The person who tells these stories is Miss Lillian Trasher, who founded a large Pentecostal orphanage in Assiout (Egypt) in 1911

 

I arrived in Assiout October 26, 1910, and went at once to Mr. Brelsford’s Mission and began to study the language. After I had been in Egypt a little over three months I was asked to visit a dying woman. She had a baby about three months old, and it was being fed from a tin bottle. The milk had become caked and green and stringy, yet the baby was trying to drink it. Soon the mother died and the baby was given to me. I took it home. The child had never had a bath and its clothes were sewed to its little body. You cannot imagine the odors that came from that little creature. The little thing would cry and cry, making it hard for the missionaries to rest at night. They begged me to take her back, but I could not do that. So I went out and rented a house for $ 12.50 per month, spent my little all for a bit of furniture, and thus February 10, 1911, marked the opening of the Assiout Orphanage.

My first donation to the work was thirty-five cents, and from that time to this our big family has never missed a meal, nor have we gone into debt for a single thing. When I opened the orphanage, I made up my mind never to go into debt, and decided that if the Lord wanted the orphanage, He would supply the needs. At one time our finances were very low, so I talked to the head teacher and said: ‘The only thing we can do is to send home all who have a place to go to, until the Lord opens the way to bring them back again’. Then I called all the children into the prayer room, explained to them that we could never go into debt, and that since God was not providing the needed money, it was probably best for them to go to their relatives until the need was supplied. When I reached that point the children broke out in a wail such as I hade never heard before. Unable to go on with my explanation, we got down to pray, and the noise was like that of a great camp meeting. The poor little boys, how they cried! After prayer I arose and told them I could never go into debt, and if God did not send in the money we would all suffer together. I was quite surprised when the next morning’s mail brought a check from America for one hundred dollars. Before that was used up other money began to come in from Egypt.

The children, in addition to their usual secular and religious training, are receiving an unusual discipline in faith. Everything about our work has a tendency to stimulate simple trust in God for everything. At one time during the absence of ‘Mama’, money was scarce and the daily menu consisted mainly of beans and lentils. This monotony in their fare aroused a protest. The children between the ages of four and five all marched into the kitchen and told the cook that they could not eat lentils any more, but wanted meat instead. The cook replied: ‘My darlings, I cannot give you any meat, but if you want it you should ask the Lord and He will give it to you’. The baby deputation immediately retired to the nursery and began to pray: ‘Ya Rob, Yebart le hu lahn (O Lord, send us some meat). While they were still praying a knock was heard at the door and someone came in bringing half a beef. ‘Ask and ye shall receive’.

 

From: Stanley H. Frodsham, With Signs Following, Gospel Publishing House, Springfield Missouri, 1946, pages 145-147

 

 

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