"“My husband said: ‘Ellen, do you remember when we first entered the field in Michigan, and traveled in a wagon to the different localities to meet with the humble companies who were observing the Sabbath,—how forbidding the prospect was? In the heat of summer our sleeping-room was often the kitchen, where the cooking had been done through the day, and we could not sleep. Do you remember how, in one instance, we lost our way, and when we could find no water, you fainted? With a borrowed ax we cut our way through the forest until we came to a log shanty, where we were given some bread and milk and a lodging for the night. We prayed and sang with the family, and in the morning left them one of our pamphlets. LS 361.3"
"In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness."
The EGW passage recounts hardships endured while spreading their message, mirroring the suffering Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 11:27. The themes of weariness, thirst, and lack of comfort are present in both.
"“‘We were greatly troubled over this circumstance. Our guide knew the way, and that we should get lost was something we could not understand. Years afterward, at a camp meeting, we were introduced to several persons who told us their story. That visit made, as we thought, by mistake, that book we left, was seed sown. Twenty in all were converted by what we supposed was a mistake. This was the work of the Lord, that light might be given to those who desired to know the truth.’ LS 361.4"
"But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
The EGW passage describes an apparent mistake leading to conversions, which she attributes to God's work. This strongly echoes the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:23, where seed sown in good ground yields abundant fruit. The idea of unexpected positive outcomes from seemingly insignificant actions connects the two.