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21 Jun

June 21, 2012 |

Frank Y, Associate Director of Global Ministries

Jennifer Blandin has been a UB servant in Macau for 16 years. Over the past years, Jen has played many roles: teaching, preaching, discipling, and team leading. In that largest gambling city in the world, her faithful work has produced deep relationships and plenty of fruit.

Last year, Jen returned home for an academic leave and obtained a Master’s degree to better equip herself in developing disciples overseas.

Jen is back in Macau now, but finds that her financial support has been greatly depleted due to a decrease in support and increase in costs last year. If you would like more information about Jen’s ministry, or would like to become a part of her support team, please contact the Global Ministries office at by email or by calling toll-free 1-888-622-3019. Or, you can drop a check in the mail, with a note explaining that it is for Jennifer Blandin’s support, to:

Global Ministries
302 Lake Street
Huntington, IN 46750

20 Jun

June 20, 2012 |

Donna Hollopeter, Associate Director of Global Ministries

I had an email this morning from Fonda Cassidy (right) giving me an update on how things are going for the medical team in Honduras. This team of 21 persons is in southern Honduras in the midst of some very poor, remote villages. They have had three clinics so far and have treated almost 1400 patients with varying problems. The really neat thing is that there have been several first time decisions for Christ as they minister not just to physical needs but spiritual ones. The team members are all doing well.

A team of 7 persons will depart for Spain on Sunday, June 24. They will work with Ron and Brenda Anderson (right), missionaries with European Christian Mission, in an English Camp. The 7 are: April Dice (team leader), Chuck Malson, Beth Palmer, Mallory Jones, Todd and Quinn Fetters, and Joann Gardner. They will be gone for 8 days.

On July 1, a team of 10 youth and adult leaders from the Monroe UB Church will travel to Nicaragua to work with Jeff Dice on a couple of projects there.

The Germany team led by Tom and Kim Datema will depart on July 27 for a week-long English Camp and then a week of ministry with the Sierra Leonean Church plant in Berlin.

19 Jun

June 19, 2012 |
  • Because of growth at Mill Chapel in Reedsville, W. Va., the church hired Mike Charlton as associate pastor.
  • Walter L. Marshall, whose son Terry E. Marshall is pastor of Pen Mar UB church (Cascade, Md.), passed way May 28 in Hagerstown Md.

19 Jun

June 19, 2012 |

This synagogue in Kizkalesi is believed to date back to the Roman period based on adjoining architecture.

After discovering two previously unknown synagogues in Turkey, Huntington University Bible and Religion Professor Dr. Mark Fairchild (right) is sharing his findings in a noted academic journal.

Fairchild will lead a UB tour of biblical sites in Turkey in October 2012.

In an article published this month in the Biblical Archaeology Review, Fairchild begs the question, “Could the world’s earliest known synagogue be buried amid rubble?” The Biblical Archaeology Review is a prestigious publication that documents archaeological digs relating to Biblical findings around the world.

In 2007 while researching in Turkey, Fairchild discovered two synagogues in the areas of Kizkalesi (the ancient city of Korykos) and Çatiören. In the years since, he has returned to conduct surface surveys and to continue his research.

“We know almost nothing about the churches that existed in Cilicia in that time period,” he said of that region of Turkey. What he and other researchers suspect is that the Apostle Paul established the churches during the 10 years after his conversion to Christianity. There is documented evidence, however, that Paul travelled through those regions on his missionary journeys later in life, Fairchild said.

“That’s why these synagogues are particularly interesting to me,” he said. “There is a good chance that Paul shared the Gospel message in these synagogue cities.”

The synagogue in Kizkalesi, Fairchild suspects, dates back to the Roman period based on adjoining architecture. The Çatiören synagogue, however, more than likely dates back to the Hellenistic Period around the 1st or 2nd Century B.C. If this proves to be true, it would be the earliest synagogue ever discovered.

In the BAR article titled, “Turkey’s Unexcavated Synagogues,” Fairchild calls for the excavation of these regions, particularly the synagogues, to unearth more of the treasures that they may be hiding.

“On my recent trip this summer, I found four more tombs with menorahs,” he said of the inscriptions in the stones. “I know there are more. That’s an indication of how many Jews lived in that area.”

As a researcher, Fairchild conducts surface surveys of the regions and then documents his findings. Over the past 15 years, he has visited more than 200 sites and plans to continue his work in Turkey in future years. Last summer, he visited 30 sites dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries B.C. This summer, he continued his research of ancient sites around Turkey from Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, to the ancient city of Iconium where Konya stands today.

18 Jun

June 18, 2012 |

Global Ministries is launching an email newsletter called “Global Ministries Prayer Guide.” We invite you to sign up for it.

On a regular basis, you will receive an email spotlighting several ways you can pray for Global Ministries staff and ministries around the world. Each edition has four sections, with a couple prayer needs under each one:

  1. The World. Ways to pray for needs of a global nature, or to direct prayer at a specific country, whether or not United Brethren people are involved there.
  2. International Partners. Prayer needs involving people, churches, and ministries in the nearly 20 countries with United Brethren churches.
  3. Global Ministries Staff. Prayer needs involving Global Ministries personnel serving around the world.
  4. Volunteers and Trips. Prayer requests regarding overseas trips, seminars, and other matters involving volunteers.

You can sign-up for the Prayer Guide here. We will not use your email to place you on any other lists.

18 Jun

June 18, 2012 |

Former Global Ministries director Kyle McQuillen reported in May that he had been declared in remission from lymphoma cancer. However, since then he has suffered other major health problems. On June 12 he had a platelet transfusion because his count had dropped to 17, and a bone marrow biopsy was done the next day. They’re still waiting on the results.

Kyle’s wife, Mar Louise, reported on Friday, June 15, “He still has severe double pneumonia and is still on 2 antibiotics for the next 7 days. He had been on 6 antiobiotics in the hospital, and even at that things weren’t all that great. The major concern now is getting his blood levels up to keep him from getting any other problems. The doc has told him to stay away from people until this gets better.”

He is now at home, and is very weak, but is able to use a walker. His daughters have spent time with him, and home health care checks in occasionally.

“This has been a very rough 3-4 months and I sure hope we have reached a bright spot,” Mar Louise says. “He does have some nodules in his thyroid, but they can’t test them at this point and for now, they are not the biggest concern. I sure praise God for kids. Don’t know where I would be if we had not had them the last 2 weeks.”

Please keep Kyle and Mar Louise in your prayers. Here is a mailing address:

Kyle W. McQuillen
299 Casa Grande
Edgewater, FL 32141

You can keep tabs on Kyle’s progress, view photos, and leave comments on Kyle’s Facebook page.

Kyle McQuillen served as a UB missionary in Sierra Leone, as an associate director of Missions, as pastor of College Park UB church (Huntington, Ind.), and then as Director of Global Ministries 1993-2001.

18 Jun

June 18, 2012 |

Parkview Field

At the ballgame. Global Ministries director Jeff and Charlene Bleijerveld (middle) with Dr. G. Blair Dowden, president of Huntington University, and his wife Chris.

On Thursday night, June 14, Bishop Phil Whipple took the staff and family of Healthy Ministry Resources, the UB national office, out to the ballgame. In this case, it was the Fort Wayne Tin Caps vs. Lansing. The group had a spot behind home plate, and when the team recognized the various groups present, “Healthy Ministry Resources” was flashed on the big scoreboard. Unfortunately, Lansing won 5-4.

This happened to be the stadium’s third highest attendance in the team’s three-year history. The Tin Caps are a single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The stadium, considered among the best minor-league stadiums in the country, is located across the street from the Grand Wayne Center, where the 2013 US National Conference will be held.

A full gallery of photos of the group at the game can be viewed on the United Brethren Facebook page.

14 Jun

June 14, 2012 |

Children eating their sack lunches.

Pastor Randy Carpenter trying to outrun a water balloon.

A volunteer with children from the Sunfield area.


Leigh Pearson (right), administrative assistant, Sunfield UB Church (Sunfield, Mich.)

In our area school district, 70% of the children participate in the subsized school lunch program. For the summer months, we are partnering with a local buinsessman to provide a sack lunch to children in the Sunfield area. The sack lunches are free and are available Monday – Friday from noon to 1:00 pm. We started the program on Wednesday, June 6, and during the first week the number of kids participating tripled.

It is such a joy to pull up at the park and see all the kids waiting for you to help you unpack your car and pass out lunches. Each day, we have lunch and then the kids participate in some type of Bible-related craft or activity. Then we head out into the park and play games.

We are so blessed to have the opportunity to talk with and build a relationship with our children in the area over the course of the summer. We are really excited about it! I know we’ll be sad to see the summer end and will miss spending the lunch hour with them. But hopefully we will see a lot of them here at our church.

14 Jun

June 14, 2012 |

Global Ministries partners in Canada provide the primary oversight for ministry in Haiti. This does not exclude US Churches from becoming involved. Our Canadian National Conference simply coordinates our efforts. Here are some updates from Paul Plato, missions chair and member of our Global MInistries Leadership Team.

Updates of Projects and Trips

  • The congregation of the Chevalier church (“Hill Church”) completed the replacement of their roof, which had been blown off a number of times.
  • Croix des Bouquets Church, in the Greater Port Au Prince areas, has been enclosed and a UB school is now in full operation.
  • CH Global is seeking accreditation for our three UB schools–Sibert, Delmas 33, and Croix des Bouquets.
  • Gonaives: Land was purchased by the congregation with some help from Global Ministries, and a church building was started in January 2012 by a Canadian team. They are looking for funds to continue. The Salt Project (see below) is helping to partially fund this.
  • The Herbie Fund has been approved by the Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto. Hermmy Alexis, a young Haitian girl that a Canadian UB team met in October 2011, need heart repair surgery. All of the funds have been raised.
  • The Canadian medical team that traveled to Haiti in October 2011 also met and worked with Pastor Germain, a Haitian doctor who lost his wife, daughter, mother, and brother in the 2010 earthquake. When the team found out that he’d been living in a tent since the earthquake, they took up a collection to allow him to rent a home. A new project has been posted on our website if you would like to help fund his medical work with earthquake victims. (link to “Medical Supplies for Grand Saline”)
  • In addition to the recent team of Canadians that served as a work team in Gonaives this passed January, other teams are preparing for future trips.

CH Global in Haiti

Global Ministries’ joint-ministry agreement with CH Global continues to bear fruit:

  • The Delmas 33 school in Port Au Prince (funded by CH Global and Global Ministries) officially opened October 4, 2010. This is a key step to official recognition of the United Brethren by the Haitian government.
  • More than 200 children are being sponsored to attend UB schools and to receive nutritious food, health care, and micro-finance opportunities for their families. Our current target is to have 500 children sponsored by 2015.
  • “Micro-business” start-up help has been provided to nearly 30 people of low income. Thus far, 100% have paid back their loans!
  • We are working on a partnership to link North American and Haitian churches by providing monthly funds for a “Development Activity Centre” that would provide sports, games, Bible teaching, and a feeding program for up to 150 children. Linked churches would be asked to provide $100/month to support.

Two New CH Global Projects
There are two new, exciting projects that CH Global is sponsoring (details in the pages that follow:

  • “Salt of the Earth.” The Salt Harvesting Project in Gonaives. Some of the profit from this venture will help build a church to replace the one that we lost there and build a new school.
  • “Bread for Life.” This Community Bakery Project (micro-finance endeavor) in the town of Sibert, on the outskirts of Port Au Prince, is still looking for a suitable site.

12 Jun

June 12, 2012 |

Billy Simbo (right) and his son Alan have launched a new ministry known as “Love Sierra Leone Now.” Although the ministry has no ties to Global Ministries or the Sierra Leone Conference, it will seek to benefit various denominations and organizations by focusing on leadership development. It is their hope to develop a stronger Sierra Leone through mentoring and training leaders into sustainable and indigenous service for good in Sierra Leone and West Africa. Billy will live in Sierra Leone while his son serves from the United States as the organization’s CEO.