Nigeria and Cameroon have a combined population of over 200 million people. Guess how many resident WELS missionaries are based in West Africa? There are only two – and one of them must split his time between both countries.
Everyone agreed that it would be difficult to find someone to serve in this capacity. But the Holy Spirit knew who would be willing to take up this challenging position. Rev. Jeff Heitsch and his wife Stephanie (Mueller) will now represent our Synod as missionaries to Nigeria and Cameroon. Pastor Heitsch spent the last 19 years serving Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming where his closest brothers in ministry were an hour’s drive away. He will have a little further distance to travel for pastors’ conferences now.
Although Missionary Heitsch is the coordinator for Nigeria he will not be living there, due to the challenging security issues in the country and the needs of the church in Cameroon. Instead, the Heitsches will reside in the city of Bamenda, a city of about half a million people in the northwest region of Cameroon. Bamenda is a three and a half hour trip by car to the Nigerian border.
Our two sister church bodies in Nigeria, Christ the King Lutheran Church and All Saints Lutheran Church, have a combined membership of over 5,000 people served by 52 Nigerian pastors and 52 lay preachers. Because Missionary Heitsch will be away from home quite regularly, his wife Stephanie will accompany him on his visits. The daughter of a former WELS missionary to Africa and a pastor’s wife, Stephanie will be a great support for her husband and resource for the wives of Nigerian leaders.
Isolation is a challenge for our missionaries in West Africa. Missionary Dan Kroll, a veteran of Africa missions for over two decades, has been serving in Cameroon for just over three years. He and his wife Karen live in the city of Kumba, which is a five and a half hours drive from Bamenda. Bamenda does have some North American missionaries from other denominations, so the Heitsches will form friendships there. It’s not the same as fellowship, but at least there will be people who “know the ropes” in Cameroon and can help them understand their new surroundings.
The Krolls are very familiar with the ministry in Nigeria and are eager to share the challenges of ministry of Cameroon with their new mission partners. The two families will share both struggles and blessings as the Lord provides. After several years of missionaries cycling through the field, and the retirement of Rev. Doug Weiser in June of 2017 we pray that Missionaries Kroll and Heitsch will assist the Lutheran Church of Cameroon to maintain consistent attitudes and policies.
Keep our newest missionary family in your prayers as they share the love of Jesus with our brothers and sisters in Nigeria and Cameroon. You can keep up with the Heitsches as they transition to their new life in Africa by following their blog at https://jsheitsch.wixsite.com/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
God bless the Heitsches! Their daughter Sami Jo was our member in Nashville and was loved by all. Her friendliness was contagious!
She gets her outgoing nature from her parents. They will have many opportunities to make new friends in Africa