Linda Carter

Al Carter, senior pastor of First UB church (Columbus, Ohio), sent a surgery update on his wife, Linda.

“Linda came home Sunday, July 1, after radical surgery to remove a tumor that was attached to her kidney on Friday, June 29. She is doing well and can move about on her own. We are praying for a full recovery and will know more about the tests on the tumor in about 10 days.

“Thanks to everyone for your prayers, and thank our loving and meriful God for His marvelous hand in working through all we have been going through.”

Everyone who attended the June 3 organizational seminar in Sierra Leone.

Leaders of the new Christian Endeavor union in Sierra Leone (l-r): Pastor Samuel K. Karama (assistant secretary general), Rev. Sorie B. Kamanda (secretary general), Albert Trye (vice president), and Rev> Emmanuel S. Farma (president).

The Christian Endeavor delegation from neighboring Liberia.

The Faith UB church at Lumley hosted the event.

On June 3, 2012, Christian Endeavor was relaunched in Sierra Leone with the installation of a new executive committee by John Pessima, bishop of the United Brethren Sierra Leone National Conference. The service was held at Faith UB church at Lumley, in the Freetown area.

Bishop John Pessima led the installation service.

Among the offers were two of the four UB conference superintendents: Sorie B. Kamanda (Pastoral Development and Church Renewal) and Emmanuel Farma (Church Services).

The new union has local Christian Endeavor societies in United Brethren church (most United Brethren leaders have been in Christian Endeavor), and new societies in the United Methodist Church, the Sierra Leone Baptist Convention, and in the Countess of Huntingdon Connexion Church.

Christian Endeavor in Sierra Leone is now the biggest CE Union in Afrika, according to the website of the <a href=”http://worldsceunion.org/blog/index.php?id=77″>World’s Christian Endeavor Union</a>. Other Christian Endeavor groups can be found in such West African countries as Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Liberia, and Ivory Coast.

Storm damage in Findlay, Ohio. Similar scenes could be found in cities throughout the East after the June 29 storm.

Darwin Dunten, senior pastor, Findlay First UB church (Findlay, Ohio)

Findlay, Ohio, is now in its fourth state of emergency in 5 years.

  • In 2007, a flood covered 50% of the city and damaged the church.
  • The 2008 flood covered one-third of the city.
  • Last summer’s hail storm with baseball-size hail caused $50,000 damage to the church.
  • And now the powerful storm of June 29 with 91 mph winds.

The south end of Findlay is decimated. 19,000 Findlay residence do not have power and are not expected to have power until July 7. Findlay First church was not damaged during this story. However, we did have to cancel the July 1 services due to lack of power, trees down, and power lines down.

I toured the south end of town, and it reminds me of a blizzard with snow piled up on the side of the street, but instead of snow, these are trees. Many 4–5 foot diameter trees are snapped at the base. At the Boy Scout camp, once again, large trees are snapped.

I am starting to hear some stories from my church members and how fortunate we are. One church member had a tree limb crash through her roof and land on her husband’s bed. Another church member was working at the Boy Scout camp and was getting the scouts into shelters when a tree crashed (he said) one foot in front of him. One tree landed and a branch pierced the roof of the cabin and landed on a bed. Another member had houses next to her with roofs severely damaged, and hers was fine. One block away, one of her neighbors had no roof or ceiling in their house. We are thankful for God’s protection.

My office has been moved to McDonalds (the only place with internet and power).


How did the storm affect your church? Let us know.

The 2012 China Team

Luke Fetters, a professor at Huntington University, talks with the team about this year’s trip.

On Thursday, July 5, a team from Huntington University leaves for China for a three-week program which includes a two-week English camp for primary and middle school students. The Institute for TESOL Studies at Huntington University has an agreement to train English teachers in a city in southeast China, across the border from Macau in China’s Guangdong Province. TESOL training and English Camp activities run concurrently to provide a valuable and rewarding experience for teachers and students. The team has a blog.

As it turned out, Jeff Dice went ahead with the heart cath on Friday, June 29. He writes: “Everything came back clear–no blockages.  So, my problem is electrical.  I am scheduled to be discharged on Wednesday (July 4), after I have had enough days of medication to make sure it is safe to travel.  I felt it better to get the cath over with, to the surprise of my wife and everyone else.  It was a relatively easy experience.  I don’t remember a thing.  Being alone in a hospital for 5 days has been good for my soul.  But I am really glad my wife is here now.”