# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1932_S75 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) THE LUTHERAN PIONEER DN men and other people have been so besieged by these beggars that they finally turn a deaf ear to them. That means that many persons must starve to death; in the city of Shasi dozens daily die of starvation. Though there has been untold suffering among these poor people, yet there have also been blessings. Last December we had freezing weather only once. After that the thermometer hovered between 43 and 46 degrees for weeks, with a south wind blowing almost constantly. Not only did the poor and famine-stricken people appreciate this, since they did not need many clothes and did not have to buy much coal, but we, too, appreciated and enjoyed it. During January we worked in the garden in our shirt-sleeves, preparing the soil for spring planting. You cannot do that in January around St. Louis. However, on Chinese New Year, which started on February 6, the weather changed. It got cold; a strong north wind was blowing, making it feel much colder than it really was; for the ther- mometer did not fall below 30 degrees. This strong north gale brought with it several inches of snow, which made everything look beautiful. But this cold wind and snow also brought untold suffering. On the 7th of February, on our way to and from the chapel, we saw a man frozen to death. He had been sleeping in some corner, perhaps became too cold to care to move, and simply died right there. Others told me of similar cases that morning, four in all. It would not be overstating it to say that perhaps fifty to a hundred persons froze to death here that night, with the thermometer only several degrees below the freezing point. Our American friends must remember that the weather with the thermometer at 25 degrees feels as cold in China as 8 degrees above zero in America. To-day, the 9th, the sun shone again, and it is an Oriental sun, for the snow simply vanished at once. We hope for warm weather for the sake of these poor sufferers. No doubt we have said enough about gruesome conditions in our city, but it cannot be avoided. One is simply surrounded by them and cannot help but speak of them. Corpses are so numerous now at Hankow that they cannot all be buried. News- papers complain about permitting dogs to tear the corpses to pieces before they are buried. The corpses are piled up, waiting for men to carry them away to a place of burial. At the Black Hill Rescue Camp, where our Church has been doing some good work by teaching the Word of God to some 1,600 children, large trenches were dug and dozens were ‘ put into one grave, men into one trench and women into another. Terrible! Our work in Shasi is going forward slowly, but steadily. On February 29 our schools will reopen, this time also with an upper primary department in Zion School and in Eternal Life School. This means that we have been teaching four grades thus far; but from now on we shall also have the fifth grade and next year the sixth grade, as you in America may call it. Last year we had, all told, about 130 pupils enrolled, and this year we shall have quite a few more, no doubt. The thing that is stressed, of course, as in all Christian day-schools, is one hour of religious instruction a day. The Chinese government wants us to have schools, but is opposed to our teaching religion. In the whole city of Shasi the government conducts only one school. There are many other schools, taught by any one who feels himself called upon to do so. Our school and the government school use modern methods, somewhat like those used in America. But in the other schools the teacher merely teaches the old Chinese classics, which the pupil memorizes. Any person of any learning whatever is able to repeat these old books from cover to cover. Would that our pupils knew their Bible thus! During the month of December we were all saddened by the fact that Brother Diers had to take his wife to Hankow (280 miles, two to seven days’ travel by river), as we thought, for an operation. But we were gladdened by the news that she did not need to undergo the operation. Both have re- turned to Shasi and are vigorously pursuing their study of the country’s vernacular. During the past week we have given Brother Diers his first test, which is for the first half-year’s course, and he passed with flying colors. He recognizes about 500 characters and out of 225 characters missed only two. We regard his progress in the language as nothing short of marvelous. May God bless both him and his wife to the end that they may soon know, and be able to use, this most difficult lan- guage for the propagation of the Word! Mrs. Diers is also doing very well with the language, though her sickness threw her back. And now this letter must come to a close. It has been written expressly for the friends of both mis- sionaries stationed at Shasi. _ With greetings to. you all and with a wish that God may bless you in your work and prosper your calling, Yours sincerely, E. C. ZIMMERMANN.