The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1904, Page 16

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16 The Lutheran Pioneer.

A Christian Village in the New Hebrides.

The New Hebrides are a group of islands east of
Australia and west of the Fiji Islands in that part
of the South Pacific which is called Melanesia on
account of the black complexion of the islanders.
The New Hebrides are well known in the history
of missions, because of the number of missionary
martyrs who have there shed their blood, and of
the fierceness which still makes every missionary
take his life in his hands as he goes to his daily
work. The best-known of the New Hebrides mis-
sionaries is Dr. John Gibson Paton, who began the
work there in 1858 and is still occupied with it
with his whole soul and body. He himself said
of this field: ‘‘The cruel, treacherous, and savage
characteristics of the people, who believe that stran-
gers are the cause of storms, disease, and death, the
exigencies of the climate, and the utter remoteness
from the world’s traffic, unite to make the Hebrides
one of the most dangerous of all mission fields.”

And yet Dr. Paton is still there, bent upon mak-
ing his islands “lighthouses of the Southern Pa-
cific.” What the Gospel he preaches has brought
about is shown by the following extract from a re-
cent letter of his : —

“The converts at the mission station in Mala-
kula have built a Christian village in which they
live. All are clothed (the heathen go about with-
out any clothing). They begin and close every day
with praise and prayer, and are very happy with
each other, giving a daily object lesson to the hea-
then of the joy and peace of Christianity. To their
village they welcome all new converts, teach them,
and help to protect them; and if they resolve to live
there, all unite and assist in building a new house
for them after a given plan on straight streets run-

ning parallel with each other, and with streets at |

right angles. All houses are built on strong wood
foundations, wattled, and plastered with lime, and
whitewashed. The cottages are neat, and are all kept
clean—a great contrast to the heathen villages. The
village is on a healthy site, bought for the purpose,
near the mission house, so that they may have the
help and advice of the missionary in all difficulties
raised by the heathen, and may also help the mis-
sionary in his work, and receive his constant teach-
ing and care.”? — Ez.

Trust in the Word.

The life that the Christian lives is, of necessity,
a life of faith in what the Bible reveals. Amid the
dark experiences of life, when riches take their flight;

when poverty absorbs the sap of life; when loved
ones leave us their empty chairs; when sickness
brings us near to death; when evil triumphs over
us and laughs, and what is right and good and pure
is trampled in the dust—reason fails to see how all
these things can work together for our good. The
Christian can only lay his hand on the Bible and,
with eyes uplifted to God, whom it reveals, ex-
claim, ‘‘Yea, though He slay me, yet will I trust
in Him.”’— Sel.

_- tee -

“Speak not evil one of another.’’ James 4, 11.

One who was given to scandal was commanded
by his king to take a bag of feathers on a windy
day and scatter them through the city. Returning
to tell of the completion of his task, the king now
said, ‘‘Go and gather up all the feathers which you
have scattered.”

“That were impossible!’’ he replied.

‘So it is impossible to undo the evil you have
done by your tongue.”’

Acknowledgment.

Received for colored missions of Rev. K. Kretzschmar
from Mount Zion Church in New Orleans, La., $25.00; of
Rey. D. H. Schooff from St. Matthew’s Church, Meherrin,
Va., 20.50; of Rev. F. J. Lankenau from St. Paul’s Church,
New Orleans, La., 25.00; of Rev. J. Kossmann from Beth-
lehem Church in New Orleans, La., 25.00; of Rev. L. E.
Thalley from Holy Trinity Church, Springfield, Ill., 8.00;
of Rev. J. Ph. Schmidt from Grace Church in Concord, N.C.,
10.00.

St. Louis, Jan. 16, 1904. A. C. Buracporr, Treas.

Evangelical Lutheran Colored Churches.
_ NEW ORLEANS, LA.
St. Paul's Chapel, 1625 Annette St., near N. Claiborne St.; F. J. Lan-
kenau, Pastor.
Divine Services: Sunday, 11 A. M. and 7.30 Pp. m.; Wednesday,
7.30 P.M.
Mount Zion Church, Franklin and ThaliaSts. ; K. Kretzschmar, Pastor.
Divine Services: Sunday, 11 A. M. and 7.30 rp. M.; Thursday,
7. M.
Bethlehem Chapel, Washington Ave. and Dryades St.; J. W. F. Koss-
mann, Pastor.
Divine Services: Sunday, 10 A. M. and 7.30 Pp. M.; Thursday,
P.M.

SPRINGFIELD, ILL.

Holy Trinity Church; L. E. Thalley, Pastor.
Divine Services: Sunday, 10.30 a. M. and 8 P. M.

7.

TERMS:

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