An earthquake struck the southwestern arm of Haiti on August 18, killing over 2200 people. Four United Brethren churches around the city of Les Cayes sustained damage and many members lost their homes. A couple children from the Archambeau UB church were killed.

UB Global is coming alongside Haiti Conference to help in this time of need. If you’d like to contribute toward, go to this link. You’ll also find a video in which the Haitian superintendent, Rev. Jean Louis Supreme, describes how United Brethren people and churches were affected by the earthquake, and by the tropical storm which soon followed.

You may be wondering about how the UB churches in Haiti were affected by the recent earthquake. Our Canadian Conference has worked closely with Haiti over the years. Brian Magnus, Bishop of the UB Church in Canada, sent this report:

“Haiti was hit with a 7.2 earthquake. The center was further away from Port au Prince, so other than shaking and scaring them, building damage didn’t happen there.

“However, the southwestern part of Haiti was hit hard. Cayes, where we have 5 churches, was hit very hard. Our churches have stood., but pastors’ homes have been damaged and many of our UB parishioners’ homes have been ruined. Two children from our Archambeau church were killed.

“With around 1300 now confirmed dead, there are bound to be more who have lost their lives.

“SEED, an agricultural Bible College that we have sometimes partnered with, sustained much damage, but no students/staff were lost.”

Steve Fish (right) has joined the UB Global staff as an associate director, as of February 1, 2021. He has served in United Brethren ministry since 1989, and for the past five years has been Teaching Pastor and Director of Missions at Emmanuel Community Church in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Steve is at least a third-generation UB; he recalls hearing that his grandparents were strong supporters of UB missions. He grew up in Temperance, Mich., a few miles from the Ohio line, but the family drove into Ohio to attend the former Emmanuel UB church in the Toledo area.

Steve entered Huntington University in 1985, and as a sophomore chose Bible & Religion as his major. When he attended Challenge ’88, the UB denominational convention in Knoxville, Tenn., he sensed a definite calling to the ministry.

At Huntington, he met Kim Maxwell, daughter of Dr. Kent and Carol Maxwell, who had served several decades in United Brethren ministry. Steve and Kim were married in 1989. That year, Steve joined the staff of Morning Star UB church in Kokomo, Ind., where he worked under the leadership of senior pastor Greg Reed. Over the next 12 years he served in various roles, including singles minister, adult education, missions, and preaching.

In 2001, Steve and Kim relocated to Wilmore, Kent., where he entered Asbury Theological Seminary. He graduated in 2005 with a Master of Divinity degree, was ordained that year by Bishop Paul Hirschy, and in November became senior pastor of Oak Harbor UB church (now Shoreline) in Oak Harbor, Ohio.

In 2010, Steve decided to step away from the ministry for a while. He and Kim moved back to Indiana, where Steve worked in secular employment for four years. In 2012, Kim joined the staff of Emmanuel UB church as a counselor and as Director of Women’s Ministries, and served five years in that role. In 2015, Pastor Dennis Miller invited Steve to also join the staff.

Growing up in the United Brethren church, Steve heard presentations from UB missionaries who were home on furlough or preparing for overseas service. His first overseas trip was to Honduras, while serving at Morning Star. He has now visited Honduras five times. Other overseas missions experience includes visits to Jamaica, Nicaragua, Columbia, Poland, and a preaching tour with Bishop Denis Casco to UB churches in Mexico. Emmanuel Community Church has been active in UB missions, with members Jenaya Bonner serving in Macau and the Glunt family in Thailand.

For the past several years, Steve has been a member of the UB Global board, and has joined members of the UB Global staff in attending the big Missio-Nexus missions conference for three of the past four years.

In February 2020, Steve joined Frank Yang, now the UB Global executive director, in a visit to Thailand to spend time with the Glunt family and see the new Good Soil Community Center. They left just as the country went into lockdown.

Steve and Kim Fish have two children, Alyssa and Johonna. Kim works in private practice with Clarity Counseling LLC, based in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Lamar and Karen Crumbley as missionaries in Honduras.

Rev. Lamar Crumbley, 87, a former UB missionary in Honduras, passed away January 24, 2021, in Canton, Ga.

Visitation: 10:00 – 11:30 am on February 9, 2021.
Funeral: 11:30 am February 9, 2021
Location: Darby Funeral Home, 480 East Main Street, Canton, GA 30114

Lamar and Karen Crumbley became involved with the UB work in Honduras in 1974, leading a series of short-term teams from their Baptist church in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Fifi and in the years following. Field Superintendent Archie Cameron finally invited them to join the work fulltime. They sold their business and, in 1978, settled in La Ceiba.

The Crumbleys served in Honduras over a 15-year period, and also served a short-term stint in Macau in 2003. Karen passed away April 2, 2019, at age 82.

Angela Vincenti

Angela Vincenti has been hired as administrative assistant in UB Global, the missions arm of the UB churches in the United States and Canada. She started on Monday, January 11.

Angela was born in Michigan, where her family became associated with the United Brethren church in Freeport, then pastored by Rev. Jerry Drummond. In 1984, when she was in second grade, the family moved to Huntington, Ind., so her parents could attend Huntington University. They soon settled into the College Park UB church. She grew up in Huntington and went on to attend Huntington University, graduating in 2000 with a degree in Cross Cultural Ministry.

At HU, Angela met her future husband, Mark. They were married in 1999. In June 2000 they moved to Chambersburg, Pa., where Mark became youth pastor at his home church, King Street UB. They served there for nearly 11 years. During that time, Angela was a children’s minister for about three years. Among other things, she started an after-school ministry which continues.

In 2011, the Vincentis returned to Huntington, where Mark joined the staff of College Park UB church. In October 2019, he left to join the staff of Emmanuel UB church in Fort Wayne.

For five years now, Angela has volunteered with International House in Fort Wayne. She mostly works with Muslim women, building relationships and helping them learn conversational English. It’s a way to put her Cross Cultural Ministry degree to work. And now, she’ll use her degree with UB Global.

Angela and Mark have four children, from kindergarten through 11th grade. With all of them now in school, it seemed like a good time for her to return to the workplace. The UB National Office is delighted to welcome Angela to the team.

Frank Yang has been named Executive Director of UB Global, effective January 1, 2021. The UB Global board unanimously approved him for this position. He has been serving as Acting Director since June 1, 2020.

Frank and his family are members of Emmanuel Community UB church in Fort Wayne, Ind. He joined the UB Global staff in September 2011 as an associate director. His primary responsibilities have included supervising overseas staff, bringing new staff on board, and engaging local churches. He has also led UB short-term teams to Asia.

Frank was born in China, and came to the United States at a young age with his parents, growing up on the east coast. His undergraduate degree was in engineering from Cornell University, and he later earned a Master’s in Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College. He worked in financial services in Fort Wayne, Hartford, and Philadelphia.

Frank and Virginia, who was already attending Emmanuel Community Church, met in Fort Wayne and were married in 2004. They served together for four years as missionaries in Asia. Soon after they returned in 2011, Frank was invited to join the UB Global staff.

Frank and Ginny have two young children. Virginia is an adjunct professor at Huntington University, teaching in the TESOL program.

Jana Gass has concluded nearly eight years as administrative assistant of UB Global. She will be greatly missed.

Jana joined the UB Global staff in January 2013. She planned dozens of international trips for UB Global staff and other travelers, sent countless letters and emails to keep people informed about UB missions, helped plan and coordinate aspects of the national conference meetings, and was the welcoming face and voice for guests in the UB Global building.

Jana also played an important role with the UB child sponsorship programs in India. The UB Global staffperson there, Miriam, writes:

“Jana’s efficiency, care, concern, and personal interest will be missed by me especially. She has been such a blessing in the ministry of child sponsorship. I know it was a lot of hard work for her, but she was so very patient in dealing with the last-minute changes and contacting the sponsors. I will always be grateful to her for the very important part she played in this ministry. I regret, she never had the opportunity to see first-hand the impact made by her work so many miles away. Children, touched by this sponsorship project and the differences made in their future, plus the love and concern of the sponsors was an amazing blessing. I will also miss her very welcoming smile in the office. My prayers will be with Jana as she shares her talents where the Lord will place her.”

Being a former missionary, Jana could relate to missionaries at every stage of their service. She and her husband, Herb, sensed God calling them to missions after completing the Perspectives course. In 2005, they and their two children, Alicia and Caleb, went to Papua New Guinea to serve as support workers with New Tribes Missions. While there, Jana worked in various administrative and hospitality positions.

They returned in June 2011, and the family became part of College Park UB church in Huntington. Two years later, the administrative assistant position opened up. She applied and was soon welcomed to the UB Global staff.

Jana accepted a new position with a local bank, and concluded her service with UB Global as of December 1. UB Global is grateful for Jana’s valuable work over these years and her underlying heart for world missions.

Roger and Marilyn Reeck, UB endorsed missionaries serving in Honduras with Wycliffe Bible Translators, have spent much of the year in San Antonio, Texas. Their daughter Amanda is a medical doctor in that city.

On Thanksgiving, the entire Reeck clan–the four daughters, their husbands, and the grandchildren–were all together in San Antonio. Marilyn wrote, “This is the first Thanksgiving together in a long, long time.”

However, Covid made its presence known. A number of them tested positive.

On Thanksgiving Day, Marilyn wrote, “Today, 17 days after Roger first displayed symptoms of Covid, he is doing well now in recovery mode! We are so, so thankful. God is so wonderful! Roger moved back home from Amanda’s house (which had been called the Covid house) yesterday and is so thankful to be home. Christy, her husband, and Amanda are still in the recovery stage but doing well.”

But early in the morning of December 5, Amanda’s husband, Amila, passed away. Marilyn made this announcement on Saturday:

“Our sweet son-in-law Amila Jayakody succumbed to Covid and was transported to glory today at 1 am. After being on oxygen for 2 weeks, he was transferred to a military hospital and further procedures were administered. During the week things worsened each day and the Lord silently took him home.

“Our 17-year-old grandson was at the hospital the moment Amila left this earth. He prayed: “Thank you Jesus for leaving Amila’s celebration in heaven to come to earth and suffer with us here.”

“Our daughter, Amanda, had finally found the love of her life at 35 years old and had two-and-a-half years with her Amila.

“Amila was passionate about Jesus, loved people, had a servant’s heart, and had truly become a son to us. He had strong plans for his future service in mission work.

“Praise God our whole family is here together in San Antonio and that Amanda’s three sisters were able to be with her at the hospital for the last 2 days. There will be a small family funeral in a few days.”

Please keep the Reeck family in your prayers.

Michelle Harris, associate director of UB Global, leads in prayer for the travelers at the airport in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Ruth Rivera (right) with Dr. Richard and Cathy Toupin.

Ruth packing for the six-week trip to Sierra Leone.

Ruth at work at Mattru Hospital.

On October 29, Ruth Esther Rivera Mejia, a dentist from Honduras, and Dr. Richard Toupin and Cathy Toupin left for Sierra Leone. They will serve at Mattru Hospital for six weeks. We are looking forward to what God will do in and through this team.

They worshiped at the UB church in Bo on Sunday morning, November 1, and arrived in Mattru late that afternoon.

Now these servants–surgeon, nurse, and dentist–are at work bringing healing to people through Mattru Hospital.

The Saopin bridge on the east side of La Ceiba.

Hurricane Eta slammed into Honduras on Tuesday, affecting the northern coast where dozens of United Brethren churches are located. Roger and Marilyn Reeck are Wycliffe missionaries in Honduras, and their daughter Christi and her husband, Rigo, are UB endorsed missionaries with Commission to Every Nation. They live in La Ceiba, located on the north coast, but all are currently in San Antonio, Texas, where the Reecks have been since the pandemic began. Marilyn sent this note:

Our daughter, Christy, and her family arrived in San Antonio from Honduras last night. From their house to the International airport, they travel four hours. Predicting the flooding that would take place due to Hurricane Eta, they left home a day early. They drove through several towns along the route that were already flooded from the heavy rains. Praise God they made it to the airport, and the plane did fly.

But, the reports we have received today are of major flooding, landslides, damage, and destruction. The hurricane has now diminished to a tropical storm. La Ceiba, where we have lived for many years, runs east-west with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. A section of the bridge we must cross over to get into town on the east side has collapsed. The two bridges leading out of town on the west side are damaged also and deemed unsafe.

There is major flooding, and bridges are out on the whole northern coast of Honduras and part of Nicaragua. This all brings back memories of Hurricane Mitch that happened 22 years ago on the same date.

Please pray that the necessary relief, food, etc. will arrive for the people who have suffered so much already from the strict lockdowns due to the pandemic.

Our plans are to return to Honduras in another three weeks.