LHF - The Word at Work; Vol. 31 No. 3

FOUNDATION

Vol. 31, No. 3: May/June 2024

The WORD at WORK In Germany’s cities: Deaconess Bueltmann walks with the lost & searching

Faso pastors defend their flock, ask for prayers

When LCMS Deaconess Kim Bueltmann received her call to serve in the mission field of Leipzig, Germany, her fluency in the German language made moving there less daunting. But little did she know that she’d be witnessing to far more people than the Germans!

In recent years, Germany has become a hub for refugees from places like Iran (also called Persia) and Ukraine. At a time when the European public has largely fallen away from their Christian roots, German Lutherans are taking hold of the opportunity to share the Gospel with the immigrants in their communities.

istan or their language or their people, I almost felt more at home with them in the beginning because a lot of them were already Christians or were wanting to become Christians,” Deaconess Bueltmann (pictured above) reflected. For others, the path to faith looks a bit different. “We have an outreach center in the middle of the neighborhood where a lot of international folks live. They know we speak [German] and a lot of them need help with translation,” explained Deaconess Bueltmann. “So they’ll bring in a letter and we’ll sit down and help them with their legal document or whatever it is. Then maybe they’ll come back and start to learn more PAGES 2-3:

While it may seem next to impossible to interact in a community with such a breadth of languages, cultures, and experiences with religion, for Deaconess Bueltmann, sharing the Gospel is simply a question of taking one step at a time, at the rate each person is able to go.

“A lot of Persians come [to the church] and they want to jump on board right away. But then there are also the Germans in our neighborhood who maybe don’t want to think about faith matters that much or talk about them,” she said.

Walking with the Persians

Many Persian immigrants are refugees seeking asylum in Germany in order to safely practice their Christian faith. “Even though I came in thinking I know nothing about Iran or Afghan-

Germany continued on p. 2

Farsi-speaking Persian immigrant reads his daily devotion

A

pastor in Burkina Faso reads his Moorelanguage catechism from LHF.

Burkina Faso’s

The people of Burkina Faso - a landlocked West African country roughly the size of Colorado - have not known peace for a very long time.

Civil war has wracked their nation for generations, but in recent years, Islamic attacks on Christians have introduced a new level of tension. According to the African Center for Strategic Studies, deaths in Burkina Faso due to militant Islamist violence have nearly tripled over the past two years, and violence has increased by 46%.

“You can see the stress, the weight this situation puts on the people,” said Rev. Dr. Dinku Bato, LHF’s coordinator for African translation projects who recently led an LHF Small Catechism seminar there. “A pastor from the north-

in our classes at Evangelical Lutheran Holy Trinity Church in Leipzig. We do classes in Persian (Farsi) as an introduction to the Christian faith. And then I go more in depth, to deepen their knowledge of the faith.”

That’s where LHF books come in very handy! “We have a stockpile of Bibles, but what’s really been helpful is [LHF’s Farsi translation of] A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories,” said Deaconess Bueltmann. “If they’re completely new to the faith and they don’t know the Bible stories, it can be a good place for them to start to get a good overview and understanding. Luther’s Small Catechism, of course, is the starting point for our baptism classes, and we use that to teach the basics of Lutheran doctrine and our faith.”

Lutheran churches in Germany have grown by the hundreds because of Persian converts. She explained that while it’s easy to question the sincerity of their beliefs based on how quickly they join the church, it makes sense that they’re so open to the faith.

ern region where much told me, ‘Every weekend, and we don’t know what’s try to be prepared, but been about 100 Christians have been killed. We ried that something will In the midst of these courageously carry on, of Jesus Christ to their the community who about the one true God.

“Even with these threats, have people who are Church is still growing dominant,” exclaimed

Many of the Christian refugees are eager to share their faith with their nonbelieving friends and family.

Deaconess Bueltmann shared the story of two Afghani refugees who were in the same German assimilation classes. One was Christian and the other Muslim. “The Muslim man was suffering from a lot of depression. One of our Persian church members said to him one day, ‘Is everything okay?’

“Jesus, I don’t know you, but if you can help me, I want to get to know you.”

“In their culture, they’re more open to the idea that there is a God, and they know it’s not the god of Islam. They’ve seen a lot of hurt caused by the Islamic regime in their country, and that’s why they left; they want to get away from that,” she explained. “A number of them maybe started investigating Christianity already before they left, or were even parts of secret churches there, and that’s why they had to come here.”

“And the other man shared, ‘Yes, I’ve been going through depression for five years. I keep praying to Allah to take it away, and nothing works.’ And so our member said to him, ‘Hey, you’ve been praying to Allah for five years. Have you ever considered praying to Jesus?’

“Our member invited him to come to our church and pray. He resisted for a really, really long time, but eventually he met his friend and just decided that he was going to pray. And so he said something to the effect of ‘Jesus, I don’t know you, but if you can help me, I want to get to know you.’ And he said that the moment when he said those words, he felt this overwhelming peace come over him and knew that he was in a good place. He kept coming back and going to class and eventually got baptized.”

Walking with the Germans

Sharing the Gospel with the German people is a much more difficult hurdle, said Deaconess Bueltmann. Like many Europeans today, “they’ve moved on from the church. It’s not like

pastors: “Please pray for us”

much of this violence happens weekend, there is always tension what’s going to happen. We but since 2016, there have Christians in our region who We are always on edge, worwill happen.’” these attacks, Lutheran pastors on, teaching the Good News their people and to others in may be open to learning God. threats, Lutheran churches coming to Christ, and the growing even though Islam is exclaimed Rev. Bato. “The Muslims

in that area are what are called folk Muslims. The people don’t really know much about Islam, but it is encouraged by Muslim influences coming from Libya, who want Burkina Faso to embrace radical Islam. But when you share the Gospel with an unbeliever, the Holy Spirit makes a conversion, and the people respond in a very good way. And so the Lutheran churches there need to train people in how to introduce the faith.”

To help spread Christianity, LHF’s translations of the Small Catechism into the local languages of Moore and Gourmanchéma are highly valued.

“There is a big hunger for these kinds of resources. You can see that people crave them!” Rev. Bato said. “They treasure LHF materials.

they’re against it; they just don’t understand it. It’s a slow, slow process.

“I have a neighbor who spoke to me at Christmas about wanting to come to church, and then he ended up not coming. Then at Easter, he said ‘Oh, well, maybe I’ll come.’ I thought, you know, he’ll probably end up not coming again, just like before. But he came!”

While her neighbor had been baptized as a child, he’d left the church when he turned 18 and not returned.

“Right after the service, he went and talked to the pastor about wanting to get confirmed. I was blown away! I didn’t feel like I had done that much to try to convert him or win him over except to be his friend, care about him, and talk about my faith. It was shocking to me how all of a sudden he was like ‘Yeah, let’s do this!’ And now he’s started attending our baptism/confirmation class.”

Walking with the Children

Another group needing to be introduced to Jesus are the children in her neighborhood. Over summer vacations, their church hosts a week-long summer camp retreat that children from the neighborhood - German, Persian, and now Ukrainian - attend.

“We have a chance to go more in depth with them, teaching them stories from the Bible and singing songs with them. We go swimming and play games and have campfires, and it’s a really fun week. The majority of kids are not Christian. Usually, none of them are.

“This year was a bit different because we had a sprinkling of Persian kids from our church, and they decided to bring all their friends, and a lot of them were Muslim. So we had [German]

People just grab them when they’re available! They read them, use them and share them.”

About 3 dozen church leaders attended Rev. Bato’s catechism seminar, including a half dozen pastors.

“These pastors are doing very good work, but they need our support through good Lutheran resources and training,” Rev. Bato said. “Their churches are not small; they often have 150-200 attendees, and they will grow still more. These people and these pastors, they have courage. All they asked was, ‘Please pray for us. Please keep us in your prayers.’”

You or your congregation can adopt an LHF translation project to provide these churches with catechisms. Email info@LHFmissions.org.

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kids from an atheist upbringing, kids from a Muslim upbringing, kids whose parents were [previously] Muslim but are growing up Christian, and one of the [Ukrainian refugee] girls brought friends who have some Christian background. It was a very unique mix of cultures and languages!”

At night, Deaconess Bueltmann read the children to sleep with stories from A Child’s Garden of Bible Sto ries. Throughout the camp, the children would ask questions - “Who is Jesus?” “Who’s God?” “What does all this mean?”

Through the generosity of LHF supporters, Farsi-speaking children went home with their own copies of the Bible storybooks.

“We’re just trying to be faithful and follow the Lord and what He would have us do here,” concluded Deaconess Bueltmann.

In Vietnam, courageous shop owner displays LHF books

by Mr. Hai Au Dinh LHF project manager in Vietnam

I want to share a touching story which has deeply touched my heart and reaffirmed my faith in the power of spreading God's love and light in unexpected places.

In a region of Vietnam where openly displaying religious materials can be met with problems and hesitation, we encountered a glimmer of hope and acceptance at a local coffee shop named THUONG. The journey to bring God's Word to these remote areas was filled with challenges, yet the resilience and spirit of the people we encountered were truly inspiring.

It is not often that we find individuals willing to take a stand for their beliefs, especially in a society where the public display of religious texts can be met with apprehension. However, the owner of THUONG coffee shop defied these norms with remarkable courage and generosity. Despite the risks, they

graciously agreed to showcase LHF Bible books on their shelves, providing a good and visible space for those seeking spiritual nourishment.

This act of bravery may seem small to some, but its impact reverberates far beyond the confines of the coffee shop walls. It serves as a beacon of light in a world that can often feel dark and divided. The willingness of the THUONG coffee shop owner leaves me speechless.

As I reflect on this experience, I am reminded of the importance of standing up for what we believe in, even in the face of adversity. The owner of THUONG coffee shop exemplifies

Spanish shipment arriving soon!

A long-awaited fresh supply of LHF’s Spanish titles (Bible with Small Catechism, Small Catechism, A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories and “Jesus Never Fails” devotion) will be arriving in June. Back orders will be filled first; new orders are now being taken.

the courage and compassion that we should all strive to embody in our lives. Their willingness to open their doors to our Bible books serves as a powerful reminder that God's love knows no bounds, and our faith has the power to transcend barriers.

Match has returned! If you (or your church, Sunday school, friend or relative) have never sent a mission gift to LHF before, any new gift up to $5,000 will be matched, dollar for dollar, by a generous LHF

To order: Send an email to info@LHFmissions.org or call the office at (800)554-0723. $150,000 MATCH

Anna Irwin, staff writer)

Stocking the shelves with LHF books at THUONG coffee shop in Vietnam