# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1902_S108
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

108 Proceedings of the 25th General, or

"Pastor H. Hallerberg is at work among the deaf-mute in St. Louis. He
takes the opportunity to give a number of first-year students at our
seminary instruction in sign language. He also cares for the deaf-mute
in Quincy, Jacksonville, Springfield, Ill., and Hannibal, Mo. — Last
month he made a mission trip to Kansas, preaching in various cities to
the deaf-mute the Gospel that can save their souls.

"For a year now we have had, in the person of Pastor J. Salvner, a
missionary to the deaf-mute in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., who intends
to begin a mission in La Crosse, Wis., and in Rochester, Mankato, New
Ulm, and Faribault, Minn.

"The newest worker in this mission is Pastor W. Gielow, who regularly
holds services in Englewood (Chicago) and helps Pastor Reinke — who has
become assistant pastor of Bethlehem congregation in Chicago — with the
evening instruction of the deaf-mute. Pastor Reinke has, upon request,
made mission trips to Cleveland, O., Buffalo, N.Y., etc., and once even
to Denver, Colo.

"Our missionaries have preached to more than 1,500 deaf-mute people in
all parts of our country, administered the Holy Supper to 792, married
23 deaf-mute couples, confirmed 55 deaf adults, baptized 9, and buried
5. — Surely a rich blessing of God, especially considering how scattered
the deaf-mute live, how hard they are to reach, and with what
difficulties the work among them is bound up.

"For years now it has been the wish of the deaf-mute to have a paper of
their own. The missionaries, too, repeatedly pointed out how necessary
such a paper would be and what blessing might be worked through it.
Your commission, however, could not summon the confidence to give its
consent to publishing such a paper. It felt that if the excellent paper
'The Lutheran Pioneer' were used in such a way that its fourth page were
dedicated to the mission to the deaf-mute, this need would be met
without too great an expense. And this has indeed been put into
practice, following arrangements made with the commission for the
mission to Black Americans and the Concordia Publishing House. For
several months now this page has appeared in this way, and has been
welcomed by our deaf-mute members with particular joy. It is now for the
Reverend Synod to decide whether it approves of this, or considers some
other plan better.

"With praise and thanks to God the commission can report that in these
three years there has been no lack of the money needed to carry on this
mission. Even though the gifts did not always flow so abundantly into
this treasury, and the members of the commission sometimes grew
uneasy, it was nevertheless always able to pay the dear missionaries
their salary at the proper