Tag Archive for: John Holtz

Don’t let go until He blesses

I never have fully understood Genesis 32:24. “…a man wrestled with Jacob till daybreak.” Read the whole context1 and you come to find out that the “man” was God!

God in a wrestling match?

I can’t help but picture an angelic announcer with a microphone and a note card: “Ladies and Gentlemen…welcome to the Jabbok Arena for the match of the century. In this corner, contending for the crown, weighing in at 178 pounds, Jaaaaaaaacob! (Applause); And in this corner, weighing in at…well, I don’t know how much He weighs…the undefeated and undisputed reigning Champion of the universe…God! (Applause)

What is this? The Old Testament version of World Wrestling Federation? Not Hulk Hogan verses Da’ Crusher, but the Deceiver vs the Destroyer.

No four-sided ring and no leather bound turnbuckles; no folding chairs to slam or ropes from which to jump, but an under-the-stars night time match of grappling, rumbling and tumbling. Jacob putting God in a “half nelson?” I still can’t entirely understand how it all took place but maybe I grasp it a bit more now than I did before.

Like Jacob, I too, have been in a strenuous wrestling match. Not a physical bout but a spiritual one. Not just for one night but for one month. A Call put me in the ring.

John Holtz, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Bylas Arizona, together with the Administrative Committee for the Native American Mission is extending this Call to you to be their shepherding pastor on the San Carlos Indian Reservation. Like a ring-side bell, that announcement began the match. I wasn’t wrestling with the Calling body but with the real CALLER Himself: God. Clay Jar vs The Blesser. Four weeks of grappling in prayer. Agonizing, arduous, exhausting prayer.

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.”2

He did.

God blessed me immeasurably through time in the Word. The LORD has blessed me through talks with Christ centered, mature-in-the-faith people. He’s given me a new look at the gospel work He’s calling to be done. He’s has called to mind once again that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. Christ has reminded me again and again through His Word what He displays through my jar-of-clay weakness: His victory-of-the-cross strength! To be sure, in both Malawi and the San Carlos Reservation, the needs are so great, the work is so important, the people so precious and the message so valuable. Consequently, the wrestling match was so strenuous. But through all the straining and struggling, He led me to a decision. I returned the Call that I had received to Our Savior’s Church on the Apache Reservation. I believe the Lord led me to continue to serve in Malawi. The BLESSER blessed me with assurance that He will be with me and not forsake me.3

Dear Mission Partners, I write to you these thoughts to thank you for your prayers, emails and phone calls. Perhaps not everyone who reads these communiques knew about the Call, but many of you did. And when you found out, you prayed for me and my family, for Our Savior’s congregation and for the Malawi mission field. In your own way, you stood outside the ring and offered prayers for the one in it.

As far as I know, there is always some Called Worker in WELS some place in the country or in the world who is wrestling with a Call that has been laid upon his/her heart. Might be a teacher or pastor, a missionary or lay minister. If ever you do hear about such Calls that are extended, even if you don’t know the person well, and especially if you do, might I ask that you also say a prayer for that person? I’m sure he or she would appreciate that kind of support. “Mission Partner” in the true sense of the words.

Though Call decisions may come easier for some than others, there is still is an important decision to make. Because a Call is from God, the wrestling is with God.

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

Jacob didn’t until God did. Through the strenuous process, like Jacob, we are blessed to see God “face to face.” We do so by faith through His Word. We see God as Jesus has made Him known.4

We know Him. He is both Destroyer and Blesser. By His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave He destroyed the power of sin, death and the devil and blesses us with life and eternal salvation. Though, like Jacob, we all have been deceivers, we too have all been justified.

Clay jars have overcome.

Unlike He did for Jacob, God didn’t change my name after the match.5 But sometimes I think I’m limping a bit more. Did he touch my hip? Not sure, (maybe it’s just arthritis) but He did touch my heart. He once again touched it with His grace and love and mercy.

He’s given me a wife worth far more than rubies,6 two children who love me far more than I deserve and family members who accept God’s will even when it doesn’t match theirs. He’s already blessed me with a cloud of witnesses that has gone on before me7, a mission family presently surrounding me and leaders currently guiding and encouraging me.

Whoever He Calls, He blesses. Wherever He Calls, He equips.

Dear Mission Partner, you too have a calling, a vocation to serve and glorify the Lord who has called you to the position and place in which you find yourself today. And if today the one in the ring wrestling with God is YOU, you may very likely discover that the match is long and strenuous. But…

“Don’t let go until He blesses.”

Tiredly but sincerely,

Your Mission Partner,

John Holtz

_____________________________________________

  1. Genesis 32:22-32
  2. Genesis 32:26
  3. Deuteronomy 31:6, Matthew 28:20
  4. John 1:18
  5. Genesis 32:28
  6. Proverbs 31:10
  7. Hebrews 11
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Outside the Comfort Zone

Amanda Oswalt is getting what she prayed for: an experience outside of her comfort zone. It certainly is all that…and much more. Amanda stepped out of the sparkling and sanitized hallways of St. Luke’s Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin one day and into the handmade brick and mortar, dark and dusty clinics in rural Malawi the next. Could there be a more stark contrast in health care and facilities? Not from Amanda’s perspective: “It was such juxtaposition from where I came from and into what the medical reality is here.”

BWM-Malawi-AmandaOswaltJust what are the medical realities in Malawi?

Well, to name a few…

• Limited medications
• Long queues
• Little/no electricity
• Outdated equipment
• Insufficient funds
• Staffing shortages
• Cramped quarters
• Overcrowded rooms
• Minimal/no pain management

With such circumstances just what is Amanda, the Nurse-in-Charge, to do? Lots, actually. Though she is seldom called upon for direct patient care, Amanda has a full
plate. As the Nurse-in-Charge, she makes sure that everything with the staff and clinic management medically runs smoothly. She purchases the majority of the clinic’s medications and works with the Malawian Government to procure others. She also reports back pertinent statistical data of the Lutheran Clinics to both the Malawian Government (which gets the lion’s share of the data) and the Central Africa Medical Mission Committee (CAMMC) in the States. Because the national staff can adeptly do the hands-on care of the patients, Amanda isn’t really needed for that work. Instead, she is needed and responsible for a lot of the behind the scenes work. In her terms, she is “almost exclusively a manager.” Amanda, however, recalls one unique situation where she was literally hands-on with patient care:

“I had to hand-ventilate a child that was intubated for over an hour. I then had to teach the child’s mother how to do it; then her and her family would then be responsible for breathing for that child.”

As recent as December 2013, when Amanda interviewed for the job, she would not have guessed – or even dreamt – of finding herself in such situations in a developing country! Even after interviewing for the position, she actually thought that – for one reason or another she wouldn’t get the job.
But she did. She got the job and we got the blessing!

The Lord had plans of His own. The Lord knew we needed Amanda “for such a time as this.” (I stole those words from the book of Esther1). Amanda is bringing to our Lutheran Mobile Clinic (LMC) what Esther brought to the palace: her God-given personality, strengths and unique set of skills. A wonderful combination that the LMC in Malawi needs at this time. Isn’t it grand that the Lord determines not only our times but also the exact places for us to live?2 For Amanda, it’s in Area 10, Lilongwe, Malawi. As the crow flies (if it dares over the ocean) a mere 8,490 miles3 from home!

Though sad that Amanda is so far away from her Wisconsin home, her parents are also both proud and supportive of their daughter. They realize that Amanda hasn’t just moved clear across the globe to pursue a dream, but more-so to follow the Lord’s calling in her life for these 3 years that she’s signed up with the CAMMC. (2015 – 2018).

“Mom and Dad, if you’re reading this…I appreciate you and your support so much! Thank you!” – Amanda

Amanda admits that living and working in a country such as Malawi does not come without its tough and challenging days. Even BWM-Malawi-AmandaOswalt1though it is called the Warm Heart of Africa, it doesn’t always give a person the warm fuzzies. Amanda treasures her “go-to” Bible verse that she’s kept close to her heart and mind since she was young:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5,6.

Amanda shares this comment:

“These verses were my confirmation passages and whenever I’m having a rough day or moment I tend to meditate on this passage. It always reminds me that He has the plan and I need to let go of my attempt of control and just trust.”

Ah, yes….trust. Blessed is the one who trusts, not in faith itself but in the object of our faith, our Lord Jesus Christ! We are weak but HE is strong. Strong enough to lean on. As you lean on Him, Amanda, know that we (your “family” in Malawi) are tightly wrapping you up in prayer. May I assume that there are many people in the States praying for you as well? Word has it that WELS has a lot of prayer warriors in LWMS and supporters of the Central Africa Medical Mission! I’m sure that many of them, like your parents, are impressed with your courageous spirit and very proud of what you are doing. Yes, what you are doing is indeed admirable. Thank you for working hard to make the clinic a blessing for thousands of patients as well as an opportunity for others to follow in your footsteps.
Thank you for humbly yet boldly serving the Lord and His people with dedication, commitment and love. But every now and again, Amanda, take a break from your work. Do what you enjoy in a country not your own:

Play a little rugby (have you told your Dad and Mom?) Hit the volleyball around. Watch a local soccer game or two. Taste the local cuisine. Hang out with newly made friends. Take time for tea time. Travel a bit. Oh, and do all these things – as well as your work – while leaning on the Lord! And while you’re leaning on the Lord and talking with Him, be careful for what you pray. You might just get again what you got when you came to Malawi: an experience …outside the comfort zone.

Your Mission Partner,

John Holtz
Malawi


1. Esther 4:14
2. Acts 17: 26
3. Calculated as great circle distance on the surface of the spherical Earth.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

If God is for us, who can be against us?

This is a special article because Missionary Holtz was in Nigeria for teaching, graduation and ordination.

If God is for us, who can be against us?1

Excellent question, Paul, just excellent.

Paul’s query is much more than simply thought-provoking and much greater than merely discussion raising.  It’s heart-touching and faith building.

Sermon worthy.

Of all the Scripture that could have been used very fittingly for the sermon text on Graduation Day at Christ The King Lutheran Seminary in Nigeria, the nine students chose this one from Romans 8:31b:  If God is for us, who can be against us?

Why this particular text?  Why this specific question?  The nine graduates had one answer:

“Because  this very Word of God speaks personally and powerfully in our circumstances here in Nigeria.”

During the years of their Seminary training, it seemed to them that so many – too many – things were indeed against them:

  • Ebola
  • Boko Haram
  • The death of 3 classmates
  • The death of 3 local lecturers
  • The death of two student wives
  • A serious internal church issue

It’s not that any of the students or lecturers were killed by – or even infected with the Ebola Virus; it’s not that any of them were kidnapped or even personally threatened by a terrorist group; but these two weighty Nigerian issues were serious enough concerns for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) that the Board for World Missions (BWM) temporarily suspended all travel to Nigeria by WELS Called Workers who would teach at the seminary in Uruk Uso, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

Cancelled travel meant postponed classes.

Postponed classes pushed Graduation Day further down the road.  Graduation became a tantalizing mirage that the students could never reach.  The closer they came, the further it went.

But the nine students didn’t quit the program.  They pressed on.  They persevered.  They rode out the storm.  Then one day two lights of hope shone over the troubled waters in the distance:

Nigeria declared itself “Ebola Free” on 20th October 2014 and her president, Goodluck Jonathan joined Nigeria with neighboring nations2 for a stepped up military campaign against Boko Haram.  Though both were still menacing issues for Nigeria, neither one was hovering anywhere near the Lutheran Seminary.  The WELS Board for Missions was satisfactorily assured and gave the green light to Missionary Doug Weiser3 to engage the traveling professors.

Classes could resume!

The professors came in three week waves.4 The students were elated.  Graduation Day would happen!

It did.

Though the normal six year seminary time had stretched over seven years, graduation finally took place on 14 March 2015.

WELS Pastor Joel Jaeger5 preached the text the students chose:  “If God is for us who can be against us?”

Even though this sounds like a searching question, it’s really one of a half dozen powerful answers to his first probing question.6 Like an ammunition clip for an AK47, Paul’s six questions are lined up one right after another and ready for action.  Paul rapid fires these six rounds.  He not only hits the target but he tightly groups them centering on the bulls-eye truth:

Through Jesus Christ we are more than conquerors!7

The Seminary Students needed to hear that message on Graduation Day.

They did.

Who can be against the class and ultimately succeed?

What can be against the graduates and victoriously triumph over them?

  • A deadly disease with plenty of victims but no cure?8
  • A terrorist group with plenty of machetes but no conscience?
  • A dwindling class?
  • A growing anxiety?

Paul’s question is really his answer!  It’s the answer the graduates rejoiced to hear:

NO ONE and NOTHING can go up against our great God and be victorious! 

A cross and a grave couldn’t stop Jesus, how could anything or anyone else?

Graduation Day was a good day.

Gowns were donned.

Gifts were received.

Congratulations were given.

But more importantly,

Sin was exposed.

Grace was announced.

Christ was praised.

Then on the 15th and 21st of March 20159 God supplied nine more gifts10 to His Church in Nigeria.

Just in case you ever wonder if Satan, the world or a relentless bombardment of life’s challenges have gotten the upper hand, ask yourself an important answer:

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Your Malawi Missionary Partner,

John Holtz

____________________

John Holtz, Doug Weiser, Joel Jaeger

Christ the King Lutheran Seminary

Graduation Day 14 March 2015

___________________________

  1. Romans 8:31b
  2. Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
  3. Pastor Doug Weiser retired from the pastoral ministry (serving in Bellevue, Washington at the time) in June of 2014 and was commissioned as the Missionary to Nigeria the same day. He jokes that he has the record for the shortest retirement:  three hours!  With WELS budget funding, Pastor Weiser can travel to Nigeria at least four times per year, teaching at the Seminary and coordinating the WELS work there.  He organizes WELS pastors, professors and missionaries to teach at the seminary while he works with the two synods.
  4. Missionary Holtz was in Nigeria teaching the Seminary class a course on Evangelism, 23 February 2015 – 13 March 2015.
  5. Pastor Joel Jaeger presently serves Christ Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Previously he has also served in Nebraska, Germany and St. Lucia. Pastor Jaeger has traveled to Nigeria four times to teach in the seminary.  This time he taught the book of Titus.
  6. Paul begins Romans 8:31a with his question: “What shall we say in response to this?”  In response to what?  Paul had just assured the Romans that God works for our eternal good and assures them that God has predestined, called, justified and glorified them.
  7. Romans 8:37
  8. To date and to my knowledge, no known cure for Ebola has been officially announced or recognized. However, there has been a lot of progress made in this particular medical arena.  Some people who had been infected with Ebola are still alive.
  9. 15th March 2015 was Ordination and Call day for two students who will serve in Christ the King Lutheran Church of Nigeria. Missionary John Holtz preached for the Ordination service.  He used John 10:11-18 as the text.  The theme of the sermon:  “Lord, you are the Good Shepherd, help me to be a shepherd under Christ!”  The 21st of March 2015 was Ordination and Call Day for the other seven students.  They are serving in their sister synod called All Saints Lutheran Church of Nigeria. These synods formed years ago when certain groups of dissatisfied people broke away from the Lutheran Church of Nigeria.
  10. Ephesians 4:11. Pictured from left to right on page 1, student’s names are in bold type: Pastor Doug Weiser, Joseph Odama Ogar, Vincent Onah Odey, Pastor John Holtz, Wonah Johnson Egbe, Samuel John Udoh, Egar Michael Nleng, Eshua Sylvester Odok, Idorenyin Joshua Udo, Agwu Johnson Ogar and Orji Stephen Odey, Pastor Joel Jaeger.

A heart for the people

Next month we will resume with an article on an LCCA Called Worker. This is a special edition article.  This month’s focus:  Lawrenz Family

In your mind, picture a bovine herd grazing on an African plain: cattle or Cape Buffalo or Wildebeest – doesn’t matter which animal you imagine.  Now narrow your sights just to the calves.  The ones born around the same time of year are similar in size, roughly the same in height and weight. But do you see that one that is a bit taller, bigger and bulkier than the rest?   Notice that it is also more solid and muscular than the others.  Tough as nails. According to Ngoni culture and language, that one is called the Jere.  In every herd of animals, or even in a gathering of various species of animals, there is always one that stands out by its sheer size and bulk. That one is Jere. Now look at another crowd in Africa.

Pastor Jere and Malawian children in a fishing village

Pastor Jere and Malawian children in a fishing village

This time, not animals, but people. See the one that stands out above the rest?  The one that is a bit taller than most?  Solid and robust? That’s Jere. Some know him as Steve Lawrenz.  Many, however, in Zambia and Malawi, know him as Jere. Pastor Jere. Jere is his African name, given to him by a man from the Ngoni tribe in Zambia. The name stuck. He carries the token Ngoni name well!  A bit taller than most of the rest of us.  Tough as the calluses on the feet of Ngoni warriors.  Strong as an ox. Steve used to pick up missionary kids by the ankles and swing them around upside down.  They loved it (until they turned 18 years of age).   Some people have commented that Steve doesn’t know his own strength.  Why would he?  After all… he’s Jere. Interestingly, Jere is also the name of the Ngoni Chief of chiefs sitting on the throne in Malawi.  Jere is the surname of the royal family.  The Chief of chiefs will always be a Jere. Chief Jere stands tall, not only in his home village but in the whole country.  The name and the position is so highly honored that a late Chief Jere has been pictured on the 20 Kwacha monetary note of Malawi: Inkosi ya Makhosi M’mbelwa II Lazalo Mkhosi Jere.  (Whew!  How would you like to write that name every time you had to sign a check!?) Ironically, some have stated that Steve Lawrenz even looks like Chief Jere. But these are not the reasons why so many people know Steve Lawrenz as they do.  The Africans in Malawi and Zambia know Steve Lawrenz, not for his name nor his height but for his… heart. Like David of old, a man after God’s own heart. A heart for the people Pastor Jere and Malawian children in a fishing village But Steve will be the first to point out that it’s best to look at God’s heart and not his. After all God’s heart is filled with a love for the people that is as unfailing as it is eternal.  God’s heart beats with a passion to touch the hearts of people, filling them with forgiveness and faith and love. He who is loved much has much reason to show it. Jere does. When God called, Steve came.  He came to Africa with energy and enthusiasm and determination.

Child wearing a cross sticker

Child wearing a cross sticker

Only the Lord knows how many sermons Steve preached, babies he baptized, and people he confirmed and communed.  Over Steve’s ministry of 28 plus years in Africa, how many Gospel seeds were planted, watered and nurtured?  How many hearts were encouraged, lives changed or faith renewed? It wasn’t so much the fruit of his work that encouraged him as it was the promises of God.  The Word fed his faith and the people fueled his passion. His heart beat for the people. It was easy to tell. One can just hear it in his voice and see it on his face.  If Steve will allow me and if you’ll indulge me, may I say that I see a special verse in Scripture that has Jere written all over it: 1 Thessalonians 1:8.  It reads…”We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well because you had become so dear to us.”
If I didn’t already know Paul had written those words to the Thessalonians I would think that Steve had penned it to the Zambians and Malawians. Jere’s life and style of ministry revealed his heart for the people.  He truly shared not only the gospel but his life as well.

Steve and John

Missionary John Holtz with Steve Lawrenz

The people indeed had become dear to him.  Oh, so dear. Find Steve in Malawi and you’ll hear him with people: chatting in Chewa, rehearsing people’s names, delighting children with his much loved antics.  Jere loves to put cross stickers on the foreheads of African children and tell them about Jesus. Locate Steve and you’ll notice that he’s chumming with the national pastors, working on building relationships and looking to do the good works that the Lord has already prepared for him to do. But no more. No more?  Well, I should clarify those words a bit better: he will be doing these things in Africa no more.  America, yes.  Africa, no. Steve and his wife Lori are leaving Africa.  They are bidding farewell to the land of Malawi in which they hung their hat for the last seven years.  From their home in Blantyre, Malawi and from 10,000 feet in the air, on 2 March 2015 they will wave good bye to neighboring Zambia where they raised their three children, Scott, Diana and Adam. What’s it like to get rid of most of your things, pack the rest and move back to a place you left almost 3 decades ago? “Exciting!” Steve says with enthusiasm.  “I love adventure!  In fact, for me, going to America now is like going to a foreign country.  Yes, I grew up in the USA and served as a parish pastor for 4 years in Minnesota and 6 years in Pennsylvania.  Except for furloughs, however, I’ve been away from the USA for almost 30 years. So many things have changed.  Lori and I will need time to transition back into American culture.” Steve agrees wholeheartedly that the time is right for their move: “About my position being eliminated and I going back to the USA, I agree with it totally!  I support the idea of going back to the USA with no missionary to replace me because it is the right thing to do in the development of a mission.” Steve recalls the time when there used to be 13 missionaries in Malawi and 11 in Zambia.  At this time there are now but four mission families in Zambia and with Steve’s and Lori’s departure from Malawi there remains but four also. Dear Steve and Lori. We will miss you.  Many many Malawians and Zambians will miss you. Thank you, Steve and Lori, for sharing both the gospel and your lives with us in Africa.  You have become dear to us. You have touched the lives of countless people in these two countries and left an indelible mark upon them…God’s indelible mark!  God’s love in Jesus Christ.  Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the cross has found its mark not on foreheads but in hearts. Dear Mission Partners, if you ever see Steve in America, call him by his African name. Call him…Jere. He’ll be glad you did.  You’ll be glad you did. If he starts reaching down to pick you up by the ankles to swing you around upside down, either let him show you his strength, or you can ask him to instead share with you a story or two of his experience in Africa.  In Chichewa or English or both. You’ll be in for a real treat.  He not only has a flair for a good story, but a passion for the greatest one ever told.  The story of how God has… a heart for the people.

Missionary to Malawi, John Holtz, gives a great send off to Missionary Steven Lawrenz as his time in Africa comes to an end and he returns to the United States.

The tree of life: Malawi flood update

The rains were no surprise.

The floods were.

River banks can hold only so much.  Land can soak in only so much.  Sand bags can stop only so much.

Then the inevitable happens.

When floods come, fields go.  When a cyclone hits, everything is hit.  Soil erodes.   Roofs cave.  Houses collapse.  Bridges break.  Pit latrines become unusable.  Dirt roads become impassable.

In November and December Malawians were praying for rain.   Now they are praying for help.

Sabina certainly was.

One minute she was taking inventory of her fish, the next she was taking refuge in a tree.

Perched like a bird on a branch she helplessly watched anything and everything imaginable flow past in a muddy, churning torrent:  household items, livestock, clothing, baskets, garbage, crops, grass and logs.

Even bodies.  Human bodies.

Oh, she has an amazing story to tell.  And tell she did.  In a face–to-face interview with Missionary Paul Nitz of Lilongwe, Malawi, she told it. You can find her story at  WELS Missions Blog Both Sabina and Paul can tell it better than I ever could.

But one thing I can say: She survived.  Hundreds didn’t. Could she ever forget that tree?

When the elders of our Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA) congregations took me on a trek through their lands in Malawi’s Central Region, to my shame, at first I didn’t see it.

What I saw was only the destruction left in the wake of the floods.

I saw collapsed houses and piles of broken bricks and useless rubble.  I saw the obliterated fields and newly cut river channels.

I saw the bent over corn stalks.  Each flattened one was like the needle of a compass, pointing out the direction that the flow of water had taken.

I saw clumps of grasses, sticks, branches and uprooted trees trapped and wrapped against clusters of banana trees.

As I saw incalculable devastation I could only imagine incredible loss.  I witnessed so much ruin that had come with so much rain.

But the elders of the congregations saw more than I did.

Even when the rains first began to fall, they knew exactly where to go.  As they helplessly watched the waters rise and the floods sweep away so much of what they had or owned, they sought refuge and safety in the one thing strong enough, the one thing big enough and the one thing close enough: the tree.

Yes, that tree.

The Cross of Christ.  And, by faith, they climbed up into it.

The Tree of Hope.

At some point along our trek through the devastated land, the conversation turned.  We stopped talking about what was lost and instead talked about what was found: Opportunities to serve!  Moments to share God’s comfort and blessings in the middle of a flood of problems.

The elders shared with me how people were coming weekly and faithfully to the church to hear the Word.  One elder informed me that he was now the elected lay preacher.  He was full of joy that he had the privilege of leading the worship and giving the sermons.

I had thought all along that what I was going to come back with was but a report and an assessment of the flood damage.  More than that, however, I came back with sharper eyes and a stronger message:

Though the destruction was great, God’s love in Christ Jesus is greater still!

Thousands of Malawians are displaced and struggling to put back together the life they once had.  Among them are many Lutheran church members.  Some are grieving the loss of family and friends or both.  Others are trying to scrape together the means to rebuild a house or prepare a meal.   Most fear the hunger that will hit even harder when there is little or nothing to harvest in a couple of months.

But they are not without hope.  In Christ, hope is as certain as it is comforting.

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off    — Proverbs 23:18

Mpemba-Beni-02032015-350The WELS Board for World Missions (BWM) and Kingdom Workers (KW) are working hard at addressing the immediate needs of those in our Lutheran congregations who are greatly affected by the floods.  Through funds made available through Christian Aid and Relief, we are handing out much needed practical items that our LCCA members need now: buckets for clean water, blankets for warmth, plastic sheeting for temporary roofing and nails to fasten bamboo together for framing temporary shelters.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for your gospel and prayer partnership.  It’s a partnership, not only with me, but with them: our brothers and sisters in Malawi who share the same faith in our wonderful Lord Jesus.

As partners, please stay and linger with us for a while at the tree.  That tree.

The Tree of Hope.

Missionary John Holtz, Malawi