03 Jun Global Ministries Trip to Macau in November

Global Ministries is sponsoring a ministry/vision trip to Macau on November 11-21. Participants will observe the various ways God is opening doors for ministry in that part of the world. More information will be available at the Global Ministries exhibit during National Conference.

Cost: $2,500 per person. That includes airfare, lodging, food, in-country travel, and cost of visa for a visit to Mainland China.

Participants will:

• Meet our mission staff in Macau.
• Visit the UB churches in Macau.
• Learn more about ministry in Macau.
• Have an opportunity to do prayer walks on behalf of the churches and staff.
• Take a one-day visit into Mainland China to interact with UB staff serving in the area and learn more about life and opportunities on that side of the border.

A Global Ministries staffperson will lead the trip. There are a few more openings for this team. We encourage you to prayerfully consider joining this team.

13 May Great Opportunity: English Teachers Needed This July in China

Through Global Ministries connections, there is a unique opportunity for a few people with high school teaching experience (preferably five years or more) to spend nearly four weeks in China this summer training Chinese high school English teachers. The dates: July 9 – August 3.

All expenses are paid with a weekly stipend. Experience working with English Language Learners is preferred. Contact Global Ministries for more details before these opportunities are gone!

Email: gm@ub.org
Toll-free: 888.622.3019

01 May Relief Opportunities for Nepal

Global Ministries has partnerships with two organizations that have a presence in Nepal. If you are looking for a way to respond to the earthquake crisis, we recommend either one to you.

International Needs has an extensive team of church planters and staff that work in child sponsorship and education. Spread throughout the country, they can provide on-the-ground assistance in both the short-term and long-term.

Send your gift marked “Nepal Relief” to:

International Needs
5570 32nd Avenue,
Hudsonville, MI 49426

Samaritan’s Purse has the network and expertise in dealing with relief needs as experienced first responders.

Send your gift marked “Nepal Relief” to:

Samaritans Purse
PO Box 3000
Boone NC 28607

10 Apr Ebola: The Crisis Coming to an End

Justin Marva (right), conference administrator of Sierra Leone Conference, sent this note on April 10:

The Ebola situation is gradually coming to an end.

For the past few weeks there have been very few cases in the north and west of the country. The south and eastern region continue to have zero cases for the past two months.

There were smiling faces last week when we all saw students in uniform going to write their public exam after eight months with no school in the entire country. The Ministry of Education has just announced the reopening of schools and colleges on the 14th of April. Our kids are just too exited and looking forward to going back to school. To gGod be the glory.

However, we still continue to uphold the major rules for the final eradication of Ebola. In the midst of our setback, we are confident that we will get there soon.

Keep praying for the United Brethren Conference and the Church in Sierra Leone.

01 Apr Sunfield UB Commits $10,000 a Year for South Africa

Nichie Parish signing the agreement. Pastor Randy Carpenter is on the left.

Sunfield United Brethren Church (Sunfield, Mich.) celebrated Palm Sunday with a signing ceremony with Global Ministries staff member Nichie Parish. The church has committed to praying for Nichie’s ministry in South Africa, and providing $10,000 per year toward her annual budget for the next three years. Nichie will serve in Johannesburg with an organization called Impact Africa.

10 Mar Jamaica: York Town Gets Its Roof Back

L-r: Rev. Randy and Chrystal Carpenter (left), Dwight Kuntz (right), and other workers.

The York Town UB church

Working on the York Town roof.

After ten-and-a-half years, the roof at York Town UB church in Jamaica is getting replaced. In 2004, a hurricane took the roof off the education building, and it has been exposed to the weather ever since. The destruction went far beyond the roof, as the inside of the building also sustained a lot of damage. After some minor repairs to the structure, a good cleaning, a new paint job, and a lot of new fixtures, the inside will once again be usable.

The congregation at York Town has done a lot of hard work and fundraising to get back on their feet, but this has not been easy. In came help from the Sunfield United Brethren Church from Sunfield, Mich. Together, they saw the forms for the roof of the building go up last week. The new cement roof was poured Monday, March 9, once again shielding the building from the weather and thieves.

Help is still needed to restore the inside of the building, but it can now be done, and the building will slowly be put back into use.

The congregation praises God for his faithfulness and the help of the Sunfield church. A big thank you to Rev. Randy and Chrystal Carpenter , along with Jim Steward from the Sunfield Church; Martha Hanley from the Eden UB church (Mason, Mich.); Troy Howell from the Salem UB church in Jamaica; and Rev. Dwight Kuntz for investing their time and labor to see this project through this first stage.

05 Mar Roger Reeck Recovering Well from Ankle Surgery

Roger Reeck, UB endorsed missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators, underwent ankle replacement surgery on February 17. On March 4, Roger sent this update.

“I praise the Lord for you and for your prayers on my behalf. On Monday, I had my cast and stitches removed and am now in a boot and allowed a small amount of weight bearing. Everything has healed well, and xrays show that the alignment of the ankle replacement is right on! There is quite a bit of pain.

“On Thursday, March 5, we will travel to Tucson, Ariz., where we will stay for a few weeks. The trip involves small planes and climbing steps, which might be a challenge.”

18 Feb Update on Roger Reeck’s Ankle Replacement

Roger Reeck underwent ankle replacement surgery on Tuesday, February 17, in Medford, Oregon. Marilyn writes, “Roger came thru the operation fine. The doctor is pleased especially because he was able to correctly align the ankle. Roger will be in the hospital for another 36 hours as they seek to control the pain level. Roger is in good spirits.” Roger added that the pain right now is “bearable.” Roger and Marilyn are career missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators, and come under the Global Ministries umbrella as UB endorsed missionaries.

17 Feb Ebola Situation Looking Better

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

January saw a significant decline in the number of new cases of Ebola being reported throughout West Africa. Nearly a year since the original outbreak in Guinea, the World Health Organization reports that some 9,252 have died of the deadly disease (as of February 10, 2015). The vast majority of these have taken place in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Sierra Leone has the highest number of reported cases, 10,987, with 3,363 deaths (about 500 less than Liberia).

On January 30 we received this report from Rev. Justin Marva, conference administrator for Sierra Leone National Conference.

“We thank God that the health situation out here has improved. Most regions except for the north and west do not have cases of Ebola for the past three weeks. However, we don’t want to be complacent, so we are still maintaining the health rules. Schools are still closed and all public gathering banned. However, there are still church services and people are now allowed to travel. We hope everything will be alright by April as we expect schools to reopen soon. We are doing fine. Keep praying for us.”

The three shipments of medical and relief supplies have all been received and are being distributed. The pallet of rice, beans, and other various food items gathered by UB churches and packed by the Cochranton United Brethren Church in Pennsylvania, is being distributed by conference leadership.

The 20-foot container gathered by numerous UB churches and others in the Eastern US also arrived and is being distributed through the Christian Health Association of Sierra Leone. This same organization is also handling the distribution of the 40-foot container filled with nearly $400,000 worth of medical supplies. We did not gather those supplies, but we provided the $14,000 needed to ship the container.