Vicar Lewi Jermiya

Vicar Lewi Jermiya

Jermiya Family

Arobat

The Unique Journey of an LCMS Vicar

Jermiya Wedding

“The day the soldiers came to arrest my father and mother before taking them off to jail was the worst day of my life. But God meant it for good.”

Then 17 years old, Lewi had been born and raised in Barentu, a town of approximately 35,000 in northwestern Eritrea. In 2000, during the Ethiopian/Eritrean War, the town was invaded and his parents were arrested and taken off to jail. A month later, his mother returned. He never saw his father again.

Lewi, together with many other Barentu residents including family members, fled to the Shimelba refugee camp in Ethiopia approximately 100 miles away. Established by the United Nations, the Shimelba Camp quickly grew to a community of approximately 10,000 Eritrean refugees.

Shortages of food, water, clothing, transportation, and just about everything else are Lewi’s lasting memories. Though work was scarce, at one time or another, he taught basic computer shills, served as an English to Amharic, Tigrinya, or Kunama translator for Doctors Without Borders as well as for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees). Pay averaged approximately 70 Birr ($2.00) per day.

Lewi is a third generation Lutheran, his grandfather and father having been members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea. While in the Shimelba Camp, together with others, he managed to establish a Lutheran church. His responsibilities included preaching, teaching and training leaders for several home Bible studies. When he left for resettlement to St. Louis, this congregation had grown to almost 500 members. Prior to his departure, he met and married a lovely young lady by the name of Arobat. They now have a young daughter named Malidaya.

Shortly after arrival in St. Louis, Lewi was connected to the Ethiopian/Eritrean Bible Fellowship through the efforts of their leader, the Rev. Teddy Workeneh. With Rev. Workeneh’s recent departure for Atlanta, Lewi now provides servant leadership for this Fellowship. Interestingly, he serves them in much the same way he served the members of the Lutheran Church in the Shimalba camp in Ethiopia—through preaching, teaching, and encouraging emerging church leaders.

Earlier this year, Lewi applied for admission to Concordia Seminary’s EIIT (Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology) program. Having been accepted, he was accorded the status of Vicar in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. “I am both pleased and humbled to have been accepted as a seminary student and will do my best to complete these studies.”

Within days of his arrival, Lewi was assisted by the International Institute to find employment as a maintenance worker at the River City Casino. Though this enabled him to begin providing for the needs of his family almost immediately, he is now seeking other means of employment. As he continues the journey, Lewi asks that you keep him, Arobat, and Malidaya in your prayers.

By Rev. Allan Buckman with Vicar Lewi Jermiya