THE WORD AT WORK
FRENCH THEOLOGY BOOKS ENERGIZE
AFRICAN, HAITIAN PASTORS
Take a look in any American pastor’s study and you’re likely to see books – shelves overflowing, even piles of books on the floor.
But in poverty-stricken areas of the world like Africa and Haiti, many pastors consider themselves fortunate if they have even one or two theological books written in a language they can read and understand.
Now, through the faithful support of countless LHF supporters, French-speaking Lutheran pastors and seminarians throughout West Africa and Haiti will have three new volumes to help them become better shepherds of their people.
Thousands of copies of the French Book of Concord (already received in Togo, see photo above), a three-volume set of Dogmatics and A Manual of Christian Doctrine are
on their way to the Lutheran Center for Theological Studies (CLET) in Togo, where more than 30 students are expected this fall.
“Every pastor in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod knows the importance of studying a dogmatics (study of doctrine, or teachings) text,” said Rev. Jacob Gaugert, an LCMS theological instructor at CLET. “These texts help pastors and evangelists with their tasks of teaching the faithful.”
“Our pastors have the benefit of standing on the shoulders of theological giants,” agreed Rev. Matthew Heise, LHF executive director. “But for pastors and seminarians around the world who don’t have our good theological books, written in a language they can understand, they’re left to answer the hard questions on their own.”
Yet for seminary students coming to CLET from countries
for Pastors cont. on page 3
Rev. Jacob Gaugert
Togo
ETHIOPIAN LUTHERANS MAKE NEW HOME IN U.S.
Each year, thousands of Ethiopians –many who are Christians – immigrate to the United States. Over the past decade, the LCMS has begun to connect to many of these immigrants, and now LHF is adding its support with Amharic and Oromo translations of Lutheran books like the Book of Concord, catechisms and A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories.
“Lutheran churches have become a safe oasis for all our diaspora (scattered) communities by welcoming them and reaching out to them with the compas-
sion of Christ,” said Rev. Gemechu Olana, pastor of Oromo Lutheran Church in Los Angeles since 2009. “Reaching out to the Oromo-speaking people with the sound Gospel of Christ, in a language that’s meaningful to them, is critical.”
LHF has already translated several books into the Amharic language for Ethiopians, and the Oromo Small Catechism and A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories are underway.
“[It’s important to] notice that Ethiopia is the only Christian-ruled country in the horn of Africa, which has been the major focus of the Arabs and other Muslim countries,” reflected Rev. Olana. “So translating some of the basic Lutheran confessions into the Oromo language is a critical strategic mission endeavor that not only supports the diaspora in the United States, but the Christians in Ethiopia as well.”
CONTINUING WHAT LUTHER BEGAN: CATECHISMS & BIBLES FOR CHILDREN
As Lutherans look forward to celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this fall, anyone familiar with the LHF mission knows that the Reformation continues to this day!
Just as Martin Luther saw the need for the Bible to be translated into the language of his people (German), so today LHF continues what Luther began by translating Bible storybooks for children in dozens of countries.
And when new believers, young and old, read the Bible and ask, “What does this mean?”, LHF supplies the answers Luther provided five centuries ago in his Small Catechism (now translated by LHF into more than 80 languages)
This fall, your students can help provide catechisms and Bible storybooks in the languages of the people by adopting LHF’s “Continuing What Luther Began” children’s mission project.
Every $5 your Lutheran day school, Sunday school or vacation Bible school students send to the LHF mission will provide a family living in places like Tanzania, India or Thailand (pictured at left) with their own catechism or Bible storybook.
About 40 church leaders attended the recent Oromo Evangelical Lutheran Mission Society meeting in Las Vegas, Nev., including LHF executive director Rev. Matt Heise (center, back).
WOMEN AWARD LHF
$100,000 MISSION
GRANT
Thanks to a mission grant from the national Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML), more than 20,000 families worldwide will receive catechisms and Bible storybooks translated into their own languages by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.
The $100,000 grant was awarded at the June LWML National Convention, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“Proverbs tells us, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it,’” said LHF Executive Director Matthew Heise. “We’re confident that the Holy Spirit will work powerfully to call His children to faith through the LHF books these funds will provide.”
BEGAN: CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD
When you adopt this project with your students’ mission offerings, be sure to request a “Continuing What Luther Began” classroom resource kit from LHF. Each kit includes:
■ A 6-minute DVD about the Reformation, and why people around the world still need good Lutheran books in their languages!
■ A short devotion and prayers to share with your students
■ A reproducible take-home flyer for parents
■ A packet of Reformation-themed classroom activities for your students, including arts and crafts, games, easy recipes for snacks from around the world, and more
■ A bulletin board display featuring photos of children around the world receiving LHF Bible storybooks
To request your free “Continuing What Luther Began” kit, email LHF at info@LHFmissions.org or call (800)554-0723.
like Benin and the Republic of Congo, where finding clean water and food must take priority, books are an impossible luxury.
“Many of our students will not be paid at all when they go back to the parish to be ordained,” Rev. Gaugert said. “They will have to work their own fields or another job alongside their pastoral duties to survive.”
The same is true in French-speaking Haiti, where Rev. Eliona Bernard, president of Concordia Theological Seminary of Haiti, is greatly anticipating their shipment of theological books.
“It is not a secret, but it is a shame that Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere,” Rev. Bernard shared. Most Haitian Lutheran churches are not able to provide stipends for their pastors, who must grow gardens for their families’ food.
“We need these books because they are the main ones we use in Bible study, in our seminary and for training church leaders,” Rev. Bernard said. “Before, our pastors did not have these books, but with the new ones LHF is sending, each pastor will have one for his personal study, and we will have some available at the seminary.”
The Lutheran Church in Haiti has already seen the benefit of having simpler books like LHF’s French Small Catechism available for their members.
“One of the challenges of the Lutheran Church in Haiti is infant baptism. It takes time for someone who grows up in the Baptist Church or Church of God to accept infant baptism,” he explained. “But fortunately we have an important document to face this challenge: the Small Catechism. We give thanks to God that most of our members now have a copy of this book that we love so much and is so easy to understand.”
Planning a short-term mission trip to Haiti or other regions soon? Bring along LHF books to give away! Search the LHF Publications Database: www.LHFmissions.org/publications.
Fifteen men from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti were ordained on June 25. Each new pastor will receive five new French-language theology books from LHF.
LOST AND FOUND IN A KAZAKHSTAN MARKETPLACE
He was always mocked because he was the shortest in his class. He felt like he was a nobody and that if there was a God, why would He care about him? So he decided to kill himself.
Nazer went for one last walk around his hometown market in Kazakhstan, where he liked to visit the fortune tellers. But for some reason, today he couldn’t see the fortune tellers. Instead, he was drawn to a woman reading a book.
As he engaged the woman in conversation, he realized that she was reading a book of great worth. It was God’s Holy Word! Having been touched by the Word, he decided that maybe he wouldn’t kill himself that day after all. And as he looked around, he now saw that all the fortune tellers had been there the whole time! Apparently the Lord had blinded him to their presence. That day, the Holy Spirit planted the seeds of faith in Nazer, and he became a believer in the Living Word, Jesus Christ.
As is often the case among those whom the Lord has rescued from the depths of despair, Nazer just had to share that message of hope with others who were as lost as he had been. After the initial contacts of evangelism, though, how best to explain the Christian faith?
Nazer has found the answer in LHF’s Kazakh translation of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, which continues to be the best explanation of our common Christian faith. Now, people from this overwhelmingly Muslim country in Central Asia can learn more about their Savior, who rescued and redeemed them, lost and condemned creatures.
Through your faithful support, LHF will soon publish A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories so that Kazakh children, as well as adults, will be able to hear the Good News in a language they can read and understand. Thank you for bringing that life-giving Word to God’s people, the Kazakhs!
LUTHERAN HERITAGE FOUNDATION
51474 Romeo Plank Rd. ■ Macomb, MI 48042 1-800-554-0723 ■ info@LHFmissions.org www.LHFmissions.org
LHF “WORD AT WORK” STAFF:
EDITOR: Rev. Matthew Heise
MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Bagnall
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Jennifer Bagnall
“The Word at Work” is the official publication of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Permission is hereby granted to excerpt from this publication for not-for-profit purposes.
The Lutheran Heritage Foundation is a Recognized Service Organization of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces confessional Lutheran materials throughout the world so that people can be brought to Christ. LHF is not subsidized by the LCMS or any other church body. It is entirely supported by individual donations and grants.
THE LHF MATCH
From Nazer in Kazakhstan, teaching new Christians using Luther’s Small Catechism...to seminarians in Togo, reading Lutheran theology books in their own language for the first time...to children in Vietnam, waiting for their very first Bible storybook...the Holy Spirit is working powerfully through your gifts!
If you’re a new LHF supporter, or if you haven’t given a gift to the mission in the past 12 months, you can DOUBLE your new gift with the LHF Match. Simply mail your gift or donate online (www. LHFmissions.org) and your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $5,000 per gift.
LUTHERAN HERITAGE FOUNDATION
☐ Enclosed please find my tax-deductible gift made payable to the LHF to support its worldwide translation and publishing efforts.
PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION ABOUT: ☐ including LHF in my estate plan
hosting an LHF mission speaker or preacher at my congregation
LHF mission projects for children
“River of Life,” LHF’s 5-day VBS program
Rev. Matt Heise