelously and gloriously. Our worthy Mr. Ziegenhagen also lets us observe in his dear letter that it is better for me to continue bearing the burden of secular duties than to let harm be done by others.

We hope we will have good assistance from Mr. Vigera. Our worthy Mr. Mllern is held in great love, esteem, and blessing by the whole transport and would have been a very useful tool of God if the Lord Trustees had resolved to send him to this country as commissioner and justiciar. They shy at the expense, since the country has many other debts. Yet I wish they would consider that, in traveling back and forth by land and water for secular reasons and taking care of the congregations needs, we too expend clothes and money and also lose many things that we could save if we were concerned only with our spiritual office.

Against my will I almost spoiled my best gown, since we must travel back and forth by day and night in all kinds of weather and must sometimes make do with any kind of encampment. Yet even here it is written, Be careful for nothing, but in everything . . . etc., Philippians 4. This apparently insignificant point strengthened my faith, and that of my traveling companions too, when I read in the specification of the charitable gifts that had just arrived that we had also been sent black clothes and nightgowns, which otherwise cost a great deal here and are sometimes not to be had. The Lord commanded our dear benefactors and inclined their hearts to it, for He knows our needs very well. Although my business in Savannah during these three days was very heavy and taxing, the weather uncomfortable and depressing, nocturnal rest poor, and care of the body very irregular, I must still declare to the praise of God that He so strengthened me in body and spirit that I enjoyed continued health. I considered this a seal that the Lord has pressed on the command I again received from General Oglethorpe to take charge of the secular affairs of the congregation. Lord, here we are. Do with us as it pleaseth thee!

Thursday, the 10th of December. Yesterday evening in the prayer hour I reminded the listeners that our gracious God had recently shown our congregation right great blessings, for which we had good cause to praise Him with heart and mouth. I) He had given us a better harvest than others in this country and this neighborhood and had known how to preserve our crops from the inundations that had caused great damage from time to time. Thus He had not only shown us a blessing but had actually granted it. II) He has kept us so far in peace, so that we can still serve Him in tranquility, edify ourselves from His word, and tend to our calling. Things look miserable in other places, and even in our dear Germany; yet God has spared us, not because of our merits and worth, but according to His great mercy, and He is giving us time for a conversion and a firm foundation in Christianity. We should diligently remember the verse that served as our text at our commemoration and thanksgiving feast: If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse, etc. III) That He has now brought us the fourth transport safe and sound, as we had asked Him to. During their journey and actual arrival, there have been many marvelous and edifying circumstances which should serve to impress all honest souls among us and to lead us to a recognition of Gods miraculous goodness and guidance. On the occasion of this transport our loving God has awakened many benefactors in many places, for us who have lived in Ebenezer until now; and they have wished to help us and thereby refresh us with outstandingly beautiful gifts. IV) In addition to the charitable gifts that have been brought to Savannah safe and well preserved along with the transport, we have also received many very inspiring letters which we should value even higher than physical gifts because of their spiritual and edifying contents; because in them we find much matter for our edification and our preparation for blessed eternity.

The Lord is granting us these benefactions, and others like the church and mill, with the purpose of luring to penitence all those who have lacked it so far or of leading them better and better into true Christianity. However, it is to be feared that all those who do not let this purpose of Gods goodness reach them will experience Gods seriousness according to the content of the above-cited verse. Cf. Joshua 24:10. For, should any man insult and reject this love, for him will remain zeal and vengeance. Thus, through these and similar admonitions, the minds of the dear parishioners were prepared for the subsequent reading of the letters and for the distribution of the charitable gifts. Then we bent our knees and praised God in Christs name for all His goodness and prayed for us and for the benefactors.

This evening we read a part of the very affectionate letter from Senior Urlsperger dated the 20th of July of this year, from which our dear God granted much pleasure to me, and I hope to others too. How marvelous is the Lord! He let Senior Urlsperger receive our letters from Ebenezer on precisely the day the fourth transport went on shipboard at Cannstadt and was therefore en route toward Ebenezer. Likewise, he learned of our needs from our letters and diary just when God had already let such a great physical blessing be brought to the ship for our orphanage and congregation; and this again strengthened our faith in His fatherly providence. It is also something special that a certain benefactor in Strassburg had thought of us and remitted twenty-five guilders for a cow for the poorest member of Christ in the community. And thus we clearly see that the Lord cares most closely for the poorest, if they fear Him. Think not on the heat of thy tribulations (of which there are many in the congregation because of spiritual and physical circumstances, but all for the glory of God and the salvation of man) That thou art abandoned by God, etc. God is the true magician, etc.

On this occasion we remembered that, five years ago, God had given the third transport twelve cows, for which the rule was made that they should be distributed among the poorest. Great are the works of the Lord (which He doeth daily on us too), whosoever observes them, he has pure joy therein. The safe voyage for which our worthy Senior Urlsperger had wished and hoped for those in September of last year and in February of this year has, thank God, occurred. We have received everything correctly and well preserved, and again we have been encouraged to praise God. God has also heard his prayer and that of other servants and children of God for the strengthening of our bodies and for a blessed performance of our office, for we have abundantly experienced the goodness of the Lord, which up to now has ruled in a fatherly way over our persons, our office, and our congregation.

This morning I traveled with my dear colleague and a couple of other friends to the plantations, where the men, including some of the new parishioners, had gathered in one place at our request. First we regulated the payment for the work on the mill and also what had been expended for the clothes and other things that had been brought from Charleston for the congregation. Then it was agreed to let the dear people of the fourth transport share our harvest so that no one would suffer any lack of food. For what had been so abundantly gathered in this years harvest our wise and wonderful God had let grow for these people too. No corn is to be had in this country.

They have been joyfully received into the Salzburgers houses on the plantations, and still more would gladly be received if they were present. The people in town have also waited for these dear guests and offered them roof and rooms and other necessities; but there was no one left over for them, except that a few single women had been taken into my, my colleagues, and Rothenbergers house and into the orphanage. They eat and share what their hosts have, and this pleases their palates and encourages them to praise God. The widow /Knlin/ called on me this morning and praised God with tears and raised hands for His fatherly providence and kindess. She has two places for her and her childs spiritual and physical care instead of one.

Tomorrow, God willing, an ox will be slaughtered for them at the orphanage, and the meat will be distributed among them on the plantations. The Salzburgers wished to let the newly arrived families share their plantations, but later it was deemed advisable, if they are going to stay together, to assign them a good piece of land below the mill at the end of the plantations, which they will cultivate next to the others and thus enjoy very great convenience. Today a firm hut and kitchen near the city were evacuated for the surgeon, Mr. /Ludwig/ Meyer, which, in everyones judgment, will suit him well. There is a little garden next to them which will be gladly relinquished to him even though wheat has already been planted in it. Another man offered his well fenced garden for his use. At the request of a righteous physician and at his own inclination he will devote himself here to botany and accept the help of our physician in it. He was very pleased that, when he first went ashore for Knlins burial, he immediately found a kind of aloe on the shore of the river that greatly encouraged him in his plans. His brother /Johann Georg/, a young person, is a purse maker, who will devote himself here to tailoring and thus serve the people and support himself, since we are lacking a tailor. In this way both he and we will be helped.

Friday, the 11th of December. This morning for the first time I had the pleasure of having both the old and the new parishioners together in the edification hour and to speak with them publicly for the praise of God and for their edification. I told them what had already been done for the fourth transport from the spring on. The first news of a hoped-for transport gave us new material for our hearts and mouths for a constant intercession; and among other things we often wished for them from our hearts just what David wished for the honest Ithai and his people on their pilgrimage. May thou and thy brothers encounter mercy and truth. They were commended and sheltered by many hundreds of honest souls in Europe and by us poor people in this place through prayer, imploring, and blessed wishes under the two great wings of the Lord, which are called Mercy and Loyalty or Grace and Truth. Therefore, now that they have withstood the land and sea journey to the praise of God and to our joy, they can say: Lord, we are not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou has shewed unto thy servant.

Our faith has now been greatly strengthened; and through experiencing the goodness of the Lord, who has heard our poor prayer, we will be encouraged to continue asking much for us and other people, to the praise of His name and to our joy. They should also know that our marvelous and merciful God also saw to their provisioning through the good harvest He granted to us this year above all others in the land, for He knoweth all His works both in this world and in eternity. He knew, and in His loving counsel He resolved, that at this time a new transport would be sent to Ebenezer in accordance with His gracious will. He also knew that the transport would have its physical needs, which He has intended for it for all eternity and which He has granted at this time beyond their requests and expectations. These and other noteworthy circumstances should convince them that they have come here not by human but by divine counsel; and, since He had already cared for them so lovingly before their arrival, they should give Him credit for nothing but good in all tribulations, which cannot remain absent.

The people of the first three transports would tell them into what straits our miraculous yet gracious God let them come, yet He let none of them be mired or perish in them. We would take nothing in place of the trials we had had and the manifold aid of the Lord, which experience was now doing us much good. They, to be sure, would not be privileged to experience the same trials, because they were not coming to a new forest, rather to an already cultivated and well-ordered place. Nonetheless, they would have to remember well that they were not in Heaven or Paradise, rather in the imperfect, miserable world, where it is said: Without a cross, no Christian. And I would have to tell them in advance just what Paul previously told the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 3:4 [cf. Acts 14:22], they should suffer tribulation, as has already happened, but only for their salvation and fortification in grace.

If it depended upon us and our benefactors, we would make it as easy as possible for them; but God is the Regent on earth, of whom faithful people recognize: Thou shalt guide us with thy counsel, and afterwards receive us into glory. We also told the entire congregation how many treasured benefactors the Lord had awakened for us in Wurttemberg and other places. They had richly donated many benefactions not just to the 4th Transport but also to all Ebenezer, and those had been brought here safely notwithstanding the perilous sea journey. By means of these our dear Lord wishes to further not only our physical but also our spiritual and eternal good, to which end He has already caused right edifying letters to come to our hands, from which we will soon share many fine things with the congregation. In the case of all spiritual and physical benefactions it is said: O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth Him, and it would be a downright shame and an irresponsible thing for anyone not to credit this good Lord with all good, who has already done so much for us. Finally I reminded them all of their further duty from the recent harvest and thanksgiving sermon on Thessalonians 5:8, In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, etc. I had them all look up and underline these words.

After the prayer I kept the people of the 4th transport back to discuss a few things with them concerning the money they had exchanged and their plantations and their own land. We hope to settle them comfortably and according to their wish so that those who get along well together will come into the same neighborhood. They are settling close to one another so that they will be as near as possible to the church and school. There will be more to report on this matter very soon. They all show themselves to be very pleased in their current quarters, are gladdened by the Salzburgers arrangements, and praise God for everything they have encountered of His solicitude, both previously and now. In sum, they give us much pleasure and make all our labor easy, and I hope to God that He will reveal to us His glory in this transport too.

Kalcher slaughtered an ox today which he distributed amongst them as a gift. He considers himself quite unworthy of the benefactions which have flowed to him and his family again this time, and at the same time obliged him to serve these dear strangers to the best of his ability (I may well say beyond his ability), since God has shown his body and soul so much good in this pilgrimage and has continued daily to do so. I found a few men of the 4th transport grinding their corn at the handmill. I told them and others that God would let them learn how bitter the grinding seemed to our own people year after year so that, with us, they may deem the mill, which will be easy to repair at low water, to be a great benefaction of God.

Saturday, the 12th of December. There have been a few Indians staying here for several days who have never been here before. Today a well-formed and courteous man called on me and offered me a buffalo skin. I do not know whether it is a present or whether I should give him something else for it, because I wish to have no dealings with him in that regard. The Lord Trustees have forbidden all those who have no licentia10 (as they call it), on pain of severe punishment, to trade with the Indians. Their purpose is the welfare and advancement of peace between the inhabitants and the Indians. One is rid of them sooner if one has no commercial dealings with them, especially since we know from experience that they cause more evil than good when they stay in one place for long. Last week General Oglethorpe sent me a present for the bad Uchee Indians, by which he hopes to win them and bring them over to a good trust in us. In his letter he expresses the wish that the parents could be moved to send their children to our school and makes a few suggestions to that end. May God make them practicable!

This evening we held with the congregation a special prayer and thanksgiving hour, in which we remembered the special benefactions of the Lord which had flowed to Ebenezer right richly this time from Augsburg, Stuttgart, Halle and other places. We praised the most generous Donor for it; and, with prayers and entreaties, we wished all known and unknown benefactors of prominent and humble station thousandfold spiritual and physical blessings from the abundance of Jesus. Before we knelt, I specified briefly what benefits our gracious and merciful God had shown us:

I). It was an inestimable benefaction I said, that, as Senior Urlsperger reported, people were praying constantly and fervently for us in so many places. The Lord has richly heeded them according to His promise; for we have encountered nothing evil, rather purely good, in spiritual and physical matters. It is written: The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, if it is earnest, as we recently found corroborated in the story of David and Jacob, who both prayed powerfully and humbly, 2 Samuel 14:31-32, Genesis 32:9. Since now the prayer of the faithful for us is ardent, it has accomplished much, and for us this is indeed a benefaction worthy of gratitude. It was certainly not by chance and happenstance that the ship full of Swiss was sent off almost simultaneously with the 4th transport and thus made landfall in Georgia and that, although the Lord Trustees made all good arrangements for their support, the 4th transport nonetheless enjoyed very great advantages on the entire journey and came ashore healthy. By contrast, the greater part of those poor people died underway or were housed in Savannah sick and miserable. Contraria ixuta se posita magis elucescunt.11 It is therefore an especial benefaction of the Lord that we have so many intercessors and helpers in His praise amongst Christian people of many different stations. Should we not praise God with them?

II). This time our kindly Lord has bestowed upon the entire congregation a great physical blessing, which is in the boxes from Augsburg, Stuttgart, and Halle. The entire congregation may partake of it, and even the poorest have been remembered and a few of them mentioned by name. I believe that many a pious and Jesus-loving poor person has lamented his dearth to his Father reconciled in Christ, and now he is getting his favorable hearing, for He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him, etc. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. Besides the presents of all kinds of things and medications, our dear Lord, who knows our circumstances and the numerous most necessary expenses, has granted a handsome gift of money, which was, for the most part, also gathered in the Duchy of Wurttemberg through the service of a prominent and valued instrument, Lord Privy Councilor Georgi, but also in Augsburg and Halle. This money is dedicated partly to the church, partly to the orphanage, and partly to the congregation as a contribution to the poor and also to defray the most necessary expenses aimed at the good of the congregation. For example, the lying-in women were given some assistance, and the midwives were paid. What money remains from the church in town will be applied to a church on the plantations, where it is just as needed as in town, and God will grant the remaining expenses for it. What joy we have when we trust in Him! Also my house, my dear colleagues house, Mr. Thilo, the carpenter Kogler, Kalcher, and other useful people in the congregation were especially remembered with good gifts. To what other congregation in America do such benefactions occur! Oh, give thanks, give thanks unto God with me, give our God the glory!

III). To the benefactions received this time belong particularly the valuable and magnificent books sent to us and the congregation from Halle and Stuttgart, once more a right special blessing of the Lord. Till now God has made our Ebenezer like a gathering place of choice good books, from which the people in Savannah, Purysburg, and other places have also been able to partake extensively, at no cost. In this too Ebenezer has the advantage over many thousands of other places in Christendom. Should that not awaken us to an inward praise of God and to heartfelt intercession for our dear benefactors? It is a pleasing favor for us that many of our worthy benefactors have become known to us along with the circumstances of their persons, families, and the countries wherein they dwell so that we can bring their needs as our own before the sight of the Lord.

Sunday, the 13th of December. I received a letter from Savannah from the Commissioner /Vigera/ in which, amongst other things, he described the wretched state of the Swiss both aboard ship and now in Savannah. A man named Riemensperger, who fetched them from Switzerland, requested in the commissioners letter and in another letter from Charleston for one of us to come to Savannah and to take up the cause of these people. We would do it gladly if only it were possible this week, and prior to the holiday. A party of the above-mentioned Swiss will soon be taken by their leader Riemensperger to Saxe Gotha in South Carolina to settle. I fear they will go from the frying pan into the fire and into new distress.

Monday, the 14th of December. /Christian/ Riedelsperger today married the Schweighoffer womans eldest daughter /Maria/, who was first in the orphan house and served my dear colleague for some time. Just as the mother had previously prayed intensely for her little girl to be provided for body and soul with a Christian husband, her heavenly Father has now put cause for His praise on her lips: for this Riedelsperger is heartily God-fearing, manages his household very well, and has been successful and blessed in everything he has undertaken till now. At the marriage we showed them from 2 Peter 3:14 how they should spend their present time of grace in their state of matrimony according to Gods will: it should be for them 1) a time of waiting for the fulfillment of the divine promises, and 2) a time of worthy preparation for the coming of Christ.

Thursday (sic!), the 15th of December. I brought home to the congregation gathered on the plantations, as I had done on Saturday evening in town, the important causes that should awaken us to fervent gratitude and zealous intercession. The Lord granted me joy and strength in that as well as in reading and inculcating a few important points from the letters. By its important and blessed content the superscript little verse Great peace have they which live thy law: and nothing shall offend them became more dear and valuable to us than gold and silver. It was agreed after the edification hour that a few knowledgeable men of the old and new parishioners would inform themselves where the good land was in two areas, and report thereon. I hope God will give His blessing to it so that the people may be set to building on nearby land not only soon but also according to their wish.

Since our dear Lord has granted us considerable money for church construction, we likewise discussed completing the church in town as soon as possible and beginning a church on the plantations; for we cannot keep on asking our dear Ruprecht Steiner to hold the gathering in his dwelling, to the harm of his household, as the space for even the present parishioners is too constricted. Although neither of us is moving to the plantations permanently, nonetheless our dear benefactors will well recognize the need for a church there when they read that, for the sake of the women and little children, public divine services have to be held there every two weeks on Sunday, and that the congregation also gathers twice on workdays to be edified from Gods word with prayer and song. Construction always goes somewhat slowly in the congregation because the carpenters amongst us have been so few till now and their labor in arranging the plantations and cultivating the fields and various private structures have been so voluminous that one thing must wait for another. In addition the laborers are often afflicted with bodily weakness. It has been a great service for us that the very intelligent, skilled, and righteous Andreas Pilz has been sent us as a carpenter. Kogler deems him very worthy and hopes to accomplish much with him for the benefit of the congregation.

The reports transmitted from Prussia have been right edifying for us, and a special item of the history of our time.12 May it be written for posterity. God be praised!

Wednesday, the 16th of December. I was called to the plantations this morning to baptize Paul Zittrauers little child that was born last night. On this occasion I visited Peter Reiter. To be sure, he was on crutches, but right comforted in his Savior. God is letting him better recognize his misery but also Christ the Savior of poor sinners, so that he will neither despair nor rely on false comfort and become self-assured. I read him the weighty words from Hebrews 10:35 ff., Cast not away therefore your confidence, etc., For ye have need of patience, etc. He thanks God for bringing him back to Ebenezer once more. He would rather be ill here than healthy in Purysburg amongst the coarse folk. The Mauer woman /Catherina/recounted just the same thing to me yesterday, when her husband fetched her back,13 in quite poor bodily circumstances. What Ernst, Peter Reiter, and the Mauer woman underwent is a special trial and paternal chastisement from God, through which they were better brought into quietude for reflection and, by means of the divine word, for penitence and belief in the Lord Jesus. In this regard they thank God for this divine ordinance more than they show themselves impatient and disquieted. Kogler accompanied me a bit of the way back; and, his eyes brimming with tears, he recounted to me how God has made Peter Reiter into a quite different man from what he had been before. How pleased I am nonetheless that this impartial, conscientious, and skilled carpenter received in the trunk from Wurttemberg a piece of clothing as a gift! Many hand tools have been used up in his work for the congregations benefit: he lost 15 sh. Sterl. in one day at the mill thereby. Hence it is fair and in accord with the purpose of the benefactors for us to think about him too with regard to the hardware in the trunk.

Thursday, the 17th of December. The letters from our dear Prof. Francke gave us new courage today in our ministry. We are being helped by so many dear servants and children of God, whom our Father in heaven cannot possibly leave unheard, consequently we can look forward to continued blessings from God in our future ministry.

Friday, the 18th of December. In the edification hour on the plantations we profited so much from the remarkable report in the worthy Prof. Franckes letters on the internal and external tribulations that are befalling the Lords work inside and outside of Halle, that none of us, especially amongst the new parishioners, should despair or let his spirits fall if there are difficulties here and there in arranging their plantations and their households. God hath promised not to abandon or to forsake those who fear, love, and trust Him. He never said, however, that there would be no distress or trial, rather He has previously said in His word that we should compose ourselves for it. He has said He intends to help, but He has concealed the hour of His help from us and has directed us to wait. It is often said: Mine hour is not yet come.

The new parishioners are often referred to the experience of their countrymen in the congregation who can tell them that there have been all sorts of trials and exertions from the beginning till now in Old and New Ebenezer but that the Lord has helped us through all of them so far. Our gracious God has ordained for them to come ashore and to Ebenezer before Christmas; it might have befallen them otherwise as has happened to others, who drive around on the sea so long that they had to spend Christmas aboard ship. This kind dispensation of God, however, should remind them to apply their time of grace amongst us constructively, to prepare for the holy celebration in a Christian manner and to observe it to His glory and their salvation such that the first Christmas they celebrate in America and in the New World with a new heart might prove to be an eternal blessing.

With regard to the heartfelt wish of our worthy Professor, that the Lord will cause the new transport to reach us safely and that all the gifts will cause us and our congregation joy, refreshment, strengthening of faith, and praise of God, I expressed my wish that just as the first had occurred, the second wish might come to rich fulfillment so that no displeasure, grumbling, suspicion, envy, etc. might be felt in the distribution before us. I asked them to pray that we be brought more and more into a state to distribute the copiously collected gifts according to Gods will and the intentions of the benefactors. With that I read aloud to them the very pleasing four points our dear Mr. Ziegenhagen had most kindly written to us as general pre-reminders concerning the gifts of money and goods that were to be distributed. This was done to make clear to the people of the 4th transport that the many gifts in the crate from Wurttemberg were not destined for them alone, as some had suggested, but also to the other inhabitants of Ebenezer and that in the distribution of some of the money we had to consider just those who had little or nothing.

We deem it a great benefaction, which will greatly lighten the distribution for us, that the money from Wurttemberg has been exchanged for Sterling and everything parcelled out, whereby the particular sums may be applied according to the will of the benefactors. This evening we profited from the two very dear and impressive letters from Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen and Pastor Majer, with divine assistance and noticeably felt blessing, and we will do the same soon on the plantations. May God also restore copiously to them the time and energy they spent on it and inspire everyone [as is now our good intention] to fervent intercession for their worthy personages and their circumstances which have now become known to us.

Because of many other expenses, the Lord Trustees are not in a position to supply subsistence money to the 4th transport longer than six months, and therefore we are hurrying all the more to get them settled on their land soon so that they can seed their ground at the proper time and, with Gods blessing, hope for a harvest. Nine families have now already been provided for according to their wish and can remove any day to their own very well laid-out land as soon as their baggage and effects are brought up. They are: Andreas Pilz, Martin Lackner, Caspar Graniweter, Georg Glaner, Bernhard Glocher, Simon Rieser, Georg Eigel, Balthasar Bacher, and Hans Maurer. The single women are partly in our service and partly in that of the orphanage and other Christian people, till God sends them an opportunity to marry in a Christian manner.

Sunday, the 20th of December. Yesterday morning we held confession and prepared for Holy Communion on the plantations, and in the evening at the regular prayer hour we did the same with those who went to the Lords table today. They numbered fifty persons. N.s wife was admitted amongst us today for the first time. Previously it was of no use to him himself to have her at this holy sacrament, which belongs only to Christs disciples, in the state in which she was then; but now he can vouch for her, and her desire for Holy Communion comes from a correct basis. Most of the new parishioners were at the public divine services and Holy Communion in town so that the church was practically full. Today our dear Lord has also caused us much good in recognizing our deep corruption and the depth of His grace in Christ. Because our miraculous God brought this 4th transport to the country and to Ebenezer in the Advent season, we mentioned the fact of this timing in our application and brought to their hearts the little verse, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock, etc. for their constant remembrance and perception of the grace of the Lord that is working in them, and their resulting duty.

Monday, the 21st of December. Yesterday evening two Salzburgers took the trouble to bring to me hurriedly a dear letter from General Oglethorpe, which had come to the plantations via Abercorn. Someone had told them it was very important. From it we can recognize this dear gentlemans honest feelings towards our congregation and all miserable people in this country.

In the afternoon Commissioner Vigera and the surgeon, Mr. /Johann Ludwig/ Meyer, arrived safe and sound amongst us. Privately and publicly we praised the Lord together for all His benefaction which had befallen them till now. In these two men we believe we have received two dear friends and helpers; and our Father in Christ will join our hearts through His spirit so that we will stand as one man, serve Him sincerely, and be profitable to our neighbors in both spiritual and physical ways. Mrs. /Elisabeth/ Meyer is still with their baggage and is coming tomorrow by boat, God willing, to our place. God has manifested a miracle of His love and solicitude in this frail lady, who was ill in Memmingen often and for a long time, by strengthening her body and keeping her in good and content spirits till now. In todays evening prayer hour we took the little verses which flowed from the pure source of the divine word by means of the hearts and pens of our treasured friends and intercessors in Augsburg and came to us with the 4th transport. Yesterday afternoon my dear colleague made two of them, Be careful for nothing, but in all things . . ., etc. (Philippians 4), likewise, And become as little children (Matthew 18) profitable for the congregation, and today we repeat: Great peace have they which live by thy law, etc., and we observe at the same time the treasured words which stand at the head of the verses: Psalm 130: I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.

Tuesday, the 22nd of December. All of the families of the 4th transport have now been provided with good land, and we are only awaiting the surveyor so that each householder may be shown the boundaries of his land. A few are getting their plantations on the right side of town on the Ebenezer Creek, and have only a half hours travel for church and school. A few are settling on a very good piece of land between town and the plantations, which the widow Gruber and Kalcher are ceding to the new colonists as their property. The remainder are taking their land below the mill near that of the old colonists. Some have land left over and have settled on only half their plantations and are filling out the remaining number of their allotted acres with land which has timber and pasturage and can someday be made profitable with little improvement. They all show themselves quite pleased with the fertility and position of their land. They see in the example of the old parishioners what a great advantage it brings even in bodily matters when neighbors are of one mind and help one another in fence making, construction, and other things. Hence I hope they will let themselves be moved to walk in the others footsteps for their own advantage. If they accept good advice, which the current inhabitants have been giving them on the arrangement of their domestic concerns, they will, with divine blessing, soon prosper. It is also a great benefaction that they are not burdened with fetching provisions, rather they can fill their needs in our place. They have exercised foresight by bringing all their things, clothes, and effects with them from Germany.14 The first colonists, on the other hand, in fear that they might have to pay the freight or be too burdensome to their benefactors, gave away or sold most of their things.

Wednesday, the 23rd of December. The surveyor /Avery/ has sent me the plan or sketch of the situation of our city, gardens and fields, which I have long wished to see in order to transmit it to our benefactors and friends in Europe. Everything was done very accurately, and only a few small marks are lacking to present everything better, for example, where the mill, Old Ebenezer, Purysburg, Abercorn, etc. lie, all of which will easily be supplied when he comes to us. This afternoon we were visited by the surveyor /Avery/whom the Lord Trustees are employing to finish a general map of the whole province of Georgia, which is more accurate than any ever seen. For this reason he and his people travel around the entire country and do their work especially on the rivers and river banks. He had himself guided through our place and was also on the plantations, and he promised to write many good things to the Lord Trustees about the arrangements, which he himself has seen. He wishes to return after the holidays and show our people an advantage at the mill which he said would prove very useful to us. He is a trained engineer and seems to be quite honest and obliging.

Our worthy Senior Riesch has done us a very pleasing favor in writing a very impressive letter not only to us but also to the entire congregation. In it he urges upon us especially the beautiful contents of the treasured words of Christ: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, etc. We rightly see it as something important that God causes such material to be guided to our minds at various times prior to the holy celebration of Christmas, not only from these letters but also by means of the precious and weighty verses transmitted to us. By this means we may avoid those cares which hinder us in the worthy preparation for the holy celebration and for eternity and to the contrary, we may faithfully practice other necessary things which should advance us to our salvation. May He give us all faith and steadfastness! If we do what pertains to us and accommodate ourselves to divine order, God will do what pertains to Him and gladly keep His promise to us, for it is His desire to render good to us.

The 25-27th of December . . . was the holy celebration of Christmas, in which we felt powerfully the presence of the Holy Ghost while both preaching and hearing. Hence we feel all the more obliged to bring the most sincere praise and thanks to our gracious Father in heaven through Jesus Christ for all strength of soul and body, and for the manifold blessings which He has bestowed upon us and our parishioners through the preaching of His word. The pious amongst the new colonists deem the external calm of our place even on holidays within and without the church a great benefaction. May God further deign to grant and bestow it on us in His mercy!

Monday, the 28th of December. Last night our dear Lord stood graciously by the Lackner woman /Margaretha/ in her difficult delivery and gladdened her with the sight of two little children. Since one of them is fairly weak, I soon went out to guide both of them to the Lord Jesus through holy baptism, because my dear colleague, Mr. Boltzius, had traveled to Savannah this morning with Mr. Vigera. While I was returning, a Salzburger recounted to me joyfully that the Lord had again accepted his soul warmly. He said he had thought he would have to go from the celebration without blessing, but finally our dear Lord took pity on him and assured him anew of His grace. He spoke of it with me only a little and among other things he told me how he was faring, to wit, he was asking God for greater recognition of his sins. Even if our dear Lord should hear such prayer, He would not be satisfied, and if he were to feel no more grace, he would no longer know how he stood with God. However, yesterday our dear Lord had caused him to recognize how he should deport himself. I took leave of him with the words: Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts, and without wavering (for he is faithful that promised).

When I returned to town I married Jacob Schartner to the Rauner woman /Maria Magdelena/ and submitted not only to them but to the others present the words of our treasured Savior: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. In the evening I read aloud in the prayer hour the last part of the very beautiful letter which the worthy Senior Riesch wrote to our congregation. Among other things it was especially noteworthy that he wrote that they wished not to forget us, rather always to place us into the heart of God our Lord in the Sunday evening prayer hours and elsewhere. Such communications are especially dear to us; it is as if some loyal servant of God were to come to us from Germany and hold a sermon for us. May the Lord reward His servants and compensate them always for the energy they apply in this for the sake of Christ our Savior!

Tuesday, the 29th of December. In the evening at the prayer meeting I read aloud a letter from a pious Salzburger to our congregation. In it this dear man bore beautiful witness to the great grace God has manifested in his soul; and this gladdened and encouraged me and the others greatly. Everything was written right simply and sincerely, hence, as already mentioned, it was read with much edification. The Lord be praised for it, and may the dear man be strengthened right abundantly in His grace.

Wednesday, the 30th of December. This morning after school one of the new colonists called on me and recounted how our dear Lord had manifested great mercy in his soul last Sunday. He had been unable to be present on both holidays because he had been ill. Nonetheless God strengthened him so much that the following Sunday, he was able to be there both morning and afternoon, and there God had laid a great treasure into his heart, which gladdened him greatly. He is very happy that God has led him to Ebenezer. He is quite comforted and content with everything.

Towards evening the great blessing our loving God granted us from Wurttemberg and Augsburg arrived at our place. We soon unpacked it and found that everything was still undamaged except that a few things got wet which we can dry again. With the things laid out we bent our knees and praised our dear Lord and begged for ourselves and our dear benefactors rich blessings, especially that our loving God would requite each and every one with thousandfold blessings. May He also help us have the distribution take place in such a way that His name may be glorified thereby, and our own and the congregations temporal and especially eternal salvation be advanced!15.

Thursday, the 31st of December. Koglers little three year old girl /Maria/ gave us right great pleasure by reciting very accurately a few little verses. From it I could tell that the parents take great pains with the child and are encouraging her to Gods word at the right time, as Lois and Eunice did with Timothy.

Things look very lamentable with the lately arrived Swiss. Almost every day some of them die. A few of the English have also become mortally ill from them. I have suggested to the authorities a few brave women who would undertake to care for these people for pay. Because two are not sufficient, I have charged some men to find a few; and I can recommend highly that the authorities pay them well.16 General Oglethorpe has sent a surgeon to the Swiss and has offered them good conditions under which he would have taken them into his care; but they are bullheaded, coarse, and obstinate.

Today I and my dear colleague and Mr. Vigera were busy with the division of the gifts from Augsburg and Wurttemberg in order to ready them for distribution as soon as possible. Now at the close of this 1741st year we glorify our eternally gracious God and Father in the name of Jesus Christ from the bottom of our hearts for all the mercy and paternal care He has shown till now to us ministers and parishioners, young and old, children and adults and widows and orphans! May it be His intent, for the sake of the merit and comforting intercession of Christ, to forgive us all errors and weaknesses which have crept in and to anoint us with His spirit anew and to place us in a position to effect much good for eternity in the new year that is soon to begin! Amen!

APPENDIX I

Hymns Sung by the Salzburgers in the Year 1741

Hymns followed by F-T and volume and song number are reproduced in Albert Friedrich Fischer - W. Tumpel, Das deutsche evangelische Kirchenlied des 17. Jahrhunderts (Gutersloh, 1916, reprint Hildesheim 1964).

All authors are identified in Albert Friedrich Fischer, Kirchenlieder-Lexikon (Gotha, 1878, reprint Hildesheim 1967).

Auf! auf! mein Hertz mit Freuden . . . (Up, up, my heart with joy), by Paul Gerhardt, p. 184. F-T III, p. 388.

Befiehl du deine Wege . . . (Commend thy ways), by Paul Gerhardt, p. 55. F-T III, p. 435, or by Johann Olearius, F-T IV, p. 380.

Das Leben unsers Knigs siegt . . . (The life of our King doth conquer), by Christian Friedrich Richter, p. 76.

Der Tag ist hin . . . (Day is done), by Joachim Neander, p. 274. F-T III, p. 552.

Dir Jehovah will ich singen . . . (To thee Jehovah will I sing), by Bartholomus Cresselius, p. 166.

Eins Christen Hertz sehnt sich nach hohen Dingen ... (A Christians heart doth yearn for lofty things), by Maria Magdalena Bhmer, p. 286.

Es kostet viel, ein Christ zu seyn . . . (It costs much to be a Christian), by Christian Friedrich Richter, p. 559, n.2.

Gott hat alles wohl bedacht . . . (God hath planned all things well), by Gustav von Mengden, p. 563, n.13. F-T IV, p. 576.

Gott lsst die Seele nicht, er hat sie viel zu lieb . . . (God will not forsake the soul, He loves it far too much), unidentified, p. 547, n. 24.

Guter Hirte, willst du nicht . . . (Good Shepherd, wilt Thou not?), by Johann Scheffler, p. 144. F-T V, p. 437.

Ich bin ein armes Menschen-Kind ... (I poor child of man), by Heinrich Georg Neuss, p. 44, 49.

Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott . . . (Come Holy Ghost, Lord God), by Martin Luther, p. 411.

Nicht so traurig, nicht so sehr . . . (Not so sad, not so very), by Paul Gerhardt, pp. 44, 55.

Nun dancket alle Gott . . . (Let all give thanks to God), by Martin Rinkart, p. 224.

Nun freut euch liebe Christen gmein . . . (Now rejoyce together all ye Christians), by Martin Rinkart, p. 373. F-T I, p. 511.

Nun will ich mich scheiden von allen Dingen . . . (Now I will leave all things), by Johann Scheffler, p. 26.

O dass ich tausend Zungen hatte . . . (Oh, had I a thousand tongues), by Johann Mentzer, p. 490.

O Jesu, du bist mein . . . (Oh Jesus, Thou art mine), by Heinrich Georg Neuss, p. 44.

O, wie selig sind die Seelen . . . (Oh, how blessed are the souls), by Christian Friedrich Richter, p. 26.

Sey hochgelobet, barmhertzger Gott . . . (Be highly praised, merciful God), by Ludwig Andreas Gotter, p. 89.

Sey Lob und Ehr dem hchsten Gut . . . (Praise and glory be to the highest Good), by Johann Jacob Schutz, p. 4]].

Sey mir tausendmal gegrusset . . . (Be greeted by me a thousand times), by Paul Gerhardt, p. 373. F-T III, p. 459.

Solt ich meinem Gott nicht singen? . . . (Should I not sing unto my God?), by Paul Gerhardt, p. 5]4. F-T III, p. 416.

Weg mein Hertz mit den Gedanken . . . (Away my heart with all such thoughts), by Paul Gerhardt, p. 410. F-T III, p. 382.

The following passage is cited from Befiehl du deine Wege:

Wirds aber sich befinden, dass du ihm treu verbeibst, so wird er dich entbinden, da dus am wenigsten glaubst, er wird dein Hertze lsen von der so schweren Last, etc., p. 547. (Correction. From Befiehl du deine Wege.)

The following passages are cited from unidentified hymns:

Kein Snd, kein Tod im Weg mehr seyn, die Strasse hlt er frey und rein, Halleluja!, p. 554.

Sein Wort lass dir gewisser seyn, und ob dein Hertz sprch lauter Nein, so lass dir doch nicht grauen, p. 558.

Lass es kommen, kommt es doch, von geliebten Hnden. Kinder, die der Vater soll ziehen zu allen Guten, die gedyen selten wohl ohne Zucht und Ruthen: Bin ich denn nur Gottes Kind, warum wollte ich fliehen? da er mich von meiner Snd zu was Guts will ziehen!, p. 567.

Dein Blut, der edle Saft, hat solche Strck und Kraft, dass auch ein Trpflein kleine, die gantze Welt kann reine, p. 568.

Thue als ein Kind, und lege dich in deines Vaters Arme, bitt ihn und flehe, dass er sich dein (wie er pflegt) erbarme, p. 565.

NOTES

Works Abbreviated in Notes


CR


Allen Candler, ed., The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia (Atlanta, 1904ff.)


DR


George F. Jones, et al., Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants ...(Athens, Ga., 1968ff.)


GHQ


Georgia Historical Quarterly.


UN


Samuel Urlsperger, ed., Ausfhrliche Nachricht von den Saltzburgischen Emigranten ... (Halle, 1735ff.)


Smith


John A.M. Smith, Purrysburgh, South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine X (1909), 189-219.


Stephens I


The Journal of William Stephens 1741-1743, ed. E. Merton Coulter (Athens, Ga. 1958)


Stephens II


The Journal of William Stephens 1743-1745, ed. E. Merton Coulter (Athens, Ga. 1959).

Notes to Introduction

1. Henry Newmans Salzburger Letterbooks, ed. George F. Jones (Athens, Ga. 1966), SALZBURGER SAGA (Athens, Ga. 1984).

2. CR1:77-79.

3. The Secret Diary of Pastor Johann Martin Boltzius, GHQ 53 (1969), 78-110.

4. Ausfhrliche Nachrichten von den Saltzburgischen Emigranten, ed. Samuel Urlsperger (Halle, 1737ff.).

4. Whitefields colleagues, Barber and James Habersham, the director of his orphanage, became so obnoxious and insulting to the Anglican minister Orton in this matter that they had to be jailed (Stephens I, 29).

January

1. It is to be remembered that, in Pietist jargon, honest (ehrlich) meant accepting Pietist tenets.

2. An abandoned sawmill built by a Swede named Purker. See DR 5:143.

3. Pletter had reason to be suspicious, having previously been robbed of 5 ь (DR5:149-163).

4. All adult males in Purysburg had to serve in the militia.

5. Maria, nee Zugseisen, wife of Bartholomaeus Rieser.

6. This was Johann Schwarzwlder, progenitor of many Blackwelders.

7. In King James this is Psalms 4:3.

8. This is an allusion to a hymn. See July, note 15.

9. Whitefields family meant his colleagues: the manager, James Habersham; the doctor, Patrick Hunter; and the chaplain, Jonathan Barber.

10. Unidentified devotional tract.

11. At the Processus Judicii (the Day of Judgment) Christ will judge people according to their faith, not according to an absolute decree (predestination), by which some men are damned in advance.

12. The shoemaker, Jacob Reck, was a non-commissioned officer in Jacques Richards military battalion.

13. As a male adult of Purysburg, Kieffer was obliged to serve in the Purysburg battalion. Surprisingly, this is Boltzius only indication that Kieffer served at St. Augustine. Perhaps Urlsperger had deleted earlier mention.

14. Boltzius uses the word sackcloth (Sacktuch) to mean the cloth through which the flour was strained.

15. Waterground cornmeal is still cherished in Georgia.

16. Boltzius was misinformed about the relative ages of the Kieffer boys. Theobald, Jr., was the second son, Johann Jacob was the older. A list of Purysburg settlers in 1732 gives Jacque Kueffer as 16 and Theobald as 13 (Smith, 209).

17. Jacob Kieffers mother-in-law, Mrs. Depp, lived in Orangeburg, having left her daughter in Charleston. It should be remembered that, in Pietist parlance, miserable (elend) meant alienated from God.

18. Anastasius Freylinghausen, Compendium doctrinae christianae (Halle, 1733).

19. Like the medieval churchmen before him, Boltzius believed that all persons and acts in the Old Testament foreshadowed or prefigured those in the New.

20. Significative yet exhibitive symbols.

21. Stamping mills removed the outer husk so that the rice could be milled. It was laborious work by hand.

22. Preparation for Holy Communion.

23. A kind of divine judgment.

24. A fond and indulgent mother.

25. Boltzius seems to be referring to a slave-operated plantation Whitefield kept in South Carolina to supply his orphanage in Georgia, where slavery was prohibited.

26. Some measure of dominion.

27. Breaking through (durchbrechen) was a Pietist expression meaning to come to a realization that Christ through His merits can save even the worst sinner.

28. Since there were only two Kieffer boys, the words middle son suggest that Boltzius was now including Kieffers son-in-law Valentin Depp. The middle son is probably Theobald, Jr. See note 16.

29. Charles VI, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, died in October 1740.

30. This was wishful thinking. The British first took Havanna in 1762.

31. The school held in the vernacular for the folk at large, as opposed to the Latin School held for boys headed for the professions.

32. Herrnbergers defection had not been mentioned in the Ausfhrliche Nachrichten. This suggests that Urlsperger had deleted it.

February

1. Fieber-Kuchen. A swollen organ, apparently the spleen, affected by malaria.

2. At his own advice.

3. It is not known why Boltzius consistently called Thomas Jones Monsieur.

4. This was a subsidy of one shilling for each bushel of corn raised.

5. God is often greatest in the smallest things.

6. See Jan., note 1.

7. This was Jacob Kieffer. See notes Jan., 16 and 28. Boltzius was still unaware that Jacobs wife was pregnant by her former fianc.

8. Against the sixth (commandment), the seventh according to English usage. For Boltzius, even premarital sex was adulterous.

9. The Golden Mass-Manual, a devotional tract.

10. Bartholomus Rieser, aged 54, was old compared to Michael Rieser, aged 37.

11. From popular rumor.

12. The Greek letters are not clear in the Halle transcription. They seem to be hos en paranthe (as if in parentheses).

13. Reference to the murder committed by Mazzique and Shannon. See DR7:220,138.

14. Haus-Tafel or Tabula Oeconomica, edifying conversations between Martin Luther and his student table-mates. See Kurt Aland, Hilfsbuch zum Lutherstudium (Witten, 1970).

15. SPCK, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, English missionary society that paid the stipends of the Ebenezer pastors.

16. Probably the Lutherus redivivus of Martin Statius of Naugarten in Pomerania, who died in 1655.

17. Theft.

18. This reference is unclear; perhaps it refers to the owner of the ass and the colt requisitioned by the two disciples in Matthew 21:1-7.

19. Henry Bishop had judged well in calling Carpenter a sad reprobate boy (CR21:66).

20. Boltzius had failed to mention, or Urlsperger had deleted, the fact that Ortmann was running a store.

21. Boltzius means that the devils words on the pinnacle (Luke 4:10) are a garbled version of Psalms 91:11-12, this being another example of prefiguration. See Jan. note 19.

22. Legalistic people (who trust the Old rather than the New Testament) live in anxiety for fear they will be judged according to their sins instead of being saved by the merits of Christ.

23. These words are from a hymn, Wirds aber sich befinden, dass du ihm treu verbleibst, so wird er dich entbinden, da dus am wenigstens glaubst, er wird dein Hertze lsen von der so schweren Last, etc.

24. Got lsst die Seele nicht, er hat sie viel zu lieb. From another hymn.

25. Because Luther led the Reformation, many Americans are confused by the word Reformed, which they understand to mean Protestant rather than Calvinistic or Zwinglian. In Germany there was often intense rivalry between the Evangelicals (Lutherans) and the Reformed (Calvinists), whereas in America the two denominations often collaborated and even shared church buildings.

26. An allusion to her church penance for whoredom. See DR7:31.

27. Johann Heinrich Horb, Grndlicher Wort-Verstand des kleinen Catechismus Lutheri, 1693.

March

1. Boltzius had quoted the letter in English as given here, but Urlsperger translated it into German for the Ausfhrliche Nachrichten.

2. At this point Urlsperger adds the footnote, Up to now it has stood the test, because it has not suffered the least damage in spite of the sometimes high rising water. God will continue to hold His hand above it.

3. Boltzius was a well trained musicologist who had founded a music club, the Collegium Musicum, in Halle.

4. The absolutum decretum was the absolute decree by which God saved or damned people according to the dogma of predestination.

5. This seems to mean that, by dividing Protestants, the dogma of predestination actually aids the Roman Catholics even though they do not accept it.

6. The universal merit of Christ. By dying on the cross, Jesus saved all believing sinners, not just certain elect.

7. Elisabeth Penner, see entry for 17 March.

8. Michael Schneider was indentured to the Trustees, who had bought his labor from Capt. Thomson.

9. See Jan. note 27.

10. Josef Schaitberger, who had been expelled earlier from Salzburg, had settled in Nuernberg and written and smuggled devotional texts to his co-religionists back home. His most popular tract was his Send-Schreiben. He also composed the Exiles Song (Exulantlied).

11. He cured intermittent fevers with quinine bark.

12. With many words.

13. The first volume of the Ausfhrliche Nachrichten was followed by a large number of irregularly issued continuations, for which Urlsperger wrote inspirational and promotional prefaces.

14. Anonymously (the name being covered).

15. Barbara Kroehr, mother-in-law of both Boltzius and Gronau, had emigrated with her two older daughters, leaving her small children behind with her second husband.

16. As we shall see, God did this even more dreadfully than Boltzius hoped for.

17. Direct request. This confrontation is narrated in Boltzius secret diary (published in Georgia Historical Quarterly 53 (1969), 78-110).

18. At this point Boltzius inserts a seven-page quote from Urlspergers letters, which merely summarizes Boltzius earlier reports. Since it adds nothing new, it is omitted from this translation.

19. Repeatedly.

20. This illustrates the inspirational and promotional purpose of the Detailed Reports.

21. William Norris had tried to lay the baby to an indentured servant named Jacob Ruf and was believed, until the girl confessed to God and Boltzius. See CR5:255. A deposition of 11 April 41 signed by Boltzius, Thomas Jones, and Stephens is in the Public Records Office in Kew. See Earl of Egmonts Journal, p. 151.

22. This long document is in the Public Records Office in Kew (S.P. 42 138 00627).

23. The word Fathers, when capitalized, refers to the Reverend Fathers, or patrons of the Salzburgers: Samuel Urlsperger, Gottlieb August Francke, and Michael Ziegenhagen.

24. Henry Hamilton, who will reappear shortly.

25. and Halle added by Urlsperger.

26. Because of the War of the Austrian Succession, or the First Silesian War.

27. Henry Newman, from Massachusetts, was the secretary of SPCK. See Henry Newmans Salzburger Letterbooks, ed. George F. Jones, Athens, Ga., 1966.

28. No doubt Benjamin Sheftal, who came from Frankfurt on the Oder.

29. Nevertheless he did so. See March, note 22.

30. Special Introduction.

31. Allusion to Jeremiah 48:11.

32. Many of the Czars cadets, especially those from the Baltic area, were Lutherans.

33. Tallinn in Estonia was then a largely German city.

34. For Boltzius, ignorant (unwissend) meant poorly instructed in Pietist dogma.

35. Having been previously confirmed.

36. Words of the catechism.

37. Orangeburg is in South Carolina.

38. Johann Giessendanner was Johann Ulrich Giessendanners nephew, not his grandchild.

39. When passing through Augsburg, the Salzburg exiles had been housed in the Protestant poorhouse.

40. The late Professor Francke was August Hermann, the founder of the Francke Foundation.

41. Falsely assured of salvation because of good works.

42. Student of theology. This request was briefly but ably filled by Ulrich Driessler, who was already a mature man.

43. Beytrag zum Bau des Reiches Gottes, one of the contributions to a popular anonymous series of devotional works.

44. Having been publicly confirmed beforehand.

45. Before the Counter Reformation, Germans had favored old Germanic names like Albrecht, Conrad, Friedrich, Heinrich, Karl, Otto, Ruprecht, and Wilhelm. After the Counter Reformation, Catholics had to take on the names of saints, only a few of which, like Ludwig, Ruprecht, and Hedwig, were Germanic. The Protestants began taking names from the Old Testament as well as from scriptural saints, but the sum total of good names was small, at least half the Salzburgers having names from Boltzius short list.

46. Leonhard Rauner had died of dysentery returning from the siege.

April

1. This tenet, which goes back to Luthers belief that salvation can come from faith alone (sola fide), was the cornerstone of Pietist dogma and appears frequently in these reports.

2. These predictions were fulfilled by the War of the Austrian Succession.

3. Benjamin Sheftal.

4. John Terry, who cared for the 4th transport on the voyage and became recorder at Frederica, soon found this out. When he complained of the rapes committed by military officers there, some of them suborned a Palatine woman to accuse him of the same crime. William Stephens (Stephens II:265) believed their story. See CR25: 20,23.

5. Joys and sorrows.

6. This allusion is not clear.

7. Eye witness.

8. Probably Ambrose. Boltzius often failed to distinguish between the two brothers.

9. Rheinlnder had left Ebenezer and returned to New York, where he soon died. This was the first report of his death.

10. David Zblin, father of Johann Joachim Zubly. See note 16 below.

11. Boltzius soon discovered that the name was actually Zimmerebner.

12. Jacob Kieffer. See Jan., notes 16 and 28.

13. As his fee for grinding.

14. Michael Volmer had arrived with the Moravians before moving to Ebenezer, from which he absconded. (DR5:330, n.122).

15. In nomine Jesu, Amen, In the name of Jesus, Amen.

16. Johann Joachim Zubly, later leader of the Georgia dissenters and delegate to the Continental Congress.

17. Theobald, Jr. See note 12 above.

18. A text written after confirmation was introduced into Wurttemberg in 1722. The Lutheran Church in Wurttemberg has remained independent.

19. See Feb. note 25.

20. The Sunday of our Lords mercy.

21. The usual name of the Moravians, taken from the name Herrnhut, Count Ludwig von Zinzendorffs estate in Saxony, where they had taken refuge.

22. The two Helds and Robinson. Gottfried Christ had volunteered but did not serve.

23. To Orangeburg, S.C., to conceal her premarital pregnancy.

24. Usually written as John Francis Regnier, even though he seems to have been German-speaking.

25. Ebenezer was usually translated as God hath helped so far or else as stone of help. The second meaning is alluded to here.

26. Because Bogatzkys long poem had already appeared in the Fifth Continuation of the Ausfhrliche Nachrichten, Urlsperger deleted it, and we shall do so too. The content is summed up in the four verses cited, which mean more or less: Yea, even if all physical hardship were abolished, the test of faith would still be a struggle in the soul; remain in simplicity, aspire to no heights, remain in true unity with your ministers.

27. A long passage from Luther is omitted here as having no direct bearing on the Salzburgers.

28. See March, note 10.

29. The followers of Fausto Paoloa Sozzini (1539-1604), an anti-trinitarian active in Poland.

30. She was both French-speaking and Reformed.

31. Henri Francois Chifelle.

32. The nature of this punishment is not clear.

33. Snow is a negligible factor in the flooding of the Savannah River.

34. A panacea manufactured by Johann Caspar Schauer in Augsburg. This indicates that the orphanage was dealing in imports despite British mercantilist restrictions.

35. Although usually an accurate observer, Boltzius would seem to be in error here.

36. Such tall wheat appears in old European paintings, such as those of Breughel.

37. Meanwhile, Boltzius seems to have discovered the Kieffer boys relative ages.

38. The Schwarzwlders, see Jan., note 6.

39. Mrs. James Lewis Camuse, the wife of Jacobo Luigi Camuso, caused Col. William Stephens no end of trouble. She maliciously withheld information from the Salzburger girls sent to learn her art.

40. Bchlein von der Wohltat Gottes, a devotional work.

41. This is the only hint that she aborted the unwanted child.

42. Regensburg, sometimes called Ratisbon, was the seat of the Diet and of the Corpus Evangelicorum (Protestant Body). Many refugees from Upper Austria and Carinthia remained there hoping the Protestant delegates would recover the children they had been forced to leave behind.

43. Boltzius had visited the Moravians at Herrnhut. See May, note 21.

44. Urlsperger must have deleted mention of Spangenbergs first visit to Ebenezer.

May

1. This corporative view of society, in which every Christian had his divinely ordained place, was popular in the Middle Ages, for example in the writings of John of Salisbury.

2. The fourth Salzburger transport, which arrived at the end of the year.

3. Andrew Duch, whose artifacts are now collectors items.

4. Like Michael Rieser, she had resided in Memmingen after being expelled from Salzburg. Boltzius often named the place the Salzburgers had sojourned in Germany because the people there would be interested in their welfare.

5. French may have meant French Swiss. Languages were important, nationalities were not.

6. Perverted (verkehrt), the opposite of converted (bekehrt), meant turned away from God.

8. From a feeling of compassion.

9. Carl Heinrich Bogatzky, Gldenes Schatz-Kstlein der Kinder Gottes (Halle, 17??). This is the poet whom we slighted. See April, note 26.

10. With punishment.

11. Kein Snd, kein Tod im Weg mehr seyn, die Strasse hlt er frey und rein, HallelujaH, from an unidentified hymn.

12. He had served his indenture and was now free.

13. Through a legacy.

14. Whitefields orphanage at Bethesda.

15. The Francke Foundation was also sending missionaries to East India, whose reports appeared in Der Kniglichen Dnischen Missionarien aus Ost-India eingesandte Ausfhrliche Berichten (Halle, 1735 ff.)

16. It is to be remembered that the Archbishopric of Salzburg was not yet part of Austria but a sovereign principality.

17. Since the Savannah River never freezes, it is more likely that his feet had been bound too tightly.

18. Chiefly swamp hares (called marsh rabbits in the local vernacular), which are more numerous than cottontails on the Savannah delta.

19. The Salzburgers were slow to fish because in their homeland fishing was restricted to the nobility.

20. This would contradict the common belief that carp were first introduced from Germany. Perhaps this held for golden carp, a German specialty introduced from China.

21. See April, note 14.

22. Actually, his nephew.

23. Jubel-Predigten, by Georg Friedrich Rogall (1700-1733), student of August Hermann Francke at Halle and later theologian at Koenigsberg.

24. Here we see the work ethic taught by Luther and by the Augustinian monks before him.

25. With Sanftleben. See DR VI 132.

26. See Clarence L. Ver Steeg, ed., Patrick et al., A True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia. Athens, Ga.: U. of Ga. Press, 1960.

27. This does not imply that the previously mentioned merchant was a German; Boltzius means another man, a German. The merchant was English, as revealed in the entry for 11 June.

28. Much of the wheat that was then being brought to Philadelphia by the Germans of Western Pennsylvania was being converted into hardtack for ships and the West Indies.

29. des seligen Arnds Passions-und Oster-Predigten, a book of sermons by the author of True Christianity.

June

1. a portori must be a scribal error, possibly for a fortiori (all the more).

2. The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

3. Stilo novo, anno currente. According to the old or Julian Calendar still used by the English, February belonged to the preceding year.

4. This view contradicts Boltzius usual view that only faith, not good works, will win heaven.

5. The larger part of the 20,000 or so Salzburger exiles were accepted by Frederick William, the Soldier King, and settled on his territories in East Prussia and Lithuania.

6. Biblical sayings.

7. The law of retribution.

8. New Windsor.

9. This letter has been published in Der Salzburger, No. 51 (1976 III), pp. 10-12, which is the quarterly of the Salzburger Verein in Bielefeld, West Germany. This letter gives the exact Salzburg residence of many of the Ebenezer exiles.

10. Caused by the War of the Austrian Succession.

11. Daily matters become humdrum.

12. Urlsperger censored all mail coming from Ebenezer.

13. Kaesemeyer was sharecropping for Friedrich Wilhelm Mueller. See DR7:56,134.

14. Without witnesses.

15. By now Thomson was in a regular business of transporting indentured Germans.

16. Eva Regina and Sybilla Friederica were daughters of a deceased Purysburg schoolmaster named Unselt.

17. But she was debauched even in the celestial city of Ebenezer, namely by Martin Dasher. See CR24:323-328; Stephens II, 147, 157, 265).

18. Because of the constant wars in Central Europe, many of Boltzius parishioners had seen service, including Arnsdorff, Ksemeyer, Ortmann, and Rauner, with all of whom he had friction. He also had difficulty with Anna Maria Bischoff, who had been a canteen woman.

19. Magdalena was an older daughter of Andreas Lorentz Arnsdorff by a previous wife. She had worked off her indenture in South Carolina and appears to have been very independent.

20. Samuel Lutz (1674-1750), Swiss pastor and scholar of Pietistic leanings.

21. Another of Boltzius many affirmations of his belief in salvation through faith alone.

22. Bible readings.

23. See April, note 25.

24. Since God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving, it is obvious that He sends us sickness only for our own good. Not only Boltzius, but also his parishioners, constantly refer to their salutary sickness.

25. Beschreibung eines verbesserten Fuersten-Staats, unidentified treatise.

26. As a German, Boltzius could not understand why the British authorities could not punish at his request, but demanded witnesses and proof of guilt. See CR24: 314, 321, 323 and Stephens II 147, 157.

July

1. German Protestants had expected everything of Good Queen Anne, the defender of their faith.

2. The exiles sojourning in South Germany. Prussia was outside the Holy Roman Empire.

3. Tax et tuba seems to mean a noisy champion.

4. See May, note 26.

5. See April, note 40.

6. The Salzburgers introduced the system of long lots, in which the land was parcelled out in long parallel strips, thus giving each person a fair share of good and bad soil and enabling them to build communal fences around their property.

7. Urlsperger made the change knowing that Pichler did not have a mother in America. Perhaps Boltzius meant his mother-in-law. He often referred to step parents and parents-in-law as parents.

8. He had planned to defect with Stephan Riedelsperger. See DR7:94, 132, 160.

9. For the Pietists, trge meant indolent in prayer. One could be trge if working too industriously for worldly purpose.

10. Among the people from Memmingen were Gabriel Bach, the Landfelders, Michael Rieser, and the two Spielbergers. This suggests that Pichler may have resided there too. All of them caused Boltzius much anxiety.

11. Apparently the mosquitoes at Old Ebenezer did not carry malaria. Also, as long as the wet land was shaded by trees, the mosquitoes did not breed well. At or near New Ebenezer there was an infected population and also cleared rice fields.

12. At Whitefields plantation in South Carolina.

13. She had been accused of fornication but had denied it in church, thereby being exonerated. Later she confessed. See DR5: 127-30.

14. Either Elisabeth (1724) or Eva (1728). See list of recipients, pp. 225-230.

15. Sein Wort lass dir gewisser seyn, und ob dein Hertz sprch lauter Nein, so lass dir doch nicht grauen. From an unidentified hymn.

16. August Hermann Francke, Lehre vom Anfang christlichen Glaubens (Halle, 1696 ff.)

17. Not to secondary causes, but first to God.

18. See July, note 10.

19. Gotthilf Israel Boltzius survived and studied at Halle, where he died in 1774.

20. This form of divination is not clear, but we may rest assured that it was performed with proper prayers.

21. To Charleston.

22. To the Reformed Church.

23. He eats while walking.

24. See note 16, above.

25. God is often greatest in the smallest things.

26. Jacobs wife is young in comparison with his mother, Mrs. Theobald Kieffer, Sr.

27. Until well into this century, sulphur and lard was a common cure for mange.

28. See Feb., note 20. Many school teachers, including Wertsch and Treutlen in Ebenezer, supplemented their low pay by keeping stores.

29. See March note 42.

30. Solomon means peaceful. Boltzius thought that Friedrich meant peaceful (Friedreich) too, but it actually meant the leader of a kinship.

39. Carl Heinrich Bogatzky, Gldenes Schatz-Kstlein der Kinder Gottes, Halle, various dates.

40. Wandering arthritis.

41. This is not vanity on Boltzius part. He means to other people (who are pious). See May note 27.

42. This must have been Gronau. Although a loving and kindly man, he did sometimes torment the children.

43. Merely his wifes labor. See entry for 27 July.

44. See May, note 26.

45. The spelling sesicutoria must be an error.

August

1. Most of the Salzburgers had been residing in southern Germany for some time before they were recruited for Georgia. Many Austrians and Carinthians were remaining in Regensburg in hope of pressuring the Protestant delegates at the Diet to recover the children they had had to leave at home when expelled.

2. Allusion to the hymn, Es kostet viel ein Christ zu seyn.

3. Fieber-Vertreiben. It seems surprising that the Pietists would wish to drive away a fever that is so beneficial for their Christianity, as Boltzius states at the end of the paragraph.

4. Eva Rosina Schweigers sisters were Sybilla Friederica, married Bishop, and Anna Justina. The boys were not identified.

5. The comparison of the past with our own times.

6. gelehnet. Boltzius is thinking in feudal terms; the Lord, like a temporal lord, grants a fief for only a limited time.

7. See Aug., note 1.

8. Mrs. Rieser had been the widow Ihler of Purysburg.

9. Boltzius was justified in his fear of the numerous sects which were tolerated in America and seduced many orthodox Christians. Today more Georgia Salzburgers are Methodists and Baptists than Lutherans.

10. This is the first proof we have that it was Jacob who made the trip. On July 1 and 5 Boltzius called him young Kieffer, and now he is the oldest son. He was the oldest of Kieffers two real sons, for Boltzius often used the superlative in distinguishing between two people. See Jan., notes 16 and 28.

11. Boltzius has corrected his previous error.

12. The word elend originally meant out of the land or exiled. The Pietists used it to mean alienated from God or sinful.

13. This was an error. The parishioners, including many Englishmen, championed Giessendanner when Bartholomus Zouberbuhler tried to arrogate his position.

14. Apparently a free or faulty rendition of Panta de euschemonos kai kata taxin ginestho (Let all things be done decently and in order.)

15. From the practice of the primitive church.

16. The questions posed in the catechism.

17. Catechism prepared by Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus and introduced into the Rhenish Palatinate by the Prince Elector Frederick III in 1563. It was the catechism of many of Georgias Palatines.

18. In the symbolism and not in the actual partaking of the body and blood of Christ.

19. August Hermann Francke, Ntige Prfung sein Selbst vor dem Gebrauch des Heiligen Abendmahls.

20. This was Noble Jones scout boat, of which Col. Stephens wrote at this time: Noble Jones having left his Boat in Charge of his Men to follow him (as said yesterday) they idled away their Time, and neglected to take the next Tide, getting Drunk, very probable, upon having just received their Pay; and it was towards Noon before they sett off to-day, after my threatening to deal with them as they deserved (CR, Supp. to Vol. IV, 263).

21. Like the Soviet Union today, the absolute princes of Europe looked upon their subjects as their personal property and therefore taxed them if they left. Even the Swiss had to pay an emigration tax, or leave clandestinely, as many did.

22. The surgeon must have been Jean B. Bourquin, who had been a surgeon in the Duke of Marlboroughs army and later settled at Purysburg in 1732. See Smith, p. 265 and Joseph Waring, A History of Medicine in South Carolina 1670-1825 (Columbia, S.C., 1964, 388).

23. Such as amputating both feet of Kieffers slave. See entry for 11 May.

24. This delay may have cost Ernst his life.

25. Peter Simond, a member of Simonds et Frres of London, seems to have been a Hugenot. His name appears as Simon, Simond, Simonds, Symond, etc.

26. The works performed. Here, the ritual itself, not the spirit behind it.

27. The raised serpent in Numbers 21:8.

28. Boltzius means Augusta.

29. Col. Stephens tells how the two Dutch children were indentured to an Indian trader, who mistreated and starved them and sent them to a distant plantation, where they were put under the charge of the two Negroes. When one of the Negroes tried to rape the girl, she screamed for help, and her master had her stripped and whipped. Fortunately, the commander at Augusta intervened and sent the children to Savannah (CR, Supp. to Vol. IV, 271).

30. The bulk of the exiles had gone to Prussia, where conditions were hard and many did not acquire land as expected. Ruprecht Zittrauer had already joined the 2nd transport in 1734.

31. The Treaty of Westphalia had recognized only Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformed. All other denominations were sects and generally scorned and persecuted.

32. Those who wrongfully think they have achieved salvation.

33. An unidentified medication.

September

1. Splendid vices.

2. Without tribulation.

3. Boltzius followed medieval churchmen in considering a pollution dream a sin, even though involuntary.

4. See April, note 25.

5. See Jan., note 1.

6. Boltzius had been informed by the Salzburgers, in whose dialect the word foot (Fuss) included the entire leg. In this case the hip was dislocated.

7. A merchant named Schlatter had sent much linen on consignment, which had been sold at the store, but never paid for. Boltzius wrote numerous reminders to the Trustees. On 27 April 41, Verelst could finally write, The Trustees have paid Messrs. Drewitt and Norris the ь 71.17.0 for the German Linnen which they sent, and was received into the Trustees store. (CR30:337)

8. Glory to God alone.

9. Although Boltzius usually checked out all information he received from his parishioners, he must have been in error here.

10. Because of the current criterion of her conversion. The woman was changing from Reformed to Lutheran.

11. See Aug., note 22.

12. The hand had been amputated at the armpit. See Sept., note 6.

13. So kommet vor sein Angesicht mit jauchzen-vollem Springen, bezahlet ist die gelobte Pflicht und lasst uns frhlich singen: Gott hat es alles wohl bedacht und alles, alles recht gemacht, gebt unserm Gott die Ehre. From the hymn Gott hat alies wohl bedacht, by Gustav von Mengden. This is a fine illustration of the theodicy then popular.

14. See Aug., note 29. Although Boltzius always refers to these young people as children, Eva Barbara was 25 and Catherina was 24, according to the list kept by the Earl of Egmont.

15. Abercorn Creek. This creek was formerly the western channel of the river, but its northern end had been silted up so that there was little current in it, thereby making it easier to row upstream.

16. This is the first reference to the fourth Salzburger transport.

17. Boltzius must have heard the story from Col. Stephens, who tells it similarly (CR, Supp. to Vol. IV 240-241).

18. He who is not known of himself is known by the company he keeps.

19. Like Boltzius and the other Germans, the British authorities in Savannah seemed to share the guildsmens disapproval of competition.

20. See May, note 26.

21. The particularity of Christs merits and the election by absolute decree. Whitefield claimed that Luther and Francke had shared his belief that Christ had died only for those individuals who had been elected for salvation, not for all men.

22. Many would have come to wisdom if they had not believed that they had already achieved it.

23. The poor woman was two and a half centuries too early with her ideas of womans liberation.

24. She was either Sybilla or Frederica. See Aug., note 4.

October

1. Apparently the Salzburgers were selling medications despite the English mercantile regulations.

2. See Sept., note 11. Note that, being a surgeon, he could cure only external defects. As a scholar, Boltzius looked down on surgeons as being empirical, as opposed to the physicians, who knew Latin and Greek and were full of ancient but usually completely false and useless knowledge. See entry for 20 Oct.

3. An abscess.

4. Chinquapins, chinkapins.

5. Probably cassina berries.

6. Rthelstein, apparently a red stone for marking.

7. Breypfngen, a variant of Breipfannen, porridge pan.

8. Bomasin, perhaps a medicine.

9. This contradicts his usual view toward work righteousness, or the attempt to achieve merit through ones own works. Luther had championed a work ethic, but work was to be done through love of God and man and not in hope of heavenly reward.

10. Boltzius doubts were well justified. Zouberbuhler tried to get a commission as an officer. When that failed and he still could not get a benefice as a Reformed minister, he switched and became an Anglican.

11. A student candidate for the ministry.

12. By High German, Boltzius meant those of his parishioners who spoke standard German, not a dialect like that of the true Salzburgers.

13. This may not have been the case. According to Francis Moore, the recorder at Frederica who came over along with the fourth transport, The Uchee Indian king and his people had a conference with Mr. Oglethorpe; they had taken some disgust at this colony, by reason of an indiscreet action of one of the Saltzburghers, who had cleared and planted four acres of land beyond the Ebenezer river, contrary to Mr. Oglethorpes order, and without his knowledge; they had also turned their cattle over the river, some of which had strayed away and eat the Uchees corn twenty miles above Ebenezer. (Francis Moore, A Voyage to Georgia Begun in the Year 1735, London, 1744. Reprint in Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, I [1840], 145).

14. It is to be remembered that miserable (elend) meant sinful.

15. Although witchcraft was common among the Pennsylvania Germans, it is attributed here to a Frenchman.

16. See Sept., note 7.

17. Justiciarius, the secular manager of an ecclesiastical estate.

18. Thue als ein Kind, und lege dich in deines Vaters Arme, bitt ihn und flehe, dass er sich dein (wie er pflegt erbarme), apparently from a hymn.

19. There were no volcanoes in the Cherokee country. Possibly Indians described those in the far west.

20. Stalactites and stalagmites, which abound in the caves of Appalachia.

21. Again Boltzius disapproves of competition, which is a sign of cupidity. Merchants should agree on a fair Christian price and not undersell each other.

22. Like John Wesley, Boltzius arrived imbued with ideas of the noble Red Man thirsting for the word of God, but he was soon disabused of all such misconceptions.

23. Henry Bishop, the son of a London grocer, who came with the second transport as a servant to Boltzius and became a true Salzburger.

24. A stone of hell. People still believed in the curative powers of certain stones for certain ailments.

25. Martin Luthers Tabula Oeconomica, or Table-Talk, a collection of edifying conversations with the students who dined at his table.

26. See Oct., note 2.

27. Stilo vetere, old style, according to the Julian calendar then still used in Great Britain.

28. Baron Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck, the commissioner of the first and third Salzburger transports, had left Ebenezer in disgrace. See DR Vol. III.

29. Baron von Reck was then serving a noble family as tutor.

30. The President and his Assistants. As President, Col. Stephens received 80 L per year (Stephens II, xxv).

31. An example of the British protective policy which contributed to the colonies desire for independence.

32. Probably Thomas Jones, an alcoholic trader, not to be confused with Thomas Jones, the keeper of the stores.

33. No sooner said than done.

34. Johann Arndt, Paradis-Grtlein, a devotional work.

35. Ehre und Lehre Augsburgischer Confession. An explanation of the Lutheran articles of faith.

36. Who is greatest in little things.

37. Divination with a sieve was black magic, but using two kettles as Boltzius did (p. 206) was godly, provided it was accompanied by sufficient prayer. Black magic (Schwarzkunst) was a translation of nigromancia, a corruption of necromancia, divination by consulting the dead.

38. This was a false rumor.

39. They were captured in South Carolina, but the governor refused to extradite them.

November

1. Her maiden name was Metzger. She married Gottfried Christ.

2. This is Pietistic rhetoric meaning they wished to open up a store.

3. For a while he was able to transfer some of the duties to Johann Ludwig Meyer.

4. Betrachtung von der Anwndung der schriftmssigen Einsamkeit. A devotional work. It is referred to by various titles.

5. Erquick-Stunden. Perhaps part of the title of the work.

6. In all respects.

7. Prayers and tears.

8. The paper currency issued by the Lord Trustees.

9. In 1741 the War of the Austrian Succession was being fought in Germany, and the Russians were regaining land from the Swedes in Finland. Although the states of Germany were always fighting against each other, the Germans felt a sentimental love for their disunited fatherland.

10. John McCloud had served in Darien because he could preach in Gaelic, or Irish as it was called, to the Highlanders, most of whom could not understand English.

11. The captain of Whitefields sloop.

12. A large dugout furnished with a sail used in inland waters.

13. The Trustees had promised a subsidy of one shilling per bushel to encourage the growing of grain.

14. This early Thanksgiving Day celebration has been little noted.

15. Characteristic.

16. Lass es kommen, kommt es doch, von geliebten Hnden. Kinder, die der Vater soll ziehen zu allen Guten, die gedeyen selten wohl ohne Zucht und Ruthen: Bin ich denn nur Gottes Kind, warum wollt ich fliehen? da er mich von meiner Snd zu was Guts will ziehen From a hymn.

17. Added by Urlsperger.

18. Further evidence that the Salzburgers were dealing in medicines. See Oct., note 1.

19. These were the Blacks who had abused the Heinrich children. The South Carolina authorities were retaliating because Georgia did not always return runaway redemptioners.

20. Another example of Boltzius fear of competition.

21. Renate Wilson has written on this subject.

22. The prodigal son.

23. The Ordnung des Heils was a text showing the steps a Christian had to take to be saved. The Pietist theologians, mostly scholars, had reduced it to an exact science.

24. Bavaria was, of course, part of the Empire. Boltzius uses the words into the Empire (ins Reich) to mean out of ones own province.

25. Dein Blut, der edle Saft, hat solche Strk und Kraft, dass auch ein Trpflein kleine, die ganze Welt kein reine, etc. From an unidentified hymn.

26. See March, note 10.

27. It was inconsistent on Urlspergers part to delete Ernsts name here but to leave it elsewhere.

28. It is to be remembered that Elend meant misery.

29. Reference to a hymn. See July, note 15.

30. Aeusserliche Ehrbarkeit. Good behavior in this world by which one erroneously thinks he can achieve salvation.

31. The widow, ne Metzger, who later married Gottfried Christ.

32. The custom of fencing out lasted into the 20th century. If you did not wish your neighbors cattle to eat your grass, it was your responsibility to fence them out, not his responsibility to fence them in.

33. It was amazing that it took the Salzburgers several years to realize how indispensable dogs and cats were. A good coon dog could have kept them supplied with meat during their first years.

December

1. The great works of God.

2. These planters were Hugh and Jonathan Bryan, who were under Whitefields influence.

3. This was Christian Theus. See A.S. Salley, The History of Orangeburg County. Orangeburg, S.C., 1898, p. 69 ff.

4. Understood here in the sense of The Lord hath helped so far.

5. durchgeholfen. The Lord had helped her through. He had brought her to the realization that, despite her sins, she could be saved by faith in the merits of Jesus.

6. Apparently, nationality, government to which one is subject.

7. Luthers translation differs greatly from the King James version and is more approximate here: Wir haben einen Gott, der da hilft, und den Herrn Herrn, der vom Zode errettet (Psalms 68:21).

8. The Europa.

9. Boltzius never explains why he always calls Thomas Jones Monsieur.

10. The Trustees were demanding that even those traders licensed in South Carolina have Georgia licenses.

11. Contraria iuxta se posita magis eluscent. The contrast between different things is clearest when they are placed side by side.

12. Reports from the Salzburgers kinsmen who had settled in East Prussia.

13. She had had painful treatment for an ulcer in the throat.

14. Settlers in America frequently wrote to their kinsmen who were coming to America to bring all their capital in objects, because everything in America was expensive and because the English farm tools were of poor quality.

15. Stephens tells how several of the German Wives who tended the sick Swiss brought the contagion into their own families (Stephens I 25).

16. He probably needed them either at Frederica or at his barony near Palachocolas.

INDEX

Abbreviations:

br = brother,

d = daughter,

h = husband,

s = son

w = wife,

wid = widow

Pal = Palatine,

Salz = Salzburger

Abercorn Creek (Hill River), branch of Savannah River, 101

absolutum decretum, See Predestination.

Ade, Friedrich, s Salomo, 230

Ade (Adde), Hieronimus Salomo, shoemaker from Tubingen, 53, 55, 141, 192, 203, 228, 292

Ade, Johann Heinrich, s Salomo, 230

Ade, Margaretha, Pal, w Salomo, 228, 292

Agriculture, see Crops.

Agricultural implements, 4, 174

Apprenticeships, 15, 29, 37, 179, 275, 305, 359

Anabaptists, German sect, 154

Arensdorff, see Arnsdorff

Arnd(t), Johannes, 288, 502.

Author of True Christianity, Paradis-Grtlein, Passion and Easter Sermons

Arnsdorff, Andreas Lorentz, Pal, deceased, 249, 250

Arnsdorff, (Catherina) Dorothea I, Pal, wid Andreas Lorentz, 226, 244, 251, 296

Arnsdorff, (Catherina) Dorothea II, d Dorothea I, 229

Arnsdorff, Magdalena, d Andreas Lorentz, 556 n 19

Arnsdorff, Maria Margaretha, d Dorothea I, 229

Arnsdorff, Peter, s Dorothea, I 226

Arnsdorff, Sophia, d Dorothea I, 229

Augsburg, city in Swabia, 110, 117, 155, 159, 187, 210, 215, 477, 520, 529

Ausfhrliche Nachrichten, contemporary edition of Boltzius reports, iv

Avery, Joseph, surveyor, 537

Bach, Gabriel, deceased Salz, 249, 294, 297

Bacher, Anna Maria, Salz, w Matthias, 58, 227, 290

Bacher, Appolonia, d Matthias, 230

Bacher, Maria, d Matthias, 230

Bacher, Matthias, Salz, h Anna Maria, 59, 62, 227

Bacher, Balthasar, Salz, 534

Bacher, Thomas, Salz, 496

Baptisms, see Births and Baptisms.

Barber, Jonathan, chaplain at Bethesda, iii, 81, 83, 487, 543 n4, 544, n 9

Barker, Joseph, Englishman at Old Ebenezer, 89, 91

Barn, 4

Beans, see Crops.

Berein, Lutheran chaplain in London, 142, 163, 239, 477

Bereng(er), Margaretha, see Zimmerebner.

Beschreibung eines verbesserten Frstenstaats, 557 n 25

Bethesda, Whitefields orphanage near Savannah, 65, 81, 101, 190, 554 n 14

Beytrag zun Bau..., devotional work, 550 n 43

Bible, 255, 288

Births and baptisms. Rottenberger, 17

Reiter, 48

Lemmenhofer, 87, 88

Kalcher, 120

Zittrauer, 123

Maurer, H., 174

Kogler, 243

Brandner, 264

Boltzius, 324

Maurer, G., 351

Zimmerebner, 385

Sanftleben, 390

Dresler, 481

Depp, 491

Pletter, 515

Schweiger, 516

Zittrauer, 532

Lackner, 538.

Bischoff, see Bishop.

Bishop, Henry, English servant, 226, 454, 496, 547 n 19, 565 n 23

Bishop, Frederica, nee Unselt, w Henry, 226, 245, 259

Boats for transport, 420, 485, 488

Bohmer, Magdalena, hymnist, 541

Bogatzky, Carl Heinrich, Pietist author, 119, 154, 155, 182, 552 n 26, 554 n 9

Boltzius, Christina Elisabeth, d. Johann Martin, born, 324

Boltzius, Gotthilf Israel, s Johann Martin, 230, 558 n 19

Boltzius, Johann Martin, pastor to the Salz: travels to Savannah, 9, 83, 125, 127, 143, 184, 208, 324, 371, 37576, 413, 454, 477

to Bethesda, 81

mails diaries and accounts, 239, 327, 417, 477

solicits funds, 76, 80, 296, 300, 445

daughter born, 324

maligned by Malcontents, 42223

opposes unsuitable settlers, 442, 446

asked to continue as administrator, 521; et passim

Boltzius, Samuel Leberecht, s Johann Martin, 230

Booklet of the Blessings of God, 173

Book of Gifts and Benefactions, 283

Bounty on crops, see Corn-shilling.

Bourquin, Jean, Swiss surgeon, 561 n 22

Brandner, Maria I, w Matthias, 226

Brandner, Maria II, d Matthias, 229

Brandner, Matthias, Salz, 58, 64, 175, 226, 264, 430, 471, 496

Bruckner, Georg, Salz, 66, 387, 496

Bryan, Hugh, South Carolina planter, 483, 488, 569 n 2

Bryan, Jonathan, South Carolina planter, 364, 377, 483, 491, 515, 569 n 2

Bhler, Peter, Moravian teacher in Purysburg, 163. 176

Burgsteiner, Agatha, w Matthias, 226

Burgsteiner, Johannes, s Matthias, 230

Burgsteiner, Matthias, Salz, 145, 226, 260, 497

Butjenter, Heinrich Alard, court chaplain at London, 514

Camuse, Mary (Maria Camuso), silk worker in Savannah, 172

Cannstadt, city on the Neckar, 519, 523

Carp, 198

Carpenter, Nicholas, former servant of Boltzius, now thief lurking in woods, 5, 51, 58, 65, 75, 105, 107

Carts, 170, 171

Cats, 510

Cattle and livestock, 21, 89, 256, 388, 432, 442, 510

calves 19, 49, 60, 76, 191

cows, 523

hogs, 27

oxen, 455, 491, 524, 527

Cattle prices, 108, 269, 377, 467

cattle diseases, 463

cattle thefts, see Indians.

Causton, Thomas, keeper of the stores, 172, 185

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, 129

Charleston, capital of South Carolina, 124, 128, 276, 287

journey to, 488, 493, 511

German people in, 511, 514

Cherokees, see Indians.

Chifelle (Chiffelle), Franois Henri, Reformed minister at Purysburg, 148, 162, 487, 552 n 31

Christ, (Johann) Gottfried, converted Jew, tailor, 33, 34, 57, 150, 171, 195, 227, 272, 388 ff.

Church at Ebenezer, construction, 4, 60, 51, 70, 71, 74, 84, 85, 89, 90, 93, 101, 171, 295, 298, 31213, 318, 331, 337, 391

consecrated, 411

Communion, see Holy Communion.

Compendium, see Freylinghausen.

Construction, see Barn, Church, Mill.

Contemplation of Solitude, etc, devotional tract, 478, 479

Continuations, later volumes of Ausfhrliche Nachrichten, 101, 215, 249, 287, 548 n 13

Contributions to the Building of the Kingdom of God, anonymous devotional tracts, 122

Corn, see Crops, Flour, Meal

Cornberger, see Kornberger

Corn-shilling, subsidy, 49, 76, 112, 120, 245, 268, 319, 489

Compen, Trustees cattle ranch at Old Ebenezer, ii, 19, 37

Cowherds, 86, 165. See Held, Nett, Schartner, Michael Schneider.

Cows, see Cattle.

Crafts: candles, 432

shoemaking, 50

ceramics, 179, 375, 45152, 46162, 554 n 3

Crause, see Krause.

Crecelius, Pastor at Reicheltheim, 272

Creek Indians, see Indians.

Crops, field : barley, 167, 510

beans, 214, 256, 495

corn, 2, 69, 101, 150, 199, 214, 298, 495

water ground corn, 16

flax, 209, 495

melons, 495

oats, 268, 495

peanuts, 495

rice, 94, 101, 113, 214, 453, 483, 495

rye, 167, 198, 495, 510

sweet potatoes, 495, 496

wheat, 167, 198, 268, 307; 486, 492, 510, 525

Crops, garden, 198

damage, 314, 429

harvest, 496

Custobader, Catharina, Pal, 228

Darien, Scots settlement, 487

Dairy products, 19

Dasher, Martin, Swiss, 556 n 17

Deaths. Simon Steiner, 14

Josef Ernst, 500

Kunlin, 518

Decretum absolutum, doctrine of predestination, iii

Deer, 510

Deer horns, 494

Depp, Mrs. of Orangeburg, mother of Valentin, 287, 353, 545 n 17

Depp, Valentin, Swiss fr Pbg, 29, 76, 359, 491

Diseaser arthritis vaga, 324

epilepsy (any seizures), 66, 427, 516

malaria, 286

quartan fever, 48, 90, 492, 504

tertian fever, 43, 492

intermittent fever, 90, 286, 380

fever cake, 48, 546 n 1

respiratory, 14, 25

scabies, 314, 317, 405

venereal, 297. See also Therapy and Cures.

Dogma of the Beginning of Christian life, 292

Dresden, capital of Saxony, 152

Dresler, ----, child of Georg, 481

Dresler (Dressler), Georg, Palatine, 443, 470, 477, 481, 483, 507

Driessler, Ulrich, minister at Frederica, 550 n 40

Duche, Andrew, potter, 179, 375, 45152, 46162, 554 n 3

East India, site of Lutheran missions, 191, 222, 237

Ebenezer, Salzburger settlement: Community expenses, 57, 71, 86, 165

founding remembered, 98101

financial support and gifts, 110, 111, 152, 215, 319, 328, 438, 470, 521, 529:

improvements proposed, 41617, 442, 444, 454

listing of adults, 22526

of children, 226

of deaths, 231

layout and planning, 330, 366, 369, 405, 431, 454, 474

requests to settle in, 8, 129, 151, 185, 212, 228, 284, 392, 404, 434, 43940

labor hiring out, 157, 254, 358359, 360, 376

outmigration, 267, 330

trade, 485, 512

4th Salz transport, 524, 534, 536

Ebenezer, meaning of word, 154

Ebenezer Creek, creek entering Savannah River at Ebenezer, 99, 508

East India Company, 462

Eigel, Georg, Salz, 4th trans, 534

Eischberger, Catherina, d Ruprecht, 229

Eischberger, Johann, s Ruprecht, 229

Eischberger, Maria, Salz, w Ruprecht, 226

Eischberger, Ruprecht, Salz, 226, 496

Ende, Baron von, benefactor, 464, 477, 566 n 29

English girl at Ortmanns, 286

Ernst, (Anna) Maria, 27, 227, 498

Ernst, Johannes, s Josef, 230

Ernst, Josef, Bavarian, 27, 66, 97, 181, 227, 233, 235, 248, 251, 264, 366, 369, 405, 431, 459, 468, 474, 493, 495, 497, 498, 500, 506, 516, 532

Ernst, Sabina, w Josef, 27, 251

Ernst, Susanna, d Josef, 230

Essentia dulci, a medication made at Halle, 10

Europa, ship carrying Swiss trans, 569 n 8

Fathers, Reverend. Patrons of Salzburgers, 114, 189, 549 n 23. See G. A. Francke, Urlsperger, Ziegenhagen

Fencing-out, 510, 568 n 32

Fever, see Disease.

Flerl, Anna Maria, nee Hopflinger, Salz, w Hans, 38, 90, 226, 290

Flerl, Carl, Salz, br Hans, 114, 227, 496

Flerl, Hanna, daughter Hans, 229

Flerl, Hans, Salz, 34, 96, 124, 125, 226, 290, 436, 496

Floerel, see Flerl

Flour and meal: from mill, 2, 11213

supplies requested from mill, 19, 65, 80, 112, 120, 41619

shortage, 108, 120, 417

prices, 112, 128, 150, 416, 429

seed, 268, 486, 495. See also Mill.

Fort Argyle, fort on Ogeechee, 297

Fourth Salzburger transport, 178, 207, 284, 417, 441, 459, 513, 514, 517, 524, 536

Francke, August Hermann, founder of Francke Foundation in Halle, ii, 117, 176, 558 n 16, 561 n 19

Francke, Gotthilf August, s August Hermann, 27, 49, 59, 101, 104, 120, 142, 145, 149 151, 155, 191, 195, 200, 202, 219, 239, 240, 532, 533

Francke Foundation (Franckesche Stiftungen), charitable institution in Halle and center of Pietist missions, iv, 554 n 15

Frederica, town on St. Simons Island. 2, 11, 37, 41

German people at, 120, 130, 213

minister to be appointed, 32021

Frederick William I, King of Prussia, 556 n 5

Freylinghausen, Johann Anastasius, Pietist theologian, author of Compendium doctrinae Christianae and many hymns, 18, 45, 116, 251, 255, 545 n 18

Fruit: peaches, 198, 269, 307, 317, 509

pears, 349

plums, 198, 246, 269

grapes, 235, 443, 495

Gerhardt, Paul, hymnist, 541

Gebhart, ___, serving girl, 289

Gebhart, Elisabeth, d Philip, 230

Gebhart, Eva, d Philip, 230

Gebhart, Magdalena, see Reiter

Georgi, Privy Counselor, benefactor, 520, 527

German Chapel in London, 74

German indentured servants in Savannah, 83, 128, 141, 1467, 179, 185186, 188, 211, 212, 234, 269, 295, 301, 324, 418, 443, 460, 483, 511, 318

Giessendanner, Johann Ulrich, Swiss pastor at Orangeburg, 117, 200

Giessendanner, Johann, nephew and successor of above, 117, 199, 213, 285, 354, 466

Gifts to Salzburgers, 210, 213, 215, 216, 224, 225

Glaner, Georg, Salz, 534

Glocher, Bernhard, Salz, 534

Glantz, Sebastian, deceased Salzburger, 99

Golden Mass-manual, see Gldenes Messbchlein.

Gotter, Ludwig Andreas, hymnist, 542

Graniwetter, Caspar, Salz, 534

Grapes, see vines

Grimmiger, Andreas, Austrian, 226, 247, 362, 496

Grimmiger, Anna Maria, wid Bischoff, w Andreas, 88, 226, 247

Grimmiger, Catherina, d Andreas, 229, 362

Gronau, Hanna Elisabeth, d Israel Christian, 230

Gronau, Israel Christian 1, assistant pastor with the Salz, travels to Savannah, 245, 280, 301, 390

to Charleston, 51114

attends sick parishioners at Purysburg, 371, 455; et passim

Gronau, Israel Christian II, s Israel Christian I, 230

Gruber, Johann, s Peter, 229

Gruber, Maria, Salz, wid Mosshammer, w Peter, 32, 38, 39, 70, 118, 136, 226, 481, 497, 536

Gruber, Peter, Salz, deceased, 32, 231, 481, 487, 503

Grunig, Gruening, Swiss, 200

Gschwandl, Margaretha, d Thomas, 229

Gschwandl, Thomas, Salz, 226, 496

Gschwandl, Sibilla, Salz, w Thomas, 226

Gldenes-Messbchlein, Catholic devotional manual, 53, 546 n 9

Gldenes-Schatzkstlein, devotional manual, 554 n 9

Haberfehner, Magdalena, deceased Austrian orphan, 38, 231, 278

Haberfehner, Susannah, Austrian orphan, 228

Habersham, Jas., schoolmaster at Bethesda, 19, 65, 76, 81, 113, 136, 213, 489, 543 n 4, 544 n 9

Hagen, Josef, Moravian in Savannah, 154, 193, 212, 370, 482

Halle, East German city, site of Francke Foundation, 44, 110, 155, 159, 163, 176, 187, 210, 211, 212, 213, 347, 477, 520, 529

Hamilton, Henry, indentured wigmaker, 110, 129, 142, 151, 228, 295, 367, 384, 422, 434, 549 n 24

Hamilton, Regina Charlotta, w Henry, 129, 151, 228, 295

Hares, 167, 198

Harper, Simon, English boy 163

Haus-Tafel (Tabula Oecononica), Luthers table talks with his students, 59, 457, 476, 546 n 14

Havana, Cuba; 42, English prisoners escape from, 414

Heinrich, captured by British, 472, 545, n 30

Heinrich, Catharina, d Peter, 230, 380, 41213, 418

Heinrich, Juliana, d Peter, 230, 41213, 418

Heinrich, (Anna) Margaretha, see Zittrauer, Paulus.

Heinrich, Peter, Pal, deceased, 231, 413

Held, Conrad (mistakenly Condrit), Pal herdsman, 196

Held, Elisabeth, w Conrad, deceased, 231

Held, Hans Michael, Pal Herdsman, 196

Held, Johann Georg, Pal, 497

Helfenstein, Anna Dorothea, Pal, wid Johann Jacob, 31, 85, 226, 254

Helfenstein, Christian, s An. Dor., 230

Helfenstein, Friedrich, s An. Dor., 230

Helfenstein, Jacob, s An. Dor., 230

Helfenstein, Jeremias, s An. Dor., 230

Helfenstein, Johannes, s An. Dor., 230

Hermann, Mr., bleacher in Kempten, 141

Herrnberger, Franz, tailor fr Hungary, 47, 200, 546 n 32

Herrnhut, estate of Count Zinzendorf in Saxony, refuge of Moravians, 176, 552 n 21, 553 n 43

Herrnhter, see Moravians

Hertzog, Martin, Salz, servant at orphanage, 16, 38, 39, 125, 227, 407

Hesler, Christian, Salz, 227, 496

Hesslin, Frau von, benefactress in Augsburg, 191

Hewett, Mrs., Indian interpreter, 436

Hildebrandt, Deacon in Augsburg, benefactor, 239, 257, 261, 477

Hohleise, benefactor in Augsburg, 140

Holy Communion: preparation, 5, 7, 8, 17, 27, 60, 116, 117, 121, 161, 406, 408, 468, 534

held, 66, 122, 242, 476, 500, 535

Refusal, 46, 180, 476, 500, 535

in Savannah, 83, 14548

booklets for, 466

Holy Roman Empire, 500

Holtzer, Catharina, Austrian orphan, 38, 228, 271

Hopton, merchant in Charleston, 459

Horbius, Johann Heinrich, Pietist writer, 77, 547 n 27

Horses: riding 5, 105, 327

plow and draft, 4, 5, 363, 377, 434, 438, 447, 466, 474, 483, 492

Houses: consecration, Bacher, 59, 62, 283

Flerl, 436

construction: Brandner, 64

House construction. Brandner, 64

Huber, Mrs., German benefactress, 438

Huber, Margaretha, orphan of Lorentz, 230

Hunter, Patrick, doctor at Bethesda, 12, 544 n 9

Husbandry, animal: 166, 256, 327, 363, 37778. See also Cattle.

Indians, 123, 256, 309, 312, 333, 374, 378, 381, 528

Uchis, 123, 417, 438, 443, 494, 528

Cherokees, 452

Creeks, 123, 340

letter by Oglethorpe concerning treaties, 43637

Indian traders, 454, 494, 528

Jewish community in Savannah, see Sheftal.

Jones, Noble, captain of scoutboat, 561 n 20

Jones, (Monsieur) Thomas, keeper of the stores, 11, 37, 41, 49, 56, 76, 79, 80, 84, 91, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 114, 119, 124, 128, 129, 132, 145, 150, 153, 170, 178, 201, 202, 207, 211, 213, 281, 283, 418, 483, 485, 486, 488, 489, 513, 519, 520

Juncker, Dr. Johann, Pietist physician at Halle, 49

Ksemeyer, Catherina, Pal, w Martin, 228

Ksemeyer, Clemens, son Martin, 230

Kseieyer, Dorothea, daughter Martin, 230

Kseieyer, Martin, Pal servant, 156, 228, 244, 496, 556 n 13

Kalcher, Margaret, nee Gunther, w Ruprecht, 31, 79, 97, 173, 225, 298

Kalcher, Maria, d Ruprecht, 229

Kalcher, Maria Magdalena, d Ruprecht, 120, 229

Kalcher, Ruprecht, Salz, manager of orphanage, 13, 14, 21, 54, 55, 79, 85, 150, 189, 210, 225, 389, 474, 497, 527, 529, 536

Kalcher, Ursula, d Ruprecht, 229

Kieffer family, 106, 167, 192, 217, 238

Kieffer, Anna Elisabeth, nee Depp, w Johann Jacob, 52, 116, 125, 141, 152, 173174, 178, 192, 401, 406, 410411

Kieffer, Elisabeth Catherina, w Theobald II, 76, 167, 178, 192, 197

Kieffer, Johann Jacob, Pal fr Pbg 6, s Theobald I, 17, 29, 32, 61, 116, 117, 141, 152, 167, 173, 178, 276, 285, 488, 493, 544 n 16, 551 n 12

Kieffer, (Anna) Margaretha, Pal, w Theobald, Sr., 60, 182, 192

Kieffer, Margaretha, grown daughter of Theobald, Sr., 76, 286

Kieffer, Theobald, I, Swiss fr Pbg, 15, 29, 30, 40, 60, 69, 178, 182, 192, 250, 251, 276, 367, 493, 544 n 13

Kieffer, Theobald, II, Pal fr Pbg 6, 52, 61, 145, 378, 544 n 16

Kleinknecht, Pastor, editor of mission reports, 196

Kogler, Barbara, Salz, w Georg, 227, 243, 298

Kogler, Georg, Salzburger carpenter and builder of mill, 4, 16, 22, 23, 70, 170, 227, 232, 496, 507, 529, 532

Koller, Maria Anna, d of Engel, 162

Koller, Engel, Swiss wid, kinswoman of Krusy, 161, 227

Koller, Maria Anna, d Engel, 230

Kornberger, Johann, Salz, 206, 226, 497

Kornberger, Gertraut, nee Einecker, w Joh, 63, 205. 206, 226, 253

Kornberger, Maria, d Johann, 229

Krmer, Anna Maria, Pal., 504

Krause, Barbara, nee Einecker, w Leonhard, 63, 64, 226, 289

Krause (Crause), Leonhard, Salz, 226, 289, 494, 496

Kroehr, Barbara, mother-in-law of Boltzius, 549 n 15

Kronberger, see Kornberger

Krsy, Adrian, s Hans, 230

Krsy, Hans, Swiss fr Pbg, 66, 138, 161, 168, 227, 235, 284, 382, 418

Knlin, Conrad, Salz, 4th trans., 518

Knlin, Maria, wid Conrad, 518

Labor, farm, hired from Ebenezer, 157, 254, 35851, 360, 376

wages and conditions, 214

carpenters, 454

Lackner, Gertraut, Salz, deceased, 231

Lackner, Hanna, d Martin, 229

Lackner, Margaretha, nee Egger, w Martin, 140, 226, 538

Lackner, Martin, Salz 4th trans, 534

Lackner, Martin, Salz 3rd trans, 40, 226, 365, 428, 496

Laminit of Memmingen, German benefactor, 239

Landfelder, Agatha, d Veit, 229

Landfelder, Ursula, nee Wassermann, Salz, w Veit 7, 28, 209, 226, 252, 259, 260, 264, 265, 266, 267, 269, 282, 349, 359, 421, 424, 435

Landfelder, Veit, Salz, h Ursula 7, 28, 105, 226, 265, 288, 497, 558 n 10

Latin school, part of Francke Foundation in Halle, 176

Lehre von Aufang christlichen Glaubens, devotional tract, 558 n 16

Leimberger, Christian, Salz, 226, 293, 294, 362, 387, 496

Leimberger, Margaretha, nee Staud, wid Bach, w Christian, 59, 76, 226, 293, 297

Leitner, Josef, Salzburger, 4, 60, 114, 227, 296, 497

Lemmenhofer, Maria I, Salzburger, w Veit, 87, 88, 227, 273

Lemmenhofer, Maria II, child of Veit, 87, 230

died, 436

Lemmenhofer, Veit, Salzburger, 87, 227, 273, 283, 447, 449

Letters: to Salzburgers and ministers, Berein, 142, 459, 464

Butjenter, 514

East Prussia, 195

Francke, 142, 145, 155, 200, 533

Halle Orphanage, 198

Hildebrandt, 25758, 438, 446

Majer, 460, 464, 465

Martyn, 208

v. Mllern, 208

v. Mnch, 198

Newman, 207

Oglethorpe, 80, 112, 178, 187, 268, 318, 43637, 521, 535

v. Reck, 459

Urlsperger, 13132, 212, 240, 458, 463, 523

Verelst, 212

Walbaum, 155, 158, 208, 211, 241

Wiedmann, Mrs., 418

Ziegenhagen, 142, 191.

Letters from Ebenezer, Berein, 149, 239, 477

Ende, 477

East Prussia, 176, 236

Francke, 149, 191, 239, 417, 477

Hildebrandt, 239, 477

Majer, 417

v. Mnch, 239

Oglethorpe, 34, 11, 11920, 192, 327, 444

v. Reck, 477

SPCK and Halle, 59, 142, 239, 329

Trustees, 239

Urlsperger, 14041, 239, 417

Walbaum, 19, 239, 279

Whitefield, 136

Ziegenhagen, 149, 191, 238

Lindau, city on Lake Constance, 243

Linder, Swiss at Purysburg, 392, 484

Lithuania, refuge of Salzburgers, 232, 235, 239. See East Prussia.

Livestock, see Cattle.

London, 520

Lucius, Pastor, religious author, 251

Luther, Martin, reformer, 61, 117, 121, 156, 168, 200, 552 n 27. .

Lutherus redivivus, devotional work, 61

Lutz, Samuel, Swiss theologian, 556 n 20

Madereiter, Hans, Salz, deceased, 287

Madeira, Spanish wine islands, 234

Majer, Pastor, benefactor, 460, 464, 477

Malabars, people in India, 190, 235

Malcontents, opponents of Trustees plans for Georgia, 213, 301, 324, 422, 461

Martyn, Benjamin, secretary of Trustees, 208

Marriages: Reiter-Steiner, 135

Zettler-Kieffer, 197

Leitner-Arnsdorff, 296

Mller-Krmer, 504

Riedelsperger-Schweighoffer, 530

Schartner-Rauner, 538

Maurer (Mauer), Barbara, single Salz woman, 181, 227, 234, 266, 267, 270, 288, 289

Maurer, (Anna) Catherina, Salz, w Hans, 91, 122, 162, 174, 202, 227, 273, 43031, 532

Maurer, Elisabeth I, w Gabriel, 227, 253

Maurer, Elisabeth II, d Gabriel, 230

Maurer, Gabriel, Salz, 227, 351, 496

Maurer, Hans I, Salz, 2nd trans, 202, 227, 496

Maurer, Johannes, son Hans I, 230

Maurer, Hans II, Salz, 4th transport, 534

McCloud, John, Presbyterian minister at Darien, 487, 567 n 10

McIntosh, Eneas, captain at Palalchocolas, 268, 269, 374

Mecklenburg, province in North Germany, conversion in, 241

Medications, 48, 202, 385, 494, 504

Essentia dulci, 10

Lapis infernalis, 565 n 24

Peruvian bark, 90

Sassafras, 108

Schauer Balm, 97, 165, 233, 428, 438, 494, 504

Melons, 256, 269

Memmingen, city in south Germany where Salzburgers sojourned, 296, 535, 558 n 10

Mengden, Gustav von, hymnist, 541

Meyer, Elisabeth, w Ludwig, 535

Meyer, (Johann) Georg, br of Ludwig, 525

Meyer, (Johann) Ludwig, new physician, Salz. 4th trans, 525, 535, 567 n 3

Meyer, Magdalena, Swiss girl at Ebenezer, d Ursula, 124, 212, 246

Meyer, Pastor, in Halle, 191

Meyer, Ursula, Swiss wid in Savannah, 124, 212, 404

Midwives: 87, 351, 397, 438

Mill, grist, 2, 3, 4, 11, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22, 25, 35, 55, 94, 106, 112, 119, 132, 207, 248, 257, 292, 293, 297, 317, 331, 341, 348, 416, 483, 492, 504, 505, 508, 516

hand mill, 527

Mischcke, Pastor, inspector at Halle, 268

Moore, Francis, recorder at Frederica, 564 n 13

Moravians (Herrnhter), Pietist German sect, 148, 149, 150, 1534, 163, 17677, 200, 201, 202, 212

Mulberry trees, see Silk Manufacture.

Mller, Anna Christina, w Fr. Wilh., 227, 266

Mller, Elisabeth, d Wilh., 30

Mller, Friedrich Wilhelm, clockmaker from Frankfurt, 41, 226, 266, 495

Mller, Maria Magdalena, d Fr. Wilh., 230

Mller, (Johann) Paul, s Fr. Wilh. 114, 227, 497, 504

Mllern, Johann Gottfried von, leader of 4th trans to London, 521

Mnch, Chretien von, benefactor in Augsburg, 188, 220, 235, 239, 247, 348, 542

Musgroves cowpen, ranch of Mary Musgrove, half-breed Indian interpreter, 107

Music: singing, 486

Negro spiritual, 512

hymns, see Appendix I, p. 541.

Myrtle wax, 432

Names, significance of, 123

Neander, Joachim, hymnist, 341

Needles, Spanish, sent to Ebenezer, 213, 470

Negroes, molest Palatines, 494, 361 n 29. see also Slaves.

Negro woman sings, 512, gets religion, 515

Nett, Elisabetha Magdalena, w Fr. Lud., 228

Nett, Friedrich Ludwig, Pal herdsman, 228, 497

Neuss, Heinrich Georg, hymnist, 541, 542

Newman, Henry, secretary SPCK, 111, 129, 141, 150, 207, 318, 549 n 27

New Windsor, Swiss settlement on the Savannah, 556 n 8

Ntige Prfung seiner Selbst, devotional tract, 561 n 19

Norris, William, Anglican minister, 83, 107, 114, 150, 549 n 21

Nuts, wild, 432

Obuch, Mr., Lutheran missionary in India, 190

Ockstead, Caustons estate, 185

Oglethorpe, Gen. Jas. Edward, founder of Georgia. ii, 2, 3, 4, 11, 41, 49, 56, 76, 80, 99, 100, 112, 113, 119, 120, 132, 170, 172, 178, 187, 207, 208, 245, 268, 273, 275, 491, 509, 528, 533, 540

Old Ebenezer, first Salzburger settlement, ii, 20, 98, 169, 286. See Trustees compen.

Orangeburg, Swiss and German district in South Carolina, 17, 117, 199, 287, 35354

Order of Salvation (Ordmung des Heils), religious procedure and text, 499, 568 n 23

Orphanage in Ebenezer, center of economy as boarding school, 45, 124, 212, 246, 332

expenses, 57, 165

gifts, 110, 189, 210, 240, 529

inmates, 31, 5758, 97, 101

needs labor, 21, 54, 85, 150

silk making and agriculture, 173, 184, 19798, 256, 328

Orphanage in Halle, 44, 240

Orphanage near Savannah, see Bethesda

Ortmann, Christoph, schoolmaster at Ebenezer, 45, 96, 169, 170, 227, 246, 286, 382, 497, 547 n 20

Ortmann, Juliana, w Christoph, 43, 66, 84, 169, 170, 227

Orton, Anglican minister, 543 n 4

Ott, Mr. of Zurich, 222

Ott, Carl Siegmund, Salz., 114, 227, 497, 511

Oxen, see Cattle.

Ovens, 461

Palachocolas, fort on Savannah River, 69, 73, 170, 268, 486, 493

Palatine indentured servants, see German indentured servants.

Paradis-Grtlein devotional tract by Johannes Arndt, 466, 566 n 34

Passion and Easter Sermons, devotional work by Johannes Arndt, 216, 232

Peaches, see Fruit.

Peach brandy, 317

Penner, Elisabeth, German maid, 150, 548 n 7

Pests, animal, 165, 180, 198, 349, 396, 510

Petiagua, large dugout, 488, 517

Pichler, Johann Gottfried, son Thomas, 229

Pichler, Margaretha, w Thomas, 226, 286

Pichler, Maria, d Thomas, 229

Pichler, Thomas, Salz, 19, 226, 285, 288, 497, 558 n 10

Pietisn, religious movement, ii

Piltz, Andreas Salz. 4th trans, 531, 534

Plantations, at Ebenezer: approaches flooded, 41, 49, 75, 79, 92, 106, 125, 137, 165, 273, 393, 410, 454

church planned, 531

expanding, 55, 94, 12, 284, 313, 428

crops, 199, 392, 436, 536

survey, 279

school established, 363, 475, 478, 510

Plaschnig, Pietist pastor, in St. Petersburg, Russia, 116

Pletter, Elisabeth I, nee Wassermann, Salz, w Johann, 209, 226

Pletter, Elisabeth II, d Johann, 229

Pletter, Johann, Austrian, 6, 37, 226, 544 n 3

Pletter, infant baptized, 515

Ploss, Dr. Octaviano, physician in Augsburg, 90

Plows, 474

Plums, see Fruit.

Port Royal, small port in South Carolina, 214

Poultry, 21

Predestination, Calvinist dogma, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 82, 83, 548 n 4

Prussia (East), home of Salzburger exiles, 87, 175, 232, 235, 239

Pumpkins, 256

Purker (Purcker), Swedish settler, 544

Pury, Charles, merchant, 276, 367

Purysburg, Swiss settlement near Ebenezer, iii, 6, 69, 367, 476

Raccoons, 510

Rangers, mounted militia, 80

Rauner, Leonhard, Swabian, 550 n 4, 6

Rauner, Maria Magdalena, wid Leonhard, 37, 124, 179, 227, 275, 497, 538

Rauner, Maria, d Leonhard, 230

Rauner, Matthias, s Maria Magdalena, 179, 275

Reck, Jacob, shoemaker in Purysburg, 29, 84, 131, 144, 544 n 12

Rick, ____, w of above, 131

Reck, Philip Georg Friedrich von, commissioner of 1st and 3rd transports, 459, 477, 566 n 29

Red Bluff, site of New Ebenezer, ii, 99

Reformed, German and Swiss Calvinists, 148, 149

Reformed Church, 547 n 25

Refreshment Hours, religious tract, 479, 480

Regensburg, seat of Imperial Diet, ii, 176, 553 n 42

Regnier, John Francis, Swiss physician, 153, 1545, 552 n 24

Reicheltheim, town near Frankfurt, 272

Reiser, see Rieser

Reiter, Gertraut, wid Steiner, w Peter, 226, 282

Reiter, Magdalena, nee Gebhart, w Simon, 226, 288, 290, 291, 294

Reiter, Maria Magdalena, d Simon, 229

Reiter, Peter, Salz, 114, 135, 226, 387, 395, 404, 414, 431, 455, 481, 482, 496, 511, 532

Reiter, Simon, Salz, 39, 48, 175, 226, 231, 291, 496

Rende, Inspector of Augsburg poorhouse, 447, 473

Renniger, see Regnier

Reuter, see Reiter

Reval, Esthonian city, 116

Rheinlander, Christian Colmann, s Friedrich, 8, 34, 43, 55, 497

Rheinlander, Friedrich, Palatine from New York, 474, 551 n 9

Rheinlander, Maria Anna I, Pal, w Friedrich 7, 19, 34. 133, 136139, 151, 157, 227, 248, 261, 288, 395

Rheinlander, Maria Anna II, d Friedrich, 133, 230

Rice: stamping mill, proposed, 25

threshed at orphanage, 85

flour, 94, 11213

scarce in Savannah, 483. See also Crops.

Richard, Jacques, battalion commander, 544

Richter, Dr. Christian Friedrich, Pietist physician at Halle, 48

hymns, 541, 542

Riedelsperger, Christian, Salz, 21, 54, 58, 204, 210, 227, 243, 283, 377, 497, 530

Riesch, Bonaventura, pastor in Lindau, 537, 538

Rieser, Anna Margaretha, wid Ihler, w Michael, 51, 56, 288

Rieser, Anna Maria, d Michael, 227

Rieser, Balthasar, s Bart, 8, 117, 227, 229

Rieser, Bartholomus, Salz 8, 54, 226, 261

Rieser, (Johann) Georg, s Bartholomus, 229, 473

Rieser, Gottlieb, s Michael, 230

Rieser, Maria, nee Zugeisen, Salz, w Bartholomaus 8, 54, 226, 456, 544 n 5

Rieser, Michael, Salz, 42, 43, 44, 46, 51, 53, 56, 157, 260, 266, 267, 274, 288, 358, 424, 497

Rieser, Simon, Salz, 4th trans, 534

Rinka, Martin, hymnist, 542

Rogall, Jubilation Sermons, 200

Roman Catholics, 237

Ross, surveyor from Purysburg, 279

Rottenberger, see Rottenberger

Rottenberger, Catherina, nee Piedler, w Stephen, 20, 31, 122, 227, 292

Rottenberger, Christoph, Salz, 227, 497, 524

Rottenberger, David, s Stephen, 230

Rottenberger, Stephen, Salz, 31, 170, 287

Rottenberger child, 17

Run traders, 108

Saxe Gotha, German settlement in South Carolina 512

St. Augustine, city in Florida, siege of, iii, 15, 42, 124, 150, 238, 249, 277

Sanftleben, Georg, Silesian carpenter, 10, 27, 60, 143, 225, 244, 249, 251, 420, 451, 497, 501

Sassafrass, 108

Savannah Town, settlement near Augusta, 144, 284

Sawmill, Trustees, 3

Schaitberger, Josef, Salzburger exile, author of Send-Schreiben and Exiles Song, 88, 157, 501, 548 n 10

Schartner, Jacob, Pal herdsman, 227, 256, 399, 471, 538

Schauer Balm, see Medications.

Scheffler, Johannes, hymnist, 541, 542

Schlatter, Swiss merchant, 562 n 562 n 7

Schlopfer, Gabriel, Swiss detractor, 235

Schmidt, Barbara, d Hans, 230

Schmidt, Catherine, nee Zehetner, Austrian, w Hans, 64, 105, 226, 253

Schmidt, Hans, Austrian, 64, 175, 191, 226, 290, 453, 496

Schmidt, Johann of Regensburg, bro Hans, 191

Schneider, Anna, Pal, w Michael, deceased, 231, 255

Schneider, Elisabeth, nee Sanftleben, w Mich, 228

Schneider, Johann Georg, s Michael, 228

Schneider, Johannes II, s Johannes I, Pal, 230

Schneider, Michael, Pal herdsman, 228, 255, 256, 361, 497, 548 n 8

School at plantations, 363, 475, 478, 510

Schoolmasters at Ebenezer, see Hans Flerl, Ortmann, Simon Steiner

Schoppacher, Maria, d Ruprecht, 265

Schoppacher, Ruprecht, Salz, deceased, 265, 282

Schulius, Georg, Moravian teacher, 163

Schumann, Mr., archpriest in Prussia, 244

Schwartzwlder, Johann, Pal, 544 n 6, 553 n 38

Schweiger, Catherine, d Georg, deceased, 231

Schweiger, Eva Regina, nee Unselt, w Georg, 226, 245, 42627, 515, 556 n 16

Schweiger (Schwaiger), Georg, Salz, 226, 426, 496

Schweighoffer (Schwaighoffer), Margaretha, nee Pindlinger, Salz, wid Thomas, 38, 78, 225, 416

Schweighoffer, Maria, d Thomas I, 229, 530

Schweighoffer, Thomas II, s Thomas I, 229

Schweighoffer, Ursula, d Thomas I, 229

Seed corn, 268

Send-Schreiben, see Schaitberger.

Sheftal, Benjamin, Jewish inhabitant of Savannah, 114, 130, 276, 549 n 28, 551 n 3

Sickness, see Disease.

Silk: breeding of silkworms, 172, 173, 181, 189, 445, 510

manufacture encouraged, 319, 509

mulberry trees, 180, 198

Simond, Peter, London merchant, 367, 561 n 25

Slaves, slavery, 192, 213, 238, 281, 353, 37879, 41213, 473, 494

Snakes, 68

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, English missionary society, i, 59, 111, 142, 187, 208, 239, 547 n 15, 555 n 2

Socians, Protestant sectarian sect, 158, 552 n 29

Sola-bills, paper currency issued by Trustees, 114, 214, 346, 485, 488

Sommer, Pastor in Coethen, 204

Sozzini, Fausto Paoloa, Italian Protestant reformer in Poland, 552 n 29

Spangenberg, August Gottlieb, Moravian bishop, 163, 164, 176, 199, 201, 202, 553 n 44

Spanish: spy, 238

freebooters, 11, 375

war, 4142

Spielbigler, Johann, Salz, s Rosina, 33, 43, 50, 53, 56, 60, 260, 266, 267, 274, 509

Spielbigler, Rosina, Salz 8, 33, 105, 115, 260, 266, 274, 35960, 382, 391, 435

Statius, Martin, author, 547 n 16

Steiner, Christian II, s Christian I, 229

Steiner, David, s Christian I, 229

Steiner, Maria, w Ruprecht, 226

Steiner, Ruprecht, Salz, 6, 35, 41, 58, 77, 78, 131, 135, 175, 226, 290, 351, 363, 380, 496, 510, 531

Steiner, Sara, d Simon, 230, 282

Steiner, Simon, Salz, 10, 13, 14, 20, 27, 36, 386, 475, 478

Stephens, Thomas, s Wm, 461

Stephens, Col. Wm, Trustees secretary in Georgia, 11, 50, 59, 80, 178, 187, 191, 245, 281, 483, 566 n 30

Stewart, friend of Whitefield, 17, 56, 83

Strassburg, German city, source of gift, 523

Stuttgart, German city, source of gift, 529

Surgery, 455, 474, 493, 494

Swiss indentured servants, 413

Swiss settlers, ii, et passim

Swiss transport, 413, 519, 529, 540

Tabula Oeconomica, see Haus-Tafel

Terry, John (Jean Thierry), recorder at Frederica, 519

Thanksgiving celebration, 490

Theologia mystica, religious text, 254

Therapy and cures, 41, 48, 66, 90, 91, 97, 152, 233, 316, 326, 330, 343, 366, 371, 373, 376, 43031, 456, 458, 493

Theus, Christian, Reformed minister at Saxe Gotha, 569 n 3

Thilo, Ernst, physician to the Salz, 2, 3, 10, 27, 41, 48, 57, 66, 86, 87, 90, 91, 154, 190, 202, 208, 211, 227, 233, 235, 300, 371, 43031, 483, 529

Thilo, Frederica, nee Helfenstein, w Ernst, 227

Thilo, Hanna Elisabeth, deceased daughter of Ernst, 230

Third Continuation, see Continuation.

Thomson, Capt. William, master of Two Brothers, 65, 81, 95, 102, 108, 110, 127, 129, 148, 187, 213, 245, 556 n 15

Tillard, Wm., London banker, 489

Tobler, Johann, former governor of Appenzell, 413

Tranquebar, site of Lutheran mission in India, 190

Treasure Chest, devotional manual, 182

Treatises, religious, received, 466, 530

True Christianity, devotional text by Johannes Arnd(t), 5, 68, 128, 148, 186, 212, 216, 219, 233, 255, 287

Trustees for establishing Georgia, 172, 191, 207, 213, 214, 238, 239, 268

Trustees cowpen, see Cowpen.

Tybee, island at mouth of the Savannah, 513

Uchis, see Indians.

Ulich, Johann Casper, shoemaker, deceased, 231

Unselt, Eva Regina, see Schweiger.

Unselt, Sybille Friederica, Pal, 427, 556 n 16

Urlsperger, Samuel, patron of the Salzburgers, i, iv, 59, 73, 91, 101, 118, 131, 133, 134, 135, 140, 149, 168, 189, 191, 195, 207, 212, 219, 221, 231, 232, 239, 240, 242, 250, 255, 265, 267, 417, 458, 463, 476, 523, 548 n 2

Vat, Jean, Swiss commissioner of 2nd Salz. transport, ii

Vernon, Admiral, 129

Verelst, Harmon, Trustees accountant, 110, 129, 212, 213

Vigera. Johann, leader of 4th Salz. trans, 514, 517, 521, 535, 540

Vines (grape), 234235, 268

Volier (Volmar), Michael, Pal servant, 142, 199, 353, 551 n 14

Walbaum (Wallbaum), Privy Counselor at Saalfeld, 19, 155, 158, 191, 208, 211, 239, 241, 279, 493

Waldhauer, Barbara, Pal, 230, 264

Watts, sectarian in London, 154

Wesley, John, founder of Methodism, 12, 177, 212

maligned by Malcontents and Whitefield, 42223.

Whitefield, George, evangelist preacher, founder of Bethesda, iii, 11, 12, 17, 65, 72, 73, 76, 81, 82, 93, 135, 136, 209, 423, 545 n 25

Whitefields plantation in South Carolina, 33, 558 n 12

Wiedemann, see Letters.

Worms in corn, 165

Williams, Robert, captain in Savannah, 213, 281

Wurttemberg, country in South Germany, 234, 526, 529

Wurttemberg Confirmation Boot, 147

Zant, Bartholomaus, Swiss at Ebenezer 6, 114, 121, 227, 261, 487, 488, 497

Zehetner, Catherine, see Schmidt.

Zettler, Matthias, Salz shoemaker, 15, 29, 50, 60, 167, 178, 183, 192, 197, 227, 250, 359

Zettler, Elisabeth Catherina, nee Kieffer, w Matthias, 227

Ziegenhagen, Friedrich Michael, Court Chaplain in London, 59, 90, 102, 104, 110, 142, 149, 154, 191, 238, 279, 489

Zimmerebner, Margaretha, nee Bernberger, Salz, w Ruprecht, 141. 227, 334, 336

Zimmerebner, Ruprecht, Salz, 227, 335336, 366, 385, 399, 496

Zimmermann, error for Zimmerebner

Zinzendorff, Count Ludwig von, Moravian leader, 176

Zittrauer, Anna, w Ruprecht, 123, 226

Zittrauer, Jacob, 230

Zittrauer, Johannes, 230

Zittrauer, Johann Georg, 230

Zittrauer, (Anna) Margaretha, nee Heinrich, w Paulus, 227

Zittrauer, Maria Magdalena, 123

Zittrauer, Paulus, Salz, 227, 380, 496, 532

Zittrauer, Ruprecht, Salz., 123, 226, 561 n 30

Zouberbuhler, Bartholomaus, Swiss minister, 42021, 44041, 497

Zubli, 133

Zubli, Ambrosius, Swiss, br David, 126, 190, 227, 254, 376

Zubli, David, Swiss at Purysburg, 126, 138, 144, 145, 372, 376, 477. 551 n 10

Zubli, Johann Jacob, Swiss, br David, 8, 114, 126, 136139, 190, 227, 254, 358

Zubli, Zubly, Johann Joachim, s David, 145

Zugeisen, Maria, see Riser.

Zurich, Swiss city, 199