Things did not go according to the plan. No, not even by a mile.

What was the plan? The Lutheran Church of Ethiopia (LCE) wanted to start a Lutheran nursery school. The plan was that there would be three age levels – something like nursery school, preschool, and kindergarten. In addition to the normal subjects, students would be taught the word of God. The LCE planned to offer these classes in the city of Bishoftu, in the building where their largest congregation gathers to worship every Sunday. They planned to enroll about 75 students, some from their own membership and others from their community. The LCE leaders contacted all the appropriate government offices. They were very careful to follow all the government rules and regulations. And if everything went well with the nursery school, then they would add Grade 1 the following year. That was the plan.

But things did not go according to the plan. In fact, none of it happened. Everything failed. There is no nursery school in Bishoftu. Not a single child is enrolled there.

A Snag in Plans

What happened? As the time drew near for the school to open, it became clear that things were not going to go smoothly. All along, the government officials had been saying, “Oh yes, everything is fine,” yet they were delaying and delaying and delaying. They were refusing to give their final approval for the school. No one would say what the reason for their refusal was, but the bottom line for the LCE was that the local government officials would not grant permission for the school. All their carefully laid plans had failed.

But God had other plans. Shortly after the bottom fell out in Bishoftu, the LCE was contacted by the Bureau of Education from a nearby town. The nearby town is called Dukem; it’s just a few miles from Bishoftu. The government officials from Dukem urgently pleaded with the members of the LCE, “If they will not let you have a school in Bishoftu… please, please, please come and have your school in Dukem!”  They helped the LCE find two buildings where classes could be held. The officials in Dukem promised that they would provide government land on which to build a new facility in the future. They strongly urged the LCE not to limit the enrollment to just three levels of nursery school, but also to include some higher grades as well. They quickly processed all the paperwork and gave the necessary approvals.

A Greater Opportunity

And what was the end result? A brand new school in Dukem with two separate campuses.  About 30 new teachers. Students in the 3 nursery levels, plus Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and Grade 4.  Current enrollment: 759. That’s right, seven hundred and fifty-nine. That’s ten times more than the LCE had originally planned.

Do you ever end your prayers the way Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Not my will, but yours be done”? How do you feel when you say those words? Honestly, when I say those words, I’m often thinking to myself, “My will is the best. God’s will is second-best, and I’ll be disappointed if that’s what I receive. So God, please help me to grin and bear it when I don’t get what I want.”

Our Christian brothers and sisters in the LCE did not get what they had planned or wanted. They got ten times more than that.

So go ahead and make your plans. Make those plans as bold and ambitious as you see fit. But in the end, submit yourself to the will of God – not because you have to, but because God’s plans are better than yours.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20,21).

Mark Panning lives in Malawi

Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news and receive updates. Learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts at https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa

Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized (Acts 18:8)

It’s natural to share the Gospel with the members of our family household. We have many opportunities to apply God’s Word as we spend time together with people we love. However, it can also be very difficult to share our faith with our family, because no one knows our weaknesses and failures better than the members of our own household.

Nearly one out of two Ethiopians are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the historic faith of the Ethiopian nation. Although there is freedom of religion in Ethiopia, Christians of other Protestant denominations make up a very small minority. Yet in spite of these significant cultural challenges, the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia (LCE) is growing, as its members share their faith one household at a time.

The Household of Lam Nhial Luak

Lam Nhial Luak is an ethnic Nuer Sudanese who was born in Ethiopia and lived in the Gambella refugee camp. In his late teens, Lam became a Christian and began preaching God’s Word to his fellow refugees. His church elders sent him to Mekane Yesus Theological Seminary, where he observed how some senior pastors and teachers played up their ethnic and tribal identities to the point where it caused bad feelings and divisions among the students.

Lam was ready to leave after two years at Mekane Yesus Theological Seminary when he met Dr. Allen Sorum, the director of the Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. At his advice, Lam completed his degree at Mekane Yesus Theological Seminary, and then in 2020, he enrolled at the LCE’s school of ministry, Maor Lutheran Theological Seminary, located in the city of Bishoftu.

Lam moved to Bishoftu with his household. His nephew Akot Tut Luak was baptized and confirmed along with three of Lam’s own children. May God use these young Nuer Christians to help Lam build the Lutheran church in Gambella.

The Household of Col. Berhanu Merka Bedecho

Colonel (ret.) Berhanu Merka Bedecho has been the Chairman of the General Assembly of the LCE since its beginning. Col. Berhanu Merka served in the Ethiopian Air Force in Bishoftu until his retirement. His consistent Christian life and example led his brother Yohannes Merka Bedecho and sister-in-law Tsehay Godana Halala to visit and join the LCE.

Coming from a Calvinist background, Tsehay and their two children were baptized in the LCE. Yohannes is also an officer in the Ethiopian Air Force and works as a soldier, nurse, and pharmacist helping soldiers on the war front in Ethiopia and in neighboring South Sudan as part of the Peace Keeping Force for the past two years.

The Household of Berhanu Badebo

Berhanu Badebo is currently serving in the Defense Force of Ethiopia. Coming from a Muslim background, Christ brought him to faith about fifteen years ago. After hearing the preaching of an evangelist from the Lutheran church near his home village, Berhanu Badebo was baptized and immediately deployed to the war front in northern Ethiopia. During a recent short leave from military duty, he saw the LCE’s sign and cross with Luther’s seal on top of their G+4 building.

The four members of the Berhanu Badebo household joined the LCE. Berhanu Badebo confirmed his faith as a Lutheran and then returned to the war front. After careful and lengthy instruction his wife Hana Adem Wako, who also comes from a Muslim background, confirmed her faith in Christ in the presence of her husband and their two children. Hana is very happy that the Holy Spirit led her to confess Jesus as her Savior.

The Household of Kebede Getachew Yigezu

Rev. Dr. Kebede Getachew Yigezu is the LCE’s founder and President of Maor Lutheran Theological Seminary. Like the teaching household of Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:24-26), the members of the Kebede’s household are actively involved in leading instruction classes for new members of the LCE. Rev. Dr. Kebede’s son Efrem, who is currently studying for the ministry at Maor Lutheran Theological Seminary, led Berhanu Badebo through 32 lessons of Adult Instruction Class. Rev. Dr. Kebede’s wife Genet Degefa Edea met with Berhanu Badebo’s wife Hana twice a week to teach her Luther’s Catechism. Rev. Dr. Kebede himself taught Lam’s three children and his nephew, as well as Yohannes and Tsehay. We join with the LCE in celebrating the historic confirmation of these seven new members and ask God to continue building up the household of believers in Ethiopia (Gal. 6:10).

Missionary John Roebke lives in Malawi and is the Director of Communications for One Africa Team

Learn more about WELS mission work in the United States and in other countries around the globe at https://tasteofmissions.com/

From the first moment that Apollos walked into the synagogue in Ephesus, everyone could see his talent.  He was highly intelligent.  He was comfortable and confident in front of people.  His words were powerful and clear.  Best of all, he quickly proved himself to be a very committed and dedicated Christian.  Everyone could see that he had the talent and ability to be an ideal leader in the church.  All he really needed was a little extra training. 

Fortunately, there were teachers there in Ephesus who were ready and willing to give Apollos the training that he needed.  We read about it in the 18^th chapter of the Book of Acts:  “A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man and well versed in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. He spoke with burning zeal and taught the facts about Jesus accurately, although he knew only the baptism of John.  He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:24-26 EHV).

Identify and train.  Right from the beginning, the New Testament Christian church has worked to identify those who have the God-given talent and ability to serve as leaders in the church.  Then they train those men and women to do the work that God is calling them to do.

In the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia (LCE), our brothers and sisters in Christ have identified four people who appear to have the talent and the Christian dedication to serve as leaders in the church.  They have identified two young men, Ephrem Kebede Getachew and Cherinet Demeke Lemma, as possible future pastors.  They envision a young woman, Blen Berhanu Merka, as a future teacher and a program administrator for the new nursery school that the LCE is planning to open.  In addition to these three, there is Stephen Lam, a Nuer man from the Gambella region in western Ethiopia.  Stephen has been identified as a possible future pastor and teacher to the thousands of Sudanese Christians who are living in the Gambella refugee camps.

Clearly, all four of these have been blessed with spiritual gifts from God the Holy Spirit.  Their pastor, Rev. Kebede, often refers to them as “our brilliant scholars” or as “promising young men and women.”  All four of have demonstrated their Christian character and their commitment to Christ.  All they really need is a little extra training.

So where does that training come from?

Most of it will come from the LCE’s one and only ordained pastor, Rev. Kebede Getachew Yigezu.  Pastor Kebede teaches the vast majority of the courses at the LCE’s worker training school, Maor Lutheran Theological Seminary.  But that’s a huge job!  It’s much too big for just one person to do well, especially when we remember that Pastor Kebede must also be the spiritual shepherd to the LCE’s five congregations.

The Lutheran Church of Ethiopia and the WELS One Africa Team have agreed to collaborate and work together in the training of these students.  Pastor Kebede will still teach the majority of the courses, but missionaries from the WELS One Africa Team and teachers from the WELS Pastoral Studies Institute will also teach selected courses.  These classes will be taught online via Zoom.  Missionary John Roebke has begun teaching the first of these online courses beginning in May 2021. He is breaking new ground with many firsts – the first time he is teaching the Lutheran Confessions, the first time he is using Google Classroom to organize the assignments, and the first time that Maor students are using Zoom.

In Acts 18, Aquila and Priscilla identified Apollos as a potential spiritual leader for the church.  And after they had trained him, that’s exactly what Apollos would become.  “He provided much help to those who had become believers by grace” (Acts 18:27). 

Today we thank God that he has provided many qualified men and women to study for the public ministry.  May God make every one of them a blessing for his church.

Missionary Mark Panning lives in Malawi and is the OAT Liaison to the LCE

Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news and receive updates. Learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts at https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa