The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1927, Page 150

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‘and blind, but still cherishing her Bible.

150

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

the influence of the denomination extends much
further than these figures might indicate to many.

In South Africa the Moravians have two mis-
sionary provinces. The older mission is in western
South Africa, among the Hottentots, while the later
mission is in eastern South Africa, among the
Kaffirs. The Moravian pioneer among the Hotten-
tots was the noble George Schmidt, who, before he
came to Africa, had spent six years in prison for
his faith’s sake. After he had labored only six years
among these poor people, his work was brought to
an end. Only after fifty years was it possible to

Native Kaffir Pastor and Wife.

resume the work he had so zealously begun. But
after this long lapse of time the later missionaries
found one of Schmidt’s converts, eighty years old
The
station was called Gnadental, “Vale of Grace.”
Tt has a membership of over 3,000. In 1828 work
was begun among the Kaffirs.

The mission among the Hottentots is practically
self-supporting and numbers 15,000 souls, while
the membership of -the Kaffir Mission is almost
13,000. Earnest efforts are made to train a native
ministry for these two fields.

In what was formerly German East Africa,

almost identical with the present Tanganyika Terri-

tory, the Moravians had most prosperous missions at

Sey

the breaking out of the World War. Though only
a little more than twenty years old, the blood of the
martyr missionaries had also here proved the seed of
the Church. At nine stations, ninety outstations,
and over a thousand preaching-places they were
carrying on their work. _They had nearly 8,000
pupils, and besides these 4,000 adults were in their
spiritual care. They had done much to uplift those
under their influence in a social and economic way
by means of their industrial mission-work. Then
came the sad expulsion of the missionaries from the
field because they were German, which deprived the
natives of almost all their foreign teachers and

pastors. In addition, influenza and_ pestilence
visited the field. A severe earthquake in 1919

damaged all the mission-property that had still been
left intact. Two non-German missionaries were
permitted to remain, but for a time were not allowed
to preach. Many of the converts were scattered, and
not a few have fallen away; but a great number has
remained faithful under native leadership. Last
year the Moravians again took up their work in
Nyassa District, where the war had compelled com-
plete abandonment, and they are doing their utmost
to bring the field back to its prewar condition.

Central Asia has become a field of Moravian
missionary activities since 1853. At, and in the
neighborhood of, Lahoul they have established a
number of stations. The soil is extremely sterile,
and in spite of all efforts only about two hundred
have embraced Christianity. The war crippled the
working force of this mission also.

The Moravians worked among the lowly and
despised Blackfellows of Australia from 1860 till
1921. Their work was so successful in Victoria,
where they first began their labors in Australia, that
they were asked to take over the work also among
the savage cannibals of North Queensland in 1891,
when the former field had to be abandoned because
of the removal of the natives. When, in 1921, the
Moravians turned over their Australian work to the
Presbyterians, they had 150 professed Christians
at their three stations.

For almost fifty years the Moravians ministered
to the needs of the lepers in Cape Colony, Africa.
When the care of these was taken over by others,
they took up the same kind of work in Jerusalem.

In the above brief sketch mention has been made
of only the Foreign Mission work carried on by the
Moravian Church; but the Church is doing also
Home Mission work in a number of European
countries, in fourteen States of the Union, and in
Western Canada. ~