SHELLS EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
   _{287 Shells Church Road, Grantville, PA  17028
      Office:   469-2586           Fax:   469-1077} 

Missions

Dear Friends, Members of Sponsoring Churches,

 God’s blessings to you during the Lenten Season.

 I have just returned from another trip and I am determined to turn my attention to scheduling my summer church visits.  As I look at my correspondence, I see my last letter was a New Year’s greeting and so much as happened since then.

 I left for Niger on January 18 and returned on February 1.  In Niger, I was able to visit with a childhood friend, Tim, who also works with the Fulani.  He and his wife, Sue, and their large family, have brought a lot of spirit to the work in Niger.  Not far from where he lives, I had the opportunity to visit what may be the only Fulani village comprised entirely of Christians. 

I met many other missionaries on the trip.  I was impressed by their excitement and their ambition to witness to the Fulani.  Many commented that the older missions of their churches are phasing out as the local churches in those areas become mature and more independent.  They explained that the response of their churches has been to seek out new areas and new peoples where the church hasn’t yet worked.  What I felt was that their was no sense of being an “old” mission and a clear and vital sense of being a “new” mission.  In Niamey, I also attended an annual harmonization meeting of several Bible translation teams working in different Fulani dialects.  Their work continues to move forward, and we all celebrated the printing of the first edition of the New Testament in the Massina dialect of Mali.

The weekend after my return, I attended a retreat that I had helped organize for missionaries working with the Fulani in Senegal and their families.  Working as a Christian where there is no church can be difficult, and all of us came to the retreat thirsty for Christian fellowship and a community sense of what we are doing.  I think everyone left with a stronger sense of purpose and belonging and we hope to do it again next year.

 Before going to Niger, I sent out an ad announcing a need for an accountant.  When I got back, I had seven candidates, and we began a selection and interview process.  We hired Siga Virginie Diop who is starting her work now in mid March.

 The reason she is only starting now is because I traveled again, this time to Nigeria, from February 21 to March 9.  In Nigeria, I attended a Fulani Christian gathering of over 400 people:  young and old; women, men and children, families; some who have recently become Christians, some who became Christians 40 years ago, and some who were born into the church.  Our Joint Christian Ministry in West Africa has its foundation in Nigeria, and it wasn’t hard to see the important role it plays for the many people involved in Christian witness to the Fulani in Nigeria.  The trip was very encouraging.

I am home now in Dakar for awhile.  The next trip I take is to the U.S. for church visitations.  I am looking for your invitations and ideas about how to visit you.  Please consider a “get-together” during the week?  I will send you information about where I will be and when, very soon.

 Prayers:

 I am thankful for good health and safety during my trips.

 I pray for peace in Nigeria.  I pray for accurate evaluation and wise response to the discovery of avian flu in Nigeria.  I pray for a resolution to the conflict over use of oil profits in the Niger Delta area.  I pray for forgiveness among people who have suffered violence due to ethnic rivalries.

I pray for religious leaders in Nigeria to know how to guide their communities away from escalating violence.  I pray for good government as Nigeria heads towards elections in 2007.

 I give thanks for your support and commitment of the ELCA to engage Muslims and people of other faiths in love and witness to our Lord, Jesus.

 I pray that I will be able to have a full schedule of church visitations during my time in the U.S.

Viking