Friday, October 7, 2011

Wesley considers leaving America

October the 7th, 1737. I consulted my friends whether God did not call me to return to England. The reason for which I left it had now no force, there being no possibility as yet of instructing the Indians; neither had I as yet found or heard of any Indians on the continent of America who had the least desire of being instructed. And as to Savannah, having never engaged myself, either by word or letter, to stay there a day longer than I should judge convenient, nor ever taken charge of the people any otherwise than as in my passage to the heathens, I looked upon myself to be fully discharged therefrom by the vacating of that design. Besides, there was a probability of doing more service to that unhappy people in England than I could do in Georgia, by representing without fear or favour to the Trustees the real state the colony was in. After deeply considering these things they were unanimous that ‘I ought to go; but not yet.’ So I laid the thoughts of it aside for the present, being persuaded that when the time was come, God would ‘make the way plain before my face’.