A kickoff always signals the start of a football game.  This past week (2-9 September), we kicked off a new organization in Africa. The One Africa Team brought together two leaders from each of WELS’ three partner church bodies in West Africa: Christ the King Lutheran Church of Nigeria (CKLCN), All Saints Lutheran Church of Nigeria (ASLCN), and the Lutheran Church of Cameroon (LCC).  These six men sat together to solve some very sticky issues involving budgets, curricula, and staffing of their Seminary programs. 

We set up a WhatsApp chat group to communicate throughout the week.  It was useful for communication about what we had done in the Conference Room, meals, etc. We also came to understand that we could also use this forum for a monthly meeting.  That meeting is currently scheduled for 8 am the first Thursday of each month.  Regular communication will greatly assist us in making plans and holding one another accountable so that things get done.

Our biggest topic of conversation was to gain an understanding of the One Africa Team’s vision for “Quarterly Ministry Plans.”  Much has changed since the days when missionaries resided in Nigeria and Cameroon. Due to security, WELS missionaries do not live in West Africa.  In those days our partners were quite free to come and tell us, “We need ____ to carry out our ministry.” Then the local missionary would see what he could do to provide it for them. 

Now, our West African brothers are writing their own plans. They are very clear about the programs that they are planning to implement. These plans include the purpose of the proposed program and who will be the participants and the teachers. Plans also include where the proposed program will take place, and benchmarks to gauge the program’s effectiveness.  The focus of ministry planning must remain on reaching people with the Gospel. However, detailed estimates of expenses and funding sources are important for successful planning. We now have a good understanding of what our partners need for the October-December quarter. With some minor adjustments, our partners will be ready to move forward with assistance from the One Africa Team.

We have opened a line of communication between the One Africa Team and the West African Leaders group. After the initial kickoff, the ball is now rolling.

Dan Kroll lives in Malawi and is the OAT Liaison to WELS Mission Partners in 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

I often question: What does HOME mean? Obviously, it depends.

After all, during our 30 years of marriage caring for 12 cats and 2 kids, John and I have set up households 16 times.  The longest we have lived in any dwelling is 8 years.  We have been involved in church work in Europe, North America, and now Africa.

“Home is where the [blank] is”: What is the best way to fill in the blank?  Where can we get clarity? This impacts my life now! How you answer shapes your well-being too.

The Word of Christ in our home

Recently my husband and I assisted with running a marriage workshop with Kenyan Lutheran couples. The majority of them live in their communities as pastor families. The schedule emphasized the importance of our relationships as we serve others in and out of our own households.  I especially was intrigued to be there since it was my first time in this part of Africa.  John started visiting Kenya in 2019.  It was fantastic to share this experience with him and all the other attendees.

We encouraged each other to practice the unique roles clearly given to husbands and wives in the Bible:

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord (Colossians 3:18)

Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them (Colossians 3:19)

Together we put our married lives into context: We are “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved” (Colossians 3:12) who are to “let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts, since as members of one body [we] were called to peace. And be thankful (verse 15).  

We practiced what St. Paul encourages all of us to do in the next verse:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.“

So here is how I would fill in the missing idea in the opening paragraph:

Home is where THE WORD of CHRIST is.

We focused on the Bible’s spiritual guidance for our married life as well as digging into practical themes. We adapted “God on Marriage” by Dr. Daniel Akin and “Distracted Marriage” by Pastor Randy Hunter (WELS Adult Discipleship). Pastor Onunda presented in both English and Swahili.

My husband directed whole-group activities and ensured private couple time to discuss God-given roles and overcome problems. We recommitted ourselves to give our marriage the attention it needs and to initiate meaningful conversations with each other. We reviewed how to build in time to discuss issues and to understand each other better. Most importantly, we realized we can forgive each other because of how God forgives us through what Christ did for us.

And quite fittingly, our marriage workshop concluded with the baptism of baby Milan, the only child in attendance.

Living together on this side of heaven

God gives us this gift of Christ’s promises in that Word. From it, we have the vital message that Christ has saved us and has prepared an eternal heavenly Home. This puts our earthly situations and relationships into perspective.  Christ gives us faith, peace, unity, thankfulness, wisdom, and fellowship even as we may struggle with where exactly we belong here in our lives.  

Sometimes we show frustration with how best to relate to others–even to our spouse whom we promised to love! But because Christ lived perfectly and died instead of us for our stubbornness and pride, we have forgiveness. This is not because of what we couples do but because of what Christ did for us. His sacrifice is perfect whereas our material and emotional sacrifices are not. Because Christ draped us in His perfection, God welcomes us to His home. Meanwhile, He gives us the strength to love our families even better each day.

Here are some of the comments we received after the workshop ended:

• “On behalf of my family l would like to thank the LCMC Kenya office for planning the retreat in Mombasa, It has refreshed our family and taught us new things that will strengthen our staying together and our work in the Lord’s vineyard too. It was a good encouragement too. Be blessed.”
• “I and my dear wife want to thank God and those Leaders who planned the pastors’ trip to Mombasa. May almighty God bless you all servants we are so grateful for the unity and love we had.”
• “I too and my wife dearly say thank you to almighty God, the Lcmc leadership, and our mission partners for the opportunity of bringing us together. We wish to have this annually for the health of the family of which we are the role model.
  Any member with useful material please share.”

Please pray that God uses the time we spent together to strengthen Christian love in our homes.

May God help us keep the Word of Christ in our relationships as we are headed for our heavenly HOME!

Nancy Roebke lives in Malawi with her husband John.

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

Today’s post is written by Karen Kroll, a missionary wife who enjoys the smell of good coffee. She recently taught English to students enrolled in a school in Dukem, Ethiopia. The Lutheran Church of Ethiopia oversees the operation of this school and has plans to open others.   

I’ve never met a coffee I didn’t like. But until recently, I had never met a coffee like Ethiopian coffee. It takes coffee to another level.  I was blessed with the opportunity to accompany my husband, Dan to Ethiopia as he met with a group of believers interested in pursuing fellowship with WELS.  As the men met, I spent the week teaching English to children Grades K-5 at Maor Lutheran School in Dukem. This is a ministry of our sister synod, the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia. 

Pleasing Smells

While in Ethiopia, I learned there is no such thing as grabbing a “quick cup of coffee”.   It really is a process – not an event. And every morning before I began my day of teaching, I would watch the process.  Lighting the charcoal, roasting the beans, (which would then be brought to our table so we could fully enjoy the experience), and then grinding them.  As the coffee simmers, they light incense which fills the air with a lovely aroma.  And then, finally, they bring you the coffee.  The flavor of the coffee mixed with the pleasing smell of the incense left me with a smile of contentment on my face.   Enjoying those pleasant smells reminded me of the evening vesper liturgy in Christian Worship where Psalm 141 is put to music, “Let my prayer rise before you like incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”

In my mind, it conjures up an image of long ago: a priest in the middle of the desert, offering a sacrifice in the Tabernacle.  I realize that the image is overly romanticized in my mind. The reality is that these sacrifices produced anything but a pleasing aroma.  The slaughter of the animals and the blood mixed with the heat from the desert is not a pleasing smell at all! But to God, it was a whole different matter.  The smell drifted to the heavens and our God smiled because it was the smell of his people worshipping him. 

Sacrifices to God

I can relate to the slaughtered animal.  It should be me!  I know the depth of my sin and like the animal…it stinks!  But I know the blood that was shed on Calvary took my sin away and by the power of the Spirit, even my acts of worship smell pleasing to the Lord. Yours do too!

My trip to Ethiopia wasn’t about coffee, it was about serving God’s people. I’m not sure how helpful I was in teaching English to the children in Dukem, but I do know I was able to show them the love that God shows me…a pleasing smell to the Lord.

A few rooms down from where I was teaching sat six men, intently studying the scriptures with the desire to share the intimacy of Church Fellowship…a pleasing smell to the Lord.

Pleasing smells drift to the Lord wherever God’s people are found.

Every nose that a parent wipes or every meal they cook…a pleasing smell to the Lord.

Patiently caring for an elderly parent…. a pleasing smell to the Lord.

A repentant heart…a pleasing smell to the Lord.

My husband and I returned home with incense and a burner.  We really love the smell of the traditional incense but it’s also a reminder of how we as God’s people are living sacrifices…a pleasing smell to the Lord.

Karen Kroll lives in Malawi with her husband Missionary Dan Kroll.

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