REV. THOMAS V. AADLAND PROJECT TIMOTHY KENYA

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1 REV. THOMAS V. AADLAND PROJECT TIMOTHY KENYA Training Faithful Pastors for a Growing Church Matongo Lutheran Theological College Box 45 Sondu via Kisumu 40109 KENYA thomas.v.aadland@gmail.com www.

We thank God for entrusting us with so many from Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, South Sudan, and Tanzania who have come to prepare for the Lord s service as pastors and deaconesses.

1 1 REV. THOMAS V. AADLAND PROJECT TIMOTHY KENYA Training Faithful Pastors for a Growing Church Matongo Lutheran Theological College Box 45 Sondu via Kisumu KENYA thomas.v.aadland@gmail.com SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2014 The students and faculty of Matongo Lutheran Theological College, 17 September We thank God for entrusting us with so many from Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, South Sudan, and Tanzania who have come to prepare for the Lord s service as pastors and deaconesses. Dear Fellow Redeemed in Christ, Partners in Mission, Months have flown by since I wrote you last. At the end of September, we lost our dear son Andrew, a death we had increasingly dreaded after many hospitalizations and during his long and nobly fought battle with schizophrenia. Mary and I are comforted by the love and prayers of so many of you. I was home with family for the funeral for most of the month of October. Mary is

2 especially finding much faithful teaching and deep consolation from the book written out of severe testing of faith by Rev. Peter Preus, And She Was a Christian.

After 11 years of suffering the brain disorder known roughly as schizophrenia, Andrew succumbed as many do to this progressive and devastating illness.

2 2 especially finding much faithful teaching and deep consolation from the book written out of severe testing of faith by Rev. Peter Preus, And She Was a Christian. Andrew Paul Aadland (24 October September 2014), our precious son, pictured in his senior year of high school. After 11 years of suffering the brain disorder known roughly as schizophrenia, Andrew succumbed as many do to this progressive and devastating illness. He blessed us with his gentleness, his laughter, his art, and creativity for many good years before the onset of psychosis and with his confession of faith in his Savior throughout his illness. One of 22 deaconess students, in her second year, Lorna Mpeloki Tirike is from Kajiado, Kenya, and is a Masai princess, here displaying the traditional headdress. Since there were none in her area, and she saw the need for the work, she came to Matongo to prepare to become a deaconess at her husband s encouragement & the recommendation of her bishop. 18 February Last semester, she studied the History of Israel with me, and this semester, St. Paul s Letter to the Romans. Last spring, Rev. Dr. Timothy C. J. Quill, Director of Global Theological Education for the LCMS Office of International Mission, asked if I would be willing to teach a course on The Doctrine of the Triune God, for a new diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. Bishop Emmanuel Makala wants sound teaching that is Scriptural and faithful to the Lutheran Confessions in the South East Lake Victoria Diocese. I taught 29 students during the third week of November, of whom 22 are studying to become pastors, with 7 in the deaconess program. They were a delightful audience, just as a previous teacher had said of them, bright, eager, engaged, devoted to the Word given them. The Sekuma people are very gentle. The area is semi-arid, a feature that discouraged missionaries for more than a century from beginning work there. Consequently, there are still signs of superstition and pagan witchcraft in the region. But the church is growing! I was greatly encouraged by what I saw and thank God for this opportunity.

3 I flew past Mount Kilimanjaro on November 16, en route to Mwanza, Tanzania.

The Emmanuel Makala Training Center near Shinyanga, about 120 miles south of Mwanza, the second

Bishop Emmanuel Makala and his wife on the grounds of the Training Center near Shinyanga,

3 3 I flew past Mount Kilimanjaro on November 16, en route to Mwanza, Tanzania. The peak on the right is Kibo (19,340 ft.), the highest mountain in Africa. The Emmanuel Makala Training Center near Shinyanga, about 120 miles south of Mwanza, the second largest city in Tanzania. One of the most uplifting and fulfilling weeks I have ever experienced. Bishop Emmanuel Makala and his wife on the grounds of the Training Center near Shinyanga, November 21. A very gracious host and true bishop, he is young and energetic and dedicated to deepening the Christian faith among his people.

4 The Christmas tree of Shinyanga fills with red blossoms as Advent

By standards I ve become accustomed to seeing in Kenya, this region was

One of many baobab trees seen on the way from Shinyanga out to the Training

Evie & Tim s apartment, Chicago, 2 January 2015. Two proud grandpas.

4 4 The Christmas tree of Shinyanga fills with red blossoms as Advent approaches. By standards I ve become accustomed to seeing in Kenya, this region was exceptionally clean and well kept. One of many baobab trees seen on the way from Shinyanga out to the Training Center north of town. Mary with our grandson Yves Thomas Coe. Evie & Tim s apartment, Chicago, 2 January Two proud grandpas. Bill Coe, Evie s father-in-law, and I with Yves and Julian (b. 15 December 2014). You can make your tax-deductible contribution by credit card at the PTK website using Pay Pal. A reminder: Please make checks in support of this ministry payable to: The Saint Timothy Society Minnetonka Boulevard Wayzata, MN Please note in the memo line For Project Timothy Kenya. Thank you!

5 The quote of the month: There we shall be still and see; we shall see and we shall love; we shall love and we shall praise. Behold what will be in the end, without end!

5 5 The quote of the month: There we shall be still and see; we shall see and we shall love; we shall love and we shall praise. Behold what will be in the end, without end! For what is our end but to reach that kingdom which has no end? Augustine of Hippo ( AD), City of God, Stillness describes the perfect repose in God of those who in earthly time were justified by grace, for Christ s sake, through faith. Vision denotes the fulfillment of human intellect in its beholding the Truth which is God Himself. Love as it wells up from God to saturate His people and flow back to Him satisfies the heart and will of men and women made for personal communion with their Maker and with each other. Praise is both the creaturely response to the divine mercy that gladly gives God His due and also the voice of Christ in us calling out to the Father. Commentary by John R. Stephenson, in Eschatology, Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics, vol. xiii, (Dearborn, MI: The Luther Academy, 1993), Your brother in Christ, Rev. Thomas V. Aadland And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2 Project Timothy Kenya is a mission endeavor promoted by The Saint Timothy Society. STS is granted 501 (c) (3) status as a religious organization by the United States Internal Revenue Service. Previous issues of this newsletter are available at ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANS? If so, it is easy to designate your Thrivent Choice dollars for the work of the Saint Timothy Society! Online: Step 1 Visit Thrivent.com/thriventchoice. Step 2 Click on log in at the top right of your screen & enter your MyThrivent user ID & password. (If you haven t registered on Thrivent.com, click on register now to register for full access.) Step 3 Look for your designated Choice Dollars on the right side of the screen. Step 4 Click on Direct Choice Dollars on the Thrivent Choice box on your MyThrivent page. Step 5 Search the catalog of organizations to find and select the Saint Timothy Society. Step 6 Click on Direct Choice Dollars Now to direct your designated Choice Dollars to benefit STS and the Lord s work of training faithful servants of Christ in east Africa. By phone: Step 1 Call and when prompted, say, Thrivent Choice. Step 2 When prompted, say, Choice Dollars.

6 6 Step 3 Say or enter your Social Security number. Step 4 Press 1 to direct Choice Dollars or press 2 to hear the Thrivent Choice program terms and conditions. Step 5 A representative will then work with you to direct Choice Dollars for Saint Timothy Society. PRAYER REQUESTS: Thanks be to God For the work being done in the South East Lake Victoria Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and for the faithful ministry of Bishop Emmanuel Makala. For a positive result to my colloquy with leadership of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod December 22. This provides me now the opportunity to explore further service to the Lord in global theological education. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer For Mary and our daughter Britta as they prepare to visit Kenya April 26 to May 6, for safe travels and a successful view of the work here. We want to discern whether the Lord might be providing work here for Mary that can utilize her gifts in early childhood development. For Mary and me as we apply to the LCMS Office of International Mission as career missionaries. For sustained support of the work of Project Timothy Kenya, that careful training of servants of the Word may continue to supply the needs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Africa (Congo and Zambia), and other Lutheran churches in South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. AN OVERVIEW OF PROJECT TIMOTHY KENYA: Project Timothy - Kenya began at the initiative of an overseas sister church, specifically by invitation to Rev. Aadland, then Presiding Pastor of the AALC, from Archbishop Walter Obare of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya on June 23, PTK is an expression of the life together of confessional Lutheran church bodies. In 2007, both AALC and ELCK became members of the International Lutheran Council, both bodies enjoying church fellowship with The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Its mission is international in scope. Since 2008, Pastor Aadland has helped to train over 100 pastors and deaconesses, not only for the ELCK, but also for younger sister churches in South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Congo. ELCK has over 700 congregations, but only 150 pastors! PTK specifically helps build the capacity for theological education and accreditation of the ELCK. By bringing Pastor Aadland to teach on the MLTC faculty, PTK enables native Kenyans to pursue terminal degrees at LCMS seminaries, advancing MLTC toward its goal of accreditation with the Accreditation Council for Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA). Additionally, through working with Lutheran International Library Assistance Program (LILAP), PTK has helped secure hundreds of books for the MLTC library, now evaluated as the finest Lutheran theological library in Africa, so that another accreditation standard has been reached 10,000 volumes, excluding bound periodicals. PTK has earned the trust and appreciation of ELCK leaders. Both Archbishop Obare and MLTC Principal Rev. Dr. Joseph Ochola have requested that the work of Project Timothy Kenya continue. Rev. Prof. Aadland s gifts of teaching and also his pastoral and oversight experience are deeply appreciated in the African context.

7 Finally, given the above, under the auspices of the Saint Timothy Society, Project Timothy - Kenya embodies a vision for world mission that brings about effective mutuality between church bodies at home and abroad. 7

Changes in God s Work

The Kingdom of God in Africa and Beyond Volume 3, Issue 3 April-May 2013 Rockrohr News and Notes I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : C h a n g e s i n G o d s W o r k Changes in God s Work (cont.) 2-3 Thank