The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1930, Page 187

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

187

treatment-rooms, 1,523 schools, in which 61,774
pupils and students are enrolled, and 56 printing-
plants, issuing literature in 141 languages. The
average annual contribution of each member of the
body for foreign missions is $17.65, while the
average per-capita gift is $68.33 for all church-
purposes. In 1929 the Seventh-day Adventists sent
out 154 foreign workers, and in the five preceding
years 876 men and women left for foreign fields.

The Harvest Is Great. — There .are about 1,900
million people living on our earth to-day. Of these,
approximately 682 million are Christians, 940 mil-
lion are heathen, 209 million are Mohammedans,
and 15 million are Jews. What a tremendous op-
portunity for us to be about our Father’s business!
Shall we be idle while there is all this work to be
done?

Relative Strength of Churches in New York
City. — “Roman Catholic, 900 churches; Lutheran,
540; Presbyterian, 473; Protestant Episcopal, 327 ;
Methodist Episcopal, 300; Reformed Church in
America, 245; Congregational, 129; Baptist, 108;
Jewish synagog, 102; Christian Science, 101;
Seventh-day Adventist, 50; Methodist Protestant,
30; Reformed Church in the United States, 21;
Unitarian, 20; Evangelical Church, 17; Mora-
vian, 13; Evangelical Synod of North America, 11;
Universalist, 10; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, 1.” These statistics show Lutheran
churches in New York to be second in number to
the Roman Catholics and to lead all others.

Santo Domingo’s Catastrophe. — The awful
hurricane that swept over Santo Domingo a few
months ago left in its wake thousands that are
hungry, penniless, homeless, crippled, sick, and
discouraged. Desolation, despair, and death rule
supreme. Four thousand were killed, more than
15,000 were wounded, and 90 per cent. of the city
of Santo Domingo was laid waste. The great dis-
tress resulting from the hurricane has been greatly
increased by incessant tropical rains.

The Story of a Peruvian Military Man.

Mr. John Ritchie, who writes the following
story, was a missionary in Peru for twenty-three
years and can for this reason speak as one who has
seen and heard. The story is taken from the Bible
Society Record.

“Senor! senor! The Commandant of Gen-
darmes says you are to go to his office immediately !”

Had it not been for the tone of his voice, the

message of Don Juan would have rather alarmed
me; but he was distinctly pleased, though excited.
As we went up the way to the barracks, he told me
what had happened. He was selling his books in one
of the plazas in Lima, when a young man in mili-
tary uniform asked whether perchance he had a
New Testament. On being shown several, the
young man ordered him to bring all his books to
the office of the colonel, Commander-in-chief of the
Gendarmes. Though somewhat afraid, my man
reckoned it discreet to do as he was bidden.

When they arrived at the office, the comman-
dant examined the several New Testaments and
chose the finest. As he would not be convinced that
the New Testament was a part of the Bible, he
bought one of these also. He then became inter-
ested in some of the other books dealing with Bible
themes and inquired who sent colporteurs out with
these books. Don Juan explained and was sent off
forthwith to bring his chief, the bag of books being
retained meanwhile. Hence the urgency of the mes-
sage that came to me.

The colonel was manifestly delighted to meet me
and immediately put me at ease. He paid for
several books which he had selected, sent Don Juan
about his business, put everybody out of the office,
and shut the door. He questioned me as to how we
sold these books so cheaply, since manifestly it was
not business at the prices charged, and what my
interest was in doing this kind of thing in Peru.
I told him of the Christian people in Protestant
lands who give of their substance to support this
work and then asked him why he had such an in-
tense interest in the New Testament, seeing that
he was manifestly ignorant of all things pertaining
to the evangelical movement. In reply he told me
the following story : —

At the time of the Pacific War between Chile
and Peru he was a high-school lad in Arequipa,
rather delicate and considered quite unfit for mili-
tary service. But he succeeded in evading parental
control and gained admission to the army. He
fought through the later phases of the war under
General Caceres, taking part in the guerrilla war-
fare with which this general maintained alive the
cause of Peru. Having returned to his family in
Arequipa after the final defeat of his chief, he was
on the ground to join him again, when, after the
conclusion of peace, the general took up arms
against the president set up by the Chileans. He
took an active part in that revolution, which made
General Caceres President of Peru. His loyalty
and service were rewarded with promotion and his