# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1853 10 11_S28
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

28

But still the flesh was too mighty; the bonds were still too firm which bound the man in particular to heathenism and its unfruitful works. In this state of mind he stood a long time and could not extricate himself. Whenever the word of God's grace now drew near to him, he sought at least for a time to get out of its way, and waited, as Felix once did, for a more convenient season. He would only hold one more feast and gather his heathen companions about him once more; he would only get drunk once more, then he would break off with this old life and begin a new one. Indeed the danger to the soul to which one exposes himself who wilfully and carelessly waits for a more convenient season where the salvation of the immortal soul is concerned was earnestly set before him, but it helped nothing. He did as he had resolved, and no wonder if he thereby fell far back again, and did not let it be at one time, but repeated it still oftener. But how plainly the faithfulness of our good Shepherd now revealed itself, who goes after poor sinners and seeks them untiringly! Had the Lord let him go, he would probably have fallen again so deep that he could never have risen again to a new life, in spite of all his good will and purpose. But the Lord did not let him; He went rather after him, to see whether He might not fetch his poor soul around and lead it to His flock. And to Him, to whom nothing is impossible, to whom no sinner is too bad, it succeeded in making his heart hungry and thirsty for his salvation. After he had for weeks already shown a very earnest demeanor and attended the services almost regularly, he remained sitting alone in the church one Sunday afternoon after the service and wished to speak with me. To my question what his wish was, he answered me in quite Indian fashion: "Nothing at all." They do that even when they have a whole multitude of requests and questions to make. I let myself not be confused by such an answer, for I saw by him that he must have something important on his heart. And it was this which now filled his heart, the longing for grace. It was the question: "What must I do to be saved?" He wished to enroll for preparation for holy Baptism, for which he longed from his heart. I spoke with him of the one thing needful for salvation and made him especially attentive to the untiring long-suffering and faithfulness of God our Saviour, who had now prepared his heart so far and made it willing. Then I appointed him for the next days to catechumen instruction and promised him, at his wish, to baptize him the next Sunday, if he were prepared for it. This time of preparation might seem too short for an adult, but through manifold experience we have learned to be moderate in having them learn by heart. The Indian Catechism is so astonishingly hard to learn that for adults a whole year would not be enough to learn it by heart word for word. Besides, they are so afraid of learning that they might easily be kept back from Baptism thereby, were we to insist earnestly on learning the Catechism by heart. On Monday he presented himself for instruction and was attentive, earnest and eager for salvation. Not a little anxious, however, he made me when he told me on the same evening that he could not come to instruction tomorrow, he must fetch flour for his family. That this made me so anxious came from my fearing that on this journey he might fall again into his old vice of drink, for never yet had he made this trip without getting drunk and bringing brandy home besides.

I called his attention to the danger and did not conceal from him my great anxiety about him, but then he satisfied me with his answer so that my anxieties about him vanished at once. He said with a friendly look that I need not be afraid of it, he had now learned thoroughly how far one gets with drinking and with a life such as he had led hitherto; he would now with God's help make an end of such a life. Gladdened by this utterance I commended him to the grace of God and let him go. The next morning he set out on his journey, and although the place whither he went was 30 English miles from Bethany and the road very bad, he came back already on the second day, and indeed kept from all temptation. The following days he used for his preparation for holy Baptism, which he received the Sunday after. During the solemn act of Baptism he was earnest and revealed a deeply moved heart. "Aninde nintebwoienina" - that is, "Yes indeed, I believe in Him," he said with a loud and emphatic voice. In blessed remembrance of his baptismal covenant he received the name Christian. May the faithful and merciful God grant that he remain a truly stalwart Christianus and glorify the blessed name of Him after whom he is called, in life and in death. He gives us much joy by his sincere walk and lets us hope that perhaps by his example others also may be stirred to forsake the way of destruction and to turn to God. His wife is still a heathen, but will soon follow his example and have herself baptized.

Another married couple, already advanced in years, is now also resolved to be baptized soon. Their former conduct toward the Word of God was like that just told. They have been resolved for a long time to become Christians, but were yet so indifferent as to the salvation of their immortal souls that they put off Baptism from one time to another and wished to let this one and that one go before. And that is the sad state of most aged Indians; they would gladly become Christians, but they think, there is yet time, let another make a beginning. But the Lord bears with them also in this sin with great patience and does not at once withdraw His seeking hand from them. That we have seen plainly in this couple in particular. By the death of a beloved grandchild, which the Lord took to Himself some weeks ago, their hearts have been powerfully shaken. In the funeral sermon I took particular regard of the old grandparents, as also of all still unbaptized (on such an occasion the Indians are all assembled, as many of them as are in the place), and spoke of the great blessedness into which the little child had entered through death, and of the necessity of using the means of grace given us, in order to be able some day to die blessed likewise. Now the Lord has not let His Word be in vain, as we can plainly perceive in the hearts of the grandparents. When I visited them some time ago, the woman, whom I found alone at home, told me that she and her husband were now firmly resolved to have themselves baptized soon. She then came to speak of her grandchild, and said: "If that is true which the Word of God says of the blessedness of believers, then our little child is indeed very blessed." What better and dearer thing could I do than to prove to her once more that it is truth, that such an unspeakable blessedness awaits those who believe. Then she told me that her husband had said before his departure: "We will have ourselves baptized soon, for we do not know how long we shall yet live; we are well today, and tomorrow we may be dead, and how dreadful it would be if we had to die without Baptism, and so without Christ!" May the Lord carry on and complete to His praise and their salvation the good work begun in their hearts.

Besides that already reported, a sad death occurred some weeks ago. Some Indian women, a great-grandmother (our old hundred-year-old blind Sarah), a grandmother, a mother and some children went off in their canoe for several weeks, to fetch rushes and to visit once in his place Pastor Sievers, whom they still love dearly from his time here. On the return journey God, according to His unsearchable counsel, allowed a child, about a year and a quarter old, to fall into the Pine River and find its death there. The Methodists, in their devilish malicious joy, thought they saw here again a finger of God, how displeasing our Lutheran doctrine is to Him; they were not ashamed to say that this death was a plain proof of the falsity of our doctrine. But how do they mean to prove that? It happened indeed so wonderfully that the circumstances seemed to speak for them. On a Sunday morning, when a Methodist from another band of Indians, at these Indians camping on the Pine River,