05 Jun Nutritious Meals for Honduran Children

Not far beyond the multinational fruit company headquarters where seasonal workers wait in hope for temporary jobs, the Honduran village of El Carril is brimming with children. Many of these children come from homes where eating more than one meal per day is considered a luxury, and what is consumed is little more than a basic starch like rice or corn.

However, at this “comedor” (meal program), a local United Brethren church does all it can to provide the children with occasional meals that are more nutritious than they receive at home. Along with the meals, the children are able to hear Bible stories, sing songs, and learn that they are valued and loved by God.

Just a few of our North American churches support feeding programs like this, and yet so much is accomplished as a result.

30 May Haiti Project: $200 for Medical Supplies

Dr. Germain with Haitian children.

In October 2011, a United Brethren team from Canada met Dr. Germain Robinson Lorentz, one of two doctors who worked with them in a medical clinic ministry. He survived the earthquake of January 2010, but lost his wife, young daughter, mother, and brother in their collapsed home. If he hadn’t stopped for a few minutes to watch a soccer match, he too would have died.

The team felt that God brought Germain to work with them so they could love and encourage him while giving him opportunity to use his skills to help the sick. They learned that he believed he was spared for a purpose–to help his fellow Haitians in any way he could. All he needed for himself was enough to live simply. Any funds he could gather would go for medicines to help the people of Grand Saline, a village about four hours from Port au Prince.

During the week, Germain works for a mission hospital for a very small stipend. Twice a month, he travels to Grand Saline to do medical work among the people there. With very little in the way of meds, he does what he can for this village of about 1000 people.

The Canadian team members have maintained contact with Germain, and interested persons contributed funds so he could leave the tent in which he had lived for two years and move into one of four apartments in a house.

Canada’s Global Outreach Leadership Team feels that support for medicines for Germain to use is a call of God. Future medical trips by Canadian teams will be assured of having a Haitian doctor. When non-medical ministries are undertaken by Canadian teams, they will take items to assist Germain with his medical work–baby formula, water purification kits, vitamins, etc. Having the money to purchase specific items in Haiti is the best way we can help, though.

Anyone wishing to contribute funds for this kind of ministry support (strictly medical supplies) is invited to do so. We will send $200 a month as long as monies are available. Any funding gathered in the United States will be sent to the Canadian treasurer.

29 May Three New Members of the Global Ministries Team

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

The Global Ministries Leadership Team has three new members.

John Hetrick. John is a member of King Street UB church in Chambersburg, Pa., where he became of follower of Christ seven years ago. John serves as a member of King Street’s missions team and recently traveled with me as part of our vision team to Chiang Rai, Thailand. John works for a division of IBM as a project director, consulting with corporate customers on the software needs and directing a team of programmers and developers. He brings with him the ability to think strategically and a fresh perspective of a layperson. He begins a four-year term this fall.

Chuck Malson. Chuck has been senior pastor of Brown Corners UB church (Clare, Mich.) since 1981. He has participated in numerous short-term missions trips, especially to Nicaragua. He has been involved in pastoral training and has led missions teams. Brown Corners Church has a definite missional focus both at home and abroad. Chuck brings the perspective of a large church interested in partnerships and an inquisitive mind always seeking to understand our rationale. He begins a four-year term this fall.

Al S, and the organization he represents, has been working with Global Ministries for the past three years in developing our micro-business strategies and curriculum. Al and his family served in South Asia for 14 years before returning to the United States to train and develop indigenous church planters among the most unreached areas of the world. We won’t give his full name, because he is involved in ministry to Islamic and other limited-access countries.

Global Ministries began appointing non-UBs to the team back in 1985, as a way to gain broader knowledge and expertise. However, in recent years all of the members have been UBs. The current Global Ministries team intentionally created this slot on the team for a non-UB, and designated it as a one-year appointment.

Leaving the Global Ministries Leadership Team are:

• Ruth Ann Price, who has served on the team since 2001. She is a career missionary with Wycliffe and Missionary in Residence at Huntington University.
• Wil Kline, a member of the team since the spring of 2009.

17 May A New Church, Honduras Style

The meeting place in the Honduran town of Clinton.

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

Rev. Juanita Chavez (right), superintendent of Honduras National Conference, sent this photo from a recent trip to the town of Clinton, where a new church plant is under way. On this particular day, a team was erecting a shelter for the church to use for gatherings.

Although the structure may seem quite simple, it’s amazing to see how God is multiplying these types of church plants around the world. Donald McGavran, church planter, missiologist and author of The Bridges of God, wrote of such people movements, “…their churches are necessarily built like their houses–and are as indigenous as anyone could wish.”

In Honduras and among many of our Central American conferences, they have the capability to multiply this type of structure and, as such, reach more people and communities with the good news of Jesus Christ.

16 May Project: Outreach to the Vai People in Africa

Bishop John Pessima (right), the leader of Sierra Leone Conference, is pleased to announce that after 150 years of missionary ministry in their country, they have now established their own mission field. They have begun ministry among among the Vai People who straddle the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Although much of Sub-Sahara Africa is heavily evangelized and churches have long been established, the Vai People remain quite unreached with the gospel. Predominantly Muslim (Sunni), only 0.23% of the region’s 124,000 people are Evangelical. The New Testament was translated into their language in 2002, but the entire Bible has not been completed.

Sierra Leone Conference has been sending teams to the region to share the Jesus Film and do evangelistic work. They would now like to send a small team to continue doing their evangelistic and discipleship work, and to open a school as a platform for planting churches.

Global Ministries has already set aside funds to cover the team’s travel expenses from our “Antioch Fund.” This fund covers the travel expenses of our partner conferences when they send missionaries to unreached people groups outside their own country.

Sierra Leone Conference is looking to raise another $10,000 per year to support this ministry. If you would like to assist them, you can send your gifts to Global Ministries indicating that the donation is to support the Sierra Leone – Vai Mission.

If you would like to know more about the Vai People, visit the Joshua Project website.
Interested in supporting this project? Please contact the Global Ministries office in one of these ways:

Phone: 260.356.2312
Toll-free: 888.622.3019

15 May Project: Training Center in Nicaragua

The United Brethren in Christ have 33 churches and numerous church plants in Nicaragua. These churches and pastors, located primarily to the west of the Managua, meet regularly for leadership training and the development of lay workers.

The conference has no place to house people when these events occur. In addition, we have numerous teams visiting the country on a regular basis, such as the baseball team that traveled to Nicaragua this past January.

During the summer of 2012, Global Ministries staff member Jeff Dice will be working with the national conference to build a second floor to an existing building in Masaya. This dormitory space will provide housing for a variety of activities.

Four separate teams from the United States have already committed themselves to assist Nicaraguan volunteers in its construction this summer. The conference has raised $5000 and another $34,300 has been raised in the United States toward the $60,000 project.

Interested in supporting this project?

Please contact the Global Ministries office in one of these ways:

Phone: 260.356.2312
Toll-free: 888.622.3019

14 May Burtnetts Serving in Bulgaria This Summer

Mike and Jennifer Burtnett and family are serving in Bulgaria June 15 – July 2, 2012. Along with 9 other teammates from the JAARS youth group, they will be blessing kids, a Bulgarian church planter, and Wycliffe missionaries in this eastern European country.

They have a Facebook page for the trip, and a site for contributing toward the $15,000 needed for the trip.

The Burtnetts serve at the JAARS Center near Charlotte, N.C. JAARS is a partner organization of Wycliffe Bible Translators that provides technical support services and resources to speed Bible translation. Mike is youth pastor to 100-plus missionary kids who live near the center. Jenny designs JAARS’ quarterly magazine, called “Rev. 7.”

14 May Hendricks Family, Lindsey Woodall Leave the Field

The Troy and Julie Hendricks family are no longer part of the Global Ministries endorsed staff. In 2003, they began serving in Spain with SEND International. However, several issues from a very difficult year brought them to the States in October 2011, and they are resigning from SEND International as of May 31, 2012. Troy has landed a job in the Toledo, Ohio, area, and they are currently searching for housing and a job for Julie. Troy and Julie will return to Spain in June for the high school graduation of their daughter Hannah, to take care of household belongings, and to say good-byes with friends and teammates.

They wrote, “We have realized that returning to ministry in Spain with SEND at this moment in our lives is not the healthiest choice for our family. This has been an agonizing decision as we truly love Spain, the people, and our work there.” Please pray with the Hendricks family as they make this transition.

Lindsey Woodall is no longer a member of the Global Ministries endorsed staff. She had been teaching in Honduras, but has returned to the States and is working as a paraprofessional in the Stryker, Ohio, local school system. Lindsey is the daughter of Nick Woodall, pastor of Stryker UB church in Stryker, Ohio.

03 May Interview with Jen Blandin in Macau

Jennifer Blandin has been a United Brethren missionary in Macau since 1996. She recently returned to Macau after a one-year educational leave.

In this podcast, Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld interviewed Jen via the internet. Listeners have the opportunity to learn about Jen’s previous work in Macau, the nature of her recent graduate studies, and how her studies are impacting her ministry today, and life in the world’s gambling capital.

You can listen to the podcast here. It’s just 12 minutes long.

If you would like more information about Jen’s ministry, or would like to become part of her support team, contact the Global Ministries office at 1-888-622-3019.

12 Apr Josh Kesler Tells about the Nicaragua Baseball Trip

Right now, you can listen to an interview with Josh Kesler (right) about the January 2012 baseball trip to Nicaragua. Josh, senior pastor of The Well in Huntington, Ind., served as team pastor for the trip.

In January of 2012 a team of baseball players traveled to Masaya, Nicaragua to participate in training events, exhibition games, and a number of relational activities with local athletes and dignitaries. Local United Brethren churches, pastors, and members were able to develop friendships among an entirely new circle within their community and lasting relationships were formed with the visiting short-term volunteers.

The story was written up on UBCentral, with lots of photos. That information primarily came from Jeff Dice, who led the trip. But now you can hear–actually hear–the story of the trip from Josh Kesler.