Vikner, David W. (1881-1958)

David Wilhelm Vikner was born in Mead, Nebraska on July 18, 1881, one of twelve children of Victor Jonas Anderson, commonly known as Jonas in the U.S., and the former Anna Sofia Mathilda Carlson. Jonas had emigrated from N⁴rke province, Sweden in 1867 while Anna had come from ₉sterg₄tland province, Sweden.

Jonas homesteaded a farm two miles south of Mead, Nebraska in his early U.S. years, but by the 1880s he earned his living as a carpenter and house builder. Neither he nor his wife had received much of an education, yet both were well-versed in the Bible, devoutly leading family devotions twice a day. Jonas often preached at his church when the pastor was away, as well as serving there as Sunday School Superintendent for thirty-three years and a deacon for nearly forty.

Young David Vikner attended the public school when it was in session and also attended the parochial school when possible, where Swedish was taught. After finishing the sixth grade David was given three years of confirmation instruction, after which he entered Luther Academy at Wahoo, Nebraska. Smallpox broke out in the vicinity, the school was put under quarantine, but instead of remaining at the school David, who later described himself in this period as a "young fool student," ran away with a few other students and ended up in Omaha, where he worked as a laborer until he was injured. He then returned home, much to the relief of his parents, especially his mother, who declared that she had been praying fervently and was thankful for his return and even for the injury that had brought it about. David joined his father and later his older brother in carpentry work. In the autumn of 1904 David's mother was suffering from cancer and he paid her faithful visits during which she urged him, as she did his brothers and sister, to accept Christ as his personal savior. David was conscious of having lived a sinful life during his time in Omaha, and one evening he promised his dying mother "I am going to see you again." After her death David's conviction of sin deepened and he found no peace through church attendance or the confession of his sins. Finally his devout father helped him see that his only recourse was reliance on the free gift of grace through Christ. He urged his son to read the seventh and eighth chapters of Romans, and David found the following verses particularly meaningful: "Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me out of this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Also, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Jesus Christ. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and death." This rebirth of his faith occurred in February 1905.

David now wondered what he should do with his life. He first decided to complete his education. In the summer of 1905 he returned to Luther Academy, offering his skills as a carpenter in return for tuition. He helped construct a men's dormitory, enrolled in the autumn of 1905 and graduated in 1908. David then enrolled at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, but could not continue after one term as his funds were insufficient. He therefore accepted a call to serve as pastor at a Lutheran congregation at Ironwood, Michigan, where many in his congregation were transient workers in the local mines. Though David enjoyed the work, he left after a time and decided to return to carpentry work in the Omaha area. But while stopping in Duluth, Minnesota, he spoke with a pastor who strongly urged him to continue in the ministry. The pastor obtained home mission work for David in the vicinity for six weeks, after which David returned to Augustana College to complete his work there as well as the course at Augustana's Theological Seminary. Upon his graduation in June 1914 he was ordained at Sycamore, Illinois on June 14, 1914. He married Lily Hannah Callerstrom of Gowrie, Iowa on June 23, 1914. She was born in Gowrie on January 28, 1884.

In the autumn of 1914 the Vikners departed for China as missionaries in the Honan Province field of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America. For the first year they attended the Central China Language School at Kikungshan. In 1915-1916 they served at Yu Hsein, followed by Linju Hsien in 1916-1918. In 1918-1921 they served in Kia Hsien. For a year during this latter period they also.

Worked at Paofeng when the regular missionaries of that area were away. The Vikners left China in September 1921 for their first furlough. During five months of the furlough David served as pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Upon their return to Honan Province in September 1922 the Vikners found that warring factions had destroyed parts of Kia Hsien and Paofeng. The Vikner's home at Kia Hsien was subsequently looted twice, but the Vikners were not hurt. In February 1927 the Vikners and all other missionaries in Honan were ordered to return home by the U.S. government in light of Communist activities in the area. Unable to return to China for three years, the Rev. Vikner served a congregation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1927-1928 and another in Dunnell, Minnesota in 1928-1930.

Upon their return to Honan province in 1930 the Vikners settled at Yu Hsien, serving there and in the adjourning district. Violence continued to plague the area. On June 26, 1932, while seeking relief from the summer heat at Kikungshan, the Vikner family of five was kidnapped by Communist troops, along with Mr. and Mrs. Arthur E. Nyhus and their child, and Mrs. Erik Sovik and her son. All were released the next day except for Pastor Vikner and Arthur Nyhus, who were held for several more days. Pastor Vikner was beaten somewhat about the legs for refusing to surrender his glasses. When he and Nyhus were released they were given money for train tickets.

During the early 1930s the Vikners and other missionaries worked hard to establish an indigenous church that would be able to survive future interruptions to the work of the Western missionaries. Chinese ministers were ordained, augmented by evangelists and Bible women. During this period a revival occurred within the Chinese church, evidenced by much prayer and fervent singing. The Vikners concluded their third term in the Honan field in April 1937 and returned to the U.S. on furlough.

In July 1937 full-scale war broke out between China and Japan and much of Honan Province was soon under Japanese control. As Japan was not yet at war with the Western powers the Vikners were permitted to return to Honan in November 1938, where they centered their work at Kai Feng. However, the Japanese closely monitored the Vikners and interfered constantly with their work. This, their fourth term in China, ended prematurely in September 1940 as Mrs. Vikner's health had begun to fail.

On November 10, 1940 Pastor Vikner began serving at Spring Lake Evangelical Lutheran Church, North Branch, Minnesota. In around 1943 he left this church and became the pastor of a joint parish in South Dakota, the Zion Lutheran Church at Carthage and the Clara Lutheran Church at Erwin. He resigned from this dual parish in September 1944 to move to Chicago, where he served as a city missionary at the Augustana Inner Mission.

In December 1944 Mrs. Vikner underwent a major operation for cancer which was relatively successful. By early 1946, however, she was experiencing severe stomach pains and in May her condition was diagnosed as inoperable. In early August the Vikners left Chicago and relocated to St. Peter, Minnesota, to live with their daughter and son-in-law Ruth and Frances Gamelin. Within days of their arrival, however, Mrs. Vikner was hospitalized and died on September 16, 1946. Memorial donations in her honor were designated for the purchase of a new organ at the Kai Feng Lutheran Church, where she had served as organist from 1938-1940.

Even before Mrs. Vikner's death she had urged her husband to return to China on his own, now that World War II was over and missionaries were returning to their fields there. In December 1946 Pastor Vikner returned to Honan for his fifth and final term, where he returned to Kai Feng. The Chinese Civil War had resumed in northern China following the end of World War II and by 1947 was threatening central China and Honan Province. As late as November 13, 1947, Pastor Vikner wrote from Kai Feng that the Communists were not making much headway, but by January 1948 most of the province had been lost to them and he had fled Kai Feng for Shanghai. Pastor Vikner was then appointed by the Augustana Synod as its contact man for Honan, with responsibility for securing the well-being of his fellow Augustana missionaries from Honan, both those who were already with him in Shanghai and those who were still caught in Honan, and communicating developments to the board in the U.S. By the spring of 1948, with the displaced missionaries accounted for and temporarily housed, David was assigned to canvass the remaining areas of Nationalist China for new fields for the Augustana missionaries. This took him to Hong Kong, Kunming, and Yunnan. He then spent the summer of 1948 with many of the Augustana missionaries on the island of Kuling, where he was responsible for accommodations. In the fall of 1948 David resumed travel around the government-held areas of southern China, looking after Augustana missionaries, helping coordinate mission finances, and also aiding Chinese Christians. He was apparently back in Shanghai in late November 1948, but not long after that left China for the last time and returned to the U.S.

On April 30, 1949, Pastor Vikner married Mrs. Gladys Callerstrom, sister-in-law of his late wife. He formally resigned as a China missionary on October 1, 1949, announcing to the Board of Foreign Missions that he was beginning that day as pastor of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Newman Grove, Nebraska. At some point in the 1950s he left Nebraska and served as pastor of a church in Annandale, Minnesota, from which he retired on December 1, 1957, thereafter living in Buffalo, Minnesota. In early 1958 he submitted an article to a magazine and began assembling material "for a book or two," but these projects were cut short by his death in Minnesota on October 19, 1958.

David W. and Lily Vikner had three children, all born in China: Ruth Mathilda, born May 22, 1915 (later Mrs. Francis Gamelin); David Luther, born December 1, 1916 at Linju Hsien; and Carl Filip, born October 28, 1920.

From the description of David W. and Lilly H. Vikner Papers 1909-1970 ; 1921-1948. (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Library). WorldCat record id: 71834412