From Wittenberg to Wittenberg

In this blog I write mostly about the work we do. If you'd like to get some insights about our daily life here in Tanzania, see Paula's journal entry for October HERE.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Though separated by more than 500 years and 4,000 miles, Wittenberg Lutheran Seminary in Arusha, Tanzania has a close connection with the start of the Lutheran Reformation in Wittenberg, Germany. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, the Augustinian monk and Catholic priest, nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door. In them, Luther challenged the selling of indulgences, proclaiming that God's forgiveness is a free gift of grace in Christ, not something that can be bought. Within a short time, thousands of printed copies spread throughout Europe. Once again God was saying "Let light shine out of darkness." Even in the face of great danger to life and limb, the Lord preserved the lives and work of the reformers, so that the priceless message of salvation by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, founded on Scripture Alone might be preserved for us in the present day.

God's hand is also seen in the way that this Gospel message came, via the Reformation, to East Africa. German missionary societies in the late 1800s sent workers to establish churches and schools here and to proclaim God's free grace. Historical evidence of this is found less than 2 miles away from Wittenberg Seminary, where you can still visit the graves of two German missionaries, Karl Segebrock and Ewald Ovir. They were speared to death by two warriors of the Meru Tribe in 1896 (you can read the whole story HERE). 

These and other ambassadors for God's grace and truth have been spreading the light of God's Word here in Tanzania up until the present day. Yesterday I presented a brief illustrated history of the Lutheran Reformation to the students, reminding them of how the light of God's grace has come to us from the Word of God, and how the Lord carried this truth from Wittenberg to Wittenberg. Our prayer is that the graduates of our seminary will be able ambassadors in the congregations they will serve "to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ"!

Some recent photos follow (click to enlarge): 

Preaching on September 5, with Pastor Mbise translating

Baptism of Melody Elisha Issangya on October 17; with her parents Elisha and Linah

Ryan, Simone and Malaika, the three confirmands on October 18, 2026

Wittenberg Seminary students in class, October 29

A video clip of Wittenberg students singing at opening devotion is HERE.

I invite your prayers for these upcoming events:

• Seminary graduation is set for Sunday, November 29. God willing we will graduate 6 men from the first-year Evangelism Program, and 1 from the three-year Seminary Program. 
  
  
• Godfrey, our seminary graduate, will be married here the same day to his fiancé Neema (Grace).
  
  
• Paula and I are scheduled to leave for the USA December 1, to spend Christmas with family. I will return on January 1, with Paula remaining in the States for 3 more weeks.
  
  
• I am planning a trip to Uganda and Kenya during January, at which time the CCRU and KCLC will be having their annual pastoral conferences. Our AECT conference here in Tanzania is scheduled for January 26-28.

Upcoming seminary graduate Godfrey and his fiancé, Neema

FOR MORE CLC Foreign Missions News,

See Missionary Todd Ohlmann's blog HERE

A Nose for the Gospel in Kenya

In this blog I write mostly about the work we do. If you'd like to get some insights about our daily life here in Tanzania, see Paula's journal entry for September HERE.

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere." 2 Corinthians 2:14

Modern science estimates that the average human nose can distinguish more than 1 trillion distinct odor mixtures. Perhaps, when Juliet said to Romeo, "That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet," she was unaware that a single rose scent contains about 275 distinct chemical components. Be that as it may, most anyone can recognize a genuine rose when they smell one.

In the same way, the true Gospel of Christ crucified for lost sinners has a distinct and lovely fragrance all its own. This is the aroma of full and free forgiveness, earned by Jesus on the cross and revealed to us in God's Word, and it is rare in East Africa. Christianity is predominant here, with about 80% of the people professing some kind of faith in Jesus. However, a large number of these are Roman Catholics, and in this church the fragrance is spoiled by the teaching of faith-plus-works for salvation. Many more belong to Pentecostal churches, which also have a different scent, in that they seek assurance of God's favor through supposed miracles and personal holiness along with faith in Christ. We should also pity the ones who gladly breath the stench of the "prosperity gospel" preachers, who promise earthly health and wealth for those who are willing to help make the preachers rich.

I had the privilege of sharing the true saving fragrance of God's Word with our sister churches of the Kenya Church of the Lutheran Confession (KCLC) during two weeks in September. Paula traveled with me and was able to participate in teaching the children at several locations and met with two women's groups. We also had the opportunity to witness to the true Gospel in several churches that have expressed interest in the teaching and fellowship of the KCLC through contact with Pastor Calvin Luvisha. During these mission contact stops, it became plain that the people had great zeal for worship, but a sad lack of instruction in Scripture truth. They inhaled deeply of the genuine Gospel of repentance over sin, trust alone in Jesus' merit, and the new, confident life we now live in Christ...and they asked for MORE. We and Pastor Luvisha left pastors and church members with native-language copies of Luther's Small Catechism and other confessional literature. We pray that we will move toward mutual agreement in the truth of God's Word as we continue to instruct them, with a focus on the fragrance of the true Gospel.

As of September 29, Wittenberg Seminary in Arusha, Tanzania is back in session. Please continue to pray for our ministry partners here, and in Kenya and Uganda, and all over the world where the Lord "leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere."

Some video clips from the trip are HERE.

The route of our trip - shuttles and buses from Arusha to Nairobi to Kisii/Etago to Moi's Bridge/Kitale, a short domestic flight from Kitale to Nairobi, then back on a bus to home

Kimai congregation - new contact with Pastor David Onduso

Paula addressing the ladies at Our Savior's, Kisii (KCLC)

On Saturday, some members of Our Savior's - Pastor Ombogo at right

Pastor Fred in front of the recently dedicated church at Chotororo, KCLC

Worship at Chotororo, with members of Sare congregation also present

Adult members of Chotororo and Sare, KCLC

Arriving at St David's Academy in Etago, KCLC

St. David's children's song 

Students of Emmaus School, Moi's Bridge, KCLC

Pastor (and Wittenberg Seminary graduate) Amos of Holy Cross church, Moi's Bridge

St Luke's Milimani - Pastor (and Wittenberg Seminary graduate) Jasper Musacali at right

Matisi (Misikhu) and other churches inquiring about KCLC, with Luther's Catechisms

(Pastor Calvin Luvisha, 3rd from left)

Matisi (Misikhu) contact group gathered

Kitale Restoration Congregation (an outreach contact), with Catechisms and Lutheran Literature

Pastor Calvin conducting worship at St. Peter's, Kitale, KCLC

Preaching at St. Peter's (Pastor Henry Nyanumba of Moi's Bridge, left)

Paula and ladies of St. Peter's Kitale

St. Peter's and visitors after church - with Catechisms and Lutheran literature

A "puddle jumper" flight from Kitale to Nairobi, then a bus HOME to Arusha

FOR MORE CLC Foreign Missions News,

See Missionary Todd Ohlmann's blog HERE

A Simple Sign, a Greater Purpose

We continue to remember the people in Nepal who are suffering in the wake of devasting flash floods, including many of our own HCLCN members. For Missionary Ohlmann's recent report, click HERE.

 In this blog I write mostly about the work we do. If you'd like to get some insights about our daily life here in Tanzania, see Paula's journal entry for August HERE.

A new sign for the AECT and Wittenberg: Among other recent improvements to our church and seminary property, made possible by contributions to the CLC MDF, we were blessed to install a sign outside the gate of our property. It's a simple thing, but we pray that our Lord will use this sign for his kingdom work:

• It is meant to catch the attention of our community for our Lutheran church and seminary, but the sign itself is not the destination. It's meant to point people to Jesus, for “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 4:5
  
  
• In the same way that our sign makes the church and seminary more visible, it reminds us that Jesus calls His people to live visibly -- not for our own glory, but so that others may see God at work. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
  
  
• Our sign is a simple invitation, the same one that Philip told Nathanael concerning Jesus, "Come and see!" John 1:46 We pray that people will find here the saving message that Jesus entrusts to his disciples of all time: "That repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations," (Luke 24:47), and "Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth." John 17:17

A few recent photos (click to enlarge):

From time to time we visit retired Pastor Lengutai at his home. L to R: Prof. Thobias Mbise, AECT Chairman Jeremia Issangya, grandson of Pastor Lengutai, Pastor Lengutai, Pastor/Prof. Robert Loskira

Children of Pastor/Prof. Robert and Rachel Loskira: Angel, Zipporah, Innocent, and Onesimo

The front yard of the church and seminary was recently renovated to include a small soccer pitch for the students. Pictured: the winning team of the first "Wittenberg Cup" round-robin tournament

See a video of the winning goal in the championship game HERE.

Wittenberg students at lunch, grateful for the baked treats and beet pickles that Paula made them

Our twelve Wittenberg Seminary students completed the 2nd of 3 trimesters last week, and they are now on their September break. Please include in your prayers our upcoming visit to Kenya. Paula and I will travel by bus to visit our sister churches of the Kenya Church of the Lutheran Confession (KCLC), as well as outreach contacts, from September 3-15. We ask our Lord for safe travel, growth in grace and knowledge for our KCLC pastors and members, and fruitful discussions with a number of pastors and churches who have expressed interest in our fellowship. In all things, dear Lord, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done!"

FOR MORE CLC Foreign Missions News,

See Missionary Todd Ohlmann's blog HERE

Partners in the Gospel

In this blog I write mostly about the work we do. If you'd like to get some insights about our daily life here in Tanzania, see Paula's journal entry for June/July HERE.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." Philippians 1:3-5

Greetings from Tanzania! It was a busy June in the U.S. Paula, our grandson Elijah, and I visited CLC congregations for preaching and presentations about what we are all doing together in East Africa. We visited our churches in Sister Lakes, MI, Sioux Falls, SD, Rapid City, SD, Loveland, CO, Valentine, NE and Eau Claire, WI. Before and after the CLC Convention we were able to catch up with our children and grandchildren before returning to our work here in East Africa.

Upon our return we were privileged to partner up with Mission Board member Jeff Radichel and his wife, Sarah. The four of us, along with our translator, were the Tanzania Mission Helper team. We traveled far and wide among the churches of the Augsburg Evangelical Church in Tanzania (AECT), as well as to some orphanages and public schools. We taught Bible lessons about the real Jesus and sang Christian songs in Swahili. So many of the people here know something about Jesus, without knowing the true Gospel of His full and free payment for all sins. Our prayer is that both the children and adults who heard our message were drawn to the cross as sinners who are fully forgiven in Christ. We especially ask our Lord to open the hearts of the many Muslim children who heard this message!

For a detailed account of the Mission Helper travels in Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia see the 2026 MHT blog HERE. A few photos from are own travels are below. Since that time our 12 students at Wittenberg Seminary are continuing their studies here near Arusha, Tanzania. It is heartening for us to be Gospel partners with our brothers and sisters here, and to know that our fellow CLC members in the USA are also participating with us in this blessed work through your prayers and support!

[click any image below to enlarge]

At Pastor Bayo's congregation in Karatu

Gembe Lutheran, near the Hadzabe tribe in a remote area

At Gembe the worship service featured 6 baptisms, and worship with the Lord's Supper

At Sana Orphanage, near Wittenberg Seminary

We gave gift bags to the children: coloring pencils and a Bible story coloring book

Matala Primary School near Himo

Ambureni Primary school, near Wittenberg Seminary

Mothers with their small children at Faraja Women's Development Center, where Paula serves as a volunteer

At the Maasai village of Mbuyuni, where Wittenberg teacher Robert Loskira is pastor

The Wittenberg Seminary choir, during a worship service at Ambureni Parish

For some video clips of our MHT travels click HERE

FOR MORE CLC Foreign Missions News,

See Missionary Todd Ohlmann's blog HERE