St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri is full of people who love God, love others, and make disciples. They've worked through the LCMS Office of International Mission for years, first in Kenya, then in support of missionaries on retreat, and now in Tanzania. Their openness, eagerness, and excitement make them excellent servants to undertake just about any task the church may ask – even door to door evangelism which we know is quite intimidating for any LCMS member.
But in Tanga and Kahe, Tanzania, congregations are eager to have guests join them in door to door visitation. They want new friends to go with them to make visits to the sick, church members, potential members, and leaders in the community in their homes to share a brief thought from Scripture, to share a burden, and to pray together. This is how the church in this part of the world does its work and the hospitality of the local cultures means that you are virtually never turned away and almost always invited in to visit.
The two teams from St. Andrew's had very different experiences but Shauen, Pastor John Dehne, and missionary Sarah Kanoy were privileged to be able to visit both locations in the course of the week. In Tanga, the presence of visitors from America provided access to doorways that have always been closed to the local church workers – the homes of Muslims. Because of the presence of the visitors from St. Andrew's, the local evangelists, pastors, and even bishop were invited into the homes of dozens of Muslims – something the bishop said he had never done before. In Kahe, the team traveled far and wide across the town and even by foot out to villages miles away. Missionary Jon Clausing, who has been working on Swahili all year, was able to share a Gospel message in Swahili and finally see the fruits and the importance of working so hard on language. Shauen got to talk with a family who had a daughter struggling under a curse from a neighbor. Shauen pointed to Christ and the cross, to the girl's baptism, and to the comfort we have in God's Word and in His enduring love for each of us.
Praise the Lord for our dear brothers and sisters from St. Andrews!
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