12 Mar The Reecks: Live in Honduras, Work in Africa

Roger and Marilyn Reeck, UB endorsed missionaries serving with Wycliffe

We base out of Honduras and travel from there to other places. It is amazing that we can be in Honduras, and workers in a remote area of Africa can send us a newly crafted story, and we can revise and correct it and send it back the same day.

The project facilitators in Africa submit the information using a specific online computer program. Roger checks it, suggests changes, and the corrections are made back in Africa.

And now travel time! We are now packed and on our way back to Guinea Bissau.

As soon as we arrive in Guinea Bissau, Roger will begin consultant checking the book of Mark for the Sarakule language group. He will then present a teaching on the book of Genesis for three language groups. He will lead a one-week One Story workshop and then a one-week seminar on the book of Genesis for the Kriol group.

Marilyn plans to help Roger with the Genesis and One Story workshops and will produce videos for the Guinea Bissau deaf project.

We will return to Honduras in May with just enough time to repack for a trip to Venezuela. We will help teach at a One Story workshop for three unreached language groups who will begin projects.

There are two exciting activities coming up among the Garifuna people in Honduras during March. The first one is the Garifuna Pastor’s retreat, where they will be discussing issues relating to ancestor worship and the stand of the Christian church.

The second is the beginning of a new training program for Garifuna church leaders with the emphasis on preparing church planters.

The Lord has been wonderful to us! In Honduras we live close to Christy and Rigo and their three children. They just started a new school year and the youngest is now going to kindergarten. On our way back to Honduras we will stop off in Texas and visit our three other daughters there.

It is harder to spend time with the three grandkids in Mexico. Our Mexican son Meinardo called yesterday and brought joy as we heard his three children playing in the background and we laughed together. Praise the Lord for the technology that allows us to keep in touch with our family wherever we are living.

12 Mar Deliks Live Out the “Honor Your Parents” Commandment

Arek and Donna Delik are UB endorsed missionaries serving with Operatin Mobilization in Kutno, Poland.

Donna Delik

2011 was a physically and emotionally draining year for both of us. We are very thankful that we have made a good progress on the building project. However, managing a project of this magnitude has been very demanding financially, physically, and emotionally.

Then Arek’s dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer in May 2011. Arek and I tried to be there for his parents as much as possible, and we often traveled to and from Słupsk, 400 km from Kutno. It was been very hard for us during the last few months until the end of January, when Arek’s dad passed away. We have been very blessed and thankful for many of you who walked with us during this difficult time of our lives.

As one chapter closes, another begins. Mom has diabetes and some disability due to a serious stroke many years ago. After talking with Arek’s sister, mom has decided to move to Kutno so that we could take care of her. We are very glad that we have already found a suitable apartment for her near ours with reasonable rent. The owner is renovating the whole apartment at this moment. We hope it will be done soon and that we can bring mom to Kutno by the end of March.

There are still a lot of legal issues needed to be sorted out before the move, like transferring mom’s medical and social benefits to Kutno, which has proved to be very complicated after the Polish government did some unpopular reforms.

Please pray for Arek’s mom, who is turning 70 this year. Losing her lifelong companion and leaving all her friends to move to Kutno will be the biggest adjustment she has ever encountered. Please also remember us, because it will be a big change for us as well. We want to fulfill one of the 10 commandments–to honor Arek’s mom as the Bible teach us.

09 Mar Light Comes to Centennial School

Joe Abu (middle) with four members of the November 2011 Engineers Without Borders team (l-r): John Cirucci, Lori Cirucci, Joe Abu, Tom Powers, and Bill McNair. 

Hoisting solar panels on top of the Administrative building in order to provide light in three classrooms and the breezeway.

Rev. Joe Abu, in addition to pastoring Mount Zion United African Church, a UB African congregation in Philadelphia, Pa., is also the official representative of the Sierra Leone Conference to UB churches in the US and Canada. Here, he writes about improvements made to Centennial Secondary School in Mattru, with help from Engineers Without Borders.

Joe Abu

In November 2011, a team from Engineers Without Border of Lehigh Valley left the United States for Mattru Jong in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The purpose was to work with the school community and the alumni association of Centennial Secondary School to install solar lighting in three classrooms and a portion of the administrative building.

Centennial Secondary School, a high school of over 1200 kids, has been in deplorable condition due to the civil war in Sierra Leone, and also due to age of the infrastructure. Engineers Without Borders is partnering with the school’s alumni association (Centennial Old Students Association–or CeOSA) and the school community to rebuild the school.

Here is a quick recap of the partnership activity:

The first trip was for a feasibility study. All partnership stakeholders met and agreed on the priorities of the project implementation.

On the second trip, as a school of numerous students without toilets, Engineers Without Borders worked with the partners on the ground to repair and upgrade the toilet buildings.

During the third trip, in November 2011, the team installed solar lighting in three classrooms, so students could study at night.

Students studying at night.

There was great joy as we flipped on the light at Centennial Secondary School after decades of darkness. Lots and lots of clapping, loud verbal acclamation, tears of joy, etc. Thanks to our donors, Engineers Without Borders, annual dues-paying CeOSA members,the United Brethren Church in Sierra Leone and America, and of course, the Centennial school staff, students, and community.

The main reason for installing the light was to enable the students to study at night. Bingo! During an unannounced visit after the rest of the team had returned to America, I found students and staff studying in all three classrooms and the breezeway.

During the EWB and partnership feasibility study, it was discovered that the school lacked equipment essential for education (like a chemistry lab and other labs). While one of the EWB team members came home and shared the need to her Keystone Quilters Guild, the 2011 CeOSA convention held in Silver Spring, Md., embarked on fundraising to provide sewing machines for the Home Economics lab. As a result, five sewing machines, boxes of sewing accessories, and a beautiful quilt were presented to the school.

Rev. Joe Abu (back) with three Sierra Leone Conference leaders (l-r): Rev. Justin Marva (Administrative Assistant), Mr. S. K. Foyoh (National conference treasurer), and Bishop John Pessima.

High on the priority list of the students of the school, during the project feasibility study, was a set of marching band instruments. While some EWB personnel intended to do something about it, the people were challenged to seek help within the country. As a result, some magnificent marching band instruments were obtained.

Inspired by this result, the local people went all-out to refurbish one of the unused buildings into a nicely painted and furnished library with a tile floor.

As we thank donors and all participants in the Centennial project, the Church of the United Brethren in Christ in Sierra Leone deserves special gratitude. The venerable Bishop John Pessima and his leadership have been very supportive of the project. He comes to cheer the team and to promote the project each time we were in Sierra Leone.

The next Engineers Without Borders trip will occur in late April 2012. The goal this time is to drill a well to provide pure drinking water to the school. This is a very expensive goal, as the well has to be drilled through a massive layer of rock.

08 Mar Cold Snap in Poland

Arek and Donna Delik are UB endorsed missionaries serving with Operatin Mobilization in Kutno, Poland.

Donna Delik

Extreme cold and heavy snow buried parts of Europe at the beginning of February, claiming hundreds of lives. Eastern Europe was particularly hard hit. In Poland alone, over 100 people died during a cold snap that lasted more than a week, with temperatures dropping well below freezing. Many of the victims were homeless people, and alcohol abuse was a main factor contributing to such a high death toll.

Last week, our engineer submitted to the local government the required documents and blueprints for our church and rehabilitation center. Arek asked when we would obtain the construction permit, and the answer was, “We don’t know, just wait.”

It doesn’t sound very promising, and we pray for God’s intervention on our behalf. We are aiming to resume the work in March when the weather gets warmer. We hope that we can use part of the building by the beginning of summer. Much work remains to be done, but it is not a mission impossible.

08 Mar Global Ministries and Tornado Relief

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

A few people have asked us about relief for the victims of tornados in the midwest. No United Brethren churches were affected. However, if you’d like to help, Global Ministries will be happy to receive funds for Samaritan’s Purse, which is working in the region.

We partner with Samaritan’s Purse in disaster relief both in the United States and abroad. They have the mechanisms in place to act as first responders.

Unless we notify churches otherwise, our policy is to forward 100% of relief funds we receive to Samaritan’s Purse in times of disaster. Donors simply need to make their check out to “Global Ministries” and write “Tornado Relief” on the memo line.

08 Mar Snapshots from a Whirlwind Trip to Honduras

The new addition at the Yoro church in Honduras

The Hebron church

The kitchen/dining hall at the retreat center.

Nancy and Wilbur Fritz, from the King Street church in Chambersburg, Pa., recently led a team to work at several places in Honduras. Here’s is Nancy’s report.

Nancy Fritz (right)

From February 18-28, 2012, a ministry team from King Street Church (Chambersburg, Pa.) made a whirlwind trip through parts of north-central Honduras. What a joy to see God at work in so many areas!

The UB church in Yoro is building an addition adjacent to their present church. This will provide classrooms for children and youth, restroom facilities, and the pastor’s study and personal area. Yoro UB church is doing outreach! Each week a group of adults and youth bring the Word of God to children in the village of Santa Ana where there is no church.

Hebron UB church in the village of El Pino is still home to some of the original families who settled there when the land was cleared and the first houses were built in 2002. Pastor Juan Carlos travels from La Ceiba to preach and minister to the people at Hebron. Faithful ladies still teach the Bible to the children. However, the church building structure is showing signs of the need for attention.

Bethel UB in La Ceiba remains solid, friendly, and active. They have a new pastor, Luis Granwell. With much support and encouragement from the Bethel congregation, former pastor Jose Rivera is now planting the Faith and Hope UB church, located about 10 blocks from Bethel.

Bethel Christian School, on the same campus with the Honduras Conference headquarters and the Bethel UB church, continues to teach students from kindergarten through college. Enrollment has reached 2000! They’re making good use of their newest facility–a technical training center where students learn elementary and advanced English, home-making, vocational subjects, and a wide range of computer skills.

The UB Retreat Center is located 6 miles east of La Ceiba on a beautiful landscaped hillside. Large shade trees, 2 covered pavilions, a canteen, picnic tables, swimming pool, basketball court, staff housing, and a hike up the hill to overlook the Caribbean all add to the ambiance that makes this an ideal setting for ministering to children, youth, and adults. (Superintendent Mrs. Juanita Chavez asks everyone to pray that God will send a director for the Center and provide funds to complete the refurbishing of the kitchen and dining area.)

The Balfate UB church is located about 90 minutes east of La Ceiba. It is growing steadily under the leadership of Pastor Daniel Melgar, with attendance now averaging 60-80 each Sunday. It was a long time coming, but after 3 years of godly perseverance and hard physical labor, Pastor Melgar and his family are extremely grateful to be settled in their own home.

Balfate UB is the home church of missionaries Rigo and Christy Andino. Christy, the daughter of Wycliffe missionaries Roger and Marilyn Reeck, is a teaching and practicing registered nurse as well as part-time administrator of the new hospital, Loma de Luz (Light on a Hill). Rigo drills wells to provide safe water and serves as ambulance driver for the hospital. The Andinos are parents of 3 young children.

07 Mar The Easter Offering in Action in Guatemala

Work in progress on the new Guatemala Central Office.

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

The annual Easter Offering is used to bless various United Brethren missions efforts. Funds from the 2011 offering were sent to Guatemala, our newest international conference, where new churches are being planted regularly.

Some of the funds we sent at the end of 2011 enabled the Guatemalans to buy property in Aguas Calientes, where a group had already been formed. They were also able to begin construction of a conference office. Superintendent Francisco Najera’s coordinates the efforts to lead more than 20 churches in the areas surrounding Guatemala City and Escuintla.

07 Mar Raudales Family Now in the US

Francisco and Maira Raudales, along with son Jimmy, have moved to Miami and are now residents of the United States. Francisco was superintendent of Honduras Conference 1997-2009.