The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1932, Page 107

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

107

The Pope’s people, the enemies of the truth,
persecuted the pastor and those that accepted the
Gospel; but the pastor and his people proved faith-
ful to their Catechism even in prison. By order
of the duke they were soon set free, and the Gospel
was freely preached in that part of the country.

The name of that place is Hermannsburg, and
many years ago a mission-house was built there,
and many a missionary has been sent from that
house down into Africa to preach the Gospel to
the African people.

Let us love our Catechism, the little missionary
that brought the Gospel to that place in the cold
winter-time over three hundred years ago.

R. A. B.

Light Shining in Darkness.

A party of missionaries after a long day of
travel stopped at a little African village. Instead
of receiving a kind welcome, they were greeted with
harsh words and gestures and forbidden to come
into the town. There was danger from lions, but
the missionaries had no choice except to remain out-
side; indeed they were not sure but the villagers
intended harm, they looked so fierce.

Just as twilight came, what a surprise it was to
see a woman approach with a pitcher of milk, some
water, a bundle of wood, and a leg of mutton! She
came silently and began to make a fire and prepare
a meal.

“Why do you show us this kindness?” they
asked.

She looked at them a moment, the tears running
down her cheeks; then she said: “You are the
friends of my Savior; shall I not do this much for
His sake? My heart is full; I cannot speak the
joy I feel to see you.”

This speech was a great surprise to the travelers.
“Here,” they thought, “is a woman, the only Chris-
tian in this region, proving a true and tender love
to Christ; for has He not made kindness shown
to His people for His sake a test of love?”

“Tell us about yourself,” they said. “How is it
possible for you to live a Christian life in this
place ?” 5

“Ah,” she began, “look at this!” (I tell you
her very words as she drew from her bosom a copy
of the New Testament.) “This is the fountain
whence I drink; this is the oil with which I feed
my lamp.”

She had been to a school at a mission-station far
away. ‘There she had: learned to know and love

Christ. When her friends compelled her to go and
live with them, she had carried the New Testament
with her. It was her daily help and joy and
comfort.

The Missionary Monthly —Is It Read?

While an affirmative answer comes from the lips
of thousands among us, there are many more thou-
sands who will have to answer in the negative.
Those who read the missionary monthly will admit
that such reading broadens their sympathies, deep-
ens their love for Christ and their fellow-men, and
increases their interest in every form of work for
Christ. “Know, and you will feel; know, and you
will pray; know, and you will help on.”

The columns of the missionary monthly pré>ent
to us the great facts of missionary history, t
and present. They direct our eyes to far-off cOtp-
tries and tell us of the spiritual needs of the dodf |
mute, the blind, the immigrant, the Negro, '
foreign-speaking citizen. Men and women ‘w
have labored among the freedmen of our own Gew
try or in China and India, along the frontietgyo
the West or in the slums of our large citiesQtelix)
us of their battles and victories, of their disap rahe
ments and successes. The reading of the missiostir
monthly’s columns will stimulate the imagingtigngy

quicken the insight, and enter into the heartof% =

great world problems. Such a paper presents-n¢069 R
nomics, civics, history, biography, romance, n
study, and geography. The regular and intelligent)
reader of a missionary monthly will develop a BIR
tical comprehension of many of the problemsfthat
are the subjects of man’s great concern.

A missionary paper tells of saintly living, Hféaoic
dying, and loving ministry ; it tells the simple story
of the cross and of its stupendous power in trans-
forming lives and whole communities. Its pages
are filled with highest idealism and most practical
realism; it presents life close to the core and shows
the reader history in the making. For the follower
of Christ there can be no comparison between mis-
sionary literature, with its pathos, its truth, its
dignity, its simplicity, its enduring qualities, and
the extravagant and ephemeral pages of the average
novel.

The missionary monthly aims to bring an
authentic history of the progress of God’s kingdom.
For this reason we should read its pages carefully
and reverently. As we read of God’s victories over
sin, let our hearts be lifted to God in prayer. This
will make the fire blaze, and by God’s grace our

, MO.

LOU!