The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1908, Page 23

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

NOTES.

Revorts From New Or.eans. — The Southern
Lutheran publishes the following statistical reports
of our three Colored Lutheran Mission ‘stations in
New Orleans for the past year: 728 souls, 307
communicant members, 57 voting members, 7 teach-
ers, 1 assistant teacher, 508 pupils, 40 baptized,
25 confirmed, 586 communicants, 13 marriages,
19 burials, 505 Sunday school pupils.

A VAtuaBLE Missionary AGENoy. — Speaking
of our colored Lutheran schools and colleges, ‘an
exchange says: “These schools are a most valuable
missionary agency in the mission work among the
colored people, and the Synodical Conference is
therefore the most successful Lutheran body in
America in dealing with the colored problem.”

Sue Prererrep THE ParocHIaAL ScHooL. —
A writer in one of our Lutheran exchanges says:
“A janitor of a public school in Cleveland told me
that one of the teachers had said to him that if the
public schools would continue as they are doing
now, and she had any children to send to school, she
would send them to a parochial school, for they
would learn more there that is really necessary
in life.” ;

REMARKABLE BiBLE KNoWLeEpDGE. — At a recent
examination in a mission field of the China Inland
Mission many of the Chinese converts showed a re-
markable Bible knowledge. One examiner writes:
“for two hours a young farmer repeated Scripture
and only dropped three or four characters. When
we came to Solomon’s prayer, he said quietly, ‘May
we kneel as the great king did?’ And reverently
and beautifully, without a slip, he repeated the
39 verses comprising that prayer. Ere we separated
he handed me a dozen pages of carefully prepared
manuscript showing quite an extensive acquaint-

ance with Christian commentaries. One knelt the .

whole time, more than two hours, and his summary
of St. Mark’s Gospel was a magnificent achievement.
Beginning with the first chapters he repeated, con-
secutively and correctly, no less than 96 items.”

A Wipow’s Mire. — After a missionary meeting
at Brighton, England, a poor widow of the parish
presented herself before the pastor and gave him
a sovereign ($4.86). He knew the widow’s great
poverty, and, accordingly, refused to accept the coin,

23

remarking at the same time that it was too much
for her to give. The widow seemed disconcerted
and afflicted, and begged him to accept it. “Oh,
sir,” added she, “I have often given pieces of copper
to the Lord. Two or three times I have had the
joy to give Him pieces of silver, but it was the grand
desire of my life to give Him a piece of gold before
I die. For a long time I have been putting by ail
I was able to make this sum. Take it, I pray you,
for the missionary cause.” The minister did not
refuse further. He added to the collection this pre-
cious offering of a loving heart.

Tue Power or Gop’s Worp.— Two German
missionaries, chatting with some Australian con-
verts, asked how many of them had committed mur-
der before conversion. - Out of nine present, only
one had never killed a man. And yet these men
had, by the power of God’s Word, been changed into
meelke and loving followers of Christ.

Anoruer Ittustration. — The following is an-
other illustration of the power of God’s Word to
reach even the most degraded cannibals that eat
human flesh: “In -an English, mission school in
British New Guinea the scholars were lately asked
how many of them had ever tasted human flesh.
Only one could deny the accusation. A mission in
such surroundings is like a forlorn hope in warfare;
when it attains success, the result is worth the long .
and terrible struggle. And it would be a futile
struggle and a vain hope, were not the Gospel the
power of God unto salvation, quick and powerful

with divine promise to accomplish that whereto it

is sent and preached.”

Att For Curist. — On his birthday, one year
before his death, David Livingstone, the famous
African explorer and missionary, wrote in his jour-
nal: “March 19, 1872— Birthday. My Jesus, my
King, my Life, my All, I again dedicate my whole
self to Thee. Accept me, and grant, O gracious
Father, that ere this year is gone I may finish my
task. In Jesus’ name I ask it. Amen. So let
it be.”

All Things Working Together for Good:
Lying on his death-bed fatally wounded, Stone- -
wall Jackson said: “I consider these wounds a bless-
ing; they were given me for some good and wise
purpose, and I would not part with them if I could.”