To reach Debora Orphanage in North Sumatra, we travel ten hours along the bumpy road from Medan. When we’re almost there, there’s a deep ravine. Down we go, and labour up the other side, perhaps with the help of a winch if the day is wet. Then we turn down a little track, bump through […]
We’d retired and settled into a quiet life, spending time with the family, working around the house and garden – filling in time quite nicely, thank you very much. Then bang out of nowhere we were thinking about volunteering overseas to teach English. We’d had friends around for dinner and everything was going as normal […]
Helping overseas students fulfil their calling to be bringers of the good news for more than 20 years, the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA), in cooperation with the Australian Lutheran College (ALC), have awarded over 100 scholarships in that time. In offering scholarships to overseas students, the LCA are contributing a great gift to extending […]
On 15 July 2010, after months of preparation, my husband James and I boarded a plane to Indonesia. Having volunteered for overseas service, a request came via the LCA, asking if we would spend a month helping at Elim Orphanage in North Sumatra. They were looking for help with teaching English to the children and […]
My prayer for all of us who call ourselves Lutherans here in Australia is that we will all have “a pain in the gut”! Let me explain…I’m not a great theological scholar so when a pastor challenged me about my understanding of the word “compassion” I fumbled around with words such as “empathy”, “feeling sad […]
At a Strategic Planning Workshop in August, 2008, there was a strong feeling that the Spirit of God was leading Horsham’s Holy Trinity church into an overseas mission partnership. Horsham has a rich history in mission involvement. Even though our region relies heavily on farming and has been through thirteen difficult years, we have much […]
Most of us know about this innovative mission, where used stamps are cleaned, sorted and sold for the best prices, usually ending up overseas. Rita Seidel, a stamp receiver in South Australia, has been saving, cleaning, sorting and packing stamps since she was 15 years old. She is now 86. ‘For some years we have […]
‘Mission is not about written reports: it is about people and hearts and the saving grace of Jesus. It is the work of the Holy Spirit.’ The LCA supports a variety of mission partnerships in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Sabah, China and Cambodia. These include supporting theological education through scholarships, support […]
‘We have good and clean water’. Like the water gushing out of the pipe from the new bore, these words poured out the gratitude and joy of Pastors Alaris and Osten and the people of Hephata, in Laguboti, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Hephata is home to 72 people (ranging from the very young to very old) […]
Amid rice fields and villages, along the furrowed tracks and potholed roads in the Tapanuli region in rural North Sumatra, Indonesia, more than 85 per cent of people are farmers. Many are caught in the enslaving trap of debt to landowners who demand high rent for the use of land, which they need to grow […]