How did you become a Christian?  When did it happen?  Were there other people who helped you to know Christ? 

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to visit Ethiopia.  The main reason for my visit was to teach a course on St. Paul’s Letters to Timothy and Titus.  The course was intended primarily for young men who are preparing to be pastors in the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia (LCE).  There were seven students in the class. 

When I arrived, I asked each student to share his story.  How did you become a Christian?  When did it happen?  Were there other people who helped you to know Christ? All of them had interesting stories.  One student is the son of the LCE’s one and only pastor.  He didn’t ask to be born into that family, but he was.  And that is how he became a Christian.  Another student was a Sudanese man who came to Ethiopia as a refugee.  His mother and father were not Christian, but he learned about Jesus from his uncle, a man who is now a pastor in the WELS.  That’s how he became a Christian. 

I shared my story, too.  A father who was my seminary professor, who taught me so many ‘big religious words’ and deep truths about the scriptures that I can’t possibly remember all of them.  A mother who led me in my bedtime prayers, prayers that were so foundational to my spiritual development that I can’t possibly forget even one of them.  And that’s how I became a Christian.

All of us told very different stories, but one thing was the same in every one of them.  We were all so grateful to God for the people who helped us to know Christ.

St. Timothy had a story, too.  His father was a Greek who almost certainly did not believe in Jesus.  But Timothy’s mother was a dedicated Christian, and his grandmother was, too.  That’s how Timothy became a Christian.  Paul wrote in his Second Letter to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.  For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:5,6).

How can we thank God for those who shared the word of God with us?  And how can we honor those who have led us to faith in Christ?  St. Paul tells us how.  ”Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of because you know those from whom you learned it” (2 Timothy 3:14).

For about two weeks, the students and I studied the word of God in the Letters to Timothy and Titus.  We grew in our understanding of the gospel.  We honed our abilities to share God’s word with others and lead people to Christ.  That’s the best way to thank God for his blessings. 

When people tell their stories and thank God for those who helped them to know Christ, how many people will thank God for you?

Mark Panning lives in Malawi and is the One Africa Team Field Liaison to the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia

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

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/