(260) 356-2312

UB.orgUBGlobal.orgChurch Search

08 Jul

July 8, 2009 |

Lim_200.jpgFollowing weeks of pneumonia and respiratory distress, the Lord has taken to Himself our sister Restituta Lim, wife of Rev. Prudencio Lim, superintendent of our Philippine National Conference. Funeral services will take place in Manila this coming Saturday.

Mrs. Lim was a faithful wife, devoted mother, and loving grandmother. She will be greatly missed by her grandchildren, four children, and ministry partner, Rev. Lim. Long-time friends of the family and national conference, Rev. Mike Brown, remembers fondly her love for people and anchoring affect in their home and ministry.

I recall walking the slums of Manila with the Lims, the two of them hand-in-hand, partners in ministry and life sharing the love of Christ with everyone they met. Global Ministries will be passing on any benevolent gifts received to assist the family in paying for the hospital bills that have accumulated over the past six weeks.

07 Jul

July 7, 2009 |

Huntington University is co-sponsoring an August 7 concert with MercyMe in Fort Wayne, Ind. It’ll be held at Parkview Field, the new ballpark which is home to the semi-pro TinCaps baseball team.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for ages six and older are $11 in advance or $16 at the door and may be purchased at the Anchor Room Bookstore in Fort Wayne. You can also order tickets through Trinity Communications.

Also performing is Attaboy, an alt-pop band which includes two Huntington University alums, Amos Caley and Jeff Edgel.

07 Jul

July 7, 2009 |

The wife of Rev. Prudencio Lim, our superintendent in the Philippines, has been in and out of the hospital for a number of weeks with pneumonia. She is currently on a ventilator and is not doing well. When I was with them the week following our the US National Conference, it seemed she would be home soon. In addition to her poor health, hospital bills are mounting quickly.

On a brighter note, Rev. Lim has done remarkably well recovering from the stroke he suffered late last year. He has just recently begun preaching again and did a marvelous job walking me through the neighborhoods of Manila to visit churches and pastors during my short visit.

07 Jul

July 7, 2009 |

The Staff Openings page added a senior pastor listing for Colwood UB in Caro, Mich. That’s the church currently pastored by Phil Whipple, who was elected bishop. He’ll be moving to Huntington, Ind., at the beginning of August. 

07 Jul

July 7, 2009 |

Donna Hollopeter has been excited about participating in the China team this summer. On Thursday, July 9, the first group of 16 people are scheduled to leave for China. But on Monday, Donna was diagnosed with bronchitis. She saw a doctor, but had a reaction to prescribed medication. She’s seeing a doctor again today.

So say a prayer for Donna. She’d really like to be able to go to China this week.

06 Jul

July 6, 2009 |

Last week I sorted through 15 years of correspondence, 1978-1993.  We were cleaning junk out of the warehouse, and I had two file cabinets of stuff from way back. I knew I’d want to keep some of the letters in those files, and that meant going through each one. Took me most of two days.

Those were the years of the monthly United Brethren magazine, which I edited from 1982 until it ceased in 1994 (and worked on as assistant editor before that). There were, as you can imagine, some negative letters. People called me on the carpet for various literary offenses. In some cases, folks subjected themselves to severe contortions in order to scrunch between the lines of things I published, finding meaning which neither I nor the angels and demons knew was there. One person accused me of writing “editorial drivel,” which was actually true more than I’d like to admit.

My favorite was the fellow who, in a light-hearted piece of satire, imagined a slight against gun owners (which I could never locate). That led to conclusions about my patriotism and Christian commitment, which he expressed thusly: “I am very let down that you people are not only un-American, but also against Freedom and apparently pro Communist. Where are the true Americans who used to be pro-Christian freedom-lovers and God-fearing? Please don’t answer this letter, as I am not in the mood for some stupid liberal trying to convince me that living in slavery is good.”

Letters like that stand out. Most of the negative letters, though, made good points. Some, as I look back, were totally valid (though in my defensiveness, I may not have felt that way at the time).

But as I plowed through hundreds of letters, here’s what really struck me: the overwhelming graciousness of UB people.

Put aside the occasional negative letter. Most of the letters I read during those two days contained affirmations, compliments, positive statements, and assorted words of appreciation. The sheer volume of warm fuzzies totally eclipsed the occasional bad-mouthing.

It really humbled me, and renewed my appreciation for all of you. Thanks, UBs, for being good people.

06 Jul

July 6, 2009 |

Huntington University is adding three new online programs:

  1. Associate degree in organizational management.
  2. Bachelor’s degree in accounting.
  3. Bachelor’s degree in management.

The first fully online program offered will be the Bachelor of Science in Business Management with a major in not-for-profit leadership. Although the official launch of this online program will be in January 2010, some online courses leading to this degree are being offered this fall.

Huntington already offers a hybrid master’s degree program in youth ministry leadership that has both online and in-class components. The university’s online offerings also include some master’s degree courses in other programs, including counseling, education and ministry.

03 Jul

July 3, 2009 |

Marilyn Reeck, a United Brethren endorsed missionary living in La Ceiba, Honduras, sent this update on the political situation in Honduras. It was sent on Wednesday, July 1.

In Honduras the presidency is a one four-year term without possibility of reelection. Mel Zelaya was in his third year as president. Hugo Chavez has been his mentor and he was leading the country in a direction that the country did not want to go.

The last thing was ordering a vote to change the constitution so that he could be reelected (as Hugo Chavez had done). Both Congress and the Supreme Court declared it illegal. He fired the Joint Chiefs of Staff when they confiscated the ballots, which then led to them having him forcibly removed from the country. He has declared that he will return to the country tomorrow. All of the entire world has voted in his favor.

At the moment, we are safe and far away from the action in Tegucigalpa, the capital city. Roger is in Israel, but my daughter Chrysti and her family live here, and two of my daughters are visiting from Texas.

My main concern at the moment is that there are eight kids and three leaders here from North Carolina and a missions trip. Decisions have to be made about their return, but at the moment roadblocks do not permit us to get them to the international airport three hours away. All national flights are cancelled.

Please pray  for the safety of these kids and for us to make the right decisons in this regard. Pray especially for peace in Honduras, that God will give the new leaders wisdom in how to handle this situation.