The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1928, Page 103

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

Doescher was sent out to investigate the field and
begin the work. At Little Rock, Ark., he realized
a degree of success. ‘he locality promised good
results. But a resident missionary was needed as
Rev. Doescher had to continue his investigations in
other parts of the United States. When a call came
to St. Louis for a young man to supply this need
and the faculty suggested Candidate Frederick
Berg, he at once accepted with great willingness.
At the age of twenty-two years, on May 3, 1878,
Professor Berg began his work at Little Rock.
Professor Berg did not have an easy task before
him. The colored people among whom he was to
work looked upon his efforts with suspicion, and
he found it quite hard to win their confidence.

Prof. F. Berg.

What made matters worse was that enemies of the
new mission spread false rumors throughout the
city concerning the work. Success against such
overwhelming odds seemed impossible. Neverthe-
less the young pastor did not become discouraged,
but persistently strove against the strong bulwarks
of Satan.

His efforts were rewarded with a degree of
success., He organized the first congregation and
began the first Christian day-school of the mission.
The former was accomplished July 3, 1878, two
months after his arrival in Little Rock. The day-
school was opened September 16 of the same year.
After one year the Lord had blessed his labors with
nineteen communicant members. During this year
he baptized a total of forty-four people, twelve
adults and thirty-two children.

After having spent three trying years at

* ciently prepared.

this station, Professor Berg accepted a call, in
1881, as pastor of a white congregation in Adams
County, Ind. After serving this flock for ten years,
he was called to Beardstown, Ill., where he served
successfully for twenty years.

From here his activity again shifted to the
Colored Missions. From 1911 to 1919 we find
him serving as president of Immanuel Lutheran
College. Since 1919 he has served exclusively as
theological professor in our seminary.

In this capacity he has rendered the Lutheran
Church and our race an inestimable service. Here
he has labored for the salvation of souls by train-
ing, with the greatest patience and diligence, young
men for the ministry. He instructs his students
most carefully and thoroughly. After they finish
the prescribed course and go out to do mission-
work, they find themselves well equipped and effi-
They are thoroughly indoctri-
nated in the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.
Being firmly planted in the Word of God, they
are not shaken nor disturbed by the great wave of
Modernism and rationalism that is making such
deep inroads into the Christian Church.

But Professor Berg has impressed the students
whom he has instructed not only by the character-
istics mentioned above, but also by other things.
All the young men leave the department with a
very warm feeling toward him. He has touched
us by his earnestness, charmed us by his cheerful-
ness, and inspired us by his perseverance.

Our dear professor is now in his seventy-third
year, but he has no intention of retiring; on the
contrary, he continues a daily routine that would
test the strength of most men many years his
juniors.

May the Lord bless him with still many years
of usefulness! B.R.SxKinNER, Seminary, 729.

China, Chinese, and Things Chinese.

A missionary worker in China who spent some years
in that country was kind enough to tell us what follows
in the paragraphs of this article. We feel certain that
our readers will find it interesting reading: — _

The pride and feeling of superiority which one
finds in the Chinese people to-day is based upon -
its antiquity. In their mythological and legendary
history the Chinese people go back hundreds of
thousands of years. Like all other heathen nations,
so also the Chinese people have in their store of
mythology and legends many stories concerning the

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