The WELS Mission in Mobile first kicked off as Living Word Lutheran Church in 1971 at the request of several households which had withdrawn from some other “too liberal” Lutheran churches.  Though the congregation eventually became self-supporting, we never experienced the growth we hoped for.  In 2000, with the support of the Board for Home Missions we jump-started ourselves, changed our name to Saving Grace, sold the old property and bought elsewhere, and generally started anew.

So began our “wandering in the wilderness.”  We had problems with architects and engineers, problems with the permitting and licensing processes, problems with multiple contractors, and of course, ever-increasing construction costs.  It seemed that for several years, everything that could go wrong, did.  Also, while the Masonic Lodge that leased us our temporary worship space was an excellent landlord, that building and its stigma didn’t rate very high as an evangelism tool.

Our feeling of relief was immense when we finally saw a slab poured and framing going up…our first real church building in the congregation’s 30+ year history was taking shape!  The building was far enough along to make it easy for even the most skeptical of us to imagine its eventual beauty one day before Hurricane Katrina.  The day after the storm, the lumber that had formed the skeleton of our long-awaited church, was scattered like matchsticks across our 8 acres.  Apparently we still needed to learn a little more about persistence.

With God’s blessing our building was finished over the following year.  In a way we felt as if the Lord had led us to a promised land of sorts.  Our new building even had windows in which natural light shone in!  The smell of new paint was a welcome alternative to the Fish fry smell that permeated our rental facility.  It was clear that God had blessed us greatly with our new church.

God is continuing to bless Saving Grace and persistence is still a lesson we are being taught.  Our new member classes are typically between 2 and 10 people but they are continually being taught.  We have grown over the last three years to over 100 members.  Our worship services that once averaged in the 30s is now averaging in the mid 70s.  Our children’s programs have expanded to include a pioneer program, youth group, and a healthy Sunday school program.  The growth here would not be described by most as explosive but it is persistent.

By God’s grace we will continue to be persistent as we feed and nurture the faith of our members and seek out the lost with the message of salvation by grace alone. God will work when and where he pleases.  He is the one who calls, gathers, and enlightens.  He has taught us our job is to be persistent.

Pastor Harmon Lewis
Saving Grace  Lutheran Church
Mobile, AL

Another workshop to train Christian leaders was held last month in Nepal. This was the seventh trip to Nepal for my husband, Paul Hartman, who coordinates Multi-Language Publications and directs theological education for the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nepal. But it was a new experience for both Prof. Allen Sorum from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and me.

During the first eight days 140 people studied the Gospel of John, using a simplified version of the People’s Bible commentary in Nepali. Prof. Sorum and Pastor Hartman introduced each section of the Gospel. Then everyone divided into small groups to read that segment from the Gospel and the commentary and to answer fact questions. Finally we met together for discussion questions, review activities and English word study. I enjoyed working with the 45 women, who went upstairs for their own breakout groups. We answered the questions in both Nepali and English.

Everyone was eager to learn. One afternoon the students hadn’t quite finished a review by tea time. Most worked right through tea break! The study center was so crowded that the students sat (on the floor) in the side rooms, on the front porch and on the back stairs as well as in the main room. Lunch was cooked in big pots over fires in the back yard, always rice with seasoned sauce, and vegetables, chicken or fish. The singing was great, accompanied by clapping, drums, a tambourine and flute. One of the girls wrote out the words to two Nepali worship songs in English letters, so I could sing with them.

The participants who came from a distance slept at the center, men downstairs and women upstairs. Twenty people slept under a tarp on the roof. Thankfully, the seasonal rains held off until the last night.

We walked about a kilometer from our cottage-motel to the scripture learning center – with many other people, dogs, cows, ox carts, bicycles, bicycle-pulled rickshaws, motorcycles and a few larger vehicles. You avoid the animal droppings and move slightly to the side when honking vehicles come up behind you. The first day a long, black snake slithered across the road in front of Paul and me. But everything in Nepal seemed so different that I didn’t think much of it. Later we learned the snake was a venomous black king cobra!

I taught elementary school for many years and often sat on the floor with my young students. But I think this was my first experience teaching barefoot.

Carol Hartman

Hope Lutheran Church is located in Toronto but more accurately Scarborough which was swallowed up by Toronto about 10 years ago.

Scarborough unfortunately has also been called “Scarlem” because of the high crime rates.  Someone once said to me, “Why would you guys pick that location?  It’s so rough…”  To which I answered, “Where better for a church to be than amongst those who need us most.”

An example of why we are here comes from a young Philippino man.  He is from our neighborhood.  A young guy probably 23 years old.  He has church doorbeen to our church a few times.  About 4 months ago he came to me with joy written all over him.  “Pastor my girlfriend and I are having a baby” he exclaimed “and we want our baby to be baptized at your church.”  I was hopeful but did not hear from him for quite some time and had no contact information.   But last week he showed up again.  He knocked on the church door and handed me a white envelope.  He said, “This is for the church.  It’s not much but it’s my first fruits.”  I thanked him and told him I would put it in the offering plate on Sunday. Read more ›

Mr & Mrs Johnny & son Iboro

The following is excerpted from Nigerian Health Worker Iboro received by Pastor Doug Weiser, WELS liaison to Nigeria

Dear Etubom Douglas Weiser,

I am delighted to email you once again. How is your family doing? I hope all is well with you and every other member of WELS? Thank God for his divine protections and blessings upon us all.

Obviously, the main aims and objectives of our childbirth clinic is to save lives. God  gave us the foresight to build and have Johnny Birth Centre in order to prevent children from dying (becoming extinct like cockroach), pregnant women from having still birth and children from dying of improper methods of circumcision (circumcising babies enthusiastically from death). Proper circumcision is to prevent bleeding, the inability to bear children when they grew up, and contracting various kinds of diseases.

Formerly, people in the community and its environs were suffering from improper treatment by traditional healers and native doctors. But as God will have it, Mrs. Johnny is looking forward to having a well equipped Childbirth Centre through the help and support of WELS Humanitarian Aid Committee to salvage children and pregnant women from all kinds of untimely death caused by the traditional healers. Read more ›

Many may think all countries in Latin America are alike. At first glance, Dominican Republic (DR) and Mexico may appear to be the same, but as my husband Nate and I adapt from the DR to our new home and culture in Torreon, Mexico, we discover more and more differences between the two countries every day.

Geography

In the DR, living on island offered a sticky tropical climate all-year round, providing much rain and high winds during hurricane season. The beaches were prominent vacation destinations, leaving rich farmland and mountain ranges inland. Now, we are entertained by dust storms and occasional rainfall, living in desert terrain of Mexico. A warm climate continues to surround us in the summer, minus the humidity and beaches. Temperatures do drop during the winter months; sometimes down to 30 F, which is quite chilly without indoor heating.

At the Beach-DR

In the Desert-Mexico

Cuisine

In the Caribbean, “habichuelas” (beans), rice, roasted pork, fried chicken, “salsa criolla” (Creole sauce), “mangu” (smashed plantains with fried red onions), and “tostones”(fried plantains) accompanied by “bebidas” (sweetened fruit drinks) were common on the menu. In comparison, various types of chilies (mild, hot, very hot), flour or corn tortillas, “gorditas”, tacos, enchiladas, “frijoles” (refried beans), pork, beef, chicken, tortilla chips, and many different types of salsa along with “refrescos”(refreshments) of “horchata” (sweetened rice with cinnamon) and “jamaica” (dried flower petals) are found in this area of Mexico. Both countries do offer delicious fresh fruit and vegetables daily.

Tostones-DR

Pollo con Rayas, Frijoles, y Arroz-Mexico

Language

Spanish is the official language in both the DR and Mexico, but accents, vocabulary, pronunciation, and speed of speech differ greatly. In the DR, the final “s” is dropped in words ending in “s”.  Some examples, “buenas noches” (good night) is “buen noche” and “gracias” (thank you) is “gracia”.  A passion fruit in the DR is “chinolla” and in Mexico it is “maracuya” I found out the hard way that “menudo” meaning change (in the form of money) in the DR, does not have the same meaning in Mexico.  Instead it is the name of a Mexican traditional soup with animal intestines.

Menudo served on Sundays-Mexico

Transportation

The DR offers public transportation in the form of “conchos” (cars), which have regular routes in each city. Passengers simply wiggle a finger for one to pull over and hop in only on the right side, pay a small fee, and tell the driver when they want to get out.  It is very convenient and often quite cozy with 4 or 5 passengers in the backseat and two along with the driver in the front. City buses are available with regular stops for longer distances. “Motorconchos” (motorcycles) offer a cheaper fare, and can fit 4 or 5 passengers as well. “Guagua’s” (mini-buses) are used for routes to and from the city, fitting 20-30 passengers. Taxis are available, but at a much higher rate. In Mexico, taxis and city buses are the common modes of transportation. The taxis are quite small and enforce passenger regulations. Donkeys are easily spotted among traffic, often pulling carts for local vendors. Over-sized tricycles with large baskets are also used to transport produce sometimes people.

Concho-DR

5-Person Motorconcho?-DR

Over-sized Tricycles-Mexico

As Nate and I settle into our new home, the cultures of Mexico, Dominican Republic, and other countries around the world will continue to differ, but they do have one common thread that ties them together.  That bond is souls in need of a Savior. May the Lord continue to bless the efforts of sharing Jesus with “every nation, tribe, language, and people” (Revelation 14:6).