Wednesday, November 20, 2019

CLC Mission Opportunities Prayer List - Nov. 2019


Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you...
2 Thessalonians 3:1 (NKJV)


1.    Nigeria – The Martin Luther Bible Institute currently has three students in attendance. They are praying for and expecting at least two more students to begin classes at the beginning of the next semester. Give thanks to the Lord for those who are willing to commit themselves to study and prepare for the public ministry. Pray for the faculty as they teach classes five days a week and serve congregations with the Word and Sacrament each weekend.

2.    Nigeria – After the Nigerian Children’s Home in Akwa Ibom State was closed several months ago, the leadership of the NCLC has appointed a committee to develop a new set of guidelines and policies for the care of orphaned children with the hope and prayer of opening a new orphanage in the not-to-distant future. Pray that the Lord will bless this committee with wisdom and compassion as they seek a God-pleasing way to offer love and care to those in need.

3.    The Democratic Republic of the Congo – The Lord has blessed the efforts of Pastors Yumba, who has been training seven men for the public ministry in temporary classroom facilities. These seven students have attended classes five days a week from April-October for the past four years. They are currently serving their final five-month practicum in their home congregations. They are all scheduled to be ordained in March of 2020. These men have been supported through Project Kinship while they have been preparing to be faithful preachers and teachers of God’s saving word. Pray that the Lord will bless the practical experience they are currently receiving between now and March. Pray also that the Lord will continue to bless the efforts of the CCLC to prepare more men for the public ministry in the DRC.

4.    The Democratic Republic of Congo – Missionary Ohlmann and Missionary Evensen have been in the DRC for the past couple of weeks. They are accompanied by Pastor Kossi from Togo. They had an opportunity to conduct a seminar at the building site of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Bible Institute. This building project has been in the works for the past few years and was partially funded through offerings to the CLC Mission Development Fund. Three rooms are completed to stage where they can be used as a classroom, sleeping room, and a kitchen. Toilet facilities have also been completed. There is still much work to be done. Eventually, there will be dormitory rooms for up to sixteen resident students along with a dedicated kitchen and dining area. There are also plans for farming projects that will allow the students to work for their education as the income from the farm will provide some of the necessary finances for the school.  This is an ambitious project that will hopefully serve the Kingdom of God in the DRC for many years to come. Offer prayers of thanksgiving to the Lord for His blessings and provision for this project. Pray also that the Lord will continue to bless the CCLC with all that is necessary to continue to train faithful preachers and teachers.

5.    The Democratic Republic of Congo  Pastor Jacques Pondi Lumiangu first contacted the CLC through Pastor Tim Daub after seeing one of his sermons on Facebook. Pastor Lumiangu has been in correspondence with the CLC for the past three years and has diligently and successfully completed several Online Theological Studies courses. Missionaries Evensen and Ohlmann spent four days visiting with Pastor Lumiangu and the elders of Eglise Confessional Lutherienne Sainte Famille Au Congo (Holy Family Confessional Lutheran Church of Congo) in Kinshasa. Please offer prayers of thanksgiving to our Savior for this successful visit and pray that the Lord will continue to bless the on-going Theological Studies correspondence.

6.    Nepal Pray that the Lord will grant patience and guidance as our brothers and sisters of the Himalayan Church of the Lutheran Confession of Nepal wait upon the Lord to provide the resources necessary to purchase a suitable and affordable piece of land to build or an existing building. They need a building that will serve as a worship facility, seminary classroom, library, dormitory, office, and faculty residence for the HCLCN Himalayan Bible Institute. The CLC Board of Missions is considering ways in which the CLC can assist with this effort through offerings to the Mission Development Fund. Pray that the Lord will provide the resources and wisdom necessary for this project.

7.    Nepal – Pastor Raju and his father, Pastor J.B., have been traveling to the various districts of Nepal over the past few weeks offering seminars to area pastors and believers with the goal of proclaiming the truth of God’s saving word. Several independent pastors have been in attendance and have expressed interest in studying God’s word with the HCLCN to be better prepared to serve in the public ministry. These are mostly men who have had little or no formal pastoral training. Pray that the Lord will use this effort to open more doors of opportunity to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus in this predominately Hindu and Buddhist nation.

8.    Nepal – There are ten men who are nearing graduation from the Himalayan Bible Institute. They are scheduled to graduate and be ordained in April of 2020. Pray that the Lord will bless their last few months of formal training and give thanks to the Lord that these men have dedicated themselves to preaching and teaching the truth of His saving word.

9.    IndiaClasses with fifty-one students at the CLCI Seminary and twenty-five students at the Martin Luther Bible Institute of the BELC, along with BELC monthly pastoral training classes continue to be conducted among the 1,000+ pastors, students, and evangelists with whom we are in fellowship in India. Pray that the Lord will keep all of them and those they serve strong and safe as persecution continues to increase.

10.  Asia – The Joint Asia Pastoral Conference (JAPC) – is a conference for CLC affiliated pastors throughout Asia. It is sponsored by the CLC Board of Missions and funded through the CLC Mission Development Fund. This conference is held every other year in India. The CLCI will host the conference in early February of 2020. Missionary Ohlmann and Pastor David Reim are planning to attend. As the Lord wills, pastors from India, Nepal, and Myanmar will be in attendance. Pray that the Lord will bless this effort to encourage and build up the leaders of these church bodies through the essays and Bible studies that will be delivered. Pray also that He will bless and provide for all that is necessary tor such a conference to take place.

11.  Bangladesh – As Pastor Monotosh continues Online Theological Studies with our missionary, plans are also being made for an official colloquy in early 2020. President Eichstadt has appointed Pastor David Reim of the CLC Board of Doctrine to represent the CLC in this colloquy. Missionary Ohlmann will accompany Pastor Reim on this visit in mid-January. Pray that the Lord will bless this important next step toward establishing a God-pleasing fellowship based upon a unity of faith and doctrine.

12.  Togo – Missionary Evensen is busy teaching the six pastoral students of the Mt. Horeb Bible Institute of the MELC. He also continues to train four ordained MELC pastors as they continue to grow in their understanding of God’s saving word. Pray that the Lord will bless Missionary Evensen’s developing abilities to communicate and teach in French as he assists Pastor Kossi in preparing men to be faithful preachers and teachers.

13.  Togo – With a resident missionary now in place, Pastor Kossi is excited as they begin planning and conducting five evangelism campaigns throughout Togo over the next year. A CLC-MDF grant was recently approved to provide funding for this effort to preach the truth of God’s saving word in Togo, Ghana, and Benin. Pray for the Lord’s blessing on this effort.

14.  Liberia - Pastor John Hein, who serves as the visiting missionary to Liberia has been in Liberia for the past few weeks. He has been meeting with pastors and leaders who wish to establish a confessional Lutheran church body in Liberia. Thank the Lord for a productive visit as Pastor Hein and Pastor Joseph worked together to spread the truth of God’s saving word in Monrovia and Bopolu. Pray for all those they worked with these past few weeks that their labors will bring forth much fruit for God’s kingdom.

15.  Tanzania – The four pastors who teach at the Wartburg Lutheran Theological Seminary are busy preparing for the third semester of classes that will begin in late January. The students are helping with the ministry at their home congregations for the next few months until classes begin again. Pray that the Lord will continue to bless this effort with all the resources necessary to train these men to be faithful preachers and teachers of God’s saving word.

16.  Missionary Evensen in Togo – Missionary Peter Evensen has recently received a “Stay Card” which will allow him to stay in Togo for longer periods of time and will also allow him to more easily travel throughout West Africa. This is a big deal and the Lord was clearly behind the scenes making this happen. He was granted a visa to visit the D. R. Congo with Missionary Ohlmann. Missionary Evensen also stays busy with translating and conducting Online Theological Studies in French with several contacts in French-speaking African nations. You can read his blog at http://evensen.lutheranmissions.org/

17.  Visiting Foreign Missionary – Missionary Ohlmann will soon be returning from a five-week trip to visit our sister church bodies in the West African countries of Togo, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He will be stateside until mid-January as he continues Online Theological Correspondence classes, makes travel plans, prepares lessons, and schedules visits to Tanzania, Zambia, the DRC, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bangladesh in the first few months of 2020. Please pray for safe and uneventful travel, successful meetings with our brothers, and zeal to proclaim the truths of God’s saving word. Pray also for his wife Beth and their family while he is away. You can read his blog and see pictures of some of the things mentioned above at www.romans10v14-17.org

18.  CLC Online Theological Studies – continue to pray for individuals in the following countries around the world who are studying God’s word through email correspondence courses as they continue to train to be faithful preachers and teachers of God’s saving word:
1.    Burundi, East Africa
2.    Senegal, West Africa
3.    D. R. Congo, Central Africa
4.    Liberia, West Africa
5.    Bangladesh, South East Asia
6.    Zimbabwe, Africa
7.    Myanmar, South East Asia
8.    Kenya, East Africa
9.    Uganda, East Africa
10.  Congo-Brazzaville, Central Africa

Monday, November 4, 2019

Sent...to the Democratic Republic of Congo

All checked in and patiently waiting for my first of three flights on my to the Democratic Republic of Congo...Lagos to Kigali to Johannesburg to Lumbumbashi.

If all goes according to plan, I'll meet up with Missionary Peter and Pastor Kossi (flying from Lomé, Togo) in Johannesburg for the last leg of the journey.

We'll spend the next couple of weeks working with Pastor Yumba in Lumbumbashi and Pastor Jacques Pondi Lumiangu in Kinshasa.

I've been denied a visa to vist the DRC three times over the past couple of years. I'm thankful to the Lord for clearing this obstacle and I'm very much looking forward to another visit with my brothers and sisters in Christ!

We'll be conducting a four day pastoral training seminar, visiting the Holy Trinity Lutheran Bible Institute building project, discussing seminary curriculum and future plans, and doing evangelism with Pastor Yumba in the southeast part of the DRC.

In Kinshasa, near the western border of the DRC, we'll be conducting the first face to face doctrinal discussions and visit with Pastor Lumiangu.

As always, prayers for safe and uneventful travel are requested and appreciated. Pray also that the Holy Spirit will bless and sanctify our every thought, word, and deed according to His will for the furtherance of His kingdom!