Difference. From Iowa to Namibia Lutherans Share a Journey of Faith Together. Making a. By: Marcia Hahn

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1 Winter 2009 Making a Difference Northeastern Iowa Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America From Iowa to Namibia Lutherans Share a Journey of Faith Together By: Marcia Hahn The southwestern African country of Namibia is full of breathtaking sites elephants, giraffes and majestic wildlife; the Namib Desert with the world s highest sand dunes; the massive Fish River Canyon; the haunting Skeleton Coast. To the six members of the Northeastern Iowa Synod who visited Namibia in May, the most amazing sites were the Namibian people and their exuberant worship services, some which lasted more than four hours and included 20 choirs. I ve never encountered anything like that before, says David Grant, pastor of One of many choirs to sing at a Lutheran worship service in Namibia. Zion Lutheran in West Union. Everyone brings their Bible, and the singing and participation is filled with joy. The shortest worship service I attended was two and a half hours long. The 20-day trip to Namibia was the latest experience of the Companion Synod relationship that started nearly 20 years ago

2 between the Northeastern Iowa Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran churches of Namibia. The Iowa group traveled about 2,000 miles across the Namibian countryside with a mission to build face-to-face relationships in a broader faith community. The Iowans visited 17 churches, stayed in homes and guest houses, and immersed themselves in the Namibian culture and daily lifestyles of their hosts. They saw first-hand how vital the church is in the lives of Namibian people whose daily struggles and challenges far exceed those faced by most Iowans. Namibian hosts share their excitement for church Nancy Larson, assistant to the Bishop and organizer of the trip, has visited Namibia twice before, and each time she says she has been amazed by the country and the people s excitement for the church. The church is woven into every part of their being, so there is no distinction between church and work, Larson says. Their life is infused with their faith. Going to church is an exciting way for them to live their faith. That excitement showed on a Saturday night when the group arrived in Otjiwarongo where some 50 members of the host parish greeted their guests with an elaborate two-hour celebration. The program began with a variety of choirs singing gospel music and progressed into traditional songs from the Namibian culture, including a mock traditional tribal wedding. Their welcome was warm, genuine and whole-hearted, says Waverly resident Kathryn Koob, one of two laypersons on the trip. Ascension Day brought another festive worship experience that the group members say they will never forget. Lutheran church in Rehoboth, Namibia The service at a large congregation in Northern Namibia drew 500 people who packed the church on a Thursday morning. Rows of children sat in the front, choir after choir performed, and everyone brought a Bible and song book, Koob says. The two-and-a-half hour Ascension Day service included a 25-minute sermon, nine baptisms, several hymns, and five choirs, each performing a number of songs. The singing is incredible and enthusiastic and powerful, Larson says. It s a whole person experience. When you let worship take over your whole being, it s very powerful. Ascension Day Worship at Oniipa Church According to Troy Pflibsen, pastor at Trinity Lutheran in Belmond, the Namibian worship services are lengthy because so much information is shared and translated into different languages. Since there are no printed bulletins, the pastor gives a full set of 2 Making a Difference Winter

3 announcements orally, Pflibsen says. It s the only way people get the news. Throughout the trip, Pflibsen says that he and the rest of his group were struck by the people s engagement with scripture. We all noticed that even with the children at Ascension Day, they brought their Bibles, hymnbooks and Daily Texts to worship, and they used them, he explains. In their homes, families always had scripture out on the table, and that was intriguing to us. As pastors, we were eating this up. First-time visitor Grant says that he wanted to visit Africa since he was a child. His trip to Namibia proved to be far more than anything he expected. I was prepared for old time Africa and I encountered a new Africa, with amenities and creature comforts, he says. It s a beautiful country with beautiful people. Grant connected with an old friend Pr. John Guida-oab who had visited Zion Lutheran in West Union during a trip to Northeast Iowa in Grant had the privilege to preach to his congregation. Like most of the worship services Grant attended in Namibia, the service was centered less on the pastor and more on celebrating all of life for the people. He explains that each week during worship people are recognized for their birthdays, for getting married, for losing a loved one. The leaders talk about the event, say a prayer and blessing, and lead people in song about it. With no electricity or running water, communities of shacks left over from years of apartheid are home to many Namibia citizens still struggling with poverty. People were not afraid to share their life-changing events, and they are celebrated by the entire congregation, Grant says. That takes time, and the services can run four hours or more. But you would be surprised at how quickly time goes when you re fully alive and singing and dancing and celebrating life and the goodness of the gospel. Grant tells of one service in which two elderly ladies stood up with three beautiful young children. The children s mother had been beaten to death by their father, so the grandmother and her sister were going to raise the children. The pastor gave a short sermon for them and told the crowd that they all need to embrace these children. No one in this parish will be an orphan, the pastor told the congregation. We all need to take care of these children. The first group from the Northeastern Iowa Synod to visit Namibia stand at the Tropic of Capricorn: Steve Fritz, Pr. Patricia Shaw, Kathryn Koob, Pr. Troy Pflibsen, Pr. Nancy Larson, and Pr. David Grant. MAKING A DIFFERENCE is a stewardship publication of the Northeastern Iowa Synod, th Street SW, PO Box 804, Waverly, IA ; Phone: ; FAX: ; Editor: Julie Drewes 4 Making a Difference Winter

4 Lutheran churches help Namibian families face daily struggles About twice the size of California and located on Africa s western coast, Namibia became an independent nation in 1990 after breaking from South Africa. Christianity is the religion of choice for 90 percent of the Namibian population, and about 60 percent of those Christians are Lutherans. Three branches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church work in mutual cooperation under the United Church Council to share resources and help keep the Lutheran faith thriving in all parts of Namibia. According to Larson, the Namibian Lutheran pastors are well educated many with additional studies at Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque but they work for low pay and have large workloads, often serving a congregation of 3,000 to 7,000 at different locations. They rely on a system of elders 30 to 40 per congregation to help lead services. The pastors make a huge sacrifice, and so do the church leaders, Larson says. They do it because they love the Lord and the church. It s a powerful witness of their commitment and their love. The Iowa group saw first-hand the daily struggles and challenges the people of Namibia face and how vital the church is in their lives. A tour of rural and urban areas showed some of the infrastructure issues, such as communities of shacks left over from apartheid with no electricity or running water. One of the buildings on the grounds of Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital, which serves as a regional center for medical care. They visited a Lutheran-owned hospital and HIV/AIDS center that offers services and education to help combat Namibia s high rate of HIV/AIDS. No matter what part of the country the Iowans visited, AIDS was always at the top of the challenges mentioned by pastors and church leaders. According to Pflibsen, the Namibian churches are in the front line to find answers and solutions regarding AIDS and the fallout for the children whose parents have died or are too ill to care for them. The churches offer social ministry through clinics that test for AIDS, treat patients, hand out medications, and educate families. They are losing a good portion of a generation of adults, and a lot of children are left with no family, Pflibsen explains. Remaining family members become responsible for lots of children, and children who have no family support struggle just to survive. Patricia Shaw, pastor at Zion in Rockford and St. Paul in Marble Rock, says that she was especially touched by the response from a pastor at Rehoboth when he was asked about the street children. The pastor told the group that they don t have street children because everyone in Namibia is part of a family. He explained that if you categorize people, it s okay not to deal with the problem, Shaw says. Instead, they do everything they can to bring people into a family their biological family or church family. Like so many churches in the U.S., finances are also an issue for churches in Namibia where the national unemployment rate is nearly 40 percent (AllAfrica.com). In addition, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), located 6 Making a Difference Winter

5 in the south, will lose a major source of income as it reduces its support from the German Lutheran Church and moves toward greater financial independence. The Namibian churches face many of the same challenges as churches in Iowa, such as stewardship, attendance and youth programs. One Namibian pastor asked Shaw how to involve youth in the church beyond singing in choirs, such as through Bible camps. "The pastor was open to conversation about different ways to spread the gospel," Shaw says. During a one-hour ride in the back of a pickup truck, Shaw says that a high school girl wanted to know how teachers and youth witness about Jesus in American schools, and if the teachers have Bible reading in the schools. The pastor was full of ideas about how to reach out to young people about Jesus, Shaw says. To try to explain why we don t have that kind of education in public schools was difficult. She saw a way that more young people could learn about Jesus. How can local churches get involved? Since the ELCA Companion Synod program began, Northeastern Iowa churches and families have hosted visiting guests, pastors and seminary students from Namibia. The Synod has provided scholarships to Pr. Troy Pflibsen, Steve Fritz and Pr. David Grant point to one of the many connections to Iowa they saw while visiting Namibia in May. Namibian students enrolled at Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque and supported others attending Wartburg College and Luther College. Wherever we went in Namibia, it seemed there was always someone who had a connection to Iowa and the ELCA, says Grant. Several individuals from the Northeastern Iowa Synod have visited Namibia through the years, but the trip in May was the first time that Synod members visited the country as a group. The trip also marked the Synod s first visit to Northern Namibia and churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. A few Iowa churches have developed their own companion relationships, and the first was Zion Lutheran of Clear Lake. About every couple years, Zion has sent a team to visit its partner church in Bethanie, Namibia, or brought a group from there to Iowa. Steve Fritz, who served as director of Benevolent Ministries at Zion and once lived in Namibia as a missionary, traveled with the Northeastern Iowa Synod group to Namibia in May. He shared his knowledge and love of the country to serve as the group s sometime guide and driver. Steve was an invaluable member of the group with his knowledge of Namibia and his background in international ministries, Larson says. Fritz s continuing travels meant that he was unavailable to comment for this article, but Zion Pastor Dean Hess credits Fritz with strengthening Zion s companion partnership. He brought a strong perspective and helped mature our congregation in many ways to 8 Making a Difference Winter

6 have a greater sensitivity to global issues, Hess says. Our dialogue with our partner church in Namibia has awakened our sense of responsibility for how we consume and care for the earth, and how we understand people in general and the concerns and struggles they have. More Iowa churches are starting relationships with Namibian churches, including Grant s church in West Union where the children have initiated a pen pal relationship with Sion Parish in Otjiwarongo, Namibia. We re learning how to be friends across the ocean and companions on the journey, with Jesus leading the way, Grant says. Lily, nine-year-old baptized member of Zion Lutheran in West Union, is the proud recipient of the first letter from Namibia as part of Zion s pen pal relationship with Sion Lutheran in Otjiwarongo, Namibia. He emphasizes that the companion relationship isn t about feeling sorry and sending money. It s about sharing strengths and weaknesses, and joys and sorrows, and that s hard for us Americans to hear, Grant says. We always want to do something rather than receive something. Namibia has much to teach us and share with us. We need their fire, their spark. Pflibsen says that he also wants to engage his congregation in a relationship with the people of Namibia. We re changed by engagement with other people, he says. Prayer is a big part of that, and so is sharing resources and ideas at the congregational level. Shaw agrees with the value of developing a relationship with others. From my perspective, the more we can go out to people in the world, the closer we will come to resolving our differences, she says. When we get to know people, we re on a different place to live in harmony. Koob adds, The trip was a remarkable experience, and I would encourage anyone who has a chance, to visit or to host a guest pastor when they re here. Take advantage to learn as much as you can about this incredibly fascinating country. Note: Visit to view full color photos from the May 2009 trip to Namibia. Take My Smile Back Pastor Sandra Kimm, of the Alpha Church in Karibib, Namibia, had one request for the Iowans who visited her church last May: Take my smile back to the U.S. That simple request summarizes the joy that members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church throughout Namibia feel for their Lutheran partners in Northeast Iowa. Members of the Northeastern Iowa Synod who visited the companion churches in Namibia earlier this year would like to take those smiles on the road to your church, club or organization. Their colorful presentation shares how the people of Namibia view the church as the center of their lives and how they live their Christian faith with enthusiasm and joy, no matter what struggles they may face. To schedule a free presentation, call the Northeastern Iowa Synod Office at Making a Difference Winter

7 Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia Three national Lutheran church bodies serve Namibia in mutual cooperation under the United Church Council formed in Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia German Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCIN-GELC) For more information about the Companion Synod Program Contact: Rev. Nancy Larson P.O. Box 804 Waverly, IA Phone: To contribute to synod ministries Send checks to: Northeastern Iowa Synod, ELCA P.O. Box 804 Waverly, IA