# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1898_S42
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

42 Proceedings of the seventeenth convention

and thereby lost to the ministry as well. Finally, we must still mention with great sorrow an irreplaceable loss to our mission. Our second-oldest, highly gifted and well-proven missionary, A. Burgdorf, has at last been compelled, because of his weakened health, to give up the mission service that had grown so dear to him and to accept a call to a white congregation. Lastly we mention the heavy financial pressure which, by God's dispensation, has weighed upon our country for some years and which makes itself felt, as in all works for the kingdom of God, so also in our Negro Mission, and here perhaps doubly severely. The receipts of the last two years were $7400.00 less than those of the preceding two. Despite the most urgent appeals, therefore, we could not only not think of any enlargement of our mission field or of an increase in the number of our missionaries, but had rather to reduce our work. We released Missionary Kuß to a white congregation, since Missionary Lankenau had declared himself willing to serve both stations, St. Paul and Mount Zion. We transferred Teacher Niewedde from Bethlehem to the upper class of St. Paul, and Missionary Koßmann took over the lower class of his school, while Teacher Rischow stays with the upper class. In this way we have saved two workers in New Orleans. Nevertheless we must close our treasury with a debt of $5300.00.

Yes, the kingdom of heaven that is our Negro Mission is like the "leaven." Without form or comeliness before the world, a stumbling-block to reason through sin and weakness and an existence that seems more dying than living. And yet a leaven of God, and therefore full of power, life and glory. Only to reason is this glory hidden. The open eye of faith sees with holy wonder the blessed power of the divine leaven, how it renews a dying race and leads it from death to life; how it lifts a people, numbed in sins and vices and made dull and stupid by the cruelty of so-called Christians, out of its sins, out of its deep, dark misery of death, and up into the light of the children of God, makes it a holy people and a people of God's own possession, which now proclaims with us the praises of him who has called them too out of darkness into the wonderful light of eternal life.

Yes, such is the blessed effect and fruit of our mission work among the Negroes. If we travel in spirit over their field, we shall be filled with joyful praise and thanks to God our Savior.

In New Orleans, La.,

we have three flourishing Negro congregations: Mt. Zion and St. Paul under Pastor Lankenau, with two fine churches and spacious school buildings. The property of Mt. Zion has a value of $10,000; two teachers under-