03 Sep Hendricks Family Settling Into Spain

The Troy and Julie Hendricks has arrived in Spain, where they will serve as missionaries with Send International. They are settling into an apartment in Azuqueca. They report, “All of our boxes that we sent air freight arrived safely. We are becoming very familiar and comfortable with Azuqueca. It is a wonderful, friendly town.

“Hannah and Ethan continue to adjust well. They will start school at a public school in Azuqueca on Monday, September 8. Next Monday, September 1, we will visit the public schools here in town to see which has space available for our kids. We have talked to parents from our church here who have recommended which school to request, but at this point in time there may not be space available. We really feel that attending public school will be their very best way to adapt to the culture and learn Spanish.

“Today, Troy went to Alca-Lingua to register for the intensive month-long language course. It begins September 2 and runs through the month of September. It is a very fast and very intense foundational course. He will take the train from Azuqueca to Alcala every morning, about a 13-15 minute ride. It is a 20-minute walk from our apartment to the train station in Azuqueca. Then from the train station in Alcala to the language school is about a fifteen minute walk. So the whole process of getting to language school should be a little less than an hour commute. Julie will begin formal language study in October, after the kids are settled into school.”

26 Aug Doris MacDonald, Published Musician

Doris MacDonald, a longtime UB missionary serving with Wycliffe, collaborated on a Christian CD by singer Sharon Dennis. Doris played keyboard, did background vocals, and helped with some songwriting. The CD can be purchased at www.sharondennis.com.

20 Aug Macau Update

Jana, Global Ministries staff in Macau, sent these notes on August 15.

• Last Saturday night, Jennifer Blandin and I went to a singing competition sponsored by the Macau University Christian Fellowship. Eighteen individuals and groups participated, most of them teenagers or young adults. It’s great to see the younger Christian community in Macau growing!
• This week both churches are holding their Vacation Bible Schools. I visited both on Wednesday afternoon, and it’s great to see our church members growing in their ministry skills and working increasingly independently of missionary involvement.
• Lamar and Karen Crumbley, former UB missionaries in Honduras, are arriving on August 29 as short-term volunteer missionaries. We’re in the process of moving our guest apartment due to the end of our rental contract at the old one. Pray for God’s timing as we get the new apartment set up for the Crumbleys’ arrival.
• This week we’re sending follow-up materials to the children who accepted Christ at our Taipa Center this summer. Pray that they’ll use the devotional materials we send and keep in contact with us.

05 Aug Updates from Macau

The 2003 VBS on Taipa. Jennifer Blandin is seated on the front left.

Our director of the Macau English Language Program sent these notes on August 2.

“We gave an invitation to accept Jesus into their hearts to our children on Taipa during our last week of English classes and again this week at VBS. Six children responded. Praise the Lord for the work He’s doing in their hearts! Pray for wisdom as we think about how to follow-up on these children, since we don’t have Sunday school or a children’s fellowship here on Taipa yet.

“Jennifer Blandin and I really enjoyed our time in Hong Kong last weekend. The unity among the broader missionary community in Macau is an incredible blessing in our lives.

Dressed for the Taipa VBS.

“Last night Living Word Church had a BBQ at the reservoir. Several of the church members had invited family members or friends to come with them. Praise the Lord for the burden the church members are starting to feel for sharing the gospel.

“This Sunday night [August 3] is our closing VBS program on Taipa. Pray that many of the children and their parents will attend. We’ll be sharing the gospel there, as we want the parents to know what we’ve been teaching their children. These parents don’t send their children to our program because they want them to have Christian training, but because they want their children to practice English with foreigners. Pray that they’ll see the value of the Christian training, too!”

30 Jul From Marshalee Brown in Ethiopia

Marshalee Brown reports that she has been granted a work permit, and is headed back to Ethiopia, where she is a missionary with SIM International. She originally went to Ethiopia in January, but had to leave for England a few weeks ago because the government delayed granting a new work permit.

30 Jul Update from Paul Coy

Paul Coy, former missionary in Macau, sent this report from the Philippines, where he has been attending theological seminar. “After my first year of seminary, I went back to American April-June for my summer break. I did an internship at my home church in Huntington, Ind. It was wonderful being back home and serving at my home church. I came back to the Philippines on June 25.

“In July, I started my second year of seminary. The subjects I am taking this semester are: Christian Preaching, Biblical Hermeneutics, Luke-Acts, College Teaching, and Applied Linguistics (TESL). I am excited about this semester. It has been great getting to know the 20 new students studying this semester. We have a couple from India, and several new students from Korea. Jacob Park, a Nazarene pastor in Korea, is staying in my dorm. I have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him better and help him adjut to life on campus.

“This year I am on the Student Body Organization as Spiritual Enrichment Committee Chairperson. This means I am responsible for the prayer meetings, helping with chapels, and other areas that focus on Spiritual Development. It is a big responsibility that I take with much humility, but I know God is going to do some great things.

“I plan to complete my studies by the end of October 2004. Please continue to pray for my future. I am open to wherever and whatever God wants me to go and do.”
July 15, 2003

25 Jun Marshalee Brown – Visa Troubles

Marshalee Brown, a UB from Jamaica, went to Ethiopia in January as a missionary with SIM International. Recently, the government didn’t renew her visa, so she had to leave the country. On June 25 she wrote:

“I have been in England for two and a half weeks…still wondering what I’m doing here. I have been able to visit with family and friends and God has been providing for and taking care of me in every way, but I have not been able to do what so many have suggested, that is, to relax and enjoy it all. I accept the fact that God allowed me to come to England right now, but….

“The latest from Ethiopia is that my work permit situation with the Ministry of Justice should be sorted out soon and I should be back in Ethiopia sometime next month.

“I am able to stay with family and friends while here. I am now visiting with the Indian family I stayed with in Bangalore (India) last year. They have now moved to Cambridge. The program I worked with in Bangalore with girls from slum areas is still going on and two of the girls got baptized.”

05 Jun Update from Marshalee Brown

Marshalee Brown, a UB from Jamaica, arrived in Ethiopia early in the year to begin serving with SIM International. One June 4, she wrote, “I was told today that I need to leave the country by Saturday. I cannot get a work permit at the moment and we are not sure when I will be able to get one. It might be next week, next month or it might take a couple of months. I do not know and the SIM personnel here do not know as well. This has never happened before.

“There is a project agreement for the Youth Center in Mekelle and the number of people has been approved, which includes me as the English teacher. There have been a lot of changes in the government and in the requirements for work permits over the past few months. I leave for London early Friday morning. Please pray that I will not have to stay in England for very long, that the problems with issuing work permits will be worked out soon.”

05 Jun Update from Dan Wust in Honduras

Dan and Petie Wust head up Arise & Shine Ministries, which mostly ministers to rural pastors. Dan sent this update on June 4.

“Petie and the kids and I will fly home to the States on June 5. This will be our annual furlough or home assignment trip, where we travel and share in churches about the work of Arise & Shine. We don’t plan this trip each year so that we can have a two-month vacation, although we certainly enjoy seeing our families and friends. We make these trips because today’s missionaries have to spend a lot of energy and time to keep the their income coming in.

“I recently read in our home church denominational Global Ministries Newsletter that in this past year, missions organizations straight across the board have experienced a 15-50 percent decrease in gifts. We are not an exception to this trend. We have been operating on a shoestring budget since the first of the year. This spring the accumulated income of February and March didn’t even cover our expenses for one month.

“We are heading into the summer months with our checking account scrapping the bottom, which makes me feel a little bit uneasy. As you know we are under construction, but have had to once again stop the progress of the construction because the funds have been exhausted. This downturn in general missions giving may only be a reflection of the general insecurity of the population in the States during the time of war. It may be that this second part of the year will record a return to previous giving levels. However, it is more likely that this trend will continue.”

16 May News from Jen Blandin

Jennifer Blandin, a UB missionary in Macau, commented the recent headlines in her latest newsletter.

“The nightly news is full of daily statistics from the SARS outbreak. Yes, Macau is very close to Hong Kong, but yet far enough away to not have a single case of SARS! I know that this unbelievable, but the World Health Organization confirmed it last week. I’m calling it like I see it, a blessing from God. Something that has not been on the nightly news is how it is affecting the people of Hong Kong. I think the initial shock and fear has worn off, but there will possibly be long-lasting affects on people’s trust. People don’t know who to trust anymore. Their government was slow in reacting, their money could not cure them, and the doctors they trusted were the ones getting sick. While I don’t like seeing people get sick or be scared, it is a time when a lot of people in Hong Kong are thinking about who they can trust. A great time to point them to the One they can trust –Jesus!

“Due to this SARS disease and the thought that it is spread by droplets of people’s “water” going through the air, there is now a campaign to stop people from spitting. From little babies to grandparents, Chinese people know how to spit. It could almost be considered a sport. But there is now a fine of $60 if you are caught spitting on the streets. Since the new fine has been put in place, I haven’t heard of anyone getting fined. But I have wondered if I could charge the fine to anyone I have seen spitting!

“The war in Iraq has brought about mixed views. The topic has brought about some lively discussions, but we’ve felt no “backlash” because we are Americans. While people may have differing views of the war, we are friends first!”