Weather-wise and food-wise, some like it hot. Liberia is just the place for both. This smallish West-African country is part of the “Pepper Coast,” so named for the Malagueta Pepper. It’s prevalent up and down the coast and it’s piping hot!  These elongated fire hazards scorch like the November sun sizzling the country.  Doesn’t take much at all to burn the tip of your tongue or the back of your throat.

However, we didn’t journey all the way to the West Coast for
the weather or the peppers.  That being
said, it was actually nigh unto impossible to escape the intense heat of either
one so we were very thankful for cool fans and cold water! We made the trip to
Liberia to make plans with two groups for moving forward with our Mission
Outreach efforts in that country: the Confessional Lutheran Church of Liberia
(CLCL) and the Royal Family Fellowship International (RFFI). Each its own
separate, independent body. Each its own synod. Each has its own official
Registration with the Liberian Government. 

Since each synod is standing on its own and plan to stay
that way, what brought them together as one group during our recent trip? Their
burning desire – but not for Malaguetas. Though each of these two established
Synods wants to maintain its own identity, they both have a sharp interest in
our own Synod, the WELS.  The WELS has
the cool, refreshing waters of Salvation in Jesus Christ – and that is
something that these two groups are intensely passionate about!

Setting their sights on the possibility of a declaration
of fellowship with WELS in the future, CLCL and RFFI have been asking loads of
questions:

• On what doctrines does the WELS stand?
• To what creeds does the WELS ascribe?
• What sacraments do the WELS administer?
• For what purpose does WELS exist?
• How does WELS view the Scriptures?

These Liberians love to search the Bible.  They desire to learn what God says.  They want to compare what WELS preaches and
teaches to what the Scriptures say and proclaim.  They humbly but admirably check to see if
what their teachers say is true.  Maybe
we could refer these Liberians as LIBEREANS!  Listen to the glowing commentary about the
Bereans that Dr. Luke wrote in Acts 17:11, “Now the Bereans were of more
noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with
great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said
was true.” To our dear brothers and sisters in Liberia: “Keep asking,
keep checking, keep searching, keeping examining the Scriptures!  Your questions are good. All of them!” All
of which, quite some time ago, have started to be answered by teachers,
professors and pastors of the WELS. 

Over the years, a covey of WELS Called workers has been
helping this Liberian Mission Outreach by bringing short courses and trainings.
What a blessing and what an opportunity to pause and thank the Lord for each
one of them for the faithful and hard work they’ve done in Liberia! By God’s
grace, the work continues.  Because of
the November 2019 trip, plans are now in motion for further meetings in March
and November 2020 with the purpose of exploring fellowship.

Obviously, this venture is something that takes time,
travel and funding.  A total of six trips
are in the plan.  Even though all of this
teaching may cover 2+ years, both Liberian groups are ready for this
undertaking.

Judging from the looks and sounds of things there will be
lots of questions and lots of answers, just like Luther’s Small Catechism contains
lots of questions and answers. It is this very book, the Small Catechism,
as well as Know the Truth, a book authored by WELS Missionary Dan Kroll,
that will serve as the basis for the trainings for all mission outreach
groups in Africa – not just Liberia – on the path to fellowship. Missionary Dan
Kroll, who is currently living in Malawi, is a member of the One Africa Team
(OAT), He is the OAT designated Liaison for Liberia.   He and others will be making the trips.  Missionary Kroll offers this insightful
comment:

“Working in Liberia is like falling into a pot of stew,
including the peppers.  It does get hot
and there is a lot of stirring that happens whenever we meet.  People in Liberia are eager to know the
gospel and examine regularly how it fits, not only into the culture of the
land, but also into their own personal lives. 
The comfort of knowing – “my sins are forgiven.”  The excitement of going – “in the power of
the Holy Spirit I can find a way to honor my Lord.”  There is work to be done in Liberia – the
most exciting work ever: to make people know what a great God we have.”

Missionary John Hartmann, the One Africa Team (OAT) Mission Outreach Leader shares his “heart burn” about the Mission Outreach in Liberia: “Those peppers sure did leave a burn on my tongue! But peppers are not the only thing burning in Liberia. Peoples’ ears are burning to hear the refreshing and comforting message of God’s love and forgiveness found only in Jesus, our Savior! His Gospel is not just a spice, but the staple food that all people need every day. In the Bible, we have the perfect recipe for joy and peace for everyone! Let’s share!”

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

Do your
best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to
be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Tim. 2:15

In many places, the pastors of the LCCA are the most educated men in
their locales. People living in rural communities attend primary school but
most leave secondary school before receiving their diploma. Churches offer
Sunday School for children and Confirmation Instruction for Adults who want to
become members, but it is difficult for pastors to conduct advanced Bible
Classes because each pastor is responsible for 3-6 congregations.

How do we bridge the gap in Biblical knowledge of an LCCA
member who wants to enroll in our Worker Training program but barely
understands what it means to be a Lutheran? In Malawi and Zambia we do not have
Lutheran Elementary and Preparatory/Area Lutheran High Schools. Instead, the
Worker Training System of the LCCA Malawi and Zambia relies heavily on a
program called “Theological Education by Extension” or T.E.E. for short. 

The T.E.E. program was initially set up by Missionary Ernst
H. Wendland in 1963 in Zambia. He recognized that men coming from a rural
setting needed to receive additional preparation before they began their formal
studies for the ministry. Instead of sending these men far away from their
families and villages, the T.E.E. program is administered locally by the
pastors who are serving in the field. 

Under the guidance of their pastor, candidates for the
ministry work through four in-depth courses on Lutheran doctrine and Bible
history. The students study at their own pace, meeting occasionally with their
pastor who reviews the material with them. This system works well in remote
areas, where the pastor only makes visits 2-3 times a year.

Under our current Worker Training system, every three years
there is an intake of new students. Men who have completed the T.E.E.
coursework present themselves for a test and an interview with the faculties of
our Worker Training schools in Malawi or Zambia. Out of about 40 men who
applied during the last intake in 2017, only 12 were accepted. In spite of
this, there is some attrition of students during the six years of formal study
due to academic or personal reasons.

Overall, the T.E.E. program has served the needs of the LCCA
Worker Training Program well over the years.  Currently there are 8 students enrolled at the
Lutheran Seminary in Lusaka, and 16 students enrolled at the Lutheran Bible
Institute in Lilongwe. We ask God that every one of these men completes their
studies and receives a call into the ministry. 

Missionary John Roebke
serves 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

What do 10-year-olds in rural South Dakota know about Africa? Probably what a textbook or teacher has taught him or her. Probably that there are seven continents, and Africa is one of them. If they attend a WELS grade school, perhaps they know that there are missionaries in Africa. A 10-year-old South Dakotan would probably do better at telling you how to operate a combine than how to locate either Malawi or Cameroon on a map.

On October 31st and November 22nd, students from St. Martin’s in Watertown, SD, had the opportunity to Skype with missionaries from Africa and learn some lessons I pray will stick with them for life.

Why Africa? Why Watertown, SD? What’s the connection? How and why did a partnership developed between St. Martin’s Lutheran School in Watertown, South Dakota, and the One Africa Team?

Two months ago, St. Martin’s students wrote letters to 12 missionaries and their families across the world. Huge 25×30 inch letters were written with big handwriting and colorful somewhat messy pictures. The letters shared that students were praying on behalf of the missionaries, their families and their congregations. Students asked what life was like in their settings and shared Bible passages to encourage missionaries and their families.

We heard back from many of the missionaries. Some sent email replies. Another missionary sent a 12-minute YouTube video response. It was rewarding for students to hear back from these missionaries and their families. Through back-and-forth discussions with John Roebke, a missionary on the One Africa Team, we decided to attempt a Skype call between Missionary Roebke and the entire St. Martin’s school.

Because neither St. Martin’s nor Missionary Roebke had tried this “live audience” Skyping presentation method before, we held a test Skype call and worked through some of the technology glitches and operator error.

The day of the presentation was Reformation Day, Wednesday, October 31, 2018. (St. Martin’s has chapel on Wednesday mornings at 8:30.) After chapel, we showed a slideshow of images from Malawi and a short video of John’s security guards preparing and eating lunch. These served as background information and a “lead up” of sorts to the actual Skype call and presentation. At 9:04 am in Watertown, SD (4:04 pm in Lilongwe, Malawi), we called John Roebke. He answered. His face showed up about 12 feet tall on our two large screens in church and he greeted all of the St. Martin’s students with a “Happy Reformation Day!”

John spent 15 minutes sharing about life in Malawi: the food, the people, the place and what his ministry was like. As we Skyped I remember thinking it was incredible that we were over 8,800 miles away and yet were able to interact and hear a presentation from a real-life missionary. After his presentation, the students asked questions they had prepared. What is the weather like? (Hot.) What kinds of food do you eat? (Nsima, mangoes and pineapples) How big is your congregation? (40,000 members, because I get to help produce sermon books for all the congregations of the LCCA in Malawi) Do you ever miss home? (This is my home.)

Three weeks later on, on Friday, November 22, we were able to Skype with a second missionary and his wife who serve as part of the One Africa Team: Dan and Karen Kroll, who serve in Cameroon. Because of the tense political state in Cameroon, Cameroon was no longer a safe place to be. Instead the Krolls were staying at a house in Malawi. We were able to Skype with them and hear about how the Christians in Cameroon, who need our prayers, are still committed to sharing God’s Word during this time of political unrest.

We also heard about a day in the life of Dan and Karen. Dan shared how he gets to serve as a teacher for individuals looking to become pastors in Cameroon. Karen shared how she enjoyed serving in whatever way needed as a missionary’s wife – including everything from a morning of exterminating rats in their house to driving an ambulance in the afternoon. Additionally, Karen explained how she leads Bible studies for the wives of Dan’s seminary students.

Once again, students were able to ask questions: What is the weather like? (Hot) What is church like? (Sometimes a long distance to travel) Where is your home? (We’ve lived and served in Africa for over 20 years in Malawi and Cameroon. This is our home.)

The experience opened students’ eyes. Students were able to see and talk to a real-life missionaries in real time over 8,800 miles away. Students learned that missionaries serve in multiple ways; they not only preach, but also teach, write and encourage as a big part of their ministries. Students heard that missionaries were happy to serve in their homes of Africa, and that Africa is indeed their home.

Both John and the Krolls closed their respective Skype sessions in the same way. They encouraged the students to consider how they might serve God, not only now, but also in the future. They planted a seed for mission work perhaps somewhere down the line and urged students to think about how they might be able to share Jesus with others.

The Skyping experience was a wonderful opportunity. It provided our St. Martin’s students an opportunity to hear why and how missionaries share Jesus with others. It was free and fairly easy to organize. Students now have a few real faces and names to connect with mission work in Africa. We look forward to Skyping again and,we look forward to seeing how God blesses the missions in Africa and the students here in South Dakota.

Jonathan Niemi is the Principal of St. Martin’s Lutheran School in Watertown, S.D.

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