The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1927, Page 139

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China.

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

139

receiving weekly instruction, and all the other work
connected with a mission enterprise is faithfully
performed by Pastor Wind and his willing and ef-
ficient assistants. We hope that some day in the
not too distant future this promising mission may
have its own missionary and its own church home.

KNRC, Santa Monica, Cal. — This is practically
a Lutheran station, as far as religious broadcasting
is concerned, for up to date no other religious body
has been admitted to the air over this station. The
main part of the expense is being borne by Pilgrim
Lutheran Church, Pastor W. F. Troeger. This
church broadcasts its Sunday morning services
regularly at the cost of $30 a Sunday. The evening
programs are sponsored and paid for by other
churches of the Synodical Conference in Southern
California and by individual members at the rate
of $15 a program of forty-five minutes. The mis-
sion spirit of these congregations is admirable.
There can be no doubt that thousands of the mil-
lions of radio fans in Southern California have the
saving Word of Life thus brought to them, among
them not a few who never would think of going to
church. God bless every enterprise that has for its
purpose the fulfilment of the prayer, “Thy kingdom
come !”

China. — The missionaries in China and the
supporting constituency at home are to-day con-
fronted with perhaps the greatest challenge in
Christian work experienced in connection with
Most of the missionaries have left their
fields of labor, others are on the way. Bitter dis-
appointment and great discouragement fill the hearts
of many devoted workers. Some say they will never
return; others can see no hope for three or four
years at least. Inquiries on the part of the writer
seem to bring out the fact that our workers do not
share this Pessimism, though they are not blind to
the seriousness of the situation. Speaking with one
who spent years in China concerning the outlook,
the writer was somewhat surprised at the former
missionary’s optimism. He plainly regarded the
present as a testing time, a-refining hour that was

needed both for the Chinese Christians and the

foreign missionary workers, and he seemed con-
fident that through it all would come, as a survival,
a better nucleus of native Christians.

The Value of a Ford. — This is what a mission-
ary in China has to say of the value of a Ford:
“TI do not know how many times I have blessed the
donor of the Ford. Some people may have thought
that there was not much of a mission investment

in a Ford, but I say most decidedly nay. It has, ~
moreover saved enough missionary time to pay for
itself, and then some. Furthermore, it has been
used by most of the leading officials of our com-
munity on many occasions. They have paid for it,
but it has made us friends that we would never have
made otherwise. This is a very vital matter now
that we are facing this crisis in China. I myself
did not fully foresee how great a missionary invest-
ment the donor of the Ford was making when I
stayed one night in the home of one of his sons in
Holyoke, Mass.”

“Our Missionaries.” — “Our Schools.”” — While
in a church some weeks ago, we picked up the
church’s Weekly Bulletin. From this Bulletin we
learned that the congregation supported one mis-
sionary and his wife in China and another mission-
ary and his wife in Turkey. Under the heading
“Our China Schools” were listed the following five
mission-schools: Liu Lin Chen, Mi Chih Usien,
Heng Shan Hsien, Chen Chuan Pu, Kao Chia Pu.
Of course, this congregation is doing this mission-
work over and above its regular contributions for
the Lord’s work in the way of supporting its
Church’s missionary enterprises. May the Lord
grant us also such “Antioch” congregations !

The Colored Joint Conference convened at
Selma, Ala., on August 24. This conference is at-
tended by the mission-workers of our whole colored
field and by a lay delegate from each congregation.
We hope to be able to give our readers a full, in-
teresting report of the conference in our next
number.

Jubilee Services. Senerorts come from all parts
of the colored field that the jubilee services are well
attended and that the jubilee collection will be very
gratifying. ‘The fine attendances and the financial
offerings show that our colored people are grateful
for the blessings which our Church has brought
to them.

Aretta Blair Sees It Through.

She was just a little slip of a girl, hardly seven
years old. Though her parents had no connection
with the Church, she had in some manner found her
way into our day-school in Fort Smith, Ark. One
day she heard her teacher tell about the Sacrament
of Holy Baptism —the need of it for all and the
blessing of it. Straight into her little heart it went,
and it troubled her. “Was she baptized?” Home

(Continued on page 142.)