The Gathering Place. I remember there used to be a small restaurant by that name in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. That was decades ago.  Perhaps it’s still there.  Maybe not.Regardless, it’s a fitting name for a restaurant as the locals would, well, gather.  Eat the special of the day.  Drink endless cups of coffee.  Chat, laugh, share the news and enjoy the stories and the company.

There’s a gathering place here in Malawi, too.  Many of them, in fact.  And now there is one more. In a place called Salima.  This particular gathering place is not a restaurant, but it is a place where you can get a drink any time of day or night. 

It’s a borehole.  This borehole serves one thing and one thing only:  WATER!  (Hey, I just thought of something…maybe THE BOREHOLE would be a good name for a restaurant here in Malawi….they’d probably have to serve more than water, however, if they are going to make any money!) A borehole is simply another word for a well. Here they are usually equipped with a hand pump.  The depth of the pipes depends a lot on the level of the water table as it is normally found in the dry season.

It’s a gathering place.

Women and children come every day to pump water and carry it home.  Often the queues are long and the crowds thick. Buckets and pails everywhere.  But it’s worth the wait because there’s food to cook, clothes to wash and baths to take. If all these people had taps in their gardens or faucets in their homes, they wouldn’t have to gather at the borehole.  But they don’t so they do.

Many community members go to this newly tapped borehole for water.  But if it is up to the LCCA congregations like Holy Trinity, then they will go home with more. Much more. The Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA) congregation called Holy Trinity in Salima applied to the WELS Committee on Aid and Relief (CA&R) for funds for a borehole. 

   CA&R granted it.
Water Access drilled it.
    Holy Trinity dedicated it.
       Many gather around it.

CA&R asked the pastor and congregation a question and
they answered it this way…

In Malawi, the ones who normally gather in numbers at the
borehole every day are the women and children. 
They have come for water, yes, but there’s a whole lot more that goes on.  It’s a gathering place.  It’s a bee hive of activity and there’s a
buzz of conversation. News and lives and stories are shared.

This particular borehole has been placed right next to another gathering place:  the church itself!  Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

      Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Salima,
Malawi

Holy Trinity currently has 164 baptized and 129 confirmed members and is being served by Pastor Patrick Magombo. What a gathering place!  The building is strong, the size adequate, the location prime. But more importantly, the Gospel of Jesus is preached and the sacraments are administered!

And now Pastor Magombo and Holy Trinity Congregation has
a gathering of people from the community coming on their premises for water. 

Every day.

Every day their water needs are met. And they will be
back tomorrow. And the next day.  And the
next…

It’s not only a good
time for a drink of cool water, it’s a great time for a prayer:

“Lord, we know that the gift of water is a precious
thing.  Forgive us for taking water for
granted.  Many don’t have the easy access
we do.  Many don’t have the convenience
of clean water that comes straight into our homes.  But you provide in various ways and even
water from a borehole is a gift from your divine Hand.  Thank you for moving the hearts of people who
have donated offerings to CA&R.  Many
people in faraway countries are blessed because of it. Thousands in Malawi!  Encourage the Holy Trinity congregation and
Pastor to also reach out with the gospel as the people gather both inside and
outside the church building. In Jesus’ name. 
Amen.”

With the borehole water, the
people will thirst again. (John 4:13). 

With the living water of Jesus from the wells of
salvation, they won’t. (John 4:14).

In the presence of Jesus….

What a Gathering Place!

Your Malawi Mission Partner,
John Holtz

Weather-wise and food-wise, some like it hot. Liberia is just the place for both. This smallish West-African country is part of the “Pepper Coast,” so named for the Malagueta Pepper. It’s prevalent up and down the coast and it’s piping hot!  These elongated fire hazards scorch like the November sun sizzling the country.  Doesn’t take much at all to burn the tip of your tongue or the back of your throat.

However, we didn’t journey all the way to the West Coast for
the weather or the peppers.  That being
said, it was actually nigh unto impossible to escape the intense heat of either
one so we were very thankful for cool fans and cold water! We made the trip to
Liberia to make plans with two groups for moving forward with our Mission
Outreach efforts in that country: the Confessional Lutheran Church of Liberia
(CLCL) and the Royal Family Fellowship International (RFFI). Each its own
separate, independent body. Each its own synod. Each has its own official
Registration with the Liberian Government. 

Since each synod is standing on its own and plan to stay
that way, what brought them together as one group during our recent trip? Their
burning desire – but not for Malaguetas. Though each of these two established
Synods wants to maintain its own identity, they both have a sharp interest in
our own Synod, the WELS.  The WELS has
the cool, refreshing waters of Salvation in Jesus Christ – and that is
something that these two groups are intensely passionate about!

Setting their sights on the possibility of a declaration
of fellowship with WELS in the future, CLCL and RFFI have been asking loads of
questions:

• On what doctrines does the WELS stand?
• To what creeds does the WELS ascribe?
• What sacraments do the WELS administer?
• For what purpose does WELS exist?
• How does WELS view the Scriptures?

These Liberians love to search the Bible.  They desire to learn what God says.  They want to compare what WELS preaches and
teaches to what the Scriptures say and proclaim.  They humbly but admirably check to see if
what their teachers say is true.  Maybe
we could refer these Liberians as LIBEREANS!  Listen to the glowing commentary about the
Bereans that Dr. Luke wrote in Acts 17:11, “Now the Bereans were of more
noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with
great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said
was true.” To our dear brothers and sisters in Liberia: “Keep asking,
keep checking, keep searching, keeping examining the Scriptures!  Your questions are good. All of them!” All
of which, quite some time ago, have started to be answered by teachers,
professors and pastors of the WELS. 

Over the years, a covey of WELS Called workers has been
helping this Liberian Mission Outreach by bringing short courses and trainings.
What a blessing and what an opportunity to pause and thank the Lord for each
one of them for the faithful and hard work they’ve done in Liberia! By God’s
grace, the work continues.  Because of
the November 2019 trip, plans are now in motion for further meetings in March
and November 2020 with the purpose of exploring fellowship.

Obviously, this venture is something that takes time,
travel and funding.  A total of six trips
are in the plan.  Even though all of this
teaching may cover 2+ years, both Liberian groups are ready for this
undertaking.

Judging from the looks and sounds of things there will be
lots of questions and lots of answers, just like Luther’s Small Catechism contains
lots of questions and answers. It is this very book, the Small Catechism,
as well as Know the Truth, a book authored by WELS Missionary Dan Kroll,
that will serve as the basis for the trainings for all mission outreach
groups in Africa – not just Liberia – on the path to fellowship. Missionary Dan
Kroll, who is currently living in Malawi, is a member of the One Africa Team
(OAT), He is the OAT designated Liaison for Liberia.   He and others will be making the trips.  Missionary Kroll offers this insightful
comment:

“Working in Liberia is like falling into a pot of stew,
including the peppers.  It does get hot
and there is a lot of stirring that happens whenever we meet.  People in Liberia are eager to know the
gospel and examine regularly how it fits, not only into the culture of the
land, but also into their own personal lives. 
The comfort of knowing – “my sins are forgiven.”  The excitement of going – “in the power of
the Holy Spirit I can find a way to honor my Lord.”  There is work to be done in Liberia – the
most exciting work ever: to make people know what a great God we have.”

Missionary John Hartmann, the One Africa Team (OAT) Mission Outreach Leader shares his “heart burn” about the Mission Outreach in Liberia: “Those peppers sure did leave a burn on my tongue! But peppers are not the only thing burning in Liberia. Peoples’ ears are burning to hear the refreshing and comforting message of God’s love and forgiveness found only in Jesus, our Savior! His Gospel is not just a spice, but the staple food that all people need every day. In the Bible, we have the perfect recipe for joy and peace for everyone! Let’s share!”

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. 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

I have left both shoe leather and sweat on the streets of
suburban subdivisions and communist-built housing blocks. I have offered Tennis
Camps, Renaissance Faires, Bible giveaways and free English lessons to attract
my busy neighbors’ attention. It is no small task to establish a new church in
either a home or a world mission setting. But God’s promises still encourage
church planters today: “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,
because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:58)

For the last nine months the members of Chikulupiriro
(Faith) Lutheran Church in Lilongwe, Malawi have been conducting worship
services in the village of Saera, about 18 miles away. It’s a thirty minute rumble
over rocky roads by car – but the lay evangelist usually travels by bicycle,
after working all night long. The pastor makes the trip every other month by
motorcycle, which is much easier to get unstuck from the mud than a car once
the rains begin.

Some WELS Home Missions begin their existence in a member’s
home or in a school cafeteria. When the Lutherans roll into Saera, they set up
shop under the shadiest trees and the children come running. Judging from their
excitement, you’d think that Martians had landed. Some WELS Home Missions offer
outdoor Easter services in a park or on the beach, but I wonder how many of
them have been graced by the presence of goats, pigs and chickens?

Some WELS Home Missions are blessed with a keyboardist or a
computer that plays digital hymns through a P.A. system. The worshippers in
Saera hear the evangelist’s singing and preaching via a battery-powered
bullhorn. WELS members of a mission church are well acquainted with “Lutheran
exercises” – working up a sweat before the service setting up chairs, chancel
furniture and tables, and then taking it all down afterwards. Worshippers in an
African village church find their spots on benches, stumps or the ground, the
sweat running off their faces induced by the sun.

There is no budget for mass mailings or targeted ads on
social media. Word of mouth is the LCCA Malawi’s primary method of outreach in
new areas, supported by Bible tracts and the occasional visit by the talented
student choir of the Lutheran Bible Institute (LBI). New preaching stations are
always the result of a personal connection with a member of the LCCA. Saera is
the home village of a current LBI student. Once the connection is established,
the supervising pastor identifies a local man who can serve as the
congregation’s chairman and begins preparing him to conduct the worship
service. It is also important to establish a solid connection with the local
authorities, who in African villages are hereditary chiefs. On the day I
visited Saera there were 3 chiefs in attendance at our worship service.

In remote places like Saera there is a greater hunger for
the Gospel than in the busy urban centers. Nonetheless, even in a sleepy
village the devil is active and is working hard to distract people from the one
thing needed. The pastor is seeking permission to put up a grass structure on
the outskirts of the village, in order to put some distance between his flock
and the occasional Sunday drunks. The villagers are poor, primarily surviving
off of what they can grow, and they have large families with many mouths to
feed. The total offering taken on the day of my visit was just under $5, half
of it given by me. Few of the people are educated beyond primary school, and
Bible teaching proceeds slowly. The pastor and evangelist must patiently
instruct people about the differences between the true teachings of the Bible
and the false teachings of other church groups. 

A total of 82 people attended worship that Sunday in Saera.
In spite of the many logistical and spiritual challenges, the Holy Spirit is
blessing this outreach effort which is being conducted entirely by our local partners.
Once the Gospel seeds have been scattered, they sprout and grow by the
mysterious working of the Holy Spirit without our direct observation (see Mark
4:26-27). What a privilege it is to witness the zeal of these church planters
in Malawi!

Missionary John Roebke lives in Malawi and is the
Communications Director 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. 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