Missions

The other Hindu families in the village were not happy, as they assumed that the god of their village would be angry and curse the entire village. The family was forced to move a neighboring village to escape this anger. After some time, the first villagers came to see if the Raji family had been cursed in some way. People expected them to be sick or to find a death in the family. When that did not happen, more people heard the Gospel message and the church in India was growing! Pr. Raji and his entire family were blessed by God working through Rev. Grumm—what a reunion will occur when they meet again in heaven! But God’s blessing does not stop there! Pr. Raji’s mother dedicated him as a child to be in the Lord’s service, and the Lord took that dedication and made Pr. Raji the servant of Christ he is today.

Pr. Raji became a pastor and served churches in India for more than 10 years. After receiving specialized training in chaplaincy work, Pr. Raji came to the US and he works fulltime as a hospital chaplain at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. He also leads a Tamil language church service at Calvary Lutheran Church once per month and actively serves the Tamil community in Indy. He remains active in mission outreach to India as he has led five mission trips to Ambur. His Indian outreach was greatly expanded in 2015 with the founding of the Calvary India Mission Tailoring Center and two Tuition Centers! A Computer Center was added in 2017. All of these centers offer free training to Christian, Hindu and Muslim students in a Christ-centered environment. The love of Jesus is offered freely to those who are most in need of physical help, while also providing an opportunity for them to meet Jesus in the people around them.

What a blessing Pr. Raji has been to people in India and the US! And it all started when God sent Rev. Grumm and other LCMS missionaries to Ambur. Blessed to be a blessing ...

Calvary supports a missionary family serving in West Asia doing Bible translation work. This family has lived in a country with no churches. Even though they lived in an apartment in the capital city, they still only had electricity about 50% of the time and lacked many modern amenities.

The work of Bible Translation in remote areas requires much preparation and many jobs to be filled. After arriving in their country of assignment, they entered full-time language learning and cultural acquisition as a prerequisite to their project work.

They then started researching the several language varieties to assess translation needs. It can be hard to imagine, but no one is sure how many languages are spoken in their country! They gathered transcribed wordlist data from many different villages and towns who have the same ethnic identity and ancestry to evaluate how many languages are used by this community. Depending on the differences each language may need its own Bible translation, so it’s important to get this right!

They also started to lend technical support to the rest of translators working in their country in many other languages. Slowly gaining expertise in various technological helps for translators in the field, they now train and assist their fellow missionaries in both technical tasks and administration of several other translation projects.

Spring 2023 Update: After serving overseas in West Asia for 5 years, political instability in their country of service compelled them to relocate to the Indianapolis area to work remotely while things “cool down.” Thanks to solid leadership and being able to work from a distance, much of their team’s work has continued despite the profound interruptions. Their work has shifted primarily to administration of and support for Bible Translation projects, as well as literacy projects which help children learn to read the scriptures for themselves. They will be in the US for all of 2023 but continue to seek the Lord about where to live and work to best bring the Scriptures to West Asia after that.

To join them in bringing God's Word to the people of West Asia, you can give at wycliffe.org/partnerteam. Enter #242586. For security reasons, their names are not published on our website or the Wycliffe website, but money will still get to them.

John and Jenn Wolf serve the Lord as missionaries through The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) in Kenya. As the Africa region’s project manager, John provides oversight and support for projects and grants across the region, with a particular focus on mercy work. He also trains the local people and the local church partners to develop, manage and sustain projects that support Christian growth and congregational needs across Africa.

John was born in Farmington, Minn., and grew up in Baldwin, Wis. His home congregation is Hope Lutheran Church, Aurora, Colo. He received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech University, Houghton. He also received a master’s degree in space studies from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. John served 20 years in the United States Air Force and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2015. His professional background includes project management and working with international partners in Europe and Asia. His hobbies include gardening, historical re-enactments, hiking and camping.

Jenn was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. Her home congregation is also Hope Lutheran Church, Aurora, Colo. She received a bachelor’s degree in South/Southeast Asian studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She also took graduate level courses in teaching and deaf education prior to teaching in Montana and California schools. Since 2001, she has been a stay-at-home mom, homeschooling their children and doing volunteer work. Her hobbies include fiber arts, classical violin, international folk music and reading. John and Jenn have five beautiful children — Ian, Sean, Thad, Annalise and Angus — who join them on the mission field.

Learn more at lcms.org/john.wolf and hereiamsendmesendme.blogspot.com

Calvary supports Aaron Levenhagen at the St Louis Seminary as he prepares to become a pastor. Click here to see Aaron's newsletters.