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We are blessed to add the prayer letter of Joy and Paul Mueller to our site.

Thanks to members Del and Dorleen for sharing this with us.

Mueller Email Prayer Letter – April 2008

Volume 4, No. 4

It is time for us to communicate with our partners in prayer and financial support. These last two months have been a whirlwind of activity – all around the world!

In our last letter, we talked about Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Right after we returned from Tanzania, we headed for Uganda with our new missionaries – Jake and Michelle Gillard. Both were students of Paul’s at Concordia University, St. Paul and took mission courses preparing them for cross-cultural ministry. Michelle graduated as a Director of Christian Outreach and also received her Masters of Arts in Christian Outreach. Jake continued on at the seminary and served in urban contexts in Baltimore and Minneapolis. In addition, Shauen and Krista Trump will be working with the Lutheran Church Mission Uganda (LCMU) for a two year vicarage with Jake as his supervisor. Krista is a missionary kid from Liberia with Lutheran Bible Translators, so brings some “Africa blood” already to the field. She, too, was a student of Paul’s at Concordia and took mission courses. And finally, Dr. Mike and Cindy Rodewald have been called and accepted the position of Area Facilitator – Southern Africa. He actually began his work January 1^st. Previously he served in Africa with Lutheran Bible Translators for over 25 years so brings a wealth of experience to the position. In addition, he has his PhD in Missiology. All three couples are well-prepared to be missionaries in Africa. After attending missionary orientation this June, they will spend additional time in the states raising funds to support them while on the field.

Notice that that these new missionaries will need to raise their funds. In cooperation with Development Services in LCMS WM, all new missionaries need to raise their support funds so they can serve in the mission field. This is different than the past. As you might guess, funding ministries is becoming more and more difficult. Congregations are seeing the mission field in their own backyard and using their mission dollars locally. In addition, they often participate in mission opportunities in other places around the world requiring local funding. It is wonderful to see congregations emphasizing mission in their own backyard! As a result however, less and less support is being sent to district offices and on to St. Louis – dollars which support international missionaries. This means there is less in the budget (that “four letter” word) to support them. However, more and more individuals, groups, mission societies, congregations, circuits, and districts are asking for and becoming personally involved in supporting missionaries, one of those ways through the Together in Mission program. It is a great way to create an international partnership and at the same time, guarantee prayer and financial support for your LCMS WM missionaries around the world. In that light, we thank all of you who pray for us, keep us in your thoughts and on your refrig, and support the international work in Africa financially. Without you, we would not be here.

After our return from Uganda, we spent some time in the states at a series of meetings – honing our international Ablaze! strategy – making certain that what we do helps populate heaven. As a result of that meeting, we were given several “green lights” for some exciting opportunities. In the last letter we wrote about Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). A visit with them the middle of April to discus a formal partnership was met with open arms. The process is rapidly moving along. We soon hope to be working closely with them – learning from them how they have grown to nearly 5 million members – almost 150,000 new members in 2007 alone. They have much to teach us about their passion for sharing Christ.

Paul also visited with Tim and Beth Heiney, missionaries in Conakry, Guinea and with Area Facilitator – Francophone Africa, Fred Reinhardt. We have tried unsuccessfully to get into that country two times before – each time hindered by plane cancellations or civil unrest. But God opened the doors and Paul arrived for a three day visit. They have an exciting ministry in the city as well as upcountry near the border of Liberia where we formally worked in the 1980s. Paul also met with James May who just finished his French language learning in Burkina Faso and is now determining the right place for his future ministry. We keep in touch with other missionaries through Skype (when internet and electricity works).

As a result of those visits (and others) we are slowly but surely “ramping up” Africa’s ability to host more short-term teams from the states. As the National churches find gaps in ministry, they are asking for individuals or groups to help fill them – 2 weeks, a month, 6 months, even a year or two. If you are interested in making a trip to Africa to become personally involved in direct mission endeavors, let us know. We will connect you with the appropriate people in St. Louis who facilitate these trips, with the National Church which develops the opportunities, and with the Volunteer Coordinators on the field who help put logistics together.

Prayers:

1. Praise God for the Gillards and Trumps on their way to Uganda, and the Rodewalds serving in Southern Africa.

2. Praise God for the EECMY and their passion for reaching lost souls. Pray that LCMS congregations gain that same passion.

3. Praise God for the many people who support LCMS WM missionaries around the world, especially those in Africa.

4. Pray for a person to be found to fill the role of Regional Business Manager, Africa. We desperately need someone with a business degree to serve in this capacity.

5. Pray for our personal prayer and financial support, our constant travel in planes, and our work forming relationships with the National Churches.

Thanks for the prayers and support we receive. Please keep in touch with us. Paul’s email: Paul.Mueller(atsymbol)LCMS.org*. Joy’s email: Joy.Mueller(atsymbol)LCMS.org*. Our snail mail address is P.O. Box 22, Karen, 00502, Kenya, E. AFRICA.

If you are receiving this via US Postal Service but have email, please let us know so we can send it to you electronically. It is quicker and more cost effective for the Careciples from Peace Lutheran Church in St. Louis who mail the letter. This group has been helping us share our ministry with you since 1983! We praise God for them as they serve Him in the world.

If you wish to support our ministry, please send your gifts to: LCMS World Mission, 1333 South Kirkwood, St. Louis, MO., 63122-7295, ATTN: Missionary Support and indicate the support is for us by name. Please inform us of your intentions so that we can personally thank you.

To support projects of LCMS World Mission visit: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=5878.

St. Paul Lutheran Church and School, 1025 Lake Street, Melrose Park, Illinois 60160; Church: 708‑343‑1000, School: 708‑343‑5000

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