LHF - The Word at Work; Vol. 30 No. 1

Lutheran Heritage Foundation:

THE WORD AT WORK

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Good News for international exchange students: THE HOLY SPIRIT

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OPENS HEARTS

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From an email received at LHF: "Good morning! Do you have materials in the following languages? If so, I would love 5 copies of each to be sent to Martin Luther High School: Czech · Simplified Chinese · Arabic ·

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In Papua New Guinea, fear of witches is no match for God's love

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Albanian · Burmese ·

Vietnamese · Italian

or Muslim - at 3 different Lutheran high schools. The majority of the students, from Albanians to Vietnamese, reside in the high school's residential dorms, sometimes for all 4 years of high school.

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· French · German

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· Portuguese ·

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Spanish · Thai · Macedonian" - Dr. Patricia Wouters

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Why would an American LCMS high school need LHF catechisms in 15 different languages?

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Rev. Nuffer named chairman of LHF Board of Directors

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For the very best reason: to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with 60+ international students who attend the school.

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Look what the Holy Spirit did with your gifts to LHF in 2022!

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Dr. Wouters is the director of English as a Second Language (ESL) at the Lutheran High School Association of Greater Milwaukee (LHSAGM) in Wisconsin. The books she ordered have been given to their international students - most of whom are atheist, Buddhist

"One of the things about the international program here is that we have students from so many countries, with a variety of religions and beliefs mixed in," explained Seth Bahr, director of the school's World Cultures program. "And it's almost as though they're working with two completely new languages: English, and then also religion in general. It can be very difficult to explain the concepts behind Christianity. Try explaining the Transfiguration to someone who has never known Jesus. It's quite a challenge!"

God's Word, so clearly explained in simple books like A Child's Garden of Bible Stories

International students

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Vietnamese and Albanian students at Martin Luther High School receive their catechisms

FEAR OF WITCHES IS NO MATCH FOR

Picture this: A prominent businessman in your neighborhood dies. It’s the middle of At first, it’s only one or two voices, but steadily more and more join

They’re looking for a woman - surely a witch! - whom they believe has used her magic to kill the businessman.

The woman is found; the men interrogate and torture her until she gives up the name of "the real witch" who killed the man. Now the mob hunts out this new woman and the cycle begins anew, until eight or nine women have been accused of killing the man. Only four of the women survive, and of course, none of them actually killed the businessman.

In America, that story sounds like a recounting of the Salem witch trials, but in Papua New Guinea (PNG), an island nation north of Australia where witchcraft is part of daily life, this scene happened recently. Witch hunts are also more common in villages where the people suffer tribal fighting and killings. Where is God in the midst of a world like this? How does the Gospel message go out to a group of people who are so filled with fear?

According to LCMS missionary Dr. Martin Dicke, who worked in PNG until January 2023, the Word is being taught to 50,000 to 80,000 people in more than 500 Lutheran congregations throughout the country.

“The most effective means of sharing the Gospel in PNG is faithful, indigenous pastors

proclaiming God's Word,” he said.

To support this valuable mission, LHF has been supplying Timothy Lutheran Seminary in PNG and their church body, Gutnius [Good News] Lutheran Church, with a plethora of free resources that clearly proclaim the Good News.

In the last few years alone, LHF shipped almost 60,000 copies of books like "Jesus Never Fails," Luther’s Small Catechism, A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories, and a liturgy book - all translated into languages like Tok Pisin and Enga.

“The Pentecostals and the Seventh Day Adventists are very prominent in the Enga province [of PNG],” shared Dr. Dicke. “Providing Lutheran pastors [and seminarians] with materials so that they can study and interpret the Bible correctly is crucial. That is why the work of LHF is so important.

“Some of the catechisms will be used in the seminary classes,” he continued. “We pray that others will also study them personally. Many will be glad to have a book, since books are so rare!”

God’s Word is also taught in the schools of Papua New Guinea! In 1975, when PNG became an independent country, they declared themselves to be a Christian country, and so Christian education is part of the curriculum of even the government schools.

The recent large shipment of books sent by LHF included several titles written in English, such as Bible Stories in Pictures, A Simple Explanation of Christianity (which is a Small Catechism), and LHF’s new publication God’s Word for You, all of which will be used in Lutheran schools throughout the country.

At left and above, PNG pastors and missionary Martin Dicke excitedly receive Bible Stories in Pictures.

FOR GOD'S LOVE

of the afternoon, and in the streets, men are shouting. join in until it’s a mob of angry men.

Just as in the parable of the sower and the seed, the Good News of Jesus hits fertile soil in Papua New Guinea. Where one believer is baptized, many new believers are brought to Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Dr. Dicke shares this story:

“While serving in PNG, I had the honor of visiting a church in the Tarua District, which is a four-hour drive from Timothy Lutheran Seminary on a challenging and very rough road. There, met the son of the first man who had been baptized in that region. That first baptism was held in the early 1960s, and my uncle (Rev. Dr. Willard Burce) baptized this man’s father.

“From that one seed, along with the others baptized that day, there are now 12 strong congregations. Everyone in these congregations has memorized the Six Chief Parts of Luther’s Small Catechism. It is not often that one witnesses a harvest of a hundredfold!”

And what about the people who get carried up in the violence and mass hysteria of mobs like the one described earlier?

“I was sharing the story of Psalm 51 with my music class at Timothy Lutheran Seminary,” Dr. Dicke said. “The seminarians were mesmerized to hear of all the terrible things King David did, how he was led to repent and how God forgave him.

“I could almost feel God lifting from them the burdens of their past lives, which for some included tribal fighting and killing. Many are now serving their own congregations. I trust that they are standing in and proclaiming God’s mercy and grace.”

- by Anna Irwin, LHF staff writer

REV. RICHARD NUFFER

NAMED LHF CHAIRMAN _

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Rev. Richard Nuffer, retired lawyer and professor emeritus at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind., has been named the new chairman of the LHF Board of Directors. He replaces Rev. Walter Otten, who retired at the end of 2022 after many years of faithful leadership.

"In the early 2000s, I met [LHF founder] Rev. Robert Rahn, who so clearly and beautifully explained to me the work of LHF," Rev. Nuffer recalled. "I said yes to serving because I saw LHF as a mission organization that wanted to do mission work in a confessional, Lutheran way."

That view is shared with former Chairman Rev. Otten.

Remembering the service of the first chairman, Rev. Dr. Robert Preus, Rev. Otten said Preus "had as his goal that we at LHF would...confess the Holy Scriptures, that is, the 'heritage' of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Our goal would be to continue that confession by translation works that also so confessed.

"My goal as chairman was that the confessional commitment to the Word of God revealed in the works of Preus and [next Chairman Rev. Kurt] Marquart be the continued commitment of all the works of LHF: To be sure LHF realizes that Jesus, His death and resurrection, is THE message of Holy Scripture. Our purpose is to get that message into the darkness of this day, because without the word of God as inspired and inerrant, we will ultimately lose the message."

"To give that fullness of the Lutheran faith to people and aspiring pastors in faraway countries, it is essential that truly Lutheran books be translated, published, distributed and introduced (TPDI)," Rev. Nuffer agreed.

"My vision for the future of LHF is threefold: (1) that we maintain steadfast in our Lutheran TPDI core, so that many more people might believe in Christ as their Savior. (2) I hope that LHF is able to partner with many more agencies within the LCMS and the oversea Lutheran churches in our work. And (3), I hope that we be even bolder in telling others what LHF does."

Please keep Rev. Nuffer and the 14 gifted, faithful pastors and lay people who serve on the Board of Directors in prayer, that they may continue to faithfully lead LHF in this mission.

Left, a seminarian studies his Small Catechism. Above, grandparents are happy to share A Child's Garden of Bible Stories in the Tok Pisin language.

Your 2022 mission offerings at work: MORE THAN A HALF-MILLION BOOKS PRINTED

Let the Light of Epiphany shine to all nations!

2022 was an amazing year at the Lutheran Heritage Foundation, where the faithful translators, editors, graphic artists, printers, shippers, teachers and others dedicated their efforts to putting our good Lutheran books into the languages of the world. By the blessing of the Holy Spirit, LHF's publications in 2022 included:

• Over HALF A MILLION books (524,725) printed in 68 languages!

• 34 translations of Luther's Small Catechism

• "Jesus Never Fails" devotional booklet printed in 31 languages

• Bible storybooks (A Child's Garden of Bible Stories, Bible Stories in Pictures, and God's Word For You) printed for children in 13 countries

• The Book of Concord translated and published in Traditional Chinese for the people of Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as Chinese immigrants worldwide

We at LHF thank you for your generous mission offerings, which were used to provide salaries, cover printing costs and ship books to those who wait so eagerly for God's teachings in languages they can read and understand.

To help support this important work for thousands of other brothers and sisters in Christ who are waiting for God's teachings in their languages, go to www.LHFmissions.org/donate.

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International students cont. from page 1 say, 'Oh, chapel is so hard! It's hard to stay awake.' But within a month, these kids are participating and it's one of their favorite activities to do at school. Some students will get baptized, which is incredible!

and Luther's Small Catechism, have helped bridge the communications gap.

"New believers who are really interested in learning more about the faith carry such a burden because they can't even understand the basics of our Christian faith," Seth said. "These books in their own languages are such a game changer!"

Through these books and the faithful witnessing of teachers, staff and students, the Holy Spirit has opened doors to calling new believers in Jesus Christ at the Lutheran high schools.

"At first, some of the international students will complain. 'Why do I have to take religion class? I'm an atheist,'" shared Dr. Wouters. "Or they might

"In the beginning [of their studies], I ask whether they believe in Jesus Christ," she continued. "Most say no, or a typical teenager who has had some foundation in the faith might say, 'I'm not sure.' Then by the time they graduate, I may ask again, 'Do you believe?' I've never had anyone answer no. Their hearts are changed." Sometimes, it's not only the international students' hearts that have been changed. "Having students from all different cultures has been a tremendous opportunity for our

students to learn to be respectful of other people's beliefs, and to be polite and kind," Seth reflected. "We might not always be able to explain everything perfectly, but we can definitely show Christ through our actions."

When he looks out over the hallways of Martin Luther High School, "I see what heaven is going to look like," Seth concluded. "Heaven will be a spectrum of people from all around the world. I think sometimes we get caught up in our own little bubble and forget just how big the world is. Christ came for everybody!"

To learn more about LHSAGM's residential program, go to www. martinlutherhs.org. To order books from LHF, go to LHFmissions.org.

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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

Word at Work” is the official publication of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.