03 Jul Jason Garwood Published on Discipleship Site
Jason Garwood (right), lead pastor of Colwood UB church (Caro, Mich.), has published an article on the website GodCenteredDiscipleship.com. It’s called “Behold the Beauty.”
03 Jul The June 29 Storm in Findlay, Ohio
Storm damage in Findlay, Ohio. Similar scenes could be found in cities throughout the East after the June 29 storm.
Darwin Dunten, senior pastor, Findlay First UB church (Findlay, Ohio)
Findlay, Ohio, is now in its fourth state of emergency in 5 years.
- In 2007, a flood covered 50% of the city and damaged the church.
- The 2008 flood covered one-third of the city.
- Last summer’s hail storm with baseball-size hail caused $50,000 damage to the church.
- And now the powerful storm of June 29 with 91 mph winds.
The south end of Findlay is decimated. 19,000 Findlay residence do not have power and are not expected to have power until July 7. Findlay First church was not damaged during this story. However, we did have to cancel the July 1 services due to lack of power, trees down, and power lines down.
I toured the south end of town, and it reminds me of a blizzard with snow piled up on the side of the street, but instead of snow, these are trees. Many 4–5 foot diameter trees are snapped at the base. At the Boy Scout camp, once again, large trees are snapped.
I am starting to hear some stories from my church members and how fortunate we are. One church member had a tree limb crash through her roof and land on her husband’s bed. Another church member was working at the Boy Scout camp and was getting the scouts into shelters when a tree crashed (he said) one foot in front of him. One tree landed and a branch pierced the roof of the cabin and landed on a bed. Another member had houses next to her with roofs severely damaged, and hers was fine. One block away, one of her neighbors had no roof or ceiling in their house. We are thankful for God’s protection.
My office has been moved to McDonalds (the only place with internet and power).
How did the storm affect your church? Let us know.
02 Jul HU Team Heading to China for Three Weeks
The 2012 China Team
Luke Fetters, a professor at Huntington University, talks with the team about this year’s trip.
On Thursday, July 5, a team from Huntington University leaves for China for a three-week program which includes a two-week English camp for primary and middle school students. The Institute for TESOL Studies at Huntington University has an agreement to train English teachers in a city in southeast China, across the border from Macau in China’s Guangdong Province. TESOL training and English Camp activities run concurrently to provide a valuable and rewarding experience for teachers and students. The team has a blog.
01 Jul Jeff Dice Update (Sunday, July 1)
As it turned out, Jeff Dice went ahead with the heart cath on Friday, June 29. He writes: “Everything came back clear–no blockages. So, my problem is electrical. I am scheduled to be discharged on Wednesday (July 4), after I have had enough days of medication to make sure it is safe to travel. I felt it better to get the cath over with, to the surprise of my wife and everyone else. It was a relatively easy experience. I don’t remember a thing. Being alone in a hospital for 5 days has been good for my soul. But I am really glad my wife is here now.”
30 Jun Kyle McQuillen Gets Some Good News
Kyle McQuillen (right), Director of Global Ministries 1993-2001, has been having quite a battle healthwise. On Thursday, June 28, he sent this encouraging update:
It’s been a bit of a difficult journey these past 7-8 weeks. Following the good news in April that my lymphoma had gone into remission after four four-day treatments of chemotherapy, I thought the worst was over. But then the effects of the chemo on my immune system began to hit me like a freight train!
I spent the next 6 weeks in hospitals in New Smyrna and Daytona Beach. In addition to viral pneumonia, my blood work just went out of wack. Finally a couple of weeks ago my oncologist suggested that I have a bone marrow biopsy, a rather unpleasant experience where the doctor inserts a 7” needle (large) into the hip and goes as far as he can into the bone marrow to collect marrow and blood. (This without any major sedative –just some topical lydacane.) Those samples were then sent out to various places for pathology examination to discover in what way my bone marrow may have been compromised.
As Mar Louise and I prepared to sit down with the oncologist today, we had all kinds of possibilities dancing in our heads: leukemia, bone marrow cancer, lymphoma in the bone marrow. We were prepared for the worst news but hopeful for the best. Well, the best news was shared by the oncologist: my bone marrow is totally normal and there is absolutely no indication of any abnormality. We’re still not sure why the blood counts are low in some areas, but the doctor feels that the chemo and the large number of drugs I had over the past two months have contributed to the problems. He feels that with rest and care I’ll be back to my pre cancer days eventually.
In the meantime, I will not be able to return to work at the prison or at the church for at least another month. But that will give me time to work on projects I have long put on the back burner. Thank you all so much for your love and prayers through this journey!
You can write to Kyle at: Kyle W. McQuillen, 299 Casa Grande, Edgewater, FL 32141.
30 Jun Update on Jeff Dice
Here is an update on Jeff Dice, hospitalized in Managua, Nicaragua (see earlier report).
Jeff’s wife, April, has been in Spain with a mission team there. She was supposed to fly from Madrid to Managua on Friday. First the flight was delayed, then cancelled due to mechanical problems. She is due to depart today (Saturday, June 30). That has meant they delayed Jeff’s procedure until Sunday. Jeff wrote that they were using the extra time to run more tests and balance his blood sugar level.
You can check Jeff’s updates on Facebook.
30 Jun Dawn Spangler Assigned to Strinestown Church
Dawn and Jay Spangler
Dawn Spangler, an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, has been named supply pastor of Strinestown UB church (Strinestown, Pa.).
Dawn was born in Dundalk, Md., and moved to New Cumberland, Pa., when she was in junior high. Dawn’s first career was in food service. She managed a school cafeteria, directed the food service at a large retirement community, and ran a catering business out of her home.
In 1996, Dawn felt God calling her to the ordained ministry. She served ten years as associate pastor of the New Cumberland Nazarene church, during which time she took the classes which enabled her to be ordained in 2002. After retiring from New Cumberland in 2006, she served two years at a Nazarene church in Carlisle, and has spent the past four years doing pulpit supply.
She and Jay, a high school classmate and “the love of my life,” have a daughter and a son living in the area. They also adopted and raised, from age 10, a grandson; Dawn will conduct his wedding in September. Jay originally worked in manufacturing and then started his own landscape business.
28 Jun June Brown Undergoing Heart Surgery
June Brown, a longtime missionary in Sierra Leone, will undergo heart surgery on Tuesday, July 3. Please keep her in your prayers.
You can contact June at: June Brown, 2716 Rocky Spring Road, Chambersburg, PA 17201.
28 Jun Jeff Dice Undergoing Surgery in Nicaragua
Jeff Dice (right, with his wife, April), serving in Nicaragua with Global Ministries, suffered a minor heart attack on Tuesday, June 26, during a stress test. Jeff Bleijerveld talked to him Wednesday morning. Jeff Dice is doing well, he’s in a good hospital in Managua, and he will be undergoing a heart catheterization later today (Thursday, June 28) or Friday morning.
His wife, April, is in Spain with a mission team conducting an English camp with missionaries Ron and Brenda Anderson. The children are back home in Clare, Mich. The Dices are nontraditional Global Ministries staff, helping the various UB ministry teams which come to Nicaragua.
28 Jun Halls Returning to Hungary for a Second Year
Frank Y, Associate Director of Global Ministries
Imagine raising up the next generation of Christian leaders in Eastern Europe through Bible training. That’s what Marion and Candy Hall (right) do through Word of Life Bible Institute in Hungary.
The Halls are from the Harrison UB church in Harrison, Mich. During the 2011-2012 school year in Hungary, Marion served as the Dean of Students while Candy taught English and worked with interns. Last school year, over 50 students from 13 countries attended the school.
The Halls feel led to return for a second year in the same roles, while taking on the additional responsibility of leading the internship program for these students. They are currently raising support for the coming school year during the summer break.
If you’d like more information or would like to join the Halls’ support team, contact the Global Ministries office at info@ubglobal.org or call toll-free 1-888-622-3019.