New Hope

“Come over and help us!”

This first century request came from a man in Macedonia (Acts 16:9).  Convinced that this plea was an outreach opportunity from God, a four-man team (Luke, Paul, Silas and Timothy) set out on a mission journey to answer the Call and share the gospel of Jesus.

They traveled to various locations, spoke to the local people, visited the places of prayer, “reasoned with the people from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead…” (Acts 17:2, 3)

The gospel did amazing things.  It gave the people…

New Hope.

“Come over and help us!”

This twenty-first century request came from a man in Bugiri, Uganda.  Convinced that this was an outreach opportunity from God, a three-man team was formed and set out on a mission journey to answer the Call and share the gospel message of Jesus.

What Paul and his team did in Macedonia and beyond, the three-man team did in Uganda: traveled to various places, spoke to the local people, visited the places of prayer and expounded the Scriptures.  By God’s grace, the results were the same: the gospel worked wonders and it gave people in Uganda…

New Hope.

The first century mission opportunity came by way of a vision (Acts 16:9). Last month’s opportunity came via an email.  The request for help came from a man named Makisimu Musa, a pastor leading a fledgling church body in Uganda.  Back in 2008 he caught wind of a Lutheran Church body in America called the WELS as well as a synod in Zambia and Malawi called the LCCA.  (Pastor Musa was attending a school in Kenya and was told about the Lutheran Church, specifically about WELS and the LCCA in Zambia & Malawi.) He heard about their sound doctrine and practice and wanted to know more.  He consulted with his fellow Pastors and Evangelists and together they decided it was time for them to reach out for help. 

Frustrated with church politics, confused with false teachings, discouraged with a lack of Biblically sound materials, and uncertain of a God-pleasing way forward, they sent the message:

“Come over and help us!”

Those weren’t the exact words nor the only words but it was the bottom line message. It went first to Pastor David Bivens (Divine Savior Lutheran Church, Sienna Plantation, Texas), the Chairman of the Administrative Committee for Africa.  Pastor Bivens then passed it along and eventually it landed on the desk of Missionary John Hartmann in Zambia who is the One Africa Team (OAT) Outreach Coordinator for Africa.  He assembled a team, set the dates and planned the trip.  On 1 December 2018 Missionary Hartmann, Pastor Pembeleka, and Missionary Holtz touched down in Entebbe, Uganda. 

The mission journey began. (The outreach mission trip dates were set for 30 November 2018 – 13 December 2018.)

We stayed with Pastor Musa and his family in his rural based home.  He had put together an aggressive schedule for us:  travel to 8 congregations, meet 6 pastors and 5 evangelists, teach three days of lessons, and attend two days of meetings.

In it all, we witnessed the Body of Christ in action:

• Church leaders attended 18 hours of  lessons and presentations (Justification, the Church, and Stewardship);
• Pastors preached the Word & administered baptism;
• The Pastor’s dear wife and others cooked our meals, washed our clothes and tidied our rooms;
• A Lutheran member drove us safely to all our destinations;
• Congregations prepared meals and traditional entertainment of plays, dramas, dances, and songs;
• Several people served as translators, turning our English words into Luganda and Lusoga.

Spending a dozen nights and covering over a thousand kilometers gave us a glimpse of the Ugandan people and their beautiful land.  Uganda truly lives up to her name: the Pearl of Africa.  So many natural wonders!  Among the many, Uganda boasts the second largest lake in the world (Victoria) and the source of the longest river on earth (Nile). We were blessed to see them both. 

But for us, the real Pearl of Africa is the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:45,46):  the gospel of Jesus Christ!

• It’s what prompted the first email from Pastor Musa;
• It’s what motivated our mission outreach trip;
• It was the foundation of our lessons¹ and the focus of our meetings.

And it will guide any future plans and discussions with these new found brothers and sisters in Uganda.

Dear Mission Partners, may I humbly send you a request, too?  Our plea comes from Uganda:

“Come over and help us!”

You don’t need to go there to answer the call. We simply, yet resolutely, ask for your prayers.  Will you put Uganda on your prayer list?  Pray for this mission outreach effort.  The Lord has given us this wonderful opportunity and the gospel is already doing amazing things.  The Pearl of Great Price is the only True Pearl of Africa…and the world! 

Oh, by the way, as these Christians in Uganda find their footing and forge ahead, it’s this “Pearl” that reminds them why they chose the name they did for their new church body:

New Hope.

Your Malawi Mission Partner,
John Holtz