How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach UNLESS THEY ARE SENT? ...So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:14–15a, 17
I have one full day in Kathmandu before my flight home tomorrow (Tuesday, December 17) morning. Ruju and I parted ways yesterday when I flew to Kathmandu, and he returned to his family in Chitwan. We've done this for the past few years, so he doesn't need to spend another three or four days on the road and away from his family and the work. I've been here enough times that I'm comfortable navigating this country and Kathmadu on my own. My typical routine includes visiting a couple of my favorite places to eat and staying at a decent but inexpensive hostel with good Wi-Fi. It's also a plus that the hostel is just a short walk to a small tea and spice shop where I buy Beth's favorite Nepali chili flakes.
This morning, I'm just hanging out at the hostel, making good use of their free Wi-Fi, writing reports for the Board of Missions and the Kinship Committee. Later this afternoon, I will meet with Rajan to discuss the Kinship Cheli Project he directs, which assists and protects young at-risk girls from marginalized tribes and villages in the Himalayan hills outside of Chitwan. And this afternoon, I'll probably slip out and find a few small gifts to bring back for the grandkids.
This visit was about a week shorter than usual due to a couple of additional visits to Liberia and Pakistan that needed to be scheduled. But thanks to Raju's good planning, it was a productive visit that was highlighted by opportunities to preach the Good News at Himalayan-CLC (HCLCN) congregations, teaching a course on the "The Grace of God and the Doctrine of Election" at the Himalayan Bible Institute (HBI), leading a study on "Worship" at the HCLCN Pastoral Conference, and meetings to discuss future plans and opportunities. We also had a Pre-Christmas celebration with the HCLCN pastors and HBI students as we considered God's message to the shepherds: "There is born to YOU this day, in the City of David, a SAVIOR, who is CHRIST the LORD!"
In addition to the work (that doesn't really seem like work...more like a privilege!), I always appreciate the blessing of spending time with my dear friends and co-workers, the Bhitrakoti family. The other special blessing is the opportunity to stand in awe of God's beautiful creation with incredible views of the tallest mountains in the world, the Himalayas! It just never gets old!
Praise the Lord for another safe and productive visit to Nepal and HCLCN!
I'm looking forward to being home in a few days and then traveling to Michigan to celebrate our Savior's birth with our grandkids (for the first time) as they use their beautiful voices to proclaim the Good News on Christmas Eve.
Prayers to the LORD for safe and uneventful travels are requested and much appreciated!
Oh...and Happy Birthday Mom!!!
Raju Making Announcements at the HBI
Raju Making Announcements at the HBI
Teaching the at Himalayan Bible Institute
Pastor Raju Welcoming the HCLCN Pastors and HBI Students to the Conference
Pastor JB Delivering the Opening Devotion
Teaching with Raju Translating at the Conference
Lunch wth Raju, Sanju, Rajan, and Anu at the HCLCN Conference
Raju and Sanju
Raju, Sanju, Jordan, and Joshua at Jordan's School Program
This trip to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been a long time in the making. Pastor Tim Daub came into contact with a group of believers and began sharing God's word with them via online video meetings a few years ago. During the past 3+ years, he has conducted weekly online classes with the group, taking them through Luther's Small Catechism and other more in-depth studies of God's word. Several months ago, the group decided to form a congregation and begin meeting for worship every Sunday. They choose to call themselves the CLC Pakistan. They are led by Pastor G. (full name withheld for security reasons). A second group of believers also began meeting with Pastor Daub for online classes. The congregation currently has around forty members, and the second group numbers around ten. These are the folks we are going to meet.
It is a remarkable blessing that the Lord allows our little synod to be involved in spreading the Gospel in Pakistan since Islam is enshrined in the constitution as the official religion of Pakistan and is practiced by over 96% of the population. While their constitution provides the right for all citizens to profess, practice, and propagate their own religion, the constitution also states that all laws are to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran. The Pakistan Constitution also limits political rights to non-Muslims and states that only Muslims are allowed to become President, Prime Minister, or to serve as Federal Judges. Christianity in Pakistan makes up about 1.37% of the population. Hinduism is the second largest religion in Pakistan but only represents about 2.14% of the population. While there is freedom of religion in Pakistan, Christians and other minority religions still face many challenges and persecution. The organization Open Doors lists Pakistan near the top of their annual watch list of the fifty nations where Christians face the most extreme persecution. Pakistan has the fourth largest Hindu population in the world after India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Obviously, there is much work to be done in this part of the world! Praise the Lord for the privilege of being laborers in His harvest!
About two years ago, the CLC Board of Missions authorized funding for an initial face-to-face visit. That visit has been postponed for several reasons, including recent elections. We are thankful that the Lord has finally cleared the way and provided this opportunity to make the visit.
Pastor Daub and I are scheduled to depart on Tuesday, October 15th. I'll fly out of St. Louis, and Pastor Daub will fly out of Minneapolis/St. Paul. We'll meet up in Newark, NJ. From there, we will fly together to Faisalabad via Dubai. The flights and layovers total around 35 hrs of travel. We'll arrive in the early morning hours on Thursday the 17th. Our time in Faisalabad will be spent discussing the Scriptures with Pastor G. and conducting Bible Studies in the evenings with the members of the congregation. They are excited to learn more about the Mission activities of the CLC around the world. We'll also have the opportunity to be with the congregation as they gather for worship on Sunday.
Thank and Praise the Lord for the technology that has made this opportunity possible. Ask Him for His blessings on the meetings, discussions, and study that will take place over the next several days as we share the truths of His saving word with these precious blood-bought souls. Ask Him to bless our travels, keep us safe, and grant us the love, patience, joy, wisdom, humility, and all that is necessary to accomplish the word work He sends us to do in Pakistan. And ask for His blessings and protection of our families while we are away.
Later today (Tuesday, Apr. 16, 2024), I'll be heading to Zambia for a two-week visit. I'll fly from St. Louis to Chicago to Istanbul to Lusaka, Zambia. From there, I will take a nine-hour bus ride to Kitwe in the north. Then, a bus back to Lusaka, where I'll stay overnight before another long bus ride to Livingston in the south. Then back to Lusaka before I fly home on April 3oth.
Due to some unfortunate circumstances, it's been a couple of years since my last visit, so I am excited and eager to get back to Zambia!
We live in a sinful world where, even among Christians, jealousy and contempt can find a foothold. Unfortunately, this has caused a delay in my visit. The story of this jealousy and its consequences began back in 2022, a short time after the CLC Mission Helpers spent a few weeks in Zambia, proclaiming the Gospel to more than a thousand children. After the Mission Helpers went back to the U.S., a few pastors in the Livingston, Zambia area were jealous of their child evangelism efforts among the Zambia-CLC (ZCLC) congregations and preaching stations in and around Livingston. They began to cause trouble for Pastor Ibrahim and the ZCLC by challenging his immigration status and spreading lies about him.
Pastor Ibrahim is originally from Tanzania and was trained at the, then CLC-affiliated seminary, in Himo, TZ, more than ten years ago. He relocated to Zambia in 2011 and has been spreading the truths of God's saving word and training church leaders and evangelists since.
Shortly after the trouble began in Livingston, Pastor Ibrahim decided it would be best to temporarily relocate to Lusaka with the hope and prayer that with some distance and time, the trouble would subside. Unfortunately, Satan continued his attacks against Pastor Ibrahim and the truth of God's word he was teaching. After a few months, he returned to Livingston only to find that much of the ZCLC ministry and Gospel outreach had been abandoned, and false and slanderous rumors about him had been circulating.
Pastor Ibrahim then went back to Lusaka to work on proper immigration documentation and found that it would be necessary to return to Tanzania to get paperwork from his home country. While traveling to Tanzania, he was bitten by a scorpion and spent several weeks in the hospital. For much of that time, he was near death and remembers very little from his time there. After his discharge from the hospital, he traveled to his brother's home in Tanzania for a couple months of rest and recuperation. A few months ago, he traveled to Dar es Salaam and Dodoma in Tanzania to collect the necessary paperwork to apply for the required immigration documentation to continue the ministry in Zambia. He has now returned to Zambia and is looking forward to restarting the Gospel ministry in Zambia.
Thank the Lord for preserving Ibrahim through all of these struggles and the attacks of Satan and his proxies. And pray that the Lord will bless his efforts and provide all that is necessary to restart and reorganize the work of the ZCLC!
Ibrahim and I will have a busy couple of weeks. Our work will begin day after my arrival when we travel by bus to the Copperbelt Province near the D.R. Congo (DRC) border to the north. We will meet up with Pastor Yumba from the DRC, where we will conduct a pastoral training seminar and an outreach seminar and have organizational meetings with the pastors and church leaders in this area. We will then take a bus back to Lusaka, where we will spend one night before taking another bus to Livingston near the Zimbabwe border to the south. While in Livingston, we will conduct training and outreach seminars and have some important meetings with the ZCLC church leaders in the area as they begin to reorganize the work of training pastors and church leaders. When our work in Livingston is finished, we will travel back to Lusaka for a weekend of worship and outreach seminars before my flight back home.
What a privilege to be able to be a part of this important work of spreading the truths of God's saving word!!
Thank the Lord for restoring Pastor Ibrahim back to good health and for giving him the zeal and commitment to return to Zambia and get back to the Gospel ministry there.
Ask the Lord to provide abundant love, wisdom, patience, provision, protection, and blessings on all that is necessary during this visit so that His will be done and the work of spreading the Gospel in Zambia may continue in a way that is pleasing to Him and brings honor and glory to His name!
Please also pray for my wife Beth as she takes care of her parents, who are both dealing with serious health issues and are in need of lots of care and prayers.
This will be the second visit to the Philippines to meet with Pastor Jordan Palangyos and the Lutheran Autonomous Mission of the Philippines (L.A.MP.) After extensive correspondence that was first initiated by Pastor Palangyos after he had found the Facebook page of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (CLC), Pastor Rob Sauers (representing the CLC Board of Missions) and I made an initial visit in April. The first two years of correspondence were focused on reviewing and explaining the doctrinal positions of the CLC using select Online Theological Studies courses via email.
As reported in a Lutheran Spokesman article by Pastor Sauers, a recommendation to begin the official colloquy process was approved by the CLC President. Pastor Andrew Schaller (CLC Bd of Doctrine) was appointed to conduct the colloquy via email correspondence. That process has now been completed. Pastor Schaller and I are now traveling to the Philippines to conduct the in-person review of the colloquy materials that Pastor Palangyos and Pastor Schaller have completed. If all goes well, and as a result, we find ourselves in doctrinal agreement with the L.A.M.P., a recommendation for fellowship will be made to President Wilke upon our return.
We fly out later today (1/29). Our itinerary takes us from St. Louis to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Manila. We will arrive in Manila mid-morning on Wednesday after nearly 28 hours of travel. From there, we will board a bus in Manila and travel about six hours to the north, where we will meet Pastor Palangyos in Baguio City on Wednesday evening. Thursday and Friday will be spent in doctrinal discussions. Saturday and Sunday will take us into the mountainous Cordillera District to visit the two L.A.M.P. congregations and preaching stations.
Your prayers for safe and uneventful travels, productive and God-pleasing doctrinal discussions, the Lord's blessings on the preaching and teaching of His saving Word, and His love and protection for our families are requested and much appreciated...confident that the God of our Salvation will hear and answer our prayers!
