Finale of the First Phase

UPDATE - the video links below didn't work at first, but have now been fixed.

Dear friends - it is the last week of regular classes here at Wittenberg Seminary in Arusha before our break. Final tests for the second semester will be given next week, and then I'll be flying home for furlough on Saturday. I'm looking forward to meeting a new grandson, born on June 24, and the upcoming birth of a granddaughter. I also hope to see many of you all while in the U.S.

We have definitely "hit our stride" as students and faculty in our new situation. The men are making good progress in their studies. At the end of November we expect to graduate 3 students from the 1-year Evangelism program; they will then be eligible to enroll in the 3-year seminary. Although there will be no seminary graduates this year, we hope by God's grace to graduate 4 candidates for the pubic ministry in November of 2024. Photos (click to enlarge):

The Wittenberg Seminary Faculty:

Robert Loskira, Jeremia Issangya, Bruce Naumann, and Nathan Lengutai

Our seven students in the seminary classroom

Along with his work at the seminary, Pastor Robert Loskira serves the congregation in Mbyuni, about an hour away. This past weekend I had the privilege to travel to his home congregation and to be the guest preacher. Mbyuni parish is a small but vibrant group, with many children. Some photos:

Transportation on Pastor Robert's motorcycle

The paved roads gave way to gravel, then a dirt path shortcut
to the Maasai village of Mbyuni

The home where Pastor Robert lives with his wife and 3 small children

Pastor Robert Loskira, his wife Rachel, and their children (left to right): Onesimus, Angel, and Innocent. We give thanks to God that Rachel Loskira has recovered from a recent, severe illness.

The temporary church at Mbyuni is enclosed within the walls of the as-yet unfinished building

The congregation at worship

Mbyuni is also the home of seminary student Phillip Aloyce

A video clip of the Sunday school singing is HERE. An after-church song and prayer is HERE.

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This "Finale of the First Phase" will be my last blog post until later in August when, God willing, Paula and I will arrive safely here in Arusha. It's very encouraging to know that so many of our fellow believers in the CLC-USA are supporting us and praying for the work here!

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

"Strengthening the Disciples" in Kenya

Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. (Acts 14:21-22) 

The missionary journies of Paul and his companions, as recorded in the book of Acts, show a clear pattern of 1) seeking new contacts with the Gospel of the crucified and risen Christ, and 2) continuing to build and maintain the faith of those who had already heard and believed. Our CLC missions program seeks to follow the same pattern, with regular visitations to our outlying sister churches in various countries. This "maintenance and encouraging" work is done primarily by traveling missionary Todd Ohlmann, as well as a number of part-time visiting pastors from the U.S. 

My own call as seminary teacher and missionary is centered in Tanzania, but since I am within driving distance of our sister churches in Kenya I've been asked to visit there from time to time. Pastor Jeremia Issangya and I have just returned from such a trip. We visited our fellow believers in two locations in Kenya; Etago and Moi's Bridge. We had the same purpose as that of Paul and his companions - "strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith." Additionally, we assist the Mission Board in ensuring that the limited resources we have to offer from CLC missions are applied in the best possible way.

It was a 6-day trip from June 9-14, with traveling days on either end and lengthy bus rides to and from our destinations. Some photos and descriptions are below (click to enlarge).  

The two travelers: Pastor Jeremia and myself, in front of the newly-completed wing of the school on Etago, Kenya. By the way, many African churches expect any clergyman (not just Catholic priests) to wear a clergy collar. 

St. David's Academy in Etago. There are 120 students in 8 levels. CLC Project Kinship helps to support the school, and provides Bible curriculum for instruction in the Word of God. 

Sunday worship with some of St. David's students, their teachers, and members of the Etago congregation. Pastor Jeremia greeted and encouraged the group.

I preached a children's sermon on Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. We are to have "good posture" before God; when we bend low in repentance He lifts us up with His forgiveness in Christ. 

School headmaster Charles is on the left, next to two of St. David's teachers. At the table are Pastor Enosh of the Chotororo congregation, Pastor Fred of Etago, and church member Brian. 

A group photo following the Church service. Pastor Fred has a son, Eubank, who is a student at Wittenberg Seminary in Arusha. 

It was a six-hour shuttle bus ride from Kisii (near Etago) to the Moi's Bridge area. It was a crowded bus, but there was beautiful Kenyan Countryside to enjoy! 

Mary Sagala, left, is the administrator of Holy Cross Lutheran School in Moi's Bridge. Second from right is the elderly (and blind) Pastor Samson, who still preaches regularly for the local congregation, from his extensive memorization of large portions of the Bible. 

The student body gathered to present songs and dancing for their visitors, as well as a reenactment of Jesus' trial, suffering, death, and resurrection.

You may see some video clips of the children HERE. 

One of the classrooms in the newly-completed wing of the school, made possible through CLC Project Kinship funds. 

Mary and one of the class levels, along with their teacher.  

One of the teachers at Holy Cross School is Dennis, who is the son of Jasper, a Kenya student at the Wittenberg Seminary in Arusha. 

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The book of Acts reports that, while strengthening the new churches of his first missionary journey, Paul and his companions told the believers “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." In our East African work we see a great many earthly hardships among those whom we serve. Thanks be to God that this does not at all diminish the heavenly riches that we share, in Christ!  

We appreciate all the prayers and support from our fellow believers in the CLC-USA. You too are "strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith."

Pre-Kenya Catch-up

Greetings everyone. I wanted to get a few updates out before leaving for Kenya on Friday. Pastor Jeremia and I will be visiting our sister churches in the Kisii area, as well as those in Moi's Bridge. We have one seminary student from each place here at Wittenberg, and others from Kenya who may be interested in attending next year. There are also Christian schools in both places which CLC Project Kinship supports. We'll be traveling as far as Nairobi, Kenya on Friday. We will be visiting the Kisii people on Saturday and Sunday, the Moi's Bridge folks Monday-Tuesday. Then we'll return home on Wednesday, God willing. Pastors Loskira and Lengutai will cover our classes while we are absent. Here are some recent photos and comments:

On Saturday I was invited to attend a traditional family feast, where a cow was presented by a bride's family to the family of the groom as a dowry. Pastor Jeremia presided over the official transfer. The cow had actually been slaughtered earlier, and the group of perhaps 75 people feasted on the beef, along with rice pilau. It was a very interesting cultural experience!

Five of the seminary students also attended the dowry presentation, and we posed for this photo.

This is me waiting by the side of the main road for my Arusha printer to deliver our new textbooks. He was running on "Africa time," so I had to leave and teach class. Later that morning I rode back down to meet him and retrieve the books. They are an introduction to Christian teaching using the adult instruction course "Learn from Me," presented in facing pages with English and computer-generated Swahili. 

Here is a look at our textbook. Getting these is a major development for the seminary students. Up until now their only "textbooks" are the notes that they may take during classes. Providing them with doctrinally-sound materials in their own language not only enhances their own study, but will be a resource for them for years to come in the pastoral ministry. All of this is made possible by the generous contributions of stateside CLC members to the CLC Mission Development Fund (MDF).

It was an exceptionally clear morning yesterday, for which I was thankful. We're supposed to be at the end of the rainy season now, which can't come soon enough for a guy who rides a bicycle to work. The local peak is Mt. Meru, which stood out boldly on the road that leads up the muddy hill to the seminary. Hopefully the rains are behind us now for a while, so it will be just a dry dirt road.

By the time a typical seminary class is done the whiteboard is usually filled. For "New Testament Survey" the students are reading through the entire New Testament between now and the end of November, and we have reached the end of Mark's Gospel. I am routinely peppered with insightful questions - some on-topic and some off. The brief summary of the four Gospels is translated:

    Matthew - Jesus the Promised KING            Mark - Jesus the Powerful SERVANT

    Luke - Jesus the Savior of ALL                     John - Jesus the WORD made FLESH 

Seminary students at lunch. The staple "filler" food is ugali (looks like a cut cake in the picture). It's actually a very thick cornmeal mush, with hardly any flavor. It serves as both staple and utensil - you take a hunk and press it to make sort of a spoon to scoop up the other saucy dish, which in this case is beans. At lunch the students always ask me over and say "karibu" - "welcome!" I'm still bringing my own lunch, but sometimes sample a little of what "Mama Nuele," the seminary house mother, has on the menu.

I'm sure there will be news to share following the Kenya travels. I am closing in on one month to go before returning to the U.S. for furlough. I am thankful for the prayerful support of so many of you CLC members, and I am glad to have the opportunity to train men here for the work of the Gospel, according to all of God's true Word.