Bangladesh May 2023

I've been home for a few days, and I'm not anywhere near caught up on sleep or over the jet lag, but duty calls. There are emails to answer, reports to be written, trips to be planned, and the car needs an oil change, the grass needs to be mowed, and there's a lengthy list of things to do before we celebrate Lydia's homeschool high-school graduation in about a week and a half. It's going to be a wonderfully busy next few weeks before the CLC Mission Helper Trip to Nepal at the end of June! 

The visit to Bangladesh was a whirlwind of activity. Pastor Monotosh Banarjee knows how to plan and pack a lot into a two-week visit. It started right off with a Saturday morning pick-up from Dhaka airport at 7:30 AM. My flight from the Philippines (via Bangkok) had arrived at 1:45 AM, so I was able to catch a few hours of rest before Pastor Banarjee arrived. We traveled by rented vehicle and driver from Dhaka to Jashore, where we would spend the next few days visiting Bangladesh Lutheran Church Mission (BLCM) congregations, preaching stations, and outreach efforts. From there, we traveled to Gopalgonj, where Pastor B. and his family live and also where the BLCM is headquartered. From Gopalgonj, we traveled several hours each day for the next few days to visit more BLCM ministry efforts. Our typical day began with a 7:30 AM departure, and we would return to Gopalgonj sometime in the evening. During my first six days in Bangladesh, we visited and shared the Gospel at eleven different congregations, preaching stations, outreach efforts in homes, and two schools. Attendance ranged from eleven to fifty. I had four different sermons prepared, each one with a clear presentation of God's Law to show us our sins and a need for a Savior, and the Good News of Jesus to reveal our Savior. I preached on the raising of Lazarus, Jesus' "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" statement, the healing of the centurion's servant, and the parable of the mustard seed. Many of the members of the BLCM are new to the Christian faith and have been raised in either the Hindu or Muslim religion. It is such a joy to proclaim the simple and saving truths of God's saving word to these new believers and those who come to listen but have not yet been led to faith. In one location where there is a newly established BLCM congregation, there were four prominent men from the village who were in attendance and listening intently. As we were walking back to the road from the congregation, Pastor B. explained to me that those men were Muslim, and this was the first time they had come to hear what was being taught. The seed of God's word has been scattered; pray that the Holy Spirit causes it to sprout and produce fruit! 

One of the interesting and incredible things that I noticed with this visit is just how many BLCM members were former unbelievers. Pastor B. just casually points to this individual or that when we're waiting for things to begin, and in a rather matter-of-fact way, tells me that he or she is a former Hindu or Muslim. He's not saying it in a boastful way, but in such a way that you can see that he just considers this to be normal. Praise the Lord for each and every soul, in this predominately Muslim nation, who is called out of the darkness of unbelief and into the marvelous light of our Savior's forgiveness, life, and salvation!

Here are a few pictures of the evangelism efforts described above:

The second week of this visit was the BLCM Pastoral Theological Training Seminar held in Dhaka. We had sixteen BLCM pastors and leaders in attendance for this 3.5-day seminar. Like the week before, Pastor B. packed as much into each day as he could. We began each day at 6:30 AM for morning prayers/devotion. Following breakfast, we began training at 8:30 AM and ended the day with evening prayers/devotion at 6:45 PM followed by our evening meal. These were long (and hot...106 degrees) but fruitful days spent in the Word. I taught about 7 hours each day, and Monotosh used about an hour each day to discuss BLCM matters and lessons on important theological terms. The lessons I taught were a part of the Online Theological Studies curriculum that retired ILC professor David Lau has been working on for us. I taught lessons on Hermeneutics/Biblical Interpretation. With the language barrier, the need for translation, and lots of questions being asked and answered, I was only able to get through seven of the eleven lessons. This is OK because Pastor B. is going to finish the course with these men next month and then go through it all again later in the year. These lessons are so foundational to a proper understanding of Scripture and thus the preaching and teaching of it. Monotosh continues to stress the importance of thorough training for these men so that the ministry and future of BLCM is built upon the firm foundation of God's saving Word with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. With this goal in mind, we (the CLC) are working together with the BLCM to develop a solid curriculum for training faithful preachers and teachers of God's Word. This is really the focus of our work together with the BLCM. It is such a privilege to work together with these dedicated servants of the Lord who demonstrate a genuine eagerness and dedication to this training with no concern for their own personal advancement in this world. In fact, their pursuits in learning God's word will most likely bring them more earthly hardship than the material comforts of this world. Praise the Lord for the love of our Savior in the hearts of these faithful servants of our Savior.

Here are a few pictures and a video from the Theological Training Seminar:

The other item on my agenda for this visit was to see the BLCM land that was recently purchased with a partial grant from the CLC Mission Development Fund. We also discussed their plans to build a multipurpose building that will serve as a place of worship, a Bible training center for pastors and church leaders, and a home for Pastor Banarjee and his family. No plans have yet been drawn up, but they are tentatively planning to build a four-story building with each level serving a different purpose. This building will be a wonderful blessing to the BLCM as they continue to develop a look forward to the day when they can begin a more thorough pastoral training program. This will also be a great blessing for Pastor Banarjee and his family. Over the past few years that we have been working with the BLCM, Pastor B., and his family have had to move several times because Muslim neighbors complained to landlords because they didn't like the Christian singing and ministry that was going on. They look forward to the day when they will be able to move into a home that is owned by the government registered and approved BLCM and will thus have no interference to their Christian activities. 

Here's a short video of the BLCM land: