The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1925, Page 76

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76 THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

As a people the Chinese are without God and
without hope in this world. They live only to die
eternally. How terrible!

Oh, that the love of God which He has revealed
to us in Christ Jesus would move us to more zealous
efforts for the salvation of the Chinese!

St. Louis, Mo. FREDERICK BRAND.

On Their Way to the Mission-Field.

Early in January of this year the Rev. L. Meyer
and wife and Miss Martha Baden left for their
field of labor in China. The Meyers returned to
that country after their first furlough. Miss
Baden, a trained nurse, went out for the first time.

In a personal letter Mrs. Meyer describes part

At Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, January 10, 1925.
Missionary and Mrs. Meyer in the center.

of the trip. I shall take the liberty to communicate
some sections of it to our friends.

Says Mrs. Meyer: “Our trip across the con-
tinent was very beautiful. It was pleasant to have
a few hours’ wait in Kansas City and again in
Denver, where we visited the Wheat Ridge Sani-
tarium. Snow, fresh and pure, covered the prairies
of Nebraska and the mountains and valleys of Colo-
rado, Utah, and Nevada. It is so much prettier
seeing the country in winter than in the heat and
dust of summer.

“A balmy, sunny New Year’s Day saw us arrive
in the handsome station at Oakland, Cal. Mr. J.
G. Theiss, the father of Missionary H. A. Theiss, of
Ichang, China, was there to meet us, and we spent
most pleasant hours in his hospitable home. We
‘could even attend New Year’s services that morn-

"ing, which, we had feared, might be impossible be-
‘cause of the lateness of the hour. In the evening
‘we met the young people of the city, who were ex-

tremely pleasant. Mr. Meyer addressed them on
our mission-work. ... Everybody was just lovely
to us at San Francisco, for which we can never
thank them enough.

“Our steamer is not nearly so palatial as some
of the boats on other trans-Pacifie lines, but what
it lacks in fittings it makes up in seaworthiness.
The sea has been simply wonderful. I’ve never
seen it so constantly saucy and in such high spirits.
Mr. Meyer has not been quite well. Some food —
it was fish—did not appear to agree with him.
This morning, however, I am happy to state, he is
feeling much better.

“In Honolulu we spent a glorious day. We had
wirelessed Pastor A. Hoermann of the Wisconsin
Synod: ‘May three Missourians lunch with you
to-morrow?’ Both Rev. and Mrs. Hoermann were
at the docks to mect us. The day was sunny and
warm, and as the Hoermanns have a car, we soon
were off seeing the tropic beauties of Hawaii. This
is the most beautiful spot I have ever seen. After
dinner we drove to the beach and the wonderful
aquarium, did some shopping, and, above all, were
delighted to see such a pretty Lutheran church in
Honolulu. From the high spots of the island the
views are exceptionally grand — over there the
beautiful sugar and pineapple plantations and, at
a distance, the dreamy waters of the Pacific lapping
the shores of the island.

“We left again at ten o’clock sharp, and the
next morning, when we made our first round on
the deck, the last of the farthermost islands was
just disappearing from view.

“For days we-could walk about in our summer
clothes and were out almost all the time playing
deck games of some sort.

“Last night our genial captain, a Norwegian,
looked into the social hall where we were sitting
and said, ‘Land!’ It was like a word of magic,
and we all rushed out on deck to see the black out-
lines of an island not far away. We were nearing
our destination. Columbus could not have been
happier when he first saw San Salvador peeping
out on the distant horizon.

“Now we have again crossed the Pacific and
are on ‘the other side.” How many thousand miles
from our loved ones at home! But whether here
or there, we are all in the care of the Lord, and
that is our comfort. That thought sustains us
when we crave to see the faces we love most.

“We are truly glad to get back to our work and
ask the Lord to be with us and to bless us.”