30 Sep Update from the Weber Family

Doug and Ruth Weber and family, missionaries with HCBJ Radio, returned to Ecuador in August after a two-month furlough. In their September 2008 newsletter (which you can download in full as a PDF file), they told about what they did on furlough (technicallyl, called Home Ministry Assignment):

• Traveled 8000 miles.
• Slept in 21 different beds.
• Visited with 21 different families.
• Spoke at a camp and five churches.
• Hosted two dessert and sharing times.
• Spoke at a ladies tea.
• Attended three reunions.
• Celebrated four birthdays (and their own wedding anniversary).
• Atended a colleged registration weekend.

They also moved daughter Rachel into her new home: a residence hall at Huntington University. She will major in Digital Media with an emphasis in animation. “She also has a real heart for ministry to junior high kids and would like to get involved with the youth at the church she will be attending. She has seen how god has provided for her needs and is excited about preparing herself for his service.”

The other three children are still at home. Daughter Becca is starting her junior year of high school in Ecuador, Daniel is starting 7th grade, and David is in 3rd grade.
Doug has returned ot his job as Radio Director, while Ruth has started her fifth year of teaching 3rd grade.

They write, “Becca and a friend wasted no time remodeling the room she shared with Rachel. They have re-painted the room and plan to paint some customized designs on the walls. Rachel’s “loft” is also being re-purposed as an “art room.

“Giving this room a fresh start is just what we want to do with this new term of service in Ecuador. Getting a fresh start can sometimes help us regain our perspective and prioritize the things that we do. With renewed energy, we can then accomplish the really important things in our family and ministry. We hope to do just that in the next 2 years.”

11 Sep Hillsdale UB in Honduras

Michele Vigil, Youth and Discipleship Pastor, Hillsdale UB (Hillsdale, Mich.)
What an amazing week in Honduras for the Hillsdale UB Youth Team! From the very beginning, when their flight was cancelled in Detroit, and then postponed in Atlanta (leaving them stranded for three days), to them finally arriving in Honduras four days later than planned…this group saw God protect and provide for them each step of the way!

Twelve teens and adults traveled to Honduras July 14-21. Our goal was to bless those less fortunate than ourselves, but we were blessed even more by our new friends in Honduras. Each day in Honduras, we were able to visit orphanages, villages, and churches. At each location, we performed songs in Spanish and a skit in Spanish about being a Good Samaritan. We also gave away over 250 soccer balls to kids from needy families.

In addition, we visited a local high school and performed at their assembly. After performing each day, we came back and worked on painting the mission and laying new cement sidewalk. We also were able to provide funds to fix the mission’s bus and van while we were there.

Finally, each day we were able to meet new friends and enjoy the relaxed culture of Honduras, as well as share our message of hope and good news. It was a life-changing experience for all of us who attended. We saw God open doors for us to serve, and had our eyes opened to how privileged we are as Americans, and how even a little sacrifice on our part can change the lives of an entire village. We hope to bring that same heart of service back to our own community and back to Honduras in future years.

11 Sep Home-Grown Diesel Fuel

In buying a vehicle for Sierra Leone, Randy Fennig (above) looked for something that ran on diesel fuel. He finally found a 1982 Toyota Land Cruiser in great shape. All part of a plan.

“One long-term development project I’d like to work on is encouraging farmers to grow jatropha, a tropical oil seed related to the castor plant. There are huge jatropha projects in India and Africa.” 

Jatropha seeds contains up to to 40% oil which, when crushed and processed, can be used in a standard diesel engine. 

“You can run the oil straight and make high quality diesel. A diesel vehicle means I would have access to cheap fuel, rather than pay $7 a gallon, which is what fuel costs right now in Sierra Leone. If you’re spending so much money on fuel, it can limit what kind of ministry you can do.”

11 Sep Mission Team Training Comes to Fort Wayne

This weekend, 22 people will attend the Mission Team Training at Emmanuel Community Church in Fort Wayne, Ind. That’s twice the number who attended the August event in Chambersburg, Pa. Of which enthusiastic attendees said:

• “Everyone, whether a team leader or not, needs to attend one of these training events. Anyone can benefit from the information and can use a lot of it in their home lives and on the mission field.”
• “The team building activities were fantastic and relevant to team preparation.”
• “The Seven-Step Process will help us bring the church along for the trip–something we have not been able to do.”
• “I understand Global Ministries better and see how helpful they’re willing to be in the process of planning, preparation, and supporting throughout.”

That leaves two Mission Team Training weekends to go:

• October 3-4: Crossroads UB Church (Charlotte, Mich.)
• November 14-15: Lancaster UB Church (Lancaster, Ohio)

The cost for the two-day event is $60. You can register online.

04 Sep Haiti and Hurricane Hannah

This week, Global Ministries sent $1317 to Samaritan’s Purse for Haiti hurricane relief. We have developed a strategic partnership with Samaritan’s Purse to deal with disaster relief situations.

Oliam Richard, superintendent of our churches in Haiti, sent this note:

“In the southern South of the country, two people have been killed by Hurricane Hannah, and some of the churches have been flooded out in Cayes. In the northern part of the country, like Gonaives, is worse. We have a church there. People have lost their goods because their homes have flooded.

“In Saint-Marc, one of our churches was damaged; one part of the roof flew away in the story. The situation in Port-au-Prince is not as terrible as in other parts of the country.

“The living conditions of people is worse than before. We need your prayers. More hurricanes are on the way. Please pass this news to other brothers and sisters, so that they will pray for Haiti and especially our church members.”

04 Sep Taking the Farm to Sierra Leone

The Oliver 1850: Before, after, and the guys who made it happen (Randy Fennig is third from the right).

Randy Fennig grew up on a farm, and earned a degree in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. So don’t be surprised that in Sierra Leone, he’ll work in agricultural development.

You may be interested in some of the farm equipment Randy Fennig is taking to Sierra Leone.

Like the Oliver 1850 tractor. “I pretty much grew up with this tractor, and spent hundreds of hours on it. My brother hadn’t used it for probably ten years. I asked him if could renovate it and take it to Africa  with me. The guys at my home church in Portland, Ind., a United Methodist Church, made it a project and financed the renovation. They have a couple of really good mechanics. They pulled the engine, repainted the tractor, and it’s ready to go.”

He’s also taking:

• A disc, donated by the pastor’s wife at his home church.
• A chisel plow, which Randy bought at a farm auction.
• A grain drill he won on eBay.
• Corn planter units from a neighboring farmer.

“It’s mostly experimental,” Randy says. “I’m not sure where ministry will take us, but since we were sending a container, it was a good opportunity to send some machinery which might be useful. We’ll see where it goes.”

03 Sep Memories of Beijing

Jennifer Blandin, Macau
Jennifer Blandin, one of our missionaries in Macau, is a sports buff. So you can imagine her delight upon having the chance to attend the Olympics for five days. She went with two other friends. Here are excerpts from her most recent newsletter.

During our stay in Beijing, we were able to attend the women’s team gymnastic finals, men’s volleyball prelims, women’s basketball prelims, and softball prelims. Other than the gymnastics, the event tickets allowed us to watch two games/matches for each sport.

Being a softball fan, it worked out that we were able to get tickets for two sessions, thus could attend four games. One of the amazing things that happened was that for all the sports we had tickets for, we saw the USA play. And, for at least three of the sports, we watched China play. “Why is this amazing?” you ask. Well, the tickets available in Macau had to be purchased months in advance. Also, my friends and I were choosing what we would see based on what events we wanted to see and how the times would work in a day’s schedule. We were not able to choose WHO we would see competing!

Some of the highlights of the experience were:

Watching the events in person, rather than just on TV!
The atmosphere was amazing! The crowds were often lively, and I had the opportunity to watch the various ways fans cheer for their respective countries.

For example, at the softball competition:

• One man dressed in traditional Japanese clothing led the Japanese fans in their cheering. Their cheers were short and repeated often.
• The American fans often yelled out the names of the players and would do a few cheers that I remember from when I played softball.
• Across the board, the Chinese fans had one battle cry, “Give it gas!” which is the literal translation of it. The figurative meaning would be “Don’t give up!” or “Keep going!”

Many friendly volunteers!

Most of the Olympic volunteers had a smile on their face and showed a genuine enthusiasm to help us. Sometimes the volunteers could not give us the exact directions to the destination we needed, but often their help could get us in the general direction and toward another volunteer who could help us.

East vs. West style of softball!
This was a rather funny discussion that was relayed to me later by my friend Jana. While I had gone to buy something during the break between two softball games, Jana and our Chinese friend (Joanne) got into a discussion about the different styles of playing softball. (Mind you, Joanne had little or no knowledge of the sport before attending the games.)

Joanne’s opinion was that the East played softball more correctly–because the players were thinner and thus “softer” in their playing of the game. The players from the West (not just USA) were often meatier and played “harder” or more aggressive. Amazing the various perspectives that can be held for just one activity and what we consider “correct”!

A sports lover’s dream–watching athletes give all that they had to compete!
Some athletes came to the Olympics with the reachable goal to win a medal; others came with the goal of just participating in the Olympics. Either way, no matter the final score, the competition was good. Athletes were giving all they could in hopes of fulfilling their dream. I found that was something special to watch.

Closing Ceremony
Seven years of planning for a 17-day event! Wow! Isn’t it funny how the planning takes a lot more time than the completion of the actual event! Even my own planning to attend the games for 5 days took one year of preparation. Yet, in the end it was worth it.

While the Olympics are mostly focused around sports, I wonder if God was looking down smiling at the view. Why? Maybe, just maybe, it was a good preview of what heaven will be like. People, from around the world, came together with one focus–to cheer on the athletes. In heaven it will be the children of God coming together with one focus–to worship and praise the One True Savior and Lord.

30 Aug Fennigs: Departure for Sierra Leone Nears

September 18–that’s when Randy and Toni Fennig hope to leave for Sierra Leone. Their support is in place, and they’re ready to go. Randy will teach at the Evangelical College of Theology just outside of Freetown and do agricultural development.

Randy stopped by the office Thursday with a big trailer he had custom built to fit in a shipping container (standard trailers, he learned, are a little too wide). Global Ministries relayed a couple dozen boxes of materials for Sierra Leone–medical supplies, nursing textbooks, used clothing, and more. It’ll all go the shipping container.

“Looks like we’ll get the container on September 3 or 4, pack it that weekend, and it’ll leave Portland, Ind., around September 8,” Randy said.

Randy grew up on a farm in Portland. A seed company there is providing warehouse space and a loading dock. A lot of stuff will go into that container–a tractor, farm equipment, a solar electric system, the new trailer, and a diesel-powered 1982 Toyota Land Cruiser.

30 Aug As Hurricane Gustav Drenches Jamaica

Owen Gordon, President, Jamaica Bible College
With Hurricane Gustav rolling across Jamaica on its way to the Gulf of Mexico, Owen Gordon sent this note from Jamaica around 6 p.m. Friday, August 29.

Thank God! We are ok! The torrential rain has been falling unabated all day! The wind is very strong at times, and the electricity fluctuates (some places have no electricity since yesterday). Even as I write, the rain is pouring down heavily. There is no reception from the television. However, we are alive and for the most part dry inside. Thank you for your prayerful concerns.

The evening news reported seven persons dead and hundreds left homeless, roads have been damaged and many areas flooded, as Hurricane Gustav slowly mauls its way across the southern half of Jamaica. The entire country is being drenched with continuous rainfall.

Our plans for Orientation for College students scheduled for today has been set back. We have had to close down operations since yesterday. We are hoping to go ahead with plans for orientation for pre-college students on Monday. Our numbers have shown indication of increase, however, we can’t count students until they are fully registered and turn up for classes. We are looking at a high of 150 with a low of 130.

The full extent of local and national damage cannot be assessed until the rain stops, so there is going to be extensive damage. The cost will run in millions of dollars. We feel for the people of Cayman, Cuba, and the Gulf States as Hurricane Gustav strengthens and heads towards them.

29 Aug A Visit from the Jusu Family

The Jusu family. L-r: Tity, Emmanuel (2), John, Juan (8), and John Jr. (10).

John Jusu and his family stopped by the office last Wednesday. John grew up in the United Brethren church in Sierra Leone. He graduated in 1982 from Bumpe High School (where one of his teachers was June Brown), and taught there for a few years. Then he attended Sierra Leone Bible College (now the Evangelical College of Theology), and also taught there.

John is finishing his doctoral work at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill. He just submitted his thesis, and will defend it in two weeks. His degree is in church education and curriculum development.

John plans to return to Sierra Leone in October to check on opportunities there (he has no specific assignment, and is not currently serving with the United Brethren church). If something doesn’t materialize in Sierra Leone, John says he’ll probably teach at the Graduate School of Theology in Nairobi, Kenya, which he attended 2002-2005 before the family came to the States.

John’s wife, Tity, is the sister of Joe Abu’s wife, Matennah. They were on their way to Delaware to visit the Abu family. But John, having never visited Huntington, wanted to stop at the national office while he had the chance.