The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1910, Page 86

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

. The Lutheran Pioneer.
SS

that foreign tongue, he had neither spoken, read,
nor written it for more than forty years.

She was the first true French Protestant he had
ever met in his life, and yet more a Vaudois.

The word Vaudois in French has the same mean-
ing as the expression Evangelical in the Augsburg
Confession- and signifies a Waldensian, or a French
Protestant three hundred years before the days of
Dr. Luther. :

The whole settlement where he was name-can-
vassing was formed by Vaudois, for the most part
Italians, who attended Presbyterian Italian services
in a little brick church nearby, and who forbade
their minister to preach occasionally in French for
the benefit of the French Protestants.

This Vaudois colony at’ Chicago consists of over
100 families, of which 80 belong to the Italian Pres-
byterian congregation. The rest belong to that true
‘Vaudois congregation which holds its meetings in
a store, a few blocks off. They separated from the
Presbyterian congregation over two years ago, and
in their spiritual distress elected one of their.own
members as minister.

If the Presbyterian Church took hold, years ago,

of the Italian Vaudois and formed them into a con- -

gregation, why cannot the Lutheran Church, espe-
cially the Missouri Synod, take hold of those few
French families, the faithful descendants of the old
Waldensian Protestants ? F. L. B. 7

‘Vara's Blessed Death.

Vara was a native of the island of Eimeo. He
was a bloodthirsty chief of a savage tribe, and in
the time of his heathen ignorance had caused the
offerings of many human sacrifices. But by God’s
grace, through the power of the Gospel, he was
turned to God from idols to serve the living and
true God. He became a humble, devoted Christian,
adorning his profession with a godly life-to the day
of his death. In his last hours he was. many times
visited by the missionary, who gives the following
account of his death: —

On seeing his end draw near, I said to him, “Are
you sorry that you cast away your lying gods, by
which you used to gain so much property ?”

He was aroused from his drowsiness, and with
tears of joy sparkling in his eyes, he exclaimed,
“Q no, no! What? Can I be sorry for casting
away death for life? Jesus is my rock, the fortifi-
cation in which my soul takes shelter.”

I said, “Tell me on what you found your hope
of future blessedness.”

He replied, “I have been very wicked; but a
great King from the other side of the skies sent His
ambassadors with terms of peace. We could not
tell for many years what these ambassadors, the
missionaries, wanted. At last they gained a great
victory, and [ was one of the first of those that were
brought to Jesus. The blood of Jesus is my foun-
dation. I grieve that all my children do not love
Him. Had they known the misery we endured in
the reign of the devil, they would gladly take the
Gospel in exchange for their sinful follies. Jesus
is the best King. He gives a pillow without thorns.”

After a little while I asked him if he were
afraid to die, when with almost youthful energy he
replied, “No, no! The canoe is on the sea, the sails
are spread; she is ready for the gale. I have a
good Pilot to guide me, and a good haven to re-
ceive me. My outside man and my inside man differ.
Let the one rot till the trump shall sound, but let
my soul wing her way to the throne of Jesus!”

————-> eo

A Very Present Help in Trouble.

On November 12th and 13th, 1872, the shores
and islands of the Baltic Sea were visited by a
most destructive flood. Many villages were almost
wholly wiped out, and a large number of people lost
their lives. Still many instances of God’s wonderful
help were reported.

In one of the villages on the island of Ruegen,
Luther’s hymn of trust, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our
God,” gave much comfort to a family in the greatest
danger. -Already on the 12th, one of the houses of
the village was surrounded by water. The inmates
could not flee, nor could help reach them. The water
rose higher and higher, and the waves grew more
powerful. It was a terrible night for the inmates
of that house. Early the next morning they had to
flee to the roof. There they stood, shivering with
cold, looking for the house to fall every moment
and carry them into a watery grave. In this terrible
position they raised their voices and sang Luther’s
hymn: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”

They did find God to be a very present help
in trouble, and experienced the truth that they who
put their trust in Him shall not be put to shame.
The storm ceased almost immediately, the waters
began to fall, and the family and their home were
saved.