The coffin was lowered. The dirt was heaped. Wreaths were placed. But the funeral was so much more than a burial. It was a “witness to a stricken world.”

In Christ, who tasted death for us
We rise above our natural grief
And witness to a stricken world 
The strength and splendor of belief. – CW #607

Some say that the best evangelism opportunities in Malawi are funerals.  Why?  Because the masses gather.  Not just the fellow members of the deceased’s home church, but the people of the entire community.   Crowds of people.   And as you can well imagine, a variety of faiths.  In need of a message whether they realize it or not.   

What better time to share the gospel of Jesus? That is exactly what Pastor Khwima Msiska did. He preached 2 Timothy 4:6-8.

“…the time has come for my departure.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Pastor Msiska could have highjacked the sermon time and simply highlighted how much Evangelist Mapulanga had accomplished during his personal and ministry years. God had given the Evangelist a total eight decades spanning from 1940 to 2020. There would have been plenty to say.  After all, just in his gospel ministry of serving the Lutheran Church of Central Africa, how many sermons did Evangelist Mapulanga preach?  How many babies and adults did he baptize?   How many member visits had he made?  How many people of the Lutheran church had he comforted, corrected, rebuked, and trained in righteousness? Over decades of service, how many kilometers had he pedaled, and miles had he walked to serve the Lord’s people? 

But Pastor Msiska didn’t dwell on those things.  For that matter, neither did the Liturgist Pastor Msowaya nor any other speaker.  The funeral focus was not about the man Mapulanga but about the GOD MAN Jesus Christ.  Both LCCA pastors answered very clearly the questions that are most important:

What had Jesus done for Evangelist Mapulanga?  What had the Promised One accomplished? Why did Christ die on the cross?  What do Jesus’ perfect life and innocent death mean for him – and me – when I die?  Ah, now that’s something to talk about. And sing about. And that is what the Lutheran women and men did.  The preacher and the liturgist were not the only ones witnessing to the stricken world. So were the many people who attended the funeral and are longing for Christ’s coming.

We arrived at the funeral home at 9:00 am.  We departed at 4 pm.  Count them:  Seven hours. And for the better part of seven hours, people were singing.  Why? Because there was something to sing about! The funeral was so much more than a burial. It was a witness to a stricken world that there is hope beyond the grave. There is life after death. There is a crown of righteousness in store. 

No wonder the family of God longs for their Brother’s appearing on the last day!  We are not just waiting for Jesus Christ to come again, but desiring it, yearning for it.  Looking forward to it, patiently but anticipatingly.  

One day our fight will be over. Our race will be finished. And we will live no longer by faith but by sight. And so with the strength and splendor of belief, the men and women lifted up their voices.  They sang…

• at the funeral home
• at the mortuary
• walking to the cemetery
• huddled around the grave

The day was one of song.  And the songs were ones of witness.  And the witness was to just One: Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, so will Evangelist Mapulanga.  Because Jesus paid the penalty of sin, we don’t have to.  Because Jesus gave up his crown, we will wear one – a gift of grace!

Until the Lord calls us home as he did Evangelist Mapulanga on 4th December 2020, we will still have graves to dig, funerals to attend and loved ones to bid goodbye. We will mourn.  Hearts will ache. Tears will flow. 

But not without hope. We rise above our natural grief. So we will also have sermons to preach and songs to sing and a witness to give.  Because there is a world out there stricken with sin and in need of a Savior. No matter in which country our loved ones die, let the masses and the crowds come to our Christian funerals! 

So much more than a burial.

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

The last time I celebrated Christmas with my parents and siblings was 2003, when I had a 3 month gap between calls in the public ministry. Pastors are busy leading worship services at their congregations during the holidays. For a few years in the mid-2000’s we lived close enough to our relatives to spend a few days after Christmas with relatives, but for the rest of our married years it’s been too great a distance for my wife and I to travel “home for the holidays.”

This year is no exception as we prepare to greet our Savior’s birth in the balmy tropics with one of our daughters, who will spend two months with us. Thanks to COVID she’s doing all of her schooling this semester remotely, so it doesn’t matter if she’s logging in from her apartment in Milwaukee or from our home in Africa. Our other daughter lives 8,000 miles away in Wisconsin and is getting her first taste of winter driving. It’s also the first time we will be apart for the Christmas holidays.

Due to the pandemic, this will be a very different Christmas for many of you too. You may make a reservation to attend one of your church’s worship services, or you may celebrate the Savior’s birth online at home. You may get together with your immediate family, but you’ll avoid the larger gatherings with your extended relatives. You may call your loved ones over the phone or schedule a video conference call over the internet.

For several years, One Africa Team has been using Zoom for live interfacing because our team members are scattered across the world. Our Team Leader, Rev. Howard Mohlke is currently living in Stanton, NE waiting for work permit that will allow him to move to Africa. The members of our Mission Board live in WI, OH and FL. We have missionaries stationed in both Zambia and Malawi, as well as our Operations Director who is currently based in the USA. Our “family” is spread out geographically, but our weekly conference calls have allowed us to stay closely connected to each other and to our mission of bringing “Christ for All, Good News for Africa.”

Staying in touch with our many partners across Africa has been more challenging. International borders are open for travelers who can prove they are COVID free, but the WELS is currently permitting missionaries to travel only between their host country and the USA. In spite of limitations of internet connectivity, our missionaries are able to remain in regular contact with our African counterparts via Skype, Facebook Messenger and What’sApp. One of our teammates is conducting a Bachelor’s-level degree program via What’sApp. Other missionaries use What’sApp to introduce Lutheran teaching to new outreach groups in Liberia and Uganda. One Africa Team has also started posting sermons by missionaries on YouTube to show other prospective groups what makes Lutheran preaching distinctive. You can view the sermons at https://tinyurl.com/ycoazeax

Being separated from the people you love isn’t unique to 2020. The Apostle Paul started churches in cities throughout the Mediterranean basis, and he the members of those churches around with him in his thoughts and prayers wherever he went. He wrote to Thessalonians, “When we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy” (1 The 2:17-20).

In the same way, our Savior carries our needs and prayers to his Heavenly Father. “Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Ro 8:34). We are never far away from our God, who knows our deepest needs and keeps watch over us day and night. He doesn’t need Facebook to stay informed about our status.

Following the government approval of the COVID vaccine and the delivery of the first doses to those who need it the most, we will need a little more patience as we wait our turn to be inoculated and for our society to reopen. We all look forward to joyful reunions with loved ones at family gatherings, graduation celebrations, weddings and the like. Next Christmas will be much different from this year – and there are only 374 days left! In 2021 OAT hopes to resume in-person visits to conduct teaching, conferences, strengthening and encouraging our brothers and sisters across the continent of Africa.

And with even greater longing we await reunion with the one who was born in Bethlehem, lived in Nazareth and died outside Jerusalem so that we can gather with our brothers and sisters from “every tribe, nation and people” before God’s throne (Rev. 7:9).

Missionary John Roebke 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

Background: One Africa Team missionaries had intended to make several trips to both Libera and Uganda to meet with local Christian fellowships that have expressed their desire to learn more about the teachings of the Lutheran Church and perhaps even enter into fellowship with the Wisconsin Synod. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the WELS has suspended all missionary travel to and from any country except the United States and the country where each missionary is based. The OAT Outreach Committee has begun long-distance teaching with these groups, in spite of several technological and social hurdles.

Some months ago the One Africa Team received a gift to assist with phones and internet expenses to bring the gospel message to new areas via online teaching.  Although it’s exciting to move into the COVID–techvirtual world, it is a bit scary for us who live in a culture that functions primarily with face-to-face communication.  In Africa, we rely much more heavily on non-verbal communication and other contextual cues to communicate than in the United States typically.

The Outreach Committee had a few decisions to make regarding the work in Uganda and Liberia, our two most active Outreach target areas:

Which phones to buy, including memory, battery strength, availability?

How to send the money for purchase of phones, to whom, banking details?

Who would buy the phones and take responsibility for their care?

What platform could we use to present material:  Zoom, WhatsApp or email?

I’m happy to say the Holy Spirit has made it possible for us to get started.  On 29^th October, I (virtually) sat with Pastors Morris, Darlos, Goffah, Kowan and Pajibo from Liberia to look at the material and determine what platform can work for them there. 

The first lesson of our fellowship studies is “God’s Great Exchange.” The Scriptural idea of absolute perfection necessary for eternal life, but freely provided for all people only through Jesus is the Gospel’s fundamental teaching. Because the material for that particular lesson is set up quite differently from the others, it was a good opportunity to try to send them a video.  The great thing about using video is that it allows our contacts to download it and watch it as many times as needed. They are also able to forward the video to others.

The only question that remains is, “how much internet data will our contacts need to carry out this program effectively?”  I’ll meet with them again via a WhatsApp video call to see how much data they used to meet with me online for one hour and to watch the video I sent.  Since there are other possibilities that we need to experiment with this will be a learning process for us all.  

We greatly appreciate your prayers and have confidence that the Lord will provide another way for his kingdom to grow here in Africa.  We remember the encouragement Paul offered to the Colossians (1:6): “In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.”

Missionary Dan Kroll lives in Malawi and serves as the OAT 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