This was granted gladly and his thought of charging six per cent on the building until his death disappeared in the watery grave and he made the church a present outright of the beautiful chapel.  Not only this chapel has been built by an individual, but others have been built in the same way.  Usually, however, the churches are built out of the sacrificial offerings of the people.  So well has this church building movement progressed that now about one-third of the 142 Baptist Churches organized in Brazil worship in their own buildings, and with a few exceptions, these buildings have been erected by the gifts of the people and not by the gifts of the Foreign Mission Board.  The Presbyterians show a better proportion of buildings than this and the Methodists quite as good.

The subject of self-support is a live one.  There has been good progress made in this matter, but, of course, it will require many years to teach the churches their full duty in this regard.  Many churches have reached the point where they take care of all local expenses.  Some of the missionaries go so far as to advocate not organizing any more churches until the congregations can be self-supporting.  The South Brazilian Mission, in its recent meeting, adopted the rule that no church should be organized hereafter until it could pay at last 60 per cent of its own expenses—­these expenses to include the care of the house, the salary of the native pastor, etc.

I have already cited instances of personal work.  I wish to say more particularly that the great success which has attended the work in Brazil must be in a large measure attributed to the fact that those who have been led to Christ have been zealous in witnessing personally to others of the grace which had been bestowed upon them.

One of the greatest laymen in Brazil is our Brother Thomaz L. da Costa.  He is the Superintendent of a very considerable business firm in Bahia.  He is a deacon in the First Baptist Church, one of the moving spirits upon the Brazilian Foreign Mission Board and practically superintends the work of the State Mission Board of Bahia.

Years ago he was converted in Rio through the agency of his washerwoman.  This faithful woman is a member of the First Baptist Churoh.  She decided she would attempt to lead Thomaz to Christ.  So on Saturday when she would bring his laundry she would invite him to come to her house on the following day for dinner.  I might say by way of parenthesis, that there is not a steam laundry in Brazil.  All of the laundry work is done by hand.  Sometimes there is quite a considerable firm which employs many laundresses.  Thomaz, after declining the good woman’s invitation many times, finally one day decided he would accpt. it.