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The
Confessional Lutheran Church – Malawi Synod (CLCMS) is a small but
vibrant church body in the warm heart of Africa. In Malawi they say
“Teeth are a sign of peace” and those toothy smiles welcomed us
everywhere we went. The LCMS has supported several projects in Malawi
including matching gifts for church building construction, famine relief
food, and the drilling of wells, all in support of God's people and His
work of reconciliation.Having never been to Malawi before and with a
tight schedule, Shauen and his fellow workers, Shara Cunningham and Erik
Lunsford, didn't expect to see much of the country, but their hosts had
other ideas. Over the course of just three days the CLCMS took their
LCMS visitors up and down the main highway in Malawi with side trips to
several congregations and the occasional tourist site.
The small matching grants for church building construction went further
in Malawi than in just about any other place we've seen. The
congregations made 30,000 baked mud bricks and collected the sand,
gravel, and stones for the church building. The funds from the LCMS
provided cement, plaster, paint, roof trusses, and tin roofing sheets.
The size and quality of the resulting church structure was a testimony
to the church's eagerness in partnering together with a strong local
contribution.
The wells that were drilled near the congregations, using LCMS grants,
provided water to the entire community in places where that water was
desperately needed. Most important though, as the chairman of the church
body visited, each church wanted to worship together and celebrate with
baptisms and communion.
As observers, we couldn't help but get caught up in the joyful
celebration. An assistant brought water from the newly-drilled well into
the newly built church which was filled far beyond capacity. Then with
those grace-filled words of promise, forgiveness, and assurance, that
well-water was used for something far more than mere water could ever do
– the baptizing of dozens of young adults and children into the family
of God. Praise the Lord for His work among God's people in Malawi!
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Refugee Camp Visits in Turkana
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The
Holy Spirit doesn't care much about national boundaries. Years ago, the
LCMS planted churches among Sudanese people groups in a refugee camp in
northwest Kenya. Today it is still hard to figure out where the
congregation fits. Are the congregations part of the church in Kenya,
the church in Sudan, or the church that planted them – the LCMS? Without
any pastors living within a hundred miles of the camp, the question of
who will serve them is still asked – who will visit for preaching,
teaching, baptizing, confirming, and administration of communion?
For years, the LCMS has provided pastoral services to the congregations
in Kakuma either in the form of LCMS missionaries traveling to the
refugee camp or by sending pastors seconded by the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Kenya (ELCK). This month, Shauen was able to make a brief
visit to the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Turkana to encourage the
congregations and see how they were managing in their difficult and
challenging situation. Shauen and his co-travelers from the LCMS and
ELCK met five different Lutheran congregations of God's faithful in the
camp, each from a different part of Sudan. In brief visits we greeted
each congregation, shared a short message from Scripture, prayed with
them, and recommitted ourselves to supporting ministry among them.
Please keep Rev. Daniel Mutai, seconded by the ELCK for quarterly visits
to Kakuma, in prayer as he ministers to God's people there and pray for
peace in the home areas of those displaced.
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State of the Project Forum
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The
Christ's Care for Children sponsorship project was designed to be
transparent and collaborative. The LCMS Director for the project,
Kissinger Nyang'au, has embraced that vision. The project design
includes an annual State of the Project Forum, a time for all site
managers, church leaders, LCMS staff and project supporters to come
together to learn from each other about the successes and challenges of
each site and the operation overall. The first Forum was held in
northwest Kenya. While each site manager spent some time in the hot
seat, the forum was widely hailed as a resounding success. The detailed
reports from each site enabled each site manager to learn from the
others. Praise the Lord for this time of sharing and new beginnings!
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Photos in Focus
Malawi (all photos by Erik Lunsford)
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Prayer Requests
For wisdom, discernment, and patience for Shauen and Krista in their work as spouses, parents, and missionaries
For the missionaries, projects, and relationships Shauen oversees for the church
For Rev. Daniel Mutai and God's work in Kakuma Refugee Camp, northwest Kenya
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In Praise
For the Lutheran Church in Malawi
For potential new missionaries deliberating a call to this field
For the encouragement and fellowship of spending time with fellow LCMS co-workers on the field
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