RST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

1102 Cedar Streets

/9SJ

MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA

COLEMAN T, SPARROW^^^sriNISTER
V, Julius Fleenor, Minister to Japan fArchie Fairbrother, Minister to India

Dear Fellow Christian;

Can you read the following paragraph and not weep?

I could not.

This is a quotation

FROM A LETTER WRITTEN TO ME BY ARCHIE FAIRBROTHER ON OCTOBER 1, I957

"This, to us, is more or less of an auspicious time to write to you.
It IS A TIME when there are many things on my heart that I CANNOT

find words to express.

Today we got a letter from Mrs, McKittrick

Funds have not been coming in at all.

which was not very encouraging.

The picture looks very black to us; in fact, very black and dismal.
We owe the Church there in Michigan City two thousand dollars, EXTENT of over FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS, Mrs.
McKittrick has had to cover our checks with their own money to the

WE HAD TO BORROW MORE THAN TWO

HUNDRED DOLLARS OUT HERE, JUST TO KEEP THINGS MOVING,

McFARLAND over three hundred DOLLARS FOR PAST SERVICES,

WE OWE HARROLD
WE ARE NOW

TRYING TO SELL THE STATION WAGON WHICH SHOULD ALLEVIATE SOME OF THIS.

There is no money in the bank and we owe some of the teachers for LAST MONTH*S SALARY. OUR QUESTION IS: WHY SHOULD THINGS BE THIS WAY? We spoke in well over two hundred churches and ATTENDED EIGHTEEN CAMP WEEKS DURING THE TIME WE WERE HOME, THE PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW SOMETHING

ABOUT THE WORK HERE,

WHAT IS

IT THAT KEEPS THEM FROM GIVING?

EVERY

BODY SEEMED ANXIOUS FOR US TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY,

WHERE IS THE ACTION

THAT HELPS US ONTO THE FIELD AND THEN KEEPS US THERE AFTER OUR ARRIVAL?

To SAY THE LEAST WE ARE GREATLY SHOCKED THAT MONEY HAS NOT COME IN

BETTER.

It must BE THAT NOW WE ARE SO REMOTE AND FAR AWAY, OUR PLEA
So MANY PEOPLE SHOWED SUCH GREAT CONCERN OVER THE GoSPEL

IS FORGOTTEN,

MESSAGE REACHING THE PEOPLE OVER HERE, THAT I THOUGHT ALL WOULD GO WELL FROM NOW ON, The QUESTION NOW IS, WHERE DO I TURN NEXT? WE DO^SPEND

MUCH TIME IN PRAYER OVER THIS, PLEASE FIND 7hOSE WHO CARE ENOUGH TO
PRAY WITH US ABOUT THIS,"

Yes, I THINK PROBABLY YOU ARE WEEPING THE SAME AS I AMy

THE STORY BEHIND A PARAGRAPH SUCH AS THIS,

MAYBE YOU ARE ASKING WHAT IS

LET ME TELL IT TO YOU THE BEST I KNOW HOW,

First of all, I am just an interested minister,

I happen to be the minister of the

First Christian Church in Michigan City who has Brother Archie Fairbrother as their LIVING link. Brother Archie lived with his family in Michigan City for several months

prior to their going to India, During that time he visited church after church, TAUGHT in camp AFTER CAMP, AS THE OFFERINGS WERE RECEIVED FROM THE VISITED CHURCHES, Archie immediately sent it to India to care for the work of the field there. This
WAS necessary to keep the school GOING AND THE TEACHERS PAID,
OF THIS MONEY FOR TRAVELING

HE DID NOT SAVE UP ANY

EXPENSE FEELING THAT WHEN TIME CAME THE CHURCHES WOULD

SUPPLY THE NEEDED SAILING FUND, HiS VISA FINALLY CAME.

ON VACATION

ALL WAS IN READINESS,

I WAS
"My

IN FLORIDA AT THE TIME WHEN I RECEIVED A LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE CALL.

It was Archie Fairbrother on the other end of the line and this was his word,

SAILING DATE IS FIVE DAYS FROM NOW. I HAVE SENT OUT AN APPEAL AND THE CHURCHES HAVE NOT RESPONDED TO MY APPEAL FOR TRAVELING FUNDS, IT IS COSTING US THREE THOUSAND

DOLLARS AND I ONLY HAVE ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

WHAT SHALL I DO?

I ASSURED HIM THE

BEST 1 COULD THAT SOMETHING WOULD BE DONE.

DISTANCE TO THE CHURCH IN MlCHIGAN CITY,

AFTER A PRAYER UPON MY PART, I CALLED LONG

I ARRANGED FOR A MEET ING OF THE FINANCE

COMMITTEE, ELDERS AND DEACONS AND IMMEDIATELY UPON MY RETURN TO MICHIGAN CiTY ALL WAS
IN READINESS FOR THE MEETING AND WE WERE SOON ABLE TO SCRAPE TOGETHER FROM OUR VARIOUS

FUNDS TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS THAT WE SENT DIRECTLY TO HIS FORWARDING AGENT,
PHONED Archie that he could

WE TELE

immediately write a check and pay his passage and he left

IN A DAY OR TWO FOR InDIA,

Before he left the country he phoned Harrold McFarland asking him to get out an appeal

FOR traveling FUNDS TO ALL OF HIS SUPPORTERS,

YOU RECEIVED THIS PLEA HE WAS ALREADY IN
GIVE YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE EMERGENCY WAS

IT WAS
OVER,

INDEED UNFORTUNATE THAT THE TIME

INDIA AND ON THE FIELD WHICH PERHAPS WOULD

I DO NOT KNOW THE REASON THAT FUNDS HAVE NOT COME IN TO CARE FOR THE WORK,
I DO KNOW.
REMAIN IN India,
THAT THEY MIGHT MAINTAIN AND RUN A SCHOOL,

BUT THIS

Funds must come in or the government will not permit the Fairbrothers to
As that was one of the reasons they were allowed to return again

Page 2

There are three things

1 am asking you to do:

Will you have the problems of the Fairbrothers brought to the attention
OF your prayer group and will you have a special prayer meeting in their
BEHALF?

2.

Will you in some way send a sizeable offering to Mr, Fairbrother's

forwarding agent?

3.

Will you as a church pledge to support the work of the Fairbrothers IN A service link? We MEAN BY SERVICE LINK THAT YOU WILL PLEDGE
SOME AMOUNT WHICH MAY BE FROM FIVE DOLLARS TO TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS OR MORE OR LESS PER MONTH TO THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL AND EVANGELISM

AND THE PAYING OF NATIVE PREACHERS IN ASSAM, InDIA?

Enclosed is a pledge card. Will you fill out this pledge card and send it immedi

ately TO THE forwarding AGENT AND BECOME ONE OF THE CHURCHES SUPPORTING THE WORK IN

Assam, India by a service link?

THIS iS AN EMERGENCY.

This emergency must be met.

We are counting so much on YOUR help.

Thank you for your kind consideration of this letter.

Sincerely in His service, your fellow servant^of our Lord,

CoLEMAN T. Sparrow, Minister

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA

CTS;ibh
Enc, 1

Zlhd all__contrlbuxlons to Brother Fa irbrother's Forwarding^ent:

Mrs, E, D, McKittrick

2^37 Mufflin Street MadisoN k, Wisconsin