Rees Howells ( 1879 - 1950 )

 

Rees Howells seemed destined for a typical life in a small mining town in Wales. He was the sixth child of eleven, and at the age of twelve, he left school to follow in his father’s footsteps as a miner. Rees' love for the Lord probably came about through the influence of his grandparents who lived in the Black Mountains. He used to say that going into their cottage was like passing from earth to heaven. They were converted in the 1859 revival. Rees’ father brought the children up on Bible stories and somehow these, together with the influence of his grandparents, helped to prepare him for the work he was to do. He was clearly set apart; the hand of God was on him. He did not get involved with the same activities as the local youth; he once went to a football match, but he realised that the atmosphere there was not right for him so he pledged that he would never go to another one, and he didn't. Unlike most young people, Rees had a very sensitive conscience. Once his father asked him to deliver some shoes to a customer (his father had opened a shoe shop). He asked the customer for 1s 10d, knowing full well that the cost was 1s 9d, spent the extra penny on apples. He confessed his sin to his father, but even so, this act 'haunted' him for some time, especially when he saw apples. It is a wonderful thing for a young person to be so sensitive to what is right and what is wrong; Holy Spirit had caught hold of him.

 

Rees was at home in the chapel, prayer meetings and in the beautiful valleys.He emigrated to America in 1901 and worked in tinplate mills in Pittsburgh and Connellsville, Penn. , where he was influenced by a Jewish evangelist , Maurice Reuben . He returned to Brynaman in 1904 and worked as a miner but attended evangelical conferences at Llandrindod and Keswick . However, the remote town of Brynamman began to change when Wales experienced a revival in 1904 and 1905. Along with many others, Rees was caught up in this powerful move of God. He began to sense that God was calling him to leave the mines. In what was to become a hallmark of Rees Howells life, he declared to God, “I believe you are able to keep me better than that mining company.” He began to realize the importance of intercession for sustaining the new converts that resulted from the revival. Early in his journey of faith, he understood the significant impact, both personal and social, of a prayer-filled life.

 

Soon after marrying Elizabeth Hannah Jones of Brynaman , 21 Dec. 1910 , he went to the Presbyterian College , Carmarthen , intending to enter the ministry but these plans were put aside when he received an invitation to become a missionary . He and his wife received training in colleges in Edinburgh and London and in 1915 they joined the South African General Mission with special responsibility for Rusitu mission station . After spending 5 years there they returned to Wales in 1920 and following a preaching tour in America in 1922 he decided to establish a Bible College in Wales , on the model of the Moody Bible Institute , Chicago , to train workers for the mission fields .

 

Until the Llandrindod Conference of 1922, Howells travelled around taking the revival anointing with him. The power of God at the Conference was very great. At a prayer meeting the question of training the young converts was discussed, and Howells suggested asking the Lord for a training college. While they were at prayer the Lord told him that he was the one that was going to build the college. This meant giving up the one thing that Howells had always wanted to have - a world-wide revival ministry, so it was hard for him to accept. The Howells left for a private visit to America, where they saw the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Seeing the Institute gave Howells a vision to start something similar in Wales. He believed that God would provide the funds. They resigned from the Mission and set their faces towards their new task. While holidaying in Mumbles near Swansea they were walking near the Bay and came across an empty house named Glynderwen. As they stood by the gates the Lord said, ‘This is the College.’ Howells asked God for proof of the ‘call’; to meet someone who knew the owner within two days. On the second day a local came by to invite them to tea and it turned out that he knew the owner very well. Howells went to see the owner and visited the property again. He was told that the Catholics were after the property, but God told him to kneel down and claim it for his College. Howells felt a little despondent because he knew the weight that would be on him to bring this project to completion. The owner offered to sell the house, eight acres and a public house for £6,300 although he had had an offer of £10,000. Howells was keen to accept, but God said he could not pay more than £6,150, so he wrote to the owner explaining what God had said. The owner replied by offering £5,800. When it came time to pay the deposit he was still £140 short, so he decided to go to the solicitor anyway. His wife arrived soon after him with the post that included three cheques that totalled £140 exactly. The remainder of the money was hard fought for. He spent nearly all day for ten months in prayer, until he had breakthrough.

 

The two books he found most useful were the Bible and George Muller’s autobiography. Muller had been through the same process in providing the finances for his huge orphanages in Bristol. Like Muller, Howells was not allowed to do any meetings, he had to do it all in prayer. The College opened on Whit-Monday 1924 with six tutors and thirty students and was run by faith, just as Howells’ life was. After five years the Lord was burdening Howells that there was a need for expansion to double the size of the College. Around the time of the fifth anniversary the owner of an estate down the road died. This estate of Derwen Fawr consisted of a large house, three cottages and seventeen acres of land. The Lord told Howells to buy it, so he started to prayer walk around it. When it came on the market the Roman Catholics also wanted to purchase it. To confirm the task he asked God for a large donation from a new donor the next day. £100 arrived in the third post. The Depression was at its height so Howells asked for another sign - £50 on his fiftieth birthday from a new donor. It too came. The negotiations lasted several months, as a Syndicate was also trying to buy the estate, but Howells finally bought it for £8,000. God told Howell to build new buildings, which he did at a cost of £6,000. In 1932, when the building programme was nearing completion, God asked Howells to build a home for the children of missionaries who could not take their children to the mission field. He bought Sketty Isaf, a property with five acres opposite Derwen Fawr for this purpose. He later bought twelve acres that were part of the estate and a further seven of adjoining land. All this was done in the Depression, so Howells was able to buy all the properties way below normal market value. When looking for the last two estates, Howells made offers on other estates first, but was turned down. Then these better properties came on the market. Howells considered a temporary disappointment on the way, not as a failure, but as a stepping stone. The Lord provided about £30,000 for new buildings on the various estates. In fourteen years the Lord sent him £125,000. For all gifts of £100 or more the Lord told him to give 25% away. During these years, many came to the Lord at the various meetings held at the College.