28 Jan New Superintendent in Guatemala

The sixteen churches of Guatemala Conference held their annual conference January 15-17. During this time the conference elected Rev. Jaime Chun as their new superintendent. Rev. Chun and his family serve our largest congregation in Escuintla (located southwest of the capital of Guatemala City.

The out-going superintendent, Rev. Francisco Najera, was instrumental in bringing the churches of Guatemala into the United Brethren with the help of Rev. Juan Pavon of Nicaragua. He continues to serve his church on the outskirts of Guatemala City.

Rev. Chun came to Christ about the same time Francisco did, in his early 20s, as part of the movement happening among the churches being planted there. He and his wife have five children.

Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld visited them when they were planting the church they now serve. The Chuns, all seven of them, were living in one room, which doubled as living room, bedroom…everything. The kitchen was outdoors under a tarp. They’ve now added a room for a small market, a personal business which helps support them. They area in which they live is mostly migrant workers who harvest sugar cane.

Guatemala became our 10th, and newest, national conference in 2010.

28 Jan New Name for HCJB: Reach Beyond

HCJB Global, the Christian radio ministry, has changed its name. The organization is now called “Reach Beyond.”

Doug Weber, a UB endorsed missionary whose family serves with HCJB, writes, “HCJB are really the call letters of our flagship radio stations in Ecuador, and they will continue to use these letters in their name. And for now, the technology center, where we will work in Indiana, will retain the name HCJB Global Technology Center. However the letters ‘HCJB’ don’t really convey the ministries that we do in healthcare, training, or leadership development. Nor do they convey the international scope that our ministries now enjoy.”

Doug says HCJB supporters don’t need to do anything different. They will simply see the new name on receipts, credit card statements, and EFT bank charges.

In the video above, Wayne Pedersen, president of Reach Beyond, explains the reasons for making the name change.

Pedersen says we need to reach beyond our borders, beyond our comfort zones, and beyond our perceived limitations.

Two other organizations that recently changed their name are:

• Cru: the new name of Campus Crusade for Christ in the United States. They still use “Campus Crusade for Christ International” for their global work. The Brian Birdsall family, Global Ministries staff, served with Campus Crusade in the Ukraine and are now stationed in New York City.
• One Mission Society: the new name of Overseas Mission Society. Sarah Bonner and Roger and Mary Lou Skinner, Global Ministries staff, work with OMS at the international office in Greenwood, Ind.

22 Jan Global Ministries + Huntington University

Global Ministries has partnered with Huntington University to organize all of their short-term mission trips, and possibly do trip orientation and team leader training. Global Ministries can offer locations for valuable ministry experiences for HU students.

22 Jan A Different Future for Living Stone Church

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

In Macau, Living Stone Church will soon be without a meeting place. The owner is significantly raising the rent.

We’re exploring ministry models that combine a business with a church venture. For instance, a facility could provide daycare during the week and be used for church services on weekends. This would provide income for the church, plus opportunities for interacting with young families.

This would open the door to different kinds of missionary staffing, moving away from the English teaching model to early childhood education and family ministry.

15 Jan 102 Hours of Prayer

The four-day Honduras Annual Conference started with 102 hours of continual prayer. Numerous people filled each hour from Saturday until the beginning of the conference on Wednesday, January 15.

15 Jan Work Team in Sierra Leone

A 13-person construction team flew into Sierra Leone on January 9, and arrived at Mattru on Sunday, January 12.

The team includes several persons who are returning to Sierra Leone:

• James and Michelle (Becker) Berg, along with a son and daughter. Michelle was a nurse at Mattru during the mid-1980s, and met James when he came to Mattru with a construction crew from Canada.
• Nathaniel Burkholder. His parents, Dennis and Becky Burkholder, served at Mattru during the 1980s.
• Jimmie Cole. His parents were missionaries in Sierra Leone 1967-1969.

They will begin renovations on Harmonie House, which housed missionary nurses until the rebel war began in the early 1990s. Among other things, the team will replace the roof.

Since roofs on other Mattru Hospital buildings also need to be replaced, Global Ministries bought welding equipment to make steel truss roofs. Thanks to termites, wood trusses last just 8-10 years. The welding equipment, which this team took with them, will also be used to develop a steel fabrication shop in Mattru to provide employment for some local UB people.

15 Jan Honduras Conference Begins Tonight

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries, has arrived in Honduras to attend the annual Honduras National Conference meeting. He says they anticipate 200 pastors and delegates coming to La Ceiba for the four-day meeting, which starts Wednesday night, January 15.