# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1941_S215
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Reports and Action on Various Mission-Fields 215

several parishes must each undertake to serve additional parishes. °
The result is that little intensive work can be done. The men in
the field are overworked and need our prayers and our whole-
hearted support in carrying on their difficult task under these
trying conditions. Only men born in Brazil can be safely sent
from North America to help relieve the situation. During the
past year your Board has been able to send one such man, Can-
didate Victor Lehenbauer. To help relieve the crying need for
men, the faculty at the seminary in Porto Alegre has intensified
the instruction, making it possible to send six candidates into the
field. (One of these candidates will return to Argentina to take
charge of'a parish consisting of five congregations.) This now is
-about one fourth of the number needed to supply the vacancies
of which there are twenty. Under these conditions no. thought
whatsoever can be given to expansion. —

In Argentina it is becoming more and more difficult to obtain
permission for permanent residence for our missionaries. At present
they are sent with a “tourist visa,” which entitles them to a stay
of three months. An extension of an additional three months may
be obtained. _ After this period of six months application must be
made for permission to remain permanently. Till now our men
have been able to obtain this permission. What the future con-
ditions will be God alone knows. We, however, know that what-
ever conditions may be, God will use them in the upbuilding of
His kingdom and for the spread of His glorious and saving Gospel.
During the past year two men, Candidates Robert Rippe and
Vernon Harley, were sent to Argentina. At this writing we are
awaiting a report relative to the action of the local and national
authorities on the application of these two men for permission to
remain permanently. Should this permission be granted, your
Board is ready to send two additional men to Argentina, thus
helping to relieve the shortage which exists also in this field.

A very serious problem, which, no doubt, will be presented
by others, is the completion of the education of native ministerial
candidates for Argentina, in fact, for any country of South America
excepting Brazil. Because of residence restrictions and the lan-
guage question it is no longer possible nor advantageous to send
Argentina students to the seminary in Brazil.

The Brazilian school laws present another difficulty. According
to the present Brazilian law only native-born Brazilians can be
the heads of a school. This, by the way, was one of the reasons
why Pastor O.Goerl was elected President of the seminary at
Porto Alegre. This law is being enforced more and more rigidly.
The result is that a number of our schools have been closed.
Because of the lack of public or state schools the closing of our