Sunday, August 14, 2016

Greetings from Pointe Noire, Congo! Thank you for your prayers!

Dear church family and friends,

God's grace, peace and mercy be yours this day.  It is Sunday evening, August 14th at nearly 7:00 p.m. and Scott, Fred and I are enjoying a restful Sunday evening in Pointe Nore, Congo.  We arrived safely on Saturday evening and we were joyfully welcomed by President Joseph Mavoungou, president of the Lutheran Church of the Congo as well as Pastor Armel (one of the pastors ordained last year) and Benjamin, a young man who will begin his pastoral studies in Dapaong, Togo this coming Tuesday at the Center for Lutheran Theological Studies.  Pastor and Missionary Fred Reinhardt arrived a few hours later and we all enjoyed an evening meal at a local restaurant.

It is such a joy to be back in the Republic of the Congo.  This is my fourth time here and my heart is full of thanks for this ministry partnership that God brought about 5 years ago. We flew this morning to this beautiful coastal city of Pointe Noire and arrived by 10:30 a.m. in time for the 11:00 a.m. Sunday worship service.  Scott wrote a short skit on some of the key truths that the apostle Paul presents in the Book of Ephesians.   It gloriously reminds people that they are chosen by God, made alive in Christ, called 'citizens' of God's kingdom and given the amazing privilege of telling others about this awesome Savior.   I preached and encouraged the people from God's Word and the music was amazing!  Three of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Congo parishes combined for one worship service and all three of their choral groups sang.  The entire congregation sings with such strength and joy!  The drums were beating, the maracas were shaking and it was a wonderful worship service!   Amen!  Then we had a late lunch at our hotel in Pointe Noire with President Mavoungou and three of the pastors here in Pointe Noire. These meal times are some of my favorite times as they provide wonderful opportunities for learning, discussion, encouragement, theological discussions and more.

We will be in Pointe Noire until Wednesday morning and then we will fly back to the capital city of Brazzaville.  We will visit three churches tomorrow (Monday) and two churches on Tuesday to provide some encouragement from God's Word, ministry resources, evangelism ideas, children's ministry and more.  Two of the parishes began this past year so it will be a great joy to be with the people.  Please ask God to use us to be a blessing to all that we meet and serve.  What a privilege to be servants of Jesus!
With gratitude for your prayers,
matthew

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