At Christmas time my family and I display some of our nativities in remembrance of our newborn King.  When setting them up and seeing them displayed, my mind immediately recalls the time I once bought a crèche in an open air market here in Lilongwe, Malawi. Picture this:  Mary and Joseph and Jesus, some shepherds, the Wise Men, a star, a cow, a couple of sheep, a donkey or two…and a hippo.

Ok, granted, it is Malawi. It is Africa.  And hippopotami are abundant here.  And to top it all off, it is a very different culture from the USA.

But a nativity scene hippo?  Hmmm…maybe this explains a few things.

For years I always pictured that Joseph was wide-eyed in amazement because of the birth of the Baby.  Now I’m wondering if his eyes were like saucers because he was a bit worried and astonished that the three-toed barrel-shaped beast with the beady eyes, big mouth, and bad breath was meandering just a bit too close to the manger.

We all love to sing Silent Night and we seem to think that all was indeed calm, but now I doubt if it was really all that quiet. I mean if the cattle were lowing, the sheep were baaing, the donkeys braying, and now the hippo gets a bit edgy and chimes in with its snorting, grunting, bellowing and blowing, then maybe the Baby was crying after all with the noise!  And yet we faithfully and confidently proclaim “No crying He makes” when we sing Away in a Manger.

The INCARNATION!

The “ten dollar” word that means God became Man.

The second Person of the Trinity, True God, became the “first-born among many brothers,” True Man! (Romans 8:29).  Born to die! Died to live! Descended to earth so that we might ascend to Heaven!

That means we can sing Joy to the World with gusto all year round if we want!   We have untold, incalculable, immeasurable, even indescribable joy!  Not just on the 25^th of the last month of the year.

That gives us reason to worship every day of the year!  All around the globe Lutherans are worshiping this Christmas season.   Which brings up something to ponder again at this time:  Lutherans worship in different cultures and different cultures worship in different ways.

Lutherans in fellowship worship in different ways.  Even at Christmas.

The instruments played in your church may not be the ones in ours.  Dancing choirs may be common place here, but not there.  Your congregation dresses one way, but they do so differently on the other side of the world…or maybe even on the other side of town.

There really wasn’t a hippo in the stable on that first Christmas in Bethlehem, but it didn’t seem to bother the marketer much that he included one in the nativity set he sold me.   I walked away with a good deal and a good deal to ponder each Christmas in Africa: there are many differences at Christmas time in Malawi compared to an American Christmas in Wisconsin.  Here are some:

No snow!  While you may be singing “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,” we are opening up our umbrellas because it’s the front end of the rainy season.

Decorations?  There are a few but there are probably more in one Wisconsin Walmart than in the whole country of Malawi. 

I’ve never seen a Christmas tree set up in a Malawian house.

Strings of lights framing houses?  Are you kidding?  Most houses don’t have electricity hooked up and the ones that do don’t have power most of the time anyway.

The most common and most favorite Christmas meal in Malawi seems to be chicken and rice.

I have never seen or heard of a Living Nativity in Malawi enacting the Christmas story.  (Maybe it’s because it’s too difficult to get the hippo to cooperate). 

Plenty of differences, but there are also similarities. God’s people gather for worship.  Sins are confessed and songs are raised. The Word of God is preached. The Bethlehem Story is pondered. Gospel news is shared.  Fellowship is enjoyed. The Babe in the manger is honored with humble gifts and worshiped with happy voices.

I just have to smile….at the absurdity of it all.  There are many things more surprising than a hippo in a Nativity set!  Imagine… A God in love with us! A night sky of angels exploding in song! Shepherds who seek! A virgin birth! A believing husband-to-be! God becoming Man! A leading star! Wise men who followed and those who still do!

And there still are missionaries who live in far off lands who, at Christmas time, still set up trees, decorate their houses and string lights even though there’s little power. Some still display nativity sets…with or without a hippo.   On behalf of the Lutheran Mission in Malawi I wish you a most blessed Christ-filled Christmas!

Missionary John Holtz lives in Malawi

Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news and receive updates. Go to this link to learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa

My name is Missionary Jeff Heitsch, and I just returned from my very first visit to Nigeria. I spend half of my time working with two independent Nigerian Lutheran church bodies. The rest of my time I serve the Lutheran Church of Cameroon, along with Missionary Dan Kroll who accompanied me on this first trip.

The initial date of our first visit to Nigeria had been set for the end of October, but as my wife and I just arrived in Cameroon we were not able to leave until the beginning of November. Due to political tension in Cameroon, and because the land border between Cameroon and Nigeria was closed we began our journey to Nigeria on Friday, November 24^th.  Our purpose was to meet with the leaders of Christ the King Lutheran Church and All Saints Lutheran Church, the two sister church bodies with which the WELS strives to collaborate efforts and to provide financial support.

The majority of the congregations Christ the King Lutheran Church are located in the southeastern part of Nigeria, about two hours north of the town of Calabar. There are also congregations in Calabar and in Port Harcourt.  The church body’s headquarters are located in the town of Uruk Uso.  All Saints Lutheran Church is located in the central part of Nigeria in the area known as the Cross River State, about a 6 to 7 hour drive north from Uruk Uso.

The two church bodies are independent of each other.  Each one teaches their own pre-seminary classes, but they jointly operate a seminary together.  At this time, Christ the King Lutheran Church of Nigeria has enrolled 9 pre-seminary students who will matriculate in March of 2018, and one other man who has already completed his pre-seminary training.  All Saints Lutheran Church of Nigeria currently has 12 students enrolled in their pre-seminary courses, so there is the potential enrollment of 22 seminary students. The seminary operates out of the headquarters of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Uruk Uso where there is a small classroom and limited dorm space.  A bigger classroom and more living quarters will need to be constructed before the new class of students arrive in 2019.

On this first visit we flew into Lagos, Nigeria but had to make a different connection than we originally planned. That added another two hours of travel time by vehicle, but we were eager to attend the worship services of each church body. Mr. Solomon George, who has been driving the WELS Missionaries and visiting teachers for years, agreed to meet us in Calabar. 

On this first visit I met personally with various leaders and national pastors of each church body, and I heard firsthand accounts about the blessings and challenges that each group is facing.  Nigeria is currently in the midst of a severe recession and this has caused severe financial struggles for members, pastors, and the church.  I was appreciative of the opportunity to share the truth of God’s Word and God’s promise to care for us and give us what we need, and to focus on the truth that we already possess a treasure that all the world’s money and riches could never buy – the treasure of salvation through the blood of Jesus our Savior.  I assured all the groups that we would keep them in our prayers, and that we would continue to serve them with God’s Word and encourage good administration and stewardship as we work together in our Gospel ministry.

After we booked our flight to Nigeria, the land border between Nigeria and Cameroon was opened up. We decided to return to Cameroon by car as a test case. We arrived at the border on a crowded and busy day, so we had to cross on foot rather than being dropped off with our luggage.  When we arrived in Nigeria there was an unexpected surprise waiting for us – our wives came to pick us up! We pray that this border crossing will continue to be open as it allows us to make much more efficient use of our time and money. I am looking forward to my next visit at the end of February, when I will have the opportunity to meet the seminary students.

Missionary Jeff Heitsch lives in Cameroon. His wife Stephanie has been blogging about their experiences at https://jsheitsch.wixsite.com/africa

Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news and receive updates. Go to this link to learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts  https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa

“Amazing Grace”—we Americans love this song!  Recently I used this popular song and its local language equivalent “Chisomo Chodabwitsacho” as a springboard to truly understanding “GRACE” at a women’s meeting at Crown of Life Lutheran Church in Lilongwe, Malawi. With it we reviewed the theme, “Salvation comes by Grace,” which we had boldly proclaimed in red to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.     

Women love singing in Malawi Lutheran worship services!   My goal was to capitalize on the enthusiasm of singing to further reflect on the amazing truth that God saved us through Jesus.  I directed the 35 women in attendance to divide into 11 groups.  They quickly practiced singing a stanza of the hymn or reading a verse from Psalm 25 aloud.

The participants were well prepared to share their part with the large group.  First, I called forward the group that I assigned the first verse of “Chisomo Chodabwitsacho—Amazing Grace.”  We pondered the question, “What is Grace?”  We discussed how grace “saved me” and how it gave life.  Then I called forward the groups who I assigned to read Psalm 25: 6 and 7.  We discussed how “mercy,” “steadfast love” and “goodness” are the reason why individuals ask the Lord to “remember” them.  We answered the question, “Who am I?” with the song’s description – “a complete sinner.”  The group assigned to read Psalm 25:11 added that we are individuals who need the Lord to “pardon my guilt, for it is great.”

After listening to another group sing stanza 2 of “Chisomo Chodabwitsacho—Amazing Grace,” we pursued the answer to “What has the Lord done?”  In Chichewa we exuberantly exclaimed that “grace removed the fear of death when people believe in the Lord Jesus.”  The groups who read aloud Psalm 25: 7 and 11 connected us to the Lord, “the God of my Salvation.” We pleaded Him “for Your name’s sake” to “pardon” us and to not remember “the sins of…youth or… transgressions.”

Then we pondered, “So, what path do I now want as a Christian?” The group that sang stanza 3 of “Chisomo Chodabwitsacho—Amazing Grace” reminded us that the Lord has cared for us and will continue to care for us until we reach home.  The group that read Psalm 25:8-9 reminded us to stay in the Lord’s truth. We asked that we know His ways and paths given in the Bible.

The group assigned the last stanza of the hymn echoed, “I will sing of His grace at home, praising the Lord in unending time.” But are we “at home with God” only after we die?  The group that read Psalm 25:1 stated, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.”  We asked God to “guard my soul, and deliver me” for “I take refuge in You.”  As a grand finale, our voices completely filled the church by singing all four verses of “Chisomo Chodabwitsacho—Amazing Grace.”  With this song study we had a foretaste of praising God our Savior in heaven.  We pray that it reminds us that God’s Word is for all of us to share and reflect on each day on the path home.

Nancy Roebke lives in Lilongwe, Malawi where her husband, Missionary John Roebke serves as the Missionary of Publications

Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news and receive updates. Go to this link to learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts  https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa