Stories from the Mission Field | CGO Blog

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, it’s easy to get distracted by all the holiday preparations, travel plans, and, let’s be honest, the football and especially the food. And dare I not mention the frenzy of Black Friday?

But when we allow ourselves time to step back and consider what we are truly most thankful for, is it not our faith? the hope we have of spending eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ.

In a small town just thirty minutes south of Kisumu, Kenya, is Matongo Lutheran Theological College where, among the other students, we meet thirteen women who are studying to become deaconesses. Some are from various regions of Kenya, and others have traveled the long distances from their villages in Uganda and Tanzania.

On the other side of the world, in northern California, lives Pamela Boehle-Silva, a deaconess and registered nurse, who, since 2006, has traveled to various parts of Asia and Africa to teach and provide care to people in India, Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, and Madagascar. And this past September, Pamela returned to Kenya with an invitation to teach a weeklong class for deaconess students and a two-and-a-half-day seminar for trained deaconesses. 

It’s a long way from Janesville, Wisconsin, to Comayagua, Honduras, especially when you’re a family of four traveling with two hundred (and one) pounds—four suitcases packed to the max—of medical supplies and Spanish Arch Books, coloring books, and Bible stories.

If you’ve ever had to go through customs, you might be able to relate—at least in part—to the experience Deaconess Olga Preisz Groh had on her way to Nicaragua last year.

On June 16, 2014, twin tornadoes ripped through the small town of Pilger, Nebraska, leaving in their wake a path of devastation. Families lost loved ones, many were critically injured, and nearly 75 percent of Pilger’s buildings were destroyed, including the town’s only elementary school. And all that was left of St. John Lutheran Church was the bell tower.

In western Iowa, just outside the small town of Mapleton, is a set of old farm buildings that have been transformed into Mission Central—the largest LCMS mission-supporting agency in the United States. What was once the hog house is now a fellowship hall; the barn is the worship center; and the old house was renovated to include offices, a kitchen, and rooms for visiting missionaries and their families.

“Never did we envision what God had in mind,” said Gary Thies, known as Old Missionary Gary.

“I want to go back,” said Megan, a fifth-grade student.

Her second-grade sister excitedly agreed, “Me, too!”

The girls, along with their mother, Kim Boyll—members of The Lutheran Church of Webster Gardens—spent their spring break this past March in Belize on a mission trip. They joined a group of two-dozen people from the St. Louis area, which included nine other children. The group went there to teach, to talk, and to share God’s love.

Five years ago, John Gates, a member of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church (ASLC) in St. Louis, set out for his first mission trip through Hearts for Honduras. He joined a group of missionaries in the water well division from Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, Texas. A driller of oil wells by trade, John says there was something about this trip to a third-world country to help its people gain access to life-sustaining water that appealed to his sense of humanity. It was a greater purpose.

In the days following the devastating tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma, and in the months since, Concordia Gospel Outreach has sent more than 2,700 children’s books and devotionals to St. John’s Lutheran Church and School in Moore and to the surrounding areas. From there, volunteers have delivered these resources to hundreds of displaced and discouraged people. With each delivery, words of encouragement and hope are shared with families trying to rebuild their lives. Volunteer and Stephen Ministry leader Judy Cregan shares her story.