2026 CLC Mission Helper Trip to East Africa

Today we began this morning by attending church at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, next to Emmaus School. This is Mary and Anna Sagala’s church, halfway between matunde and mois bridge. We attended and Pastor tom preached and gave communion. We also taught the sunday school after the service, briefly before leaving to attend St. Peters in Kitale at noon. This church is where Calvin is the pastor. While Tom and the church did the liturgy and readings, Abby, Lauren, and I were outside giving sunday school lessons to the children. We then listened to Pastor Tom’s sermon and did lots of singing and liturgical readings. Then, we had lunch/supper afterwards with the members, which there were about 80 today. For food they served everyone beans, rice, cabbage, chicken, and chapati. We thank the Lord for our good health and for the lack of complications with our travel. Elijah sumey Elijah sumey

As our bags sat packed and we waited for the ride to the airport, it was difficult to understand how two weeks could have passed so quickly. We came to Tanzania prepared to teach, serve, and encourage others with God’s Word. Looking back, however, it is clear that the Lord was doing something more. He was not only working through us in His field. He was also working in us. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 Today we returned to Mbuyuni, where Pastor Robert serves. It was encouraging to see the congregation again after two years and to recognize signs of steady progress. The church now has a cement floor and a new roof, and Robert has begun building his home next door. Those improvements were a quiet reminder that God’s work does not stop when visitors leave. We often see only a brief moment in the life of a congregation or ministry. We arrive, participate for a day, take pictures, say goodbye, and return home. But the...

Here is the modified sermon after the help this week from Robert.  I enjoyed being able to work with him on it and the opportunity to participate in today's service. Sent in Weakness Kutumwa Katika Udhaifu Old Testament Reading: Judges 7:2-7 Epistle Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Gospel Reading: Mark 16:9-20 Sermon Text: Mark 16:15 Section 0: The Mission Is Bigger Than Us Section 1: Jesus Sends Forgiven Sinners Section 2: Jesus Finished the Work Section 3: God Alone Wins the Victory Section 4: Come and See Section 5: He Says Go Section 0: The Mission Is Bigger Than Us 1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. 2. It is a great blessing to worship with you this morning. 3. This week our team has traveled across Tanzania. 4. We have visited congregations, schools, and families. 5. One visit has stayed especially close to my heart. 6. We visited believers living in a very remote region...

I am quickly writing on Sunday morning, before we are about to head out for a worship service with our lessons to follow.  I was thinking about our first worship service here last Sunday and our lessons then. Todd gave the sermon through the help of a translator, and we taught our lessons through a translator. We know what we're saying, but we don't necessarily know how that's getting translated. We trust that the translators are doing a good job, of course, but the point is we don't know exactly what words are being said. You have to put the trust in those translators to translate words and phrases how they see fit and work accurately.  This makes me think of when we do anything involving evangelism. I think we all work best when we're not thinking about what we're doing. We're not obsessing and trying to give the best answer, or say the exact right thing. We're hearing what people have to say to us, listening, and then givin...

We have sung the song “Neno, Neno Lake Mungu” at least daily for the past two weeks. Although the lyrics are somewhat different, (the Swahili is translated as “The Word of God”), the melody and the refrain are probably familiar to you: Listen, listen, God is calling Through the Word inviting, Offering forgiveness, Comfort, and joy.  We sang this song when we presented at the Faraja Young Women’s Development Center in Arusha yesterday. The song was especially appropriate, because Faraja means “Comfort.” Our lessons from the Bible, with the help of the Holy Spirit, will certainly bring comfort and joy to the young women and children we met with. To God be the glory! Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

If God only used qualified people, I’m not sure any of us would have come to Tanzania. That may sound like an odd way to begin, but I think it’s true. One of the biggest obstacles to serving the Lord isn’t a lack of ability. It’s the belief that we need to be enough before God can use us. We tell ourselves, “I’m not a teacher.” “I don’t know enough.” “I’m not comfortable speaking in front of people.” “Someone else would do a better job.” Yet Scripture tells a different story. Moses said he couldn’t speak. Gideon believed he was the weakest. Jeremiah thought he was too young. Peter knew his own failures. Paul boasted only in his weaknesses. None of them felt qualified, yet God used every one of them because the power was never theirs, it was His. Today reminded me of that truth over and over again. Our morning began with a walking safari in Arusha National Park. As we walked among giraffes, zebras, Cape buffalo, warthogs, baboons, blue monkeys, waterbuck, storks, and ibis, I couldn...