The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1924, Page 99

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The Lutheran Pioneer. 99

shall I do?” and cheerfully say, “Lord, send me.”
There are ever more among us who realize that
they are their brother’s keeper, and that, as they
personally help him when he is in bodily need, so
they should in even greater measure do something
to help him in his spiritual need. Pastors are
happy to report that they have among their young
and old members those who come and ask to be as-
signed to do church-work in the congregation and
outside of it. And when we hear of such willing-
ness in some congregations, the hope blossoms in
our hearts that this spirit of helpfulness, this desire
personally to help that God’s kingdom may be ex-
tended, this zeal to carry out the Great Commission
of our ascended Lord, may spread more and more
and finally find a cherished home in every one of our
congregations. Then will again have been aroused
the spirit that fired the members of the Church’s
youth, Israel will have waked from his sleep, and the
Gospel will make glorious conquests far and near.
Our heart leaps for joy when we see how the
Walther League is so earnestly trying to arouse its
membership to see its mission responsibility. Hav-
ing succeeded in enlisting its members in the work
of helping to support the Church’s missionaries at
home and abroad, it is now making most earnest
efforts to enlist all its members in a systematic per-
sonal mission-work at home. We wish every pastor
would send for the literature which the League has
put out on this subject. Even if it is not possible
to carry out all the provisions suggested in this
literature, every pastor will find in it much that
will be of great use to him in his guidance of those
of his young people who wish to work. Other very
helpful and practical literature on this subject has
been gotten out by the Lutheran House-to-house
Committee, 4317 S. Mozart St., Chicago, Ill. (Rev.
F. C. Streufert). The literature published by Pas-
tor Streufert, besides explaining the work to be
done by laymen in the interest of missions, also
includes a number of leaflets which may be handed
people who are being persuaded to accept Christ.
These leaflets are in English, German, Norwegian,
Polish, and Lithuanian, and all dwell on the im-
portance of accepting Christ as the only Savior of
sinners. Let pastors by all means also send for
this practical and helpful literature. While we do
not know the price of this mission material, we
venture to say that by sending 25 cents to each,
samples covering the plans will be gladly sent by
both the Walther League Central Office and Pastor
Streufert. : FJ. L.

A Day in the Black Belt of Alabama.

It was on November 4, the day of the Presiden-
tial election, when two of our missionaries in the
Black Belt hurried from Selma to Ingomar, Ala:
With happy hearts they journey over hill and vale,
through sand and water, covering a distance of
about forty-five miles. In spite of the rough trip
they were immensely happy. After having paid the
school at Tilden a hurried visit, they sped on to
Ingomar, taking with them ‘Teacher Thompson, of
Tilden. Now three happy hearts were beating lust-
ily for joy. Why?

If you would understand the exceedingly great
joy of the missionaries, accompany the writer in
spirit to an old, dilapidated, ramshackle, tumble-
down Jog cabin in the forest primeval of. Alabama.
As you enter the hut, take heed not to stumble on
the rickety steps. Having passed through the door,
you find yourself in a large room containing two
beds and‘a few chairs. Several logs in the fireplace
furnish a little warmth. An old “uncle” sitting to
the right of the hearth greets the arrivals. Directly
in front of the fireplace an old “aunty,” Mary Allen
by name, the object of the visit, occupies a rocker.
She tells the visitors that she had feared they would
not come and expresses her great joy over the fact
that they really did come. But the main source of
her happiness was the fact that she was about to be
received into membership of the Lutheran Church
through confirmation. As she is an invalid, it is
almost impossible for her to attend the services con-
ducted every Tuesday night at Ingomar, and there-
fore the missionaries came to her.

Dear reader, you are about to witness a con-
firmation service. And a truly beautiful service it
is despite its simplicity! It is opened with the
singing of that beautiful hymn “Alas, and Did My
Savior Bleed.” Then Pastor G. A. Schmidt reads
and explains the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beg-
gar sitting at the gates of Jericho, to her. After
the singing of another hymn and after having re-
ceived the usual answers to the questions put to a
eatechumen, Mary Allen, a survivor of the Civil
War days, is received as a member of the Evangel-
ical Lutheran Church. ‘The simple, but impressive
service was concluded by the singing of “I Lay My
Sins on Jesus.” Words fail to express the bound-
less joy of Mary Allen. Immediately after her con-
firmation she said to her husband, “Now you must
come over on our side.” But let us leave Mary