LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 23

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
so more might have the Word of our Lord placed into their ears as
it’s carried along on musical notes.
The work of the Asia Region is focused on the goal of church
planting. We continue to stand on the shoulders of previous generations of missionaries who came before us in the most historic mission fields of our Synod. Because of the work of those who preceded us, and because the Lord saw fit to bless their efforts, OIM Asia
works almost exclusively through and with partner churches. So
our efforts are not direct church planting by LCMS missionaries, as
it was in prior days. Today we work at building up the pastors and
people of the partner churches so they can do the work of church
planting. We educate them so they can share, defend, and confess
the faith. We equip them so their churches can have knowledgeable
laity and clergy who understand and appreciate the Scriptures and
the Lutheran Confessions. We lead and support resource projects so
they can have theological works in their own languages. One of the
foremost resource requests from partners is for their own Lutheran
Hymnal akin to our Lutheran Service Book. We are currently leading such hymnal projects in Indonesian, Chinese, and Tamil, while
much of the foundational work for one in Japanese is already done.
All of the above takes nothing away from the other partnerships
we enjoy. Only space limits preclude the explicit mention of faithful work going on elsewhere in Taiwan and in places like Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand,
Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Papua
New Guinea. Your OIM Asia missionaries are busy doing the work
given to them by our church and by our partners. All of it is aimed
toward bringing more people to join us around the banquet table of
our Lord Jesus for all eternity, washed clean in the waters of Baptism, forgiven by the Word of the Absolution, and fed by the body
and blood of the Supper.
The last four years have been as tumultuous in Asia as they have
been anywhere in the world. Through it all, the Lord has been gracious and merciful. He has continued to bless the efforts of your
Asia Region missionaries as they work to Spread the Gospel, Plant
Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy. We are not without our challenges, but we are also not without our Lord Jesus, who comes to
us, meeting us in His Means of Grace. No matter what comes in this
complex, confusing, wonderful part of the globe, we send out the
Word, to which is attached the promise that it will not return void.

•

2 days of seminar at the Matango Seminary (regarding a
theology of mercy, the acts of mercy, personal preparation,
etc.); and

•

2 days of seminar with leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Kenya (regarding a theology of mercy, collaboration with partner churches in time of disaster, and responding
to local disasters).

In addition to the above formal training, two Spanish-language
trainers continue to provide local training across the Latin America
Region in Lutheran Early Response Teams (LERT).
Future training plans/goals for the next triennium:
•

A revision of the Spanish LERT manual to better reflect local
response work in the LAC context, particularly in the area of
flood response;

•

A regional disaster-training conference in the Southern Cone
of Latin America, with a mixed emphasis of theological and
practical topics, including muck-out;

•

A consecutive series of regional disaster trainings in the Asia
Region, in collaboration with regional staff and multiple
church partners.

F.2. Disaster Response
From July 2019 through the end of 2022, LCMS Disaster Response provided 23 grants for a total of $1,289,328.70 for projects
in three regions: (1) Latin America and the Caribbean received 5
grants for a total of $722,323; (2) Africa received 13 grants for
a total of $164,305; (3) Eurasia received 5 grants for a total of
$402,700. The larger responses are highlighted below:
•

In Valparaiso, Chile, a disaster-response center,
medical clinic, and Lutheran church were built to serve
an underserved community after catastrophic wildfires
decimated over 3,000 homes. At these facilities, food was
distributed to senior citizens, services such as medical
and dental appointments and Christian counseling were
provided, and weekly church services were conducted.

•

In Haiti, three large churches in the cities of Plaine Martin,
Carre Foure Duclos, and Maniche were rebuilt following
a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in August 2021. Additionally,
through multiple Lutheran churches, over 360,000 meals
were distributed.

•

In Nagercoil, India, Concordia Theological Seminary was
dedicated and blessed in June 2022 after a multiyear project
to rebuild the campus. Over 200 pastors of the IELC and
a contingent of representatives from the LCMS, including
Ross Johnson, Dan Harmelink, Charles Cortright, Jonathan
Shaw, Art Just, and Detlev Schulz were in attendance.

•

In Balboa, Panama, the church was reroofed and the
parsonage rebuilt after significant damage from Hurricane
Iota in November 2020.

•

In Ponce, Puerto Rico, a property was purchased to serve
as a church and mercy center. This property was used for
outreach and mercy work to the victims of Hurricane Maria
and the “earthquake swarm” that left 8,000 people homeless
in the greater Ponce region in 2019 and 2020.

F. Disaster Training and Response
LCMS Disaster Training and Disaster Response have been
tasked by the Synod in convention to respond, in love and with
mercy, to natural and man-made disasters. Disaster Response/
Training staff provides oversight for all disaster-related activities
as subject-matter experts. This is done in consultation with regional
staff and through local partner and affiliate church bodies. Training
in Disaster Response and mercy is provided to regional staff and
partner churches to facilitate effective and timely responses.

F.1. Disaster Training
Our work during the last quadrennium was greatly hampered
as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020. As countries
started opening up, however, we were able to schedule and provide
broad training in Kenya in February 2022. Included with this event
were
•

2 days of missionary training (regarding a theology of mercy,
general disaster-response topics, and personal safety/evacuation while in the field);

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2023 Convention Workbook