In the year 1964 the WELS began training men for the public ministry of the LCCA on in Lusaka, Zambia. Due to the growth of the Malawi field, eleven years later a second worker training school opened in Lilongwe, Malawi. Students from both Zambia and Malawi study at the Lutheran Bible Institute in Lilongwe for three years, and then spend another three years at the Lutheran Seminary in Lusaka. Students spend an additional year as Vicars, serving congregations under the supervision of more experienced pastors, before being ordained into the ministry.

Recently, I attended the installation and ordination of one of my former students.  After seven years of ministerial education, Pastor Charles Mandevu was called to a dual parish in the country.  The churches’ members were very happy.  Although their congregation was established in 1976, this is the first time they are being served by a full-time pastor.  The church choir even composed a song for the occasion.

A Malawian pastor presided over the liturgy. A second Malawian pastor preached the sermon. A third Malawian conducted the rite of ordination. Together with them, I held my hand over Pastor Mandevu and gave him a blessing on this ministry.  It was a touching moment for me.

Two Malawian and two Zambian national called workers currently teach in the two worker training schools in Lilongwe and Lusaka. In addition, WELS One Africa Team supports four full-time missionaries who help teach men like Pastor Charles prepare themselves for the public ministry. WELS also supports other resident American missionaries who offer opportunities for pastors in the LCCA to continue growing in the Word and to sharpen their ministry skills.

The most effective way we can facilitate the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ across the African continent is by helping our sister synods to train their pastors.  These national pastors are well-prepared to care for their flocks and to empower them to evangelize their fellow Africans.  Hold a virtual hand over all of them from a distance and bless their ministries in Africa.

Missionary Paul Nitz has been living on the campus of the Lutheran Bible Institute in Lilongwe, Malawi for fourteen years. In addition to teaching Biblical languages he serves as the school’s principal. He is also the Integrator (Chairman) of 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

Video

I have a very nice short video of choir singing their special song for ordination.

Words of the song:

“Tikondwere, tikondwere ife tonse, pakudzodzedwa pa Mbusa Mandevu”

[Let’s celebrate, all of us, on the ordination of Pastor Mandevu].

Nehemiah once rode around the walls of Jerusalem to carefully evaluate their condition. (Nehemiah 2:11-20) He verified what he had heard: It’s time to rebuild. The leadership in the Lutheran Church of Central Africa in Malawi (LCCA-M) looked at the condition of the Synod and concluded the same:
It’s time to rebuild.

And so the news was sent out across the country of Malawi to the LCCA membership: “Come, let us build LCCA!” The theme of the Synod Convention hovers and waves overhead like a banner.  It speaks of a vision and an action plan.  Open doors and open hearts.  Harvest fields of Malawi!

Determination.
Commitment.
Resolve.

But please don’t take the words wrongly.  It could sound like another attempt at a modern day Tower of Babel. “Come let us make our name great!” (Genesis 11: 4) It’s not that. This isn’t a prideful attempt to build up the LCCA name.  (We all know what happened the first time around in the plain in Shinar in Genesis 11:1-9).

The effort to build the LCCA is not about towers and walls but about men and women and children and ministry.  It is not meant to rebel against God but to honor Him.  This is the LCCA effort to raise the name, not of the LCCA, but that of Jesus Christ!

Out-going LCCA-M President Pastor R. Matope said it well and set the tone of the 2018 Convention with his opening remarks of his report to the Synod: “I thank Almighty God for his never ending love.  Sometimes we became tired of serving God but God never stopped loving us.  He has kept us for the past two years.  He forgives our sins and assures us about our eternal home where we will enjoy eternal rest.  He gave us the church so that through it his name should be known and our faith can be strengthened.  He promised us to be with us always and this should give us zeal to forge ahead with the ministry.”

Ah, yes, zeal to forge ahead. Not so much with our own determination, commitment and resolve (we all know how well that works, huh!?) but with God’s. Look to the Lord and His strength! (Psalm 105: 4) The PROMISES and STRENGTH of God encouraged Nehemiah in his task and those same Twin Towers are encouraging us in ours.

So what’s the first thing Nehemiah did?  Rally the men?  Enlist the builders?  Hand out shovels?  Raise a hammer?  Move a stone?  Mark the boundaries?Even before he got on his horse, he got on his knees! “O, Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God…let your ear be attentive and your eyes open…I confess the sins we…including myself…have committed against you…we have not obeyed the commands…you gave…give your servant success today…”

A humble appeal to a mighty God.
An honest confession of sin.
Confidence that it is God who grants success.

And so with humility, repentance and confidence, the delegates met in Convention for two full days (25^th and 26^th September 2018). Before anything else came worship and prayer, confession and absolution, Word and Communion. Ah yes, God-given zeal to forge ahead! And forge ahead we did.

A new Constitution was engaged,¹
New leaders were elected,²
Essays presented,³
Reports given and plans made.

In it all,

One was honored. (God!)
A name was raised. (Christ’s!)
Rebuilding begun (LCCA-M!)

You may not see the sign, but it’s there: “LCCA-M is Under Construction.”

Come, Let Us Build LCCA!

Missionary John Holtz

Your Malawi Mission Partner

1. 1. The New Constitution had been previously prepared and presented at the Synod Convention in 2016 for approval; at that time it was voted that the Synod would officially begin to use it at the 2018 Synod Convention.
   2. Elected LCCA-M leaders:
      
      • Chairman: Rev. Enock Mkowasenga.
      • Secretary: Mr. Tendai Lusio.
      • Treasurer: Mr. Stephen Baloyi.
      • Appointed by the Synodical Council:
        • Vice Chairman: Rev. Bright Pembeleka
   3. Essays:
      • What is the Role of the Church and its members? (by Rev. Msowoya)
      • The Role of Pastors in the LCCA. (by Rev. Jeffrey)
      • Building the Body of Christ: The Role of WELS Missionaries in the LCCA-Malawi today. (By Missionary Roebke).

This week’s post is written by Kathryn (nee Ulhorn) Felgenhauer, whose husband Stefan is the new Operations Manager for One Africa Team.

My husband and I visited the continent of Africa for the very first time 20 years ago. Four years later, we moved here for our first tour of duty.  Most of the missionary families currently living in Africa have lived there for more than two decades. They hardly consider their overseas service as “foreign” anymore.  Their lives tell the story of WELS mission work in Africa.

Our family has a unique perspective. We have transitioned back and forth between North American culture and African culture several times. We have a well-rounded view of both Developed Countries and Developing Countries. The readjustments we’ve made have been a trial, but they have also give us valuable insight into both worlds.

So now we’ve been here in Zambia for just over a week.  What are we thinking? What are we feeling? And how is the adjustment going this time?

First impressions can be useful tools.  Stefan and I find it interesting that in our time of moving between cultures we have short-lived first impressions upon returning to a place we used to live.  It’s fascinating to take note of those first impressions, before our previous experience takes over and we settle into our routine once again.  I keenly remember my first impressions when we moved to Africa the second time. Even though we had lived six years in Africa and still had keen memories of that time stuck in our minds, we had forgotten about the challenges of day to day living in a developing country.

In general, the first impressions we have had this time are of moving to a somewhat familiar African country (Zambia) but also the added dimension of leaving our oldest child back “home” for schooling. Listen to what each member of our family has taken notice of thus far…

Anna (age 12 – born in Malawi):  I was looking forward to seeing the Seminary campus because we never lived close to any of those before.  It’s different than I thought but I was amazed at how big it was and happy to see the kids there.  I can’t wait to get my bike so I can ride it there.  A lot of things seem the same, like the gates on doors and the geckos and skinks on the walls, but I forgot how hot it is.  I’m looking forward to visiting Malawi and seeing some of my friends.  It’s fun to order Fanta at restaurants again and hopefully soon we can go swimming somewhere.

Benjamin (age 14 – born in Malawi, will return to the USA for school in 10 months):  Africa is like I remember it, but Zambia is a bit more modern (than Malawi) with a lot more shopping centers.  I was looking forward to being outside and barefoot and I am doing that again. It’s really dusty though.  Being in Africa feels like being back home.   It’s kinda hard getting used to slower Internet.  I look forward to finding soft drinks in glass bottles like I remember and visiting game parks to see the animals.  It seems weird to think that the next 10 months will be the longest amount of time I spend here.

Louisa (age 16 – born in Germany, attending high school stateside) – I am loving all the photos they’ve sent mostly of foods I remember, such as Blackcat peanut butter and Parmalat yoghurt and the mango juice. I was happy to see some jacaranda flowers. Finding time to facetime my family when it is still daylight so I can see outside has been tricky with a 7-hour time difference and I can’t talk to them during my evening because they are sleeping.  I can’t wait to visit at Christmas.

Kathy (not as young as I once was – born in the USA):  As the plane was descending I saw purple jacaranda trees, and exiting the plane we saw bright flame trees. That alone put a smile on my face.  Climbing into a car for the first time again was an odd feeling, sitting in the passenger seat on the left.  It actually made me feel a bit dizzy and I’m a bit nervous about driving again, with the deep ditches on the sides of the roads.  I had forgotten how dry and red the earth looks this time of year.  The streets seemed less congested on our drive, but the style of the house we are currently staying in was so familiar.  Tiled floors throughout, locked gates on doors, a limited water supply in the reserve tanks and candles at the ready for the electricity outages.  “I know how to do this”, I told myself.  The trill and song of the birds that first morning was unbelievable.  I knew I had been missing it.  It is a  new place with much that is familiar. I long to settle into our life, getting our own kitchen items, our own bed, and our own daily routine.  That’s going to take quite some time yet.  It’s already been 5 months of transition since Stefan was hired, and it could be several more.  I am praying for patience.  I keep checking the time to see what Louisa must be doing back in the US.  I am so thankful for the technology that lets us keep in touch.

Stefan (a little more grey – born in East Germany):  I’m so happy to be back in a warm climate again.  I did forget how warm it is this time of year and how dusty everything gets. I knew I was back in Africa when we stepped off the plane and I had to walk quite a ways on foot to get into the airport.  The wait to get through immigration tested my German patience.   The woodsmoke-filled air is strong too but I do know the rains are coming and that will bring relief.  I am enjoying the African scenery and it makes me excited to explore and learn this new area. Visiting the other countries where One Africa Team is active is a priority for me and one I look forward to.  In some ways Zambia is more modern than I would have thought but the Internet is still slower than I got used to in the US.  Overall, I am thankful for the opportunity to be here and to serve the Lord in this way. It’s the work I love to do. It’s good to be back.

The Felgenhauers lived in Malawi from 2002-2008 and from 2012-2015 and are currently based in Lusaka, Zambia.

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