29 Mar Congratulations Mabel!
Mabel Mundy, who has worked at the national office since 1987 (most of that time in Global Ministries), became a great-grandma this morning.
29 Mar Global Ministries Guys Arrive in Sierra Leone
L-r: Jeff Bleijerveld, Jeff Sherlock, and Wil Kline.
Jeff Bleijerveld, Jeff Sherlock, and Wil Kline arrived safely in Sierra Leone late Sunday night. Their flight out of London was delayed by three hours, so they didn’t reach Freetown until 12:30.
Jeff Bleijerveld wrote this morning (March 29):
“The trip across from the island airport was pretty at night. The moon was quite bright. We traveled over a mountain to get here rather than travel through the towns, and it worked out great. Slept on a king-sized water bed. No heater, so it was amazingly cool. What a great idea. Woke up about 8:00 to dogs barking and roosters crowing. We’ve had our bucket baths and breakfast, and will be headed to Bo by about 1 pm.”
29 Mar Obit: Lillian Kent
Mrs. Lillian Iris Kent, 92, widow of the Rev. Archie Kent, passed away Saturday morning, March 27, 2010, at the Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, Ind. She was a member of the Rugby United Brethren church in Hope, Ind.
The Kents served Indiana congregations in Anderson, Alexandria, Rugby, Huntington, Warren, New Castle, and Williamsport, as well as in Sherkston, Ontario. Lillian was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1918.
Both visitation and the funeral will be held at the Norman Funeral Home in Hope. It is located on the southwest corner of the town square on State Road 9.
Here are the funeral arrangements:
Visitation: 4-8 pm Tuesday, March 30, and 10-11 am March 31.
Funeral: 11 am Wednesday, March 31. Rev. Tracy McIntyre will officiate.
Burial: At the Hawcreek Cemetery.
Memorials: To the Aging and Community Services of South Central Indiana.
Online condolences may be sent to the family.
26 Mar Three Headed for Sierra Leone
Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries, leaves for Sierra Leone tomorrow, March 27. He’ll be joined by two members of the Global Ministries Leadership Team, Wil Kline and Jeff Sherlock, both from College Park UB church in Huntington, Ind. They’ll return the following Saturday, April 3.
The trip will focus on three areas:
- Meet with Global Ministries missionaries Randy and Toni Fennig to see the progress of the agricultural development projects, and visit the farm at Bo.
- Visit Mattru Hospital to see the progress of various projects there.
- Talk to Sierra Leone leaders about a possible water filtration project.
26 Mar Update from Bridger Fetters in Macau
At the time of this writing, I have now finished the first day of my second week at Pui Va school. Things have been great so far. In week one, I got to meet the 200 students, spread across four classes, that I will work with for the final 10 weeks of the semester.
I shared a bit of my story and experiences with the class to give them a chance to get used to the way I speak English. After a few questions to confirm comprehension, I conducted a survey so that I could get a sense of their English level along with some suggestions for what they might be interested to study. The school has given me freedom to teach however I choose, as long as the students are learning conversational English. I wanted some feedback so that I could create engaging and valuable lessons.
On each of my last two trips to Macau, I have had the chance to spend a day walking around the old parts of town with Living Stone members Jeffrey, Carolina, and Tyrone. All three of these friends have spent parts of their lives living in more Western cultures. Jeffrey attended high school and university in Canada, Carolina lived in England for a number of years, and Tyrone is from the Philippines and has traveled a lot of places for work.
This past Saturday, the four of us decided to head out on the town again, talking in our usual jumble of Cantonese and English. We ate at a Mexican restaurant (surprisingly good) and then walked around Taipa for several hours. Finally, we stopped to get something to drink and ended up sitting and talking about culture and language (including a small competition on who knew the most world capitals) until after 2 am!
Even though it took me a few days to catch up on my rest, it was a wonderful opportunity to build friendships with people at Living Stone Church. While I am attending Living Water Church on Sunday mornings, I am happy to be able to connect with the people of Living Stone during the week.
26 Mar Roger Reeck Undergoes Knee Surgery
On March 16, Roger Reeck had arthroscopic surgery on his knee in Mobile, Alabama. Marilyn reports that it was successful.
The orthopedic surgeon feels that there is only a 40% probability that he will need the second surgery. He will remain in the US for a month doing heavy exercises to strengthen the muscles, and after that a decision will be made. In the meantime Marilyn will remain in Honduras working on projects involving the Garifuna language.
23 Mar Anniversary of Martin Boehm’s Death
On this date in 1812–which was 198 years ago–Bishop Martin Boehm died. He was 87 years old. Boehm was one of our denomination’s founders. He was the man who preached that fiery message at Long’s Barn in 1767 which caught the attention of our other founder, William Otterbein.
22 Mar August 2010: Mission Team Leader Training
A group get-acquainted activity at the Mission Team Training.
The "Helium Hula Hoop" exercise.
Global Ministries will sponsor another workshop for persons interested in leading short-term mission trips. We did four such events in 2008, and one in February 2010.
Date: August 27-28, 2010
Location: Devonshire Church, Harrisburg, Pa.
Cost: $60
This workshop is open for all persons who either will lead short-term trips in 2010 or who may be considering leading trips in the future.
Participants will receive a lot of material helpful in putting together the trip, team development, dealing with cultural differences, and much more. If your church is considering short-term mission ministry, this is a “must” event.
Jeff Bleijerveld and Donna Hollopeter will be team teaching. The UBGlobal website has more information, including the schedule, a list of nearby hotels, and a brochure you can download. You can also register and pay online.
22 Mar HU’s 7 New Horizon Recipients
Seven incoming freshmen to Huntington University have been named recipients of the Horizon Leadership Scholarship for the 2010/11 academic year. This is the third year that the scholarship has been awarded.
Launched in the fall of 2008, the Horizon Leadership Program is a collaborative effort between Huntington University and Youth for Christ designed to attract and retain students of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds by providing educational, leadership, and creative outlets.
The Horizon Leader Scholarship covers fees associated with tuition and housing costs for up to 10 semesters through a combination of federal, state, and institutional aid.
The recipients of the award are:
- Rosa Cruz (San Antonio, Texas).
- Brianna Lapetina (Racine, Wisc.)
- Karina Palma (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
- James Pope (San Diego, Calif.)
- Guiliana Ruiz-Moreno (Chesterton, Ind.)
- Isaiah Stephenson (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
- Jonathan Zamora (Chicago, Ill.)
22 Mar A Preview of the September Women’s Conference
Front (l-r): Kathy Bruce, Molly Shull. Back (l-r): Jeanie Helman, Penny Cole, Annette Sites, Stacy Gentry.
This weekend members of the UB Women’s Ministry Team met at Willow Valley Resort in Lancaster, Pa., to prepare for the upcoming Women’s Conference this September. The ladies basked in the sun by a lovely pond (while accomplishing a lot, of course), met with the hotel representative to go over logistics, and sampled a complimentary smorgasbord dinner. Registration for the conference is open and many woman have already registered. Check out ubwomen.org to view a short commercial and register your group today!