# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1902_S99
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Tenth Delegate Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States, 1902. 99

standing at the close of the year in confirmation instruction; 17
couples were married, and 30 persons were buried.

"May the faithful God and Savior, however, who for 25 years now has
been so gracious to our mission, continue also in the future to promote
this his holy mission work and to awaken his dear Christians to new zeal
for it!" (Report of the Commission for the Mission to Black Americans.)

Since the mission to Black Americans is, for purposes of deliberation
and resolution, placed under the Synodical Conference, our Synod
confines itself to addressing only the following recommendation
regarding this mission to its congregations: the congregations are
cordially asked to distribute the two mission papers, "Missions-Taube"
[Mission Dove] and "Pioneer," as widely as possible among their members,
and the pastors and teachers in particular are urgently requested to
help more zealously than before in distributing these papers.

The Synod further expresses its joy and its thanks to God that the
Black congregations have, in the last two years, raised among themselves
the sum of $4,000.00 for church purposes.

Mission to the Estonians and Latvians.

"In the year 1899 the Reverend Synod created, as the youngest of its
various mission commissions, the Commission for the Mission to the
Estonians and Latvians. This commission takes the liberty of hereby
submitting its first report to the Reverend Synod.

"With great thanks to God, your commission may first of all boast that
the LORD God has graciously made himself known to this mission as well,
and has visibly placed his divine blessing upon the work begun in his
name and hitherto carried on in fear of him.

"Your commission has endeavored to carry out, to the best of its
ability, the work entrusted to it, and it may be added at once that the
Synod, for its part, has not forgotten this mission among the Estonians
and Latvians either; rather, our mission has so far always received from
the various districts of our Synod as much support as the missionary's
modest needs required.

"We must give our missionary the testimony that he attends to his
office conscientiously, diligently, and faithfully. The constant travel
that this mission requires to a particular degree — first because of the
many small congregations, then because of the great distances of these
congregations from one another, and finally because until recently only
a single missionary could take care of these people — has placed demands
on our missionary that at times exceeded his strength. The consequence
was that he fell ill and had to rest for a short time. But God granted
grace for his speedy recovery, and today he is active in his office in
full strength.