The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1894, Page 2

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2 ihe Imathoran Pioneer.

the Chinese wish each other a prosperous year;
'| but if they are Christians, they wish each other ;
peace: that is, ‘‘Ping ang!’ ‘The angel of the Lord encampeth around

The Chinese New Year does not come, as| 2bout them that fear Him and delivereth them.’
ours does, on the first day of January, ‘but Often times the daily papers tell us of how
about a month later. They count by the moon, | Strangely some one was protected from death.
and sometimes the first moon comes in Feb-| The world says, It just happened so. But we
ruary. . | Christians say, God protected him. Just to-

Just before New Year is the busiest time in day I read an account of a wonderful escape
the whole year. The streets are so full of| from death that shows God’s protecting care
people coming and going, that it is almostim-| very plainly.
possible for a sedan chair to pass, and the] Mr. H. was hired to keep a signal station
noise is something dreadful. Every man seems] along a certain rail-road. One evening as he
to try to shout louder than any other man, as| Started out for his night’s work his wife bade
all push forward with their loads on their| him good-bye, and, as was her custom, said,
shoulders. The beggars are worse than at any | ‘‘God protect you.’”’ Just as he got near his
other time, and the shops are full of bright, watch house two men, who had a grudge
pretty things to tempt the people who come] against him, seized and gagged him, and,
there to do their New Year’s shopping. “If we] leading him up the-road a distance, tied him
are not very careful to lay in a supply from| Upon the track. An express train would soon
the market the day before New Year’s, we| Pass, and crush him to death.
shall find we have not enough to eat in the] While this was taking place, Mrs. H., who
first few days afterward. was some distance away in their humble home,

In the idol shops all of the idols look as| began to feel very uneasy about her husband.
bright as fresh paint and gilding can make| She tried to shake off her anxiety, but could
them. At this time the old kitchen god is| not doit. At last she said, ‘‘Something must
taken down, and early in the new year a new] be wrong with my husband, and I will go and
oneis putup. It is only a large sheet of paper|-see.’’ She hurried to the signal house, but
with an old man, an old woman, and a cow, a} he was not there. She called and called to
pig and some other animals printed on it in} him, but received no answer. She ran first
bright colors, and is pasted on the wall over|one way, and then another, but could see
the cooking furnace in every house where the| nothing of him. Just then she heard the ex-
people are not Christians, but it is considered | press train coming. Her husband was not
as necessary as a stovepipe in’ an American] there to signal it. She ran and hoisted the
kitchen. The people offer incense to it, and| signal. Soon the train came in sight, but in-
it superintends the kitchen affairs. stead of rushing by, it stopped. In her ex-

The first time we went to Ku Liang we rented | citement, instead of hoisting the signal that
forever, but the soul, the soul of man must oo ‘ a 2

a room, and there was no place to cook, so| meant—go on, she hoisted the one that meant

staratty. ne Aaa ihn ee our landlord let us build a range in his back stop. God guided her hand and caused her
‘which converteth the sinner from the error of porch: BEDO ae ube Omar Soreigners 10 holst promm etal bats suey didpnoteintend
ipieaianellissrelataouletromideathieand live on the mountain, and they were a little| to hoist.
a puelihidelacmaliitude of sins’? Jas. 5 90. afraid ;_ 80; to make everything safe, they} The conductor jumped from the train and
<2: Therefore the Bible says, “He that aiametl Deeueepacchen Bod, upon the, wall over our pastened poncho nse reli bouseatolece by; the
THES PER : range. 5 : train had been stopped. Here he found the
inithemewnyearivelonghtitosberfillad with Sometimes Chinese New Year comes on Sun-| weeping woman, who told them that she could
new and greater“zeal for our mission work. Gay jand phen. we wallcto Ching gine elon es CO)| Morea guetabucpandsany where me anes train,
The passing of the years reminds us that time pre peuudecouusiveLy@ouenees buerery| menigoy oul thelr lanternsiand began|a'search:
is short and that “the night cometh when no pleasant to see the shops and stores all shut up. | Up the road a short distance they found Mr. H.
Rn ane ee te eh ocd the scoleinn We meet people going to make their calls, and| gagged and securely strapped to the track.
words of the Bible: ‘Whatsoever thy ‘hand we see a few peanut-stands, and groups of He was soon released. As he well knew the
findeth to do, do it with thy. might; for there people—sometimes little children—busy gam- bad men who did the deed, they were caught
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor aus mcerre doors of then Houses: nen ‘and punished as they deserved.
Sietetonsin’ the HET hitherttncul recs Y ear’s would not be New Year's in China = Luth. Child’s Paper.
_ God has spared us another year that we might without gambling. Especially during the last |- ——> oo
live under. Him and serve Him in the winning part of the year everybody has worked as hard Trust
of souls and in the spreading of His Kingdom. as he could to get all the money he could to ee
_ May He make us more earnest in our Deel a) all the debts he could ; so now he will be There was once a father who took his three
more liberal in our gifts for mission work in idle, and visit his friends, and feast and eat| children on a lake in the rowboat. The waves
the year upon which we have entered. watermelon-seeds as Jong as he is able, to| were rather high, and whenever the boatrocked
ares sede A ee SL make things even. the two older ones would tinfear. Little
Re ee “ Fireworks belong especially to New Year’s| Fanny, wh g wee or f
_- New Year in China. too. Last Fourth of July papa ord anny, who was humming a song, would stop
: ‘Y papa ordered a few | with a startled look on her face and say, ‘Papa;
fireworks for us to let off. The man who made] isI’fraid?”? 1, ‘No, dar-
them said, ‘‘How happy these foreigner, ane i” Her father would say, No,
be! They have one New Yearinthe cp | oo cre is nothing to fear; papa will take
ealactendlaneiiee ice Saee the winter as} care of you.” ‘Then Fanny would smile and
Sree alec, ae sing on. She trusted her father. Let us thus .
- oman’s Friend, | trust our heavenly Father.

Comfort.

How God Protected a Man in Danger.

Is the work diflicult?
Jesus directs thee.
Is the path dangerous?
Jesus protects thee.

Fear not, and falter not;
Let the word cheer thee:
All through the coming years

He will be near thee!

————

Our Work.

Our work for the year upon which we have
entered does not differ from the work of the
past year. Each has his appointed station
and calling, in which he is to serve his fellow
men with the gifts bestowed upon him by God.
He is to be faithful in this calling and thus
help to show forth the praises of Him who has
called him from darkness to His marvelous
light. But the main work to be done by every
Christian is mission work. He is to make the
Sayiour’s name known on earth and to bring
sinners to Him, that they may be saved with

_ an everlasting salvation. ‘his is not to be
treated as a secondary thing as so many do.
Live to obey the Lord’s command: “Go ye
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to
every creature.’’ The command is given to
every Christian, and therefore every Christian
is to take part in mission work. Having found
salvation in Jesus, the Christian has no more
important, no greater work to do than to bring
others to the.same happiness.. What an im-
portant, what a great work itis! Compared
with this work other things of this life are but
trifling. They will in a little while pass away

ieng!’” the first man says, and ‘‘Pai
the second man replies. This is the
greeting in China, and is about the