12 Jun Nicaragua Medical Team Leaves on June 13

A group of 26 people will leave for Nicaragua on Friday, June 13. They come from all over the denomination–from Kansas to the east coast. They’ll meet up in Houston and continue on to Managua together.

For many years, we have held annual medical clinics in Honduras, led by Robert and Fonda Cassidy (right) from Mt. Olivet UB church (Mt. Solon, Va.). Requests have come to expand the medical ministry to other Central American countries. This is the first attempt at that. The Cassidys are leading this Nicaragua team. Donna Hollopeter, associate director of Global Ministries, is also participating.

The team will be based at Rancho Ebenezer, a large facility located in the mountains outside of Masaya, Nicaragua. They will hold five clinics in different locations, starting on Saturday, June 14.  They will return to the United States on June 21.

On June 27, another team will head to Poland to conduct an English camp with missionaries Arek and Donna Delik. Donna Hollopeter, along with her husband Jason, will also take part in that trip.

23 May Honduran Missionary Candidates Approved

Commissioning the Pachecos–the first missionaries to be sent from Honduras Conference.

During the recent gathering of the Honduras Administrative Board, a new item of business appeared on the agenda. They were interviewing a couple for missionary service.

Since United Brethren ministry to Spanish-speakers began in 1951, Honduras National Conference has grown to more than 115 churches, an international school, a retreat center, and a theological institute. They sent one short-term volunteer to Haiti to participate with Canada in a construction project, but sending missionaries overseas has been an ambition yet to be fulfilled.

The “junta” (their governing body) interviewed and approved Milton and Erika Pacheco for ministry in partnership with Global Ministries. The location is yet to be confirmed, but Thailand is a serious consideration.

The Pachecos are active members of their local UB church. Milton has an undergraduate degree in business administration and a graduate degree from the conference seminary. He currently works for Habitat for Humanity, and he regularly ministers as a singer/songwriter in local churches. Erika is working this with Marilyn Reeck this summer with the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Both Milton and Erika plan to spend about a year at Huntington University studying missions before going overseas.

Although they will serve with Global Ministries, they will be considered missionaries of Honduras National Conference. Global Ministries’ goal is to serve as partners and facilitators in the process.

22 May All 11 Honduran Districts United in Training Emphasis

BILD training in District 8 of Honduras Conference.

Honduras National Conference wants to get all of their churches involved in a new approach to discipleship, leadership development, and church multiplication. The conference is divided into 11 districts. This past week District 8, in south-central Honduras, was the last to officially join in.

The program, known as BILD, emphasizes the centrality of the local church in making disciples, training leaders, planting churches, and sending missionaries. As a result, discipleship is not a one-on-one function, nor is theological study institutionalized. Rather, these and other multiplication activities are church-based.

The materials being used are simple in their delivery and yet profound in their depth. Participants who recently completed the discipleship portion and were moving on to the two-year Book of Acts study said they grew immensely through their interaction with the Word in the context of a small group, and felt they were now more competent to live out their faith in word and action.

08 May Mission Project: Leadership Training in Honduras

Participants with their certificates for completing the program.

Juanita Chavez, superintendent of Honduras Conference, leading a training session for Honduran leaders.

Amount Needed: $9,200

Honduras National Conference has embraced a model for discipleship and theological education that is church-based. The approach is non-formal, as opposed to institutional, and aims to train up leaders in the context of the local church.

Two years ago, they began with just a handful of leaders from La Ceiba. Now they are now expanding to establish new centers throughout the country. The materials were created by BILD (bild.org) of Ames, Iowa, a church-multiplication movement committed to placing the church at the center of every aspect of Christian ministry (evangelism, discipleship, missions, theological education, theology, etc.).

The Hondurans will have 150 participants in the program in 2014/15. The cost for the entire program during this period of time is $15,343. The greatest expense involves establish new centers in local churches. In the future, current participants will serve as trainers, thereby lowering the cost. Participants’ contributions will cover 40% of the expense. The conference has asked if we would assist them with the remaining 60%, which comes to $9200.

Interested in supporting this project?
Please send your gift to:

Global Ministries
302 Lake St.
Huntington, IN 46750

Please write the project code, HN001, on the memo line.

08 May Earthquake Strikes Northern Thailand

Frank Y (right), Associate Director of Global Ministries

Northern Thailand, the region where Global Ministries staff Bryan and Emily Gerlach are serving, experienced a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, May 6. Some structures were damaged, including the iconic white temple of Wat Rongkhun in Chiang Rai, their neighboring province. Thankfully, the Gerlachs are safe.

They wrote, “We are totally fine! We felt a little bit of the earthquake when it happened and were totally caught off-guard. We were at home in the evening when it happened and felt the whole house shake! It turns out the effects were really bad up in Chiang Rai. Several families in [a village we know] had their houses destroyed and are living in tents and/or makeshift shelters. Please pray for them.”

I also heard from Mark Choi, the former mission director of Hong Kong Conference. He says our three mountain churches in northern Thailand are safe, too.

07 May Summer Children’s Ministry Project

Denis Casco, bishop of Mexico Conference, with a friend.

A children’s outreach by a UB church in Mexico.

A children’s outreach by a UB church in Mexico.

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

It’s time for a Mexican Fiesta! That’s right. This summer we invite your children’s ministry to join us in supporting children’s outreach through our 48 United Brethren churches in Mexico.

In the coming weeks, Global Ministries will provide information for you to use in a Sunday school or Vacation Bible School. We’ll have five stories, a short video, and ideas for planning your fiesta.

Mexican Fiestas are always a great time for games, clowns, and of course, piñatas. So start planning now to celebrate with us and support the ongoing effort to reach communities in Mexico where no evangelical church exists.

02 May Project: Vehicles for UB Staff in Thailand

Aside from focusing on language and culture studies, Bryan and Emily Gerlach have begun work with a local ministry called the HUG Project. In addition, they worship regularly with a local Thai church and have begun to host short-term teams from North America. With growth in each of these areas, the need for a vehicle is becoming more apparent.

The vehicle would be primarily used for:

• Transporting Thai students to/from the HUG Project Education Center and other activities.
• Transporting United Brethren missions groups. They have hosted two groups already, including one with ten people.
• Transporting HUG Project team members to/from meetings and trainings.
• Occasional outreach trips to the mountain villages.
• Potential to help the local Thai church they attend with outreach and in-church functions.
• An enclosed vehicle would also help them during the upcoming rainy season (July – October) and when transporting anything larger than a bag of groceries.

Upon the recommendation of local missionaries, local leadership and Thai Christian friends, Global Ministries has decided a truck would best suit current and future ministry needs. The intention is to add a cab cover and bench seats in the bed for transporting people. In Thailand, it is very common for people to ride in the back of trucks.

The goal is to raise $14,000, preferably by the end of May (start of the rainy season).

If you would like to donate toward this project,
 please send your gift to:

Global Ministries
302 Lake St.
Huntington, IN 46750

Please write
 “2-8998 Th. Spec. Proj. – Vehicles”
 on the memo line.

23 Apr Subscribe to the Global Ministries Prayer Guide

The Global Ministries Prayer Guide is a couple years old now. This monthly e-letter goes by email to about 160 subscribers.

It’s just a single page with a simple concept–two prayer needs involving Global Ministries staff, two prayer needs involving the United Brethren international fields, and two prayer needs involving the world at large.

The April edition went out yesterday, April 23.

15 Apr Earthquakes and Tremors Hit Nicaragua

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

On Friday afternoon (April 11) I called Juan Pavon, superintendent of Nicaragua Conference. He told me they had experienced an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale on Thursday night.

On April 14, I received an email from him. He said that just 10 minutes after our phone call, a second quake struck, this one measuring 6.7.

The Associate Press reports that there have been hundreds of small aftershocks and at least seven quakes since Thursday night. The 1972 earthquake which devastated Managua and killed 10,000 people was a magnitude 6.2 quake.

Rev. Pavon told me that people are getting very panicky.They are trusting the Lord, but nevertheless ask for our prayers.

10 Apr Openings on Mission Trips

Poland: June 27 – July 9. We need at least 4 more teens for this summer’s Poland English Camp Team. The cost is approximately $1800 per person depending upon departure location. For more information, contact Donna Hollopeter in Global Ministries.

Jamaica. We need at least two additional teams to work on the dining hall at Regent College of the Caribbean in Jamaica. These teams could go anytime between May and July or in the fall. Please email Dwight Kuntz if you are interested.

Sierra Leone: November 7-22. We need some additional folks for the Sierra Leone construction/medical team going out in November. The cost is $2500 per person. For more information, contact Donna Hollopeter in Global Ministries.

All of these trips are sponsored by Global Ministries.