The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1925, Page 73

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

73

Christ Jesus. For this reason we strive to put only
Lutheran men in our schools, men who submit
themselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As
teachers of this stripe are not at hand, but must be
won and prepared for their duties, our educational
force is still very small. But sincere efforts are
making to increase their number. Luther’s Cat-
echism and our own “Schwan” have been done into
Chinese and are used as text-books in school and
church. Lutheran hymns have been translated and
are sung in our chapels.

Our Evangelistic Work.

Chapel work is usually done in the same rooms
in which we conduct our schools. Several times a
week and on Sundays divine services are held with
an eye to reach the Chinese adults. Often a hymn
is sung at the chapel door to attract
the attention of passers-by, and then
an address is delivered on some suit-
able subject, winding up with an in-
vitation to enter the chapel and to
hear more. After the service the
missionary and his native assistant
mix with the audience and try to get
into closer contact with the people.

Occasionally a reading-room is
opened. An attendant who is quali-
fied to explain our literature and
invites to the public services is sta-
tioned here. As Chinese conven-
tions demand that guests be honored
by being given a cup of tea, we do
not begrudge them that either.

At Shihnanfu we have a trained nurse — soon _

we hope to have two in that city — who renders
such physical aid to the afflicted as comes within
her province. This help, given for the love of
Christ, helps to allay the natural suspicion of the
Chinese against the foreigner and his religion and
offers the nurse an opportunity of pointing the suf-
ferer to Christ, the true Physician for body arid
soul. Here we also conduct a small orphanage,
which was begun during the great famine a few
years ago:

First Task of the New Missionary.

When our missionaries reach China, the very
first thing required of them is that they take up the
study of the language. That is no easy task, be-
cause the Chinese language is so far different from
our own. It has no alphabet. Thoughts are ex-
pressed by word-pictures, or characters (ideo-
graphs), which are supposed to bear some resem-

blance to the ideas to be conveyed. The number of
characters runs high up into the thousands. It is
comforting to the missionaries to know that most
of them are used only in exceptional cases. It is
far easier to master the spoken language than the
written, although many missionaries remain a
failure all their lifetime. The task is too herculean.
The words are spoken in tones, and, as a result,
people that have no ear for music cannot do satis-
factory work. Writing the Chinese is an art, to
which very few missionaries aspire. Trained writers
must, therefore, be employed.

The Printed Page.
In addition to spreading the Word of God in

schools and chapels, our missionaries disseminate
it by other forms of publicity. We print a Chinese

Our Evangelists, after having been Examined in the Christian Creed
by Vice-President F. Brand, Director of Missions.

The examination took place June 4, 1921. Since then these men have attended

an evangelists’ school.

Lutheraner, which is published monthly and is used
as a missionary medium. Tracts are also largely
employed. :

In the past all our work was done in rented
quarters, and our missionaries had to live in leased
buildings. While occasionally it was possible to
secure fairly comfortable houses, although mostly
at an exorbitant rental, this was extremely difficult
in the interior. Frequently our missionaries were
exposed to real hardships and privations before they ~
could establish themselves. JEven now some of them
lack the necessary every-day comforts. More re-
cently we have begun to buy Jand for mission pur-
poses, and now we are planning to erect at least a
few of the most necessary dwellings and chapels.

Statistics.

Our missionary force in China consists of
14 men and 16 women. Twelve of these wom
are the wives of missionaries.