January/February 2026 issue of Faith & Fellowship

There is a growing desire and conviction from the younger generation to serve in mission―to proclaim and share the love of Jesus among all peoples. 

But I learned over time that while physical building projects were part of the mission work, that was just a small part. The real meat of the work was in building relationships. Nathanael wisely told me that I was not there to make more houses or put up solar panels, but instead to learn what it means to be a light among the Chadians. 

As followers of Jesus, we are all called to missions. We are to be Christ’s witnesses, ambassadors, and disciple-makers. The bigger question is what that mission service looks like for each of us. 

The diverse experiences of our community of foreigners mirror what many missionaries will experience abroad―especially those going to Japan. They will forever be foreigners in that land. And many of the people in our church know, in their own ways, what that’s like.

Even if only some are called to leave their home country, God calls all Christians to follow him. While many of us might prefer a detailed map or a bigger light, God provides what is necessary through his Word: a lamp for our feet and light to our path (Ps 119:105).

The first time I told anyone seriously that I wanted to become a missionary was in 2014. I was just 17, and it was the end of a three-month stay in East Asia with my aunt and uncle who were working there at the time.

Meet the Waldie family, LBIM’s most recent missionaries called to Chad! Todd and Leah have four children and currently live in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where they are members of Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church.

LBIM is excited to share the news of the recently completed and printed resource entitled Les mains à la charrue! (Hands to the Plow!).

I recently returned from a trip to Chad and Cameroon. It was encouraging to see the continuity of the mission work enhanced by innovations of an interdependent partnership between Lutheran Brethren International Mission and the Chad Lutheran Brethren Church.

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the 3/11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in northern Japan. We turned on the 7 o’clock news this morning and watched people standing by the ocean at sunrise, praying for the souls of those lost in the huge tsunami waves.

With the success of a first school, Gethsemane de Meube, established in a village in Chad, there has been an increasing desire for more schools in other villages. In response, the CLB has started a second school: Gethsemane de N’Djamena-Bousso.

Dr. Joel Christenson (Lutheran Brethren Seminary) and I had the privilege to experience this when we participated in the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, held in Seoul, South Korea, September 22-28, 2024.

In early October, a new chapter began for the Gethsemané de Meube school in Chad. The school held its first week of classes for the brand-new junior high class.

On the weekend of September 6-8, Lutheran Brethren International Mission (LBIM) hosted a retreat for former missionary kids at Inspiration Point Christian Camp & Retreat Center in Vining, Minnesota. This time away was meant for those who had spent a portion of their childhood as children of missionaries serving with the Church of the Lutheran Brethren.

The Glimpse Project is a resource that gives you the ability to peek into the life and ministry of our Lutheran Brethren missionaries. New Glimpse Projects of Taiwan and Japan were released this year, along with companion study guides for each series.

When planning began for this year’s biennial convention of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America—themed “Partner in Mission”—it seemed very appropriate to invite the synodical presidents of our international LB synods with which we remain active in mission partnership.

It is Sunday, March 17th, day one of the centennial celebration of the Lutheran Brethren Church of Cameroon. It seems I am dreaming, having just crossed the Logone river this morning from Chad in a wooden canoe.

As the air ambulance landed on the tarmac in Paris, France, I was placed on a gurney and rushed to a major hospital in downtown Paris. The icy February air bit at my cheeks, so different from the balmy warm air of Bokoro, Chad, where I’d been just a few days earlier.

In late 2023, LBIM was blessed to facilitate, for the first time ever, a global LBIM missionary retreat. Our missionary families from Chad, Japan, and Taiwan made their way to the Suan Bua resort outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand.