# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S178
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

178 : : Missions

adoration the great blessing that has been vouchsafed to our joint
missionary labors. When our first missionaries went to India, they

did not have a single Indian Christian nor a. single-Indian mission

co-worker, Today, however, we are permitted to report the fol-
lowing figures for India and for China. :

If statistics on our foreign mission work are still less complete
than they were in 1941, they show a far from discouraging picture -
of heroic devotion and self-sacrifice on the part of our American
and our national mission personnel.

Statistics for India
In India we have: 30 male missionaries, 3 female missionaries,
25 wives of missionaries, 61 children: of missionaries; total, 119.
Of national co-workers we have: 14 pastors, 13 evangelists,
197 catechists, 12 Bible women, 240 schoolteachers, 23 medical
and industrial workers; total, 499.
Souls: About 20,000 under our care.

’ Statistics for China

In.China we have: 7 male missionaries, 2 female missionaries,
2 wives of missionaries, 5 children of missionaries; total, 16.

Of national co-workers: 7 pastors, 9 evangelists, 2 vicars,
36 schoolteachers, 6 Bible women, 17 medical employees; total, 77.

Souls: 2,000.

Quite naturally, the war has aggravated the usual difficulties
in maintaining our personnel on the field at necessary strength.
At their request the following missionaries were given a peaceful
release from foreign missionary service since the late Delegate
Synod, in order to enable them to accept calls in the States: Dr. N.
Leckband, M. G. Kuolt, E. H. Meinzen, W. W. Gnuse, W. E. Reiser,
and H. Lachmann from our India field.

From service in our China field were released the brethren .
A. C. Diers, H. Klein, E. H. Thode, and L. A. Buuck, The three
last-named, as also Mrs. A. Ziegler and Missionary E. C. Zimmer-
mann and their families, had been prisoners of the Japanese and
later were repatriated. All of these brethren and their families
endured many of the most harrowing features of bitter warfare, but
were mercifully spared the worst by our heavenly Father. _

Against. this loss of missionaries we can report only a gain
of two new missionaries to China, namely, the brethren H. Hinz
and Ralph C. Egolf. :

Neither in India nor in Free China were our missionaries
hampered in their work, with the exception of necessary police
restrictions. Our missionaries in Free China have written that ty
their country is still the largest missionary field of which they -

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