April 2011 trip to CAR

The Power of Relationships to Open Doors
Mark Warpmaeker, Executive Director

The following may sound like the beginning of a bad joke, but it is really the beginning of a story about the power of relationships and the doors that are opened by them.

In April two bishops, five missionaries, four pastors, and four lay people were waiting in no-man’s land wondering who would let us in. It was the night before Palm Sunday and the 15 of us stood between Cameroon and the Central African Republic (C.A.R.). The border should have closed two hours earlier but our group wasn’t worried. We were certain we would make it through to sleep in Baboua and worship at Lutheran congregations in the C.A.R. We had made it out of Cameroon because Phil Nelson, a Lutheran missionary, knew the border guards and had patiently spent an hour and a half talking with them. We were certain we would make it into the C.A.R. because Pastor Andre Golike, the President of the Lutheran Church in C.A.R., had prepared the border agents for our arrival and was now walking our passports through the various checkpoints.

What could have been a scary or anxious time for our group became an opportunity for us to see the power of trust and relationships. As an organization, Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry is the sum of the relationships that have been built between the partners over a number of years. Through these relationships, God works miracles.

Trust is a key component of any relationship. The border guards listened to Phil and President Golike because they could trust them.

With each trip, each letter, each contribution and each phone call, we at LPGM are working to build and keep your confidence as we ensure that you can trust our global ministry partners. We know God is working miracles through LPGM and we will endeavor to make sure you can trust us with your mission support and energy.

Two and a half hours after first arriving at the border, we finally passed through the last gate into the C.A.R.  As we cleared the gate, cheers went up from our small convoy of vehicles, thanking the guards and President Golike. It was the first of many incredible events we would see on our visit, but it set the tone for the whole trip. We were in Africa to build relationships.

With each gate that opened, God showed us new opportunities to use our gifts and our relationships to carry out God’s mission in the world and get things done.