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03 Oct

October 3, 2012 |

L-r: Elsa Hiliare (Christian Horizons Global co-ordinator in Haiti), Mr. Alexis, Hermmy, and Joan Sider. At the airport in Haiti.

Hermmy sleeping in the Montreal airport.

L-r: Sleeping on her tray on the airplane. During the flight. Sitting on her bed at Joan’s home in Toronto. Eating breakfast and watching TV. (click to enlarge)

Joan Sider, New Hope UB church, Toronto, Ontario

Our churches in Canada have been working in partnership with our churches in Haiti since 2002. A medical team went to Haiti in October 2011. While working in our clinics with Haitian doctors, we met Hermmy Alexis, a 12-year girl. It was discovered that she had tetrology fallot (hole in the heart). The surgery needed to repair her heart couldn’t happen in Haiti.

As we talked amongst ourselves, a suggestion was made that we try to bring her to Canada and apply to the Herbie Fund through The Hospital for Sick Children. One of our nurses, Margie Blackler, started the application process immediately upon our return.

After months of phones calls, texts, emails, and help from various people, we were able to bring Hermmy to Canada on October 1, 2012, a year after her condition was first discovered. Hermmy received her visa at 9:30 am that morning. I arrived in Haiti at 3 pm with Denis Costello, an Air Canada pilot who made the arrangements. Then, with Hermmy, we flew back to Canada at 4:15.

Hermmy had never been on a plane before. As the time progressed, it was obvious that she was growing tired. She slept a fair amount. She slept on my shoulder/lap for the whole flight between Montreal and Toronto. She had her first elevator ride in Montreal’s airport; she flung herself at me and buried her head into me, obviously frightened by the experience. The second elevator ride was better. And when she came to my home and we travelled up the four floors, she was smiling, understanding that it was okay.

Hermmy will live with me until she returns to Haiti–just call me “mom” now!

My cats Spunky and Maxi were waiting to greet her, and she smiled at them–I even saw her pet one–so that is good. I’m glad cats are okay.

Upon awakening Tuesday morning, Hermmy promptly made her bed. Showing her how the water taps work and the shower, I got the next “wow” reaction. Turning on the shower did it. She has had her first washing and used the shower wand so her hair wouldn’t get wet.

Trying on clothes which people have generously donated was a tiring experience. She had to stop and have a sleep–a very sound one at that.

Watching TV in English is going to be one of her daily activities. She was savvy enough already to use the remote to change the station. I am glad for that spark of confidence in an otherwise pretty shy young lady.

I’m grateful for the assistance from Jinette Cesaire, a Haitian-speaking woman, who recently began attending my church. We’ve been on the speaker phone several times already, beginning upon our arrival late Monday night. Jinette is very willing to allow us to call at any time. She will help translate when we go to the hospital.

I’m grateful for the iPhone app that lets me speak in English and then speaks what I’ve said in creole. Technology is wonderful! I am trying to get an iPad for her–several folk are trying to help make this happen.

Hermmy’s surgery date has changed from October 9 to October 12. We have several appointments, beginning on Wednesday.

Here are a few prayer points for now:

  • That Hermmy will remain well–she has a little sniffle this morning I’ve noticed
  • That Hermmy will adjust to her new situation–including the food.
  • Getting an iPad
  • My adjustment to this new role of motherhood–glad to do it, but just different for me.
  • I’m not a cook, so pray about this big stretch for her.

October 3 Update: We need you to pray for Hermmy. She is not feeling well–stomach and head–homesick too, I suspect. When I went in and slept in her room, she settled for the night. She has a low grade temperature. I suspect a cold may be coming–sniffling, but no sneezing. Her disturbing night has left her very tired this morning too.

She has appointments today. I called to alert them to her unwellness. The first thing they said, “Well, she has to be well, or there is no point in having these appointments.” Doesn’t that sound sympathetic?! Pray for me to keep my cool with them when we do go in a few minutes.

Thanks for praying. I know God brought her here and He is going to protect and keep her.

03 Oct

October 3, 2012 |

Huntington University will “Remember the Past, Live Today, and Embrace the Future” at Homecoming & Family Weekend on October 5-6. Festivities will include alumni awards, department and five-year class reunions, a parade through the center of campus, coronation, the annual Davis Hall Follies, among other activities.

Huntington will recognize three alumni for their achievements at 12:45.

Dr. David Nicholls, a 1972 graduate with a degree in business education, will be honored with the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Citation. He has spent more than 30 years as a teacher, administrator and superintendent, and is now the executive pastor at New Hope Community UB church in Bryan, Ohio.

Jeff Edgel, a 2004 graduate with a degree in elementary education, will be honored with the 2012 Young Alumnus Award for his music ministry and his promotion of the university. Edgel is a member of the Christian rock band Attaboy. Through the band, Edgel ministers to teens around the country and promote HU.

Brooks Fetters is a 1981 graduate with a degree in business administration. He later returned to Huntington to earn a Master of Christian Ministry degree in pastoral ministries in 1987. He will be honored with the 2012 Alumnus of the Year award for his leadership in the Huntington community and his support of the university. Fetters worked as a funeral director in the Huntington community for many years, and was elected mayor in January 2012.

02 Oct

October 2, 2012 |

The ONE80 car in the demolition derby.

The ONE80 car at the finish.

Ben Gladhill, associate pastor of Christian Education, Lake View Church (Camden, Mich.)

On September 25, ONE80 Student Ministries of Lake View Church helped sponsor a demolition derby car for the Hillsdale County fair in Hillsdale, Michigan.

Doug Faler, ONE80 adult leader, drove the ONE80 car in the derby. After a great showing in the second heat of the derby, Doug and the ONE80 car advanced to the Feature final along with 11 other cars. In the end, we finished sixth in the Feature!

It was a great opportunity to for our Student Ministries to get its name out to our surrounding community. As well as be a witness to others participating and at the fair.

A special thanks to all who supported ONE80 Students Ministries in this event and cheered Doug and our team to a great showing. Many youth and adults from Lake View Church came out to support our car at the derby. Also a special thanks goes to those who spent many hours working on the car and supported this project financially!

01 Oct

October 1, 2012 |

Dan Paternoster

Dan Paternoster, who was struck by a car on August 28 while riding his bike, continues to make progress, albeit slowly. Here are recent excerpts posted to CarePages.com by Dan’s wife, Nancy, during the past week. Dan, a veterinarian from the UB church in Fowlerville, Mich., is a member of denominational the Executive Leadership Team.

Wednesday, September 26. Walking up and down the stairs was Dan’s job for today, along with standing and kicking a ball. He did both things with help. Balance is something we take for granted until we have to learn to balance all over again.

Dan is progressing with his speech therapist, too but not as fast as in the physical areas. This area is frustrating to both of us. There are so many words in Dan’s head that it takes him a long time to recall the word that he wants. Sometimes he just uses other words in his sentences that don’t make any sense to us, but seem fine to him since he knows what he’s trying to say. Please pray specifically that his language recall and communication would improve tremendously this coming week.

Thursday, September 27. Still working on balance with sidestepping while playing catch. He’s gettng better with this. Since Dan is getting steadier on his feet, we requested his physical therapist to give us pointers on helping Dan transfer from the wheelchair to his bed and in the bathroom. It will be easier for Dan not having to wait for nursing staff to come each time he wants to transfer. There were several sentences that Dan said today that made total sense. Keep praying for this area. Dan will be having a swallow study done soon and if okay, then will be able to move on to food on a regular basis.

Friday, September 28. Today was a tiring day. Dan practiced swallowing by eating oatmeal and drinking cranberry juice. He’ll have a swallow study done on Monday and will be given more food if that study goes well. Dan also matched cards by suits and identified which item didn’t belong in each picture. He finished physical therapy by walking up and down a small hill. Dan’s sentences made more sense at times today, but please keep praying for complete healing in this area.

Sunday, October 1. Dan’s memory of names of objects and how to do simple tasks is returning slowly.

30 Sep

September 30, 2012 |

Anchor participants in the 2012 Fort4Fitness (click to enlarge).

Pastor Tim Hallman, preparing to run the 13-mile half-marathon, with his wife Tara, who ran the 10K (which started about a half hour later).

Tin Caps Stadium, where all of the Fort4Fitness events ended, is right across the street from the Grand Wayne Center, which will host the 2013 US National Conference.

As in 2011, a number of people from Anchor Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) participated in the annual Fort4Fitness races September 28-29, 2012. The kids in front participated in the children’s marathon on September 28; they log miles during the summer, and then complete the last 1.2 miles at the Tin Caps Stadium. Most of the adults participated in the 4-Mile walk. Pastor Tim Hallman ran the 13-mile half-marathon, and his wife, Tara, ran the 10K. Two others walked the 10K.

It’s an exciting event for the city. In just five years, the event has grown from 3000 people 10,000 people.

A group photo of most of the participants from Anchor was taken after the morning service on September 30.

27 Sep

September 27, 2012 |

Lois Magnus, wife of retired pastor and former superintendent Martin Magnus, passed away at 5:12 am on Thursday, September 27, 2012, two days shy of age 83.

Just six days ago we reported that Lois had been diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live.

Lois was a woman of strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and lived in relationship with him every day. She, along with her devoted husband of 56 years, Martin, had open hearts and an open home, and many thought of her as a second mom or a spiritual mom. Lois was a prayer warrior who supported many pastors, ministries and missionaries, some for over 50 years.

After three weeks of hospitalization, Lois couldn’t wait to get to heaven and leave behind the limitations of a failing body. Lois was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by her children, Brian (and wife Lynette), Cindy (and husband Scott), Randy (and wife Debb), Greg (and wife Shelley) and Tim, her grandchildren, brothers and sisters, many nieces, nephews and other family members, her loving church family at Stanley Park Community (United Brethren) Church, as well as neighbours and friends.

Funeral details:

Visitation: 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm Sunday, September 30, 2012.
Visitation location: Stanley Park Community Church, 9 Dreger Ave., Kitchener, Ontario (off Ottawa, east of the expressway).
Funeral: Monday, October 1, at 1:30 pm (viewing one hour beforehand).
Funeral location: Kitchener Gospel Temple, 9 Conway Dr., Kitchener, Ontario (off River Road).

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Stanley Park Church or a mission or ministry of your choice.

Two sons are currently United Brethren ministers: Brian Magnus, bishop of the United Brethren Church in Canada and pastor of the Parkwood Gardens church (Guelph, Ontario); and Randy Magnus, pastor of Roseville UB church (Ayr, Ontario).

Cards can be sent to:

Martin Magnus
118 Ross Avenue
Kitchener, ON  N2A 1V4
Canada

Brian Magnus
24 Lois Lane
Guelph, ON  N1K 1W7
Canada
Email

Randall J. Magnus
3 Marshall Street, R. R. 1
Ayr, ON  N0B 1E0
Canada
Email

24 Sep

September 24, 2012 |

Donna Hollopeter, associate director of Global Ministries, with Dwight and Patti Kuntz and all the mums.

Lots of variety.

Dwight unloads mums from the trailer as Donna Hollopeter and (on right) Patti and Frank Y watch.

Union Chapel (Fort Wayne, Ind.) is planning a trip to Jamaica in January 2013. As a fundraiser, Dwight and Patti Kuntz grew and are selling some beautiful mums.

They came by the Healthy Ministry Resources office on Monday, September 24, with a trailer filled with planters of mums–all different colors. Huge, and gorgeous. They found a lot of buyers.

The trip will occur January 8-22, 2013. The team will work on building a new dining hall complex at Jamaica Bible College. The school outgrew the old hall, which seats just 75 persons, a while back. The new dining hall will seat 350. It will double as a place to hold graduation ceremonies.

Specifically, they will concentrate on the first floor. The footers are in, and they will begin laying block for the walls–carrying cement blocks and steel rod, shoveling sand and stone, etc.

If you’re interested in participating on the team, contact Dwight Kuntz by email.

24 Sep

September 24, 2012 |

A UB Mid-Sized Church Conference is being held September 24-27 in Daytona Beach, Fla. The conference is designed for pastors and spouses from United Brethren churches with an average attendance of 150-300. The theme is “Breaking Through Common Barriers.”

A group of 37 persons are attending. They include senior pastors from 22 of the 25 UB churches in this attendance range.

Lodging for Monday through Wednesday evenings at the Ocean Walk Resort is covered, as is one evening meal. Participants are paying for transportation and all other meals.

The basic schedule:

  • Monday, September 24. The event begins with a 6:30 dinner, after which Bishop Phil Whipple will speak to the group.
  • Tuesday. Workshops in the morning, with the rest of the day free (hit the beach go golfing, etc.).
  • Wednesday. Workshops in the morning, afternoon free, with an 8 pm closing session.
  • Thursday. A service project with First UB church in nearby Holly Hill, Fla.

Presenters will be UB pastors from the larger churches who have at least taken a church through the 400 barrier. Topics include: Space Utilization, Leading vs. Managing, Staffing, Developing Leaders Around You, and Impacting Your Community.

Persons attending from the national office are Bishop Phil Whipple, Jeff Bleijerveld (Director of Global Ministries), Dennis Miller (Cluster Coordinator), and Gary Gates (Director of Ministerial Licenses).

Getaway meetings for pastors, staff, and spouses from the largest UB churches (300+) have been held somewhat regularly for about eight years.

24 Sep

September 24, 2012 |

Dan Paternoster

Dan Paternoster, who was struck by a car on August 28 while riding his bike, is making good progress. Here are recent excerpts posted to CarePages.com by Dan’s wife, Nancy. Dan, a veterinarian from the UB church in Fowlerville, Mich., is a member of denominational the Executive Leadership Team.

Thursday, Sept. 20. Wednesday was a busy and exhausting day. Dan was moved to rehab, which meant that we also moved with him. He is working with physical, occupational, and speech therapy twice each day, and this is wearing him out. Maybe he’ll start sleeping better at night now. (It’s so easy to get your days and nights mixed up in the hospital.) The current plan is for us to be here for 4-6 weeks, then possible further outpatient rehab in the Lansing area.

Friday, Sept. 21. Rehab is hard work, but we’re seeing progress! Yesterday and today were spent relearning how to walk. It’s not done for very long or without lots of assistance, but it IS happening. I’m sure it feels good to be moving again. Dan can still read well, but has a hard time recalling words. His speech therapist and his occupational therapist are both working on this. Dan can have visitors from 5:30-8 pm, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll be very awake then. His therapy sessions take up most of his day, every day, and are tiring him out.

Saturday, Sept. 22. Dan used a regular walker today! He still needed help, but walked much of his half hour therapy time. Today his trach tube was capped and he tolerated it well. Just a few more days of doing well this way and the trach will be removed. Dan was given ice chips to chew and swallow yesterday. Soon he’ll be tried on other foods to make sure that he won’t have trouble eating. If this goes well, the feeding tube will be removed.

22 Sep

September 22, 2012 |

On Sunday, September 16, Morocco UB church (Temperance, Mich.) held a Family Fun Fest after the morning worship service. Mark Smith reports:

“God blessed us with great weather, and many people came to have fun, eat, and fellowship all for free. We were not only able to have bouncin fun things for the children along with games, face painting, and crafts to do. We had great food, including a homemade ice cream-making contest. Out of the seven entries, Pastor Todd Greenman’s vanilla entry won and he went home with the Golden Scoop Award. We also were able to show off our improvements made to our santuary windows and other projects. God is blessing and using Morocco to reach many for his kindgom.”