The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1907, Page 85

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

85

Loved Ones Wait for Me.

On that bright and happy shore
Where the sorrows come no more,
And where angels robed in white
Sing sweet songs with pure delight:
In that city fair and free,

There the loved ones wait for me.

In that sweet and happy place
Where the Savior’s loving face
Welcomes all that spirit band
That has joined the heavenly land,
Gathered ’round the crystal sea:
‘There the loved ones wait for me.

And beyond this grief and care

There are many waiting there;

Little children full of love

Sing around the throne above.

Where the angels sing with glee,

There the loved ones wait for me.
EsTHerR PETERSON.

God’s Ways.

During the siege of Port Arthur a Japanese sol-
dier lost both of his eyes by a cruel bullet. Again
and again he begged his comrades to kill him, but
of course they would not. He was brought to one
of the military hospitals in Tokio to be cared for
until able to return home.

Here also he pleaded with the other soldiers to
end his life, and as he began to recover his health,
he became more and more sad. One day he said,
“Well, I will go home and let my family see me just
once, then no one can prevent my killing myself.
No harm in putting an end to my own misery.”

Every few days a missionary visited this hospital,
taking the soldiers flowers, Gospel tracts, ete., and
taught them about Jesus. Some of the officials of
the hospital said to the missionary, “There is a
man who has lost his eyes and seems quite lonely.
If you have time, we should like to have you visit
him.”

They did not tell how he had wanted to die, and
how he had threatened to kill himself. The mis-
sionary went to his bedside and talked to him sev-
eral times. At first-the soldier did not take very
much interest in anything he said, but gradually he
became quite friendly.

Finally the missionary asked him if he would
not like to learn to read, and he was so surprised at
such a question, for while he could read before
going to battle, how could he ever do so again? But
the missionary taught him to read the blind man’s
Bible, just as blind people in America are taught

to read, and he was as happy as the blind man whom
Jesus healed. Day by day he read the Bible, and
became a hanpy Christian.

The other soldiers could not believe that he could
read, and tried to tease him. So he said, “You may
pick out any verse you please, and I will show you
that I can read.” So they kept selecting, and to
their astonishment he could read everything and
enjoyed doing so, all the more because he wanted to
teach the Bible to the other men.

When this blind soldier was able to return home,
some one said to him just as he was leaving the
hospital, “Are you going to kill yourself after you
have seen your family?” and he replied, “No, I am
going home to teach my wife and children Chris-
tianity; I am glad that I was wounded, for now I
am a Christian.” —C. 8.

The Little Loaf.

In the time of famine a rich man permitted the
poorest children of the city to come to his house,
and said to them: “There stands a crate full of
bread. Each of you may take a loaf from it, and
you may come every day until God sends better
times.”

The children at once surrounded the basket,
striving and quarreling over the bread, because each
desired to obtain the finest; and they finally went
off without a word of thanks.

Only Franziska, a clean, but poorly clad little
girl, remained standing at a distance, then took
the smallest of the loaves left in the basket, kissed
her hand gratefully to the man, and went quietly
and becomingly home.

On the next day the children were equally ill-
mannered and Franziska this time had a loaf which
was scarcely half as large as the others; but when
she reached home and her mother broke the bread,
there fell out quite a number of new silver pieces.
The mother was frightened, and said, “Take the
money back at once, for it certainly got into the
bread by accident.”

Franziska did as she was bid, but the benevo-
lent man said to her, “No, no, it was not an acci-
dent. I had the silver baked in the smallest loaf
in order to reward thee, thou good child. Ever re-
main as peace-loving and satisfi

He who would rather have a smaller loaf than
quarrel about a greater will always bring a blessing
to the home, even though no gold is baked in the
bread. — #. R.