# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1956_S405
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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MISSIONS 405

Lord for so graciously protecting our workers on all their travels.
Furthermore, our men, as a rule, have enjoyed good health during
the past triennium, and the loss of time because of illness is at
a minimum.

Several of our workers have left our Mission during the
past three years. Eugene Rische resigned because of ill health;
R. Mackensen, V. Mesenbring, and F. Possehl have accepted calls
into hearing work. We deeply regret that men trained for this
specialized work are being called by hearing congregations. One
of these men had been in our Mission for 19 years and the other
two for five years each. Quite a loss! N. P. Uhlig has tendered his
resignation to take effect July 1, 1956, because of advanced age
and defective eyesight. Therefore we this year are asking for five
candidates and two vicars. May our dear Lord graciously grant
us these so necessary men.

A number of changes have been made: Theo. DeLaney from
Austin, Tex., to San Francisco; M. Kosche from Indianapolis to
Madison, Wis.; Geo. Kraus from New York to St. Paul; D. Simon
from Columbus to New York; L. Stacy from Pittsburgh to Des
Moines.

During the past triennium God has given us seven new
workers: D. Boerner, Fisher, N. Dak., and Marlin Sampson, Wa-
tonga, Okla.; five candidates: Bailey, Borchers, Hausmann, Lange,
and Oermann. Two part-time workers, L. Russert and Paul
Schulze, have accepted calls to other hearing charges and therefore
are no more in our Mission. Sign classes are conducted in St. Louis
Seminary by Wm. Reinking and in Springfield Seminary by N. P.
Uhlig. Quite a few attend these classes. Members of these classes
often help out by making calls, visiting deaf in state hospitals,
preaching, etc., and in Springfield especially by instructing classes
of deaf from the Jacksonville, Ill., school. Thus we always have
been able to secure vicars and candidates. Our first deaf student
now is in Springfield Seminary and is doing exceptionally well.
He will be ready to go out as vicar in 1957, God willing.

How the Work Is Being Done

Our missionaries chiefly work in the sign language and bring
the glorious Gospel to about 10,000 or more deaf during the year.
However, for a number of years we have ministered to them,
especially to children at the schools, also by speech and lip-
reading, which method chiefly is in vogue in most of the schools.
They read the words of the saving Gospel from the pastor’s lips
and answer questions by word of mouth. Often it is difficult to
understand them, because they speak so indistinctly unless they