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