I was both humbled and amazed when I showed up at his home. Joseph is a young man living in Nairobi, Kenya. His daily routine includes milking a cow and goats as well as tending a garden on an estate. He invited me and the local pastor from Nairobi into his home: a one-window, concrete-walled room no bigger than a box truck. Sitting knee to knee he offered us tea and told us his story. He is the eighth of eight children, raised by his oldest sister. His parents passed away before he knew them. As a child, he learned how to work and paid for his own schooling through grade twelve. 

“Did you go to church as a child?” I asked. “No,” he said, “We did not go to church. A friend invited me to the Mormon Church. I went for a while. But they taught from books that were not the Bible. Another friend invited me to a Seventh-Day Adventist church, but they did not teach much about Jesus.” 

“Are you going to church now?” I asked. “I am,” he replied, “with you and the teachers at TELL Network.” Over a year ago Joseph stumbled across a Facebook ad for TELL and had to see what it was all about. After completing the three self-study courses he began live group classes with a pastor, studying the Bible and Lutheran catechism on Zoom. He formed friendships with students thousands of miles away. His best friend is from Trinidad. They make TELL t-shirts and share what they’re learning with others. For over a year Joseph grew in knowledge and confidence to share his faith in an online classroom. 

Today we finally had a Bible study together in the flesh. We read, asked questions, and discussed. Joseph could identify that sin was the problem and God’s grace was the solution. He has learned how to read the Bible and express his faith to others. Throughout our visit, we encouraged Joseph in his studies, introduced him to the local church, and presented the next steps for him to gather in a Bible study group. 

As our time came to an end my pastor friend had to share his own story with Joseph. He too was orphaned as a young child. Raised by his grandmother, he stumbled across a Lutheran church when he heard music from inside. He had to see what it was all about. There he found Jesus. Today he is pastoring and planting many churches in Kenya. He encouraged Joseph: “Continue learning with TELL. Follow their path and gather a Bible study group. I can tell you from my experience: it starts right here,” he said pointing to the floor. “Church begins in the home.” 

I feel I took away more from that visit than I contributed. God meets us with his Word in rooms no bigger than a box truck. Jesus calls, gathers, and grows his church within our communities: online and in-person. How humbling, amazing and true: Church begins in the home.

TELL Missionary Dan Laitinen is based 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

How did you become a Christian?  When did it happen?  Were there other people who helped you to know Christ? 

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to visit Ethiopia.  The main reason for my visit was to teach a course on St. Paul’s Letters to Timothy and Titus.  The course was intended primarily for young men who are preparing to be pastors in the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia (LCE).  There were seven students in the class. 

When I arrived, I asked each student to share his story.  How did you become a Christian?  When did it happen?  Were there other people who helped you to know Christ? All of them had interesting stories.  One student is the son of the LCE’s one and only pastor.  He didn’t ask to be born into that family, but he was.  And that is how he became a Christian.  Another student was a Sudanese man who came to Ethiopia as a refugee.  His mother and father were not Christian, but he learned about Jesus from his uncle, a man who is now a pastor in the WELS.  That’s how he became a Christian. 

I shared my story, too.  A father who was my seminary professor, who taught me so many ‘big religious words’ and deep truths about the scriptures that I can’t possibly remember all of them.  A mother who led me in my bedtime prayers, prayers that were so foundational to my spiritual development that I can’t possibly forget even one of them.  And that’s how I became a Christian.

All of us told very different stories, but one thing was the same in every one of them.  We were all so grateful to God for the people who helped us to know Christ.

St. Timothy had a story, too.  His father was a Greek who almost certainly did not believe in Jesus.  But Timothy’s mother was a dedicated Christian, and his grandmother was, too.  That’s how Timothy became a Christian.  Paul wrote in his Second Letter to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.  For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:5,6).

How can we thank God for those who shared the word of God with us?  And how can we honor those who have led us to faith in Christ?  St. Paul tells us how.  ”Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of because you know those from whom you learned it” (2 Timothy 3:14).

For about two weeks, the students and I studied the word of God in the Letters to Timothy and Titus.  We grew in our understanding of the gospel.  We honed our abilities to share God’s word with others and lead people to Christ.  That’s the best way to thank God for his blessings. 

When people tell their stories and thank God for those who helped them to know Christ, how many people will thank God for you?

Mark Panning lives in Malawi and is the One Africa Team Field Liaison to the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia

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

One Africa Team missionaries Daniel Kroll and Daniel Witte recently visited the country of Cameroon for three busy weeks. They met with several national leaders from both Cameroon and Nigeria at the Baptist Mission Guest House in Douala, Cameroon.

Week One

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is a new outreach contact. One Africa Team has been working with them for some time. Missionary Kroll led Bible studies with Pastor Julius Nkwetta, Mr. Rigobert, Mr. Benjamin, Mr. Eloden, and Mr. Jefferson.

In conjunction with Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, One Africa Team offers a Bachelor of Divinity Program to qualifying national pastors. The program enhances the perspective and capabilities of men that have already been through our worker training programs.  Missionary Witte coordinates this program through One Africa Team’s Confessional Lutheran Institute.

Week Two

Pastors Edward Obi and Michael Egar from All Saints Lutheran (Nigeria), Pastors A.P. Udo and Idorenyin Udo from Christ the King, and Pastors Mesue Israel and Ngalame Gervase from the Lutheran Church of Cameroon are the teachers of their respective church bodies’ worker training schools. Together with Missionaries Witte and Kroll, they evaluated a new curriculum before the beginning of the new school year.  Some of these teachers are stepping in front of the classroom for the very first time. One Africa Team missionaries make themselves available to assist with teaching programs and lesson plans. 

One Africa Team missionaries are careful not to plan for their brothers.  As Pastor Israel says, “Our students are Africans. Who knows them better than their fellow Africans?  It’s up to us as teachers to prepare appropriate questions and discussions.”  It’s pretty hard to argue with that.  That kind of ownership will lead to excellent learning at WELS’s West African partners’ worker training schools.

In the midst of this busy week, Missionaries Witte and Kroll had the honor to meet Chief Ndongue, Quillaume. Chief Ndongue was hoping to sell a piece of land to the Lutheran Church of Cameroon.

Week Three

The Seminary instructors from WELS’s Mission partners in Nigeria spent an extra week in Cameroon. They gained firsthand experience with new teaching methods. Missionaries Kroll and Witte introduced Dialogue Education (DE) to these men. They also taught this method to the seven new pastors in the Lutheran Church of Cameroon.  DE is a relatively new method of teaching adults. When participants participate in their own learning, they will assimilate the new ideas more deeply. Pastor Obi expressed his confidence in this new method saying, “It looks like this can really work to teach well.”

Three very busy weeks in Cameroon – what an opportunity and a blessing to serve the Lord in this way.  One Africa Team missionaries continue to support WELS’s Mission partners in West Africa through the internet. However, nothing builds relationships better than a few weeks of face-to-face busyness!

Missionary Dan Kroll lives in Malawi and serves as the One Africa Team liaison to West Africa.

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