Mantey (Africa) Update – January 2024

January, 2024

Serving the Lord in Africa
News from Mark & Megan Mantey

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

~ Colossians 3:16

Participants traveled from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Madagascar for a liturgical workshop in Rwanda

Africa Luther Academy for French Speakers

As we have been in Kenya for almost a year, we are fully immersed in our roles. Within that, Megan has been working with Luther Academy steadily, developing conferences for African church bodies. Most recently, Megan has worked with Lutheran church bodies in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Rwanda, and Togo for French-speaking music and liturgical workshops to learn about a new Lutheran French hymnal, Edition Africaine.

This year, we were able to coordinate a French-speaking workshop in Rwanda. Rwanda has few French-speaking people now, but since we regularly work with the Lutheran Mission Africa- Synod of a Thousand Hills (LMA-STH), they agreed to host the workshop. So, we invited people from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the workshop, as it is not always feasible for a missionary or instructor to travel to those locations. We partnered with Lutheran Heritage Foundation (LHF) to print and ship the hymnals to Rwanda and Togo.

We were also grateful that representatives from the Lutheran church in Madagascar (one of the largest in the world) could participate in the liturgical workshop. Since they’re an established church body, the Malagasy can serve as mentors and leaders to some developing church bodies within the interior of Africa. We praise God for the opportunity to bring people together to praise Him and glorify His name.

Participants discussing seminar material at the Ambassadors of Reconciliation conference in Rwanda

Life & Ministry Update

In East Africa, during the Christmas season, many people travel to visit family, and work often slows down. So, we welcomed a quieter Christmas, as it gave us the opportunity to rest. We were able to connect with other LCMS missionaries and enjoy the Christmas season within Nairobi.

Mark has been focused on business-related tasks at the East Africa Field Office. He regularly engages in activities that assist missionaries with projects, work visas, and budgets. His work directly frees up the missionaries to share the Gospel and also allows the LCMS mission in Africa to do work in good order.

Before Christmas, Megan traveled to Uganda with an LCMS representative to attend the Lutheran Church of Uganda’s (LCU’s) church elections. Attending their convention shows support and partnership and allows the LCU to strengthen relationships with the bishops and church bodies that attended. Megan was grateful to participate and see old friends within the LCU.

Additionally, Megan traveled to Rwanda to teach alongside Ambassadors of Reconciliation (AoR). AoR had taught in Rwanda in 2019, so the Lutheran Mission Africa – Synod of a Thousand Hills (LMA-STH) was happy to welcome back AoR to train pastors, deaconesses, and evangelists in reconciliation work. We are thankful for these ministry opportunities and that the Holy Spirit guides our work!

Please Pray for:

African countries exploring how Luther Academy best works for their needs
Mark’s Kenyan work permit process
Health and wellness as we serve
Welcoming new missionary families serving on the African continent
Upcoming travel for both Mark and Megan

Give thanks for:

The opportunity to rest over the Christmas break
A successful Luther Academy conference with Ambassadors of Reconciliation in Rwanda
The Lutheran Church of Uganda’s recent church elections in December
The LCMS Africa region missionaries as we live alongside and serve God’s people