2026 CLC Mission Helper Trip to East Africa

On July 13th, we spent the school day at St. David's Lutheran Church and School in Etago, Kenya! When we arrived, all the children pre-primary through grade six were waiting for us eagerly outside! We all assembled in the main assembly building (the building they use for their church services), and after a few words from the pastor and a few elders and teachers, and a few songs from the children, we began our teaching program. After our teaching program was over, we ate lunch (most of the children go home for lunch, and come back for afternoon classes) and we got to speak with the teachers about what an average school day looks like in Kenya! They use an average grading scale with percentages for Exceeds Expectations, Meets Expectations, Approaching Expectations, and Below Expectations. The students are separated by grade for daily classes, much like in America, and have classes such as Reading, Mathematics, Social Studies, Writing, Technology, and mo...

It is hard to believe that Team Zambia has been here for four days already. With the lack of sleep and busy schedule, the days really blend together.  Having been on Tour Choir before, I've grown to appreciate worship through music more. One of the purest representations of what I imagine heaven might look like is people collectively praising God through song. It is such a unifying and beautiful experience. So when multiple different choir groups sang for the church service on Sunday, it made me feel very emotional picturing all of us rejoicing in heaven together. Even typing that last sentence made me get emotional thinking about it.  Life is hard. Everyone has problems, and lots of them. That can make the world a hard place to be. But when there are moments like these that make me think about what heaven is going to be like, when there will be no...

Hello everyone! We're bussing back to Lusaka from Kitwe today. Our time in Kitwe has been such blessing. We taught our first lessons here, sang and worshipped with the ZCLC for the Sunday service, and met so many amazing people! Overall, we taught over 400 children in Kitwe.  The theme of our lessons are based off of John 20:31 "These words are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." My lesson specifically is teaching children that Jesus is true God by using the Bible story of the feeding of the 5,000. One of my favorite parts of teaching is asking review questions at the end of my lesson. The very last question is "What does this story teach us about Jesus?" The children will raise their hands excited to answer and say "Jesus is God!" Or "Jesus loves us!" The room then erupts with clapping and laughter. It fills my h...

Yesterday gave us two more opportunities to share the Gospel with children, first at Vision of East African Children School and later at Aston Vision Primary School. The children in the morning were mostly around three or four years old. In the afternoon, they were closer to five or six. Both groups were wonderful. They were warm, joyful, and eager to participate. One thing that has changed during the trip is how I present my part of the lesson. I began with more of a written script. Now I am increasingly telling the story directly and watching the children as I speak. That has helped me connect with them and respond more naturally in the moment. Our program is divided among four presenters, but Eubank translates every part. By the time we completed both programs, he was understandably tired. His work has been a tremendous gift throughout these days. Translators must listen carefully, understand the thought, carry it into another language, and help the speaker connect with the peopl...

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, ...