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Frank Y, associate director of Global Ministries, found this sign in a Hong Kong market. He thought it would be perfect for his own boss, Jeff Bleijerveld. After Frank returned to the office on February 1, he presented it to Jeff. (That’s Frank in the background, and Jeff holding the sign.)
Arek and Donna Delik (right), UB endorsed staff serving with Operation Mobilization in Poland, sent this update on their work on February 3:
“The weather here is very depressing, dark, wet, and cold. We hope you have better weather than us. We are really looking forward to our visit to Hong Kong–warm, sunny, familiar food! Of course, more important is seeing our dear friends there. It’s a pity that we just miss each other!
Recently a friend helped us make a video for our building project. Please continue to remember us until the completion of the whole project, and that we will be able to pay back our loans of around $120,000 US by the end of 2014.
Please also pray for 3 people who are going to be baptised on February 17. They are now having the pre-baptism course with Arek. This will be held in the unfinished main hall.
Dan Paternoster (left) and UB minister Charlie Milliken greeting people at the 2011 US National Conference.
We’ve been keeping up on Dan Paternoster (right), a member of the Executive Leadership Team who was involved in a serious accident last August. His wife, Nancy, wrote the following update on February 3, 2013:
“We met with Dan’s urologist a few days ago and were told that the bladder biopsy showed no cancer. The doctor believes that the abnormal area seen the week before was an area of inflammation–perhaps scar tissue from the previous surgery or treatment. We’re both very grateful that we are cancer-free at this time. Our prayer is that it continues that way for a long time.
“Dan’s next appointment is with a vision specialist to check out the nerve palsy in his left eye. Dan may just need to be patient and let the eye heal on its own, which should take care of his current problem with double vision. We were told in the fall that it may take 8-12 months for the nerve to heal. It’s been just over 5 months, so we may have several more months of waiting for healing before Dan can return to work.”
A lot of work remains to be done on rebuilding the dormitory at Malvern Camp in Jamaica. Global Ministries set dates for three work teams this spring, to get the building in shape for the 2013 youth camps:
Team 1: February 16-23, 2013.
Team 2: February 23 – March 2, 2013.
Team 3: May 11-18, 2013.
The work will include but not be limited to laying concrete blocks, mixing cement, putting up rafters, and roofing. The May trip will probably also do painting and finishing work on the building’s interior and exterior.
We need 7-8 persons each week. But at this point–February 1–nobody has signed up for any of the teams. If you’re interested, please contact Donna Hollopeter in Global Ministries.
Another option: Owen Gordon, a Jamaica pastor, suggest that if you can’t be part of a short-term team to Jamaica, you consider sending a monetary gift to help with the project. They’d really like to get as much of it finished as possible. You can send funds directly to:
Global Ministries
302 Lake Street
Huntington, IN 46750
Indicate that the monetary gift is for the Malvern Camp.
All of the pastors and spouses of Honduras Conference on the platform at the end of the meeting.
The 54th annual session of Honduras National Conference was held January 9-12, 2013. However the activity of its members and delegates got started on January. That’s when they began a journey of 100 Hours of Prayer. Each pastor spent one hour in prayer leading up to the conference itself.
They prayed for:
The conference theme was “Back to Basics,” based on the Book of Acts, and the speaker was Rev. Eric Rojas, a United Brethren pastor in Costa Rica. During their time, they enjoyed a number of presentations regarding teamwork, the foundations of effective ministry, and the family.
Rev. Juanita Chavez (right) was re-elected as General Superintendent, a position to which she was first elected in 2009.
All 114 churches (consisting of 8181 members) were represented at the conference. During 2012, Honduras Conference recorded 921 conversions and 322 baptisms.
Gonzalo Alas (right), a Honduran church planter, leads our churches in El Salvador. We just learned (Feb. 1) that he had a heart attack followed by various complications. He is doing better now, but the Alas family would appreciate our prayers.
(Earlier, we reported that it was Rev. Alas’s father who suffered the heart attack. That was an error.)
Robert Sommers, formerly the head of financial aid at Indiana Wesleyan University, has been hired as Huntington University’s new director of financial aid.
Sommers most recently served as the technology coordinator for financial aid at Indiana Wesleyan (Marion, Ind.). Before that, he worked as the Midwest regional director for Edfinancial Services/EdAmerica for four years and director and then executive director of financial aid at Indiana Wesleyan for seven years.
“Robert brings a wonderful blend of professional experience and personal strengths to the director of financial aid role at Huntington. Not only does he have an extensive background of leadership in the financial aid field, but he brings a broad knowledge of the higher education loan industry and of core enrollment management techniques to the position, as well,” said Jeff Berggren, senior vice president for enrollment management and marketing.
Sommers graduated from Indiana Wesleyan with a degree in accounting and business administration in 1993 and later earned his MBA from the school in 1998.
