LAST YEAR’S MISSION SUPPORT FINAL UPDATE
MISSIONARY CHRYST
Grace and peace to you in Jesus Christ,
The first purpose of this letter is to thank you for your support of our Singapore mission this past year. We appreciate each and every one of you, your prayers, your kindness, and your gifts. It is through you and your generosity that the Lord makes this kind of work possible.
As you know, it’s been quite some time that we have experienced tremendous difficulty obtaining a visa that would permit our family to move to Singapore as originally planned. While we have tried several paths toward this goal, it doesn’t look like any one is a viable option for some time. Many of you have wondered, as we have, “what’s next for our work in Singapore and for our family?”
So the second purpose of this letter is to share that plans for LCMS mission work in Singapore are shifting. For now, Word and Sacrament ministry to the emerging congregation there will be handled by LCMS missionary Pastor Charles Ferry. Pastor Ferry is based in Jakarta, Indonesia, only a short 1.5 hour plane flight away. It simply makes far more sense for him to make frequent visits than for me to go back and forth from the United States. The LCMS will not abandon Singapore, but for now, this alternate arrangement makes the most sense given the challenges to obtaining the appropriate visas to live in Singapore. I am confident the congregation and its members will be well served in Pastor Ferry’s faithful care.
As for myself, I am transitioning to a new and exciting mission role. Currently the LCMS Office of National Mission is exploring the potential of supporting new mission starts here in the United States,
the third largest mission field in the world. These new starts will be in places that desperately need pastors but cannot afford them on their own. These ministries will be in places the LCMS must be in the future although their financial potential to be independently sustainable will always be a challenge. The plan is for me to use my church-planting experience in a new context, our larger cities.
Working with Rev. Steve Schave, director of LCMS Urban and Inner City Mission, we have identified a number of possible locations for a strategic church-plant in or near major metropolitan areas. Likely, our first new urban/inner city church plant will focus especially on college students at a major university.
THIS YEAR’S MISSION SUPPORT UPDATE
TOGO – MISSIONARY MICAH WILDAUER
Rev. Micah and Robin Wildauer serve the Lord as career missionaries through The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in Togo. In this role, Micah teaches courses in Lutheran theology at The Centre Luthérien d’Etudes Théologiques (CLET), or Lutheran Center for Theological Studies, in Dapaong, Togo, West Africa. CLET is the seminary of the Lutheran Church of Togo (ELT). He also teaches some distance learning and continuing education courses throughout Francophone West Africa as needed. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he coordinates visiting professors to CLET.
Prayers
Please pray for Rev. Micah and Robin as they serve in Togo. Pray for them as they transition to life in Africa, learning the French language (a new language for them) and the culture of the Togolese people. Pray that God provides them with prayer and financial supporters in the United States. Pray that the Lord blesses CLET, its supporting congregations and other African partner churches. Pray for the students who travel throughout the region to learn at CLET. Please pray for the joy of service for those individuals already serving churches in this region. Finally, ask the Lord to raise up African theological leaders to serve as teachers of the Good News of Jesus Christ in the community. Let us give thanks to God for Micah and Robin answering God’s call to serve His children in this part of the world!
ALSO SERVING IN TOGO…MISSIONARY JACOB GAUGERT
If you would like to support either missionary, mark your envelope “TOGO MISSION PROJECT.” Our church commitment to Missionary Chryst has now ended. Thank you for your support for missions.