The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Page 95

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

95

“<The reasons given by Mr. Eastman for his gift

haye appealed to the public, and it has responded in
the shape of more than 10,000 subscriptions, run-
ning from gifts of $1 each from some of the colored
graduates, to subscriptions of $250,000 each from
five different individuals, topped off by a $1,000,000
gift from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., matching the
$1,000,000 pledge with which the General Educa-
tion Board inaugurated the campaign.’

“The entire South was organized with head-
quarters in Atlanta. Many well-known Southerners
took an active part in making the campaign a suc-
cess, and countless new friends were made for the
cause. The alumni of the schools raised more than
$200,000.” D.

Bhikoo, a Hindu Convert.

Miss Brown, a missionary worker in Northern
India, tells the following touching story of Bhikoo
and his wife, two Hindu converts, in The Pilgrim’s
Progress : —

“One Sunday afternoon a Hindu woman came
to our service, at which the preacher clearly set

forth the full Gospel. She said later it was at that -

service she was converted. Conversion means action.
The following week she sent her husband a message
saying: ‘I am going to become a Christian and be
baptized. You come too and be baptized, it will be
well. But whether you are or not, I will be.’ This
news so startled Bhikoo that he started at once,
traveling all night to get to his wife.

“The very morning he arrived home, the mis-
sionary and Bible woman came to see his wife, and
so he had a good opportunity of hearing the whole
Truth. ‘lhe Lord opened Bhikoo’s heart, and he
decided to devote that whole week to reading the
Word and to listening to the preacher explain the
Words of Life so that he would be prepared to take
baptism with his wife. Those were joyous days for
him, filled with singing the praises of his new-found
Savior !

“Persecution followed! ‘The whole village rose
in revolt. No Christians tolerated! Bhikoo is
away again, and his wife, poor frail woman, again
alone to face the tempter. Once more she sends
& message to her husband, ‘Come, must go back
into caste. You are wanted.” He travels again
those long miles from his place of work, this time
giving up his work to stand by his wife. Now
without work, without friends among his entire

village, his wife’s relatives and the neighbors de-

manding that he renounce Christianity and regain
his caste, Bhikoo comes to the Mission House for
prayer.

“Then came a day when this news came to us.
Bhikoo has appeared before the Punchayat (Village
Council) regarding going back to Hinduism and
Caste! This Punchayat ruled heavy fines on’ any
house admitting within its doors a Christian con-
vert. This Punchayat tore a wife from her Chris-
tian husband; it ruled that brothers should have
nothing to do with each other because one was
a Christian! It made a strong public spirit sup-
ported by curious tales that the Christian convert
was made to eat the crumbs and leavings of other
low-caste Christians, and that all Christians were
made to drink the blood of Jesus Christ out of one
cup, referring to our taking morsels of bread and
grape-juice at the Sacrament.*

“Miriam, Bhikoo’s wife, was told that now since
they had become low, outcaste Christians, her
daughters would never have husbands—an un-
speakable, unthinkable disgrace! The Punchayat
sternly asked him why he became Christian. He
replied, ‘Because I was on my way to hell, and
I found no one could save me but Jesus Christ, so
now I have got salvation, and I have a peace right
here [placing his hand on his chest], which I never
had before and which no one can take.’ So he stood
boldly and testified to the Indian heads of five or
more villages. They put his ransom at an impos-
sible sum. :

“Bhikoo, now being turned out, homeless, with
a wife and four children, resolves to build his own
house right there on the land of his forefathers.
The doors of the Mission House were open and
a hearty welcome too, but it was two miles away,
and he decided to.‘face the music,’ though it meant
they had to find shelter under any shed or. haystack
they could and in the rainy season, too. It was just
a cabin house, and now that the Lord had enabled
him to get work, Bhikoo put all his odd time into
building walls, roofs, etc., amidst scathing remarks
from his village neighbors. ‘Yes, what have you
gained by becoming a Christian!’ “The gain is all
here, pointing again to his heart, he answers.”

Though the persecution continued, Bhikoo and
his wife remained faithful to the Savior who had
brought peace to their hearts, fully convinced that
the trials of this present life are not worthy to
be compared to the glories awaiting the faithful
on high.

* The writer is a member of the Reformed Church.