The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1917, Page 37

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The Lutheran Pioneer. ‘ 37

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tihat our teachers are expected to do considerable
visiting in the homes of their pupils, and so keep
im close touch with the families, for reasons that
can be easily understood. ‘The teacher’s influence
sshall not only be exerted in the school, but also
iin the family of his pupils. The more the teacher
realizes this, and the more he practically lives up
tto this idea, the more the school will prove a mis-
ssion-school and a nursery for the Church. Because,
tthen, of this extra missionary work that we expect
ffrom our teachers, we should gladly lighten their
Iburdens in school as much as we possibly can.

T hear a reader say, “Well, why doesn’t the
Board get the necessary teaching apparatus?” My
«ear friend, do you really want to know? I can
teasily tell you: Because the funds are not available;
Ibecause you and I do not contribute enough to the
Mission Treasury. ‘The Board is only too willing
to supply our schools and teachers with any and
‘every reasonable help, but they are limited in their
good offices by the amount of money in the ‘Treasury.
By the time the salaries are paid and the chapels
and schools are built, there is nothing left for
charts and maps! —

Who will come to the rescue and help see to
it that our hard-working force of mission-teachers
be no longer handicapped in their work by the lack
of necessary teaching apparatus? F. J. L.

—_____—_+e.

New Accessions at Vredenburgh, Ala.

“FTosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He
that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in
the highest!” So sang that great multitude of
men, women, and children when the Son of David
entered into the royal city almost two thousand
years ago, bringing with Him the peace of God,
life and salvation. On Palm Sunday, the anni-
versary. of that triumphal entrance of Christ into

_ Jerusalem, the members and friends of St. Andrew’s
Congregation at Vredenburgh, Ala., caught up the
_ echoes of that sweet psalm and sang it anew unto
| the Lord God, for on that day He came to us again,
| bringing with Him the peace of God, the for-
} giveness of sins, life, and salvation to fourteen
| souls who had renounced the devil, all his works,
‘and pomp, and received Christ as their Lord and
"Master. ‘These persons, who were received into
| the Church by Baptism and Confirmation, ranged
| in age from two to twenty-three years. And so
| Gt was that after months of labor we were permitted,
[ by the grace of God, to realize the fruits of our work.
;

We are right in the midst of a community that
has many hardened sinners who do not think of
God, excepting when a storm comes up; and when
we consider this, we have all reason to rejoice that
we were able to bring fourteen into our fold at
one time. And I know, dear reader, that you
rejoice with us, and pray God that He may keep
them in His grace. Of the fourteen, five were
confirmed.

No, these are not all that we have gained since
we are here, for on the 18th of February we bap-
tized and confirmed five adults. And over these,
too, the first fruits of our labor, we, greatly rejoice,
and ask God to keep them faithful unto death.
Our little congregation now numbers twenty-one
souls, and of that number twelve are communicants.

Our work here is very hard. We must teach

Lutheran Parsonage near Vredenburgh, Ala.

school five days in the week, preach twice on Sunday
and once during the week, every Wednesday night.
The Sunday work is especially hard. We begin
with divine service at eleven o’clock, at one or the
other out-station, and after that Sunday-school and
instruction, so that it is three o’clock in the after-
noon and often later, when we can go home for
a little rest and a bit to eat, and prepare for the
night service at Vredenburgh. I must ride from
eight to ten miles through the country in order
to be*here on: time. (And, by the way, the horse
which I ride is afraid of autos, so that I stay in
the bushes about as much as I do in the road.
We, that is the horse, the bushes, and myself, have
ruined two pairs of trousers on our journeys.) At
night one is reminded very much of a torch-light
procession as one sees the people going to and from ~

the church. You can count as-high as twenty-five *%

and thirty pine-torches strung up and down the

road. — But in spite of all the hardships, we enjoy

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