It doesn’t rain in October in Malawi. October is an oven preheated to broil. The sun is intense. The heat blisters. The ground hardens. Rivers dry and the lakes recede. It never rains in October in Malawi.

But to everyone’s surprise, showers fell on the 29^th of October.  People are still talking about it.  “Hey, did you hear…?”  That was the very day that most churches in the Lutheran Church of Central Africa Malawi Synod (LCCA-MS) were celebrating the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation.

A Mother Nature mistake? A global warming mix-up? Climate change chaos?Or…the gift of God?

I prefer the later. After all, if God controls ALL things, then doesn’t He also have command of the weather? Interestingly, as the rains pounded the roof and streaked the windows during the worship service at Our Good Shepherd in Mzimba, the liturgist Pastor Milton Nyirenda was reading the Scripture lesson:

“As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread from the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10,11)

Like lightning, it struck me:  it was raining more on the inside of the church than on the outside!   Not because there was a hole in the roof, but because the LORD was showering His people with His grace!

A raining of the life-giving gospel message. An unending downpour of good news in Jesus. A surprising cloudburst of love and forgiveness. This rain had already started to fall in the Garden of Eden and has continued to this day. 500 years ago Martin Luther got soaked. On the 29^th of October 2017, so did we. On that day in Mzimba, and throughout Malawi, God’s grace in Jesus was proclaimed, preached, taught, received, shown, sung and danced! Even drawn and colored!

The picture at the beginning of this post shows some of the northern region ladies coloring Luther’s Seal or Coat of Arms.  We studied the meaning and Scripture truths behind each of the five components that make up the Seal:

• The black cross
• The red heart
• The white rose
• The blue sky
• The gold ring

Luther’s “logo” proclaims his faith and theology and ours as well. Isn’t the cross, not only the central message of Scripture but central to our lives?  Aren’t our hearts alive in Christ and beating with His love?  Aren’t we, saints dressed in the white robes of salvation, place delicately in a joyous white rose of hope?  With a firm resolution, hasn’t Jesus promised His second coming?  And don’t we, with eager expectation and with our spiritual eyes to the skies, look forward to it?  Isn’t God’s love more precious than gold and as unending as a circle?

A resounding YES to each one!  With Jesus being the Answer to each question, every one of them falls upon us like rain:  cool, refreshing, invigorating, motivating.

No wonder the Lord included verse 10 in Ephesians chapter 2: “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Apparently God must have been quite busy prior to the 29^th of October because on that day His people were actively doing the good works He prepared for them:

• Structures were erected.
• Tarps were hung.
• Food was prepared.
• Guests served.
• Dishes washed.
• Hospitality was extended.
• Offerings were given.
• Shut-ins were visited.
• Songs were sung.
• Gifts were shared.
• Children were taken care of.
• Cups of cold water were given to thirsty people.

But there was not a greater work done that day than what God was doing for us by raining down His Grace in Word and Sacrament. Vicar Frank Mukhweya preached his sermon using the theme that was previously chosen and used by all the other LCCA-MS called workers who stood in the pulpit that day. It was the same text that is imprinted on the special Reformation chitenje (skirts) that the LCCA-MS had designed and made for this significant occasion: Chipulumutso chichokera kuchisomo (We are saved by grace).

The text was preached, the Lord’s Supper was received and God tipped the water jars.  His people were doused. And if you ever wonder what the weather will be like the next time you go to your church, just open up your Bible to Ephesians 2:1-10.  No matter the day or the month, there you can count on Reformation rain.

Missionary John Holtz 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

Children are a reflection of their parents.  Four young Lutheran children in Lilongwe recently reflected our church’s value of teaching our children the Word of God.

The Bible Society of Malawi is an interdenominational organization that exists to translate and distribute Bibles in Malawi.  Recently, they ran a children’s Bible Quiz for any Christian church in the capital city of Lilongwe.  The contest included passage recitation and dramatic performances of Bible stories.  Over 300 churches participated at the first round of quizzes.  One of those churches was Mtendere (Peace) Lutheran Church, a member of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa – Malawi Synod. Each congregation sent one pair of students in the 3-8-year-old range, and another pair in the 9-12-year-old range.  

Mtendere is a small church with about 150 in attendance each Sunday.  Our children were going up against children from the larger Reformed, Catholic, Baptist, and Pentecostal churches in Lilongwe.   To everyone’s surprise, our children made it through the first round of the context, where the 300 congregations were pared down to only 71.   Our children passed through the second round as well, where another 50 congregations were eliminated. 

In the final round, our children were competing against 21 other big congregations.  The church hosting this event was a big Pentecostal church with thousands of members and served by several pastors.   No one had expected this little unknown Lutheran church to make it to this stage.  Our children were cheered on by all their friends in the Mtendere Youth Choir, who were dressed in matching uniforms. 

As it turns out, the contest fell apart.  It seems some of the contestants were coached on the answers ahead of time.  But our children performed their stories well and recited their passages perfectly.  They showed how much Lutherans value the Word, because in the Scripture we find eternal life in Christ.  We give thanks to God for these children, their parents, their Sunday School teacher and pastor for reflecting our values to many others in Lilongwe.

Watch a video of the children telling Bible stories

Missionary Paul Nitz, 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

 Tapulumutsidwa.

I know, I know, it’s a mouthful. But even more-so, it’s meaningful. This one 14 letter ChiChewa word translates into one, four-word English sentence: “We have been saved!” It’s actually the name of a congregation in the southern region of Malawi.  Great name for a church, don’t you think?

Gilbert Mwangomba does.  He’s the LCCA pastor who serves it.   He has the privilege of making the awesome announcement again and again to the people, “Tapulumutsidwa! We have been saved from sin and guilt! We have been saved from eternal death and the grave! We have been saved from the devil and damnation!” But that’s only the half of it! Not only are we saved from the bad, we are also saved for the good.  Saved for serving God and one another!

Pastor Mwangomba has been doing that at Tapulumutsidwa where he was called and ordained in 2014. Despite the “oneness” that pastor and congregation have in Jesus Christ, Mwangomba admits, “It’s been an adjustment.”  Gilbert, his wife Monica and his five children, are “strangers in a foreign land.”

They are Malawian but they not from the same tribe as most of the people in the congregation.  The majority of the people at Tapulumutsidwa are Lomwe and Chewa.  The Mwangombas are Ngonde from the northern region of Malawi.  That means different background, different language, different ways.

Though he loves his heritage, Mwangomba acknowledges that some of the cultural practices are not in line with God’s Word.  Polygamy is rampant.  Imagine, some Ngonde men, Mwangomba shared, have up to 36 wives!  Like a thorn in flesh, polygamy is embedded stubbornly deep.  It would take a miracle to extract it! But for some, it has.  Mwangomba knows some men who have repented of their polygamy and settled down with just one wife.  Oh, the power of the gospel! Saved from sin. Saved for serving the Lord!

Tapulumutsidwa!

Tapulumutsidwa is much more than just a name.  It’s a fabulous truth to live  by, even when we are in a den full of problems.  Recall Daniel, that Old Testament man who was targeted by his colleagues then tossed to the lions.  In a way, Daniel, too, had Tapulumutsidwa written all over his life.  Saved from the big cats and saved to serve the King. By the way, Daniel’s story is one of Pastor Mwangomba’s favorites.  “I am inspired how Daniel stands up for the truth,” remarks Mwangomba.

That’s exactly what Martin Luther did!  Pastor Mwangomba compares Daniel to the great Reformer, Martin Luther: “They both stood strong on the Word of God.”  Mwangomba is excited for the celebration of the 500^th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.  So moved by the stories of Daniel and Luther, Pastor Mwangomba has chosen to prepare a Bible Study that he plans to give in late October at the church’s Reformation gathering.  Not surprising at all, he’s entitled his presentation appropriately, “Standing Strong on God’s Word.”

Daniel and Luther stood before kings and yet stood for the truth, a truth that now stands for eternity.  Just a hunch, but I think I know two people whom Pastor Mwangomba will seek out once he himself gets to heaven. Who knows, maybe they will greet each other with one word:

Tapulumutsidwa!

Missionary John Holtz, 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