And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God.Acts 17:26–27a

Undaunted by a steady downpour, red slippery mud and ever-shrinking dirt roads, we made our way through the back roads near Dapaong, Togo, to visit a local congregation. John’s continued travels to west Africa allowed him to meet Rev. Lamon and other leaders of the Lutheran Church of Togo (ELT).

Started in the early 1980s by missionary Rev Walter DeMoss from Ghana, the ELT continues to grow. Initial LCMS missionaries began simply by living and sharing the Gospel in a few small villages. Today, the Lutheran Church of Togo continues to plant churches. Togo is also the center of Lutheran pastoral training in French-speaking west Africa via the Centre Lutherien d’Etudes Theologiques seminary, which supports students from eight French speaking nations and is managed by an Africa director.

We were hosted by LCMS area director Rev. Gary Schulte and his wife. John was able to visit locations for LCMS missionaries Rev. Jacob Gaugert, Rev. Micah Wildauer and Valerie Stonebreaker, as well as current and future projects. We’re looking forward to visiting again soon!

John Wolf is the Africa Region Project Manager for the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. He and his family, with the support of LCMS churches like Saint John’s, are serving in Kenya. Please keep them in your prayers! We encourage you to follow their family blog, www.hereiamsendmesendme.blogspot.com, which is also where you can sign up to their mailing list and make donations.