One Africa Team Archives - WELS Friends of Africa

July 16, 2025July 15, 2025

A New Bishop in Tanzania

The Apostle Paul once wrote to Timothy, “This is a faithful saying: if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” (1 Timothy 3:1, NKJV). In other translations, the word “bishop” is rendered “overseer.” Regardless of the term used, the role carries the same weight: to care for Christ’s church, to faithfully teach God’s Word, and to lead with humility—much like a father guiding his family. Paul’s words remind us that this is indeed a noble calling.

September 7, 2022September 5, 2022

TELL-ing the World About Jesus

WELS Multi-Language Publications sponsors the TELL Network which offers online Bible courses to students around the world. One Africa Team missionaries are involved in teaching some of the courses, as well as pastors living in the United States. This week’s post features testimonials from two WELS pastors who are volunteering their time to teach students, due to a large number of new students.

Awakened Interest

Rev. Paul Spaude serves St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Niles, IL.

Recently Elizabeth joined my Zoom TELL class and asked for a prayer request: sleep. For whatever reason, it had evaded her. We prayed and God quickly answered. I asked Elizabeth a question; we heard deafening silence. Hours later WhatsApp dinged, “Pastor! I’m so sorry! I fell asleep in class!” Sleep may have found Elizabeth because she had been awake for over thirty hours – or her teacher was a bit boring. I am not going to seek out an answer. Regardless, Elizabeth has been back for more lessons because she loves studying the Bible with TELL.

November 3, 2021November 1, 2021

Hills to Conquer

LCCA Malawi Pastors enrolled in BDiv course

Oh, the hills. How striking they were as Howie Mohlke, his wife Leslie, and I drove east from Lilongwe, Malawi down toward Lake Malawi.

So were the sloping tea fields and the hills and valleys in the Sondu area of western Kenya when I saw them a few weeks later with Anariko Onunda: stunning.

*Tea field*s span the slopes in Western Kenya for miles

Why tell you about hills?