It's crunch time...with, seemingly too many things to do, lists a mile long, and this always nagging feeling that I am going to forget something, I guess I'm almost ready to go. Two days from now (Monday, October 24th), I will set off on the longest trip I've taken to date. Thanks to the pandemic, I'm now trying to make up for lost time and visit as many places as I can before the end of the year. I'm heading to Africa, and if all goes as planned, I will return home just a few days before Christmas. I'll be gone for just under eight weeks!
My first stop will be Nigeria. I fly into Lagos and then hop on a flight on a regional airline to fly to Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, where I'll have the privilege of meeting and working with the leaders and pastors of the Nigeria-CLC and the faculty of the seminary.
I'll then fly to Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo. My flight itinerary will take me through Lomé, Togo, where I will meet up with Missionary Evensen, and we will then travel together to Kinshasa, where we will spend about a week with Pastor Jacques Lumiangu with whom we have been corresponding since early 2017. Pastor Lumiangu has completed several Online Theological Studies with Missionary Evensen and, recently, the colloquy exam. President Eichstadt has appointed Missionary Evensen and me to complete the final face-to-face doctrinal review and make a recommendation concerning a requested declaration of fellowship.
I will then fly to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, where I will be working with the pastors and leaders of the TZ-CLC. We will visit several districts of the TZ-CLC in Maasai lands, hold a three-day pastoral conference, meet with the seminary students, and attend the commencement service for the one-year pre-seminary students. I am also looking forward to working with Pastor Nolting for a couple of weeks while I am in Arusha. The Bd of Missions has asked Pastor Nolting to serve as a guest lecturer for two weeks each year. This will be his first (of hopefully many) visits, so I will have the privilege of introducing him to the seminary, faculty, some of my favorite places around Arusha, and the wonderful people of the CLC-TZ.
After three weeks in Tanzania, I will fly from Arusha to Lusaka, Zambia. I have a crazy flight itinerary to Zambia. It's only 1200 miles, but I will take four different flights. I will fly on a regional airline from Kilimanjaro to Dar Es Salam to Zanzibar to Harare to Lusaka. I will then spend one night at my favorite hostel in Lusaka. The next day Pastor Ibrahim and I will travel about 300 miles to the north by bus, where we will meet up with Pastor Yumba from the D.R. Congo. We will spend five days in Kitwe, Zambia, working with the Zambia-CLC pastors and leaders of the Copper Belt District. We'll have a two-day pastor training seminar and will spend time working on a Z-CLC constitution and church registration.
The three of us (Pastors Yumba, Ibrahim, and me) will then travel about sixty miles to the north to cross the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo and then a couple more hours to the north to the city of Lubumbashi, where Yumba lives. This is also where the Congregation Confessionnelle Lutheranienne Du Congo (CCLC) has its headquarters. I will spend a little over two weeks working with the pastors and leaders of the CCLC. Pastor Yumba speaks French and Congolese Swahili, and a little English. We communicate through a translator and with the help of Pastor Ibrahim, who speaks excellent English and Swahili. While in the D.R.C., We'll hold a four-day pastoral training seminar at the seminary in Tondo, which is located about an hour south of Lubumbashi. More than forty CCLC pastors and church leaders from the Lomami, Tanganika, and Katanga districts will join the fifteen seminary students at the seminary to attend a four-day Bible training seminar. We'll also travel several hours to the north to conduct an outreach seminar in Kolwezi.
Pastor Ibrahim and I will then cross back over the border to Zambia, spend the night in Kitwe, and then ride the bus back to Lusaka for a two-day pastor training seminary with the pastors and leaders of the Z-CLC before I start the long trip home.
It's going to be a busy eight weeks with lots of air and bus travel along with a hectic schedule of meetings, evangelism, and pastoral training seminars.
I'm excited to get back to see and work alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ in these places that I haven't been able to regularly visit for the past couple of years.
Please pray for uneventful travels, safety, patience, and wisdom as I make my way through many airports, bus stands, cities, towns, and villages. Ask the Lord to provide me with the strength and stamina for the journey and the wisdom, patience, and love for the work He has prepared for me. Please also pray for my amazing wife and family while I am gone.
3 comments:
God bless you as you dedicate yourself with the help of the skied in spreading Gods word. God bless you and your family with safety.
It should have read with the help of the Lord
Psalm25:12 32: 8 TheLord Jesus will lead you and will bless you all journy
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