My Final Days in the US

Friday, 16 May 2008

My Final Days in the US
Tuesday, April 22
I was at the North Pastors’ Conference at Holmen Lutheran Church where the gathering started with worship which included Holy Communion. I gave a presentation on the Charismatic Movement from the EECMY perspective.
Questions for clarification from the floor were especially interesting.
During the evening I gave a presentation to an adult gathering at St. Paul Lutheran church on the topic of Discipleship. A lot of questions:
- Is the Arc of Covenant in Ethiopia?
- Is Ethiopia the first Christian country in Africa?
- Was the Queen Sheba from Ethiopia?
- Did Israelites once live in Ethiopia?
Wednesday, April 23
My evening program was a presentation on Discipleship with young people at Our Savor’s Lutheran Church at West Salem.
Thursday, April 24
At the synod office I made a presentation on Discipleship for a group of senior pastors. Then I met with the teaching pastors who have been at Nekemte Christian Education College. I also attended a meeting of the conference Deans with Bishop April Larson.
Friday, April 25
Professor Richard A. Jensen and Bonnie Jensen from Minneapolis, who were in Ethiopia from 1962-1965, came to visit me in La Crosse. We had a wonderful day sharing our experiences both here in the US and in Ethiopia. Richard A. Jensen is the author of the book "Touched by the Spirit" which I often use as a resource for my Charismatic Movement presentation. I am very grateful to Bishop April Larson for arranging such a blessing time.
Saturday, April 26
The WELCA convention was conducted at Immanuel Lutheran church at Viroqua where I presented greetings on behalf of my synod.
After lunch I went to Gloria Die Lutheran church, Tomah, where the Rev. Dr. Chris Hallemeier, who has been to Ethiopia as a teaching pastor, is currently serving as Interim Pastor. I was privileged to visit some ministries both in the church and in the community. The Gloria Dei Lutheran church members are very much committed to social work especially in supporting the Haitian people by sending a medical team from time to time. I was very impressed with their activities for fund raising. Also, some of their members are highly involved in working with Compassion International Ministry.
During the evening I made a presentation on the Wholistic Ministry of the EECMY which is quite similar to Gloria Dei’s ministry. I stayed overnight with Pastor Bill Rice, the pastor of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
Sunday, April 27
I preached on the topic "Eternity begins here on Earth" at the two Sunday services. In between the two services I had a short time with the young people.
After lunch I attended the Synod building dedication. Invited guests and church leaders and members were present at this special occasion. As the 2^ndfastest growing Lutheran synod in the US, such a building is very important for its multifaceted ministry.
In the evening I went to Franklin Lutheran church to make a presentation on Discipleship. It was Family Night.
Monday, April 28
I visited Waldorf Collage and saw Zecharias, son of the Rev. Fayisa Negassa. Rev. Fayisa was the one who laid the great foundation for our present synod companionship. I am very much thankful to Connie for being my driver.
Tuesday, April 29
I had breakfast with the synod staff. In the evening I presented a devotion at the North Conference Pre-Assembly Caucus on the topic ‘God’s Work-Our Hands’- the theme for the Synod Assembly. Nehemiah was my model for my devotion and I have included the devotion since it is the theme for the Synod Assembly :
Then I (Nehemiah) said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: ‘The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there.’ (Neh. 4:19-20). And the people said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work. (2:18)
Since the walls were very extensive, and the workmen consequently scattered and widely separated from each other, enemies might easily attack and paralyze the building activities. Therefore Nehemiah ordered them all to work as near to each other as they could. He is a good strategic leader, mobilizing the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people for a common goal and vision. He is a man of prayer, a spiritual leader, a diplomat (he convinced the political leaders to give the wall building project a green light), a visionary leader, and a man of action, "He set out to build a wall, but left an enduring legacy of leadership." (Student Study Bible). He knows his part and helps the people understand their parts in this great new project.
Nehemiah’s part
1. to produce a specific vision that galvanizes the people.
2. to commit himself to God through prayer.
Nehemiah’s enemies tried their best to undermine the whole project:
- They mocked him through character assassination but he never yielded to their plots.
- Invitation to the Valley. Nehemiah reports that his enemies "sent me this message: ‘come let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono’" (6.2) Nehemiah knew it was a trap and refused to come, saying that he could not stop his great work.
- Invitation to the Temple. Nehemiah’s enemies hired a prophet to intimidate him by urging him to stop his work and hide in the temple. (6:10-12) But Nehemiah would not stop building.
In spite of the obstacles he encountered from his enemies, he encouraged the people, saying, Do not be afraid of them. Remember the LORD, who is great and awesome and fight" (4:14) because "Safety consists not in the absence of danger but in the presence of God".
People’s part
1. Determination to join the team.
2. The second thing that is expected from the people is to offer their gifts in cash and in kind to speed up the building.
God’s part
1. God creates conducive environment to build the wall.
2. He initiates both spiritual and social reformations.
We remember that Jesus includes people in His healing process:
In John 11 Jesus does two things:
1. He makes Himself available
2. He calls out Lazarus from the dead
He also asks the people around him to do two things:
1. - To take away the stone from the grave
- To take off the grave clothes from Lazarus
These two things are what they can do; but the other two duties are Jesus’ part.
As a healing community we Christians have our part in revealing God’s glory to this dark world.
Jesus is always available in all places. Our part is to be faithful and to take part in his Gospel proclamation, witnessing to God’s kingdom.
God’s work is not reserved for only a few people in the church today but rather for all the members---the body of Christ. The church’s ministry is not like the Red Sea where Moses is running here and there alone; nor is it like the crossing of the Jordan River where only some priests were involved in revealing God’s miracle as they crossed the river; but rather it is like the victory over Jericho where all the Israelites were involved and marching together to conquer the land.
Accordingly, today God calls out to everybody saying "Come and join us."
And this call may cost our precious time, our energy, our budget. For example, Paul extended his thanks and appreciation to the Philippians saying "… no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone" (4:15).
No one is a spectator in God’s mission field. Therefore, whenever you hear the church bell, make yourself available and join the community: to change or to be changed, to transform or to be transformed, to learn or to teach, to follow or to lead.
Today the voices of leaders call in a similar way, saying: you the nobles, you the officials, you the rest of the people (youth and the adults alike): the work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the voice of leaders, pastors and other ministers saying "join us there" in Christian community, please respond by saying: Let us rise up and build and set our hands to this good work.
Wednesday, April 30
In the morning a meeting was conducted at the synod office regarding advocacy--how to save Hmong Vietnam veterans who are being killed, jailed, tortured, mistreated, and executed by the Lao People’s Democratic Republic government. The meeting was very encouraging. The churches – including Catholics and Lutherans-- are standing for these voiceless ones to save their lives through advocacy.
At a noon there was a meeting with Carol Hakala and Kathy Guilhas of Lutheran Social Services (LSS), and Connie Scharlau regarding international adoptions. According to Carol currently LSS is working with families who are receiving children for adoption from Ethiopia. LSS is preparing the families and supporting the families after placement, and is assisting them with the paperwork process. However, the organization does not have a direct link to any orphanages in Ethiopia. Of course we are ready, if there is a need, to be involved directly in Ethiopia with an orphanage. We would be happy to look into how we might be able to work directly with an orphanage for the placement of children from Ethiopia. Finally we talked about the possibility of working with the EECMY Central Synod in supporting the orphans at home. Accordingly we reached a common consensus to start very soon to save the orphans’ lives.
Thursday, May 1
The morning was reserved for the 12^th Annual Mayoral Prayer Breakfast which was sponsored by churches of the Greater La Crosse Area. The program was conducted in the presence of the Honorable Mark Johnsrud, Mayor of the City of La Crosse and other community leaders involved in education, law enforcement, the military, emergency response, and business. Elected Officials and religious leaders were also present. I am thankful to Bishop April Larson for arranging my time so I was able to participate in such a special event. Accordingly, prayers were offered by different people for the above-mentioned officials and for the well-being of the society at large.
Sunday, May 4
I went to Cashton with Pastor John Stennes-Spidahl for the Sunday services. Accordingly, I preached at Cashton Four-Point Parish and at Fish Creek Lutheran Church. At Fish Creek I made a presentation on the Power of Prayer.
On the same day I left for Chicago with the Rev. Dr. Chris Hallemeier to obtain my transit visa from the Netherlands Consulate.
Monday, May 5
On our way back to La Crosse we visited the ELCA central offices in Chicago. I had ample time with Gaylord Thomas, the ELCA Global Mission Program Director for East Africa. It was a great opportunity to share with him my experiences here in the US and to talk about the two health centers in my synod which the ELCA helps to fund.
During the evening I presented a devotion at the South Conference Pre-Assembly Caucus on the theme of the Assembly: God’s Work, Our Hands.
Tuesday, May 6
I made presentation on the Charismatic Movement to the West Conference Pastors, at Gunderson Lutheran Hospital.
After lunch the time was reserved for a Blessing and Farewell Service at the Franciscan Spirituality Center, the Catholic Center where I am living right now. I am very much grateful to the staff for arranging such a wonderful time for prayer and blessings.
During the evening I presented devotion at the West Pre-Assembly Caucus on the theme of the Assembly: God’s Work, Our Hands.
Wednesday, May 7
An outdoor service was conducted by Bridge of Life mission church and I presented a short devotion on Christian Fellowship.
Friday, May 9
A very blessing day. I had lunch with Pastor Jim Arends and Lynn Arends and we visited the Mississippi River and the La Crescent bluffs. It was a conducive time for relaxation. I enjoyed the beautiful weather and we boated on the Mississippi River. The snow was gone and the day bright with new life. People were enjoying themselves all along the river. I am very much thankful to Pastor Jim and Lynn for providing me such a wonderful opportunity before my leaving.
Saturday & Sunday, May 10-11
On my last weekend I was at First Lutheran Church in Onalaska, the same church where I participated in an Installation service with the Bishop on my first Sunday in the US. Thus First Onalaska was my first and the last church. In between the two services there was Adult Forum which enabled us to learn from one another about different matters.
Tuesday, May 13
I was with at Adams with Bishop April Larson to participate in the East Conference pastors’ meeting.
During the evening it was my farewell program. It was unbelievable--many people brought different kinds of food including Ethiopian "Injera" from their homes. I was reminded how God has connected our hearts together in Christ. Some of us were in tears as we said goodbye. "The weather is cold but the hearts are warm" in the La Crosse Area Synod. I hope and believe our companionship will continue until the coming of Jesus Christ.
Thanks
The La Crosse Area Synod is the 2^ndfastest growing Lutheran synod of the ELCA. We, the Central Synod of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and the La Crosse Area Synod have had a common principle--Walking Side by Side. We are very much blessed in having such a companionship that enables us to share our experiences, joys, and challenges. Our companionship is rooted not in human philanthropy but rather in the love of Christ which connects our hearts together with a deep love that binds us across the ocean as brothers and sisters. This is the true and unfailing love which will bring a positive impact to both synods until the coming of Jesus Christ.
My four months of ministry in the La Crosse Area Synod has helped me to realize how much we love one another in Christ. I am very much thankful to the Synod leaders, pastors and congregations for the great energy they invested in me during my time of service. That tremendous love and hospitality have made me feel at home. As I head home once again I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all who spent their precious time with me, providing me with constructive comments and encouragement regarding my sermons and presentations. Finally, I would like to thank my family at home for their prayer during my stay in the US.
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