From the Mission Field

Dominican Republic

On Oct. 1, the Dominican Lutheran Church celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by dedicating the Concordia Reformer Mercy Center and Seminary. The building was funded by a grant from the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.

Representatives from Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico and the United States participated in the service, along with Lutherans from across the Dominican Republic.

The service included the ordination of Pastor Idjon Fritz and the consecration of four deaconesses.

Prague, Czech Republic

On Oct. 8, Sorin-Horia Trifa was ordained as pastor of a new Lutheran congregation in Bucharest, Romania, by the Rev. James Krikava, representing the LCMS Office of International Mission (OIM) as regional director for Eurasia.

This mission congregation, Biserica Lutherană Confesională Din România (Confessional Lutheran Church in Romania), was formed under the auspices of the OIM. The ordination service took place at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Prague, Czech Republic. Because of Trifa’s knowledge of Romanian language and culture, he was also installed as an LCMS Alliance Missionary — an indigenous worker who receives LCMS support for bringing the Gospel to his people.

Trifa’s congregation worships in a rented Anglican church in the center of Bucharest. Now that he is ordained, he can bring the Sacrament of the Altar to this growing group of Christians in central Romania.

Kenya

Sarah Kanoy is an LCMS career missionary in Swahili-speaking East Africa. A registered nurse, she lives in Nairobi and primarily serves the countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda through five-day medical clinics offering health care and education for local residents.

Sarah Kanoy, a career missionary in East Africa and part of a LCMS Mercy Medical Team, greets residents of a village June 20, 2016, in Turkana, Kenya. (LCMS Erik M. Lunsford)

From 1,000 to 2,000 people typically attend the clinics, which are hosted in churches, providing an opportunity for attendees to learn about the church and pastor.

Kanoy is currently on furlough in the U.S. but will return to Nairobi this year. Read more about Kanoy.

Papua New Guinea

Some 3,000 Lutherans in Papua New Guinea (PNG) observed the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by marching through the Enga province and chanting “Christ Alone, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone, Grace Alone” while singing Lutheran hymns.

Over the course of a five-day celebration, they also ordained 14 pastors in the Gutnius Lutheran Church, worshiped together, viewed a movie on Martin Luther, and listened to lectures about Luther and the Reformation taught by Dr. Martin Dicke, LCMS missionary/music specialist for PNG.

Posted Feb. 8, 2018