# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1850 01 08_S75
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Sometimes the number of those who remained behind has been very small, but the great friend of children has always known how to increase it again, and about thirty have been incorporated into his church through holy baptism at both places. Our joy over this is great; but it is a trembling joy, so long as the parents or other relatives are heathens estranged from God, whom Satan, in the form of the devil and in the form of an angel of light, works upon and keeps from the word and way of life. In addition there is much else that weighs on us and stands in the way of our school's flourishing, of which I will name only the one thing: that we are still not even able to speak directly and in a childlike way to the childlike hearts of the little ones, since the bond of our tongue for the difficult Indian language is still bound, and without a suitable teacher and without aids will probably remain unloosed for some time yet. What difficulty grows out of this one circumstance could scarcely be described in many words. Meanwhile, despite all difficulties, it is nevertheless a joy to see the red faces of our little ones so happy and so content, and to hear them recite, with fair fluency, the Small Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther with its explanations, and sing his hymns. Their conduct is on the whole good; but that heathen ways still occasionally show themselves is certain, nor could it otherwise be expected.

As for the old Indians, we make here about the same experiences. The word of God is indeed not dead and idle, but it is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. Before it the thoughts of the heart must become manifest and the ground of the soul laid bare. Under its influence the natural blindness of the heart, the night of sin, must yield, so that the King of Glory, our Lord Jesus, may himself enter in and make his dwelling there, and with him the whole of heaven, new life and eternal blessedness; or else the heart must harden and become obstinate, the night of sin become sevenfold blacker, and the king of darkness himself enter in, and with him the whole of hell and eternal damnation. As the same sun melts wax and butter, but hardens the mud of the street, so the sun of life softens and melts the icy crust of every natural heart that does not willfully close itself to the influence of its rays. But he who himself accounts himself unworthy of blessedness is hardened through his own fault. Unfortunately, the latter seems to be the case with some of the old people. When, for example, a little over two years ago, I first visited the Indian band at Swan River, and told the chief that I had come to show him the way of life, he said: that is right, such people I like to see, but those who only keep jumping and howling should stay far from me. But when I then left untouched his favorite theme, the mockery of the Methodists, and went at his heart instead, he changed his tune and declared outright that he wanted to go where his fathers are; if they were in hell, then he too wanted to go in. In this disposition he has remained, and has since repeatedly declared that he does not want to go to heaven and be saved at all, nor does he want to hear anything of the Lord Jesus, the Redeemer and Savior, etc. Yet he has always treated us as friends, who sought him out first and concerned themselves about him, but the Methodists as enemies and intruders. Last spring I visited him again, and then found that two days before he had become a — Methodist. Not, however, out of conviction; for he himself told me at once that he was nothing other than what he had been before. And to leave me in no doubt whatsoever, he at once broke out again into his usual mockery of the Methodists and said: "You see, no wings have grown on me yet, with which I could fly to heaven, as the Methodists always do. But they did not leave me in peace for a single hour, so that at last I grew weary and had myself baptized, so that in my old age I might at least have peace from them." Thus is fulfilled in him what stands written in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, that God sends powerful delusions to those who do not accept the love of the truth so that they might be saved, so that they believe the lie and are judged along with all who do not believe the truth.

Here at Pine River I found a number of Methodists already present. These at first made all sorts of attempts and exerted themselves greatly in lying and slandering the German mission, in order, if possible, to prevent the preaching of the Word from ever gaining a foothold at all. But when they could not hinder that after all, and their darkness was so rebuked by the light that even the heathen had to recognize it, they left our Bethany and settled on another river. Not, however, in order to leave us in peace, but in order to fish the better in troubled waters. For there they carry on their doings not only unseen and unpunished, but they proceed all the more boldly in lying and slandering, and seek, through all sorts of arts of persuasion, to draw the poor heathen away from here and into their vicinity. Their slanders are often truly diverting. And when they have exploited the present, they reach into the future and say: "Yes, the Germans are at first very good, that is true; but just wait, once they gain influence, they will make you pay for it. But we always remain as we are," and the like. — Unfortunately, they do indeed always remain liars and seducers, as they are. — But you know, dear reader, that there is no lie so crude, and no slander so blatant, that it should not find belief. Therefore the impression here is different with different people. Some have let themselves be persuaded and have already moved over to them; others do not believe them, but still think it well to be on their guard against us, and not to give themselves over to our influence by attending the preaching of the divine Word; still others, among them the chief, plainly harden and grow obstinate in their heathenism.

As for our little Christian congregation here, finally, the Keeper of Israel, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, has hitherto known how to preserve it faithfully. You know, dear reader, that it is a young little congregation, and therefore doubly exposed to the allurements of the world and to seduction. But the Lord knows well how to preserve his own in temptation too, be they small or great, if only they give themselves over to his Spirit and let themselves be guided by him. Thus some of them have been strongly assailed by the Methodists, but they have only learned to abhor their ways all the more. Otherwise, indeed, not much more can be said of them than that they love the word of God, and also confess and call upon the name of God daily, morning and evening, in their huts.

But the Lord has not merely preserved his little congregation here, but has also increased it. Not, indeed, with great numbers striking to the eye, but through one soul, which cost him his very heart's blood on the trunk of the cross, and which, as we have reason to believe, has now truly become a possession of the Lord Christ, and believes in him not with the mouth only, but with the heart. It is the daughter of the chief, who already in January of last year wished to be baptized together with her little child, but was refused because she was not instructed. This instruction has now taken place, and she has repeatedly confessed that she heartily repents her sins, believes with her heart in the Lord Jesus as her Redeemer and Savior, and carries a longing desire, after holy baptism, to be washed clean of her sins therein and become a possession of God. So she was received, on the 9th of September of last year, into God's covenant of grace and into his holy militant church. May the Lord keep her with the strong arms of his grace, and one day receive her and us into his triumphant church. Amen.

So it stands at present on our field, and these are the fruits that the preaching of the Word of God has borne. Not brilliant ones, to be sure, striking to the eye, but such as testify that our labor has not been in vain in the Lord. What the future will bring is unknown to us and does not lie in our hand. Our comfort, however, is this: that we are indeed responsible for the faithful and pure proclamation of the Word of God, but not for its fruits. For with our own power certainly nothing is accomplished; we can destroy Satan's work neither in the poor blind heathen nor in the disgustingly arrogant Methodists, nor build anywhere temples of the Holy Spirit. But He can do it, our God, and he has promised to accomplish it through his word and his Spirit, and has already begun to fulfill his promises