# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1912_S39 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) The Lutheran Pioneer. 39 “Thank Thee, dear heavenly Father, for this bless- ing!” Please add to this “Thank 'Thee” an ardent prayer for future and continued blessings for St. Paul’s and the entire colored mission. We need your prayers—and, with your permission, your willing and liberal financial assistance; in other words, we need your nickles, dimes, and dollars. In conclusion, we who are working in the col- ored mission again forcibly feel that this blessed, at times diffieulé and discouraging work, is, after all, by no means in vain. Yes, our humble efforts are blessed, at times beyond all expectations. Would that all of our fellow-Lutherans would see and realize this as we do! We know for a certainty that then there would never be a semblance of a deficit in our mission treasury. And now, may the Lord, our God, be with us and ever vouchsafe unto us His blessings for the eternal glory of His holy name and the welfare of many souls! Ep. §S. OD The Use of the Oath. Luther says: “The oath should be used like a sword which man does not draw merely to while away the time. He does not juggle with it as do the children with a knife, but uses it either in defense of himself or. of his fellow-men, when the govern- ment commands him to do so.” ee NOTES. Our CoLorep Missions. — From the report of our Colored Missions given in the Statistical Year Book of the Missouri Synod, we learn that this Lutheran mission, carried on by the Synodical Con- ference, numbers 33 congregations .and preaching stations (21 in North Carolina, 6 in Louisiana, 1 in Virginia, 1 in Illinois, 1 in Missouri, 2 in New York). ‘There are 89 laborers in this mission: 12 white pastors and professors, 10 colored pastors, 4. white teachers, 1 white lady teacher, 7 colored teachers, 3 colored lady teachers, and 2 students as assistants. ‘Che mission numbers 2,050 baptized souls, 905 communicant members, and 231 voting members. ‘The parochial schools were attended in the past year by 1,555, the Sunday-schools by 1,284 pupils. 1,726 communed during the year, 134 per- sons were baptized, and 97 confirmed. There were 19 marriages and 41 burials. ,CoLLEGEs. —Two colleges are maintained in our mission for the training of colored pastors and teachers for the mission field: Immanuel College, Greensboro, N. C., has 4 professors, 1 assistant, and 64 students; thee College, New Orleans, La "3 has 2 professors and 23 students. —E Ixcrease.— There was an increase of contri- butions in the year 1911 for our Colored Missions. The total receipts amounted to $31,033.23, of which sum our colored congregations contributed $2,263.66, whilst they contributed $1,950.74 in 1910. So there was an increase of $312.92. Our colored Lutherans did well, and we hope they are not standpatters, but progressives in their contribu- tions to the mission treasury. There is still room for improvement for both colored and white. Some one, you know, has said, “The largest room in the world is the room for improvement.” Missionary ZeAL.— The Moravians are noted for their missionary zeal and for their gencrous giving for the mission cause. ‘They carry on mis- sion work in different countries and among various races. The yearly cost is about $515,000. Of this sum, $210,000 is raised in the mission ficld and $65,000 is contributed yearly by London friends, leaving about $200;000 to’ be secured from church- members. It is reported that each member gives about $5.00 each year for the Foreign Mission work alone. The total number of missionaries at present supported is 479. A Bressep Privitece. — A little Chinese girl, who had confessed Christ in public baptism, was asked by her teacher, after the sacrament, “Are you glad of the privilege “of attending a school where you can hear of the Lord Jesus?” Quickly came the reply, “Yes, and-are you not glad, teacher, that you are in China, where you can teach of the Lord Jesus ?” The girl’s reply gladdened the heart of the mis- sionary, as it reminded him that his work in the mission field was a blessed privilege. He thanked God and took courage. It was in this spirit that the late Dr. Harpster, who labored in the mission field of India for many years, on his return to that heathen land the last time, said to his friends who felt saddened by his departure, “I am sorry for you who must stay at home.” So blessed a thing did he regard the privi- | | H