# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S693
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

MISSIONS , 109

udents (1943), 4 of these ready to enter the seminary at Buenos
, and a theological seminary with 10 or 11 students (1944).
f the students are vicaring since November, 1943. The num-
souls in the Argentina District, which includes Paraguay
Uruguay, is 12,760. ‘

/<"Mhus the number of souls under our care in South America

3,800: Brazil

Work in Brazil has been carried on under great difficulties.
Phe “Nationalization Program,” mentioned in the report three years
‘0, is still in progress. Fortunately most of our teachers could
the requirement of the program, as a result of which our
ols could continue to function. However, the big problem is
find laborers for the Lord’s harvest throughout the land. Even

ow the parishes are much too large. If, to give you an example,
we merely told you that one pastor serves six stations, that would
¢ sound very impressive. We know others, in North America
and in South America, who have a greater number of stations.
however, we add that this one man serves 861 souls, 449 com-
‘municant members and 150 voting members, you will observe that
‘really has enough to occupy his time. But you haven't really
caught the picture. That number of people would require diligent
plication on the part of a man if they were in a single congre-
ation. But these are spread in six congregations. And how! Just
to reach all stations once, the man spends fifty-three and a half
ours‘in the saddle! No misprint here; it really takes fifty-three
and a half hours. And what is worse, the parishes already too large
for efficient work become larger as vacancies occur. And they do
“eeeur. As soon as the war clouds lift, the long-delayed furloughs
will definitely be expected, and rightly so. Some of these men are
so broken down that they will need a long time to recover. And
what have we to counterbalance those possible losses? Just five
candidates from our seminary at Porto Alegre! The situation is
‘. very serious. Perhaps the question comes to your mind, Why not
send more men from North America? The answer: Under present
conditions that is utterly impossible. We hope the future will bring
a change in this respect. But our report deals with conditions as
they exist. It is impossible to get clearance for our missionaries
from North America.

And what can we do about it? We can pray — pray that our
Lord cause the adverse conditions to be changed; that He give
complete recovery to our missionaries who have been subjected to
these ordeals; that when they have had their furloughs, He may
constrain them with His love to return because of the crying need
' for their service. And we can see to it that they have adequate

salaries lest financial worries be added to all their other troubles.