What do 10-year-olds in rural South Dakota know about Africa? Probably what a textbook or teacher has taught him or her. Probably that there are seven continents, and Africa is one of them. If they attend a WELS grade school, perhaps they know that there are missionaries in Africa. A 10-year-old South Dakotan would probably do better at telling you how to operate a combine than how to locate either Malawi or Cameroon on a map.

On October 31st and November 22nd, students from St. Martin’s in Watertown, SD, had the opportunity to Skype with missionaries from Africa and learn some lessons I pray will stick with them for life.

Why Africa? Why Watertown, SD? What’s the connection? How and why did a partnership developed between St. Martin’s Lutheran School in Watertown, South Dakota, and the One Africa Team?

Two months ago, St. Martin’s students wrote letters to 12 missionaries and their families across the world. Huge 25×30 inch letters were written with big handwriting and colorful somewhat messy pictures. The letters shared that students were praying on behalf of the missionaries, their families and their congregations. Students asked what life was like in their settings and shared Bible passages to encourage missionaries and their families.

We heard back from many of the missionaries. Some sent email replies. Another missionary sent a 12-minute YouTube video response. It was rewarding for students to hear back from these missionaries and their families. Through back-and-forth discussions with John Roebke, a missionary on the One Africa Team, we decided to attempt a Skype call between Missionary Roebke and the entire St. Martin’s school.

Because neither St. Martin’s nor Missionary Roebke had tried this “live audience” Skyping presentation method before, we held a test Skype call and worked through some of the technology glitches and operator error.

The day of the presentation was Reformation Day, Wednesday, October 31, 2018. (St. Martin’s has chapel on Wednesday mornings at 8:30.) After chapel, we showed a slideshow of images from Malawi and a short video of John’s security guards preparing and eating lunch. These served as background information and a “lead up” of sorts to the actual Skype call and presentation. At 9:04 am in Watertown, SD (4:04 pm in Lilongwe, Malawi), we called John Roebke. He answered. His face showed up about 12 feet tall on our two large screens in church and he greeted all of the St. Martin’s students with a “Happy Reformation Day!”

John spent 15 minutes sharing about life in Malawi: the food, the people, the place and what his ministry was like. As we Skyped I remember thinking it was incredible that we were over 8,800 miles away and yet were able to interact and hear a presentation from a real-life missionary. After his presentation, the students asked questions they had prepared. What is the weather like? (Hot.) What kinds of food do you eat? (Nsima, mangoes and pineapples) How big is your congregation? (40,000 members, because I get to help produce sermon books for all the congregations of the LCCA in Malawi) Do you ever miss home? (This is my home.)

Three weeks later on, on Friday, November 22, we were able to Skype with a second missionary and his wife who serve as part of the One Africa Team: Dan and Karen Kroll, who serve in Cameroon. Because of the tense political state in Cameroon, Cameroon was no longer a safe place to be. Instead the Krolls were staying at a house in Malawi. We were able to Skype with them and hear about how the Christians in Cameroon, who need our prayers, are still committed to sharing God’s Word during this time of political unrest.

We also heard about a day in the life of Dan and Karen. Dan shared how he gets to serve as a teacher for individuals looking to become pastors in Cameroon. Karen shared how she enjoyed serving in whatever way needed as a missionary’s wife – including everything from a morning of exterminating rats in their house to driving an ambulance in the afternoon. Additionally, Karen explained how she leads Bible studies for the wives of Dan’s seminary students.

Once again, students were able to ask questions: What is the weather like? (Hot) What is church like? (Sometimes a long distance to travel) Where is your home? (We’ve lived and served in Africa for over 20 years in Malawi and Cameroon. This is our home.)

The experience opened students’ eyes. Students were able to see and talk to a real-life missionaries in real time over 8,800 miles away. Students learned that missionaries serve in multiple ways; they not only preach, but also teach, write and encourage as a big part of their ministries. Students heard that missionaries were happy to serve in their homes of Africa, and that Africa is indeed their home.

Both John and the Krolls closed their respective Skype sessions in the same way. They encouraged the students to consider how they might serve God, not only now, but also in the future. They planted a seed for mission work perhaps somewhere down the line and urged students to think about how they might be able to share Jesus with others.

The Skyping experience was a wonderful opportunity. It provided our St. Martin’s students an opportunity to hear why and how missionaries share Jesus with others. It was free and fairly easy to organize. Students now have a few real faces and names to connect with mission work in Africa. We look forward to Skyping again and,we look forward to seeing how God blesses the missions in Africa and the students here in South Dakota.

Jonathan Niemi is the Principal of St. Martin’s Lutheran School in Watertown, S.D.

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

WELS’ third visit to Liberia brought together two originators of the Confessional Lutheran Church of Liberia (CLCL) and two members of WELS’ One Africa Team (OAT).  Besides CLCL’s regular attendees (they have gathered several times in recent years), we started to incorporate a few men from another group that has recently been started by a WELS Liberian in Minnesota AND another group that had expressed some interest in joining us.

Each side had much to offer: CLCL already has a constitution and organizational structure. They have about 240 hours worth of study behind them.  OAT has experience with our staunch WELS understanding of Scripture in an African context (the two missionaries representing OAT carried about 45 years experience with them).  Knowing the right way to shake hands is cool, but gaining a spiritual connection through Christ is incredible—done only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I say our mission work there is “a work in progress” because we are only now getting this program organized and bringing it into line with our other programs in Africa.  Our Liberian efforts are actually not much more than a foundation (solid – Scripture) and a bunch of building material stacked around it. Those materials are the 80 or so men and women with enough knowledge of Scripture to go beyond being simply part of a group or getting some sort of degree.  These are men and women who are beginning to understand about their Savior “…who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14).  There were some great questions as people discussed amongst themselves.  My favorite was the day before Reformation Day when one of the men challenged his brother: “Can you prove that from Scripture?” We still have a lot to do to establish a group in fellowship with WELS, but I think we are on the right track with our solid foundation—I can hardly wait to get back (Feb 2019) to put a few more blocks in the walls!

Missionary Dan Kroll serves West Africa and currently resides 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

This past October I had the opportunity to attend the LWMS Freedom Circuit Rally at Sure Foundation Lutheran Church in Queens, New York. Two years earlier I attended a women’s Mission Festival in Malawi at Fisi Lutheran Church. These two rallies on two different continents couldn’t be more different.

The rally in New York was in a store front church next to the elevated subway tracks that rumbled by. The rally in Malawi was outside in an open field under the hot African sun. Women drove all the way from Canada to attend the one-day rally in Queens. Women in Malawi walked for miles to attend the three-day rally and camped in the church.

I sampled local cuisine at both rallies.  At Sure Foundation the ladies prepared delicious Latin American dishes. In Malawi, the women lovingly prepared local food on campfires. In Malawi, six women’s choirs joyfully danced and sang in Chichewa during the worship service. In Queens we sang hymns in both English and in Spanish, as Sure Foundation is reaching out to both English and Spanish speakers in the community.

These were two very different rallies, but both of them had the same purpose. At both rallies God’s people raised their voices in worship and praise, pastors preached sermons and shared Bible studies, with the goal of strengthening our faith and reminding everyone that now is the time to share the love of our Savior with a dying world! That is the purpose of the Lutheran Women’s Mission Society in churches everywhere, both in Africa and in the United States.  It is also the mission of every Christian to share the Gospel with their families, neighbors, and the world.  Every day is a mission rally as we wait on this side of heaven. Look for the people God is placing in your path and tell them of the sure hope you have in your Savior!

 

Teacher Hank Hoenecke lives in Ft. Myers, FL and serves on the Administrative Committee for Africa

 

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