Chapter 24—(1885) The Meeting of the European Missionary Council

The third session of the European Council of Seventh-day Adventist Missions opened Tuesday morning, September 15, in Basel, Switzerland. Twenty delegates from the Central European Mission, seven from the British Mission, six from the Scandinavian countries, and three representatives from North America were present. The delegates were joined by a substantial number of laymen who came in, largely from Switzerland but also a few from other countries. The meeting, which W. C. White described as a “miniature General Conference,” was to convene for a week, but as the work got under way it was extended to two full weeks. It was a time of spiritual refreshing, a time of learning, and a time of constructive planning for the work of God in new and varied fields. Ellen White divided her time between writing and diligent public labor, as was usually the case in a meeting of this kind.3BIO 299.1

The session opened at 11:00 A.M., but for Ellen White the day started much earlier. She wrote of it in her diary:3BIO 299.2

It is a beautiful morning. Rose at five and commenced writing. Have written four pages before breakfast. Brethren Lane, John, and Wilcox [workers from England] have come, and Sister Lane and Sister Jenny Thayer. Wrote eight pages to Elder Butler, two pages to Sister Lockwood, two pages to May Walling.—Manuscript 16a, 1885.3BIO 299.3