14 Dec Christmas with Our Burmese Friends

Our Burmese family prepares to serve us a meal. Bob and Kathy Bruce are seated on the right.

Over the past few months, Charlene and I have been part of a “Circle of Friends” helping a refugee Burmese family in Fort Wayne, Ind. This family came to the US after 18 years in a Thai camp. Fort Wayne has about 5000 immigrants from Burma, the largest Burmese refugee population in the United States. The majority of them are Muslims who carry with them many of their own traditions and customs.

However, this family is not completely united. The husband and father of six passed away just a year before they gained the opportunity to start their lives over again in a new homeland. The cause of death remains a mystery, but it seems he may have died from a brain hemorrhage. The eldest son, who would logically fulfill the role of primary wage earner, is stuck in Malaysia due to a bureaucratic oversight.

This past week our circle, which includes Bob and Kathy Bruce of Emmanuel Community Church in Fort Wayne, took a number of Burmese families out to see Christmas lights around the city. We borrowed a bus from Emmanuel and filled it with children and their parents. They were fascinated by the Christmas lights around town.

Later, the family we help support provided a delicious Burmese meal in their home. They seemed thrilled to do something in return for the help they’ve received, and we were pleased to see our friendship move one step deeper.

10 Dec Among Our 44 Churches in Mexico

Bishop Denis Casco at the Valle de Santiago church.

Mexico is said by many to be in crisis. Corruption at multiple levels and drug trafficking have a major impact on our near neighbor to the south, but we’re rejoicing in the growth of the United Brethren in Christ.

I visited Mexico last week with Rev. Denis Casco, Bishop of the Mexico National Conference. Rev. Casco continues to provide outstanding leadership to our churches in Mexico. Our ministry currently consists of 34 registered churches and another 10 church plants. They are divided into seven districts from El Paso/Juarez in the north to Oaxaca in the south.

Large concentrations of UB churches can be found in Queretaro and Michoacan to the north and west of Mexico City. We also have 3 indigenous works among Purepecha peoples in Michoacan, and among Tarazco peoples in Chihuahua.

We visited Valle de Santiago, where Mount Pleasant UB in Chambersburg, Pa., is currently completing a five-year partnership with Pastor Ramiro Negrete and the Centro Familiar Evangelico. They recently completed the construction of a sanctuary to accommodate 500 attendees, and it’s filling quickly.

Along the way, I heard the testimonies of new believers who had come to faith in Christ through the care and compassion of UB church members who came to them and loved them through struggles with abuse, drugs, and the chaos of broken family relationships. God is doing a tremendous work among his people.

This week, a team from Mount Pleasant will be in Mexico helping distribute nearly over 500 Operation Christmas Child boxes from Samaritan’s Purse. This will be the largest distribution our Mexican UB churches have ever been involved with. We currently have a number of opportunities for churches or individuals interested in partnering with a local church and participating in a short-term project.