All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. I Corinthians 12:27

Maksimu Musa and Johnson Balihikya are pastors in the Obadiah Lutheran Synod of Uganda. Last month they visited refugees from South Sudan at the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement. The purpose of this visit was to help a group in the camp organize a congregation. We pray that our Ugandan mission partners will shepherd more and more people with the Word of God.

The above is noteworthy, but how this visit came to be is worth remembering.

Two Bodies

In 2018, members of the One Africa Team (OAT) visited Uganda for the first time. They met with Christians organized as the Obadiah Lutheran Synod (OLS). Since that time and despite the delays caused by COVID fears, regular communication, joint Bible Studies, and additional visits continued.

Simultaneously, South Sudanese pastors in North America began to explore opportunities for outreach throughout the continent of Africa. One of these contacts was with a group in the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Uganda.

In early 2022, the OAT scheduled a visit to OLS with two goals in mind. One was to help prepare a request for formal fellowship with Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS.) The second was to meet with the South Sudanese refugees in Kiryandongo who desired to organize a Lutheran congregation. Visiting the refugee group along with the OAT members was Pastor Musa, the leader of the OLS.

We mutually decided that the Pastors of the OLS would conduct Bible studies with the group at Kiryandongo. In that this work was beyond the means of the OLS, the OAT covered the cost of the workshop. Now they have completed the first of two workshops.

Parts Working Together

The Lord used many different people and groups to make this all happen. The Lord used the online presence of the WELS to make contact with the OLS. He used WELS World Mission’s OAT to pursue that contact. The Joint Mission Council (JMO) coordinates the work of World and Home Missions. The JMO made communication between South Sudanese Christians in North America and those working in Africa possible.

Then the Lord moved the hearts of OLS leaders to share the good news with those in the refugee camp. Then he equipped them to carry out the workshop. The visiting pastors of the OLS used Nuer language materials, prepared by Multi-Language Productions of the WELS World Missions. In addition, thousands of Christians have supported our work with their prayers and offerings.

Truly the church is a body with many parts and one Head, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Missionary Howard Mohlke lives in Zambia and is the leader of the One Africa Team.

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

Greetings from Uganda!

One Africa Team (OAT) Representatives Missionary Howard Mohlke (OAT Leader) and Missionary John Holtz (OAT Liaison to Uganda) met with the leadership of the Obadiah Lutheran Synod (OLS) in March 2022. This was another meeting among many (in-person and online) that have taken place since 2018.  It was back then that they began working through the Four Stage process to declare doctrinal unity and fellowship.  It has been a long and adventurous road! 

This March meeting marked a memorable milestone occasion: OLS leadership wrote a draft (but official) request for doctrinal unity/fellowship with WELS!  Together with that request, they have also written a summary of doctrine and practice and a report describing the relationship between OLS and WELS/OAT.  After our in-person meeting, the OLS has again met on their own to finalize and formalize their draft documents.  These documents will be sent to the WELS/OAT for consideration.

In addition to the OLS leadership writing official documents, the visit was fruitful in other ways: 

We shared the Word of God

We visited OLS congregations

We visited South Sudanese refugees in two different settlement camps

The Lord has opened doors for mission work in Africa. What a joy to walk through them. Thank you all for your partnership in the gospel.  What a blessed relationship it is! We appreciate your prayer, encouragement, and financial support as we “work while it is day!” (John 9:4)

Missionaries John Holtz and Howard Mohlke live 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