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Wes and Jean Bell are endorsed UB missionaries serving in Brazil with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Jean has a very serious blood disorder that has resulted in her kidneys shutting down and necessitating dialysis. It’s a very serious situation. Please pray for Jean’s health.
The Standard, a publication based in Hong Kong, published an online article about a survey conducted by the Whampoa youth center. Whampoa is one of several youth centers operated by our Hong Kong churches. The survey regards the attitudes of youth toward “global vision.” The article begins:
“Most Hong Kong youth have only a vague idea about global vision, a survey has revealed. But what makes the situation more acute is that most see no reason to improve their concepts, according to the Church of United Brethren in Christ Whampoa Integrated Children and Youth Service Center, which interviewed 747 secondary students in June.”
A number of denominational short-term mission opportunities are planned for 2008. They are listed below.
February 15-29: Medical Team (6 persons) to Mattru Hospital, Sierra Leone.
April: Evangelistic Team to the Philippines to assist with a crusade.
June 4-14: Ministry Team to Peru, working with Anna Geivett and Food for the Hungry.
June 20-28: Medical Team to Copan, Honduras.
Summer: China Teacher Training Trip.
June-July 3: Impact Poland (for teens).
2008: Construction Team to Haiti.
Juan Pavon, Superintendent of Nicaragua Conference (right), will come to the States in early November. A group of people interested in partnering with Nicaragua Conference (and also with our churches in Guatemala and Costa Rica, which are extensions of Nicaragua), will meet with Rev. Pavon on November 3 at the UB Headquarters in Huntington, Ind. The meeting will last from noon to 2 pm, and will include a free pizza lunch. If you’d like to attend, please email Jeff Dice.
Two significant hurricanes affected United Brethren people in recent days. Hurricane Dean brushed the southern part of Haiti, bringing some damage to United Brethren churches on that part of the island, but brought much more devastation to the island of Jamaica.
Hurricane Felix (a category 5 hurricane) hit Central America at the point Honduras and Nicaragua meet. In God’s mercy, this is one of the least populated areas of these countries, and the mountainous terrain quickly decreased the intensity of Felix to a tropical storm. Flooding rains soaked Nicaragua, bringing a great deal of agricultural damage. Some of our UB families were affected.
As mentioned, the greatest need at this point is in Jamaica. Two UB congregations, the New Gardens Church and the Yorktown Church, had all or a large portion of their roofs torn off, rafters and all. At New Gardens, the pastor and congregation are trying to continue meeting in an office area.
Hurricane victims from many different Jamaican UB churches are living with relatives or neighbors. Some have tried temporary fixes, such as using damaged zinc and boards to patch their roofs. Others are covering badly-damaged areas with tarps. As you can imagine, their houses were not insured, and many of these individuals need assistance putting their lives back together.
Global Ministries is receiving reports and estimates from the various sites. We hope that our North American churches can provide assistance to our brethren there. If you or your church can provide financial help, please send your gift to Global Ministries marked for Jamaica Hurricane Relief. If people from your congregation want to travel to Jamaica to help with repairs, please contact Global Ministries.
Dennis and Debbie Osberg, former UB endorsed missionaries who serve at a school in Tegucigalpa, sent this note about Hurricane Felix:
“We are so thankful to report that the power of Felix faded during it’s run through the country and it didn’t produce the expected results on Honduras. There are some areas to the north that experienced flooding and damage but still much less than predicted earlier….It rained all night long but the winds weren’t strong for us. Also, we only lost electricity for brief amounts of time throughout the evening and into today. Our internet connection, which is a hanging wire from across the street and into our house, is still hanging strong, for which we are deeply grateful!”
Hurricane Felix, a top-level Category 5 storm, struck the northeast coast of Nicaragua this morning with 160 mph winds. It is moving inland at 16 mph, and is now at Category 3 status. According to an email from Honduras about 10 am, rain has begun falling on La Ceiba, Honduras, the headquarters of our work in Honduras. Some areas of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador will see 10-15 inches of rain, with 25 inches falling in some mountainous areas.
Felix is expected to cut across central Honduras, where some of our 80-some churches are located, including the capital city of Tegucigalpa, where missionary Abby Waterbury is stationed with World Gospel Outreach.
You may remember Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed 11,000 people and left 8,000 missing, mostly in Honduras and Nicaragua. Mitch severely ravaged La Ceiba, Honduras, as well as other places along the north coast where United Brethren churches are located.
Dennis and Debbie Osberg, missionaries who serve with the Academia Los Pinares school in Tegucigalpa (Dennis is principal), sent this email at noon today:
This morning as I write, Hurricane Felix is hitting eastern Honduras and Nicaragua with full force. The President of Honduras cancelled all schools in the country for today and tomorrow, so we’re definitely home and safely waiting. Please pray for the weakening of the storm as it passes through the entire country of Honduras and for His protection through it all. As we experienced in 1998 with Hurricane Mitch, the biggest problem in the city of Tegucigalpa is severe flooding and damage from the huge amount of rainfall causing mud slides throughout the mountains. Thankfully, we live on the mountain and not in the valley of the city. But so many people are affected during the storms, and our hearts are heavy for their protection and safety through whatever comes our way.
Right now we are watching CNN coverage and waiting peacefully. We have extra water, food, candles and each other, so we’ll be just fine….Thank you so much for your prayers during this time. Especially for many in the country that will have it much worse than our family. We fully expect to loose electricity and of course have no idea how long that will last.
Felix is projected to clip part of El Salvador, slam into southern Belize on Wednesday, and then cut across northern Guatemala and southern Mexico.
Please remember our Honduran brethren in your prayers, especially on Tuesday and Wednesday, as Hurricane Felix proceeds inland and people are threatened with mudslides, flooding, and destroyed homes.
Rev. Winston Smith called the United Brethren Office today and gave a report of the situation in Jamaica after Hurricane Dean.
The Parsonage and Christian Education Building/Dorm in Yorktown received a lot of damage. Roofs are off, rafters gone or broken, and much water damage. Many homes in the area are also damaged. Pastor Smith said that it would be impossible for a group to stay there if they came to help with repairs. He suggested that funds to help rebuild and repair would be better at this time.
New Garden Church in the hills lost its roof. He estimates the cost for replacing the roof at $150,000 Jamaican dollars or roughly $2300 US. Many homes were lost or damaged, and many people from the church and community lost most of their possessions.
The power returned to Kingston this morning. However, there is no power or phone service (land or cell) in the outlying areas. He has been having difficulty getting an assessment of damage due to lack of communication or being able to get to areas.
A Conference Council meeting will be held on Monday, August 27, to get an assessment from the different areas. Pastor Smith would like the needs assessment sent to him today or tomorrow so he can distribute it and go over it with the Council. The fax is working at the office.
Winston is receiving reports that the town of Malvern was hit hard (the police station and another public building were completely destroyed). He has not heard, however, anything about the camp, church, or parsonage there.
Gary Dilley, Director of Global Ministries, told Pastor Smith that we would continue to pray for them and that we would keep in touch to learn of other needs.
Billy Simbo, now serving as Superintendent of Sierra Leone National Conference, sent a report about recent developments at Mattru Hospital in Sierra Leone. Mattru Hospital, which became a headquarters for rebels during the civil war, is rising out of the ashes. This mission hospital is making great strides, according to this July report from Superintendent Billy Simbo.
Great things are happening at Mattru Hospital and other things are in store.
Medical Board
The Mattru hospital Board made up of community and church representatives, plus representatives from the Ministry of Health and Sciences, met in June and elected Billy K. Simbo as chairman.
After the normal course of business, the Board appointed an interview committee which interviewed and hired a Finance and Administrative Officer for the hospital. This young man, Julius Gulama, comes as a member of King Memorial U.M.C. church in Freetown. Julius has a very strong accounting background and has wide work experience, including working as an administrative officer for a clinic in Conakry, Guinea.
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Jennifer Blandin, UB missionary in Macau, sent these notes on June 17.
