Twenty-nine years ago, my wife Leslie and I were preparing to go to Africa to serve as a newly assigned missionary. We had three children ages four, two and four months. The other two children would be born a few years later while living in Zambia. We were young, and excited. I was eager to start working as an African Missionary and my wife was wondering how best to care for our young family, knowing that her skills as a RN would come in very handy.

Now, all the kids are grown, four of the five children are married, and five grandchildren have been added to the family; and Leslie and I are getting ready to move again to Africa. This time I am going to serve as the Leader of WELS World Mission’s One Africa Team (OAT). The OAT consists of all the missionaries serving in Africa who work with various sister synods in Africa to share the good news of Jesus throughout the continent. Now days this work usually takes the form of offering training and encouragement to those who serve as ministers of the gospel in our sister synods.

This is quite different from what I was called to do 29 years ago. Back then my main job was to preach, teach, baptize and offer the Lord’s supper to village congregations which did not have their own pastors. This meant driving out to the village areas at least four days per week and visiting at least two congregations each day for worship and or bible study. Between my visits the congregations were faithfully served by lay men who preached from a sermon book, taught Sunday school and confirmation classes, using books prepared for them. Through these men congregations were started, grew and became strong.

As I return to Africa, many of those men are fully trained pastors and leaders in the Seminary and their Synod. Now WELS missionaries are not needed to serve as Pastors in local congregations but are used to train and encourage ministers of the gospel in church bodies throughout the continent.

I am eager and feel blessed to take on the work of leading this group. I thank God for the years I served in Zambia and I thank God for the past 20 years I have served while living in the States. I am thankful for the things I learned as I served St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School in Norfolk, NE. I am thankful for the experiences I had serving Messiah Lutheran Church in Nampa ID; especially what I learned about well-planned and organized outreach. Also, as I served 10 years on the Board for World Missions, 4 of those years as Chairman. It was so enlightening to understand WELS World Missions not only as a missionary on the field but also at the administrative levels. I also feel that I will put to good use what I experienced serving as the Director of the Apache Christian Training School (ACTS). That experience reminded me of how important it is that missionaries aren’t sent to be pastors for people; but rather they are sent to work with people to develop strong forms of ministry that best serve the needs of that community.

I am thankful to the LORD for giving me this opportunity to serve as the OAT Leader. I am thankful that the LORD has given me a wife that is so supportive and willing to return to Africa. Without her support, understanding, and willingness to serve none of this would be possible.

Howard Mohlke is the new leader of One Africa Team and is currently living in Nebraska while his paperwork is being processed. He and his wife Leslie will reside in Malawi on the campus of the Lutheran Bible Institute in Lilongwe

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

In 2018 WELS World Mission’s Multi-Language Publications had a vision to reach the world with the Gospel in a new way. Their vision was to equip people with the truth of God’s word using digital resources in English. Like the Latin America mission field’s Spanish Academia Cristo, TELL would use English to reach people through social media, self-led Bible lessons and live video classrooms.

Three years later, God has blessed that vision. The TELL Network has 1.2 million followers and likes on its main Facebook page. Across the globe there are 7,000 active users doing self-led Bible lessons on the TELL app and website. Currently there is one full-time TELL missionary who meets several times a week with students from Africa, India, and Philippines.

One student, Samuel, is from Guinea, Africa. He is a school teacher with a wife and children. “My greatest desire is to be well-equipped for mission work,” says Samuel, “I won’t miss this opportunity by God’s grace.”

Like thousands of others, Samuel found TELL on Facebook. TELL’s Facebook team posts daily Bible passages and short devotional videos by national pastors called #TELLtalks. The team answers questions online and invites people to start free Bible training on the TELL app or website.

Samuel downloaded the TELL app and within seconds began the first self-learning course. He completed three self-learning courses: Spiritual Healing, Truth Brings Peace, and Introduction to the Bible. Each course has nine lessons that include a Bible reading, teaching video, and quiz.

When Samuel completed the self-learning courses (“TELL Tier 1”) he received his first certificate. Then a TELL missionary contacted Samuel. He congratulated him and invited Samuel to join him in the live online classes (“TELL Tier 2”).

Today Samuel is meeting twice a week in a video classroom with a TELL instructor and other students. Students go in-depth learning about the work of Jesus, Old and New Testament history and Law and Gospel. Each course takes about a month. There are eleven courses in TELL tier 2.

TELL tier 3 are live courses too. They focus on how to share the Gospel in your community: gathering, teaching and discipling. God-willing someday the TELL instructor along with a local missionary will visit Samuel to grow the relationship and support Samuel as he starts a small group.

When Samuel began TELL he had been praying for just that: an opportunity to share the Gospel. Since then God opened a door! A friend gave Samuel air-time on the local radio station. Every Sunday evening Samuel takes the Bible lesson he has learned with TELL and reuses them on-air to an audience of up to half-a-million. Many of whom haven’t heard the Gospel.

By God’s grace Samuel has found a place where he receives real Gospel training right from God’s word. “I used to believe in a Gospel that was preaching prosperity and miracles mostly,” Samuel says, “But I discovered this misleads believers. It focuses on earthly things and makes us forget heavenly things. Now I’m mission-minded.”

Daniel Laitinen is Multi-Language Production’s TELL Missionary and lives in Austin, TX

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

“Cross the river in a crowd,” an African proverb says, “and the crocodile won’t eat you.”

That is, teamwork tends to work better than individual effort.

Recently Mr. Banda and Mr. Zulu, two veteran workmen for our mission, and I teamed up. From Lusaka, Zambia, we headed east together. We crossed the Luangwa River and drove all day to Chipata in Eastern Province.

From Chipata the next two days we headed north to villages in the areas of Lundazi and Mfuwe. There we installed solar panel systems at the homes of Pastor Lewis Mbewe and Pastor Edward Nyirenda.

The workmen nailed together a simple shelf for the battery and inverter.

Here is what the system inside looked like, once hooked up.

Mr. Banda and Mr. Zulu connected that system with wiring to a 120 watt solar panel on the roof.

The system also connects to a wall-mounted controller and to a small set of LED lights which we attached by clips to the exposed trusses inside the home. One light went outside.

We brought along a ladder for interior use, but outside our main ladder was our Land Cruiser.

The week before we had done the same in two villages closer to Lusaka. For instance, here is a photo of Pastor Godfrey Matina (the tallest man) and members of his congregation.

During two of our four installations, many people gathered to see what we were doing.

Meals were cooked and shared, always centering on nshima, a Zambian staple made from maize.

You might wonder who paid for the diesel fuel to get us to the villages—our Land Cruiser has two tanks—and for the solar panels and systems.

You did.

That is, you and others did, through the WELS Africa Special Projects Fund, one of many projects you can learn about in the Home and World Mission Projects Fund booklet. Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society (LWMS) and the WELS Mission Office prepares the booklet.

If you look up the Africa Special Projects Fund, you read, “There are many other project requests across Africa that enhance our gospel ministry efforts. One particular need is to identify and fund volunteers who can work temporarily in our mission fields. Project requests include improving communication, publications, materials, and ministry tools.”

Now you know one example of such materials and ministry tools. It is hard for a pastor to communicate with other pastors, for example, when he cannot easily charge his cell phone.

Likewise, when he was at seminary, an LCCA pastor got a laptop with many biblical resources. But unless you can charge your laptop, how can you use it? How can you study for post-seminary classes in our new African Confessional Lutheran Institute (CLI)?

The Projects Fund booklet has dozens of worthy projects. Perhaps you are part of a WELS school group, men’s group, or women’s group. Over time, you could pool your funds and give to a project of your choosing: giving teamwork!

Such projects also involve teamwork on the receiving end. If you give to the Africa Special Projects Fund, for example, you don’t get to direct exactly where offerings go. Maybe they will go to solar panels. Maybe they will go to CLI, or somewhere else more needed.

You might not know until the last day how you helped—until you cross “the Jordan River,” as some hymns picture it.

Imagine the scene, in the final Promised Land. You hear the most royal, beautiful voice say (Matthew 25:40), “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

But even now, here is a voice for teamwork you can overhear. Rev. Davison Mutentami wrote this to our Operations Director, Stefan Felgenhauer. Pastor Mutentami, chairman of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa — Zambia Synod, emailed about this solar project:

“Empowering pastors is and will remain my dream.

“Please go ahead and implement the project. Don’t hesitate sir. God bless you for considering the vulnerable servants of God.”

Rev. Dan Witte lives in Zambia and coordinates Formal Continuing Education programs for the CLI

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