2026 CLC Mission Helper Trip to East Africa

Greetings from Kenya! Today we had the privilege of teaching and having a church service at Chotororo KCLC. We each taught our lessons and Pastor Tom preached for the service. It was a special day because it was actually their first service in their new church building! They had previously been worshipping under a tree after their old building collapsed. After the service they served us some bread, Coke, and Fanta. What a blessing to be able to share this day with them! The weather here has been warm and sunny with some rain in the afternoons. We're excited for the opportunity to continue spreading the gospel here in Kenya, and we are so grateful for everyone's prayers! 

We made it to Kitwe! Yesterday afternoon was a relaxing evening where we met the president of the Zambia CLC and had a short devotion together. Following this, we went over the plans for what’s looking like a lovely, Sunday worship together. Some of the last minute nerves are approaching and thankfully, they aren’t too taxing. We leave in 2 hours and 45 min for our first teaching station. While there’s always many thoughts going in and out of my head, unsurprisingly, the Bible story I’m teaching finds a way to be connected into many situations.  My theme is “Jesus is our savior”… I mean, come on, how could this not be vastly applicable to our lives? I get to tell the story of Jesus raising one of his closest friends from the dead! Thinking about Martha as well, Jesus told her to Believe. Of course there’s much more to it, but the simplicity in this remains the same. Martha responded with “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, Son of God, who is to come into the world”...

From Missionary Bruce Naumann:  Paula and I feel very blessed to be "double dating" with Mission Board member Jeff and Sarah Radichel here in Tanzsania. The four of us are traveling and conducting the children's presentations. It's a smaller teaching group than last time, but this helps in some ways because the four of us and a translator can all fit in our Rav4. Yesterday we met with an attentive group at an orphanage near the Wittenberg Seminary and Ambureni church. These children have already received some teaching about Jesus, but they were excited to hear more. We enjoyed teaching them, and they joined in our Swahili children’s songs with great enthusiasm. Please keep the orphans in East Africa in your prayers. Their circumstances are extremely humble, and they seem to have disadvantages in many areas from a very young age.  Today is Sunday, and we'll be present for the worshi...

This Sunday morning, I am preparing to worship with the main congregation here in Tanzania and have the privilege of sharing God’s Word during the sermon. It is a humbling honor, and I would appreciate your prayers as we gather around Christ and His Word today. Yesterday began with another opportunity to teach children at a small orphanage near the seminary. One of the blessings of presenting multiple times is seeing the lessons continue to improve. Each presentation becomes a little clearer, the transitions become smoother, and we learn new ways to involve the children. It reminded me that outreach is often the same way. Sharing the Gospel may feel uncomfortable at first, but the more we faithfully speak about Christ, the more natural it becomes. The power has never been in the presentation. The power is in God’s Word. The children continue to be one of the highlights of this trip. We have been blessed to hear incredible singing and watch some amazingly talented young drummers prais...

After going for a morning jog, we spent the rest of the day buying toothbrushes and toothpaste for the kids at the church, watched their choral performances, taught our lessons for the first time this trip, and shared a lunch meal with the congregation Elijah sumey

Some extra photos of the park.

Yesterday was a gift from beginning to end. We were up early, packed, had breakfast, and headed to Ngorongoro Crater. The Lord gave us one of those days where you simply stand back in amazement at His creation. We saw lions up close, elephants, hippos, rhinos, buffalo, wildebeest, zebras, flamingos, baboons, warthogs, hyenas feeding, and countless other birds. One of the biggest surprises came during lunch when an eagle swooped in and grabbed Paula’s chicken right from the picnic table in front of her. None of us expected that, and it is a story we will probably be telling for a long time. Driving through Ngorongoro is an experience of its own. Looking across the crater and seeing so many animals living together leaves you in awe of the Creator. We did not expect to see so many animals close to the road. At one point, an elephant was feeding only about twenty feet from us. Seeing the rhinos was another unexpected gift. Having Elisha as our guide made the day even better. He knows t...

Wait wait I have a photo to go with! Abby Gerbitz 715-379-5514 On Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 7:20 PM Abigail Gerbitz < gerbitz.abigail@gmail.com > wrote: CLC's mission helper Kenya team has made it to Kenya! We landed in Nairobi and spent most of today driving up to Kisii to prepare to teach tomorrow. The drive was beautiful, the landscape is lush, and the people are very kind! We are so excited to begin our work tomorrow, (although we've already found some witnessing opportunities along our way). Thank you for all your prayers and support! Abby Gerbitz

CLC's mission helper Kenya team has made it to Kenya! We landed in Nairobi and spent most of today driving up to Kisii to prepare to teach tomorrow. The drive was beautiful, the landscape is lush, and the people are very kind! We are so excited to begin our work tomorrow, (although we've already found some witnessing opportunities along our way). Thank you for all your prayers and support! Abby Gerbitz

“Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed His blood for me”… Thank you to anyone reading, I think one could ponder or overthink for a while when thinking about how to start a blog post, let alone the fact that it’s open to the public. I chose this Bible verse as my intro since it had already been mentioned amongst the Zambia group and for the connections I’ve made with the verse in relation to this awesome blessing we are living here. Before the trip started, many times would the thought cross my mind of “With all the sins I struggle with, who am I to feel like I even have the ability to do this?”. The thoughts of self-doubt, worthiness, and fear of not living up to whatever expectation made its way into my frontal lobe, they all became very prominent the closer I got to leaving for Zambia. And while I think there is many Bible verses that flesh out this thought, I have always be fond of how hymn 342, Chief of Sinners Though I be (TLH), corresponds with the topic. I like it bec...

Thursday was one of those days that is hard to fully capture in words. We started the morning at Monasteri Mtakatifu Katarina (St. Catherine's) near Karatu, had breakfast, and then headed out for the day. We knew we were going into a more remote area, but I do not think I fully understood how remote until we were on the road. The drive took about three and a half hours. The last hour and a half was not really a road. We were in a four-wheel drive Land Rover, and even then we almost got stuck crossing a dry riverbed. That gives you a little picture of what it takes to reach some of these places. When we arrived, we were told that the people there walk about an hour one way just to get water. There is no electricity, no power, and very little infrastructure. They have some small solar items, but otherwise it is very simple. The village also has very little formal education. Many of the people cannot read, which makes the need for faithful oral teaching, trained leaders, and contin...

Thought I would include a few more pictures.