At the close of the sermon, a good sister referred in very earnest terms to the discourse, and was grateful for the ministry of a man who so well understood the deep things of God.  Instantly the thought came, “Ah, yes! but there must be a great difference between merely understanding the theory, and realizing a happy experience of the power.”  A hasty supper was eaten, and I was away for another ten miles to my evening appointment.  The snow was still falling, and the winds were driving it fiercely across the prairie, rendering the track invisible.  Out on the prairie, my noble horse dashed forward with great speed, but I scarcely noted the distance, as my thought was busy.  The question that was ringing through my heart was this:  “How can you preach to others what you do not know yourself?” At length I resolved; and scarcely stopping to measure the movement, or estimate the consequences, I was on my knees, engaged in prayer.  My first conscious thought of my surroundings was awakened by the wrestling of my horse, as my right hand held him firmly by the lines.  Then came the suggestion, “This is a very unpropitious time to settle a matter of this importance.  With a fractious horse by the rein, a terrible storm sweeping over the prairie, and an already blind snow-path, you had better defer the matter for the present.”  My reply was, “It is time these questions were settled, and I propose to settle them now” “But the snow-path is nearly filled; you will lose your way and perish.”  I still replied, “It is time these questions were settled, and I propose to settle them now.”  “But it is getting dark, and your congregation will be waiting for you.  You had better go forward, fill your appointment, and then attend to this matter.”  The Lord helped me to reply once more, “It is time these questions were settled, and, God helping me, they shall be settled now.”  Instantly the light broke upon me, and I was able “to reckon myself dead unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ my Lord.”  I was found in due time at my appointment, preaching from the text, “He is able to save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by him.”

Learning that a settlement had been made on Portage Prairie, at a point where Mr. Langdon, of Lake Maria, had erected a lumber mill, I resolved to visit the locality.  I found Mr. Langdon had erected a small house, and had already moved his family.  I was welcomed to his new home and again invited to make his house a chapel until better accommodations could be secured.  I accepted the kind offer, and thus Cambria was made a regular appointment.  I visited the few scattered families in the vicinity, and found sufficient material to organize a small class.  The class was formed on the 10th day of January, 1846, and at the beginning included Mr. and Mrs. Irwin McCall, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Wilson, Mrs. Maria Langdon, and Mrs. H. W. Patton.  Cambria has since been largely settled by emigrants from Wales.

In March, I visited Randolph and opened an appointment at the residence of Father Griffin.  At the present writing, the village has become a respectable station, with a good Church and Parsonage.