There's a delicate balance between the noise of a toy wind-up car and the distraction of an un-entertained five-year old. Sitting in the front row of the graduation ceremony, excited to be there but conscientious of Josiah's needs and patience, Shauen momentarily questioned his wisdom (or maybe his sanity?) in assuring Krista that he could come to the graduation and ordinations in Tanzania with Josiah. “It'll be fun! C'mon, Krista, he's on school break – he'll do fine...”

He did fine, of course, thanks to a backpack full of snacks and a Papa willing to buy the cheap plastic car at the little shop outside the cathedral (and electronics in desperate times). So for the Saturday graduation ceremony of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania's SouthEast of Lake Victoria Diocese (SELVD), Shauen and Josiah sat in the front row as requested – at least for a while.

The SELVD just concluded a two-year long special training program for Evangelists and Deaconesses leading to a certificate in Pastoral or Deaconess Studies and ordination for the evangelists. The evangelists have already received training within the Diocese, some in the Mission Training Center (MTC) program, and some in Bible Schools. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod's Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana sponsored the module-based training in Shinyanga, sending professors from across the world to provide one or two-week intensives over two years. This month, all those Evangelists and Deaconesses graduated and received their certificates from the Ft. Wayne Seminary. As for the ordination and installation service on Sunday morning, Josiah and I spent most of those hours outside – a little easier environment for a five-year old. Praise the Lord for his pastors and deaconesses in Tanzania and for a little father/son time!

New Missionaries Accept Call to Ethiopia

Two missionary units have accepted the call to serve with the LCMS in Ethiopia. Rev. Eric Stinnett and Rev. Mark Rabe and their families will serve in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the EECMY's Mekane Yesus Seminary.

Although accepting the call is a significant event in the process of getting to the field, there are still many more steps to go for both the missionaries and the Ethiopia field. For missionaries, there is the process of handing over their current calls, selling and giving stuff away, downsizing, moving, attending missionary orientation, building a support network, dealing with the grief of saying goodbye and handling the uncertainty of the life ahead.  For the Ethiopia field, work permit paperwork needs to be compiled and submitted (including “authenticated copies of university degrees”), housing arranged, the mechanics of purchasing vehicles and accessing funds on the field explored, how the missionaries will fit into the structure of the partner church discussed, where they will worship, how they will receive emotional support and spiritual care, how they will be oriented to the general Africa context and to their unique place, where they will do language work, and so forth.

The LCMS is excited to be sending a team to teach at the seminary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Please pray for those who have accepted calls to this great work as they prepare for deployment!

New Missionaries Accept Call to Kenya