The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Sheet 126

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

Items of Missionary Interest.
By the Eprror.

The Bible for the Blind in Japan.—It was
‘Christianity that first provided the blind with
literature. ‘Twenty-four years ago Christian mis-
sionaries gave the Gospel of St. John to the Japa-
nese blind in Braille type. Several years ago the
New Testament was completed. And now it is re-
ported that the whole Bible is complete. There is
only one other Eastern language in which the whole
Bible is to be had in Braille type, the Arabic. The
recently completed Bible for the Japanese blind
‘comprises no less than thirty-four volumes.

Our English Churches in Chicago.— The Mis-
souri Synod has the following English churches in
Chicago: Christ, with a communicant membership
of 460; Faith, 348; Mount Olive, 270; Grace, 237;
Windsor Park, 547; Hope, 867%; Jefferson Park,
248; Our Savior, 110; Bethany, 306; Redeemer,
1,810; Pilgrim, 804. We are not in a position to
state whether the other bodies connected with the
Synodical Conference have any purely English
churches in Chicago or not.

The Curse of Heathenism.— The heathen live
in constant fear of evil spirits. All their religious
“rites and ceremonies bear eloquent testimony to this
constant dread. The natives of Burma never leave
their houses after dark because of their fear of
spirits. Other heathen never leave their homes un-
til they have invoked the help of one evil spirit’s
protection against the attacks of another.

Java. — This great island is loudly calling for
Christian missionaries. ‘The Mohammedan popu-
lation is very strong, and there is much Chinese
immigration, It has doubled its population in the
last forty years, but has increased its production
fivefold in the same period.

Chicago Lutheran Project.— Plans for the
coming Lutheran Exposition, to be held in Chicago
October 9 and 10, are rapidly nearing completion.
The exposition will have at its disposal the exhi-
Dition hall and auditorium of Hotel Sherman,
which, combined, will hold from 3,000 to 4,000
people. The exhibition hall, constantly open for
the two days and for the four programs in the
auditorium, will accommodate many thousands of
visitors. There is every reason to believe that the
publicity which will be given our Church by. this
exposition will also be of great value in a mis-
sionary way.

123

Chinese Revolution and Missions. — While our
own missionaries in China have not been perma-
nently handicapped in their work, the serious dis-
turbances have also affected their work. The United
Norwegian Lutheran Mission in China, however,
not only passed through great perils, but lost a mis-
sionary in the person of Nils D. Nilson, who was
killed by the insurgents.

A Superstitious Burial Custom.— The Chinese
do not bury their dead underground until a “lucky
day” comes; the corpses therefore are often kept
in wooden boxes for many days, as centers of disease
infection. Surely even for this present life Chris-
tianity is a blessing!

Lamaism. — The principal religion of Tibet, one
of the filthiest countries of the world,’is Lamaism.
According to the Lamaist creed a human soul may
be condemned by the gods to put on the form of
a lower animal for various and very'long periods
of time.

River of Death, Brazil. — Fierce savages, it is
reported, guard the approaches to the unexplored
wilderness on the middle course of the River of
Death, a branch of the Araguaya in Brazil. From
the impenetrable jungle they fire long arrows tipped
with the thigh-bones of animals, ground to a razor
edge and poisoned with a plant distillation so
deadly that even a scratch will cause death in a few
minutes. Remember that these murderous heathen
live in a part of America. Should’ we not bring
them the Gospel of Jesus?

A Few India Items. —TIt is claimed that the
gospels are the most-read books in India to-day. —
The Salvation Army has 3,000 officers in India. —
The sun is so hot in some parts of India that when
Dr. EB. A. Ross, of the University of Wisconsin, at-
tempted to cross the street without any covering on
his head, the natives hurried to cover it, declaring
he would suffer from headache from even so short
an exposure.

A Wonderful Record. — - Ohio Wesleyan College,
a Methodist institution located at Delaware, O., has
given 337 missionaries to the foreign field. Of
these, 133 were men and 204 were women. These
workers have gone to fifteen countries of the world.
The institution prides itself upon having always
had one of its former students in China since 1861.

Foreign Mission Forces. — Of 28,000 Christian .
missionaries working in foreign fields, 19,000 are
from the United States. Of the $45,000,000 an-
nually expended for foreign missions, America con-
tributes $40,000,000.