March Greetings!

Richard Ondicho’s Newsletter 1/2023

Beloved in the Lord, I am pleased to write this first newsletter in 2023. The year 2022 is gone and 2023 is here now. Kirsi, Amos, Eliel Sinuhe and I have been healthy, and we thank God for that. Besides, we have challenges of upbring of teenagers. We keep on praying that God’s word will help the children here.

Thanks to God that we are starting Lent season. To me I keep on teaching my congregation concerning Lent season mostly at the Bible study and it is not easy to explain to those who come from Islam or have grown in Islam culture. At times I feel as if I am planting and will never see the harvest of the seeds of the word of God in changing the new converts into full understanding of our Lutheran teachings. But I must push on and repeat again and again.

Since we are at the beginning of the year, I wish to share with you the progress of my work. By God’s grace our Sunday school teacher have managed to organize themselves to share the teaching schedules. So far, we have had seven Sunday school teacher who have truly invested their time to teach. Families with children have remained faithful in attending our weekly Sunday Divine service. I am encouraged that they seems to be more focused than any other time of our Congregation and so we pray that more families will join our Divine services. Two Sundays ago two young children ages 4 were baptized. It is one sign that the Lord is continually enlarging his family at Luther-Church.

Thirdly, our weekly Bible studies have remain stead in terms of attendance. Now I could see that gradually the hardest questions are coming out and we are able to talk freely and get the answers from the Bible. At the same time most of those who have applied for asylum have received negative feedback and so I have started from zero to guide them and write updated
pastor’s statements concerning their commitment in our weekly activities. Like now some who came to Finland seeking aslum at the age of 19 are now 27 years old. The shade tears when explaining that their youthful age has ended in waiting and what is not funny is that Migri states that these people are not truly Christian. Even those who are born in Christian families nobody knows what is in their hearts. Matters of faith is something complicated and cannot be touched scientifically but that is Migri writes in their rejection statements. I however continue to encourage them and give him hope that they can appeal.

Thanks for your faithfulness for your prayer and financial support for this mission work here. Please pray that God will intervene with these converts and that in the end it is God to be glorified for work with us.

God’s blessings to you all.