Concordia Lutheran Mission Society
Partners in Mission
The current vehicle of the Mission Centre in Nicaragua has been an important and essential tool for our mission work in the country for the past decade. However, due to heavy use and the road conditions in the country, it’s starting to have mechanical problems. Because the Mission relies heavily on having a dependable vehicle, the Centre would like to sell the current vehicle and purchase a newer truck.
I want to support getting a vehicle for the Mission Centre in Nicaragua.
Ukraine today is going through its 16th day of war. For the past two weeks the lives of the people of Ukraine have been changed forever. Over 1.5 million Ukrainians have fled their homes and country into neighboring Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, and then further into Germany, Holland and the UK. The mission work of LCC with SELKU (Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine) has moved into emergency help mode. At the time of this writing all of our pastors are alive and relatively safe. Here is an update on some of them.
The other pastors are safe and caring for refugees that come their way.
Soon when all the refugees are gone the pastors will need to think about next steps. These will be caring for those who are left in the cities and towns and helping to get humanitarian aid to people in need.
Prayers are needed for the Lord to bring this war to an end. Prayers for funds to come in to be used to buy fuel and fix vehicles and provide food and help with other needs. Funds will be needed to help those who are in other countries trying to survive without putting too much of a burden on those who have so graciously opened their hearts and homes to care for and shelter.
Wisdom for pastors to know how care for themselves and comfort their wife and children and then continue to brings God’s message of hope and love, compassion and forgiveness to all.
You can give to the special fund that Concordia Mission Society has set up, where finances will go directly into the hands of those who need it most. Thank you for your prayers and giving to the LORD and His servants in Ukraine.
Below is a video update from Pastor Alexei Navrotsky.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-7RzE7k72U
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year – there is even a song written about that! While we look forward all year to this special holiday, imagine having Christmas repeated two weeks later! That’s how it is in Ukraine. Part of the Christian church in Ukraine celebrates Christian holidays according to the Gregorian calendar and part of the church uses the Julian calendar. 
This split even exists within SELCU (Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine) so most congregations celebrate Christmas twice, on December 25th and again January 7th. While this increases the number of services and the work for the pastors, there is greater opportunity to minister to a larger segment of the population, to both those who attend regularly and those who do not.
In the fall of 2019, Rev. Navrotskky’s congregation in Nikolaev announced the year 2020 as “The Year of Mission”, taking the Great Commission from Mathew 28:19-20 as their motto. Their plans were to reach extended family members and neighbours with the Gospel.
Last Christmas season the Nikloaev congregation began with a potluck supper on December 25th, inviting church members’ extended families and friends. Everyone attending heard about Jesus, born in a manger and come to be our Saviour. On January 6th the Candlelight Service was mainly attended by church members. 
On January 7th a Christmas Concert was held with a meal, with personal invitations again made to non-church members. The Sunday School presented a great program with the Youth Team singing and a Christmas video was shown. The congregation joined in singing Christmas carols.
More than fifteen new people came to this service. Three of these started coming to Sunday services. Two ladies asked Rev. Navrotskyy for a Bible, which he gave them along with Small Catechisms.
SELCU Head office initiated the “Christmas Gifts for Orphans” program in 2019.
With money received from LCC and from mission partners in Germany, more than 1000 Christmas gifts of food and other necessities were packed and delivered to the orphanages, hospitals, retirement houses, prisons and homes of poor people during this Christmas season. These gifts were given because Jesus gave Himself for us all! All SELCU pastors and congregations were involved in this mission program.
Candles are lit because Jesus, the Babe in the manger, came to be the Light of the world. Ukraine continues to have dark times (Russia looms just across the border) with many suffering from poverty and now having the added stress and hardships of the Covid-19 virus.
The year 2020 did not turn out as the Ukraine congregations had planned, but they continue to do what they can to alleviate peoples’ day-to-day suffering and to bring the hope of the Gospel. During the Covid lockdown, church services were presented on-line. Most services are back to being held in-person with care to be social-distanced and following safety precautions.
Yes, the candles are lit at Christmas, and throughout the year, to remind us all that Jesus’ message still shines out to the darkest corners, bringing hope to all hearts that welcome Him.
When the CoVid-19 lockdown occurred in Canada and across the world this past March, many felt they were prisoners in their own home. Children could not attend school and many parents had to work from home, if they still had a job to do, that is. Visitors were no longer allowed in hospitals and care facilities, leaving our elderly and ill without the comfort of family and friends. Yet despite our hardships we are reminded there are others who live in lockdown too. And of course, they are in prison for a reason, and not sent there for their health!
Bishop Sasha Yurchenko has for a number of years been a faithful visitor to the prison near Nikoleav, Ukraine. The men he visits are a tough group, as you can see in the picture. Despite their history, these men are open to the Bible studies and catechism classes offered by the Bishop. Through his persistent efforts and the working of the Holy Spirit, he has seen lives transformed in this darkest of places. Jesus truly is the Light of the World, even in a cold, bare prison.
Youth from every SELCU congregation gathered on January 8, 2020 for their four-day Winter Youth Conference. Most of those who attended were male and many came from non-Christian homes. These 60 young people gathered at the Seminary in Odessa to hear, in a nutshell, “Human life is a great adventure as God the Creator gave each of us the gift of life. He leads us through life’s challenges, the hills and the valleys. Yet through all this, God is with each of us and He will meet us at the end of our journey. Along the way He gives us families, friends, church, and work to do. Sometimes our journey is joyful and bright, but sometimes it is dangerous and difficult. The Bible provides guidance on all these different areas of life.”
While the organizers of this conference knew there would be uneven ground ahead for these youth, none of them could have known that they were all about to face one of their greatest challenges, life with CoVid-19, a world-wide pandemic.
Thank the Lord that these youth were given an opportunity to be together and hear about God’s loving care for them so that they could be encouraged in their faith. Because of the strict and long quarantine there, many people have become angry or depressed and always hungry.
Join CLMS in our prayer, “Dear Lord, please keep these youth faithful to you, giving them strength to face all that will come their way. Help them daily to look to You as their strength and stay. Thank you for them, for the facilitators of the conference, and for their desire to serve you. Amen”.
How did you travel to church last Sunday? For pastors in Nicaragua the trip to hold services or visit with parishioners can be a complicated one. Often pastors serve more than one congregation and may live in yet another community.
Some pastors rely on bicycles, some take the local bus or bicycle taxi, and then walk the remainder of the way. Some have motorcycles. Very few have a car.
This is Pastor Geronimo who serves a number of congregations, all of which are rural. The roads leading to these small villages are not paved and in some cases are not graveled either. If you look closely you can see a machete in a sleeve he has attached to the rear wheel. We asked why a machete? Are there bad men? He said no, there were bad dogs that he had to hold off or they would topple him over and take whatever foodstuffs he was carrying to his home or to his parishioners.
For the last couple of years Concordia Lutheran Mission Society has had Motorcycles for Pastors as one of our projects. Last year three pastors received a motorcycle. In this past month two more pastors received motorcycles!
Wow! Look at Pastor Geronimo now! 
He has the keys and the helmet (not shown) and is ready to get on the road!
What a blessing for him and for all of his parishioners. Because there is still a need for more motorcycles CLMS will have this project again in 2020.
CLMS sincerely thanks all those who have given to this project. Pastor Geronimo’s prayer for a motorcycle has been answered, and our donors were God’s instrument to have this come to pass.
God bless you all!
Concordia Lutheran Mission Society occasionally receives a request for a special mission project. Last year the A-BC District’s President Rev. Glenn Schaeffer approached CLMS with a request for CLMS to accept a special project for Rwanda. Rev. Schaeffer assumed responsibility for raising funds for two teachers to instruct a week-long course to church leaders in Bible and theological training in the Beth Ammi Christian Fellowship and the Reformed Christian Fellowship Church of Rwanda.
Following are excerpts from Dr. Glenn Schaeffer’s report on his teaching trip to Rwanda in early 2019.
Greetings!
My wife Sandra and I just returned from a two week trip to Rwanda. It is amazing how the bonds of faith and the shared love we have for Jesus connect us to one another despite differences in ethnicity, language, and social class.
I led a four day conference on Romans 1-8 with heavy emphasis on the doctrine of justification – a doctrine that was “foreign” to them. There were about 35 church leaders present for the conference, mainly from the Beth Ammi Christian Fellowship Church and two pastors from the Reformed Christian Fellowship Church of Rwanda.
They are passionate about worshiping and serving their Lord, but most of the Christians, including the leaders, have a limited knowledge of the Bible and tend to live under the burden of the law.
They are eager and hungry to learn more. Our daily sessions at the conference started at 9 am and concluded at 4 pm with a one hour lunch break (during which they huddled to talk about the lessons). Otherwise, they listened, discussed, debated, and prayed…with no other breaks!
Both churches are requesting ongoing biblical/theological training. In fact, this matter is quite pressing as the government of Rwanda has mandated that all pastors of congregations are to have a theological degree/certificate from an accredited school.
I am thankful for the opportunity that Sandra and I had to travel to Rwanda. Aside from the conference we visited four additional congregations that are extensions of the Beth Ammi located in various regions of Rwanda. I also preached at a worship service there.
The congregation I now serve in Michigan is quite supportive of my work in Rwanda. Sandra and I plan to return to Rwanda to continue to develop relationships with them and to provide them with biblical and practical training.
In Christ,
Glenn Schaeffer
Dr. Schaeffer and CLMS are very grateful to the people of LCC who heard about this special project and supported it both financially and with their prayers.
Brothers and sisters in Christ gathered in Rwanda.
After an initial visit from Rev. Dr. Glenn Schaeffer early in 2018, Beth Ammi Christian Fellowship Church and other Lutherans in Rwanda have invited Canadian Lutherans to return to help them train pastors, elders, and deacons/deaconesses through theological education and mentorship.
While this is not a Lutheran Church-Canada sponsored project, from time to time Concordia Lutheran Mission Society adopts special projects, which allow for exploratory work that falls outside of LCC’s mission areas.
We have set up a project, 1825 – Exploratory Mission to Provide Theological Education in Rwanda, to provide you with an opportunity for you to make a financial donation, with the goal of raising $7,000.00 so that two Canadian instructors can travel to Rwanda to teach a week-long course, to visit/preach in some of the churches, and to continue to build trust with the leaders of the churches related to the Beth Ammi Christian Fellowship Church and other Lutherans in Rwanda.
Rev. Dr. Glenn Schaeffer meets with church leaders in Rwanda in early 2018
I want to support an exploratory visit to provide Lutheran theological education in Rwanda.
For additional information about the project, Dr. Schaeffer has provided a video.
