18 Sep Update from Jana

Jana sent these items from Macau on September 13.

“Our ELP classes started in early September with VERY FEW students. This is discouraging for all of us. Pray that more of our students will return during the next couple of weeks. Pray for wisdom on how to handle the situation. Pray for a sense of peace that this is God’s ministry, and He’s in control. (To be honest, I’m feeling more stressed than peaceful right now.)

“Lamar and Karen Crumbley arrived safely, with their arrival nicely timed between two typhoons, so that their flight schedule wasn’t affected by bad weather. They’re getting settled in and finding their way around. Pray for them as they continue to adjust to Macau and develop relationships with our Chinese friends.

“English Bible Studies started again after the summer break. Several women returned. A few others are planning to come after their children get settled into their new school year. Pray for Tiffany, Miss Cheong, Carmen, and Pansy. All of them are non-Christians who have returned to our English Bible Studies. Pray that their lives will be changed as they study God’s Word.”

“Our ELP secretary, Michael, is taking come church-related courses this year. He thought that his class schedule wouldn’t affect his work schedule with us, but it ends up that there are a lot of time conflicts. He will decide by the end of this month whether to continue working for us with fewer hours or whether to just quit the job and focus on his classes. We’ve appreciated his commitment to our ministry on Taipa, and we want to encourage him as he seeks God’s will for his future. Either way, we’ll need to find another part-time secretary. Pray for God to lead us to the right person.”

“My financial support is now at 99% for this term. Much of this consists of one-time gifts, so I will continue to be in need of monthly supporters in the future. I also have teammates who are still in need of monthly supporters. However, I am thankful for God’s provision for this term.”

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.”