The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1929, Page 122

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122

general indifference and sometimes active opposi-
tion to the preaching of the saving Gospel. But we
praise God that we are permitted to serve Him,
whether here or there, and for the promise that His
Word shall not return to Him void.

The Death of Missionary Arndt.

_ The glorious Easter festival was a happy time
both at the chapels and the homes of our mis-
sionaries, but just two weeks later came one of the
sad partings that must come in this life when we
accompanied to his last resting-place the earthly
remains of our pioneer missionary in China, Rev.
E.L. Arndt. Yet the sadness was not unmixed with
joy, knowing that he is now enjoying unspeakable
peace and bliss at the bosom of his Savior. His wish
to pass from the midst of his labors to his eternal
rest was granted. Suffering from a cold for several
days, still at his desk, on Wednesday, April 17,
translating as usual, on Thursday morning he
quietly and peacefully fell asleep in Jesus. The
Lord is gracious, and His promises are sure, and so
we know assuredly that our brother in Christ is
now enjoying the promise of Rev. 14,13: “Blessed
are the dead which die“in the Lord from hence-
forth, yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from
their labors; and their works do follow them.”
Rey. Arndt lived for one thing only — that many
souls might be saved in China to the honor and
glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His
perseverance in the face of all hindrances, his tire-
less application to his work, his faithfulness, will
surely be rewarded by his Lord and Savior. May
we all be found equally faithful!

A Chinese Wedding Service.

In the following week our work went on as it
must, and Saturday brought us to the wedding of
one of my former pupils at the girls’ school. In-
cidentally, nearly all the girls who were formerly at
the sehool are married now. One girl is teaching
for us at one of our primary schools, four are at
government high schools, five or six of the younger
girls are at home, but the others are all serving their
mothers-in-law, more or less, in these modern times.
The girl who was just married is a bright cheerful
‘country girl, who, though not so far advanced in
her studies as some of our other girls, gave evidence
that she is a real home-maker, which is more than
can be said of most Chinese women.

The wedding took place at San Yuen Li Chapel,
where the groom, a son of one of our older woman
‘teachers, is a member. Rev. J. Fischer performed
the ceremony, Rey. H. O. Theiss played the wedding-

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

march, six young students sang a specially prepared
hymn, and we all felt that it was a model service.
You will perhaps ask, “Aren’t all services orderly
Christian services?” Well, wedding services have not
always been that; for often relatives and friends of
the couple are not Christians, or people from the
street will force themselves into the chapel. Their
talking or giggling about things they do not under- |
stand or even ruder behavior have disturbed more
than one service. In this case all the attendants at
the service were Christians, and a few words ad-
dressed at the beginning to those who might not
understand resulted in a real service — hearty sing-
ing of the hymns and a true spirit of devotion.

The Bride’s Costume.

Telling of a wedding would not be complete
without a description of the bride, but we'll put the
groom first this time. He as well as his two atten-
dants was dressed in foreign clothes. That’s short
and sweet,.and you know just how they looked. The
bride, however, was dressed in the latest style for
Chinese brides. She wore a medium-length, one-
piece, salmon-colored silk dress, beautiful and
simple; fitting low leather shoes, the kind worn by
city folks who can afford them. With Ai Hsiao
Chieh’s girls the veil is always left for her to
arrange. Yours truly is beginning to feel like “the
old lady who lived in a shoe,” marrying off so many
daughters, for they are still my girls. It is fortunate
for the Mission that I do not have the financial
responsibility for all these brides, the standard per-
sonal gift being a leather-bound Bible and hymn-
book, to begin housekeeping with. However, that is
all by the way, and we must proceed with the vital
part of the bride’s attire. The pink veil (white is
the color for funerals) was held in place by a coronet
of brilliants and a few rosebuds and butterflies (arti-
ficial) on both sides. The ends of the veil were car-
ried by two little girls in pink silk (foreign style),
each also carrying a basket of flowers. There were
flowers on both sides of the altar, and the bride
carried a small bouquet. The bridal chairs, facing
the altar, were draped with beautifully embroidered.
red satin covers. The two bridesmaids wore lavender
and yellow silk garments. While the color scheme
was not perfect, according to our notion, the general
effect was bright and not too elaborate.

A Chinese Wedding Dinner.

_ After the ceremony Rev. Theiss and Miss Oel-
schlaeger took pictures of the bridal’ party, and then
came the wedding feast, at which Pastors Fischer
and Theiss, the Evangelists Be and Sen, and the