Continental manners and the long and beautiful journey on the Rhine I
saw, through grace, no charm, and certainly I saw nothing in them
which would induce me to leave home, but the reverse; the fourth
Orphan-House was on the point of being opened, and I, naturally, was
very reluctant to be absent from it just then; the labour would be
great in Germany, and work would heap up greatly for me in Bristol,
during my absence. But with all this:--the leading of my mind to
Germany still remained.

The more I prayed about these points, the more I judged it to be from
the Lord, that I should go for a season to Germany. It was but a few
days, before I had the fullest assurance in my soul, (after much
prayer, much self-examination in the fear of God, and after much
looking at these five points), that it was the will of God I should
go; yet even then I did not speak publicly about it.

After having come to the conclusion, that, as far as I could see, it
was the will of God that I should go, I began prayerfully to look at
the difficulties there were in the way, which were principally these.
1. the New Orphan-House needed to be opened, and all the work in
connexion with it was to be done before I could leave; because I
could not judge it to be of God, that this work, which was begun,
should remain unfinished, except absolute necessity pointed it out,
as otherwise it would be a waste of money, a breach of promise to the
relatives whose children were to be received, &c. I therefore asked
the Lord to help me through all this work, which was not a little,
before I could leave. 2. I judged it for various reasons important,
not to leave the work of the Orphan-Houses, Day-Schools, &c., without
leaving such a sum of money behind, as would, at least for about two
months, defray the probable current expenses for the work, therefore
a few hundred pounds I thought it desirable to leave behind, in order
that the burden of the work might not be left upon the shoulders of
my dear fellow-labourers. I had therefore by prayer to get this sum
from the Lord, for the obtaining of which I had no natural prospects
whatever. 3. Another obstacle in the way was, want of money for
traveling expenses to and from Stuttgart, and means for staying there
at least for a time, and that not only for myself, but for my dear
wife; for I judged, for various reasons, that it was the will of God
she should accompany me in this service, but principally because her
health