Arusha, Tanzania Seminar

Thursday – August 26, 2010

We are settling into Arusha. Last night was the first night that the five of us have spent together since our trip began and we enjoyed being able to sit down and discuss our work. This morning we again all met for breakfast in the dining room and enjoyed coffee, tea, watermelon, and Spanish Omelettes together before the day began. We had a seminar today with the Arusha men, so I had some work to do to prepare. I also had to get to the money exchange center to get money exchanged for Tanzania. I had a little left over from last year that I had saved and brought back, but it was only about the equivalent of $14, so it wasn’t going to get us very far. Jeremiah came by at about 10:00am and took Mike and I into Arusha to get money exchanged and to pick up some pens and notebooks for the seminar. It was a pretty good deal. I purchased a dozen notebooks for less than a quarter each and the same number of pens for less than 15 cents a piece.

Some pastors from the Arusha area stand outside Pastor Jeremiah's Church waiting for the seminar to begin.

From there we returned to the hotel to pick up the other three guys and then made our way to Jeremiah’s church where the seminar was to be held. We were met at the church by many pastors that I had met in the past, but a few new pastors as well. After everyone was introduced we began. I presented a study on the difference between the way that the Reformed and Lutheran churches view the Sacraments. There are many “reformed” churches in this area: Baptist, Methodist, Adventist, Presbyterian, and non-denominational. While there are some differences between them, they all strip the sacraments of God’s power and turn them into a work of man rather than a work of God. We had some good questions and profitable discussion during the presentation.

After a quick lunch prepared by the women of the congregation and brought right to the church, Mike presented a similar study. His presentation focused on the distinction between Sanctification and Justification. This too is an area that is misrepresented by the reformed churches and should be helpful to our pastors here.

Pastor Jeremiah and his family invited us into their home for refreshments following the seminar.

At around 4:00pm we wrapped up the seminar and drove the short way to Pastor Jeremiah’s home. He has a beautiful home that is made even more beautiful by the plants that are nurtured by his green thumb. His wife greeted us and welcomed us in. After some visiting we enjoyed drinks, nuts, bananas, and more. It was very good and we enjoyed getting to see Pastor Jeremiah’s family more. Sadly, Pastor Jeremiah’s niece passed away yesterday, so the family will be busy making plans for the funeral which will be on Saturday. She had been sick and in the hospital for a while, and finally was taken home by the Lord. Please keep Pastor Jeremiah’s family in your prayers during this time of their earthly loss. May He give them the comfort which only He can give.

Tomorrow we will be visiting the congregations that have been immersed in the seminary building turmoil with the LCEA and Pastor Angowi. We look forward to meeting with them as well, and we pray that the Lord would bless our meetings and visitations.

In His service,

Nathanael

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Into the Wilds of Tanzania

Wednesday – August 25, 2010

On the road again... We were up and going early again this morning. Our bus from Nairobi, Kenya to Arusha, Tanzania was scheduled to leave at 8:00am. Charles said he would be at the Southern Blue to pick us up at 7:30. But before we left we had some things to take care of. We had to get four bags of Mike’s put in storage. Since there will be five of us traveling together, we want to carry as little extra baggage as possible. So we stored the bags that contained items for Etago and Mois Bridge and took only the things that would be needed in Tanzania.

Charles was a little late this morning and we were a little concerned that we might not make our bus. When he finally arrived it was only 5 minutes to eight, and traffic was pretty thick. But we made it to the bus stop before they were ready to go. We unloaded our bags from the car and handed them up to the top of the bus to be tied down for the trip. Then we piled on to the bus and settled in at the back of the bus. Russ and I have taken this shuttle several times in the past few years and it is very comfortable compared to other means of transportation.

A view of a small town along the "Arusha Road" with chickens for sale. Chicken anyone?

After making a stop for fuel and to pick up a couple more passengers, we finally got on the road. We left at about 8:45am for the 7 hour trip to Arusha. The first year I came to East Africa, the roads here were very poor. In the years since they have been in the process of rebuilding most of the main roads in Kenya and Tanzania. The road from Nairobi to Arusha is one that has been under construction. It was much better this year, but still has a great deal that is not finished. In those areas where they are still working on the road, we have to take diversions over rough ground and it rattles the bones inside your body! It is slow going, but maybe by next year they will be finished with this road.

Our shuttle ride from Nairobi to Arusha. Stephen, Mike and Todd pictured.

We had no trouble crossing the border into Tanzania, although I was disappointed that the road on the Tanzania side was now under construction as well! Maybe next year is a bit optimistic....

We arrived in Arusha a little after 3:00pm and got off at our usual Arusha residence, the Eland Motel. We had made arrangements to stay at a different hotel this year which was cheaper and advertized better accommodations than what we have been getting at the Eland. Pastor Jeremiah was planning to pick us up, so we enjoyed a Coke at the Eland while we waited for him to arrive. We were all hot and dusty after the bus ride and enjoyed the cold drink.

As you can see, we were all eager to get off the bus at the Eland Hotel in Arusha. "Karibu" means "welcome" in Swahili.

Jeremiah finally arrived and took us in two shifts to our new residence, the Caanan Hotel. We checked in and settled in to our rooms, while we waited for Jeremiah to pick up Pastor Malyi. When they arrived we discussed our schedule for the week and the current seminary building situation in Himo, Tanzania. It seems that things are leaning in favor of our getting the building back, but we will see how things play out. We ask for the Lord’s blessings on the upcoming week, that His name may be furthered through the proclamation of His salvation!

In Christ,

Nathanael

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’” – Psalm 91:1-2

Nairobi Seminar

Tuesday – August 24, 2010

We were up and going again this morning earlier than we would have liked. It sure felt like a short night since we didn’t crawl into bed until after 2:30am. But the bed felt good and we fell right asleep. When I went down in the morning to find out what room Stephen and Russ were in and to check on getting the boxes that we had left earlier, I found Russ standing at the desk, inquiring about whether we had made it in. It was good to see him! Stephen, Russ, Todd and I gathered in the kitchen for breakfast and met with Charles to organize our schedule.

James picked us up at 9:45 to take us to a hall which we had rented for our seminar for the Nairobi men. After introductions had been made and greetings shared, we began. In the morning Todd presented his study on Biblical Interpretation, and after lunch I presented the study on the Pastor’s Job. Once again, good questions were asked which led us to cover other valuable topics that are plaguing the church today. The same things that we find so appalling in the churches in the US are going on here in Africa as well.

As we closed our conference, I was reminded once again of the following words of the Apostle Paul: “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. ” – 2 Timothy 4:2-5

Our men here in East Africa are facing the same struggles here that we are facing in the US. But they are asking for our help to grow in the Word and to be better prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in them. There is so much ground to cover and so little time that we are able to spend with each group of men. There is so much more that needs to be done, but which we cannot accomplish in the short time that we have here each year. We continue to pray that the Lord would provide according to His good and gracious will.

At the same time we also give thanks for how the Lord does continue to provide. When Russ and Stephen came over they brought three more boxes containing books and other items for the work here. In all we have six containers of materials for the churches here. I had already given one box to Charles for the Nairobi group, but I sorted through the materials again and put together another box for the pastors and churches here. It contained Bibles, Catechisms, Bible History books, Dogmatics books, Devotion books, Hymnals, Spokesman issues, a laptop computer and much more. All of these materials were donated by members of the CLC for our work overseas! What a help these books have been in the past, and continue to be as they continue to grow in the knowledge of the great things God has done for us. On behalf of our overseas Missions, I would like to thank everyone who has assisted in the Lord’s work by donating items like these over the past few years. Your help in this way is greatly needed and appreciated! If you have questions about how you can help or what items would be beneficial to donate, please contact me at ndmayhew@juno.com. Thank you!

A picture of our group after finally getting together! (From L to R) Stephen, Mike, Todd, and Russ.

After some more work dividing materials for our various districts over here and a trip to the Internet Café down the street, we returned to our rooms for some more work. We ate a late supper and then Charles arrived to take us to the airport to pick up Michael Gurath. He was scheduled to arrive at 9:00pm, and while his plane was on time, it took him almost an hour to get through immigration, collect his bags and clear customs. It had been a long flight for him from Phoenix via London and he was exhausted. We visited a little on the way back to the hotel, but look forward to doing more tomorrow on the bus ride to Arusha. We give thanks to the Lord for his safe arrival and look forward to having him with us during the remaining weeks.

More later....

In Christ,

Nathanael

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!” – Psalm 105:1-3

Leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo

Monday – August 23, 2010

It was an interesting morning. We were supposed to be at the airport three hours before our flight which was scheduled for 1:00pm. Things didn’t work out as smoothly as we had hoped.

We began our morning by finishing packing and making sure everything was ready for our flight. We were joined by Pastor Yumba, our translator Mark, and Martin, our copy man for breakfast in the hotel. Todd and I enjoyed our final ham and cheese omelette and the Mark and Martin had various items from the buffet. We had a good visit, which we especially enjoyed since it was our last opportunity. At about 9:30am Pastor Daniel and Pastor Muzakuza arrived, but we waited for our transportation for another half an hour. We were supposed to be at the airport by this time, but we still had to stop and say goodbye to Martin Essien. We had a brief visit with him at his hotel and thanked him for all he had done, and wished him the Lord’s blessings on his remaining days here.

Pastor Yumba, Martin and Mark join Todd and I for breakfast at our hotel.

Then we were finally off to the airport. Pastor Daniel was accompanying us mainly because he works at the airport and was able to “expedite” our journey. After Todd had his checked bag screened we had to buy two $50 “go passes” that were necessary for exiting the country. By this time we had quite the entourage. There were nine men surrounding us from the ELCC and the CCLC eager to help us. It was a bit chaotic. Finally we made it to the check in desk where they checked our flight itinerary, passports, and go passes. We were given hand-written vouchers that we needed to take to a second desk behind the first. There were two men at this desk, and they were not very friendly. We handed them our passports, itineraries and the hand-written vouchers, but they couldn’t find us on the list. Finally the lady at the first desk came back and found us on the list, but they said there still was a problem and asked us to sit down and wait.

Our entourage made things even more difficult, because they wanted to help but the people at the desk were getting tired of answering all the same questions five times! Finally they called us back over and printed off our boarding passes and checked Todd’s bag. We were the last ones checking onto the flight, and as we were finishing up, the men behind the counter started collecting the dividing poles and put them on the conveyer belt which took the luggage away. They were sending them outside to reuse them for plane boarding! We must be in Africa...

When we were all finished, Pastor Daniel took us through immigration and into the waiting area. There were only three plane on the tarmac and one of them was undergoing maintenance! The working planes taxied and left and we watched our plane land and pull up outside. Passengers exited the plane and we were escorted out to board the plane. There had been no security check of our carry on luggage to this point, but we had to go through a hand security check before walking up the boarding ladder to the plane. Pastor Daniel walked us all the way up to the boarding ladder and didn’t return back to the terminal until we were aboard.

Our flight took off at just after 1:00pm. We flew southeast out of Lubumbashi down the “tail” of the DRC which is sandwiched between the two surrounding borders with Zambia and when we reached the end we headed directly east to Lilongwe, Malawi. We had a brief stop there as they let passengers off the plane and put others back on for the flight to Addis Ababa.

Waiting for liftoff at the Lilongwe Airport.

At 4:00pm we were in the air again headed straight north. The sun began to set in the west as we made our way back to Ethiopia. We landed on time, at 8:00pm and had to kill some time in the airport as we waited for our 11:00pm flight to Nairobi. In the airport, and interestingly enough, on our same flight to Nairobi, we met a young man named Powell from Cheyenne, Wyoming, of all places! It wasn’t hard to pick him out of the eclectic crowd with his WYOMING t-shirt and cowboy boots! You can find just about anything in this airport. We had a good visit with him while we sat at our boarding gate waiting for our plane to be ready.

It was only a two hour flight back to Nairobi, and there were very few people on our flight, so we had no trouble getting through customs and collecting Todd’s bag. Charles was waiting for us outside when we exited the terminal, and with the empty Nairobi streets at 1:30 in the morning, we made good time back to our hotel. We checked in to the Southern Blue once more, said goodnight to James, Jonathan, Charles and Rosa (Charles’ wife) who had come to pick us up.

We are off to bed now. We have a meeting with Charles in the morning, and then a seminar with the Nairobi area men from 10:00-3:00, so it will be a short night again, but we are looking forward to finally seeing Russ and Stephen and meeting with the men here.

In Christ,

Nathanael

"Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” – Psalm 127:1

Sunday Worship at Trinite

Sunday – August 22, 2010

It is Sunday. We were scheduled to visit Trinite Lutheran Church in Bel Air this morning where Pastor Muzakuza is the pastor. We didn’t eat breakfast, just refilled our water bottles and grabbed a quick glass of juice. We were picked up at 9:00am, picked up Mr. Essien, and made the now familiar trip to Bel Air. We were there a little early (I think) and they were still waiting for members of the congregation to show up, so we were invited into Pastor Muzakuza’s home were we visited a little while we waited. Finally at about 10:00am we were escorted by the church usher from the house over to the church and through the singing congregation to the front of the church. I went first, followed by John (our translator), Todd, and Mr. Essien, then three robed pastors and finally Pastor Muzakuza himself. The usher kept busy moving people from one set to another to make room for the people that continued to arrive. The choir sat on one side of the church, near the front and opposite them was the children’s section. This section also filled up quickly. Finally there was no room left. Chairs were brought in from the outside and even the center isle was filled! Once again, people were left standing outside. There must have been members from several churches here, because there were at least 4 pastors of the ELCC in attendance, as well as several church leaders from several other congregations we had visited.

It was a service of joy. Many songs were sung accompanied by clapping and dancing. The dancing was so vigorous that the stomping of feet raised a cloud of dust from the carpet at the front of the church! You could see the haze in the air and it was difficult to breath at times, but the air was also full of praise.

In the middle of the service, Todd was invited to preach the sermon. He preached on the Good Shepherd and brought a wonderful Law and Gospel sermon to the people gathered at Trinite church. Following the sermon Pastor Muzakuza conducted the installation of two elders for the church. We were invited to participate in the laying on of hands along with the three other pastors who were in attendance. It was obvious that this was an important occasion for the church.

The service lasted two hours. After the benediction was given and some greetings were shared, we were ushered out of church through the throng of people. When outside we formed a line with everyone shaking hands with everyone else in true African tradition. Following the service we met for an hour and a half with the ELCC translation committee to discuss the work of translating books and pamphlets into French and Swahili. They had done a great amount of work translating Doctrinal Pamphlets from English into both languages, but the sad conclusion was that, with the MDF depleted, we currently have no money available to assist with the printing of any of these documents. Once again we pray for the Lord to provide the means to continue the work that has been started here.

From this meeting we rode to the home of Mpoyo for lunch. This man is one of the church leaders and is quite well off by African standards. He works as an agricultural engineer for the government, and has a large family of 10 children. We were treated to rice and soup, chicken and fish, bugari and potato wedges, as well as a few other vegetable dishes. It was all very good, and we enjoyed the time relaxing and getting to know the people better in this different environment. While Mpoyo speaks very little English, his 15 year old daughter, Angel, spoke English well enough for us to visit with her for a while. She was eager to practice her English which she had been learning in school. You could tell that everyone was glad to relax and enjoy some camaraderie.

Mpoyo and his family standing in front of their home.

On our way back to the hotel they drove us to an Arts and Crafts “warehouse” so we could look at and purchase some local gifts if we wanted. The prices were very high (because we were Americans) but the prices were always “negotiable” they said!

It is our last night in the Congo, so we are wrapping things up and making preparations for our return to Kenya and Tanzania. I had the chance to Skype home and talk to Debra and a couple of the kids, and even talked with my parents for a while. What a wonderful thing technology is when we can communicate so easily from across the world!

It has been quite a trip to the Congo. We have done a lot while we have been here, and seen some progress, but it will be important to find someone who will be able to return here on a regular basis to replace Missionary Koenig. We pray that the Lord of harvest would provide a man to work in this harvest of souls in the DRC.

In Christ,

Nathanael

“Then He said to them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” – Luke 10:2

Poor But Yet Rich

Saturday – August 21, 2010

After a lite breakfast we were picked up at around 9:00am for our trip to Trinite church in Bel Air for our Sunday School teacher’s meeting. On the way we picked up Martin Essien at his hotel a few blocks away.

Todd taught a lesson on how to teach parables from the Bible. He gave the good reminder that we are not to get bogged down in the details, but rather focus on the big picture to see the main spiritual lesson that the parable is teaching. He also went through some specific parables to demonstrate these points. When he finished the first hour of teaching, I continued with a lesson on teaching the Old Testament. I began with a question about whether they preferred teaching the Old or the New Testament. Surprisingly, they all said the Old Testament! So we went through and considered the fact that the Old and New Testaments have the same purpose and message in spite of their differences. They both point to the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Savior from sin!

We weren’t sure how our lessons were being received, but after we finished several of the teachers came up to us and told us that they really appreciated the teaching and thanked us sincerely for coming. We are thankful that they have appreciated and benefitted from the lessons that we have presented over the past several days, and pray that the Lord continues to bless these teachers as they instruct Christ’s little lambs in His word!

Our driver, Fidel, taken from the sun roof in top of our van.

After a break back at our hotel, we hopped back into our van along with our Translator, Pastor and Mrs. Muzakuza, Hubert and our driver for the drive to Kenya (not the country, but a city just outside of Lubumbashi). We drove by a national football (soccer) stadium were the Congo Cup was currently underway. It was pretty full, but it didn’t seem to be as big of a deal as we thought it would be. It was not as bustling and hectic as we anticipated.

We pulled into what was obviously a very poor area. We were ushered down a hill and across a drainage culvert, and then wound around through some mud homes until we came to the church at Kenya. The church was not full by any means, but there were many children. The women set on one side and the men on the other. The children all sat in the front few row of “pews” which were made up of two blocks on either end with a metal railroad tie lying across them. What was again amazing was how well behaved the children were. They participated eagerly in the service, and you would find older children watching and caring for younger siblings. It was so neat to see that!

The members of the church in Kenya standing in front of their church building.

We were ushered to the front of the church by the usher as the people sang a hymn. A few minutes later the pastor entered with his white gown and stole to begin the service. During the service people continued to filter into the church and were led to a seat by an usher. By the end of the service the entire church was full and there were children standing outside both doors looking in. You could tell that this was a poorer area just by the clothing that the people wore and the fact that they were more emaciated than in other areas we have visited. It tears at your heart to know that they are struggling in such a way. But we were also filled with joy to see how they praised their Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier with song and dance, and how they responded to the Word of God we preached to them! What an encouragement for us to know that in the face of such physical difficulties, these children of God rejoice in their salvation and the sure hope of everlasting life!

After what we saw tonight I couldn’t help but thinking that the words of the following Psalm were a fitting and apt description of what we saw in the people and service at Kenya:

“Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.” – Psalm 149:1-4

What an example for us, who have been given so much physically, to remember that we too should eagerly rejoice in our salvation, knowing the promise of our Lord for our eternal future!

In His service,

Nathanael

Visiting Some Distraught Congregations

Friday – August 20, 2010

We had a great deal to get done today. Our first order of business was to stop in at the Ethiopian Airlines office and make sure that we were confirmed on our flight out of Congo and back to Nairobi. We were picked up at 8:30am and rode the five blocks to the EA office. For some reason, they don’t like us walking here. Usually Todd and I will go for a walk in the evening to find a place to eat. One day, as we passed a certain restaurant, we mentioned that we had walked there the night before. Our translator, John, when he heard that we had walked the five blocks or so from our hotel to the Metro P Caf. said, “You are very courageous!” We still aren’t quite sure why. Maybe its because of the crazy Congo drivers....

Anyway, we arrived at the airline office and the lady at the desk was a bit cold. She took our itinerary and looked at her computer for a while shaking her head the whole time. Todd and I glanced at each other with nervous looks. The same though was going through both of our minds: “We’re stuck in the Congo and we can’t get out!” Finally the lady said that we would have to come back tomorrow after 1:00pm. Well, we weren’t stuck yet....

The Sunday School teachers with Todd in front of Trinity Church in Belair.

From there we went to pick up Martin and then drove to Pastor Muzakuza’s church in Bel Air. Todd and I were scheduled to teach Sunday School and Catechism teachers this morning. It was a bit of a drive from downtown Lubumbashi to Belair which is on the outskirts of town. On the “campus” is Pastor Muzakuza’s home, his son Hubert’s home and Trinity church in between the two. The buildings were made of baked mud and mortar and then covered with a mud paste and painted. They have a slanted sheet-metal rood with wooden beams, and square holes in the walls for windows. They have a poured concrete floor and plastic deck chair and wooden benches for seats. There is an altar at the back with cloths hanging on the walls for color and beautification.

We had six students. Hubert and his wife, Pastor Muzakuza’s wife Mary, an elder of the church and two other women. Todd started things off for the first hour by going through the basics of teaching Bible stories to children. He explained to them how to prepare a lesson and what is important to include. I followed in the second hour by going through a specific Bible Story lesson and discussing how to apply the lessons that Todd had presented in the first session.

During this we had a bit of a scare. In the middle of Todd’s presentation, our translator, John collapsed as he was translating! We sat him down and got him some water to drink, but he was sweating and having a hard time concentrating. After some fresh air and water, he said he felt much better and was ready to continue! We were concerned, but he assured us that he was fine. A strange thing!

Two girls playing with their well-worn cards outside Pastor Muzakuza's home.

Something struck me during this time as well. We had four women in here, three of which were mothers with young children. The children were right in there with us, but they were quiet and not at all disruptive! It was very interesting to compare the children here with those in the states. They are still children, they still play and set into spats (I’ve seen plenty fighting here too) but they are not as hyper as the children are back home. It makes me wonder if there is something in the things we eat and drink in the states that cause hyperactivity, or if it is just that we are not giving them the opportunity to play outside like we should. No answers, just an observation.

A mud brick kiln with the holes beneath where the fire was lit.

After lunch we went to visit two churches that were destroyed by heavy rains. The buildings here are made out of baked mud brick using an ingenious process. They we the dirt to the proper consistency, then shape the mud into bricks using a brick stamper, then let them dry. When they are dry they stack the bricks into huge piles and cover the outside with mud. Then they light several fires underneath the brick pile until the bricks are baked hard. Then they are separated and sold. These are great building blocks, but they can corrode with rain if not protected. In the case of the first church we visited, they had built the walls, but had not installed the roof yet when a storm came through the area and destroyed a good part of the walls of the church. We met with the members of the Kalugwe church and it just breaks your heart to know that they put their time and money into this building, and have seen it washed away with the rain.

Some of the members of Kalugwe, standing outside their destroyed church building.

The second church in Kalibuka was a similar story. They had finished their church building, but had purchased light-weight iron sheets for the roof. When a storm came, the wind bent the sheets and caused part of the roof to collapse. Rain then came in and washed out two sections of the church walls! Again, a very sad situation. What is even more sad is know that we do not have the money to help at this time. The balance in the Mission Development Fund (MDF) is currently at $0 and there is absolutely nothing available for Bibles, Catechisms, Church building assistance, or anything else! We pray that the Lord would give these congregations strength and courage to not give up, and that the Lord would open the hearts of people here and back home to help in projects such as these!

The church in Kalibuka with its destroyed walls and windtorn roof.

We will have a similar schedule tomorrow, so it’s time to do some prep for our morning class.

May the Lord be with all of you!

In His service,

Nathanael

“The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.” – Psalm 147:2-5

Peace and Unity at Last!

Thursday – August 19, 2010

Today was the day. We were up and going at our usual time this morning. The longer we are here, the less I look forward to breakfast. Eggs are very common and they have plenty of them. As much as I enjoy an egg from time to time at home, they’ve gotten a little old. But this morning we had a nice treat. When Todd asked for an omelette this morning, the waiter asked, “Ham and Cheese?” You mean we can get it that way? Absolutely! So we had a ham and cheese omelette, and it was really good too! So that was a good start to the morning.

Our ride was running a little late this morning since they had to pick up Martin Essien as well, so by the time we arrived at our class it was 9:30am. Todd began this morning and went right into the Doctrine of Election – our topic for the morning. We had touched on this topic three days earlier during the study of Biblical Interpretation. It was an excellent study of the passages that discuss election and the pitfalls of going further than Scripture does. There were a few questions during the presentation, and a few more at the end, taking us past our end time. Todd wrapped up the discussion and we dismissed for lunch.

Todd teaching on the Doctrine of Election.

Over lunch Todd, Martin and I met with Pastor Yumba and Pastors Kitombe and Lubaba in preparation for the discussion on bringing the two bodies together which would take place in the afternoon. We didn’t have time for lunch but they did bring drinks in for us as a refreshment. It was the Coke knock-off called Jinga. The orange drink tastes just like Fanta, but the cola isn’t even close!

We drove from Yumba’s office to our classroom, but we were waiting on some of the men to return from lunch who were running late. You could tell that some of the men were chomping at the bit to get going when 2:00 rolled around, but we didn’t want to start the devotion on church unity without everyone being there. So I presented a review of the church calendar and handed out a church year pericope for those who were there to stall for a little bit. Finally the rest showed up and we began. Martin began by presenting a devotion on humility from the Gospels. Todd then took over and presented a summary of the unity what God wants for his church on earth. He pointed out that there were Biblical reasons for division, and there were unBiblical reasons for division.

Pastor Lubaba, Secretary of the CCLC, signing the Unity Agreement.

Following that study he presented a statement of agreement that he hoped the representatives of both church bodies would be willing to sign. Todd read through it and explained how it would work as we moved forward. To our relief, both churches agreed to sign it after very little discussion among themselves! The agreement was then signed by three men from each of the church bodies. We praise the LORD for His work in the hearts of these men to put things aside and move forward for the sake of Christ’s name!

Pastor Hubert, Assistant to the President of the ELCC, signing the Unity Agreement.

After the signing there were smiles all around the room as we all joined in signing an African hymn. Pastors were dancing and clapping as the song was sung. Then Pastor Muzakuza offered a wonderful prayer thanking God for the unity and asking for His continued blessing and Pastor Yumba concluded our meeting with the benediction. May the LORD continue to strengthen the bond between the leaders, pastors and members of these church bodies so that they may work together to proclaim His saving name!

We thank God for His many blessings,

Nathanael

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!.” – Psalm 133:1

Teaching - Day 3

Wednesday – August 18, 2010

For the most part we were on the same schedule today. I was going to teach in the morning so that Todd could go with Pastor Muzakuza and pick up Martin Essien from the airport. Martin is an engineer and businessman who has traveled all over the world. He grew up in Nigeria, but was educated in the US, and worked in France for many years. A member of the Church of the Lutheran Confession in Nigeria, Martin continues to be instrumental in supporting the Lord’s work in Nigeria as well as here in the Congo. Martin has been here before and with a solid grasp of French should be a real asset to our work here. (See the picture of Todd with Mr. Essien.)

This morning I took up the study of “The Pastor’s Job.” We took a lot of time considering the Pastoral Qualifications outlined by Paul in the Pastoral Epistles, and spent quite a bit of time on the role of women in the church. One can tell that this issue is becoming a growing issue here in the Congo, just as it has become in the United States. Many of the questions that were asked were application questions, not principle questions. This goes to show that they understand the principle laid out in Scripture, but are looking for direction concerning the many ways it then applies to our work as a church. It was a very profitable discussion. We closed at around 12:30, and Hubert came to tell me that he was to take me to meet with Todd and Martin Essien over lunch.

The pastors and members of the CCLC led by Pastor Yumba (back row center with a blue shirt and coat).

So we drove to the Oasis Hotel where Martin had checked in. It was not far from where our hotel was near the center of Lubumbashi. We visited for a bit, then gave him some time to freshen up. After that we went to get some lunch. We went back to the first restaurant we visited in the Congo. Todd and I ordered Spaghetti Bolognaise, and Martin had some kind of steak. It took almost an hour for it to be prepared, but it was good. We had a wonderful visit with Mr. Essien in the meantime and talked about his family and his father, who just recently passed away. He is a godly man, and it was wonderful to get to know him better.

After lunch we returned to class, and I took the rest of the afternoon to finish the study on the Pastor’s Job. What a wonderful privilege and joy it is to encourage our fellow brethren in this way, and also to be encouraged by them! It is tiring work, but it is also joyful work. In some ways this week reminds me of when the TVBS flyer team comes to our church during the summer. I go into it knowing it is going to be a lot of work. They will be long and hard days distributing flyers and long nights catching up doing the things that are usually done during the day. When the week is over I am exhausted! But with that physical exhaustion comes the joy of visiting with people and telling them about our church and inviting them to join us. Along with that exhaustion comes the excitement of working beside Christian young people who have volunteered their time to go and serve their Savior by handing out flyers theat invite people to Come and drink from the waters of Life! It has been a long hard week. It has been full of challenges and struggles. But it has been full of joy too. We look forward to tomorrow with fear and trepidation as we prepare to discuss a unity agreement between the two church bodies that have faced many struggles. We pray for the Lord’s blessing!

In Christ,

Nathanael

“For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” – Romans 1:11-12

Teaching - Day 2

Tuesday – August 17, 2010

Another day of teaching. We were picked up at about 8:30am and arrive at our classroom location at about quarter to 9:00. I was up for teaching this morning. I presented a paper on “the Art of Preaching.” We discussed the proper distinction between Law and Gospel at length. It was a good morning and had some very good questions. We closed at 12:00 for lunch and returned to our hotel for some rest. I have begun to pick up a little bit of French after being here for a week. Bonjour, Merci, Pardon, Savat Bien and a few other words help us to manage a bit in this French speaking country. Most of the people speak Swahili as well, but it is a mixed Swahili and is a bit different from that which I have learned in Kenya and Tanzania. Every little bit helps and you can tell that people are glad when you try to speak their language.

The men of the ELCC led by Pastor Mutombo Muzakuza (back row in the dark red shirt).

After our lunch break, we picked back up again with the Art of Preaching. When I finished it up, I handed the floor over to Todd who went through a more thorough study of Infant Baptism. This is an important topic in Africa, and seems like there are always churches that are teaching contrary to God’s Word. So it is always an important review. It went well, and while there were a few questions throughout, everyone was satisfied in the end. We concluded again at about 4:30 and visited for a while after we had concluded.

We then returned to our hotel and then decided to go out and find a place to eat. We had driven by a pizzeria earlier in the day and decided to try it out for supper. We found it, only a few blocks from our hotel and walked in following a European group. Inside it was like stepping out of Africa and into a US diner. They had Ice Cream like a Basking Robins, and a menu in English (first time we’ve seen that since we’ve been in the Congo). We both ordered the cheeseburger, Todd with a water, and me a Coke. My Coke was in a 330ml can that cost over $3! Our burgers, while alright, were ale carte, and not worth the $5 each that they charged us. But that was that. And it was nice to have something other than eggs!

Coke is a big thing here in the Congo as it is throughout Africa. It is the main staple – you find it everywhere you go. I’m sure my brother would be happy to hear that I only seen Pepsi once on this trip and that was on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to the Congo. Other than that is has been Coke, Coke and more Coke. (Check out the Coke concession stand!) How about getting some Cherry Coke over here?

Two more days of teaching. I’ll be up again tomorrow and Martin Essien will be arriving here from Nigeria. So it will be another big day. Thanks again for keeping up with us and keeping the work here in your prayers!

In Christ,

Nathanael

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” – 2 Timothy 4:1-2

Teaching in Lubumbashi - Day 1

Monday – August 16, 2010

We woke up this morning rested and refreshed, and eager for our day of teaching. We went down for breakfast at around 7:45 as we do every morning and enjoyed a banana, omelette, a hot dog, hard boiled egg, with fruit juice and coffee. It has been a good breakfast every morning, but I told Todd this morning that I am already getting tired of eggs. I can only take so much!

For our four days of teaching we had tentatively planned to teach the following: Todd would teach on Biblical Interpretation and the Doctrine of Election and I would teach on The Art of Preaching and Pastoral Qualifications and Responsibilities. We divided up our time into half days and had a general outline of what we thought we would teach every day. Things did not turn out that way!

We were picked up at 8:30am to travel the 1.5 km to the school where we were conducting our teaching. We met in a secondary (grade 6-12) school compound in one of the classrooms. Some of the men were there or arriving as we pulled in, but we had to wait as the room was swept out. They are on “holiday” right now at school, so the room has not been in use since June and needed to be cleaned. Since a number of windows were broken, quite a bit of dust had probably blown in. We could see a bit of segregation between the men of the ELCC and the CCLC as we waited outside, and when it was ready for us to go in we saw the same segregation with the locations that chosen for seating. Still, everyone was being amiable toward one another, so we were thankful for that.

The attendees listen intently to Todd as we begin our morning session.

Todd opened the session at about 9:30 by introducing himself. We discussed the schedule a little bit and then began the study of Biblical Interpretation. Todd presented several rules of Biblical Interpretation, and then discussed them at length. He used Scriptural examples in order to show the dangers of not following the rule and how important it is. During the morning many questions were asked by the men there. This is probably the best way to determine if the people really understand what you are teaching so we generally encourage questions. Some of the questions varied from doctrine to application. It seemed like some of the questions were motivated by the issue separating the CCLC and the ELCC. They asked about being wronged and forgiveness. We concluded at 12:00 for a two hour lunch break. Over lunch we discussed what to do in the afternoon. Todd had not come close to finishing his presentation on Biblical Interpretation, and I was supposed to be up for the afternoon. We decided to have Todd finish discussing Biblical Interpretation in the afternoon since it was so important and because of the questions that had come out in the morning.

The men and women of the CCLC and the ELCC who attended our first day of teaching.

The afternoon session was again full of questions. We discussed the topics of Conversion and Election at length as well as the importance of Infant Baptism. All of this came out of Todd’s presentation through examples of Biblical Interpretation. It was a very profitable presentation and included some deep discussion.

After closing our afternoon session, we drove to Pastor Yumba’s office so that we could print off my lessons for the following morning, as well as a few other things. While we were there, Pastor Yumba was showing a pamphlet that covered the teachings that we had spoken about throughout the day, which was translated into French. We all felt that it would be good for all our pastors to have a copy, so we asked if Martin could make enough copies for everyone. He said it would cost about $100 to print them up and said they could have it ready by the end of the week. It may be the best use of $100 since we have been here.

The printing office was interesting. There is a computer desk, a table with printers stacked haphazardly on it, a glass case which is used for a counter full of printed materials of various kinds, and an empty table with chair around it. On the computer desk is an old computer which Martin uses for his printing and copying business. Although there are several printers at his disposal, they are all inkjets and they don’t move very quickly compared to what we have in the states. It took a while first of all for his computer to recognize my flash drive, and even when it did, it took just as long for it to bring up the pdf I had saved on there. We were only printing 22 pages, but it took about an hour to get that accomplished! But it did the job and we were thankful that Martin was willing and eager to help us out, even at the end of a long day!

Martin, our printer, is at work behind his computer desk.

Tomorrow will be another day of teaching. We pray for the Lord’s continued blessing.

In Christ,

Nathanael

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” – Hebrews 4:14

Sunday Worship in the Congo

Sunday – August 15, 2010

It was an exciting day for us. We were asked by Pastor Yumba to join us at his church in Katuba (a suburb of Lubumbashi) today for preaching, the baptism of 11 children, and the ordination of three pastors. He had asked for Todd to prepare ordination certificates to give to the pastors to certify their ordination. Church was to begin at 9:00am, so we were to leave at 8:15, go to Pastor Yumba’s office to print the certificates that Todd had prepared on his laptop, and then continue on to church. But there was a hiccup in the plan. There was a problem with one of the certificates, so we had to return to the hotel, edit the certificate, return to the office, and reprint the certificate. By the time we had finished, it was almost 9:30. We asked Pastor Yumba about that, but he replied, “The people will wait.” And so they did.

When we arrived they were singing hymns to fill the time. By the time they were ready to begin, it was about 10:00am. I noticed that many of the CCLC pastors were at the service, as well as many of the members of the congregations we had visited yesterday. I guess we might liken this service to our CLC convention service, where members from all our congregations come together to celebrate the unity that we share in a special worship service. It was very enjoyable. They had a very distinct liturgy that was printed out and was close to our own. It contained the same parts we are familiar with: Invocation, Confession and Absolution, Responsive readings, Hymns, Choir songs, Scripture readings, and a Benediction.

Pastor Yumba conducted the service, and I was asked to preach. I preached on Acts 20:28 as a word of encouragement for the pastors who would be ordained and as a reminder to the congregation of the blessing of a faithful pastor. Following that Pastor Ohlmann conducted the ordination of the three pastors. When the ordination was completed there were cries of joy throughout the congregation as they demonstrated their thankfulness to the Lord for this precious gift! After a rousing hymn, we continued the service with the baptisms. Eleven children were brought forward, ranging in age from about 10 years to a small infant. One by one Todd baptized each one, and after each we hear more African cries of joy! What a joy it was to know that the Lord was at work through the water and the word in the hearts of those young ones!

After church Todd tried making some noise with the drum that was used by the choir.

When the service finally concluded, it was 1:00 in the afternoon. Three hours had elapsed, but it didn’t feel that long at all! Following the service we were invited in to Pastor Yumba’s house for a fellowship lunch with the rest of the congregation. We enjoyed more rice and soup, fries, and an African version of “deviled” eggs on a salad, with Orange Fanta to drink. It was very good and we appreciated Pastor Yumba’s hospitality. While we ate, the choir continued to sing in the church – maybe for our enjoyment???

When lunch was concluded we walked to a near-by lot where a permanent church building was under construction. The current church is in an area that would be like a car-port in the states. But the walls of the new church are almost completed and then they will be able to build the roof and poor a floor. They also hope to build an office on the rear of the church in the future and as the Lord blesses. That the current progress had been a long process for them was evident in the different colors of mortar throughout the structure, showing the different stages of building as they had the money for materials. They did not ask for financial assistance, but we would like to be able to help them complete this project more quickly, if we were able. So many needs...

In the forground you can see the place where we worshiped this morning. The brick wall in the background is one of the exterior walls for the new church building that in under construction.

We returned to our hotel before 4:00pm – much earlier than usual. We have been able to rest up a bit and prepare for the lessons that we will be teaching over the coming four days. Todd and I will be taking turns presenting studies to some 30+ pastors, elders, and teachers of the ELCC and CCLC during the next few days and hope to conclude with a visit of the ELCC congregations next weekend. We pray for the Lord’s continued blessing on our fellowship with these faithful Christians!

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” – Hebrews 10:23-25

Church Visits in the CCLC

Saturday – August 14, 2010

There have been some good things and bad things about the Congo. Most of their roads remind me of the first year that I was in Kenya and Tanzania – they are not very good. But while the roads in Kenya and Tanzania have improved immensely over the past three years, the roads here are mostly still in poor condition. Part of this may be due to the fact that it was torn by war for many years, setting them back in many ways. As a result, everything is very expensive here. Food, transport, lodging – everything. It is not just a lot compared the other African countries, it is even greater than what it would cost in the US! At first they were charging us $90 a night for our rooms at the hotel. Beginning today Todd and I convinced the hotel to let us share a room, but it is still $135 a night. The food has been more expensive than it would be in the states as well. On the positive side, they keep their streets fairly clean, and there always seems to be someone washing their car when we leave in the morning. One of the nicest things about our stay in the Congo has been the internet service. We have had wireless internet service here at our hotel, so we are able to correspond regularly with home. That has been really nice (although we expect it with our $135 room!).

Well, today we visited two congregations of the CCLC. First, we visited the congregation in Kipushi. The congregation was singing when we arrived and we were ushered into the front of the church. Pastor Kitombe led the service which consisted of hymns by the congregation and by adult and children’s choirs; liturgical responses; scripture readings, and a concluding benediction.

Todd preaching on the Lost Son at Kipushi along with Mark, our translator.

They asked Todd to preach, and he preached on excellent sermon on the parable of the lost son from Luke 15. After the service we were invited over to the pastor’s house where they provided lunch for us. We enjoyed the rice and sauce (which they call “soup”) and were glad we didn’t have to eat the fish! Check out Todd’s blog at http://www.2010clceastafricavisit.blogspot.com/ for a description and picture.

After settling some problems with our transportation (our van had been in an accident before getting us in the morning, and had to have its real window replaced) we made a two hour journey to the south east to the border city of Kasumbalsa. This growing city sits on the border of DRC and Zambia and serves as a major trade route all the way to South Africa. As a result it is an opportune place for small congregation to be. We met the congregation in a “suburb” named Wisky, at a temporary structure that looked like a pole building with no skin on it. They had thatch on half the roof, but a tarp cover only half of the other side of the roof. There were no walls on any side. Here we were introduced by Pastor Yumba, and I was asked to give a devotion. I used the account of Naaman and the slave girl and emphasized our sin, God’s grace and our ability to serve in His kingdom no matter how insignificant we may be. It was exciting to see the opportunities that this congregation has before it in this small but rapidly growing village.

A picture of the temporary building we met at in Wisky near the border of Zambia.

After visiting the planned site for their permanent church, we were taken on a field trip to the border of Zambia. We actually crossed over the Congolese border, through “no man’s land” and into the Zambia border office. We weren’t able to officially cross into Zambia, but Todd and I did step across the part of the border building that set within Zambia, just so we could say that we had been there! We were not allowed to take pictures, otherwise I’d post one for all of you to see!

From there we made the long two and a half hour trip back to Lubumbashi as a brilliant red sun set to the West. It was after 8:00pm when we finally returned to the hotel, but it had been another enjoyable day. We thank the Lord for these faithful men who are so eager to serve their Lord by proclaiming the gift of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ!

In His service,

Nathanael

“The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the LORD. – Jeremiah 23:28

Meeting with the Leaders of the CCLC

Friday – August 13, 2010

Today we were scheduled to spend time with Pastor Yumba and the people of the CCLC. We had discussed visiting churches and meeting the people of the CCLC but we did not receive any specific information about where we would be going. We were scheduled to leave the hotel at 8:00am. I got up at about 6:30 and got ready to go. They reserved separate rooms for Todd and me, although each room would be big enough for both of us. We are looking into sharing a room to help reduce costs, which are very high here in the Congo, especially for an African country. The bathrooms are very nice as well, with a very fancy sink, and a great shower which even has HOT water! We even have wireless internet here.

With the room comes free breakfast, so we head down for breakfast at about 7:00am. The breakfast room is set up buffet style, with hard-boiled eggs (a common staple in Africa), bread, cereal, bananas, apples, and oranges, and hot dogs... Yes, hot dogs. At first we thought they were sausages that looked like hot dogs, but these tasted just like official Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs! I’ve always liked having lunch type foods for breakfast, so that works for me. They also had coffee, tea and apple juice. It was a good breakfast, and filling.

At 8:00am we went out to the lobby to wait for Hubert and our driver as well as Pastor Yumba and his men. We visited with Hubert and John (the translator for the ELCC), while we waited for the others to arrive. At around 9:00am when everyone arrived we got into our rented Toyota 8 passenger van and drove several blocks to Pastor Yumba’s office. He works for a non-government organizaion and has an office that he shares with a printing company. In addition to Pastor Yumba and our translator Mark, two other CCLC pastors joined us – Pastor Kitombe and Pastor Lubaba.

Our morning meeting: (from L to R) Mark, me, Pastor Lubaba, Todd, Pastor Kitombe, and Pastor Yumba kneeling.

In our morning session we discussed issues facing the CCLC and found out about the past history with the ELCC and what has caused the division here in the Congo. We had the chance to ask questions, and we gave them the chance to ask questions of us as well. It was a very beneficial meeting and helped us learn a great deal about this church and its pastors. These men are all very humble and long to learn more so that they may serve their Savior faithfully. They have translated and published a host of Lutheran pamphlets including Luther’s Catechism, Our Statement of Faith and Purpose, Mueller’s “My Church and Others,” studies on Holy Communion and Baptism, as well as invisible Sunday School lessons and much, much more. It was truly impressive to find these studies printed in both French and Swahili. We left with a very positive impression of these CCLC men and their dedication to the Word of God.

Our young translator, Mark, sits in front of shelves full of Lutheran pamphlets and materials.

We were given two hours for lunch and we taken to a little restaurant not far away that served pizza. Todd and I had tried to order pizza where we had supper last night, but that came to nothing. So Hubert, knowing that we wanted pizza, brought us here so we could have some. Todd and I both ordered a pizza and a Coke. While we waited we discussed the events of the morning and our first impressions. Finally our pizzas arrived. They were larger than we anticipated, and filled our plate. They were very good and certainly hit the spot, although we both had trouble finishing them off. I have to say - I’m eating better here in the Congo than I usually do when I am in Africa!

After lunch we returned to Yumba’s office to meet again. This time it was not just the pastors. They kept telling us, “You did not come just for the pastors, but for the people as well.” So, in the afternoon we were joined by Sunday School teachers and Church elders. This too was a very productive discussion. They began by explaining their Sunday School program and asking how they could improve what they were already doing. It was impressive to see how they had been using the Invisible Sunday School program, and their dedication to improving it and expanding it for older children. We hope to be able to provide more materials that would be able to be used with the older children similar to what we have in the CLC Sunday School series. The problem is that we need to get the material translated into French and Swahili for the people here. It is something for us to look into doing at least.

Following that some candid questions were asked by these men. They explained their church position on certain issues or situations, and then asked us if that was correct. Most of these were very practical issues that surrounded the doctrine of fellowship in one way or another, and invariably, they demonstrated that they had taken the correct stand on those issues! It was refreshing to see how they had applied the Scriptures in these situations, in the face of the antagonism of the world and were simply looking for confirmation on the correctness of their teaching and practice. Very refreshing indeed!

The CCLC men who met with us in the afternoon meeting.

We finished at about 5:00pm and returned to the hotel after a brief discussion about our plans for tomorrow. After checking in we decided together in Todd’s room and discuss the events of the day and work on preparations for the coming days. We had had a large lunch, so we weren’t hungry right away. When we did get hungry Todd made his way to the hotel lounge to check on supper availability. He came back with bad news. It was extremely expensive. For just a little sandwich is was about $20! Since there was nothing close by outside the hotel and it was pretty late, we decided to skip supper and eat granola bars instead. Hakuna matata (if you don’t know what that means, then watch “The Lion King”).

Tomorrow is another day under God’s grace, and we thank the Lord for His continued blessings here in the Congo. If you get the chance, check out Todd’s blog. He has some nice maps and additional pictures as well. You can find it at http://www.2010clceastafricavisit.blogspot.com/ Thank you all for your prayers.

In Christ,

Nathanael

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

From Ethiopia to the DRC

August 12, 2010

I was awoken this morning at 5:30am by the ringing of my telephone. It was the concierge calling to let me know that our bus back to the airport would be leaving in one hour. I was especially appreciative of this since I did not bring an alarm clock and left the phone I had been using as an alarm clock in Kenya for Stephen and Russ to use. The family from Iowa that we had met yesterday had said that the internet seemed to be better in the morning, so I dug out my laptop right away to see if I had a wireless connection. Sure enough, I could connect to the Internet. So I made a quick Skype call home to talk to my wife and let her know where I was and see how things were going there. After that I packed my bags and headed down for breakfast with Todd. They offered boiled eggs, chapati (Swahili for pancake), meat and cheese, as well as a plethora of fruits, with fruit juice and coffee. We ate a quick breakfast and prepared for our trip back to the airport.

A picture of Addis Ababa from the Panorama hotel.

The bus picked us up promptly at 6:30am and we made the trek with seven other stranded travelers back to the airport. After going back through another round of security, we went back through customs, and up two flights of stairs to the terminal waiting area. Since we had three hours until our flight, we did some work on our computers and visited for a while. At 9:00am we made our way to our gate, and went through another security check. We sat down in the waiting area and struck up a conversation with a young Jewish diamond seller from South Africa. He was returning home from Israel where his family lives. We couldn’t understand why we were in the same waiting area if he was heading to South Africa and we were going to the Congo, but it turns out they had two planes departing from the same area! They weren’t making this well known and they didn’t even have anyone checking tickets before making their way down the tunnel! South Africa anyone???

Todd at work in the terminal waiting area while we wait for our boarding time.

Finally it was our turn. We walked down a tunnel and around a corner where the tunnel split in two. The right arm was a dead end. We followed everyone to the left and back into the terminal one floor where we were in the waiting area. Another turn to the right, and I’m not seeing who if anyone is leading this group. We’ve now walked past a number of Ethiopian Airlines planes and it begins to look like we are going back into the airport. I begin to wonder if we are going to get lost and miss our plane. We come to an escalator that goes down another flight of stairs and we see a group of people in the room below. At the bottom of the stairs an Ethiopian Airlines Representative is checking boarding passes and sending people out the doors and onto a bus. Then I remember... bus, tarmac, plane... after all, we are in Ethiopia you know!

An Ethiopian Airlines 777 which we passed on our way to our plane -- this one was actually connected to the airport terminal by a bridge!

By 9:45am we were settling in to our new seats on another 737, this time bound for the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our seats were not exit row seats this time, so we were a little more crowded. We were on the right side of the plane behind the wings, Todd in the isle and me in the middle. It was a three hour flight, but we gained an hour, so we arrived in Lubumbashi, DRC at around 11:45. We exited our plane, wondering whether our checked bags would arrive safely along with us. We crossed the tarmac and made our way to the terminal on foot. Waiting for us at the door was Pastor Muzakuza along with his entourage of men. While neither of us had ever met any of these men, we had both heard much about them. They helped us through customs and took us to get our bags. We had some trouble for a while when they asked to see our yellow vaccination cards. They took Todd aside and were going to charge him $10 for a Typhoid shot. He kept telling them that he was up to date, and asked them to bring him his card so he could show them. Sure enough, it was there. His was handwritten though instead of stamped and they overlooked it. With that resolved we collected our checked bags, changed money from dollars to Congolese Francs and purchased a sim card for Todd’s phone. I visited with Hubert, Pastor Muzakuza’s son in the meantime. He doesn’t know English very well but can communicate somewhat effectively. He asked about Pastor Koenig and Pastor Povolny, who both have served here in the past. It was enjoyable to get to know him a little as well.

After we were finished we walked outside and met more pastors and members of the ELCC who had come to meet us at the airport. From there Pastor Muzakuza drove us into Lubumbashi to check into our hotel. From our drive we could see that there were many similarities to the other African countries we have been in – with two striking differences. They drive on the right side of the road and obey all traffic lights! I think that is a good change, myself.

We arrived at the hotel at about 2:00pm where we met up with Pastor Yumba and his men of the CCLC. We all went inside and decided to take a hour for Todd and I to settle in and get cleaned up, and then we would meet with the men from both churches to discuss the schedule for the week.

At 4:00 we had our meeting. It went fairly well considering the history between these two groups. After some lengthy discussion we settled on the following schedule:

Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be spent with Pastor Yumba and the CCLC - meeting with pastors, elders, and members of their congregations.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be dedicated to teaching. Todd and I will teach the men of both churches in one location.

Then the following Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be spent with Pastor Muzakuza and the people of the ELCC. Everyone was agreed. We wrapped things up by making our arrangements with Pastor Yumba for tomorrow’s schedule and with a short meeting with Pastor Muzakuzu.

With everything taken care of we went with Hubert and our translator, John, to get some supper. Todd and I had omelettes which were pretty good. After finishing supper and talking with Hubert and John we returned to our hotel for the night. It was a good start and we pray that the Lord brings peace between these two groups.

In His service,

Nathanael

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” – John 17:20-21

An Unexpected Day of Rest

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

We started off this day knowing that it was going to be a long day. But we ended up getting something we didn't expect. We left our hotel for the airport at 10:15pm and arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport just a little before 11:00pm. There were no customers in line at the Ethiopian Airways counter, so it took no time to getting Todd's bag checked and making changes to our seats (so we weren't in the back row of the plane). We then passed through security and spent the next two and a half hours in a lounge in the terminal visiting and working on our laptops. Believe it or not, a really bad English soap opera was on television. You would think that they could find something better than that to put on TV even at 1:00am in Kenya!

When it was time to board our plane we made our way to our gate, and waited there a bit longer. Our plane was late, and when it finally was ready, we walked out of the terminal, down to the tarmack and across in the open to our waiting 737. That was the first time I had done that since I rode in a farmers plane in Nebraska when I was a boy! It was kind of enjoyable! Todd and I ended up in exit row aisle seats right across from one another.

At 2:30am we left Nairobi for a short one hour flight to Entebbe, Uganda. They stopped on the tarmac and allowed some people to get off and allowed others to get on for the flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The rest of us just waited on the plane. Well, some of us. The couple sitting beside me got up, grabbed their bags and exited the plane. A few minutes later the two sheepishly returned, having been sent back by someone. That's what you get when you fall asleep on an plane over here! Thirty minutes later we were in the air again on our way to the capital city of Ethiopia. We arrived at the Addis Ababa airport at about 6:30m, having slept very little during our second night in Africa. Once again we exited the plane on the tarmac and took a bus to the terminal to wait for our next flight to the Congo.

This airport was very new but not very large. We decided to kill some time by sitting down in an airport "restaurant." It was more like a smokers bar, but beggars can't be choosers. When someone came in asking if there was some "non-smoking" café, he was practically laughed out of the building! It's a different world here.

With about an hour to go to boarding time (9:45am) we decided to see if we could find our gate. We began to get a bit nervous when we couldn't find our flight listed on the screen. When we had hunted down a customer service man and asked about our flight, he nonchalantly replied, "Your flight doesn't leave until tomorrow morning." TOMORROW MORNING!?!?!?! Sure enough the date changed between our arrival and departure, and we never even realized we were losing a day in the expanse of Ethiopia.

To make a long story short, we had to make arrangements with the airport for a hotel and transit visa for Ethiopia. And we were not the only ones. There was a huge line of people who were in the same situation. We can't imagine why an airline would so such a thing intentionally, unless they had an "arrangement" with the local hotels.

While we were both a bit steamed about this unexpected turn of events, it was actually a real blessing in disguise. While we had to pay for the visas and the hotel, we were in a really nice hotel and it came with free lunch, supper and breakfast the next morning.

Todd seems to be enjoying his room, doesn't he?

It also had free wireless internet, although it didn't work most of the time we were there. We checked into our room around 11:30am and had the rest of the day to prepare for our Congo visit, and rest up after our long night. We met a family from Iowa who was here adopting two Ethiopian children and another family from Vermont who were on their way to Malawi. It's a small world, isn't it? We also were befriended by a local man, Manfer, who told us all about Ethiopia and helped us find a Internet Cafe not far from our hotel.

In addition to resting up, we enjoyed some gourmet food, some of which had a bit of a kick to it! I wouldn't mind coming back to Ethiopia sometime, although next time I think I'd like to know ahead of time, that I'll be coming....

We thank the Lord for His many blessings -- even unexpected ones! Please continue to keep us in your prayers that the Lord would bless our travels tomorrow and upcoming meetings with the men of the ELCC and CCLC in the Congo.

In Christ,

Nathanael

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!" -- Psalm 107:21

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Tuesday – August 10, 2010

We must have been tired, because we slept soundly and didn’t wake up until 11:00am the next morning! Since we hadn’t met with our Nairobi leaders last night we were in the dark about the schedule for the day. After showering and getting ready to go down for breakfast we had a call from one of our men downstairs. We journeyed down the five flights of stairs to the entryway where we met Charles and four of his leaders. After greeting everyone and visiting a bit, Charles, Todd and I sat down and discussed our schedule over breakfast. Since we had to make sure that everything was in order with our tickets to the Congo before our flight early tomorrow morning, we decided to move our Nairobi seminar to August 24th, after we returned from the Congo. While we were discussing our schedule, someone came for Todd and told him that his “lost” bag had arrived from the airport. One down, one to go...

During the past year many books and religious materials have been donated by our brethren throughout the CLC for use in our overseas churches. Todd and I had brought over two boxes of books to be distributed to our churches here, and so we decided to give the Nairobi churches theirs now, so that we wouldn’t have to carry or store them any longer than necessary. Charles was given a box of English Bibles, catechisms, Bible History books, a prayer book and a stack of back issues of the Lutheran Spokesman. Our thanks to all those back home who donated such materials during the past year, making it possible for our Pastors here to receive much needed teaching and study materials. Charles was very thankful to receive all the resources that were brought.

After ironing out a few details we decided to make a trip to the airport to make sure that the tickets we had purchased online for our trip from Nairobi to the Congo were legitimate. Charles was supplying a car and driver for us. Our driver was a nice young man named James. James drove us to the airports where we found out that we had a reservation, but we needed to pay for our tickets yet, and that had to be done at the Ethiopian Airlines office in downtown Nairobi. So off we went again. After some searching we finally found their office on the ground floor of a building on Mundi Mbingu Street in Nairobi. We walked in the office at about 4:15 and after a short wait were helped. After a bit of discussion and explanation, we were able to pay for our tickets and get confirmation for our flight to Lubambashi and back to Nairobi again. Our flight was scheduled for 2:00am tomorrow morning, but we were supposed to be at the airport 3 hours early - so 11:00pm tonight. Our flight leaves Nairobi at 2:00am travels to Entebbe, Uganda for a brief layover, and then continues to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where it arrives at 6:00am. We have a layover there as well before continuing on to Lubambashi, DRoC. There will be no rest for the weary this night...

We walked back out to the street to wait for our driver and noticed that the foot traffic was picking up as it neared 5:00 – closing time. While we waited we were approached by several men who wanted to offer their driving services. We explained that we had a driver and were waiting for him to return. In our discussion with one of these men we found out that he was a Jehovah’s Witness and began a discussion with him about the person of Jesus Christ. It quickly became clear that he did not recognize Jesus as true God, and after referring to several Bible passages that demonstrated that Jesus was true God, he quickly abandoned the discussion and walked away. The Jehovah’s Witness organization is very prevalent in East Africa, and sadly is considered by many (who don’t know better) to be a “Christian” church. How sad it is.

James dropped us back off at the hotel so we could eat supper and pack for our flight and said he would be back at 10:00pm to take us to the airport. While we packed we received a call informing us that my lost bag had arrived. This was a relief to know since we were about to leave and wouldn’t have to worry about what to do if it came while we were gone. I made arrangements for storing our remaining books and materials, and made reservations for Russ and Stephen who would be arriving tomorrow night after we were gone.

Everything should be in place here. Now for our trip to the Congo. We pray that Russ and Stephen arrive safely tomorrow night and that the Lord blesses our trip to the Congo as well. There is much to be done, and the time is so short.

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” – John 9:4