08 Oct Update on Mamei Simbo’s Surgery

As reported earlier, Mamei Simbo underwent heart valve replacement surgery at 8 am Wednesday, October 6. Billy Simbo sent this report later in the day.

Mamei was brought back to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit a little before 3:30 pm. The surgeon reported that the surgery went well. He replaced the defective heart valve. Mamei was still on the ventilator when we were allowed to see her around 4:40.

Mamei is in good hands with two nurses guarding her over the next 12 hours and one nurse with her 24 hours while she is in the Intensive care unit.

Here are three ways you can pray:

1. That she makes the necessary progress over the next few hours.
2. That her body won’t reject the new valve.
3. That she will have the strength to do the exercises that are so critical for her recovery.

Prior to Mamei being wheeled from her room of 4 weeks, Rev. Joe Abu came and together we read the 23rd Psalm and prayed and sang songs of assurance. We are truly grateful for the Scriptures and the assurance given to us by so many of you.

08 Oct Lausanne Congress: Last Minute Prayer Requests

The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization is approaching. It will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, October 16-25, 2010. Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries, has been invited to take part, and will do so, joining 4500 Christian leaders from around the world.

Doug Birdsall (right), who grew up in a United Brethren pastor’s home and is now executive chair of the Lausanne Movement, sent these three prayer requests.

1. China Participants. Around 200 participants and volunteers from Mainland China have already purchased their tickets and reserved hotel rooms in Cape Town. In addition to raising their own support, the Mainland Chinese participants also raised support so 100 participants from neighboring countries can attend.

However, there is a possibility that the Chinese participants will not be able to attend. Please intercede on behalf of the Church in China, that God would move the hearts of those who hold the power to change the situation. The prayer of the  Chinese participants is that they would be a blessing to their nation and to the global church, that together we might be an expression of unity in Christ.

2. Francophone Africa. A number of African countries were colonized by France and Belgium, and French remains widely spoken (though mostly as a second language). An estimated 115 million Africans speak French, more than in Europe. These countries, shown in purple on the map to the right, are known as Francophone Africa.

It is anticipated that at Cape Town 2010, there will be more Francophone Africa evangelical leaders gathered together than ever before in history. However, obtaining visas has been delayed to nearly the last minute in this region. Please pray that the visa process will be expedited for these brothers and sisters.

3. Final Phase of Funding. An additional $1.5 million is needed to fund the Congress. Please pray that this money will come in before the Congress. Doug Birdsall writes, “When I visited Billy Graham two weeks ago, he asked about the fund-raising progress. When I told him we had passed the 90% mark, he raised his hands and said, ‘Hallelujah, that’s wonderful! Please let me know when you get to 100% – and I hope it’s real soon!’  Let’s pray and work and give so that we can send Billy Graham that good news very soon.”

06 Oct Traveling Along the Trigris River

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries, is currently Turkey. He is traveling with Kurt Uhen, a member of the Global Ministries Leadership Team who is from Emmanuel UB in Fort Wayne, Ind.

We’re on the road headed for Mardin. Our route follows the path of the Tigris river headed south and is flanked by cotton fields, flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle. Stork nest on telephone poles and the roofs of homes.

The headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are located in Turkey. It is here that the Garden of Eden is believed to have been located. We spoke with Turks who have traveled that region extensively, but none have encountered any angels with flaming swords.

We’ve had some great conversations with the very few pastors and church planters in the area. All are eager to make disciples and plant more churches. We’ve also discussed some “business as mission” opportunities that would help this take place.

Mardin overlooks the northern plains of Syria and has a mix of Kurds, Turks, Assyrians, Syriacs, Arabs, and a few Armenians. Tonight we’ll stay at a 5th century Assyrian Orthodox monastery. Originally a sun temple, it became a Christian church when believers from Antioch moved north and the region was won to Christ.

Thanks for your prayers. God is at work in Turkey. We’re praying earnestly for discernment as we consider whether the United Brethren have a part to play.

05 Oct Mamei Simbo: Heart Surgery October 6

Mamei Simbo, wife of Sierra Leone Bishop Billy Simbo, will undergo heart surgery Wednesday, October 6, at 8 am. The surgery, to replace a damaged valve, will be done at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington, Pa.

Mamei entered Abington Hospital five weeks ago. She was diagnosed with a bacterial infection, which probably started at the IV port installed so she could begin chemotherapy for the multiple myeloma she has had since 2007. The infection spread to her knee and then to an aortic valve.

After three surgeries, the infection was removed from her knee. But the damage to the heart valve remained. She was scheduled for a valve replacement last week, but picked up another infection, which postponed the surgery. That infection has now been cleared.

On Monday, October 4, the family held a consultation with the cardiac surgeon about the defective valve, which was leaking and causing the heart to work extra hard. Mamei agreed to go ahead with the heart surgery.

Please be in prayer for Mamei. Billy sent these specific ways to pray:

1. That the surgery will be successful.
2. That Mamei will be able to endure the trauma of the surgery. She has shown remarkable improvement in the last few days for which we are all praising the Lord. She sits up in bed all by herself. A few days ago she would yell in pain with every touch.
3. For the period of rehab that will follow surgery, and for protection against additional infections.
4. For us as a family, as we grapple with the aftercare and other issues. I especially covet your prayers as I look at all the work that needs to be covered in the two-month period leading to our Bi-Annual Conference in Sierra Leone in December.

Billy adds, “Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement. It is so good to put our trust in the Lord, as many of you have reminded us through cards and gifts.”

05 Oct A Meal in Eastern Turkey

Jeff Bleijerveld and Kurt Uhen, from Emmanuel UB (Fort Wayne, Ind.), are currently traveling in Turkey. Jeff sent this photo, with this note: “We just came back from church and a great lunch of lamb liver and chicken kabobs. It was great! Behnan’s mug of fermented goat yogurt is to the top left. I passed on that.”

04 Oct Travels in Eastern Turkey

At a church service in eastern Turkey

Jeff Bleijerveld and Kurt Uhen, from Emmanuel UB (Fort Wayne, Ind.), are currently traveling in Turkey. Jeff writes:

99% of the people in this eastern Turkish city are ethnic Kurds of Syrian, Armenian, and Iraqi origin. However, the official language is Turkish, so Kurdish is only spoken in the home and among friends.

We had a very Mediterranean breakfast with lots of olives, melon, fresh cheeses, and breads. We headed for church at 11 am. This church has a police officer assigned for security 24 hours a day. However, things are quite tranquil at present as the PKK (Kurdish separatist organization) has declared a 30-day ceasefire with the Turkish government.

Facts I learned today:

There are 73 million people in Turkey.

• Only 4000 evangelicals live in Turkey. Another 30,000 people are Christian, including Assyrian Orthodox and Chaldeans.
• The country was nearly 100% Christian at one time.
• Seven of the early churches’ councils took place in what is modern-day Turkey.
• The Apostle Paul was born in Turkey, and all three of his missionary journeys included time in Turkey.
• John wrote his gospel in Turkey and died here of natural causes.
• Christian Turks consider Turkey part of the Holy Lands.

30 Sep Project: Rebuild Centennial School in Sierra Leone

Global Ministries is partnering in a project to rebuild the Centennial Secondary School (high school) in Mattru Jong, Sierra Leone. The project is being spearheaded by two groups: the Centennial alumni association (many of whose members now pursue professional careers in the States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries), and the Lehigh Valley (Pa.) chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

Before the civil war of the 1990s, Centennial was a United Brethren boarding school with 600 students. But rebel troops occupied and ravaged the school during the 1990s, dismantling the plumbing and electrical systems for their salvage value, and destroying the water, sanitation, and electrical systems. This project will rebuild the infrastructure of water, sanitation, and electrical systems.

To get things going, they are looking for 300 people/groups/churches to give $100 or more, with the goal of raising $30,000. That will enable them to get moving until grant requests are acted upon.

27 Sep UB Day in Macau

Bridger Fetters, Global Ministries staff in Macau

Last Sunday, Living Water and Living Stone (the two UB churches in Macau) came together for an all-day, joint service. We played a few games and ate lunch before moving into a more traditional worship service. Members from both churches took part in leading worship. Pastor Ajiax Wu from Hong Kong gave the message.

Afterwards, members from both churches shared about their vision for what the UB church could do in Macau, and David Kline concluded with a call to action. We broke up into small groups and had some wonderful discussions about the future of the UB church in Macau and the importance of having everyone be a part of it.

It was a wonderful time of sharing, and it was very encouraging to see how well the two groups got along.

I was in charge of the opening ice-breaker. Everyone was asked to write their name on a card upon entering the church. The cards from Living Stone were put into one hat and the cards from Living Water into another. Each person then took a card from the church they do not attend.

Assuming the identity of the person on their new card, each person went around the room learning everything they could about “themselves” by simply talking to others in the room. At the end of the alloted time, a few members came up to share everything they had learned about their new identity. It was amazing (and funny in many cases) to hear how much people could learn about someone in such a short time.

23 Sep Work Team Headed to Haiti in Early October

Ruben Ponce

A work team will be headed to Haiti in early October to help close in the Delmas 33 Church that has been central to much of our rehabilitation efforts since the earthquake. The team will consist of twelve Canadians and one Honduran. Pastor Ruben Ponce (right) is being sent and fully supported by the Honduran National Conference. He serves a local church and also is a skilled carpenter.

Efforts to rebuild more churches this October have been hampered by a number of factors, and so our plans to deploy more teams have had to be put on hold. The Canadian team will work to resolve some of these issues while they are in Haiti. We hope to announce dates for a late spring, early summer project following their return.

23 Sep Samaritan’s Purse Update from Haiti

Franklin Graham shares an update of what’s been happening to provide housing and safe sources of water since the earthquake of January 2010. Global Ministries has a strategic partnership with Samaritan’s Purse, the organization he heads.