The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1887, Page 22

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22

The Lutheran Pioneer.

children have already commenced to make mis-
sionary collections, chiefly consisting of eggs
In our picture we see a party of Armenians | and heads of wheat. Coin is very scarce among
traveling in Asia. They have been driven from|them. One day I was going along where the
their former home by the enemies of the Bible} carts that bring the unthreshed wheat from the
and are now on their way to some Protestant | fields were passing and repassing. I saw the
missionary station. Protestant missionaries from | little girl who came to bring me to the meeting
America carry on a mission among the poorer] busy gathering heads of wheat. On being
classes of the Armenians in Asia since the year | asked why she did this, she explained that she
1846. One of the missionaries, the daughter | was endeavoring to pay the debt of a very little
of a New York publisher, recently wrote the] boy whose big brother failed to bring his share
following account of one of the Sunday-school | of wheat.’’
services: ses Ee
“During the busiest season of the year, I
heard it mentioned that a youth who had occa-
sionally attended our school had gathered a few
little children about him, and was teaching them} - Children are eloquent teachers. Many a
to pray.”’ After visiting this little school, she | lesson which has done our heart good have we
says: ‘‘An American who knew nothing of the | learned from their lisping lips. It was but the
customs of the country would
expect to finda place furnished
at least with seats and a desk,
and neatly dressed children.
Instead, my little guide led
me into the corner of a stable.
The door was low, the light
dim, the air oppressive with
the heat of animals. Its floor
was the ground, its sides mud,
its roof of earth, low, and sup-
ported by rough logs. AsI
entered, about twenty boys
and girls rose to receive me.
Almost all of them, the leader
included, were barefoot, and
some were naked to the knees.
These children had done what
they could to make the place
ready for the service, and had
found a clean cushion and pil-
low for me tosit on. For their
leader they had arranged three
or four mud bricks together

with 2 table made from a ;

box, according to their boyish skill. On this|other day another took root in memory. We
rested a nine-cent Armenian Testament and | were going to a picnic, and of course the little
hymn-book, and a little bell, such as they hang} ones had been in ecstasies for several days.
round the necks of sheep. The leader was a} But the appointed niorning broke with no glad
boy named Luther, about twelve years of age, | sunshine, no songs of birds, no peals of mirth.
and utterly blind. The services consisted of | There was every prospect of rain.

the reading of a few verses of the third chapter} ‘‘Shan’t we go, mother?’’ exclaimed a child
of Matthew by one of the children, with ques-| of five, with emphasis.

tions by the leader, and explanations. Thus] ‘If it clears off.”’

for about fifteen minutes his appropriate and| ‘‘ But when will it clear off?”’

useful questions on the verses read, and the| ‘Oh, look out for blue sky.”’

usually correct answers, were well worthy of | And so he did, poor little fellow, but never
attention and imitation. ‘I want to be an/a bit of blue sky gladdened his eyes.

angel’ was then sung by the children in Ar-| ‘‘ Well, I don't care, mother,’’ he said, when
menian; and when the leader asked a very|at length the tedious day had drawn toa close,
little girl to pray, she complied at once, repeat-| “‘if I haven't seen it, I know there is blue sky
ing the Lord’s Prayer in a childish voice, and | somewhere.’’

apparently not at all awed by the spectators) ‘The next morning there was blue sky, a
who had by this time gathered around. The] whole sky full of it—clear, glorious blue sky,
children were all reverent and attentive. At|such as only greets us after a storm. :
the final touch of the bell they rose, and, mak- ‘There, mother, didn’t I tell you so?” cried
ing polite bows to their leader and the visitor, | joyous voice. ‘There is blue sky!’? Then
yal kod in a body quietly from the room, These| the little head dropped for 2 moment in solemn

Armenians Traveling in Asia.

Blue Sky Somewhere.

Armenians Traveling in Asia.

thought. ‘‘Mother,’’ he exclaimed, when he
again looked up, ‘‘there must have been blue
sky all day yesterday, though I never saw a
bit ‘of it, ’cause, you see, there aint no place
where it could have gone to. God covered it
up with clouds, didn’t he?”’

Children are indeed eloquent teachers. From
them we may learn much of unwavering faith
and trust in our heavenly Father, that will put
us with our ‘‘ wiser heads’’ to shame. Do we
not all remember, with pleasure (mingled with
regret), how confiding and trustful we were in
our early years? Now that we have grown
older, with all our reasoning faculties fully
developed, we so often, in the hurry and flurry
of earthly labors and cares, forget our heavenly
Father, who cares for us, and wants us to cast
all our cares on Him. These reflections call to
mind what Luther says about the text, ‘ Be-
hold the fowls of the air: for
they sow not, neither do they
reap, nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father
feedeth them. Are ye not
much better than they?’’ He
says, among other things,
“This is a very fine, striking
example, putting us all to
shame, that we, who are men
possessed of reason, and be-
sides have the holy Scriptures,
are not wise enough to imitate
the fowls of the air.... But
man, after he fell away from
God’s Word and command,
became foolish and unreason-
able, so that henceforth there
is no creature that is not wiser
than he; and alittle chaffinch,
that can neitherread nor write,
is his teacher and master in
the holy Scriptures, though he
may have the whole Bible and
his reason to help him.’'—L. V’.

——> oo >

Raffling for the Church.

A boy astonished his Christian mother by
asking for a dollar to buy a share in a raffle for
a silver watch, that was to be raffled off in a
beer saloon. His mother was horrified, and
rebuked him. ‘‘But,’’ said he, ‘‘mother, did
you not bake a cake with a ring in it, to be
raffled off in the Sunday school fair?’’

“O, my son,’ said she, ‘that was for the
church.”

‘But if it was wrong,” said the boy, ‘‘ would
doing it for the church make it right? Would
it be right for me to steal money to put it in
the collection? And if it is right for the
church, is it not right for me to get this watch
if I can?”’

The good woman was speechless ; and no
person can answer the boy's argument. The
practices are both wrong, or they are both right.

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