After being seen off by Rev. John MacLeod at Stornoway Airport on a wet and stormy afternoon, the 1st of July 1970, I left with mixed feelings. Yet I believed the Lord was guiding me in His providence to go on this visit. It took me a week, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, to arrange about passport, tickets, etc. Eventually on 8th July the day arrived for me to leave my native land and to venture on this new experience in my life.
I was kindly driven to Prestwick International Airport by Rev. Moshe Radcliff, accompanied by his wife and child, and after a warm farewell I proceeded to board the 707 Boeing ‘plane which was to take me to the vast continent of North America. As we rose into the air leaving the Ayrshire coast behind I wondered if ever I would see my native land again. Although my visit to our missions was to last for only six months, yet much could happen in that time. But as we rose above the clouds to a height of thirty thousand feet I was comforted by the words, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us”. We had left at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and allowing for the change of time between the countries we arrived at 5.30 p.m. Canadian time, which was actually 2.30 p.m. British time. It takes a little while to get adjusted to this lapse of time.
As we drew near the Canadian coast the clouds began to disappear till eventually when descending at Toronto there was a clear blue sky without a blot on the horizon. What impressed me from the air was the vast long stretches of highways with thousands of cars passing and crossing one another over the various bridge highways. It was a most magnificent sign of man’s ingenuity; but the sights I was yet to see overshadowed all man’s skill. The work of the Great Architect left me speechless.
On arriving at Toronto Airport one who was to become a friend indeed, James Fraser, well known to our most recent deputies, was faithfully waiting my arrival. As he and his family intended to go to Scotland on holiday the following week I was taken to the manse where I was most hospitably entertained by Rev. G. Hamstra and his wife, not forgetting their two lovely little girls. That night I took the prayer-meeting and the following Sabbath morning service in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Canada which had moved from Bloor Street and was now nearing completion at its new site in Victoria Park Avenue. I continued to enjoy the fellowship and hospitality in the manse and among the people, many of whom have Free Presbyterian connections. On Tuesday 15th July I left for Detroit, U.S.A., by bus, a distance of 225 miles.
On arrival at Detroit — after passing through the Customs offices and then through a one mile long tunnel under Michigan River which joins Canada and U.S.A. — I found waiting for me at the Bus Station Mr and Mrs Lawson, who are well-known to previous deputies. I am greatly indebted to them for their unstinted help in taking me to visit many of our Detroit friends, not to mention their kind hospitality in their own home. Many of the Ness friends I had met when home on holiday and it was good to see them again in their own environment. As I was following the route of my predecessor the next step was to Hillsdale, Michigan. My hosts in Detroit further extended their kindness by driving me on Friday 17th July, the eighty miles to this lovely little town once inhabited by Potawatoni Indians led by their chief with the quaint name of Baw Beese.
Mrs C. MacLennan met us at her doorstep with a very warm welcome making very evident she was pleased to see us. I had met her eight years before while she was in Scotland, so I was not a total stranger to her. We held a service that night in her home, at which Mr and Mrs Kenneth MacLennan and daughter Barbara, from nearby North Adams, attended. I had six services there from Friday to Thursday and must acknowledge a good measure of liberty in speaking to this small group of eight persons. I had intended following on to Grand Rapids, Michigan; but owing to Mr De Korne — who makes all the arrangements for our deputies—being away on business I had to postpone my visit temporarily. My prime wish was to get to Winnipeg as quickly as possible because it was to be my main mission station. So, on Friday 24th July accompanied by Mr Kenneth MacLennan his wife and Mrs C. MacLennan I was driven to Detroit where I stayed the weekend with my kind hosts Mr and Mrs Lawson. I omitted to say that the Lawsons drove the eighty miles from Detroit and back again on the Sabbath to attend the Hillsdale services.
On Sabbath I held a service in the house of that grand old lady Mrs MacKenzie, Gross Ille. After a serious illness she had made a remarkable recovery and at 88 years impressed me very much with her bright and clear mind. One could detect a great attachment to the Free Presbyterian Church as she showed her interest in our affairs. She was especially delighted at the number of young men coming into the ministry in our church. The service was well attended for these parts and included the Hillsdale people. There were 22 persons at the service.
On the Monday 27th July my hosts showed me further kindness by driving me the 225 miles back to Toronto where I enjoyed further hospitality in the home of Mr and Mrs John Morrison, who both belong to Ness. Mrs Morrison is a sister of John and Mary Morrison belonging to my congregation. The time was drawing near for me to leave for Winnipeg where most of my labour was to take place, and consequently on Tuesday 28th July I was driven to Toronto Airport where, in the midst of the usual busy life of international airports, I boarded a plane for Winnipeg.
On arriving at Winnipeg I was met by Mr Allan MacLeod, elder and missionary of the Winnipeg congregation, and his wife accompanied by Mr Hedley Kitchen, the congregation’s most useful treasurer. After dinner I was comfortably settled in an hotel which was to be my dwelling — except for two weeks in Vancouver — for fourteen weeks. The other places I had visited were pleasantly hot — around 80°, but in Winnipeg it was as high as 92°. On Wednesday night at the prayer-meeting I felt greatly discouraged when I saw how few — six persons — were there. But I was told the reason was that some were on holiday, so we looked forward to their return (D.V.). A complete stranger attended the service that night. He was a young American about twenty years old and through conversation with him he told me he had run away from America to escape conscription, and that through prayer he lost faith in God! After trying to reason with him we thought it better to leave him and pray for him; but he promised to come to the service on Sabbath. On the Sabbath morning our young friend arrived with a cat in his arms, so I had a cat in my congregation! But both cat and owner did not stay long and we never saw them again. Poor young man! May the Hearer of prayer show him that prayer is a Divinely appointed means to increase faith rather than lose it.
There were five Sabbaths until the Communion, so in the interval the congregation began to grow to its full capacity (12 persons) excluding Mrs Kitchen, who was very ill during my first stay in Winnipeg. Some strangers attended now and again, but few came more than once. Whether this reflects on the preacher or the doctrine preached I know not! This I must humbly acknowledge — that I enjoyed every moment I preached to this little group. They seemed to accept and rejoice in the sound of the Gospel and to be encouraged by our visit. I believe they are the only congregation in the large city of Winnipeg who witness to the Reformed doctrines of the Reformation. Winnipeg is not without its churches; it has scores of them. But their teachings are suspect as could be seen by a few tracts and magazines which fell into my hand. Through the week Mr Kitchen was a tremendous help to me in taking me in his car to visit the sick and old, and that in spite of his own deep concern for his sick wife.
As the Communion date drew near prospects did not seem too promising relative to any strangers coming. I received a letter from Rev. Dr MacDonald, Vancouver, telling me he could not assist me as he was only slowly recovering from a heart attack, and at the same time he was afraid that his elders could not manage for various reasons. Here we must acknowledge the Lord’s great kindness to us, for the outcome far exceeded our expectations. From Vancouver came Mr Farquhar Matheson, Elder; Mr Allan MacAskill, brother of Rev. A. MacAskill, Lochinver, along with Mrs Ross, an old member of Winnipeg congregation. Again, from Hillsdale, Michigan, arrived Mrs C. MacLennan and her daughter Judy. The Communion services, which commenced Thursday 3rd September, were well attended; especially on the Sabbath. The help of the Lord is to be humbly acknowledged for the liberty of His Presence afforded, unless I am sadly mistaken. One male member was added to the Roll, a Mr Anderson, who can be a help to this small group. I remained another Sabbath in Winnipeg and on Monday night 14th September, at 11.30 p.m., I boarded the train for Vancouver which was to take 36 hours.
This journey was a most pleasant and memorable one. Here I saw the wonderful glory of our Creator as His handiwork stood out more than I have ever seen it before. O how small I felt; yet how proud I felt of my great Creator. Oh, how blind indeed is the professed atheist who passes through such wonders and remains true to his profession. As the half mile long train (22 coaches) weaved its way through the high Rocky Mountains with their majestic peaks towering thousands of feet above us, passing through broad valleys, deep canyons, and forested regions dotted with beautiful lakes interlaced with streams, I rejoiced. I had seen the skill of man at work in the large cities — even here where huge tunnels had been bored through thick rock — yet this was all overshadowed by what I was now beholding. Words cannot express the awe-inspiring sight.
On Wednesday 16th September, at 11.30 a.m., I arrived in Vancouver where a warm welcome again was given by Rev. Dr MacDonald, Farquhar Matheson, Donald Robertson, son of our esteemed missionary in Tain, Archie Robertson, Allan MacAskill and John MacLean, who had come from San Francisco, U.S.A., to attend the Communion. This was only a foretaste of the warmth I was yet to meet with in this most lively congregation of ours in Vancouver. I was pleasantly surprised to see how Dr MacDonald had progressed and he assured me that he would be able to assist at his forthcoming communion (D.V.). When we arrived at the manse I was met with the same warm welcome by Mrs MacDonald herself; I felt at home the moment I came in. How thankful I should be to the Lord; for this was the treatment I found from our people all along. That same night, after the prayer-meeting, I found the same warmth and spiritual liveliness running through the congregation.
On Thursday 17th September the Communion Services began and were well attended — Mr Murdo Gillies, Winnipeg, also came to the Communion. Although no new members were added to the Communion Roll this time, a pleasant time was experienced and the fellowship will be remembered by me for the rest of my life. The pleasure was somewhat marred by the death, on Friday, of Mrs MacDonald, a long-standing member of the congregation and mother of Miss Katy MacDonald, well known in our circles over here. We believe Mrs MacDonald’s death was her gain although our loss.
I was very disappointed I did not get to visit Calgary as my predecessors did. The Misses Beaton, who did all the arranging for the services, had gone to Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A., for the space of a year. As there was no other way of arranging services I remained in Vancouver for another Sabbath. This gave me a further opportunity to get to know the Vancouver people. I was impressed by the number of children in this congregation; they have a large, I may say cosmopolitan, Sabbath School. Also, on Thursday nights they have a Bible discussion among the adults, which is led by the minister. I attended one and was pleased to see how the various doctrines were discussed and problems were tackled. This would be a good pattern for our congregations at home to follow. The classes were held in rotation at different homes which, I believe, fostered the warm fellowship I felt so much.
Vancouver is a most beautiful city and the climate in British Columbia is mild compared to Manitoba and Ontario. When visiting the sick in hospitals it took me out to the suburbs where I saw great pine-scented forests, immense parks, mountains, lakes and the sea. No Scottish person would be “homesick” in this beautiful province. So, it was with much regret I have to leave my dear friends in Vancouver. I pray that God who is blessing them will bless them still. My departure took place on Tuesday 29th September with sixteen persons (too numerous to name here) giving me as warm a farewell as they had given me a welcome.
Before I left Vancouver I had made arrangements with Miss E. MacDonald, daughter of Tom MacDonald, Eston, late elder of Winnipeg congregation, to come and visit her father. Consequently Miss MacDonald met me at Swift Current Station — 80 miles from Eston — and drove me to her brother’s farm where I spent the night after arriving at 12.30 a.m. At the station Miss MacDonald informed me that her father was in hospital but was slowly progressing. The following afternoon I visited our esteemed friend and found it to be the most impressive hospital visit I ever experienced. He was full of the joys of Heaven; his heart overflowing with praise and thankfulness to the Most High who had been so good to him in his long life of 96 years. But if he was thankful for Providence, O, how he waxed eloquent when speaking of God’s grace in Redeeming Love. I left that bedside feeling strongly our dear friend was just outside the gates of Glory. He reminded me of the wise virgins and their trimmed lamps when they heard the heralding of the Bridegroom’s approach. I will always praise the Lord for being permitted to see the work of grace in the soul shining so brightly as I saw it at that bedside in Eston. Our friend has since joined the multitude above whose graces fill Heaven with adoring love and unceasing praise and thankfulness to Him who loved them and washed them from their sins in His own blood. That same night Miss MacDonald again drove me back to Swift Current where I caught the train to Winnipeg. We arrived on Thursday at 9.30 a.m. on a cold and wet morning and found our faithful friend Mr H. Kitchen awaiting. I was pleased to hear his wife was now progressing, if somewhat slowly.
I now settled down in Winnipeg for another five Sabbaths, making my total stay here twelve Sabbaths. While there I renewed my acquaintance with the sick, old and infirm. I still enjoyed preaching to this small congregation and felt very much for them; especially as Mr Allan MacLeod, their elder, who had most ably and faithfully for so many years ministered to them, was now growing old and very feeble in body and mind. His eighty-six years were now showing very clearly. It is my hope and prayer that the Lord will raise up another one, as faithful as Mr MacLeod, to keep a Free Presbyterian witness in Winnipeg. My farewell sermon was preached on Wednesday night, 4th November, and not without a feeling of sadness as I thought of their plight. Yet, I believe Mr Murdo Gillies and Mr Anderson will be of help such time as the Lord sees fit to strengthen them. On Thursday 5th November I was given a warm farewell by Mr and Mrs Gillies and Mr and Mrs Kitchen and as I walked away from them towards the plane, which was to take me to Toronto, I wondered if the Lord had a purpose of mercy towards this little group. I hope and pray that I can apply to them the promise, “A LITTLE ONE SHALL BECOME A THOUSAND, AND A SMALL ONE A STRONG NATION: I THE LORD WILL HASTEN IT IN HIS TIME.” Isa. 60, v. 22.
(Note: As most readers will know, Mr Nicolson returned home safely at the end of 1970. We have reason to thankfully acknowledge the Lord’s protecting care over him during his six month’s absence from his congregation and throughout his many travels. — Editor.)