# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S171
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Missions . 471

Report of the Board of Missions in South America
- (Memorial 405) '
'“War clouds, war measures, war hysteria, censorship, delayed

and lost mail, have cast their shadows upon, and handicapped, the

work of Synod’s Board of Missions for South America during

. the greater part of the past triennium. ‘ :

as WK change took place in the personnel of your Board. The

faithful treasurer of the Board, Mr. Henry Jost, who served since

' 1939, was suddenly translated to glory. He died in April of 1943.

In the interiii“between his death ‘and the election of a new treas-

urer, Mr, E. W. Tatge attended to the duties of a treasurer. Several

‘months latér the Board elected Mr. G.'F. Bauer. ‘To fill the vacancy
which was caused by Mr. Jost’s death, President J. W. Behnken.
appointed Mr. E. Schumm of Oak Park, IIL.

Handicaps and changes notwithstanding, the Lord’s promise
that His Word shall not return to Him void was kept also with
respect to the work carried on by our Church in South America,
more particularly in Brazil and Argentina.’

Permit us to submit a few comparative figures:

In 1909 our Church was represented in Brazil by 18 pastors,
2 teachers with normal training, arid a number of teachers without
normal training. At that-time we had 10,000 souls in our congre-
gations. There were 1,156 children in our schools. The number of
students in our seminary at Porto Alegre was 19." No candidates
had been graduated. .Our Church now has, in that same country,

. 82 pastors, 6 professors in the seminary, 71 teachers, including quite

a number who have not been trained as teachers and a number of
experienced lady teachers, ministering to 41,040 souls, 3,554 children
in schools of the 72 congregations belonging to Synod and 156 con-
gregations not as yet members of: Synod and 135 preaching stations.
Two years ago our seminary in Porto Alegre had 85 students, 12 of
whom have been graduated. Since 1909 the seminary has gradu-
ated more than 100 pastors and teachers, of whom 97 are actively
engaged in the work of our Church today.
Argentina likewise shows marked progress. In 1905 we had
_one congregation in Argentina. We now have 27 pastors, 3 pro-
fessors, 19 congregations belonging to Synod, 47 not as yet belong-
ing to Synod, 55 preaching stations, a preparatory college with
10 students (1943), 4 of these ready to enter the seminary at Buenos
Aires, pra.e theological seminary with 10 or 11 students (1944).
Four of the students are vicaring since November, 1943. The num-
ber of souls in the Argentina District, which includes Paraguay
and Uruguay, is 12,760, — oe ;

Thus the number of souls under our care in South America

is 53,800. =