Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

Fulfilling Christ’s Mandate to Us

4/8/2005
By: Holy Trinity Lutheran

Way back in the early 1960’s, when the freighter carrying us to Liberia, landed in Dakar, Senegal, on Africa’s west coast, our family was allowed to disembark for the first time since waving farewell to our beloved Statue of Liberty in New York’s harbor, (an awesome and disquieting experience) some weeks before. For the first time, our feet touched African soil. I was eager to explore the city during the brief time we had ashore; we went with another couple: a doctor and his wife.

It was the siesta hour and some Senegalese women resting on the sidewalk in the shade of a building had pulled down the tie of their headkerchiefs to cover their eyes against the brightness of the equatorial sun. But they heard us speaking in English, raised their sunshields briefly, nodded, and smiled. I felt very welcomed. I am sure that Pastor Janet and Stacey Wise can relate to this feeling; that sense of welcome never diminishes.

It was not until the early 1970’s that our ELCA began mission work in Senegal, mostly among the Pulaar-speaking people. Currently our Division of Global Missions (DGM) personnel number eleven although as always the Africans take much responsibility for evangelism, preaching points, teaching others, and working with the youth. To say nothing of their willingness to sacrifice financially for the Gospel.

Today, most work is carried on in essentially two places. In Linguere and the surrounding area, the focus is on evangelism, animal husbandry, primary health care, and an active youth center. In Dakar, the capital of Senegal, evangelism is also a primary labor, along with the Dakar Youth Center, and a Bible correspondence program.

Our Global Mission partners for April are hard at work in the Dakar Yoff area. They are Rev. Clifford and Mitesaida Lewis. Pastor Lewis, the Regional Representative for West Africa, has the task of coordinating the mission work of a wide area, much of which is still in the throes of civil strife. It is not an easy task. And I can assure you that his contribution and those of Mitesaida to the local ministries of the church are many, varied, and complex.

They work on our behalf to carry out Christ’s mandate to us. We are privileged to help bear the financial responsibility of their difficult work along with that of all who work in the Vineyard in faraway lands. And we need to remember that this is our obedience as well as our privilege. It is one of the ways we express our gratitude for our salvation.

As we contemplate our church’s budget for the year ahead, let us think consciously — and conscientiously — of our monetary obligation to our Synod through which most of our support to Global Missions is channeled. Let us dedicate ourselves financially to a truly thankful response for all we have in blessings, especially the Gospel. Surely, one of our richest blessings is in supporting those who serve in Christ’s name for us.

Thank you. IlaJean Kragthorpe, Stewardship Ministries