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On September 24, 1977, my wife Beth and I, married only two months, stepped off a plane in Lusaka, Zambia for the first time. I was four months out of the seminary and was about to begin my ministry by serving as a missionary with the Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA). It was a difficult time for the 13-year-old country. Store shelves were all but empty as the import routes were cut off by the violent war of independence taking place on our south in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). But the welcome of the mission staff and especially the warm and cheerful Christians of Zambia helped us quickly make Zambia our first home. Continue reading “African Homecoming”

I felt it but I didn’t see it.

I was settling into my tent for the night.  Fumbling around with my backpack and belongings, something poked me in the finger. But what?  I didn’t know. An acacia thorn?  A bare wire?  A stray needle?

I was tired and ready for sleep but the thought of not knowing what had impaled my skin was bugging me. I turned on my solar light and I scoured the tent but found nothing that could have been the culprit.  So I got thinking…what if it was something else?  Something alive and hiding?  Something like…

A scorpion? Continue reading “Easter Reflection: “Where, Oh death, is your sting?””

I’m on a plane flying back home to Malawi. We just spent some intense days planning what our focus will be for the WELS One Africa Team in the upcoming year. We have a solid plan in place that I’m very pleased with. There’s no way this plan would be as good as it is without the help of the three business minded laymen on our team. I’ll tell you how they helped, but I also have a request. Pass on this post to a couple of your Christian business friends. I think they would be happy to see how business planning skills are a part of the success we are enjoying in our mission to Africa.

Continue reading “An Ambitious, Righteous Plan”