The people of the Philippines, their religious progress and preparation for spiritual leadership in the Far East,

THE COMING OF AMERICAN MISSIONARIES 185

method and inspire in their congregations the spirit of loyalty,
not only to Christ but also to the Methodist Church.
THE PRESBYTERIAN MISSION
Dr. James B. Rodgers, of the Presbyterian Mission, has
written the story of the first "Twenty Years of Presbyterian
Work in the Philippines," and it need not be repeated here.
Rev. and Mrs. Rodgers had been doing missionary work in
Brazil for eleven years when the United States took the Philippines. As soon as it became certain that President McKinley
meant to stay in the Islands, the Presbyterian Board voted
(November 21, I898) that the Rodgers should be transferred
from Brazil to the Philippines. They reached Manila five
months later (April 2I, I899), just a month after the visit of
Bishop Thoburn. They were the first permanent regularly
appointed missionaries in the Islands. Dr. Rodgers was able
to speak Portuguese fluently, and made rapid progress with
the sister tongue, Spanish. He gives the Bible full credit for
the remarkable opening he found when he first arrived in the
Islands. "On my arrival in Manila in I899, I found Mr.
Randall, a sub-agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society,
who was a great help. He introduced me to Sr. Poblete, who
in turn introduced me to Sr. (Paulino) Zamora, and two openings were ready within forty-eight hours of my arrival." He
found himself in the midst of a thrilling work almost before
he could get unpacked. A year after his arrival, the Federal
Party " held a great religious meeting in the Teatro Rizal. The
place was jammed. The leader spoke of the horrors of the
Spanish revolution in I896, and urged the substitution of Filipino clericals for the friars. The audience arose and shouted
approval. Dr. Rodgers followed, and in eloquent Spanish declared that this was "a movement of people tired of mediation,
and seeking personal knowledge of God." This was the first of
the meetings out of which grew the oldest of the Tondo
churches. At the dedicatory services of that church there was
'Pro-American. See end of Chap. VII.