Oh, the hills. How striking they were as Howie Mohlke, his wife Leslie, and I drove east from Lilongwe, Malawi down toward Lake Malawi.

So were the sloping tea fields and the hills and valleys in the Sondu area of western Kenya when I saw them a few weeks later with Anariko Onunda: stunning.

Why tell you about hills?

From Flatlander to Hill Runner

For years I was a flatlander. I had not lived among hills since I was a vicar in Marrietta, Georgia (1990–1991), whether our family was in Illinois (1992–2001), Florida (2001–2015), or Minnesota (2015–2019).

Since December 2019, though, my wife and I have lived in Lusaka, Zambia, 4,200 feet above sea level. For exercise, I run hills.

I recently picked up my new U.S. passport from the U.S. embassy here in Lusaka. The complex sits atop one of Lusaka’s tallest hills. On many runs I look for it, gleaming in the morning sun.

Lusaka’s hilltop embassy makes me think of friends and family I miss in the States, as much as I enjoy serving the Lord and you here in Africa.

True Stories, Well Told

September 20–29 I had the privilege of traveling from Lusaka to Malawi. There I met with six pastors of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa – Malawi Synod. Pastors Chumba, Macharenga, Mandevu, Mitengo, Mukhweya, Mulinga, and I studied African church history biography together as part of their formal continuing education.

Since that week, each Malawian pastor in the course has sent me a story suitable for a 7–12-year-old, a story about a figure in Malawian church history.

In part, those projects are to help that pastor’s own family and congregation. In part, they are to help pastors in other countries in our Bachelor of Divinity (BDiv) cohort—pastors in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia. And in part, all the pastors’ efforts to research and communicate “true stories, well told” (our motto for the week) about fascinating figures in their country’s church history are to help me.

Receiving the Crown of Life

It is not just that I am new to African, as well as African church history. More importantly, stories about important believers from different parts of Africa, once we collect and distribute them all to all our BDiv brothers, will allow them to teach each other about real-life faith and love. 

Due to Covid-19 related issues, the twenty pastors in our cohort have not been able to meet yet face to face, though we began classes over a year ago. Pray with me that face-to-face classes for us all begin in 2022.

Back then to true stories, well told. Such stories not only have the potential to build up brotherhood, by God the Spirit’s power. They can break down super-tall hills, hills which so easily divide those whom God wants united: hills like time, distance, and cultural misunderstandings. These are stories where brothers can see trials our Father has sent in the past. These stories can connect us to believers in distant places and times.

 Be faithful, even to the point of death,” good stories remind us—stories like those of some of Africa’s first martyrs for Christ, Perpetua, and Felicity, remind us. In our classes, we watched a video about them. “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Jesus promises this to persecuted believers in ancient Smyrna and to us too.

Across the Rift

October 8-18 I traveled to Kenya to teach my BDiv level course. In both Malawi and Kenya, the pastors and I did not just talk history. We also discussed being faithful today, even to the point of death. We conferred about the confirmation classes which the pastors supervise and teach, and the steep hills young people climb as they learn to follow Christ.

One difference between the church history biography course in Malawi and the one in Kenya was that on October 10, before the class in Kenya started, I had the honor of preaching in Kenya for the consecration of the new building of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Ramba parish, served by Pastor Samwel Omondi. He translated my sermon from English into Luo. It was a joyful Christ-centered service, complete with the Lord’s Supper.

It was my first trip to Kenya, so I had much to learn. The pastors and I met in the shade of the center brick-and-grass open-air hut.

After the week’s class, Pastor Onunda drove me back up to Nairobi, a city even higher in elevation than Lusaka, and three times bigger.           

On October 17 Pastor Onunda introduced me to part of his city congregation, a much smaller group than the rural congregation the previous Sunday. In Nairobi some Christians Pastor Onunda serves are starting to meet separately as a daughter congregation. Elders were leading the service of that new congregation the morning I visited.

The King of the Hill

Such outreach efforts, even for an experienced pastor, get bumpy. Make that hilly. Sometimes we all feel as if we are barely able to put one foot in front of another, trudging uphill. Demons, this dying world, even our own deadly flesh whisper “give up” when hilly slopes get steeper.

But our Lord said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). That’s true of both Nairobi and wherever you gather with other believers for word and sacrament.  Someday even the mightiest mountains will fall. But not God’s promises of mercy to us in Christ crucified.

 Jesus lives. We have been baptized into him.

 “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you (Isaiah 54:10).

Missionary Dan Witte lives in Lusaka

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

Pastors in the United States spend a lot of time alone. They work alone to prepare sermons and Bible studies. They sit in their office getting themselves organized for meetings and various events. When a member drops in for an unannounced visit, most Pastors welcome the interruption. I feel the isolation even more acutely as a world missionary. There aren’t any church members that might drop in for a visit. I work remotely with the leaders of national churches across the continent of Africa.

That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to give an online presentation this month. The LWMS Central Office passed on my name to the LWMS Grand Canyon West Circuit part of the Befriend a Mission (BAM) program. The women of the circuit pray for the mission and missionary. They also and encourage him and his family in various ways for a period of two years. Their cards and gifts always seem to arrive at just the right moment.

I’d given a few online mission presentations before so I felt comfortable with the format. Any group can host a virtual world mission speaker regardless of their proximity to the Upper Midwest. The members of the LWMS Grand Canyon West Circuit gathered at Arizona Lutheran Academy in Phoenix, AZ. I gave my presentation from my living room in Lilongwe, Malawi. I was able to sleep in my own bed that night and preach the next morning.

Most WELS congregations have a reliable connection to the internet, a digital projector, and speakers on hand. The LWMS Grand Canyon West Circuit used Zoom to host their online mission rally. Other platforms like Google Meet or Facebook live are viable alternatives. It’s vital to find someone who knows what they’re doing and get them to help you with the setup. It’s also important that they can also be there during the presentation in case things don’t go as planned. We ran into some minor audio glitches the day of the event. Nevertheless, I was able to field questions from both the live and virtual audience in attendance that day. They were able to hear me clearly.

Pastor Ben Foxen, the Spiritual Advisor to the Grand Canyon West Circuit, was a great help. He facilitated the connection with the WELS Missions Promotions Office and was my main point of contact. As a former world missionary, Pastor Foxen understands what my wife and I are facing here.  He wrote me the following: “Seeing and hearing about your blessings and challenges and those of the people you serve reminded me of my times in Russia. The challenges were different in some ways, similar in others. The blessings of seeing God at work in the hearts of his people, though, are universal. Your presentation brought all that back for me.”

I am grateful for the friendship of the members of the LWMS Grand Canyon West Circuit. We are closely connected to each other through Christ (and the internet) as we carry out his Great Commission.

You can request a live or virtual mission speaker for your next event at www.wels.net/speaker-request

Missionary John Roebke lives in Malawi and manages the Communications for One Africa Team

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

Pastor Willard Chipembere emphatically invited us into the parsonage at Chisomo, Thyolo (31 May 2021). He was excited. He couldn’t wait to show us something in the house. Because I had been there before, I had an inkling of what it was going to be. Walking down the hallway we came to a room from which came a lot of chirping. Chickens! Not just one or two but 100! Pastor Chipembere picked up one tiny chick in his hand and presented it to us with great joy. He then continued to explain more about his chicken business, and with a wave of his hand, he showed us all that was under his roof. Mind you, these were not just in an outbuilding, they were in his home. His face shone. Eyes glimmered. Voice, exuberant. He was filled with great joy.

I have known about his passion for chickens for years now. Though I didn’t get a picture of him that day with the little chick in his hand, I did some years ago with ones that were much bigger and more mature than chicks at the time. After showing us his pride and joy, we then hit the road. We were on our way to a Professional Development Class at the base of Mount Mulanje in the Southern Region of Malawi.

The Word and his Work

Five of us got together to work on learning about and designing engaging Bible Studies. Along with the other participants, Pastor Chipembere designed and presented his draft Bible Study to our pastors’ group. As eager and joyful as Pastor Chipembere had been to tell us about his chickens, he was even more excited to eventually present his newly crafted Bible Study to the church councilmen of his three congregations. He had something especially important and relevant to share. And he took it seriously. In fact, at the class, he wrote on paper what was already inscribed on his heart: “It is my responsibility as a pastor to teach Bible Studies!”

He not only took his work and responsibility seriously but also joyfully. As he was working on designing his Bible Study, he dug into 1 Timothy 3:1-10 and Ezekiel 11:1-12. He wanted to highlight the Godly qualities and lifestyle of a leader in the church.

Pastor Chipembere looked forward to reviewing our course material, reading deeper, and reworking his draft Bible Study; he especially was excited to finally present it to the congregation elders. In his hands was not a chicken to eat – but a Bible study to digest and share. After the class was over, we drove to Pastor Chipembere’s house and dropped him off. No doubt his family – and his feathered friends – were excited to see him.

The News and the Questions

Several days later, on Wednesday, 9 June 2021 the news was spreading as quickly as it came: Pastor Chipembere was called home to heaven. On that day he had taken his motorcycle for a ride. He was suddenly killed in a terrible traffic accident. A head-on collision. The funeral was the next day (10 June 2021).

This time when I saw him, I was actually viewing him, as were the other funeral attendees. This time his face was lifeless. Eyes closed. Voice silenced. But the church? Deafening with the sounds of grief. I can only imagine the questions swirling around in the pained hearts of the family, friends, congregation members, and community:

Was this God’s will? (Did God will him to die this way?)

Why him? (He was a pastor, ordained in 2006, who devoted his life to the full-time gospel ministry!)

Why now? (He was only 51 years old and was supporting a family).

I don’t know all the questions the family and others were asking, but don’t we, too, wonder how to answer all the questions that do get asked by people who have endured similar grief and pain? How does one offer comfort? The same way Pastor Chipembere would have done: with the Scriptures and the sure promises of God.

JESUS CHRIST: The Answer and the Comfort

Though at times in the church and at the outside funeral gatherings there were sounds of mourning and pain, there were also words and hymns of Hope and Promises and Good News: Jesus was the Answer and the Comfort!

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25).

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Cor.15: 55-57).

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose…” (Romans 8:28).

God’s Pride and Joy

During the funeral, it hit me: while we were grieving the loss of an LCCA pastor and while the family was mourning the loss of a husband/father, heaven was celebrating a homecoming! Not a loss, but a gain!

I can just imagine Jesus enthusiastically ushering Willard Chipembere into his House with a wave of his scarred hand, “Come in! Come in! I want to show you something…” Or better yet, “someone.” Here’s Paul. And here’s Elijah. Meet Lydia. And, oh, let me introduce you to James and John. And here’s…“well, here’s… my Father!” Or maybe with every newcomer to heaven He will begin with His Father!

“To him who is able to…present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy!” (Jude 24)

Stunning. Jesus has presented each and every one of his servants to his Father. Father, here’s Willard Chipembere! Look at Jesus. His face shining. Eyes glimmering. Voice exuberant! Jesus filled with great joy presenting yet another one of his blood-redeemed brothers. This time…Willard Chipembere.

Presented without fault. (Sins paid for by Jesus) Presented with great joy. (What an introduction!) Presented by God Himself who knows what it’s like to die a terrible death. And did so willingly, taking our own faults upon Himself. What Jesus achingly uttered about Jerusalem years ago he still desires today: “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…” (Matthew 23:37)

One day it will be your turn and your time to finally reach home. To join the ultimate gathering. A longing fulfilled. Ushered in by Jesus. And as Jude (verse 24) assures, Jesus will…Present you…with great joy.

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. 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