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Posts by Susan:
Fluegge Family Letter for April
April 20th, 2012Dear friends and family in Christ,
We are moving. For those who haven’t heard, because for some reason or another Glenn’s prayer letter did not reach your inbox via email, website, or facebook page, Glenn was offered a position at Concordia University in Irvine California and he accepted the position. We are excited, sad, scared, frightened, ecstatic, stressed, worried, sorrowful, angry, overjoyed, crestfallen, terrified, fortunate, pleased, glum, overwhelmed, annoyed, glad, gratified, and happy. I’m not sure how many of you know, but three years ago when we were offered the position in South Africa but had to raise funds before moving here I gave Glenn and ultimatum. The funds for us to live in South Africa had to be raised in four/five months (we moved from Togo the end of June and went to the U.S to raise funds and I wanted to be in South Africa by Nov) or I wasn’t going. I knew any longer and I just wouldn’t be able to move again. 4 months is not a long enough time to settle in but anything over 6 is (at least for me). In our first couple of months here people would ask how long we were staying and I would always answer with “at least 11 years because I just can’t move and start over again. I’ve done it one too many times in my short life time and I’m tired”. Yet, here we are, moving again and I trust that God will give me/us the strength, energy, and peace to make it through. He always has and He always will.
I am also not sure how many of you knew of my concerns and prayer requests before coming to South Africa. The list was long and detailed. I sit here in amazement at how He answered every one (especially in regards to our support and those who support us). One of my concerns was for Abigail. I really wanted her to find that one friend, her kindred-spirit. God gave her Hannah. They get along so amazingly that her English teacher is concerned that Abigail and Hannah are having way too much fun in English class. They aren’t rude, disruptive, or disrespectful and both of them are getting really good grades so I’m not too worried. God also gave her Miriam (not just one kindred-spirit but two!). Miriam is the daughter of a close family friend from church. The two of them (Hannah and Miriam) have been a huge blessing in Abigail’s life.
Enough of the sappy stuff! Opa and Oma came for a visit over Easter break! Opa and Oma are August and Bettie Fluegge, the parents of Glenn. The only down part was not having enough time. In order to see and experience all that South Africa has to offer (people, culture, rich history, beautiful landscape, wineries, and animal reserves/game parks) one needs to fly into Capetown, rent a car, and spend four to five weeks driving around. We had 10 days and four of those were taken up with “Easter weekend”. However, we did make it to an animal reserve. Within the first five minutes we saw three lions (2 female and 1 male) eating/guarding a recent kill. We sat and watched for about a half hour. We left as one of the females dragged the baby wildebeest carcass into the bush.
(On a side note there were some people in our car more enthused over the car next to us that had “broken” down. They were expecting the poor man to get out of his car, the lion see him and attack. Thankfully this did not happen. Some safari vehicles blocked the broken down car from the view of the lions while they jumpstarted the car)
Our other “excitement” for the day was Glenn “playing” with a hippo. We wanted to see more than the hippo’s ears so Glenn took some rocks and threw them into the water to make some noise and ruckus. It worked. The hippo started moving, straight towards the car. We all got a little excited (Eliana was terrified) as Glenn tried to get the van moving while forgetting to release the parking brake. However, the hippo could have cared less about us. He moved right on past the spot where we were and headed as far away from us as possible. Eliana has been scarred for life. I don’t think she wants to see another hippo again as long as she lives. We also had the privilege of seeing a group of elephants playing in the mud, a couple of rhino, and giraffes. And, yes, we saw the usual deer like animals (impala, kudu, springbok….) and lots of birds. I also took them to one of the diamond mines here in South Africa and we did some souvenir shopping. All in all it was a great visit and I am thankful they came and were able to see where we have lived the past couple of years and meet the people we hang out with and work with.
Samuel scored a try in the rugby game played this past weekend (14th) against a school in Pieter-Maritzburg. Usually the teams from Boys High get creamed when playing Pieter-Maritzburg but Samuel’s team lost by only 1 try. They scored 3 try’s (one of them being Samuel’s) and the other team scored 4. In Rugby a try is worth 5 points and the kick afterwards is worth 2 points. That is all I will say on Rugby because I still don’t really understand the game. Really wish I could have been there to see Samuel make the try but Pieter-Maritzburg is just too far away from Pretoria for us to make it there to watch the games.
Everyone else in the family is doing well. They are enjoying their school, their friends, and their sports. Glenn is really enjoying trying to sell cars, dogs, appliances etc. while trying to write his proposal for his doctorate and learn German and Latin well enough to do his research.
I included a picture of Samuel on the rugby field with his scrum cap on plus a couple of pictures of our wonderful friends and co-workers in South Africa who have played with, supported us, spent time with us, helped us out and have even gone on vacations with us. We are going to really, really miss them all!
In Christ
Susan Fluegge
(Glenn, Samuel, Abigail, Caleb, Jesse, and Eliana)
Samuel on the rugby field in his scrum cap
Fluegge Update
April 11th, 2012Dear friends in Christ,
Greetings in the name of the risen One!
It seems that God is leading us in a new direction and we wanted to let you know. After prayerful consideration Susan and I have decided to accept the Call to Concordia University, Irvine, CA.
As in any decision of this magnitude, there are many reasons for it and I can’t go into all of them. Most importantly, however, we are convinced that God is calling us to His service through this Call and are excited about serving Him in this new capacity. As assistant professor of theology at CU, I will be able to continue teaching theology which is something that I love. Perhaps even more fulfilling, as co-director of the Cross-Cultural Ministry Center at CU I will be able to continue training pastors – another passion of mine. This Center works in close collaboration with Concordia Seminary, St. Louis to train pastors for cross-cultural ministries in the U.S. Through this program students receive a MA in Theology and are also prepared for ordination into the ministry of the LCMS. In many ways, I’ll be doing the same thing I’ve been doing for so many years, but this time in the States. And, of course, another benefit after living so long “on the other side of the planet” is that it will be nice to be a “bit” closer to family.
In terms of future plans, we will remain with LCMS World Mission through the end of June 2012. I will continue to work with theological education in French-speaking Africa, while also focusing attention on my PhD work among other responsibilities. I will be traveling to the seminary in Togo to teach an intensive course on “Early Church History” from May 28 – June 8. We will stay until our children finish mid-term exams and then leave South Africa towards the end of June. I will then start at Concordia University on July 1. We will try to continue to keep you up to date on our work through the end of our time with LCMS World Mission.
Dear friends, we have been serving the Lord in Africa for nearly 14 years. As we look back we are awed by how the Lord took care of us. Please join us in thanking God! One of those ways, of course, was the faithful support of so many of you – some of you have even been with us throughout all of those past 14 years! I cannot begin to describe to you how much that means to us, how assuring it was for us over the years, and how much it brought us through so many challenging times. God has truly been gracious to us through you. We have been and remain forever in your debt.
The Peace of the RISEN Lord be with you,
Glenn Fluegge
________________________
Rev. Glenn Fluegge, MDiv, MS Education
LCMS World Mission
Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane
Pretoria, South Africa
Tel/Fax: +27 12 368 1751
Cel: +27 72 163 3171
Prayer Letter
March 31st, 2012Dear friends in Christ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ during this Lenten season as we eagerly await the celebration of His Easter Victory!
Did you see the DVD?
A few apologies are in order for which your understanding would be most kindly appreciated. First, I apologize for the long delay since we last wrote. We have been waiting on certain developments pertaining to our future (see below). Second, Susan and I apologize for not being able to visit with many of you during our “home-stay” in the U.S. over Christmas. We were only able to stay in the States for 4 weeks during Dec-Jan because of the school schedules in South Africa. Unfortunately, that meant that we could not visit with many of you as we would have liked to. Nonetheless, Susan and I (okay – more Susan than I) put together a DVD during our time in the States and mailed it out to many of you. I hope you had a chance to take a look at it. Our hope was to give you a glimpse, brief though it may be, of the work that God has called us to over the past two years. If you want us to send you a copy of this DVD, please don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail.
Prayer Request – Togo Seminary administrator needs Urgent Surgery
Mr. Pierre Abey, the administrator for the seminary in Togo (CLET), is currently in the hospital awaiting emergency back surgery. We found at last week from a letter sent to friends of the CLET. Apparently, Pierre has been suffering for some time from sharp back pains and last week the pain not only intensified, but he is experiencing paralysis in one of his legs. After being evacuated from the seminary (in the far north of Togo) to the capital city, Lome (in the far south), it was determined that he needed immediate back surgery. Seeing as there is no doctor in Togo who can do the surgery, he will soon be evacuated to Benin, the neighboring country to the East. Please keep Pierre in your prayers – that God will guide the surgeon’s hands, that the surgery will be successful (there is a possibility of permanent paralysis), that Pierre regain full movement in both legs and be free from pain, and that God will bring him back to the CLET where his work is crucial for seminary’s well-being. Pierre and I worked together for many years during our time in Togo and he’s a good friend of ours. Thanks for your prayers. Also, several of us (missionaries and friends of the seminary) have donated funds to help cover this expensive surgery. If you might be interested in helping out, please let me know
Prayer Request – Call to serve at Concordia University – Irvine, CA
Finally, Susan and I ask for your prayers as we consider a call that I have received to serve at Concordia University (Irvine, CA) as Assistant Professor of Theology and Co-director of the Cross-cultural Ministry Center. Accepting this call would allow me to continue teaching and training pastors in/for multi-cultural ministries, which is a passion of mine. However, it would also lead our family in a new direction and would require us to leave the African mission field. Please pray that God grant us wisdom and guidance at this time.
The Peace of the Lord be with you,
Glenn Fluegge
________________________
Rev. Glenn Fluegge, MDiv, MS Education
LCMS World Mission
Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane
Pretoria, South Africa
www.revglennfluegge.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Fluegge-Family-in-Africa/112878042061437
Ce n’est plus moi qui vis, mais c’est Christ qui vit en moi… Gal 2:20
Fluegge Family Letter 24-Feb-2012
February 24th, 2012“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:2-5
Dear Family and Friends in Christ-
It’s been a couple of months. \”/ Things were a bit “crazy” around the end of Nov. with Glenn traveling to Togo, children having final exams, Abigail starting with Tuks swim club, her swim galas (swim meets) and her graduation from grade 7, ending the school year (2011) while preparing for the beginning of the next one (2012), and leaving for CA for a month stay. Then we hit the ground running when we arrived back in South Africa as school for my Crawfordians had already started and I didn’t “prepare” for the beginning of school before leaving for CA as well as I should have. We all survived and I think we are finally getting into the swing of things.
California was amazing. The kids had so much fun playing and spending time with their Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, and cousins. Eliana still talks about spending the night (it was her first time spending the night with anyone – that she can remember) with her cousins Logan, Paige, and Eva and that is the first thing she is going to do the next time we are in California. The weather was absolutely gorgeous the entire time and that made it even better as the kids spent an incredible amount of time outside, running around and exploring the hills behind the house we were staying in. It was just nice to have the entire Fluegge family together and to spend time with them. We miss our family!
Samuel has joined a rock climbing club with his school (pretoria boys high) but will have to end that shortly as Rugby season starts in less than two weeks (march 5 is the beginning of try-outs). He really does enjoy rock climbing but with the amount of boys climbing with the club he spends more time on the ground watching and waiting than he does climbing. This has been frustrating for him.
Abigail is still swimming. She swims 5 days a week for over an hour and it has been good for. She has also started with music. This year as an option class she did not want to do art so we are trying music. She has a music class with her school and then does piano lessons once a week. It’s been really nice hearing the keyboard being played every day. (wishing I had a piano…) Abigail enjoys music and so is enjoying “making” some of her own.
Caleb is in gymnastics twice a week with a club. He is also doing class music as an option instead of art and I have become his “piano” teacher. We are getting along just fine…I think.
Jesse also does gymnastics twice a week with Caleb. He is also swimming 3 days a week at Crawford. The coach has put him with the grade 2′s (Jesse has just started grade 1) and that has been an adjustment. The grade ones spend most of their swim time hanging on the side of the pool or using kick boards. The grade 2′s spend most of their time swimming laps with no help and when they touch the side they are reprimanded. It’s been nice to see Jesse’s freestyle go from flailing to even strokes. He is tired in the evenings after swimming and that has been nice. Finally he using up all that energy that he has.
Eliana has started in pre-school and she loves it. Everyone is her friend and I find that very cute but miss having her at home.
A year ago my parents were here spending six months with us. We truly miss having them around.
The question of giving up something for Lent came up this morning at the breakfast table. It has been decided by the family that we are going to give up smoking. The decision was unanimous.
Peace be to you through-out this lenten season
Susan Fluegge
(Glenn, Samuel, Abigail, Caleb, Jesse, Eliana)
MOVIE – Ordination in Togo (Nov 26, 2011)
December 1st, 2011Dear friends in Christ,
Six days of traveling in planes and buses from the bustling city of Pretoria, South Africa to the remote village of Nano, Togo was nothing compared to the celebration this past Saturday, Nov 26. Five of my former students were ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry. Singing, worshipping, drumming, dancing, praising the Lord – What a privilege and honor it was to be present at such a special occasion, to be able to lay my hands on the heads of these former students and pray God’s blessing on their future ministries.
It is impossible to capture the magnitude of such an event, but Susan has tried by putting together this video: http://youtu.be/4F1tuXrY8ps (Is it even possible to keep your foot from tapping as you listen to the African drums?)
In the United States, such events take place quite often and the ceremony normally happens in the calling church. Here in Togo things are different. First, the ordination of pastors does not happen often. It is not easy to make it through the rather tedious study program of the Lutheran seminary in Togo and even more difficult to satisfy the requirements of the vicarage. Once this is done, a congregation must call the soon-to-be pastor and agree to support him. Then, it’s not done in private – rather the entire national church gathers together to celebrate the festive occasion with several pastors being ordained at the same time. All of the pastors come from all over to participate. God has called servants into His ministry and that’s worth celebrating. (Such widespread celebration is in itself a tool for evangelizing the surrounding community and helping congregation members understand the importance of supporting their pastors and the ministry).
After a rather precarious ride in a fragile taxi (see the video!), we arrived at the public school in Nano (none of the churches would have big enough to hold the huge crowd) and the preparations began. I saw faces beaming as I took out the stoles and crosses and told them that these were gifts donated by many of you (the crosses had arrived in the mail the day before!). It felt good to share your kindness with these pastors, to see how much it was appreciated, and to tell them that these things were a token of your prayers on their behalf.
The service started around 9:00 and ended somewhere around 2:00 – but who was keeping track of time anyway? The ceremony was what mattered and could not be rushed. Church president Rev. Lamboni conducted the ordination liturgy and the candidates swore before God and all of us as witnesses their commitment to faithfully fulfill their ministries until their “heure dernière” (last hour). Each new pastor was “étolé” by a fellow pastor (the putting on of a pastoral stole).They then knelt and time was given to each of us to lay our hands on the head of each new pastor, recite a verse, and give a blessing. My verse to my former students was 2 Cor 3:5-6, for nothing worthwhile we do in the ministry comes from us – it is all from God. The ceremony was far from over. We were asked to give advice to the new pastors. As their former “prof,” I gave them two words – in Greek (just to keep them thinking!): “doulos” (slave of Christ) and “typos” (model of Christ) – both are biblical words that Paul uses to describe himself as God’s minister. But the ceremony was still not over. Now it was time for the church members to participate and show their appreciation to God for giving them these new pastors. One by one, each new pastor was called by name to stand in the middle of the huge assembly. Then, to the beat of drums and rhythm of singing, people lined up to give gifts, hug, and congratulate each new pastor. The air was full of dust from the dancing and celebrating. The ceremony closed with prayers and a final blessing after which we were graciously offered a plate of rice and goat meat.
Please join with us in praying for these five new pastors and their ministries: Rev. Tchimbiandja Blaise, Rev. Tame Gothma, Rev. Nankobi Lari, Rev. Djatoite Likebongue, and Rev. Dabirsoa Jean-Lare. They were my students. What a blessing that I can now call them my brothers in the ministry.
I want to sincerely thank you for your prayers and support that made this important trip possible. And a special thanks from me and all of the pastors of the Lutheran Church of Togo for those of you who donated crosses and stoles for this occasion. Not only were the five new pastors able to benefit from your kindness, but other pastors as well. I’ve tried to include some photos of it.
The Lord bless and keep you,
Glenn
Prayer Requests
November 20th, 2011Dear friends in Christ,
Please pray with us for the following two things:
1) A fellow-worker and dear friend, Tim Heiney, has just recently been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on one of his kidneys. Please pray with us that God will grant him healing and comfort. Tim and his wife, Beth, are long-time missionaries in Africa (over 25 years I believe). He is currently a missionary in Guinea working among Muslims and also Area Facilitator for French-speaking West Africa. They had just returned to Africa after a furlough in the states and now must return to the states so that Tim can receive proper care. The “cancer” word can cause uncertainty and fear, so we ask for comfort and assurance for their entire family and that God would guide the doctors and bring Tim back to full health so that he continue to do God’s work in Africa.
2) Please also pray for my trip next week to Togo to attend the ordination of five former students. I will be leaving on Wednesday and returning on Tuesday of the following week. Pray for safe, hassle-free travel and that God use me to be an encouragement to our friends and co-workers in Togo. The entire seven day trip will consist of four days of travel by plane and two full days of bus travel and one day attending the ordination (six days of travel and one day of celebration!). Such is life of a missionary when working in rural Africa. Pray that God grant me strength and health.
We are deeply grateful for your prayers right now, my friends.
The Peace of the Lord be with you,
Glenn
Fluegge Family Letter 17-Nov-2011
November 19th, 2011Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with the resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! Psalm 150
Greetings from Pretoria-
We haven’t been up to too much since I last wrote. Jesse’s grade 00 class had it’s annual sports day. The four different grade 00′s competed against each other in several different races involving balls, sacks, spoons, potatoes, and water. They also had a few tug-of-wars. Jesse’s class won for the boys but came in second for the whole class tug-of-war. He had fun and I had fun watching him.
Abigail was given half-colors for swimming. I still haven’t figured out the whole colors thing or why she was awarded half-colors. One of these days it will all make sense to me. She was also given the award for the most improved swimmer of the year. I am really grateful to her swim coaches who saw fit to give her both awards. I believe that she has done her best this year with swimming. We have also put her in a swimming club. At the moment this just means more hours in the pool with more help/instruction. It also means more taxi driving for me.
The grade 3′s had their annual spring concert. I did not attend as I was busy attending another function. Because of this I am not able to say anything about it. Glenn did go and he took many pictures and video and from what I can gather the production had something to do with our wonderful planet. Here is the link to some video footage on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJSroXCgYSg hopefully that link works. I will check it out to make sure.
Glenn’s students came for dinner. We did an American barbecue and had steak, baked potatoes, and salad. I let Eboro (the student from Nigeria) use my keyboard and everyone sat around singing while we waited for the steak to cook. It was fun and I am glad we did it. The kids were really disappointed because I had made 3 different desserts and not a single one of them was left.
One of Samuel’s friends invited Samuel to a resort for a weekend. It was a birthday present from his parents. That is right. Four young teenage boys were let loose at a resort for three days. They caused mischief and mayhem, had an amazing time and no one got hurt or in trouble. I am thankful Samuel was able to have this time with his friends.
Both Samuel and Abigail are in the middle of exams. Please pray for them. They need to be able to stay focused and remember all they have learned and studied so that they can do well on their end of the year exams.
For now that is all my news. Hopefully the next letter will be a bit more exciting. We have less than 20 days before we head to CA. Yes, I am counting the days. The hours will come later.
In Christ
Susan Fluegge
(Glenn, Samuel, Abigail, Caleb, Jesse, Eliana)
Fluegge Family Letter 27-Nov-2011
October 27th, 20111. The will of God is always best and shall be done forever; and they who trust in Him are blest; He will forsake them never. He helps indeed in time of need; He chastens with forbearing. They who depend on God, their friend, shall not be left despairing. 2. God is my comfort and my trust, my hope and life abiding; and to His counsel, wise and just, I yield, in Him confiding. The very hairs, His Word declares, upon my head He numbers. By night and day God is my stay; He never sleeps nor slumbers. 3. Lord, this I ask, o hear my plea, deny me not this favor: when Satan sorely troubles me, then do not let me waver. O guard me well, my fear dispel, fulfill Your faithful saying: all who believe by grace receive an answer to their praying. 4. When life’s brief course on earth is run and I this world am leaving, grant me to say, “Your will be done,” Your faithful Word believing. My dearest Friend, I now commend my soul into Your keeping; from sin and hell, and death as well, by You the victory reaping.
(lsb #758)
Greetings from Pretoria,
And the time flies and I wonder where it went. And, then I wonder, what happened because I can’t really remember. The days run together with the same monotonous routine. I am so loving it. I like routine and sameness and boring, boring, boring (even though it gives me nothing to write about). However, amongst all this same boringness the Jacaranda’s are blooming adding splashes of beautiful purple to the sameness. I find myself taking detours on school runs just to drive down the streets that are lined with blooming, purple Jacaranda’s. I wish I could capture the amazing beauty of it all but I just haven’t managed it with my camera. The pictures I attached to the end of this letter will have to suffice.
To “spice” things up a bit in our life we took a quick, spontaneous trip to Kruger National Park to view African wildlife. Thanks to some friends we had two tents so everyone had a place sleep, a plug in cooler/freezer to keep our meat from going bad (the cooler plugs into the car and runs on the cars battery so we had it plugged in while we were driving around )and some amazing binoculars so that we could see the wildlife that wasn’t on the side of the road. Our goal was to see the big five (Elephants, rhino’s, lions, buffalo, and leopard) and so we did. Most people don’t get to see a leopard and I had the opportunity to see two of them. The first leopard we saw was just luck. It was at the end of 6 hours on the road seeing the same old thing. Up ahead there were a bunch of cars pulled over and people were pointing a tree. We thought it was just another owl and were going to keep going but at the last minute Glenn decided to pull over and ask someone. They pointed out a leopard sitting in a tree but could only be seen using binoculars. We all took a minute or to look through the binoculars at the behind of a leopard and thought the whole thing totally cool. The other leopard siting was on our night drive. We forked over the money and three of us went on a night drive which proved to be pretty boring with nothing to see until the end. There on the side of the road was a leopard. We could have reached over the side of the safari vehicle and touched it, thats how close we were. Unfortunately, the leopard didn’t stick around long. It was very irritated at being disturbed so it walked off into the bush. I didn’t even have time to fetch my camera out of my jacket pocket.
Some of our other close encounters involved a giraffe, a hippo, and some rhinos. Getting pretty bored with not finding anything Glenn decided to up the speed going from 20 kilometers an hour to 30. Just after hitting top speed we passed by some thick trees and startled a giraffe that was going to cross the road. We startled him and he startled us. We were very lucky that we didn’t hit him. A bit later we came up on a car just sitting in the middle of the road. It was at a standstill because two rhinos were blocking the path. They were just standing there, in the middle of road, staring down the car, daring it to go forward. After about 10 minutes the car won the stare down and the rhinos headed off into the bush. After the first leopard encounter we decided to call it a day and head back to camp. We were not going to stop for any vehicle sitting on the side of road to see what they were viewing because we had seen all we cared to see. Unfortunately, at one point a truck was stopped so Glenn slowed down to go past. We were all looking at the side of the road at the monkeys we thought the truck had stopped for. But, no, the truck had actually stopped because the people inside had spotted a hippo making its way through the bush. Just as Glenn was about to pass the truck a hippo runs out of the bush onto the road and to the other side. I’m not sure why the hippo had left the water and gone so far into the bush but he was in a hurry to get back to the water.
We also watched a hyena “following” an impala and several other hyenas were told, in no uncertain terms, that they were not strong enough to take down a giraffe. The giraffe made it clear he wasn’t worth their time so the hyenas just kept on walking. We also saw two giraffes “fighting”. We call it fighting but we aren’t sure. It was more like some sort of weird neck dance with them butting heads every once in a while. I guess there was a victor as one of the giraffes gave up and walked off to eat lunch.
Our Kruger adventure turned out well and everyone, including Glenn, had a good time. On the way home we drove up and over the “mountains” through Graskop and ate at Harry’s pancakes. I’m glad we took the extra hour to go a different way because the scenery was amazing and we learned a little more about South Africa.
On the family front, term 4 is under way. Samuel is playing water polo, Abigail is swimming, Jesse does whatever the school will offer until 2pm when I pick up the other kids and Caleb is doing gymnastics and chess. Glenn has two more weeks of classes (1 and a half by now) and exam weeks are coming up. We have less than 6 weeks to go before we head back to the U.S. for some family time (and fundraising time). We are counting down the days.
In Christ
Susan Fluegge
(Glenn, Samuel, Abigail, Caleb, Jesse, Eliana)
Commemoration of Dr. Kreiss
October 26th, 2011Dear friends in Christ,
Yesterday morning I sat at my desk and wept. I do not cry often, but I could not help myself.
I had just received news that Rev. Dr. Wilbert Kreiss had died during the night while attending the dedication of the Kiswahili translation of the Book of Concord in Tanzania. My heart is still torn. God has called home to himself his own child and for that I am joyful. But, my friends, I am deeply saddened that we have lost a great man – a man whom God used mightily in Africa to do so much for the Lutheran church on this continent.
The reporter has written an article on Dr. Kreiss, former president of our Lutheran church partner in France. I encourage you to take a look at it: http://reporter.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=19344
But I want to write a few lines from our perspective – from those of us in French-speaking Africa who are, in many respects, his “children.” We are his “children” because so many of us in French-speaking Africa have “grown up” in the Lutheran faith nurtured by him through his frequent visits and numerous writings. Only a few years ago, Dr. Kreiss led a seminar at the Lutheran Seminary in Togo. I was the Academic Dean at the time and felt deeply humbled and privileged to be able to introduce this man to group of around 30 pastors/vicars from all over French-speaking Africa. As I looked out at the pastors from all over Africa, I knew that all of them had been touched by Dr. Kreiss in some way. I introduced him as “Le Vieux” (the Old Man), a term of endearment and deep respect used by the younger ones to address their Elder (it is forbidden among the Moba in northern Togo for “children” to pronounce the name of their grandparents). He was and continues to be for us in Africa “le Grandpère” (the Grandpa) with his gleaming white hair and beard – a sure sign of wisdom for “you can’t buy white hair in the marketplace.”
He was also our “Prof” – exceedingly wise in his understanding of theology. He wrote some 50 books, pamphlets and articles on every conceivable subject ranging from commentaries on individual books of the Bible to his multi-volume Dogmatics to a pastoral theology of marriage. Oh, how many times did we at the Lutheran Seminary in Togo seek out his wisdom as we taught our courses? Our students “grew up” on Kreiss’ wisdom and insight and his faithful commitment to a confessional Lutheran approach despite the liberal opposition from so many corners in the world both in France and in Africa. What amazes me most about our “Prof” was his deeply humble and selfless pastoral approach to writing. He wrote highly academic works such as his multi-volume Dogmatics, which in my opinion surpasses Pieper in its depth and width and applicability to our changing world, and at the same time wrote simplified TEE books for new Christians in Africa who often struggled with the foreign French language. He wrote commentaries on Romans, Philippians, Micah, etc. and at the same time could write an extremely insightful and valuable booklet on marriage which addresses the pressing issues facing our society today. He took the time to translate Luther’s catechism into simple French for those in Africa who might struggle with this foreign language. Our “Prof” did what most theologians nowadays have not been able to do – put back together a theology that has been fragmented and splintered into multiple separate disciplines (exegesis, systematics, historical, practical, etc.). I think he was able to do this because he was pastoral. He wrote not for himself and his own glory. He wrote so that others might come to know the way of salvation – that was his passion and it permeates his writing. He will continue to be our “Prof” for many generations to come.
He was also a Pastor and wanted nothing more than to be called “Pastor.” He took a call even in retirement to a parish and continued his pastoral work. But he was also pastor to all of us in Africa. He was never too busy to answer a hastily written email from a perplexed professor or offer advice on a particularly difficult question. Up until the very end, he would often send me emails in reply to my prayer letters with kind and encouraging words. He knew the ministry – the sacrifices made and the difficulties faced – even when those things were hidden between the lines. And he knew that the real Lutheran way is the lonely way. And so he encouraged me to remain faithful to God and to the mission God has called me to. And I know that he did this for many other servants throughout Africa besides me. What is more, he was not a player of politics. I suppose he had grown beyond that and it made him a particularly encouraging friend, advisor, and pastor. I will miss our “Pastor” dearly.
During his long years of service, Le Vieux, our “Prof” and our Pastor, made some 40 visits to Africa to strengthen the Lutheran Church on this continent. It is without doubt a tremendous hardship on Marguerite, his wife, and on his four daughters that he passed away so far from home. But in a certain way it is also telling that a man whom God used so mightily to build up His Church in Africa might die doing that very thing on the continent that owes so much to him and his ministry. Au revoir, cher Prof, nous te reverrons un jour!
I have not written this to glorify a man and his works in this lifetime. I thank God that He kept Dr. Kreiss until the last moments of this life faithful to Him and to the ministry. I have written this so that we might together glorify God who so graciously gave us such a man and who so caringly nurtured our Lutheran church in Africa through him. The saints are not to be venerated, but they, their service, and their example are to be remembered. I therefore commemorate my “Prof” and pray earnestly that God might raise up others who will give of themselves so selflessly to the Church in Africa. Soli Deo Gloria.
Glenn Fluegge
A Sermon by Pastor Fluegge
September 26th, 2011Dear friends in Christ,
This story comes from the testimony before the tribunal of one of the Hutu soldiers involved in the massacre:
“It was 1994. The Hutus of Rwanda were massacring their fellow Tutsi countrymen. A group of Hutu soldiers comes up to the gate of a Catholic monastery, machetes in their hands. “All the Tutsi separate from the Hutu! We’re here to kill them!” At the same time they break down the gate. The Superior of the monastery approaches them. The soldiers tell him, “It’s simple, separate the Tutsi from the Hutu.” The monk replies, “Here there is neither Tutsi nor Hutu, but children of God.” …The last words of the monks were simple: “We have lived together, we will die together.” All of them were brutally hacked to death by the machetes of the soldiers and the monastery pillaged and ransacked.”
There was a joint service this last Sunday in Pretoria, South Africa between the German-speaking congregation, St. Paul Lutheran, and the international English-speaking congregation, Evangelical Lutheran. I was asked to preach at the service. The above story was part of the introduction to the sermon on Mark 3:31-35 entitled: “Bound together by family ties higher than blood.”
Several of those present at the service have asked us to share the sermon. We thought we might also share it with you. It’s aimed at (South) Africa, but relevant everywhere.
Please click here to watch the sermon: http://gallery.me.com/susanfluegge#100382.
If this link does not work, you can watch the sermon in two parts on YouTube:
Part I: http://youtu.be/dYV1Aw_j93Y
Part II: http://youtu.be/l173qOQpuns
The video is “homemade,” but thanks to Susan, the “videographer,” for putting this together.
Peace,
