The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Page 11

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

11

these mines are owned and run by Englishmen,
there are a great number of them here from Eng-
land. These people attend the Church of England
‘church, the Wesleyan church, and the Roman Cath-
olic church, each with its European pastor or priest.

The other type of religious work carried on is
missionary work among the heathen. ‘This work is
done by a so-called National Mission Church (com-
posed of various denominations, run by the Indians
themselves) ; S. P. G., which means Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel, Church of England;
Wesleyan; Swedish Lutheran, to a small extent ;
and our own mission. Of late the Seventh-day
Adventists seem to be coming in. Theré may be
other missions which have been overlooked.

At the present time we have two congregations
in the Kolar Gold Fields. One is in Oorgaum

Jamp, the other in Marikuppam. ‘The first is the
Church of Our Savior; the other, Trinity Church.
Each congregation is fully organized with eight to
ten voting members. Iivery Sunday morning, as
well as at mid-week, services are conducted at
Oorgaum with an average attendance of 35. In
Marikuppam, Sunday-school and church services
are conducted mornings as well as Sunday after-
noons and at mid-week. Tach congregation has
a mission-school attached to it with several teachers.
Heathen and Christians attend these schools, in
which religion is regularly taught. We try to win
the heathen for Christ through our schools, by the
personal efforts of our Christian teachers and of the
missionary in charge. At the present time much
‘of my time is devoted: to learning the language,
and for this reason’ the’ latter way of meeting

"heathen is not carried on as it should be. However,
time ‘will remedy this. ! Since December 1, 1924,
about a dozen heathen haye been baptized.

The question often ,arises, What opportunities
‘and advantages does a.place like the Kolar Gold
Fields offer for missionary work? A place like
this has advantages which cannot be overlooked.
‘The entire population’ is' composed of people who
have come from native heathen villages, people who
‘are steeped and bound i in ‘idolatry and superstition.
Here and there we find, comparatively speaking,
‘many Christians, and this makes it easier than in
villages where there are few or none. In the Kolar
Gold Fields a heathen becoming a Christian always
has a group to join,!!‘A‘vheathen away from his
village and relationship often becomes lax in the
performance of his religious duties, which, in turn,
makes him ready material upon which to work.
‘On the other hand, ipiis true that this type of

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Christian is seldom as true and sincere as the one
who has been converted in his own village and has
suffered, but victoriously withstood, persecution.
To expend missionary efforts here offers another
advantage. This is the mission-work which those
who have been converted can exercise. A man
comes here for work as a heathen. While here he
may become a Christian. He will at some time or
other return to his village, cither when there is no
more work here, or when he wishes to visit his
relatives. This man, if he is a staunch believer,
will then use his visit to gladden the hearts of
others, even as he has been made glad. He will
try to lead his people to Christ. And since the
people at the Kolar Gold Fields have come from
many distant places, the Gospel can go out to many.
This is a mining section, and, like in so many
other mining fields, there is a great deal of money

Oorgaum Church and Congregation, India.

afloat. In India, a land of many beggars and poor
people, large sums of money seldom work for good.
Pride and arrogance fill the hearts of these people,
an unwholesome spirit of independence creeps up
in them; in short, they become filled with a spirit
that is seldom found in the ‘small village life. Here
evil and vice of every kind runs rampant, and every
conceivable means and device by which money can
be made to serve wickedness is ingeniously con-
trived. This not only tends to make the saving of .
souls difficult, but also serves to undermine con-
gregations already. established.

How long Gospel-work can be carried on here
is not easy to say. Humanly speaking, it will last
as long as the gold lasts. The Kolar Gold Fields
offer no other livelihood. I have never heard a
mining official who was willing to give a guess how
long this would be. In six months the gold may.
be exhausted. Chances are it will last many years. .

Let us pray for a great “output of precious
souls” in the Kolar Gold Fields!