25 Sep Macau Updates

Our director of the Macau ELP work sent these notes about the summer in Macau.

During the summer at the Taipa Center, we held six weeks of English classes for children and teens. We helped them with their English conversation skills and also shared Bible Stories with them. Then we had VBS for a week, with the theme “Surfin’ God’s Word.” We were happy to build our relationships with more of the families we’re working with on Taipa.

Linda Neely returned to the States in August after a year of service as a volunteer missionary in Macau. Lamar and Karen Crumbley arrived at the end of August to serve with us until Christmas.

Living Water Church held a water-gun fight and BBQ at the beach in July. It was a great time of fellowship with the church members and some of their friends. We even BBQ’d some eggplant! The after-dinner activities were cut short, though, when a typhoon started blowing in. Everyone made a dash for their cars as the rain and wind started.

Living Word Church held a calmer BBQ in August. Several teenagers who have been attending worship services came to the event. Everyone ate and talked and BBQ’d a variety of meats for several hours.

25 Sep June Brown has Quadruple Bypass

June Brown, who served some 30 years in Sierra Leone as a missionary, underwent a four-hour quadruple bypass surgery on Wednesday, September 24. It went very well.

June will be in the hospital probably until September 30 or October 1. Here’s the hospital address:

Harrisburg Hospital
111 South Front Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101

A malignant tumor has also been found; it will be dealt with after the heart surgery.

25 Sep Roger Reeck Undergoing Tests

Roger Reeck, a UB missionary with Wycliffe in Honduras, is in Dallas undergoing tests for some health problems which have plagued him for some time. “Things are looking a little more hopeful than we thought at first,” says Marilyn Reeck, “but he still needs to undergo a few more tests.”

A bronchoscopy was to be done on Wednesday. “Our prayer is that through that test, they will see exactly what is behind the mass.”

23 Sep Concern from Luanne Brooks

Luanne Brooks, UB missionary in Haiti with OMS International, sent this note on September 23:

“My heart is very heavy this morning. I have a very good friend here named Delores Pudwell. Delores and her husband, Brunell, have become like parents to me. She is in her early 70s. She and her husband have been independent missionaries to Haiti for many, many years.

“Over the past few months, Delores has been having stomach problems and losing a lot of weight. Last week the Pudwells flew to the US for tests to see why Delores has been so sick. Brunell called me this morning and told me they will not be back for a while. They are flying to North Dakota (their home) this week, where Delores will undergo surgery and further treatment. In the tests this week they found that Delores has a malignant lesion in her stomach. Please pray with me that our God, the great physician, will touch this sainted child of his.”

23 Sep Roger Reeck Undergoing Tests for Cancer

Missionary Roger Reeck is currently in the States undergoing tests for what may be cancer. He flew to Dallas to see specialists on September 20. Marilyn was scheduled to fly up later. Daughters Amanda and Teresa live in the Dallas area.

Marilyn writes, “About six weeks ago Roger came down with a virus that was going around. He couldn’t seem to shake it and was feeling not up to par. The middle of August he took a trip to Guatemala and had a hard time driving the 14 hours back home. He went to see a doctor who, after running preliminary tests, decided that he had a recurrence of the virus. He was still feeling poorly with strong headaches, weakness and low grade fevers, so he went to another doctor who recommended several tests.

One of the tests was a CAT scan, which they did a week ago. The results showed that he has a problem area in the lungs. Dr. McKinney (a thoracic surgeon and part of the mission hospital where our daughter Christy works) read the tests and concurred that it needs immediate attention. He suggested that Roger leave for the US immediately.

On Monday, September 15, Roger contacted a doctor at the Wycliffe clinic in Dallas. He set up an appointment with a pulmonary specialist for September 22 in Dallas. He will see the specialist, who will schedule him for another CAT scan and then for an endoscopy and biopsy. At the moment things do not look good, but we believe in the God of miracles and are very hopeful for a good outcome.

“We praise the Lord that this was discovered quickly and that necessary medical attention has been set up for Roger so quickly in Dallas.”

23 Sep Updates from Jana

Jana sent these items from Macau on September 21.

• “Last night one of our ELP students went forward during the invitation at an all-city evangelistic meeting. His name is Michael. He’s in his 30’s and works in the police department. A Christian friend of his from another church has been witnessing to him. Pray that he’ll take his commitment seriously and mature as a Christian.
• “We started an English class for 1st through 3rd graders on Saturday afternoons. Nine children come each week. We do some English activities, have a Bible story and songs, and help them with their English homework. They’ve been very attentive during the Bible story time each week. Pray that they’ll develop a solid Biblical foundation through the time they spend with us.
• “We’re accepting applications now for a new ELP secretary. Michael, our former secretary, will not be able to work for us at all anymore, although he hopes to stay involved in ministry on Taipa. Pray that God will bring the right person to work with us.
• “Because ELP enrollment is so low, I don’t have as many classes as I anticipated. I’ve been in contact with a Christian Dean of Students at Pui Va High School, a school on Taipa that I taught at a few years ago. She’s in the process of looking at the possibility of setting up a study group for a few of their seniors here at our center. Pray for God’s leading in this opportunity. This is a Communist background school, but there are around six Christian teachers teaching there this year. God is working at that school!
• “Pray for wisdom as we look at what changes we might need to make in the ELP or our entire approach to ministry on Taipa over the next several months. I’m feeling overwhelmed and somewhat discouraged by all of it right now. Pray that we’ll be sensitive to God’s leading during this time of re-evaluation. Continue to pray, too, that God will provide a pastor to serve with us at the Taipa Center. We feel this need more and more keenly as time goes on.”

23 Sep June Brown in Need of Heart Surgery

June Brown, former missionary to Sierra Leone, will undergo quadruple bypass surgery on Wednesday, September 24. The need for heart surgery was discovered at the same time she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor. The malignancy will be dealt with after the heart surgery. June is from the King Street UB church in Chambersburg, Pa.

18 Sep Update from the Deliks in Poland

Arek and Donna Delik are endorsed missionaries serving with Operation Moblization in Kutno, Poland. Donna is originally from the UB churches in Hong Kong. Here are excerpts from their September 2003 newsletter.

“After two wonderful weeks in the United Kingdom, we returned home safely last week. We did quite a lot of traveling this time and I am really proud of Arek for he drove on the other side without a single accident. We are so glad that we could attend the OM conference in Keswick, which was specially dedicated to our founder, George Verwer. The conference itself was both inspiring and challenging. OM has entered into an new era under the leadership of Peter Maiden.

“During our Global Challenge campaign, the outreach team went to four different towns, ministering to people through street evangelism as well as a gospel meeting. In the second week of outreach, half of the team ran a children’s English workshop in Kutno, which went really well. Despite a rumor that some kind of ‘sect’ may use English teaching to ‘convert’ people, the feedback from the parents was very positive and we got the chance to share with some why we did this workshop.

The local believers were encouraged by their enthusiasm and hard work as they realized that Poland was not forgotten. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with pastors who faithfully reach out to those forgotten towns in Poland. The soil is hard, and we need to keep praying that God will soften the hearts of those we have shared the gospel with.

“A girl named Marta gave her life to Jesus during the Global Challenge campaign. When her mom, a Jehovah’s Witness, learned that she came to our meeting, she got really mad and beat her up. She also took away Marta’s cell phone. Now we have no access to Marta and are afraid that she will have more trouble if we try to contact her. Before all these happened, she wrote to us once and joyfully shared with us her excitement of discovering how much our Father God loves and cares for her.

“Our focus for the next few months will be in these areas:

• Visiting churches, especially those showing interest in the ship ministry. We hope to build a better relationship with the Polish churches and promote OM’s worldwide ministry.
• The IFES conference at the end of October, where George Verwer will be the main speaker. We are invited to take part during the conference. Pray that many students will be challenged for missions.
• Locally under the church plant in Kutno, we will start our English school in two weeks time. In mid-September, we would like to start our first Youth English club on Saturday afternoon.

“By God’s grace we will have a full team by the beginning of October! Anu-Riikka returned to Finland after three busy months with us. Caroline (British) and Sylwia (Polish) have settled in very well. At the end of the month we welcome a retired missionary couple from Holland, Theo and Tinneke, who will join our team for two months. We definitely need someone to help us to teach English in the next semester when Caroline returns to UK.”

18 Sep Update from Luanne Brooks

Luanne Brooks sent this update on September 15. She is a UB missionary serving with OMS International in Haiti.

“A few weeks ago I attended the Haitian National Convention for United Brethren in Christ. It was held in Port Au Prince, and was a great experience. I was able to address the conference in Creole and was very happy with the response I received. I sang with a Haitian choir, because I just happened to be wearing what they were wearing. They approached me and asked if I would sing with them, and of coarse I was happy to add my voice in praise to our Savior.

“Coming home to Cap Haitian, I was very ill, but I received a note from a prayer supporter in Michigan, who in the middle of that night answered Gods request to pray for me. Because of that prayer, I was able to sit through the OMS annual field council meetings and participate. I was elected to the position of Social Coordinator and placed on several committees. I will also be the editor of the field newsletter that I will start this month.

“At the council meeting, I learned that I would soon be sharing my house with a young lady from Indiana who would be teaching at the Cowman school. Later that week, Erica Thompson arrived and we have been settling in. She is new to Haiti and is having her anxieties, just as I did. Having a housemate is a new experience for me. I have been Queen of the hive since I was 17. Now for the first time I am sharing that top dog position. Please pray for me that I will remember that I am Erica’s housemate and not her mother! She is a sweet young lady who is looking for God’s will in her life.

“I have my reservations to come home for Christmas, December 18-29.”

18 Sep Update from Dave Datema Family

Here is a September 12 update from Dave and Cathie Datema, endorsed missionaries serving in Pasadena with the US Center for World Mission.

• “The INSIGHT students have finished their 3rd week and are now studying ancient civilizations and the beginnings of the Old Testament. They seem to enjoy each other and are working hard to finish their assignments and readings. We are happy to have 16 students here on campus from Wales in the UK, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kansas, Oregon, North Carolina, New York and California. One woman is from a United Brethren church in Harrisburg, Pa. She came after hearing Dave speak at her church last fall.
• “Cathie has agreed to be a mentor for one of the female INSIGHT students. Most of the students are away from their families and friends so this relationship is intended mostly to provide friendship. They meet for one hour, once a week.
• “Dave recently returned from a weekend in Colorado, celebrating his aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary with other Datema relatives.
• “Cathie and the girls are traveling to Ohio this week to visit friends and family.”