Rockrohr notes...

Hello from Pretoria, South Africa! We landed on 21 January, so we have been in Africa  for 10 days now. This is just a brief note to say we are doing well. Ted is in his second week of school at Waterkloof House Preparatory School. Making friends, playing Cricket, etc. Deborah has been doing a lot of planning for the new deaconess program, from adjusting some of LTS’s student rules and regs to help accommodate for women deaconess students, to making sure the deaconess dorm is ready, to writing courses. I have been busy with church and seminary meetings and other activities learning about the seminary and the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA). Also some training sessions for working with University of Pretoria courses. Our seminary courses begin next week.

Deb and I attended a funeral of young Lutheran pastor with Bishop Weber and many pastors and leaders of the LCSA on Saturday. Very meaningful to be with fellow Christians in a very different place… yet also similar event. The pastor left behind a young wife with three children.

I will put up more photos soon. In many ways our transition has been very smooth and blessed. Thank you for your prayers. Pray for our continued adjustments, making new friends, understanding the work, and good health. Thank you to many back in the U.S. who are helping us with things there! Carl

Thanks to our colleagues at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis for the front page article of our near departure… www.lcms.org

Also thanks for the nice blog post from Rev. Gregory Williamson, the new Chief Mission Officer of the LCMS.

Our departure is very soon. (Maybe January 20th?) We are moving and packing the last things, while also making support-raising visits in Indiana (Deborah) and Florida (Carl at LHM ROC) this weekend. So our schedule has been very busy.

Prayer Requests

• That South Africa Visa processing and support-raising continue in their positive direction.
• For good transitions for each of us:

• Ted will be entering his new school in South Africa into 7th grade. We pray he will learn the new school environment and make new friends!
• Deborah wants to be a good support and instructor as she directs the 1st cohort of full-time, residential deaconess students at Lutheran Theological Seminary. (The residential deaconess training is a brand new endeavor for the Lutherans in South Africa and for LCMS missionary work!) Some of the students will be from other African countries, so we want them also to feel welcome as strangers in a new country.
• Carl has several courses to prepare and teach right away and needs the Lord’s wisdom and guidance so that the courses are a blessing to the students. He also will be assisting Bishop Weber as needed with activities in the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa. Pray for a good start of Carl’s work.

Financial Support

We continue to need to raise support in the coming weeks and months. Many gifts and pledges have enabled us to move to South Africa, but our long-term stay depends on building a strong  base of donors. It is never too late to give financial support!

• Online giving at this link or see our page at www.lcms.org/rockrohr
• You can call  in a gift or pledge at 1-800-433-3954  or 1-888-930-4438 (ext 2)
• Or send a check or money order made out to LCMS World Mission, indicating “for the Rockrohrs” on the memo line of the check.     LCMS World Mission  P.O. Box 790089   St. Louis, MO 63179-0089

The menu on this website leads to a number of resources to learn about and to support our work in South Africa. Keep checking back at www.rockrohr.net, we will keep you posted with new events!

Thanks for all your support! Carl