Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary says farewell and Godspeed to Noah and Angela Chen. The Chens had immigrated from Taiwan to the United States to spend their retirement years near their children. But Lutheran churches in Taiwan were without pastors because of the WELS missionary cutbacks. Taiwanese Lutherans were urging Noah to come back so he could become a pastor as his grandfather had been. Noah's brother, Peter, is training to become a Lutheran Pastor. It seemed only natural to recruit Noah to shepherd congregations in Taiwan.
Noah decided to move back to Taiwan and become a pastor. He is officially a student of Asia Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong, but since he was going to spend some time in the States, however, he began his pastoral studies at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. He has taken beginning Greek, homiletics, courses on hermeneutics, law and gospel, and the three creeds, beginning Hebrew, an exegesis course on Galatians, and a New Testament isagogics course. Along with classroom work, Noah has had many opportunities to receive practical training as well. He has helped out with preaching and teaching Bible classes at the Chinese outreach programs at both St. John's Wauwatosa and Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel in Madison.
The faculty and students of WLS will miss both Noah and Angela. Because Angela has had more experience speaking English, she sat with her husband in all of his courses to translate the professors' remarks into Mandarin as necessary. They were a great team at WLS. They will make a wonderful team in ministry. We are also grateful for the fact that they allowed WLS to become a team member with Asia Lutheran Seminary. The world has become a small place. There remains a large need for men who are trained for ministry and equipped with the gospel to do this ministry. God is using the Pastoral Studies Institute of WLS and the world mission seminary professor to help meet this great need. May God bless this teamwork also!
