05 Oct Mamei Simbo: Heart Surgery October 6

Mamei Simbo, wife of Sierra Leone Bishop Billy Simbo, will undergo heart surgery Wednesday, October 6, at 8 am. The surgery, to replace a damaged valve, will be done at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington, Pa.

Mamei entered Abington Hospital five weeks ago. She was diagnosed with a bacterial infection, which probably started at the IV port installed so she could begin chemotherapy for the multiple myeloma she has had since 2007. The infection spread to her knee and then to an aortic valve.

After three surgeries, the infection was removed from her knee. But the damage to the heart valve remained. She was scheduled for a valve replacement last week, but picked up another infection, which postponed the surgery. That infection has now been cleared.

On Monday, October 4, the family held a consultation with the cardiac surgeon about the defective valve, which was leaking and causing the heart to work extra hard. Mamei agreed to go ahead with the heart surgery.

Please be in prayer for Mamei. Billy sent these specific ways to pray:

1. That the surgery will be successful.
2. That Mamei will be able to endure the trauma of the surgery. She has shown remarkable improvement in the last few days for which we are all praising the Lord. She sits up in bed all by herself. A few days ago she would yell in pain with every touch.
3. For the period of rehab that will follow surgery, and for protection against additional infections.
4. For us as a family, as we grapple with the aftercare and other issues. I especially covet your prayers as I look at all the work that needs to be covered in the two-month period leading to our Bi-Annual Conference in Sierra Leone in December.

Billy adds, “Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement. It is so good to put our trust in the Lord, as many of you have reminded us through cards and gifts.”

05 Oct A Meal in Eastern Turkey

Jeff Bleijerveld and Kurt Uhen, from Emmanuel UB (Fort Wayne, Ind.), are currently traveling in Turkey. Jeff sent this photo, with this note: “We just came back from church and a great lunch of lamb liver and chicken kabobs. It was great! Behnan’s mug of fermented goat yogurt is to the top left. I passed on that.”

04 Oct Travels in Eastern Turkey

At a church service in eastern Turkey

Jeff Bleijerveld and Kurt Uhen, from Emmanuel UB (Fort Wayne, Ind.), are currently traveling in Turkey. Jeff writes:

99% of the people in this eastern Turkish city are ethnic Kurds of Syrian, Armenian, and Iraqi origin. However, the official language is Turkish, so Kurdish is only spoken in the home and among friends.

We had a very Mediterranean breakfast with lots of olives, melon, fresh cheeses, and breads. We headed for church at 11 am. This church has a police officer assigned for security 24 hours a day. However, things are quite tranquil at present as the PKK (Kurdish separatist organization) has declared a 30-day ceasefire with the Turkish government.

Facts I learned today:

There are 73 million people in Turkey.

• Only 4000 evangelicals live in Turkey. Another 30,000 people are Christian, including Assyrian Orthodox and Chaldeans.
• The country was nearly 100% Christian at one time.
• Seven of the early churches’ councils took place in what is modern-day Turkey.
• The Apostle Paul was born in Turkey, and all three of his missionary journeys included time in Turkey.
• John wrote his gospel in Turkey and died here of natural causes.
• Christian Turks consider Turkey part of the Holy Lands.

30 Sep Project: Rebuild Centennial School in Sierra Leone

Global Ministries is partnering in a project to rebuild the Centennial Secondary School (high school) in Mattru Jong, Sierra Leone. The project is being spearheaded by two groups: the Centennial alumni association (many of whose members now pursue professional careers in the States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries), and the Lehigh Valley (Pa.) chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

Before the civil war of the 1990s, Centennial was a United Brethren boarding school with 600 students. But rebel troops occupied and ravaged the school during the 1990s, dismantling the plumbing and electrical systems for their salvage value, and destroying the water, sanitation, and electrical systems. This project will rebuild the infrastructure of water, sanitation, and electrical systems.

To get things going, they are looking for 300 people/groups/churches to give $100 or more, with the goal of raising $30,000. That will enable them to get moving until grant requests are acted upon.

27 Sep UB Day in Macau

Bridger Fetters, Global Ministries staff in Macau

Last Sunday, Living Water and Living Stone (the two UB churches in Macau) came together for an all-day, joint service. We played a few games and ate lunch before moving into a more traditional worship service. Members from both churches took part in leading worship. Pastor Ajiax Wu from Hong Kong gave the message.

Afterwards, members from both churches shared about their vision for what the UB church could do in Macau, and David Kline concluded with a call to action. We broke up into small groups and had some wonderful discussions about the future of the UB church in Macau and the importance of having everyone be a part of it.

It was a wonderful time of sharing, and it was very encouraging to see how well the two groups got along.

I was in charge of the opening ice-breaker. Everyone was asked to write their name on a card upon entering the church. The cards from Living Stone were put into one hat and the cards from Living Water into another. Each person then took a card from the church they do not attend.

Assuming the identity of the person on their new card, each person went around the room learning everything they could about “themselves” by simply talking to others in the room. At the end of the alloted time, a few members came up to share everything they had learned about their new identity. It was amazing (and funny in many cases) to hear how much people could learn about someone in such a short time.

23 Sep Work Team Headed to Haiti in Early October

Ruben Ponce

A work team will be headed to Haiti in early October to help close in the Delmas 33 Church that has been central to much of our rehabilitation efforts since the earthquake. The team will consist of twelve Canadians and one Honduran. Pastor Ruben Ponce (right) is being sent and fully supported by the Honduran National Conference. He serves a local church and also is a skilled carpenter.

Efforts to rebuild more churches this October have been hampered by a number of factors, and so our plans to deploy more teams have had to be put on hold. The Canadian team will work to resolve some of these issues while they are in Haiti. We hope to announce dates for a late spring, early summer project following their return.

23 Sep Samaritan’s Purse Update from Haiti

Franklin Graham shares an update of what’s been happening to provide housing and safe sources of water since the earthquake of January 2010. Global Ministries has a strategic partnership with Samaritan’s Purse, the organization he heads.

15 Sep A Temporary House-Raising

The Myers Mission House

Things are a little “up-in-the-air” this month at the Myers Mission House in Huntington, Ind. Work has begun to raise the house and replace the basement walls, which had begun to cave in quite significantly. The decision to have this work done was a difficult one, as it will entail considerable expense, but the house is used on a regular basis by furloughing Global Ministries’ staff. Selling the house “as is” was not an option. Contractor Mike Tribolet says the work should be completed by mid-October. The Myers Mission House has provided a home-away-from-the-field for countless Global Ministries staff over the years.

14 Sep Sept 14 Update on Mamei Simbo

Billy Simbo sent the following update on his wife, Mamei, on Tuesday, September 14. Billy is serving a three-year term with Global Ministries in Sierra Leone, where he holds the title of Bishop of Sierra Leone Conference.

Mamei is still in the Coronary Care Unit at Abington Memorial Hospital (Abington, Pa.). They are keeping her because her heart rate is too fast and her blood pressure too erratic.

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14 Sep New Website for Global Ministries

After a year of planning and development, Global Ministries has launched a brand new website at UBGlobal.org. This new website replaces the former site located at UBMissions.com (which now directs people to UBGlobal.org).

The site contains:

• Updated info and photos for all Global Ministries staff.
• Information about each country in which we have United Brethren churches.
• Over a dozen videos you can view online.
• A complete list of projects, which you can sort by cost, region, and category.
• A host of recommended books, videos, training events, speakers, and more.
• Much information about work trips.
• Many ways to “Get Involved” in the work of missions–giving, volunteering, supporting projects, or entering missionary service.

Take a look at UBGlobal and browse around.