Liberia: Looking forward with great vision

Education Coordinator to Africa, Jurgen Rudolph, recently visited Liberia for the first time. He says, “I spent about a week in the capital city, Monrovia, with the national overseer, Moses Hart, and Bible school director, David Kiamue. One day we traveled far and deep into the rubber tree plantations and rainforest. It was the only day when rain was not pouring down, but we still got our car stuck in the rainforest. However, God and half a village helped us push the car free.
Together with Richard Baker, project coordinator for World Missions, and national leaders, we visited around 10 churches. The Church of God in the U.S. supports the reconstruction of church buildings that were destroyed during the war. It is overwhelming to see the pastors and leaders, who despite the past war and having been refugees, serve God and the needy Liberians with joy and compassion. The Church of God in Liberia does not look at the past tragedies and losses, but looks forward in a very visionary manner.”

Testimony From Scotland

During the summer, 11 year old Christopher Park suffered a paralyzing stroke after minor surgery. Since birth Chris has suffered from epilepsy. Doctors were sure he had a seizure while anesthetized resulting in the paralysis. Churches in Scotland and the USA were praying for him. After several weeks he was able to leave the hospital. A recent scan showed no permanent damage. Doctors have confirmed that he no longer has epilepsy!

~ This testimony as sent in by Dennis Tanner, National Overseer of Scotland

LIfe As A Missionary Kid

Life is not easy for the missionary kid; we move, we lose and we start again. We leave our friends and family, we learn the rough side of this world, we see things regular kids do not see, we feel things regular people don’t feel and most of all; we will never completely fit in. We learn to help ourselves and sometimes forget we need help from the outside as well. Maybe we feel like that some days, but on the other side, we learn to enjoy and take every moment as unique. We see the world and its beauties, we gain wisdom and learn to trust God, and he reveals himself to us and teaches us how to trust him.

We are blessed; we learn to fight through the tough things of this life, we see the color in people’s hearts, we learn what’s wrong with this world and we look and think about ways to fix it. We learn that we cant completely fit in because we are not like most kids, and then we embrace that difference, we learn to live with it and love it and then come to a conclusion that we are that difference. There’s always the chance that the hearts of the people we meet along the way are gray and without color, even though there’s always a chance of people making us feel different and telling us how we don’t fit in and involuntarily, they blur our eyes and we forget about our purpose and value. But even though all of those things eventually happen, we look back and see change, and then we look forward and suddenly expect greatness.

We look back at those tough moments in our lives and just can’t describe how God has always been there for us, how even though those storms seemed never-ending, He opened the clouds and gave us light again. He didn’t let go when we were certain we were about to. We felt His warmth when everything around us was cold. Then we look to our present and even though it might seem horrible and without a way out, we know someone is looking out for us, and that that someone will bring back the light again. Suddenly we feel peace and tranquility, we feel that nothing is wrong, we know that everything is going to be okay. There is a back door to our problem and our guide will help us find it.

Being in constant movement is not easy; we see even the truest of friendships die and we are forced to start new ones, we leave our friends and when we come back they are not the same. Then when we finally settle down we love, but at the same time hate, having missionary friends; we love having them because they understand what we go through, they know our situation and they sympathize with us. But as we grow accustomed to them we hate having them because we know that soon they are going to leave and we will be strangers again. But now I understand the great beauty of them, we learn to enjoy every moment together because it might be the last one, we don’t take them for granted because on a level we depend on them, they become our brothers and sisters and also a rock where we can lay down our heads and just let go of the craziness of the world around us.

What if everybody was like that? What if everybody was able to experience the world and start over again? What if friends were friends and they counted each moment as their last so there wouldn’t be any regrets?

Fernando Ramirez
Missionary Kid

Fernando Ramirez is the son of David Ramirez, field director to South America.

Using Media Missions

It is finally a reality! MediaLight will open its doors from January 5-March 21, 2010, at our base in Chiang Rai, Thailand. This is an intensive 10 week program for those who are serious about being a light to this dark world. We will cover personal life management, spirituality for ministry, the core teachings of Jesus and what it means to be a Christian leader.

Half the time and energy will be spent on learning how to be a messenger through modern media, especially video made for the Internet. Room, board and tuition for the first session will be only $2,500. Students from developing nations can benefit from a $1,250 tuition discount. All Asian nations, except Singapore, Japan and Korea, qualify for the developing nations scholarship.

* There are only 25 slots in this special, hands-on program and only 12 are left, so if you are interested you need to sign up soon. Contact Jacki Quinley at info@emergenetwork.org. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it, who is serving as our registrar.
* We have an outstanding slate of teachers from the Philippines, America, South Africa and Thailand, including Graham and Dianne Vermooten from Media Village in Cape Town, and also Paul Richardson from Path of Palms, a full-scale media production house.

These ten weeks could change your life!

~Chuck and Sherry Quinley,
Missionary to Thailand
Project Number 0600031

Social Networking Missions

Most of us can remember when E-mail was considered the most cutting-edge means of communication available. In recent years, the prevalence of social networking sites like Myspace, and particularly Facebook, have broadened the means for electronic communication.

Why would people elect to communicate through Facebook rather than E-mail? For many users, Facebook is an invaluable tool for gathering information in a timely manner. "People tend to log onto social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace before they check their own E-mail nowadays," says Brandon Spell, graphic designer for the World Missions Media Team. "Because of this, Facebook has become a great way to share and gather information quickly."

Vernice Blackaby, secretary to the assistant director, agrees. "Surprisingly, many missionaries send me official requests through Facebook instead of through E-mail," she says. "Many of the missionaries post their newsletters and blogs on Facebook."

Along with posting blogs, articles and photos, many social networking users communicate by sharing information through their "status updates," where users share a sentence or two about their current activities. According to Blackaby, sharing information in this way is useful for maintaining closer, more immediate contact with missionaries than would be possible through E-mail or telephone. "My favorite part about using Facebook is keeping up with [missionaries] and their families since everyone uses Facebook to write what is going on in their personal lives," she continues. "I like to know them not just as missionaries, but also through their personal every-day family lives."

Social networking sites like Facebook make it easier to connect with other users quickly in critical situations. Yvette Morales, WM projects secretary, shares, "For me, Facebook has been very useful for getting in touch with our people in the field. When attempts at gathering urgent information through E-mail and telephone contact are unsuccessful, I generally receive replies to Facebook messages in less than 15 minutes.

"This is a very effective tool and it really does make my job easier," Morales concludes. “I’m grateful for the role social networking plays in helping to reach the lost around the world.”

~ Lisa Campagna, World Missions staff member
Lisa is also part of the heart, vision, action team of World Missions

Ministering to Muslims

Vance Massengill, education coordinator for the Mediterranean and Middle East shares:

I recently returned to Croatia after a summer of classes. In the coming months, we are planning on making trips to Israel, Greece, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and hopefully Lebanon.

Although school was really tiring, it certainly recharged my batteries. One of my classes focused on Muslim evangelism and church planting. The Muslim world is growing so fast, even in the United States. During the class, we visited a mosque... in Springfield, Missouri. It was absolutely full of people. Although Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, God is at work and moving in the Muslim world. There is so much to be done, but with the power of the Holy Spirit and a determined church body, the tides can be turned and Muslims can come to understand the love of Christ.

My second class was on using a cultural anthropological approach to leadership training. This fall I will be teaching "cultural anthropology" and "leadership development." We are excited and challenged at the opportunity to work in the Middle East (the front lines of the Great Commission) and help develop and train the leaders, ministers and missionaries of God's future church.

We are excited and challenged at the opportunity to work in the Middle East and help develop and train the leaders, ministers and missionaries. To be able to minister to the Muslim world today and prepare others to do it tomorrow is our heart's greatest desire and we thank God for the blessing we have to do both.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vance and Kari Massengill
Education Coordinator
Mediterranean/Middle East
Project Number 0650069

A Testimony of Perseverance

The following is a testimony from Sudan:

Gabriel was led by the Lord to preach to the Chad tribe in the Nuba Mountains. There is a very strong Muslim presence in this tribe. Although the people of the village were very friendly towards Gabriel and his friends, the men told the women not to give them any food.

As the days went by, Gabriel realized they weren’t going to get any nourishment. He decided to stay and fast, but his friends went back to their village. As time went by, Gabriel realized they were going to starve him to death. He decided to travel to a nearby village, buy some food and return to the Chad tribe. He traveled by foot and it took him a day to get there. He ate his own food for two or three days and then went without for a few days.

This went on for nine months. Gabriel’s friends, who came to visit him, pleaded with him to go back to his own village and stop witnessing to the Chad tribe but he refused. As the rainy season approached, he realized he needed to go back to his own village for the time of the rainy season. Before he left, God opened the ears of some of the young children to listen to him. He told them he would return after the rainy season. The adults of the village laughed as he left, saying this preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ will never come back again.

A few months later, Gabriel returned to the village of the Chad tribe, preaching again the gospel of Jesus Christ. The adults were very surprised when he returned. How wrong he would prove them to be! Today there is a small church in the Chad tribe because a servant of God chose to preach the gospel in and out of season!

World Missions Centennial

World Missions is gearing up for our 100th anniversary in January 2010!

Please visit our centennial website for details on all the celebratory events and to read about our history.

Click here: Centennial Website

Backpacking A Success

Backpacks seem like a strange tool for sharing the Gospel but when God gives an idea there is a purpose. They have helped open doors, first with the local partners but more importantly with the people on the streets.

Our first four days were spent in the city of Debrecen, Hungary's second largest city. After meetings with the local partners to introducing ourselves, they invited us to see their ministries. The Reformed Church has a day shelter where they feed up to 60 people. They also have Bible study and worship time. In the evening several of these same people find refuge in a government-funded night shelter.

Much of our time was spent on the streets visiting homeless in various places. Our guide was Christina, a full time social worker and committed servant. She took us to many places including the woods where two brothers lived in a makeshift tent, to the dump where a couple lived in an old train car trailer and then to the train station. We visited the homeless in parks, on the street and in temporary shelters out in fields.

As we presented the backpacks, we told them that many people and churches back in America were involved with gathering goods and putting together the gifts. "Those same people are praying for you even now," we told them. We showed them the many items in the bag and explained the space blanket. Then we gave the most important gift in the bag...the Bible. Some were familiar with the Bible others were not. Some had tears as we told them of God's love for them and shared the message of His word. Especially moving were the words, “God knows you, He loves you, and He has not forgotten you. He hears your prayers.”

The impressions left on all of us will not fade easily. I know without a doubt some lives were changed as the result of a simple backpack. Of the 30 bags given in Debrecen, for certain five people had a visible encounter with the living Spirit of God. Of course there were the naysayers in the balcony telling us our efforts were in vain. They said many of the backpacks were sold for alcohol or cigarettes at a fraction of their value. They did not understand. We did not come to watch the people carry backpacks and use the contents of these gifts. We were there to obey the Father’s directive to be givers in His name. The results are in the mighty hands of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. May His name be blessed!

As a result of this trip a new ministry is being birthed here in Debrecen. Someday they hope to have a rehabilitation center complete with a church just for the homeless. The ultimate vision is to bring the talents of each organization together to change lives in Jesus’ name. God's plan is large and He will enlist our many hands.

~Jason and Valeria Wiser (Missionaries to Ukraine)

Life As A Missionary in Russia

Six weeks of my three months in Moscow have now passed at the Church of God Eurasian Seminary. There is plenty of noise; someone practicing the piano in the room below me every night, traffic all day and night on a major boulevard in front of the building, small children of some married students running down the hall with a toy, etc.

Missionary Cravings

Russian food is nutritious here at the school but the budget does not allow for a lot of creativity and the menu is repetitious. It is normal for me to start thinking often of American food after I have been in another country over a month. Funny thing is that I crave things that I rarely order in the U.S. because of awareness of eating healthy. But at the moment a big fat hamburger with everything on it and a chocolate milkshake with real ice cream would taste mighty good.


Ministry Trips

My teaching is scheduled during the middle of each week so that I have long weekends for ministry/teaching trips to cities where I have established relationships during the past 16 years. The first one was in mid-February. I went to Izhevsk near Siberia, my adopted Russian town since 1995. Four days were filled with fellowship, church services, dinners in my honor and much tea drinking and food.

Church members wept on my shoulder, hovering around me with hugs and Russian kisses. These expressions of love come from the closeness developed during seven years there, living like they live, helping them be established in Christianity and teaching the Bible. I am now introduced as the spiritual mother of the people, a title I feel humbled to hear.

The Need to “Own”

The current situation for all denominations in Russia has been hard on the growth of Christianity. The Russian Orthodox Church has much clout in the government and has always objected to evangelical growth. They pressured the government to issue an ordinance preventing any public building to be rented to a religious organization.

Of course this did not affect those with their own building, but those are few, and churches with sizable congregations that formerly rented a large cultural hall or theater were forced into small places rented by private individuals. Attendance has declined greatly everywhere. The seminary building is presently being used by three different congregations.

~ Jeanette Chesser (Missionary to Russia)

Until All Have Heard

Church of God World Missions approaches the beginning of its second centennial with thanksgiving and optimism. We are indeed grateful for our past.

On January 4, 1910, our first missionaries, R.M. and Ida Evans, joined with Edmund and Rebecca Barr in beginning the first overseas work for the church in Nassau, Bahamas. Today, we have over 28,000 local congregations in 168 countries (not including the United States of America and Canada) with over six million members.

But our task is not finished. Christ commanded us to go into all the world and make disciples in all nations. We cannot stop … until all have heard.

As we look at the future, World Missions envisions five particular goals:

*Unreached People Groups (We have targeted 70 unreached people groups to introduce the Good News of Jesus.)

*Local Church Missions Involvement (We want every local church praying, giving and sending. Missions flows out of the local church. World Missions is committed to assisting every local congregation in getting personally involved in fulfilling the Great Commission. This involves everyone – the young and the old.)

*Communicate Specifically (We will provide information and tools to share the message of Christ and what His Kingdom workers are doing).

*Training (We are committed to making disciples and training workers and ministers. We want to provide educational opportunities for anyone fulfilling Christ’s mandate.)

*Helping the Poor and Needy (Christ told us to care for the less fortunate. We will provide ministry and resources to touch the lives of those who are impoverished and lonely.)

Together, we will finish the Great Commission assignment.

Douglas LeRoy

The Great Commission

World Missions Director Douglas LeRoy says, “Great Commission Christians are missional in vision and actions. Winning souls and discipling believers is the mission and priority of every believer.

The supreme task of the church is the evangelization of the world. We must fulfill the task assigned by Christ before He ascended back to the Father. It is described in Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:47-48; John 20:21; and Acts 1:8. The heart of World Missions is to fulfill the Great Commission. Every ministry that flows from World Missions is related to a proper response to this command from Christ. We are committed to fulfilling it ‘until all have heard.’

Our General Overseer has set three goals for the church during 2008-10. We in World Missions embrace them. Our projections flow out of these three goals:

Prayer

Great Commission
* Initiate ministry among the 60 unreached people groups targeted.
* Win one million souls to Christ, and plant 1,000 new churches.
* Increase World Missions receipts to $40 million and reduce administrative costs by 10%.
* Mobilize LMRs in 30% of our 2,100 churches and mobilize a short-term missionary movement of all age groups.

Trust
* Improve the communications of World Missions so that current information is quickly available to all.
* Celebrate World Missions Centennial.
* Establish a training program for field directors, regional superintendents, national overseers, and field reps.

By joining hands we will create a team united in action and spirit to do God's work in these final hours. We invite you to join the team. Together, we can make an eternal difference.”

Hope for the Hopeless: Rwanda (YWEA Project 2009)

Rwanda is home to 10.1 million people and has the densest population on continental Africa. In 1990 a civil war began thus exacerbating ethnic tensions between the Tutsis and the Hutus (the two main tribes in Rwanda with the Hutus being the majority). The war culminated in 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis in a period of 100 days.

This troubling recent history brought about economic upheaval, political strife and ongoing social issues. According to UNICEF the greatest challenge Rwanda faces today is caring for the more than one million orphans, who were a result of the genocide. Another serious issue is the fact that more than 100,000 children are the primary caregivers in over 42,000 homes.

The Church of God suffered greatly during the genocide. Some who are pastors today saw their entire family slaughtered and corruption within the church further destroyed the church. However new leadership has arisen and the Church of God is growing again. There are only 11 Church of God congregations in a nation of million people.

YWEA hopes to help Rwanda
- establish a national headquarter church in Kigali
- build an Orphans and Vulnerable Children Center
- provide vocational training to widows and orphans.



Please join YWEA and help us help rebuild Rwanda.

Hope for the Hopeless: Kibera Slums (YWEA 2009 Project)

Kibera, Kenya has one of the largest slums in the world. Everyday kids lose their parents to AIDS and are left to survive in these slums. The YWEA 2009 project in Kenya will focus on the Kibera Kids Center Orphanage.

In 2001, God planted the seed of the Kibera Orphanage in the hearts of Jim and Deborah Womble and that seed has grown into a wonderful “Oasis of Hope”. Planted on a high hill overlooking the world’s largest slum - which encompasses 630 acres, the Kibera Kids Center is the home to young boys and girls whose mothers and fathers have died from AIDS leaving them homeless and hopeless. Here they receive care that includes food, a warm dry bed, clean clothes, clean fresh water, loving care givers, schooling and medical care - everything a child needs.

However, there are two pressing issues that face this orphanage. Financial shortfall has left its mark on this wonderful and beautiful place. Recently, Deborah cried as she recounted the horrible day she was forced to tell 80 of the children that they had to return to the slums of Kibera because there were insufficient operational funds to feed and care for them. Many of these children returned to abuses such as forced prostitution, hunger, and even death.

There are currently over 100 children still at the orphanage. While we praise God for their care, just over the fence enclosure it is estimated that more than 500,000 children live in utter hopelessness. Poverty, hunger, and abuse are the only emotions that many of these children ever experience.

Another sad note is that Kibera Kids Center has the ability to house and care for almost 400 children, if they simply had the operational funds.

James 1:27 says "Pure and lasting religion before God our Father mean that we must care for orphans..." We hope you will partner with YWEA and help care for these orphans in Kenya.

Blessing The Children - Honduras

One does not realize how much impact an event has until they read the responses. The last few weeks over Christmas I have been reading what the Lee students are writing about their trip they recently took to Honduras. The students made 300 hygiene packs filled with soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and a comb that we distributed on the Bordo. While giving them out, we distributed a flyer about the children’s crusade that we would be doing the next day. At least 250 children came and we had an awesome service where about 40 accepted Christ as their Savior.

After the service we gave 125 food baskets to the families of the church. This was a major blessing considering that many of them live on tortillas and beans most of the time. Many of these children are malnourished and infected with parasites and worms. Bloated bellies are a common sight on the Bordo considering that they have little food and the source for washing clothes, drinking water, bathing water and wastewater is all the same.

That evening we went to Hogar Esperanza, the Church of God orphanage, and Lee University had made gift packets for each child. These children were so blessed by these gifts and you could see it on each of their faces. You could also see it on the face of the director, Angie. She said later that she did not know what she was going to do for the kids for Christmas and was so thankful for the Lee team coming. On another day part of the team came back and painted the boys’ dorm rooms.

One of the most impacting moments was at Nueva Esperanza, the government-run orphanage. It is like a prison for children. There are about 160 children in the orphanage, and about 30 of them are babies. When I asked to go into the baby room they told us that they did not want us to pick up the babies. The reason for this is that there are only two workers and they do not have time to hold all the babies. When others hold the babies they cry for the rest of the day wanting to be held. It was a pitiful sight. They did not even have diapers or enough food, however we brought diapers and Orphan Helpers brought food that day. Also about 10 people from the group spent three hours in the baby room holding and loving on those precious children. We held a service with Orphan Helpers and gave gifts and food to the children. Men and women alike had tears flowing down their cheeks as they exited the orphanage.

The rest of our time was spent painting the outside of the Deaf Center and the School for the Bordo Children. We are working on establishing the school as an official project of the Church of God. We have plenty of children who want to come and we have a facility that will hold at least 140 children. However we need teachers and that requires funds, which the children do not have. Thanks to the group, we were able to give the school a facelift and for the 60 to 70 children that are already attending, they have hope and a nicer environment to learn.

Paul and Kim Dyar
Missionaries to Honduras
Project Number 0650812