20 Oct Canadian Trip to Haiti: Day 3

A United Brethren work group from Canada traveled to Haiti on October 17 to conduct medical clinics in our churches. Joan Sider is sending daily reports for the team. She previously wrote about Monday and Tuesday. Here is her report for Wednesday, October 19.

Dr. Athus joined us today. It is obvious that he has done many clinics. He organized us very effectively, and once again in about 4 hours we were able to see about 115-120 patients. We had three doctors–Dr. Athus, Dr. Germaine, and doctor to be, Ludlande Baptisin. Ludlande is the only one who can’t speak English. The other two speak both Creole and English.

Our interpreters once again helped us a great deal. Evena and Jimmy have been with us each day, and we share them around to the various needed places–but especially with triage.

Each evening we spend time organizing the meds for the next day. This is a great time of camaraderie. We had our debriefing and prayer time once the work was done.

Since many hands make light work, we had time to just visit before heading off to bed.

19 Oct Canadian Trip to Haiti: Day 2

A United Brethren work group from Canada traveled to Haiti on October 17 to conduct medical clinics in our churches. Joan Sider is sending daily reports for the team. She previously wrote about Monday, Day 1. Here is her report for Tuesday, October 18.

Day Two was a full, but rewarding day. It started with an awesome breakfast of spaghetti and sausage, freshly squeezed juice, hard boiled eggs, and bread. Of course there was tea and coffee.

Evena and Jimmy, the interpreters, arrived. Together, we helped load the van and set off for our first day of ministry. However, before getting to Canaan, we saw the main road many times–since we had to return home, turn around for gas, find a store open that sold generators, and pick up our doctor.

A generator was purchased, and after about two hours, we actually made it to our destination. What a great time we had. Audrey set up her quilting, and before actually beginning with the ladies, injured her leg on a piece of wire. Would you please pray that no infection will get into the wound and cause further problems. We will have the doctor look at it tomorrow.

She was able to get two quilts done, and one of the men used the sewing machine to sew the binding. That is why we needed a generator. We will choose which church will have this machine at the end of our stay.

Usually, Audrey has a draw to see which quilter will get the quilt. This was done, but unfortunately the two ladies who won didn’t seem to stay around to get them. We were sure that we communicated correctly. I’m wondering if they will receive them. The lady who took them–we’re not sure if she’ll pass them along.

The health clinic was phenomenal, with 105-115 patients. Dr. Germain was our doctor today, and Ludlande, a medical student, was on hand as well. Margie did her usual great job at nursing, and Kelly dispensed the drugs most capably. These two work so well together.

We were so impressed with today’s doctor, Dr. Germain. Sadly, he lost his mother, wife, and daughter in the earthquake. He stopped to watch a soccer game for a few minutes on his way home that January 12th. This kept him from being with his family, and thus saved his life. We found him to be a very compassionate man. He worked in a hospital here in Port au Prince before the earthquake, but gave that up afterwards and is now working for a mission. We have yet to find out which one. We are so pleased to have him on our team. Dr. Athus will join us tomorrow–and Dr. Germain will continue too.

We were in Canaan today, a church plant of Pastor Wilburt–he pastors Croix des Bouquet, Canaan, and another church plant of his, Jerusalem. We will be in Jerusalem on Friday. Both of these works are outside the city and are in areas where Port au Prince tent dwellers were encouraged to move. They are building houses for many of them, but there are a lot of tents, too. Living in tents there is quite different from living in Port au Prince. They have space and are not all clumped together. Still, not a joy to be in one–but better than what they had before.

One little girl we met has a hole in her heart. So concerned was Dr. Germain, he has offered to give her a needed test here in Port au Prince, make the test results available, and hopefully see if the surgery required can be done in Canada. He will send the test results. I think it would be great if somehow we could find a willing doctor who would offer his services like the charity cases you’ve seen done. It is usually quite well publicized on tv/radio when this happens.

Two of our team members have contributed the payment for the test that Dr. Germain will do here in Port au Prince. Not only is he seeing to this test, but he will go to Canaan to pick her up at the appointed time. Pray for Alexis.

Another lady, a diabetic, needs our prayers too. Her blood sugar levels were dangerously high. Dr. Germain wrote out a prescription for her. We’re trusting God that she will be able to have it filled.

After 5 hours in Canaan, we headed home–ready for supper. While hot and tired, we didn’t complain because we all felt rewarded by what was accomplished. Our debriefing time again highlighted the many “God moments” from the day.

The rest of the evening was spent preparing for tomorrow’s clinic and quilting time. We will be in City Soleil.

Pray for Kelly. She has a rash, the same kind she had a couple trips ago. It is very itchy and spreads across her whole body. We will ask the doctor tomorrow if he knows what it is and how it can be treated. I know Kelly won’t complain, but it is not pleasant.

19 Oct Heavy Flooding Affects Caluco Church in El Salvador

Heavy rainfall in El Salvador has caused severe flooding, as rivers overflow and mountain slopes fall apart.

Rev. Gonzalo Alas (right), who heads up our work there, wrote:

“In the Caluco church, where the pastor is Isaiah Reyes, all the brothers have had to leave their homes because the river ran through this place and flooded their homes and the church. The church is now being used to house neighbors from the community.

“We have 17 members of the church people affected, and 81 people in the community are now staying in the church.

“We have some problems regarding food, blankets, and medicine. They are forecasting that rain will continue for the rest of this week.

“The municipal government of Caluco has been providing small grants, but given the extent of the emergency in different places it does not keep up with the needs.

“Please pray for us in this difficult time. If you have opportunity to help us it would be a blessing for these families.”

18 Oct Canadian Trip to Haiti: Day 1

A United Brethren work group from Canada traveled to Haiti on October 17 to conduct medical clinics in our churches. Joan Sider is sending daily reports for the team. Here is her report for Monday, October 17.

We are thrilled to report that we have arrived in Haiti–and as I write this, we are experiencing our first power outage. However, since we are in the guest house, a generator will soon have power up and running. But imagine–there are so many who are now in total darkness.

Our team was thrilled with Air Canada. We were quickly seen to this morning, and when we arrived in Montreal, we were pleasantly surprised by the size of that airport. Nothing like Toronto’s or Miami’s–so much less walking. Having no customs to go through until we arrived here was great.

Here in Haiti, it was a snap. Pastor Richard knew one of the agents, so we moved swiftly through. The airport personnel, particularly the baggage handlers, seem to be much better organized, and we weren’t bombarded with the many men trying to assist us by carrying our bags.

One thing that was a bit disturbing at the beginning of our day–we knew that we each had to pay $20 for our second piece of luggage. However, we were two bins too many, making two of us have a third piece–at $225 each. So with the $20 for each of us plus the two third bins, we paid $590. But here is the God thing–we were told by the person at the desk that we could likely recoup most if not all of this money. All I need to do is write to Customer Relations at Air Canada and tell them why we had this much luggage and that it was going for charity purposes. A letter will be written, you can be sure.

We have decided that at our debriefing times, we will talk about “God moments” and keep a record of them each night. We’ve started, and everyone shared several that we experienced this first day. Jordan will be our secretary. It will be encouraging to us at the end of the week to see how God is revealing Himself in so many different ways.

We are a tired group tonight. Most of us were up very very very early–so I’ll say good night.

12 Oct Prayer for Arek Delik’s Father

Arek and Donna Delik (right) are endorsed UB missionaries serving in Poland. Donna wrote on October 10:

“Arek just talked to his father on the phone, and his father’s condition has worsened. He got very severe diarrhea and became very weak. They had to call the doctor to see dad at home. After the visit, the doctor referred him to the hospice. That means we have to prepare for the worst.

“We will really appreciate your prayers Arek’s dad and for us as well, especially for these 2 weeks (10/10 to 21/10) when we are having our Hong Kong mission team for the Chinese Culture Week. We pray that dad will get better and there won’t be anything happen to him during this time, otherwise Arek has to rush to Slupsk. We really feel that our enemy is trying to distract us from this particular time of ministry. Please stand with us in prayer.”

05 Oct The New Media Moves Fast

Doug Weber, UB endorsed missionary with HCJB Radio in Quito, Ecuador, posted on his blog a piece about his role with new media, particularly Facebook, to reach Latin American youth.

22 Sep Chinese-Language Church Plant in Thailand

Pastor HM Lee preaching.

Our two churches in Thailand are located just south of the Chinese border. Many persons living in these mountain villages speak either Akha or Mandarin Chinese, but not Thai. While learning to speak English may be popular in some places, most people in northern Thailand want to learn Chinese.

Rev. H.M. Lee recently started a United Brethren Chinese-language church plant. This third church will strengthen the efforts of our two existing Akha-language churches planted in the past 15 years.

22 Sep A New Staffperson in Global Minstries

Frank and Ginny

Global Ministries has hired Frank Y as a new associate director (for security reasons, we won’t use his full name on our websites and will be vague about some of his work). He becomes the fourth member of the staff, joining Jeff Bleijerveld (director), Donna Hollopeter (associate director), and Peggy Sell (administrative assistant). Frank and his wife, Ginny, are members of Emmanuel UB church in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Frank was born in China. He came to the States at age 7, when his father came here to earn his Master’s and PhD in Engineering at the University of Florida. Frank spent his childhood in several east coast states, but mostly in New Jersey, where his parents now live.

A relationship with a Taiwanese Christian woman–which started when she found his father’s lost wallet and returned it–eventually led to Frank’s family becoming Christians. The story also involves a serious heart condition Frank had, a hole in his heart. His mother began reaching out to God by praying over Frank…and he was completely healed. As he says now, “My heart is God’s.” Frank himself made the decision to follow Christ in junior high.

Frank earned an engineering degree from Cornell University, and then came to Fort Wayne in 2002 to work with Lincoln Financial Group. He worked in various departments, including strategy, marketing, and operations. He began worshiping at the Love Church in downtown Fort Wayne, but also attended a Bible study at The Chapel in the western suburbs. He and Ginny, who grew up in Fort Wayne, met at that Bible study, and were married in 2004.

In 2007, Frank and Ginny relocated to Asia, where Frank taught English with a like-minded organization for four years, and also worked three years in member care. Frank and Ginny recently completed graduate degrees at Wheaton College in Illinois. Frank’s degree was in Intercultural Studies and Ginny’s in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).

While attending Emmanuel during summer furloughs, Frank got acquainted with Jeff Bleijerveld, director of Global Ministries. That relationship eventually led to Jeff approaching Frank about joining the Global Ministries staff. Frank started September 15.

Frank and Ginny live in Fort Wayne, and are expecting their first child–a boy–in October.

Frank’s responsibilities will focus on three areas:

1. Supervising the overseas Global Ministries staff.
2. Dealing with new applicants and candidates.
3. Business as Mission.

Donna Hollopeter, in her associate role, will focus on short-term volunteers, internships, and staff care. Jeff Bleijerveld will devote his time to mobilizing local churches, promotion, and coming alongside our international partners in their church planting and mission endeavors.

21 Sep Turkey: Seven Churches Tour in Oct 2012

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

Global Ministries is working in partnership with IN Network’s work in Turkey. As one of the initial steps in building this relationship, we have been invited to participate in an exclusive United Brethren tour of the Seven Churches of Revelation and other Biblical Sights.

Dr. Mark Fairchild (right), who chairs the Bible & Religion Department at Huntington University, will be our guide. He frequently conducts biblical study tours to Israel, Greece, and Turkey.  Also participating will be Rody Rodeheaver of IN Network, the organization with which we are partnering in Turkey.

Bishop Phil and Sandy Whipple will take part in the trip, as will I and my wife, Charlene. Bishop Whipple writes:

“I want to invite you to come and experience Turkey, a land that is rich in history. Many sites from the New Testament are found in this land. Come and join my wife and me as we see the same locations seen by the apostle Paul. I am excited to see the scriptures come alive in a new way on this trip. I am looking forward to learning from Dr. Mark Fairchild and sharing a wonderful experience with all of you.”

Turkey is rapidly becoming the destination of choice for those wanting to experience the Biblical sites of the early Christian church. In many ways, the Christian church began in Turkey. The first non-Jewish Christian congregation was established at Antioch (Turkey), and it was there that believers were first called “Christians.” The apostle Paul was born in Turkey and 80% of his missionary journeys occurred in Turkey. A large portion of the New Testament was written to congregations in Turkey.

The total cost is $3,595 per person. That includes air fare, lodging in 4-5 star hotels, breakfast and dinner daily, an air-conditioned motorcoach , entrance fees, taxes–pretty much everything you’ll need. Early Bird pricing–a discount of $200–ends November 30. So check out the brochures and submit your application to ensure your place on this exciting trip.