Once a week I am privileged to help form 15 men from 11 different countries to become Lutheran pastors through classes at Luther Academy, Riga, joining my LCMS missionary colleagues as we take turns giving lessons over Zoom. Since January, I have been teaching “Lutheran Confessions of Faith,” working through the entire Book of Concord with the men. Next month, all of us will meet for a two-week in-person intensive in Latvia. Traveling there from another European Union country is easy because no visas are required. But what if you live in South Sudan or Tanzania, which are neither in the EU nor have a Latvian embassy? You do what our seminarians Rev. John Riay and Rev. Davis Wowa did (see picture)—traveling all the way to Cairo to obtain their visas for Latvia (plus taking a well-deserved break to visit the Pyramids). Wait a minute… both men are *already* pastors? Why in the world are they attending seminary for four years if they are already ordained? I asked them. Rev. Wowa’s reply: “I was born in a pagan family, the only church I joined was the Lutheran church of central Africa, in 1976, since then I have not joined any other church/ doctrine. I am proud and satisfied with the true teachings of the bible the Luther Academy offers. Am an ordained pastor and the lessons received through Luther Academy lecturers are helping me a lot. I praise God for this opportunity accorded to me.” Rev. Riay noted: “My reason to be a Lutheran pastor is the same reason I become a Lutheran. That is Lutheran remains the only church that maintains the true teachings of the Scripture.” Wow…All of us—faculty and students—at Luther Academy are so grateful for our generous supporters who continue to make the “English stream” of Riga Luther Academy possible—allowing us to spread the Gospel by forming one faithful Lutheran pastor at a time.
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