WELS Missions » bush

Firsts from Zambia

ddmathiak — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:58:32 +0000

This will be our first WELS blog so we think it will be good to start at the beginning, and talk about how we got here. Dave and I were living in Englewood, FL working and planning on doing evangelism work in our retirement years, about 7 years down the road. As a crew member for an electrical company, Dave was sent to where the work was and that was away from home a lot. We couldn’t figure out what God had in mind for us at the time, but I decided to get some evangelism training on my own, while Dave was away. I called the WELS Kingdom Worker office and found out about a 2-day “Senior Burst” evangelism training that was coming up in October of last year, and being held in Milwaukee. Long story short, I attended and heard about the request for a lay-couple to assist at the Lutheran Mission in Zambia. The skills needed fit Dave and me to a tee. After finding out what the actual details that the 3-year commitment included, we were hustling to get all of the documents and immunizations finished!

We arrived in Zambia on May 5th to a large group of the Mission families and LCCA Pastors. We were escorted back to the Mission property and shown to the house that would be our home for the next three years. They treated us to a nice lunch and we all got to know each other a little. The first couple of days we unpacked and got through our jet-lag. That very Sunday, Pastor Phil Birner took us about 2 hours out of town to one of the bush churches. It seemed to me to be about the roughest road I could imagine, not anymore, but I am glad there was a roll bar inside for me to hold onto. I am certain I caught air several times. We arrived at the church before anyone else. Phil kindly told me that the circular stand, made from very tall dry grass, out in the field, was the bathroom. I went inside to find a hole dug in the middle of the dirt. With all of the jostling around from the drive out, I was in no condition to get particular then!

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Malawi Tent Ministry

missions — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:59:26 +0000

Tent Ministry. I’m finding out that I have one. Mind you, NOT in the traditional - or even synodical - sense of the term.*

Instead, tent ministry is my own description of my own experience in Malawi. Here’s the best theological definition that I can come up with that best defines my tent ministry: I sleep in one! Quite a mind boggler, huh?

My ministry work takes me to “far-flung” places in Malawi. Our family lives in Lilongwe, but my work takes me to Mzimba, Mzuzu, Karonga, Chitipa. Not an exhaustive list but they can be exhausting trips!

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Humanitarian Aid Committee in Africa - Part 3

missions — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:00:49 +0000

To visit bush congregations in Africa requires miles and miles of travel on indescribable roads, trails, and paths. As a first time visitor to Africa, let me try to help you envision several typical scenes one sees as he rattle over the roads: lines and lines of people walk or bike on the edge of dusty roads, goats and chickens regularly dart in front of traffic, an occasional ox-cart hauls people or goods, fires burn and recently charred ground create an almost constant smoky smell, a specially built Toyota Land Cruiser bumps and bounces mile after mile, grass and mud hut villages suddenly appear along the road or on a hillside, a boy tosses a rock at a vehicle because it did not stop and pay him for shoveling some dirt and stone in one of the many thousands and thousands of potholes (some more resemble ditches or sink holes), other vehicles approach head-on until the last moment as they try to avoid the holes on their side of the road, worn grass trails, stick huts, a man on a roof replaces his thatch roof, banana trees, sugar cane fields, driving through flames along the side of the road, dust clouds make the people we pass invisible behind us… This only begins to scratch the surface of how different life is in Africa. We observed these things during just a few minutes of travel. The list could go on and on! We saw scene after scene that one cannot even imagine in the United States.

Africa also appears to be a land of interesting contrasts. While a national pastor rides in our vehicle talking to or texting someone on a cell phone, a woman 100 yards away is washing clothes in the river. People walking, biking, and using an ox-cart contrast with an occasional motor bike. A family sits under a tree (which serves as their sitting or living room) next to a grass hut, while a short ways down the road we see a mud hut with an attached satellite dish (although this is quite rare).

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Reflections after the first year in Cameroon

dmyers — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:07:00 +0000

No one can explain what it is like to live in Africa, you must experience it first to truly grasp it. Cameroon may be one of the most primitive areas we work in Africa. I do not know about Mozambique, but it is definitely more primitive than the rest of our fields to date.

Working with the Lutheran Church of Cameroon is a blessing. I have always said that farmers are the salt of the earth and almost everyone is a subsistence farmer here and the people are a joy to work with. Teaching the pastors and certified assistants, (lay workers with a tiny bit of training) is a complete joy. I try to meet with them every month except for December when they will not let me because it is too dangerous during that time of the year. Thieves abound and they have counseled me never to give a ride to anyone I do not know that month. We do text studies for all the readings in the Pericope for the next month or two, depending on when the next meeting will be. I have trained the CAs for two weeks and the pastors for one week. This time is precious since the men are so eager to learn.

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Malawi is the place to BEE

rwendland — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:48:46 +0000

This past week we had thousands of flying visitors in our front yard. There were so many that it concerned me. I whispered to the kids to go into the house quickly & quietly. The kids and I had been outside setting out plates and bowls for a picnic lunch when we heard a loud buzzing sound getting closer and closer. It didn’t take us long to realize that it was a massive swarm of the African killer bee. If one bee is crushed (accidental or not) the whole swarm will come to defend it. In this case that swarm was in the thousands.

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Bio: Rebecca Wendland

rwendland — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:57:38 +0000

My family and I are located in Blantyre, Malawi, Africa. We have been serving here for about 5 years. My husband, Rob, is a bush missionary in southern Malawi, spreading God’s Word to over 13 congregations and to thousands of Malawians each month.

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The Woeful Events of 24 February - a Tribute

apaltzer — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:05:09 +0000

Below is an excerpt from a poem by Missionary Peter Martin about the difficulties of getting to some bush congregations.

On February twenty-four
We started out in the morn
Simweeleba, Mulonda and me

The gears they were a grindin,
but I was never mindin,
that’s just the way my truck is

Truck’s been with me ‘leven years
people are plum full of fears
that I’ll be left high and dry

But I have confidence
that though she has her dents
Old Faithful ’ll get me where I’m going

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Read the full text on wels.net

Breaking New Ground in Zambia - Part 2

apaltzer — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:27:33 +0000

Missionaries are also literally breaking new ground as they travel to their congregations this rainy season in Zambia. They travel very muddy roads that at first glance look impassable, and sometimes they make it through, but sometimes they get stuck.

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The rainy season is record-breaking this year, with a number of roads and bridges being washed out and flooding in homes and fields. One missionary who has a rain gauge said that we had already received more rain in December and January than the whole rainy season last year (typically it rains until March). According to one of the national pastors it hasn’t rained this much since 1921. I don’t know where he got that fact since he is not that old, and I wonder if they were keeping records here back then… but it sounds impressive doesn’t it? Another evidence of how much rain we have had is the fact that one large section of our “wall fence” fell down. We have “wall fences” made from concrete blocks that surround our yards and serve as a form of security complete with barbed wire on the top and a big black metal gate to get in and out of the yard. One night it rained really heavy and was very windy but Jason and I were not home at the time. We came home, ate dinner and were getting ready for bed when we heard barking in our yard that was not the bark of our dogs. Strange. So, we went outside and the neighbor’s dogs are in our yard! We walked around the corner of our house and saw: the other yard (when we normally just see a wall) because the wall separating the yards was completely down! Yikes! However, it was good because our neighbors are the mission guest house- so no problems there, it was just a big mess and took a lot of work to clean up and put back up.

Life is never dull, as God continues to give us new opportunities to break ground. Please pray for the missionaries and national pastors here in Zambia as they travel to preach the word and break new ground spiritually in people’s hearts

Breaking New Ground in Zambia - Part 1

apaltzer — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:13:03 +0000

The Zambian mission field is breaking new ground in several ways. This blog is one of them and we are eager to share news and stories about the mission and life.

My name is Amanda Paltzer, and I am working here with my husband Jason in the recently established Lutheran Health and Development Program (www.healthlcca.com). This program is a ground-breaker in the Zambian mission field aiming to support the gospel ministry of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA) and the Lutheran Mission Zambia (LMZ). It has been growing over the past 4 years into an established part of the Zambian mission field. Missionaries over the years have dealt with caring for the physical needs of their congregations along with their gospel ministry. As the apostles assigned other men to this work of “waiting on tables” in Acts 6:1-6 to support their ministry, the Lutheran H&D program works to support the ministry in Zambia by building up the pastors and members of the church in education, health care, and supplying for some physical needs keeping Scripture as the foundation for all programs. As this program is so new, it has gone through many successes and failures and the staff of 4 often has long meetings hashing out ideas, discussing areas for improvement, and encouraging each other.

New ground is also breaking for the missionaries here. In January, Missionary Steve Lawrenz and his wife Lori moved to Blantyre, Malawi to begin serving the Malawi mission field. Missionary Lawrenz has said that the changes are difficult and he is challenged with the language and getting to know the people he is serving. Missionary John Holtz, his wife Mindy, and their two girls Rachel and Heather will also be moving soon to Lilongwe, Malawi to also begin serving the Malawi mission field. Both of these families had to wait many months to get work permits to be allowed to live and work in the country, and now the Holtz’s are waiting for repairs on the house they will live in. Please pray for these missionaries in their new work and the challenges they will face in a new ministry and environment. Missionary Lawrenz served in Zambia for 21 years and Missionary Holtz for 10 years.