Linda and Tom Gapp of Lincoln, who have taken 14 mission trips to Tanzania in East Africa, were the guest speakers at World Day of Prayer held at the Grace Lutheran Church in Cook on Friday, March 6. This year's spotlight was on Nigeria, which is located in West Africa. The verse the Nigerian women chose is Matthew 11:28 “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Linda shared the story of the Gapps' 14 mission trips to Tanzania while Tom showed the slides. Their program emphasized how women in Africa do extensive physical work and live in poverty. Although Nigerian Christians have suffered religious persecution, the women Gapp knows have a faith and live in hope. “They find rest in God.”
Linda gave a history of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. German missionaries came in the 1840's, building churches and schools. After World War II, the Germans left and Tanzania became a British colony. That is why English is spoken in the schools and is the second national language. Swahili is the main language. Tanzania has the second largest Lutheran Church body in the world with seven million members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania provides social services, education, health care, hospitals, dispensaries, and orphanages. The first time the Gapps came to the Mudi Lutheran parish, birds were flying around in the church. Sheridan Lutheran Church in Lincoln provided money for windows and improvements.
