2026 CLC Mission Helper Trip to East Africa

Pastor Tom Naumann here from Team Kenya.  Today we were blessed with another busy day of teaching; this time at St. David’s School in Etago. Contrary to what you might assume, St. David’s is not named after the biblical king, but rather retired CLC missionary David Koenig! The church was founded in 2000 and the school started shortly after. Pastor Enosh has been serving as pastor of the church and director of the school since 2008. He is also the president of the KCLC and works as a director of the local tea factory in the neighboring town of Kisii (black tea is consistently Kenya’s number one export; a heritage from Kenya’s former days as a British colony). Pastor Enosh is a busy guy! We arrived at the school in the morning and were greeted with many smiles and welcome songs from the children. It is hard to describe the feelings of humility and happiness that come from such a joyful reception. All the students and staff gathered in the onsite church sanctuary where us Mission Help...

 Sorry, for some reason these weren’t posting in Lauren’s blog. 

I really appreciated the thoughts and prayers for the sermon work this past week so I thought I would share the outcome of that work.  A few things to note.  I did short phrases with numbers to make it easier for Eubank to translate.  It is harder to have longer phrases with multiple thoughts when translating.  This also allowed for an easier way to keep track of where we were.   We were not able to get to the prayers at the end but those were taken from Pastor Sam Naumann's prayer list at the convention service and were modified a bit for simplicity and flow.  As I conduct this again this coming weekend, I would appreciate any insights or feedback again.   Sermon Theme: Sent in Weakness Scripture Testament Reading: Judges 7:2-7 Epistle Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Gospel Reading: Mark 16:9-20 Sermon Text: Mark 16:15   Outline Introduction: The Mission Is Bigger Than Us Section 1: Jesus Sends Weak People ...

This morning I am writing from Bruce and Paula’s home in Tengeru before we head out for another full day of ministry. Looking back over the past twenty four hours, I am thankful for the way the Lord has woven together worship, fellowship, service, and simple moments of encouragement. Sunday morning began with worship at the Ambureni congregation, where the seminary is located. It was a privilege to preach on the theme Sent in Weakness , reflecting on how Christ sent His disciples after their failures, not after they had become strong. I was thankful for the opportunity and for the way the message was received. I will also have the opportunity to preach it again next Sunday, which gives me time to continue refining it. Peter did a great job conducting the service, and I was especially grateful for Eubank’s faithful translation. Good translation is a tremendous gift. It allows God’s Word to move clearly across languages and helps all of us stay together in the message. After worship, ...

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...