Tag Archive for: Australia

Unexpected ways to build connections

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A little blonde haired boy is doing laps around a small play center in a mall near a Kmart. (Yeah, they still exist in Australia). He starts to play with a boy about his age. They chase each other and climb through the play center’s obstacles to head for the slide. Each in turn, they inch down a slide that is inexplicably slow. And then they race back up to do it again. And at least for now, it doesn’t matter at all that they can’t speak the same language. After a while, the boys’ mothers connect and begin talking. Before they leave the moms exchange contact information for hopefully a play date for the newly formed friends zooming around mall.

Three and a half months into living in Australia, we’re just starting to get the hang of some new things. There’s a different vocabulary with a serious affection for shortening words and tacking on an O (servo, arvo, bottle-o, flanno, rego, smoko, garbo, to name a few), there’s some exciting new food options (meat pies, TimTams, excellent coffee, and yes, Vegemite—it’s excellent on toast with butter!), and there are a lot of different people groups here. We knew that having experience living in East Asia would be a benefit in making friends here and it has, but we’ve also met Filipinos, Japanese, Indonesians, Colombians, Malaysians, Taiwanese, and Mongolians. And the main person starting the connection with most of those people: my wife Alanna. And sometimes my son Marvin.

One of the most exciting aspects of ministry here in Australia is that we’re all working on it together. Yes, the WELS missionaries, Matt and Peter (me), but also Christine (Matt’s wife) and Alanna (my wife), and even unknowingly Marvin and Jonas. We’re exploring, trying out things like English programs, play groups, parks, library events, cultural nights, and running into all sorts of people and making friends with so many people. Hopefully, some of those connections turn into coffee, dinners, and conversations. Conversations about God. And all that feels very normal.

I would venture a guess that in your community, wherever you may be, there’s probably someone new, learning a new culture, maybe learning a new language, figuring out how to do basic things, and could use some help. And I bet that person would appreciate a friend. We’ve certainly appreciated all the help we’ve gotten from friends so far.

There’s something really fascinating in Psalm 86. It’s a psalm that praises God for how he listens and delivers those who trust in him. And in the middle of the psalm, the position of emphasis, there is verse nine. “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” It’s a beautiful cause and effect explanation. God I trust in you, you save me, you deliver me, you answer me, and you help me.

Written by Rev. Peter Janke, world missionary on the Asia One Team based on Australia.

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An open door to the gospel

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Dear Friend,

When I first heard that WELS had been invited to communist Vietnam to train church leaders in the truth of the gospel, I was surprised. Yet, God had opened the door, and WELS members responded with generosity and faith. God continues to surprise us all around the world.

There are over two million Hmong people in Southeast Asia, but it was the opportunity in Vietnam, and our work with the Hmong Fellowship Church (HFC), that provided us with a direct path to share the good news about Jesus. In 2011 WELS missionary Rev. Bounkeo Lor began by training 55 HFC leaders, preparing them to return and serve rural congregations. In July 2023, these 55 men graduated as fully trained pastors. Their graduation photo, taken with President Schroeder under the communist hammer and sickle, serves as a powerful reminder of how God’s gospel can work in ways we can hardly imagine.

Now 120 more men have begun their pastoral studies, a theological training center was built and dedicated in Hanoi, there are 1,400 rural church leaders ready to be trained in the truths of God’s Word, and 700 of them have begun training. This group has the potential to become an army of evangelists, spreading the gospel not only to their 400 congregations but also to Hmong communities throughout Vietnam and neighboring countries. The door remains open, and God continues to surprise us.

The door is open. The manpower is ready. The gospel is powerful. God is providing us with opportunities all around the globe. New work in Australia, London, New Zealand, Tanzania, and the Congo has been launched over the last two years. Dozens of house churches have been opened in Latin America and Africa. We ask for your prayers and offerings to keep these gospel doors open.

Your gift to this work is vital for WELS to continue carrying the gospel through the open door in Vietnam and around the world. Contributions to WELS World Missions help open and support these missions. Your gift can enable this gospel-driven growth to multiply because we expect God to continue surprising us.

Since we began working with the Hmong Fellowship Church, it has grown from 55,000 to 146,000 members. What will God use us to do next? Christians who have heard the gospel for the first time are moved by our Lord to reach out to others who still need to hear it. The leaders we train and equip are reaching hearts, and the Holy Spirit is granting a harvest.

This work could not have been accomplished without the prayers and gifts of God’s people. We thank our Father in heaven for the generous support given to WELS World Missions. If you are looking for a way to extend the reach of the gospel, now is the time. We have extraordinary opportunities to train hundreds more church leaders, who will, in turn, share the Word with their communities. Please consider giving to WELS World Missions.

In Christ,
Rev. Jonathan Schroeder
Chairman, Board for World Missions

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Prayer: Lord Jesus, you have richly blessed our synod by allowing us to reach and serve so many souls worldwide—even entire church bodies—and by continuing to open doors to further gospel proclamation. Our world missions efforts are now on every inhabited continent and impacting people in nearly 100 countries. Help us to thank you for our many blessings and to use them to support the gospel ministry of our brothers and sisters across the world. According to your gracious will, multiply our work so that those we train will touch the lives of others with your saving message and, in the next ten years, our fellowship outside of North America can reach one million people. Amen.

The gospel is powerful!

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Dear Friend of Missions,

When WELS was first invited to communist Vietnam to share the good news of salvation through Jesus, it was a surprise. Yet, God opened that door, and WELS members responded with generosity and faith to support that opportunity.

Since we began working with the Hmong Fellowship Church, it has grown from 55,000 members to 145,000. What will God use us to do next? Christians who have heard the gospel for the first time are moved by our Lord to reach out to others who still need to hear it. The leaders we train and equip are reaching hearts, and the Holy Spirit is granting a harvest.

And God continues to surprise us all around the world.

Watch your mailbox for even more information about how God is blessing ministry happening all over the world through WELS World Missions. The door is open. The manpower is ready. The gospel is powerful. God has provided WELS with opportunities in Australia, London, New Zealand, Tanzania, and the Congo over the last two years. Dozens of house churches have opened in Latin America and Africa. We boldly ask God’s people to help keep these gospel doors open.

“See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut” (Revelation 3:8).

Your prayers and offerings to WELS World Missions will support new and existing ministries around the world and will enable this gospel-driven growth to multiply. If you are looking for a way to extend the reach of the gospel, now is the time! Consider giving to WELS World Missions today. We pray that God would continue to surprise us!

Serving together,
Rev. Jonathan Schroeder
Chairman, Board for World Missions

P.S. Watch this video to see how God opens doors to the gospel all over the world.

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Missionaries called to explore new world mission fields

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The Board for World Missions, working alongside the various World Missions One Teams, has identified new world mission fields and is taking steps to deploy missionaries into three new areas. “Spreading God’s Word in any and every place is our high calling,” says Rev. Larry Schlomer, World Missions administrator. “We ask the Lord of the harvest to use us to bring many into his kingdom through our work.”

Missionaries asked to relocate to Australia

Two missionaries from the Asia One Team, currently based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, have been asked to consider relocating to begin outreach based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Schlomer shares, “People in Australia have asked us for help. WELS members who have moved to Australia, brothers and sisters who have had to move from Hong Kong, and long-time partners in churches in the Brisbane area, have reached out. It is a joy to be able to meet these needs with WELS missionaries.” Both missionaries would remain on the Asia One Team as they continue their work with contacts throughout Asia.

Calls issued for Muslim outreach in Senegal

Two calls have been issued to explore new outreach in the West African country of Senegal. The goal would be for new missionaries to spend up to six months living with a Muslim family from the Wolof tribe, immersing themselves in the culture and language of the people they are trying to reach with the gospel. Once they have a better understanding of the culture and Muslim influence, they would develop more specific plans for outreach. The Board for World Missions is committed to supporting this new mission field for a minimum of two years in order to give the missionaries ample time to work within the culture. Learn more about this opportunity at wels.net/mission-work-approved-in-senegal.

New Native American outreach in Four Corners region

The Board for World Missions has approved a new missionary position to coordinate outreach to the Native American tribes in the Four Corners area of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. This new missionary would be tasked with developing a new model for Native American outreach, working closely with native Apache members who want to reach out to friends and family members from other tribes with the pure gospel message. He will work closely with Missionary John Holtz, who leads the discipleship arm of the Native Christians Network and is training Apache WELS members for service and outreach through the Apache Christian Training School (ACTS) program. This missionary also will coordinate with Christ the Rock, Farmington, N.M., to develop existing outreach to Native Americans in the area and work to expand digital outreach efforts.

“These new fields will allow us to bring the gospel to places where the announcement of pure grace is scarce or even nonexistent,” says Schlomer. “May God use these missionaries to bring joy in sadness and hope where darkness has hidden God’s face.”

Learn more about additional world mission fields that are being explored at wels.net/newworldmissionfields.

 

 

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