25 Feb A Trip to the Honduras Conference Camp

Most of the General Conference delegates climbed this hill which overlooks the camp. The structure in the foreground will eventually have two levels--a cafeteria on the lower level, and a conference meeting area above.

A side view of the future camp cafeteria. An upper level will be added with meeting space.

Billy Simbo, bishop of Sierra Leone Conference, leads the way down from the hill overlooking the camp. Jeff Dice is directly behind him.

Juanita Chavez, superintendent of Honduras Conference (right) points out some features to Denis Casco (Mexico) and Donna Hollopeter.

On Monday afternoon, January 11, the General Conference delegates took a field trip to the Honduras Conference camp located to the west of La Ceiba. The conference acquired this property several years ago.

The place is very rough. Most of the buildings need a lot of work. But the potential is great.

One priority is the cafeteria building, which is currently just an open shell. It will be enclosed and a second floor added containing meeting rooms. The caretaker’s home, where a family now lives, also needs to be enlarged and improved.

The camp is already being used in various ways, and is being rented out to other groups for retreats and other events.

You can view a large batch of photos–84 of them–from the trip to the camp. The thumbnails below give a few selected shots of the camp and its many buildings.

10 Feb Mexico: Difficulties of Ministry in a Drug Culture

L-r: Isaac Nugent (Jamaica), Denis Casco (Mexico), and Ajiax Wo (Hong Kong).

Some of the United Brethren churches in Mexico are in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, two cities which face each other across the Texas border. Denis Casco, Bishop of Mexico Conference, says this work is much different from the work done in central Mexico, because of the drug problems.

“In this area, 30-40 people die every day, including some people from our churches,” he told the General Conference delegates in January. “It’s a very dangerous area.”

He mentioned three difficult situations:

1. The son of one of his pastors sits in an Indiana federal prison for distributing drugs for a Juarez organization.
2. A 16-year-old girl from one of the churches was arrested for carrying 120 pounds of marijuana in a backpack.
3. One of his pastors in El Paso, who often provided transportation for Denis back and forth across the border, always told US immigration officials he was a US citizen. But one day he called Denis from a Phoenix jail cell. He didn’t have legal documents, and finally got caught.

Denis says, “To protect myself, I usually take a taxi from El Paso to the border and walk across. I do the same on my way back. I want to protect my life and reputation, but I cannot abandon this area.”

29 Jan Sierra Leone: Major Changes in How They Operate

Billy Simbo, Bishop of Sierra Leone Conference, beside the Sierra Leonean flag.

Billy Simbo, Bishop of Sierra Leone Conference, gave his report to the General Conference delegates on Tuesday, January 12. He returned to Sierra Leone two-and-a-half years ago to lead the conference in a transition to stability and renewal.

“As you know,” he told the delegates, “Sierra Leone went through 11 years of Civil War. It ended 9 years ago, but you can still see the affects in the country. I am happy to report that the Church of the United Brethren in Christ is alive and well in Sierra Leone.”

Sierra Leone Conference meets every two years. During their latest meeting, in December 2008, the 102 delegates made several big changes:

• The highest leader, formerly called the general superintendent, now carries the title “bishop.” The bishop is chosen for a five-year term, and can serve three terms (15 years).
• A Counsel of Elders, consisting of all ordained ministers (currently 28) selects the bishop. The conference must then ratify the selection.
• Superintendents are appointed by the bishop, rather than elected by the conference.
• Superintendents are appointed to functions, rather than geographic regions.
• The churches were divided into four regions—the same as the country’s four political regions (north, south, east, and west). Each region has its own leader.
• The regions are further divided into circuits. Each circuits has its own leader.

If a vacancy arises, all of the ordained ministers get together, and anyone among them interested in the job presents his resume and vision for the church. When they have whittled down the candidates, this Counsel of Ordained Elders presents the candidate at the next session of the conference, which can then ratify the selection.

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21 Jan Mexico: Report from Bishop Denis Casco

Bishop Denis Casco giving his presentation on Mexico Conference.

Denis Casco, as bishop of Mexico Conference, gave his General Conference report on Monday afternoon, January 11.

Denis is a native of Honduras who was brought by Global Ministries to the United States to found Latin American Ministries, a major attempt to establish United Brethren churches among Hispanic people.

While in that role, he began working with a number of churches in central Mexico. In 2005, those churches were accepted as a UB national conference. Denis, though he actually lives in the Los Angeles area, serves as bishop of the UB churches in Mexico.

Here are some highlights from his report.

• “Mexico is in its first love,” he said.
• The churches are divided into eight districts.
• Some of the churches are located in Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, two cities which face each other across the border. This means some Mexico Conference churches are actually located in the United States.


Denis Casco

• Most of the United Brethren churches in Mexico, and the largest ones, are located in the central part of the country. This is also where you find some of the largest cities, like Mexico City.
• “It’s so beautiful to work when the bishop is well received by the pastors, when the opinion of the bishop has a value, and they feel that the bishop is important for the spiritual growth of the ministers.”
• They are developing a work in the southern part of the country, including ministry to the indigenous Tarasco people.
• Music is very important in Mexico.
• The youth movement is very strong in Mexico, and they have well-organized women’s ministries.
• Denis says they lost a few churches over money. “Many times, pastors seek only for the money; they look for a way to develop their own church and then become independent. I don’t like this , but it happens. And when he happens, I feel that I have finished my work with those churches. I cannot say I’ve let them go; they have gone by themselves, and what can we do?”
• Mexico Conference owns about 30 properties. The church buildings have been acquired with Mexican funds. However, Hispanic churches in the States are an important source of financial support. “We need resources to continue the work in Mexico. My mentality is that Mexicans should develop by themselves. We have shown it over the years, and it makes me proud.”
• “I’m very happy with what is happening in Mexico. We do not have statistics on how many were baptized, because churches are usually baptizing people every week. We have a problem of immigration, of people going back and forth to America. We have brethren in Canada, and people who come to spend the end of the year in Mexico.”
• He mentioned his week-long trip to Mexico with Jeff Bleijerveld in December 2009. “He easily acquired the love of the Mexican people. I felt a little jealous.”

20 Jan The Incredible Bethel Band

I’ve written about the Bethel Band a number of times over the years, going back to the 1980s, when missionary Archie Cameron led it. The band is part of the Bethel Institute, a large school operated by our Honduras Conference.

The Bethel Band has won many honors over the years. They won a competition as the best band in Central America.

But I had never heard the Bethel Band perform. I heard them practice one time, when I was in Honduras writing Tio Archie (one chapter is devoted to the Bethel Band). But I’d not seen them perform.

Until a couple weeks ago, when I was in Honduras for General Conference.

David Raudales, director of the Bethel Band, played in worship teams throughout the week of General Conference.

During the opening service on Sunday, January 10, the Bethel Band marched to the front of the gymnasium and played two numbers for us. They were extraordinary. Just blew me away.

I was sitting on the front row when they lined up, the saxophone players right in front of me. When the music started, the sax players began stepping toward me, and I thought they were going to run me over.

I knew they’d be good musically. I was not expecting all of the movement. I mean, they MOVED. I particularly enjoyed watching the three guys whirling around with their bass drums.

So much music, so much sound, so much movement, so many instruments. And the thing is–they were at half-strength. School was not in session at that time of year, but director David Raudales still managed to round up 50 of his 100 band members for a voluntary performance.

David is the son of Francisco Raudales, the former Honduras Conference superintendent. Francisco grew up playing in the band and later directed it, before passing the baton to his son.

David hopes to expand the band’s size to 150 members. The limitation is instruments. They’ll gladly take that trumpet or flute collecting dust in your attic. Why not send it to Global Ministries, so we can put it in the hands of a young Honduran? Give an opportunity to a kid who would just love to make music with Central America’s premier band.

In September, the Bethel Band will travel to Guatemala for another big competition. About 50 Guatemalan bands will compete against each other, and the winner will then go against a dozen or so bands from other countries. Bethel has won this competition in the past. After what I heard that Sunday in La Ceiba, I can’t imagine that they won’t be winning it again in the years ahead.

Enjoy these photos of the Bethel Band performing at General Conference.

16 Jan Back to Our German Roots, Via Africa

Theresa Musa and Billy Simbo, the two delegates from Sierra Leone, during the January 13 prayer time for Haiti.

William Otterbein, one of the United Brethren founding bishops, originally came to America in the 1700s as a missionary from Germany. Is God up to something in Germany, UB-wise? It’s looking mighty suspicious.

• A United Brethren church was established there in 1997 by a former UB minister from Sierra Leone.
• Marshalee Brown Loerch, a missionary from Jamaica Conference, married a German and settled in Germany.
• Galen Fiedler, son of former UB missionaries to Sierra Leone, and his German wife Maritta live in southern Germany and now hold the status of “non-traditional staff” with Global Ministries.

Billy Simbo, Bishop of Sierra Leone Conference.;

At General Conference this past week, Billy Simbo, bishop of Sierra Leone Conference, told about the work in Germany, which is considered an outreach of Sierra Leone Conference.

“In 1997, one of our ordained ministers took refuge in Berlin. Being a well-trained United Brethren pastor, he didn’t sit idle, but started a church in Berlin.

“In 2007, I was privileged to visit Berlin to celebrate their tenth anniversary. They invited me to preach at the final service. About 400 people attended. Most were German citizens, but many other African nations were represented.

“My challenge to them was that when we get together to celebrate their 20th anniversary, they should come to General Conference asking to become a national conference of the United Brethren church.

“We have reaped a lot of benefit from this church. Before medical teams from the United States came to Mattru Hospital, the church in Berlin was sending us equipment for the hospital.

“The minister who started the church in Berlin moved on to the United Kingdom in 2008, and another pastor took his place. He’s pastoring a Methodist church, but has asked permission to start a United Brethren church in England. So I said yes. We’re excited about that.

“There is great potential in Germany and all of those European countries, because everywhere you go, there are lots of African immigrants. We can start churches everywhere with them.”

Jeff Bleijerveld, director of Global Ministries, explained that the United Brethren name is registered with the German government, which is a difficult process. Now, if we want to open other churches in Germany, we have representation before the government.