Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1909-07-09

plush scarf about his throat somewhat
like the hangings of an old fashioned
pullman car. His headgear was Jap
anese military cap. Korean children.
like their elders, sit on the floor dur
ing service with the foot of one leg
crossed over the thigh of the other;
and. like their elders, they are quiet
and attentive.
Putting Converts Through the Mill.
After the service was over, the ED
ers gathered around the missionary
and proffered formal request that he
come as soon as possible and spend a
few days in teaching them the Bible
Mr.. Hall had to put them of with a
vague promise, as his field Is too
large for him to do more than look
over it. was interested to note that,
while elsewhere missionaries have to
adopt various devices to attract hear
ers, such as English classes, cooking
classes, etc, in Korea the people seem
to want simply the Bible; and the
missionaries are unable to meet the
demand for the teaching of 1t.
Early the next morning, after a
night which in the interest of deli
cacy would better be passed over with
out comment, the missionary began
the work of examining the 40 appli.
cants for baptism. The three lead
ers" of the local church, and a visit
ing elder from Seoul, sat on the floor
OF our sleeping room, and the candi-
dates were brought in one by one.
The first was man of. 40 who had
learned to read in order to read the
Bible, a common experience among
the Korean converts The next was
boy of IL, son of Christian parents.
Then came young man of %, then
an old man. A bright boy of IL, with
his hair up in a top-knot, in token of
being "a man." had been married
year to a girl of Is, also a believer
Although married, these children re-
side with their own parents; the mis-
sionary instructed them to do so until
they have reached the manageable
age fixed by the church, which is 16
years for girl and Is for a man.
Many such practical problems as
these arise among people fresh from
rank heathenism.
After watching the examinations for
several hours, and having the ques-
lions translated to me, must say that
the fitness of the candidates for
church membership is very rigidly
guarded. The examination is much
more rigid than person has to under
go in order to become a member of
a church in America. l told the mis-
sionary that l would not risk it my
self; he requires almost theological
education on the part of converts.
This strictness is necessary, however,
to keep the people from joining the
church from un-Christian motives; 1t
would be easy otherwise to turn Chris
tianity to political uses in Korea. l
was pleased to note that the strict
ness of the examination was abated
In the case of some ignorant peasant
women. One had been a believer nine
years, and the leaders testified to her
piety; so, although she could not read
nor answer many OF the questions, she
was taken into the church.
All day long the missionary worked
over these examinations, and at five
o'clock he had only got through 26
persons; the others would have to
wait until his next visit. Fourteen Of
no nos
tism and IL retained in the catechu-
men class for a while longer. Just
before dusk a leader went out and
blew a whistle to summon the village
to church, and the people laid aside
their labors and assembled for the
brief and impressive. 1 think l shall
remember the sight of the procession
of white-robed villagers with Bibles
and hymn books under their arms,
filing down the hill from the church at
sunset.
When we FASTENED away from the
village, the people gathered with
many good wishes. The simplicity,
open-heartedness and affection of
these child-like Christians is really az
fecting. Because was with Mr.. Hall
they considered me missionary-in-
law, I suppose, and they sent me of
with such demonstrations of interest
and such repeated benedictions as do
not often fall to the lot Of journalist
It was a new sensation. | really liked
1t so that when on the day following,
a boy carrying ON his back two IT,
foot timbers of telegraph-pole thick
ness Ca Korean coolie will carry four
times his weight and six times his
bulk) stopped me with beaming face
and squeezed my arm, took 1t for
granted that he had seen me at
church and / responded with the salu-
tation of Peace" which 1 had
learned.
AS we went on our way from each
village some of the elders would &C.
company us, as the Ephesian elders
accompanied the Apostle Paul. The
custom is an oriental one, as is also
the constantly repeated salutation Of
"Peacei Peace!"
Summing up the whole trip, three
facts especially impressed me. 1. The
receptivity of the Koreans toward
Christianity, in eagerness and sinceri-
ty. 2. The thoroughness of the work
of the missionary, and the vigilance
with which church membership is
guarded. 3. The remarkable fact
that the missionary has no time to go
after people or do any pioneer evan
gelistic work; the church is propa-
eating itself Here, in two decades,
has been created native church that
is wholly self-supporting and self-ex-
tending. / have no doubt that If the
present missionary force in Korea
we're Quadrupled or sextupled at once
practically the whole nation would be-
come Christian in less than score of
years.
Copyright. by Joseph B. Bowles.)
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