April/May Newsletter 2013 – Call Day

Well here is our April/May Newsletter! Seemed better to just combine this issue! We will try to do another one the end of May beginning of June which will hold Graduation and Ordination/Installation information!

Here we go:

April May Newsletter 2013 page 1

April May 2013 Newsletter page 2

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Greetings the Day before Call Day 2013,
We are one day away from arguably the biggest day of our seminary journey thus far. This will be my fifth Call Day to experience in my life. My very first experience was my father’s 15 years ago this month. I remember being in awe at the number of people gathered, the powerful voices singing emotional hymns, all the men dressed in all black suits and clericals. I remember hearing Ohio District, Victory Lutheran and being happy he would be close to where we grew up and the adjustment would be minimal.

My second experience occurred our first year when I watched men and women I had only known for a year receive their vicarage assignments and placements into the ministry. It was overwhelming because at that moment, I realized each year would be same thing, growing close to each other only to see them head off into the ministry. What a bittersweet moment; happy to see these fine people be used to do God’s work and sad to see them leave our community.

My third occurrence occurred my 2nd year. Here I may have missed parts of the experience because I was focused on where I would be going for the next year. However, the same feelings of first year remained. Proud to see whom the LCMS was getting to serve and feed God’s people. Sad to see them go again.

The fourth occurrence was my 3rd year on vicarage. Since, I had a local vicarage in nearby Florissant, MO, I was able to be present for both services. It was a weird feeling as I look back on the event. In one service I would learn who Blessed Savior’s next vicar would be after my time was complete. Again the same feelings from the previous year were present, but with a new twist; Call Day brought with it this time a heavenly roar saying my time was near to begin the final leg of the seminary journey.

Here I am, one day away from learning my future. Ready to serve where ever God desires. I have Isaiah 6:8 playing out in my head over and over. Yes, I’m ready Lord! Send Me! Send Me! The other thought that has been in the forefront of my mind is the calling of the Disciples. In less than 24 hours, I join my brothers and sisters as we march into the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus with each person hearing Jesus say, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

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Greetings the Day after Call Day 2013,
Did anyone get the license plate on that Call Day bus that ran me over? I think I was lucky enough to be involved in the vicarage assignment service early in the day. It took my mind off the evening service coming up. Pictures before service with the family and spending time with my classmates in the basement were what kept us all sane. The excitement and emotion was at the highest level of my entire time at seminary. I’m pretty sure we all missed what the sermon by the N. Illinois District President was about. Our focus was solely on Call Placements.

I would not have to wait long once we got to that part of the service (I was the 13th person alphabetically). So, as our row stood up and we filed out into the aisle to line up, I glanced at my mother and father one last time before learning the future for us. Almost replaying seeing my father in the same spot some 15 years ago. There I stood trying desperately to clear all distractions from my mind to hear my name and future, I made the worst mistake of making contact with our proud professors and District Presidents. That glance distracted me just enough to the point that before I knew it, it was my turn.

“Eric Ekong, Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church,
Jackson, Michigan, Michigan District”

I looked over to Michigan District President David Maier and smiled. Proceeded down the greeting line and then back down the aisle. As I came to our aisle, I locked eyes with Linda to let her know that I loved her and I was thankful for her support through this part of the journey. I then sat down, looked at my phone, which had some 35 txt messages, 14 twitter mentions, and 60 Facebook notifications. What I would later find out after service was that many of these greetings was from our new family at Trinity Lutheran. By the time we finished with the MI District President after the service, talked with the congregational representative, and returned to the apartment my picture and name was already on Trinity’s website. The running joke was I had finally met my match by being placed at a congregation with members who are engaged with social media just like I am. I want to say, I spent the hour and half after I got home responding to congratulations and welcome messages.

So, now I sit here the day after Call Day after hearing and seeing all the connections I already had to Trinity Lutheran and never knew it. Reviewing our time at seminary and seeing God’s hand at work unbeknownst to our family, working behind the scenes leading us to Trinity and Trinity to us. To say I am excited is an understatement. We are ecstatic and eager to return to Michigan to join our new family at Trinity Lutheran, ready to join them in being lights of the Gospel in the Jackson area.

While we didn’t see God’s hand at work in connecting us with Trinity, we have seen God’s hand at work through the likes of you over these four years of our journey at seminary. Even at this moment of exuberance, we are humbled in knowing that through it all you have been praying, donating, and encouraging us every step of the way. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you from every part of our hearts. Thank you for everything you have done for us along this journey. Please know that everything you have done has been a blessing and not taken lightly.
In His Service,
Eric & Linda Ekong
& Kiddos

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Thank you!
Each of you are so important to us and we thank God every day for the support (prayers & financially) that you have given us these past 4 years. We couldn’t have done this without YOU!
Eric & Linda Ekong & Family

Eric has been certified!

(Some would say he was already certifiable)

Well another step has been completed in this journey to becoming a pastor.

Eric received word yesterday evening that he (and his fellow 4th years) have been certified by the faculty of Concordia Seminary which will now allow him to receive his first call on Wednesday, May 1st! We are super excited to have yet another check mark in our list of events for this year!

We thank God for this and as always for all of you for your support and encouragement during our journey!

Be sure to watch it live at http://callday.csl.edu/

Blessings in Christ,
The Ekong’s

March Newsletter

Well here is our March Newsletter! We pray you are all doing well!

March Newsletter

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Alleluia! Christ is Risen Indeed!!! We pray that you are doing well and are enjoying the celebration of our Risen Christ! We have been very busy at the Ekong household already in this final quarter, but I wanted to take a few moments to share some update with you!

By the time you receive this, the Ekong Family and the rest of the 4th year class will be in the final 30 days leading up to Call Day. All team ministry interviews for our class have been completed. Both the 2nd years (preparing for vicarage) and 4th years (preparing for placement) are working hard to stay focused on our studies. Recently (3/12), I received notification that I have successfully completed the two-part process of certification. Having completed this phase my name is now passed onto Concordia Seminary’s faculty for the official certification (4/11) for the ministry. Once they do this, our fourth year class names are passed onto the Council of Presidents so that they can sort out the placement in various congregations.

Classes have been fun thus far. I have a really spaced out schedule with only 3 classes. This has left me ample amount of time to study, spend time with friends, and have more than enough time for family events. I couldn’t have planned my last three classes out better. All three are very relevant to the world and the future of the LCMS. I am taking LCMS Controversy’s of the 60-70s, which really brings to light a number of the issues our church body dealt with then and today. I have Theological Ethics and it is interesting how Ethics became separate from faith. Somewhere along the way, what we believe and how we live were separated. The last class I am taking is Psalms and Writings. Thus far it has been a blast. The last class period we focused in on Psalm 1 for 90 minutes. We also studied this text my first year in Hebrew Readings, but there I was on the edge of my seat amazed to how much was packed into the 1st six verses of Psalm 1. It has also brought on a new challenge to pray the Psalms during the last quarter as well.

Our Student Association hosted Concordia Theological Seminary’s Student Association last week and it was a joy to sit down and chat with our brothers and sisters from our sister seminary. I’m especially happy with the discussions and plans between the two student leaderships moving forward.

I think I may have forgotten to mention in a previous letter that I was accepted into the Graduate Program here at Concordia Seminary. The grad school offers three ways to complete advanced degrees (Masters of Sacred Theology, Doctorate of Ministry, and Ph.D.); full-time, part-time, and modular course work (2 week intensives twice a year). I wanted to make sure I shared that good news, it seems in the midst of a busy quarter that bit of news simply fell by the wayside. Finally, as I turn my attention through these remaining days of April leading up to May 1st, I realize my family and I would not be in this position without God’s faithful people walking with us throughout this seminary journey. I’ve said it every letter, but Thank You for all you have done for us. The journey continues… May 1st is right around the corner.

In His Service,
Eric & Linda Ekong
Hannah, Jonathan, Hailey, Jocelyn & Jillian

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Call Day

Join us in all the fun by going to the CSL Call Day 2013 website: http://callday.csl.edu

Call Day is May 1st at 7:00 p.m. CST. It is one of the few events that no matter where you are in the world, you can watch online and feel the excitement just like those sitting in the chapel. I’m extremely excited as both our (Linda and I’s) parents will be right there with us as we learn about our next steps in the ministry.

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Easter Sunday

Easter 2013

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Thank you!
Each of you are so important to us and we thank God every day for the support (prayers & financially) that you have given us these past 3 1/2 years.
Eric & Linda Ekong & Family

February Newsletter Anyone? :)

Well believe it or not… I forgot to upload this post! Even though I had it done and sitting here … Here’s February’s Newsletter and then I’ll also upload March! Sorry for the delay friends!

February Newsletter

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Lenten Greetings from Concordia Seminary,

Believe it or not, but I just finished my second to last quarter of course work in the M.Div. program. If you remember, I said this was going to be my lightest quarter since coming to seminary. Not to worry, I didn’t suffer from idle hands this past quarter. Between class readings, papers, Student Association, Preacher Basketball, family, concluding student appointments, church, and increased devotional life my days were filled from the moment I woke up.

Oddly enough, this past quarter was also the one where I managed to take classes with four of the more demanding instructors at seminary. I’m pretty pleased with the knowledge I have acquired throughout my seminary career, but especially this past quarter. Linda was able to join me in Man and Woman in Christ, taught by Dr. Biermann. Between the readings, quizzes, class discussions, and our at home discussions I think it has provided us a better baseline for our marriage, the ministry, preaching, and teaching. An added perk is that Linda was able to feel the full brunt of the reading load for the one class. From time to time I joked, “And that is only for his class, I have 2 others just like it.”

As we move into the Spring Quarter, the overarching theme will no doubt be “transition.” It will be a time of looking back as well as looking forward. Ironicly that transition time, began with Ash Wednesday and Lent. We are looking back to Christ’s work amongst us, giving up something for Lent, or taking something up for Lent. We are also looking forward to His triumphant victory on Good Friday and Easter Sunday morning. As the family and I join you in looking back and forward to Christ’s work for us, also join us in looking back and forward on our journey through seminary.

From the start of this journey to now, you have been right there with us. Praying for protection and guidance. You’ve been there sending inspirational letters at just the right time. You’ve been there to support us financially and to ease our hearts and minds throughout the journey. We thank God, nightly for placing you in our lives. You have been living examples of God at work through His people. Thank you for all of your prayers, letters, and support.

I have one week before the Spring Quarter begins and this will probably be the most interesting one thus far. Please continue to pray for perseverance, endurance, and protection from the final quarter stresses.

May God be with you this Lenten Season and always,
Eric Ekong & Family

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Here’s this months highlight! I’ve really enjoyed writing about each of the children and hope you’ve enjoyed reading them! Much love to you all! ~Linda

Little Miss Jillian! Oh what a doll she is! Jillian is growing and changing every day! It’s so hard to believe she is already 20 months old! Where did the time go? She is starting to talk more – Tonights new sentence … “Where’s mommy?” She asked this as I had gone into a bedroom. Upon her finding me … she squealed in delight … “Oh there’s Mommy!!”

Jillian loves “reading” and will sit and fl p through books for hours and loves when we read to her! We traveled to Branson this month with Linda’s Family for a little family vacation and Jillian loved the water this time! Typically she is not fond of the water so I was pleasantly surprised when she wanted to stand in it all by herself and splash around.

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Thank you!
Each of you are so important to us and we thank God every day for the support (prayers & financially) that you have given us these past 3 1/2 years.

Eric & Linda Ekong & Family

Is it really 2013?? – Yep! So Here is our January Newsletter

Boy time is flying by these days! Sorry it’s been a while since our last post! Here is our January Newsletter! Praying you are all doing well and staying warm!
Blessings,
The Ekongs

January Newsletter

January Newsletter

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Epiphany Greetings from Concordia Seminary,

Where is this year going? Is it really January already? Is it almost February already? January has been an extremely busy month thus far. January 1st, New Year’s Day, marked the 120 day countdown to Call Day. The first day of classes marked the beginning of the final 16 weeks of academic classes in the Masters of Divinity (MDIV) program. January 9th, I was on KFUO radio on the “His Time” program to talk about my late grandfather, Rev. Dr. Jonathan Udo Ekong. On January 10th, I provided an opening devotion for the participants attending the Shepherd of His Flock admissions event. On January 11th, I served as the student body representative for the Leadership Summit, an event where the seminary engaged business leaders and laity on what it is doing right and wrong as it plans for the future formation of pastors, deaconesses, and educators. Then on January 12th, I celebrated my 37th birthday. Throw into all of that; classes, Preacher basketball, family, and normal studies and I was exhausted after the first week back.

January and February also bring about the next phase of placement for 4th year students – Team Ministry interviews with potential congregations that will be calling or receiving a placement of candidates this coming May 1st. Team ministry is usually defined as a congregation with one or more pastors on the staff or it could mean a congregation with a Director of Christian Education (DCE), Director of Outreach (DCO), Music Director, and/or staff for a grade school. Interviews are usually conducted to insure potential candidates will mesh with the staff already in place.

On Monday, I registered for my final quarter of studies in the MDIV program. It will be another light quarter, thanks to taking a heavier class load the first two years of seminary. I have the following classes for the spring quarter:

Theological Ethics – Dr. Joel Biermann – 3 credits

Psalms and Writings – Dr. Paul Raabe – 3 credits

LCMS Controversy in 60-70s – Dr. Gerhard Bode/Dr. Erik Hermann – 3 credits

I pray that God continues to watch over you in the coming days as we rejoice in the Epiphany Season with Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season quickly approaching. Know that we as a family keep you in our prayers nightly and we are so thankful for all that you do for us through your prayers, financial support, and furthering of God’s kingdom.

Your Brother in Christ,
Eric Ekong

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Here’s this months highlight! I’ve really enjoyed writing about each of the children and hope you’ve enjoyed reading them! Much love to you all!
~Linda

Jocelyn

My sweet, sweet Jocelyn! This young lady is such a joy and full of energy! She always has a bright little smile on her face…although sometimes it’s a smile full of mischief!

Jocelyn is in Kindergarten this year and is actually the Diamond of the Week at school this week! Jocelyn is really enjoying school this year and learning so much! She just recently got to join the glasses club and loves her “Blue Glasses”! Jocelyn also enjoys playing with her friends here at the seminary! Bethany and Grace are her “bestest friends!”

Jocelyn also really enjoys her job as “big sister” and loves playing with Jillian and helping mommy figure out just what Jillian needs! She loves helping Jillian read books and play with baby dolls!

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Thank you!

Each of you are so important to us and we thank God every day for the support (prayers & financially) that you have given us these past 3 1/2 years.

Eric & Linda Ekong
& Family

Merry Christmas From the Ekong’s

Well good morning and Merry Christmas to everyone! Today we are in Santa Claus, Indiana!  Linda’s folks live here!  It’s a very fun place to spend Christmas! 

Today we celebrate the birth of our Savior!  And we celebrate the promise of His Second Coming!  We pray that you are enjoying the day with your family and it is safe, relaxing and filled with wonderful memories – old and newly created!

November Newsletter

Just finished our November Newsletter – It’s Hot off the presses – please forgive the past tense in a few places – Eric is actually preaching tomorrow morning at St. John’s but by the time I get these printed this week and mailed that preaching event will be in the past!

Praying that you all had a very blessed and thankful Thanksgiving!

“November Newsletter”

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Greetings from St. Louis!

God is good all the time AND all the time God is good. That is the best way I can describe what I am feeling right now. It is a feeling of thankfulness that our God is, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7a NIV) A feeling of thankfulness that God has put people like you out in the church as lights unto the nations. A thankfulness that while not always seen in tangible and qualitative results, it is seen in the lives of those you shine the light on.

As one of those whom you have shined the light of Christ on, I remain thankful for all that you have done for my family and I over the past four years (where did the time go). I remain thankful that God has sustained and molded me these 7 quarters, 2 summers, and 1 vicarage year. I am thankful to see my family continue to grow with Christ as the center. I am thankful for the relationships we have built with you over these years. I am thankful because I know God has a plan not only for you, but for me in a short amount of time. I am thankful for the sure hope that God will continue to sustain, nurture, and mold me into the pastor he desires of me over the next two quarters and on into the ministry.

I am especially thankful for God blessing me with choices in my last year of M. Div. studies. I am thankful knowing He will shine the way for my family and I. Please know that not a day goes by without us being thankful. It is my prayers that you all had a safe, happy, and thankful Thanksgiving holiday… that God was with you on the highways and byways… that he protects, nurtures, guides, and blesses your personal and collective ministries to all you come in contact.

Preaching: I was blessed to preach at St. John’s Evanston, IN on November 25th – the Last Sunday of the Church Year, I will be preaching at the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on December 6th (first seminarian to preach on a Eucharist Day – pray for me), and at Shepherd of the Hills in Hermann, MO on December 16th.
May our gracious Lord be with you all as we enter this time of celebration of our Lord Jesus’ Birth!
Your Brother in Christ,
Eric Ekong

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Here’s this months highlight! I’ve really enjoyed writing about each of the children and hope you’ve enjoyed reading them! Much love to you all!
~Linda

Hailey
Hailey is so much fun! She’s my little creative one. She loves to draw and color pictures. She is also my “loner” child. Often I find myself asking … “where’s Hailey?” only to find her hidden in her room up on her bed quietly reading or writing. She is in third grade this year and is really enjoying school. She is also in Captain’s Chorus this year with her brother Jonathan. It is great to hear the two of them singing songs that they are learning (and often Hannah joins in as she learned some of the songs when she was part of the choir). She loves helping take care of her baby sister. Hailey and her friend Ally (from the seminary) play most days after homework is done and their friendship is really growing!

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Thank you!
Each of you are so important to us and we thank God every day for the support (prayers & financially) that you have given us these past 3 years.
Eric & Linda Ekong & Family