The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1932, Page 108

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108

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

warm hearts will then warm others. A thorough,
thoughtful, and prayerful reading of the missionary
monthly will beget and strengthen our interest and
make us more and more willing to obey the great
commission of our ascending Lord. To such a
reader the missionary monthly will be an impelling
force onward. To the Christian of larger vision,
of quickened heart and conscience, it is the eagerly
awaited forthcoming instalment of a new chapter
in the story of the progress of the Kingdom and the
herald of that day when Jesus shall come to take
us with Him there where every knee will bow to
Him in willing homage and forever sing His praises
as the King. F. J. L.

Two Hundred Years of Moravian
Missions.

The Moravian Church, which was founded in
Herrnhut, Saxony, in 1722, is celebrating the bi-
centennial of its missionary endeavors this year.
From the very beginning, when a little band of
Moravian exiles, who on account of persecution took
refuge on the estate of Count von Zinzendorf, who
later on identified himself with them, the Unitas
Fratrum, as they are also known, has been very
zealous in carrying the Gospel to the heathen.

In 1732 they sent two of their number, Leonard
Dober and David Nitschmann, from Herrnhut to
the Island of St. Thomas to preach the Gospel to
the slaves. This marked the beginning of their
extensive missionary program. Within ten years
other missionaries were sent to the Eskimos in
Greenland,.to Northern Russia, to the Gold Coast
of Africa, to the Hottentots of the Cape of Good
Hope, to the Negro slaves of Dutch Guiana, to the
Arawak Indians in British Guiana, to the Indian
tribes in North America, and to the Singhalese in
Asia. Although the Home Church in continental
Europe and in America numbers but 40,078 com-
municants, they have a total number of 140,873
converted heathen enrolled, of which number 46,431
are communicant members of the Church. In the
two hundred years since the first missionaries were
sent out there have been commissioned 1,555 mis-
_ sionaries. Jn addition, there have been sent into
‘the mission-fields 62 business men and 93 single
women. 236 native missionaries and preachers and
one native single woman missionary are also in-
_ cluded in their list of workers. They have at pres-
ent 262 missionaries in the field, 185 main stations,

177 filials, 649 preaching-places, 1,822 native assis-

tants, and 40,806 children, mostly of converts, in

school. This is probably the only case of a Church
in which the heathen converts outnumber the mem-
bership at home.

The Society of the United Brethren for Propa-
gating the Gospel among the Heathen, which is the
American section of the Moravian Church, was or-
ganized in 1745, reorganized in 1787, incorporated
in 1788, and has its headquarters in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania. — New Bulletin, N.L.C.

Aunt Liza’s Plea.

Possibly I’s done been axed to speak to yuse on
dis heah money queshun ’cause I’s got so little my-
self; derefo’ I’s bettah able to tell yu all how
serious a mattah it am to be widoud money.

It suah am cour’ous dat, when folks gits money, —
dey is all at once changed into magnets, what hol’s
all dat teches it; an’ den dere am sech a scarceness
ub de magnetizin’ stuff called brudderly lub dat it
am almos’ impossible to git any ub dar gol’ away
from dem into the Cullud Mission box. It’s always
done puzzled me, when de mission mite box am
passin’, to see some folks so busy looking out de
winder dat de box has done passed befo’ dey took
notice ub it. But I has done took notice dat dey
is awful’ int’rested in wedder dere neighbo’ has done
put anyting in de box. At sech times it am very
noticeable how busy Satan am distractin’ dere ’ten-
tion from de gol’en opportunity ub giben dere little
pa’t to de Lawd’s kingdom.

Ef yu all want to git some exercise some day,
jis’ go wid de missionary sum day when he goes
visitin’, an’ de grip yu hab on yu pocketbook will
loosen, till by night yu’ll only hab yu cah fare left,
and dat self-satisfied look dat yu stahted out wid
in de mo’ning will done hab gone wid de sunshine
yu will hab strewn on de way, an’ yu will hab a
happy look in yu eyes, as dough yu had done seen
an angel. Ef folks only knowed it, doin’ good in
de name ub de Lawd is able always to leab a bright-
ness on de face, eben if it be a black one.

Jis lately I was minded to ax a white lady who
owns a big touring-cah fo’ a little mite fo’ our
Cullud Mission fund, fo’ I done seed her little girl
buyin’ candy and sech tings ebery day and felt
suah she would contribulate right smaht. But she
says, says she: “Liza, de car am so ’spensive to
keep I is unable to gib yu anyting.” Den de tought
came to me dat she pe’haps am intendin’ to dribe
to de heabenly home in he’ automobile — an’ it am

likelie’ dan not she will, fo? dere suah am lot ob