B.A.S.I.C. Newsletters - November 2004
www.LutheranMissions.org
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B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER #40
November 1, 2004
Prov. 25:25 Like cold water
to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far
country.
We are working with groups of Christians
in Tanzania (LCEA) and in Kenya, as
well as operating a Seminary to
train men to learn more about our Lord and to
be better able to preach and teach.
I will be visiting these groups soon. We
continue to pray that the Lord's
Word will go forth in these areas.
BELOW IS SOME HISTORY ABOUT EARLY
MISSIONWORK IN THIS AREA.
Still, still Though Dead They Speak
We have been gifted by God with
the privilege to work with the Lutheran Church
of East Africa in Tanzania and Kenya.
The history of Lutheran missionwork there
goes back to the nineteenth century
when the mission societies sent out the
missionaries. The nineteenth
century was the century of the many Lutheran
mission societies at work the world
over. It was not the work of Lutheran
princes or states sending in the
1900's, but of believers gathering together
and sending. One such society
was the Leipzig Society, founded in 1836, "an
outflow of the Lutheran Orthodox
confessionalism after the revolutionary
Napoleonic wars." (From Krapf to
Rugambwa-A Church History of Tanzania, p.73).
So writes Sahlberg. It is
not the intent to determine here the orthodoxy of the
Leipzig Society, as there was a
great variation in attention or orthodoxy among
the many societies. It is
a fact that Leipzig sent men literally to their
death in the cause of the kingdom.
The first five missionaries from
the Leipzig Mission were: Emil Mueller, Gerhard
Althaus, Robert Fassman, Albin Boehme
and Thedore Passler. Arriving at Mombasa
on July 12, 1893 the Lord used them
to reach the natives in what was at that
time German East Africa, present
day Tanzania. In August they arrived at Moshi,
which is where the head of the LCEA
now serves, Pastor Angowi. One of the
villages where they went to work
was Machame where the LCEA has a congregation
today. In my visit in May
of 2002 I visited the congregation at Machame and
found that the old Lutheran church
opposes the establishment of the LCEA here as
well as elsewhere. But back
in the 1890's the opposition was from the natives.
A Machame language grammar and dictionary
were developed as well as a Machame
hymnal of 30 hymns for that tribal
people.
Two new Leipzig missionaries, Ewald
Ovir and Karl Segebrock arrived in 1895 and
proceeded westwards from Machame
to see about work among the Wameru. On Oct. 20,
1896 these two servants of God were
butchered by the natives. One has to
wonder why God took them after so
short a stay in the field.
In the city of Arusha today there
is the restored old Boma (fort) of the Germans
from that time when the Germans
ruled. It has been turned into a museum. In
one room of the old fort is the
history of the German rule pictured on the walls.
At one point one can read the report
from the natives of what happened that night
long ago. As Ewald is dying
from eighteen spears, he is saying, 'why are you
killing us...we came to bring you
the Gospel...to tell you how you can go to
heaven through Christ.' The
Lord had Ewald die as our Lord did with love on
his lips. As Stephen had mirrored
his Lord with "Lord do not hold this sin
against them..." so Ewald.
And there is more to the story of how God was, is
and will be in charge. One
of the youths who attacked and killed the two
missionaries on that dreadful/triumphant
night was baptized in 1965. Though an
aged man at the time, he was sought
out by the Lord, who is at work always His
wonder of conversion to perform.
In twenty years the Leipzig Mission
grew from just missionaries arriving on the
field to 2969 souls in 1913.
And as we know more were affected by God's work
through Leipzig well beyond the
end of German rule and the expulsion of the
German societies. Ewald and
Karl are praising the Lord in heaven with some
later comers that they had met on
earth. The Word of God bears fruit,
accomplishing what God wills.
To Him belongs all glory.
In Our Savior, Jesus,
Pastor D. Koenig
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