16 Jul 2013 Poland English Camp

During the last part of June and early July, 18 persons from several UB churches in the United States participated in an English Camp in Kutno, Poland. The team worked with Donna and Arek Delik (right), church planters with Operation Mobilization in Kutno.

Forty students participated in the English Camp, learning and practicing conversational English through sports, music, crafts, and other activities. A closing program was held on the Saturday following the week of camp, and students were encouraged to invite their entire family to attend.

On Sunday morning following camp, 20 out of the 40 students attended worship services at the church plant in Kutno.

Donna and Arek have both expressed their appreciation for the team and great work they did in building relationships with the students and helping them feel more confident in speaking English.

16 Jul Ministry Funds Needed for Jonetta, Global Ministries Staff

Jonetta, one of the newest staff members of Global Ministries, has a ministry opportunity in a limited-access country. To enable her participation, she needs $4,000 for initial ministry expenses. Jonetta has limited resources available to her and is currently involved in intense training for preparation for ministry.

Global Ministries would like to encourage individuals and churches to prayerfully consider partnering with Jonetta to raise the necessary funds. Then she can begin this ministry immediately after her training period.

If you or your church would like to partner with Jonetta, please send checks made payable to Global Ministries with a note stating the donation is for the “Jonetta ministry fund.”

(We’re not using her full name for security reasons.)

25 Jun Over 4300 Decisions for Christ in Sierra Leone

UBs trained to evangelize among the Vai people.

Jeff Bleijerveld (right), Director of Global Ministries

The month of April was a busy time for the outreach team working in Pujehun Province in Sierra Leone. The outreach effort was led by Rev. Peter Kainwo (right), the conference director of Evangelism and Church Planting. Outreach consisted of multiple presentations of the Jesus Film in the Mende language and community visitation among the Vai People by 19 volunteers who were trained prior to the outreach effort in household evangelism.

In all, a total of 6,489 persons viewed the film and 4,362 made decisions to follow Christ over the course of the campaign. Although they would like to have continued on to additional towns and villages, rain made the road impassible.

At the end of the campaign, a team of conference leaders traveled into Liberia to visit with a congregation eager to align themselves with the Sierra Leone United Brethren in Christ.

Rev. Kainwo asks that we continue to pray for their outreach efforts, and for the identification and training of local leaders. The Sierra Leone Conference thanks everyone for the prayer support and for the funds made available for the transportation needs through Global Ministries Antioch Fund.

07 Jun El Salvador Medical Team: Nov 1-9

We just received confirmation that the United Brethren churches in El Salvador will host a medical mission team this fall. Rev. Gonzalo Alas (right), superintendent in El Salvador, has recommended the trip for November 1-9, 2013.

The team will hold five clinics–one in each of the UB churches in El Salvador.

Cost: $700 per person, plus airfare.

The trip is open to nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and support staff. The team size is being limited to 12 persons.

If you’re interested in participating on this team, please contact Donna Hollopeter in Global Ministries:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 888-622-3019.

25 May 25 Years Later: Remembering Patti Stone

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

On September 2, 1981, Bishop Clarence Kopp, Jr., had a unique encounter at a restaurant in Huntington, Ind. He met a man he had nudged toward the Lord 20 years before, when he was pastoring Prescott Avenue UB church in Dayton, Ohio.

It was a home visit during a conference evangelism workshop. As Kopp explained the Four Spiritual Laws to this man, fellow minister Rev. Howard Anderson held the man’s baby daughter in his lap. The man didn’t want to accept Christ then, so Kopp left him a piece of paper on which he had written out the Four Spiritual Laws. The man kept the paper and reread it almost daily. Finally, he did become a Christian.

What was he doing in Huntington, 20 years later? He was bringing his daughter to Huntington University.

The girl’s name was Patti Stone.

Patti started her college education at Huntington University and then transferred to Marion College (now Indiana Wesleyan) in Marion, Ind., to study nursing.

Wendy Feusse, who worked at Huntington University, joined a small work crew from the college which traveled to Sierra Leone in January 1985. They were joined by Michelle Becker and Patti Stone, two former Huntington students who were now intern nurses from Marion College.

In Freetown, the group went to the beach with some Peace Corps workers. A huge wave hit the raft Wendy was using, and she found herself floating facedown, paralyzed, unable to move. Patti saved her life that day. But that was only the beginning of what Patti did for Wendy.

“From the time I painfully entered the van until the following day,” Wendy recalled, “she served as my personal nurse. She held my hand, talked to me about my fears, helped me laugh, reassured me, prayed with me, loved me. We hardly knew each other. But somehow, she understood what I was going through, as I lay on my bed feeling lonelier than ever and enduring the most pain I have ever experienced. I will never forget that special time of healing.”

At Mattru, Wendy says, “I was amazed by Patti as I watched her in action. She walked around the hospital like she had grown up there. Many Sierra Leoneans already knew Patti; they were drawn to her. She related almost naturally to the people and the environment. You could tell she loved being there. It radiated from her.” (more…)

23 May The Story of Two Teachers in Haiti

Rosemond

Rosemond with students

Pauline

Pauline and some of her students

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

Meet Rosemond and Pauline, two examples of dedicated teachers pouring their lives into the next generation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti:

Rosemond has been teaching for 10 years and currently teaches grade 6 at the school in Delmas 33, one of the United Brethren churches in Haiti. He wanted to be a teacher from a young age. He loves the children and especially enjoys teaching them history.

Rosemond and his family lived in a rural village when he was a child. He was able to attend elementary school at an unaccredited church school because it was supported by the church and those outside the community. As a result of being given this chance and exceling in school, his family moved in to the city of Port-au-Prince so he could attend high school. He then went on to get his teaching qualifications so that he could give an even better standard of teaching than the one he had received.

“Haiti needs schools,” Rosemond says. He likes to “bring my contribution to the children’s lives” so that they can “bring their contribution to Haiti as adults.” He is very glad to bring education and God’s love to children, since it meant so much to him at that age. He is grateful that school gave him a chance at a better life.

Pauline teaches grade 2 and loves teaching the children math and social studies. She loves the children. She says, “If you want to fight against vicious cycles and change culture, education is important.” She says she views her job as important because “any child could be the citizen that changes Haiti’s future.”

Pauline also enjoyed school growing up and went on to become a qualified teacher. As a child, she attended a quality private school because of the support she received through a child sponsorship program. She is so thankful for the sponsor who gave her that opportunity.

Education is investing in the next generation. Both Rosemond and Pauline were given roads to a better future through the educational opportunities they were given.

The Delmas 33 school is the result of a partnership between the United Brethren in Christ Church in Haiti and Christian Horizons Global. Together we are able to provide the opportunity for children to learn in an environment where they are also shown God’s love through teachers that love them. One way or another, children are Haiti’s future. It is our hope that they grow secure in God’s love and with the skills they need to make that future bright.

We have four United Brethren schools in Haiti. Currently, 194 children are sponsored and another 151 children are on a waiting list (128 children have never been sponsored, and 23 have lost their sponsor and are waiting to be re-sponsored).

There are two ways you can support the education of children in Haiti:

1. Support an individual child for just $36 per month
2. Provide a special gift to help fund the United Brethren school the children attend.

To learn more or to make a donation, visit our partners CH Global at CHGlobal.org/give/haiti/

14 May Vitamins for Honduras

Packing vitamins at Jerusalem Chapel for the Honduras Medical Team.

Jerusalem Chapel (Churchville, Va.) collected 64,000 vitamins for this summer’s Global Ministries medical mission trip to Honduras. That’s enough for 2100 patients. On May 7, people gathered at the church to pack the vitamins for the trip, which will hold clinics in five villages.

This is the fifth year that Jerusalem Chapel has collected vitamins for the Honduras medical team. Four persons from Jerusalem Chapel will be part of this summer’s medical team: Dr. John Ocheltree, and Rick, Wendy, and Christopher Wimer.

08 May Macau Church May Need to Relocate

The Living Stone UB church in Macau is looking at the possibilty of relocating. Their landlord significantly raised their rent, so they are looking at other possibilities, and property in Macau is very expensive. You might keep them in prayer as they go through this possible major transition. Both the church and the English Language Program use this facility.

Living Stone is a bi-lingual church, with services conducted in both English and Cantonese. The other (and first) UB church in Macau, Living Water, conducts services only in Cantonese.

07 May Workers Needed for in July for Jamaica

The new dormitory at Malvern Camp, though unfinished, was used during Jamaica National Conference this spring.

Dwight and Patti Kuntz will return to Jamaica on July 2 and would like to take a small work team with them specifically to do some finishing work on the first floor of the dormitory building at Malvern. They need a team of 5-6 people for the week of July 2 – 9. The work will include tiling floors, installing fixtures in bathrooms, and other work.

Though the building is not yet completed, it was used to house pastors at the annual conference in March of this year. The photo above shows the project as it stands now.