The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1928, Page 142

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142

vices held, 308; total attendance, 17,000; sick-calls,
2,424; visits made in public institutions, S876;
number communed, 1,028; number baptized, 37;
number confirmed, 31; number buried, 29; number
of Sunday-school sessions, 104, attended by 6,931
children.

Mission-Work in Rural Districts
of India.

How numerous and interesting are the villages
of India! It is here that the men, women, and
children are found in countless numbers; it is here
that one can see poverty indescribable. But here
also the Gospel is able to gain some of its greatest
victories. Between these villages are to be found
acres and acres of fields with their food products
according to season. Often the ever-changing
Jandscape between these villages is most fascinating
and beautiful beyond description, thus proving a
welcome and most desirable change from the
squalor and wretchedness to be found in the vil-
lages. Again and again there come to the mind
of the mission-worker as he passes from village to
village the words of Bishop Heber’s missionary
hymn : —

Where every prospect pleases
And only man is vile.

Of her work in Indian villages a laborer writes
thus : —

“The villagers are most original and simple in
their thoughts and ways and, we must admit, very
dirty. Water, at times, is very scarce and soap
very rare indeed. It would be a good plan to carry
pieces of soap around with us to cleanse away the
enormous amount of skin disease which abounds
on all, from babies, toddlers, to the grown-up
people. :

“A small toddler, about two years of age, came

‘to me, her face covered with skin eruption, sores,
and dirt, her eyes almost closed with eye disease,
and flies were just feasting on the pitiful little face.
I used soap and water frequently, following it with
ointment, and in a few days she presented quite
a different appearance. This is only one case of
the many that we come across daily.

“The people are very poor. When they. ask for
ointment, they come with a new leaf from a tree
for the ointment to be put on. A young woman
brought a small bottle for her medicine. We filled
it and told her to bring a larger one next time:
She went a little distance away, drank all of the
contents of the bottle and returned to have it re-

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

filled. She was quite pleased with herself for
having done this. We had to explain her mistake
to her. I trust she learned the lesson.

“We try to get out into the villages about five
times each week and to stop in the center of them.
On arriving at our stopping-place one morning, a
group of women were waiting for us. They said
they had left their homes at 4 a.™. in the cold
darkness before dawn in order to be there when
we arrived.

Indian Village Street.

“These women are well versed in habits of
domestic economy. They go out and sweep up the
fallen leaves and sticks, especially after a dust- or
wind-storm, make them up into large bundles, and
carry them home to use for firewood. How like
the widow of Zarephath of old!

“Their condition of poverty, ignorance, and
suffering calls very loudly for help to the Servant
of the Father, Christ, who came not to be minis-
tered unto, but to minister. The implicit confi-
dence these dear ones place in us is most touching.
They come up close to us and tell us of their pains