# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S180
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Me ES TE

180°! Co Missions + - .

As may be expected from the foregoing, our appropriation for

the late fiscal year was greatly exceeded — in fact, this was done

by some $41,000. As it now appears, the appropriation for the
present fiscal year will again have to be exceeded, but we are
happy to say that we ‘have a supplementary reserve appropriation,
on which we can fall back. _

Executive Secretary O. H. Schmidt left the States on August 6,
1943, for his second visit to China and his first to India. In general,
he has enjoyed good health. We know from the field that his labors
have been blessed richly by our Lord. He was hopeful of his
return to the States before Delegate Synod in order to bring to
the convention first-hand reports of our work.

During the absence of Secretary. Schmidt the correspondence
with the fields and the home base was carried on by Director Brand.

The Graduate Missionary Department at Concordia Seminary,
St. Louis, has been operated successfully for three years with
a small body of students. ‘We join the faculty of the Seminary and
its Board of Control in the plea for an appropriation for buildings,
etc., necessary to insure the permanency and development of

our Missionary Department. We are hoping it may in the course.

of time serve also all foreign missionary endeavors of our Synod,
in Africa, South America, and elsewhere.

Land and Buildings. It has been the policy of the Board during
the war not to engage in any pretentious building operations, but
only to keep our present equipment in the most necessary repairs.
However, since many of our buildings in China were destroyed
by the war and all property in occupied China is in possession of
the enemy and surely has suffered much, even if it is not lost alto-
gether; and since many important missionary building projects in
India and in China have been postponed because of the war and
will require immediate attention just as soon as peace has. been

declared, we plead for an annual land-and-buildings appropriation

in the amount of $15,000. 1

Conclusion. Our Synod has been tried severely in the test
of wartime church work. The end is not yet. And when peace
returns, the new problems of postwar reconstruction and advance-
ment will again try our devotion to the cause of our Savior’s king-
dom. The charge of our Lord to preach repentance and remission

of sins in His name among all nations, Luke 24:47, is far from :

having been completely carried out. . It devolves upon His followers
to be faithful witnesses for Him. Certainly there will be no cause to
relax our interest and to shorten our support of Foreign Missions.
While it is day, may our Savior make and keep our Synod a truly
devoted servant in the fields white unto the harvest.”

, -  Paut HLF. List, Recording Secretary _