The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1930, Page 36

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36 THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

At Last the Day Breaks!

After ten long years of toil and prayer and
waiting, Moffat finally was granted the happy ex-
perience of seeing the seed springing up here and
there. He noticed how his hearers became more
and more interested in his teaching. Now and then
a telltale tear told of what was going on in the
hearts of his hearers. With great joy he was able
to see that the Word was proving itself to be the
power of God unto many. The chapel became too
small to hold the people who would.come to hear
the Word of Life. He rejoiced to hear songs and
prayers in the houses of the natives. When once
this change had begun to show itself, it grew with
astounding rapidity. Men and women of whose
conversion Moffat had utterly despaired, began to
confess their.sins and bring forth fruit meet for
repentance. The deepest religious concern became
manifest on all sides. Of their own free will the
natives, under the leadership of a runaway slave,
erected a new schoolhouse, fifty-one feet long and
sixteen feet wide. This was finished in May, 1829,
and on the second Sunday in July of the same
year, Moffat was permitted to baptize six adults
with five of their children in this new building.
On this day of gathering in the first-fruits of his
labors, Moffat felt that the promise had been ful-
filled in his experience: “He that goeth forth
and weepeth, bearing precious sced, shall doubtless
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves
- with him.”

A Dog “Eats a Testament”!

Soon the difference between the Christians and
the heathen became so very marked and apparent
that the people began to have the strangest ideas as
to the power of the Gospel. One day, to cite an
instance, a native came to Moffat to tell him that
his dog had eaten a New Testament. Mr. Moffat
tried to console him because of his loss by telling
him that he could easily get another Testament;
but the missionary soon learned that it was not the
loss of the Testament that was troubling the
Bechuan. He said: “I am afraid the dog will be
of no further use to me, for the words of the Testa-
ment are full of love and gentleness, and after the
dog has eaten them, he will probably no longer hunt
or fight for me any more!” However, when the
missionary told him that the Gospel did not work
"by that kind of internal use, he went away satisfied.

But aside from such superstitious ideas, there
actually was to be seen a marvelous change in the
_ people. The miserable huts with their dirty ex-

terior and filthy interior disappeared to make way
for houses that had a neat outside appearance and
were clean inside. Tables and chairs and beds took
the places of mats, and the light of candles shone
through the windows after night had fallen. The
people whom Moffat found ten years before in a
savage state, degraded almost to the level of beasts,
had now their own written language and books, the
latter of which they had been taught to read. Soon
there were but few houses where the Word of God
was not regularly read and where prayers did not
ascend on high from the family altar. F.J.L.
(To be concluded.) 5

' Alabama Luther College News.

On the first Wednesday of every month the
faculty of Alabama Luther College holds a teachers’
meeting for the purpose of discussing aims, objec-

Alabama Luther College, Selma, Ala.

tives, and methods of teaching high-school subjects.
In our midst we have some veterans of the class-
room; therefore discussions of modern pedagogical
principles seasoned with their experience make the
meetings doubly profitable. Faculty meetings are
held on the first Monday of every month.

The Bakke Literary Society is progressing
steadily. The glee club, an organization within the
society, has made several public appearances with
favorable results.

We have nothing new to report concerning ath-
letics. It is the old, old story —we always win!
The girls’ team has not been defeated this season;
and although (due to the fact that they can get
no opponents) we have not seen the boys in action,
we are confident that they are capable of maintain-
ing the high standard set by the girls.

Rey. L. A. Wisler and Mr. Theo. Steinmeyer,
members of the Mission Board, were visitors at the
sessions of the pastoral conference which convened

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