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January 2003 News Archive

January 17, 2003

Macau. Here are some comings-and-goings related to Macau.

  • Paul Coy, a former missionary, visited Macau over the Christmas holidays. He has been in seminary in the Philippines.
  • Jana Hoobler, coming off of a furlough, and Byrdena Shuneman, set to begin another three-month term as a volunteer, will arrive in Macau on February 1.
  • Melissa Hull, missionary in Macau, is planning to get married in March. On January 25 her fiance, David, will arrive in Macau to help her pack up and head to the States. Melissa and David will leave Macau on February 4. The January 28 Chinese New Year party at the Taipa Center with the morning class students will double as a good-bye party for Melissa. They will then begin preparing to return to Macau to serve together.
  • Linda Neely, a volunteer missionary in Macau, will be visited by her parents on January 29. They will stay in Macau for about two weeks.
  • Former Macau missionary Linda (Burns) Chipman and her husband will also be coming to Macau for a short visit.

Macau. Jana Hoobler will return to Macau on January 30, having been in the States on furlough since September. Byrdena Shuneman will fly with her, ready to begin yet another term as a volunteer missionary. Byrdena will stay through May. Jana writes of her furlough, " I've had such wonderful times with my family while I've been in the States, and we're not looking forward to another set of good-byes. On the other hand, I'm getting anxious to return to Macau and 'do what I do' instead of just 'talking about what I do.' I try to keep my focus on being thankful that I enjoy being on both sides of the world."

Jana took graduate courses at Wheaton College during the fall, and is now two-thirds of the way through a master's degree in Missions and Intercultural Studies. She'll do one correspondence course, and then plan to finish the degree on her next furlough.

In addition, Jana traveled about 10,000 miles in four months. But the highlight, she says, was the time with her family in Rockford, Ill. "At Christmas we rented a house at a camp in Iowa and stayed there together for a week. We enjoyed playing games, taking walks, watching movies, going ice skating, swimming, having a bonfire, and talking together. My nieces and nephews and I loved spending the holidays together!"

She says that when she return to Macau, the missionary team will do long-term planning for how to phase out of missionary involvement at Living Word Church and develop the ministry on Taipa toward a church plant. The original church, Living Water, has been on its own for several years. Living Word is a newer church, and Taipa will be the third UB church in Macau.

She adds an observation about the prevalence of reality TV. "It amuses me, because it looks like people just want a taste of missionary life--working and living with a group of people you didn't know before and eating lots of strange foods!"

Macau. Jennifer Blandin writes from Macau about events during the Christmas season.

  • December 21 featured a Christmas party for the children's fellowship at Living Word church. They played games, shared about the Christmas story, and ate some snacks.
  • On December 22, Living Word had an outreach service. Two UB ladies from Hong Kong came to help Pastor Connie Sung with planning and leading. After the service, everyone stayed for a catered buffet at the church.
  • On Christmas Eve, a few kids, the missionaries, and Connie Sung met at the church. One person carried a cassette recorder that blared out Cantonese Christmas carols, while a couple other people carried two boxes that contained wrapped gifts, and the rest of them passed out the gifts to anyone they encountered on the sidewalk. "The reactions we received were priceless," Jennifer says. Afterwards, Connie treated everyone at Pizza Hut. Then they headed to St. Paul's ruins to listen to community Christmas caroling.
  • On December 30, the Living Word church family gathered at a buffet restaurant for a relaxing meal together.
  • Jennifer, along with fellow missionaries Melissa Hull and Linda Neely, took a short retreat to Hong Kong.

January 12, 2003

Huntington, Ind. Here are various significant items of news from the HC Graduate School of Christian Ministries. Bishop Emeritus Ray Seilhamer heads up the Graduate School, with the title of Associate Dean.

  • In the fall of 2003, the Graduate School will launch a Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries. President G. Blair Dowden approved the idea on January 7. The program won't need a fulltime faculty member, since it will use current HC faculty and adjunct professors. The Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries is designed to prepare Christian counselors for the local church and parachurch organizations. The 42-hour program will demand the same ministry and biblical core classes required in the other three master's programs. For state licensing, students will need to take classes at another accredited institution.
  • The Graduate School's winter enrollment is up 16 percent over the fall semester. Four of the five winter-semester classes must be held outside of the Graduate School suite (located in the UB Headquarters Building) because of the large enrollments.
  • Dr. Ray Seilhamer will travel to Mandeville, Jamaica March 3-7. He will teach "Principles of Leadership" to all seniors at Jamaica Bible College. In April, Dr. Steve and Twyla Lee will teach "Marriage and Family" at Jamaica Bible College. Steve is a Psychology professor at HC, and Twyla is a Social Work professor at Taylor University.
  • Dr. Seilhamer wants to take 100 books on leadership for the library at Jamaica bible College. If you have books you are willing to donate which are in good shape, and have been published since 1990, you can drop them off at the Graduate School office. Or, contact Dr. Seilhamer at rseilhamer@ub.org.
  • Thirty-two students are enrolled in "Perspectives," a course on world missions which the US Center for World Mission sponsors at various locations throughout the country. The class at Huntington College started January 7, and will meet for 15 weeks on Tuesday nights from 6:30-9:30.
  • The Graduate School finished its first year of offering a Certificate in Christian Ministry. Enrollment passed their expectation, with 111 students enrolled in 2-3 non-credit condensed education classes during 2002. Twenty-five students attended classes in El Paso, Texas; 55 students enrolled in Mexico; and 31 students enrolled in two classes in Boston. Three more classes will be held in El Paso in May 2003.
  • In the fall, the Graduate School held two classes in Indianapolis. Two more classes are planned for the spring semester: "The Sociology of Adolescence" and "Counseling Families in Trouble."

Columbus, Ohio. Darren Duncan announced his resignation as pastor of Living Word UB in Columbus. The effective date is yet to be determined. Darren will be going active duty in the Air Force as a military chaplain. He has been a chaplain in the reserves.

Central Conference. Central Conference is promoting January 26 as a Day of Prayer for Church Planting. Says Superintendent Tom Brodbeck, "We're seeking the movement of the Lord on the hearts of our healthiest churches to catch a vision for reproducing ministry. We pray that God will launch several churches through this format in the next several years."

Clarksburg, W. Va. On Sunday, January 12, Living Water UB celebrated its second anniversary. The guest of honor was Bishop Paul Hirschy, who delivered the morning message. More than 90 people attended the service. A luncheon was provided in the school auditorium where the church worships.

During the morning service, two elementary students were presented with "Ten Verse" certificates as progress markers in their Sunday school's "100 Verse Challenge." Living Water averaged 84 in worship attendance in its second year of ministry.

Idaville, Pa. Ten people from the Idaville, Franklintown, and Salem UB churches will go to Honduras february 2-14. They will work on the Mt. Hebron housing project outside of La Ceiba.

January 10, 2003

Byron Center, Mich. Tara Roelofs, from Banner of Christ UB, left January 8 to spend a year in France with a missionary family as their "nanny." She will also be involved with Campus Crusade for Christ while there and will do some volunteer work in the local Christian school.

Sara Trovato, also from Banner of Christ left in early January to spend a year in Spain as a college exchange student. She is looking forward to doing "mission work" whenever opportunities arise.

Carson City, Mich. Mt. Hope UB just finished studying "Walk as Jesus Walked," published by Sonlife. Associate Pastor Valerie Reynolds writes, "This study has changed the way Mt. Hope does its ministry. Instead of being focused on the inside, we are now looking for ways to intentionally make friends and lead them into a relationship with Jesus Christ. One woman suggested that we make Christmas cookies, put them in a tin, and give them to unchurched people around us. Fifteen women packed the tins, and we delivered 25 tins to homes and 7 tins to area schools and public service agencies. The tins also included a small card in the tin saying, 'From your friends at Mt. Hope.' We also have changed our mission statement to 'Our mission at Mt. Hope church is to be a Lighthouse community, living a praying, caring, and sharing lifestyle.'"

Shippensburg, Pa. The LIFE Sunday school class of Prince Street UB entered a 40-foot float in the city's Dickens' Day parade. They won first prize. The same class hosted a Christmas dinner to help a local pregnancy ministry. Several young women and families attended as guests. Persons attending from the church were asked to bring an unwrapped baby gift. The gifts were given to the ministry, to be distributed to mothers.

For Thanksgiving, Tana Hey asked children and adults from Prince Street UB's Sunday school classes to write down things they were thankful for. She then wove the responses into a hymn using the tune "For the Beauty of the Earth." This new hymn was included in the morning worship services the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Death in the Family. Rev. C. C. Au Yeung, a former UB minister in Hong Kong, passed away on December 24. He was founding pastor of the UB church in Chinatown, New York, not far from the World Trade Center site. Mrs. Au Yeung lives in New York City at: Apt. 6N, Saint Margaret House, 49 Fulton Street, New York, NY 10038.

Fort Wayne, Ind. During December, Anchor UB encourages its people to buy something for the church. A small Christmas tree in the foyer is adorned with tiny ornaments, each bearing the name of inexpensive, everyday items the church needs--cleaning supplies, lightbulbs, paper plates, colored paper, stapler, etc.--over 100 items in all. People remove an ornament from the tree, buy the gift, wrap it up, and bring it back to the church. The gifts are then opened the Sunday before Christmas. This year--the thirdÑchildren passed out the gifts to adults, who unwrapped the presents. The children then brought them back to the platform.

Fairfax, Va. Alan and Doris MacDonald are endorsed missionaries serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Doris writes, "Alan continues to be the visionary and international relations man. In the past five years, he has enjoyed seeing much of his 'vision' come true--having a hand in training new project leaders and government relations personnel, increasing Wycliffe's visibility and standing in the global community, networking to increase the effectiveness of like-minded organizations. His work often takes him to faraway places. This past year, it was France, Spain, and Scotland. In January, it will be Brazil. We enjoy the stories he comes home with, and most of all, enjoy the time he is at home. As usual, there is more work to be done and more places to be than is possible for one person--and I am proud of the many times when I see Alan not trying to do it all, but depending on God."

Huntington, Ind. Ruth Ann Price is the first Missionary in Residence at Huntington College, her alma mater. This is a two-year assignment. She writes, "A major goal is to raise the profile of interest and response in the student body toward work overseas, particularly in cross-cultural ministry. I'm excited to think it might be possible to interest and even place some students in cross-cultural ministry particularly in Bible translation somewhere in the world. I will teach some courses, which will be a new experience for me in the college environment." Ruth Ann will also continue working with Wycliffe, assigned to the Asia Area as a management consultant and trainer. "I'm to be at Huntington College for the January through May semester, and in Asia from June through December. I will spend my time in Asia traveling, probably not located in one country for very long, providing as much on-site assistance as I can. The Asia Area office is located in Manila, the Philippines. The assignment and my work performance will be reviewed at the end of each six-month period by both HC and Wycliffe. If all are still happy with the arrangement, renewal will be automatic.

Ruth Ann will not receive a salary from HC, but will continue as a Wycliffe missionary and will rely on the contributions of her supporters. However, HC will provide free housing. "This will be a place for me to call 'home,' which will be especial crucial since the other six months of the year I will be without such."

Poland. From Arek and Donna Delik, endorsed missionaries serving in Poland with Operation Mobilization, report, "This year we had more new faces in our English school, especially a lot of young ones. Donna started an English club for children the year before, and expanded it in 2002 for 20 more children. We are praying earnestly for workers to join us, for there is so much we would like to do through this unique ministry.

"Our Shoe Box Present Distribution went very well this Christmas. Around 200 children and parents turned up for the event. Arek shared shortly about the greatest present God had given to us, while Bible school students helped us run a program. It is our third year doing this distribution, and it's the first time we organized it in our church meeting place. We are praying fore more opportunities to share with the children and their families in the future. Also, this year our tiny fellowship prepared some shoebox presents for Ukrainian children."

Orlando, Fla. Dave and Becky Spencer had planned to be back in Brazil in January, returning to field service after many years of stateside administrative roles with Wycliffe Bible Translators. However, they felt God clearly telling them to remain in Orlando a while longer--maybe a year, maybe longer. Fortunately, they hadn't yet sold their house in Orlando or bought plane tickets. And there are vital roles for them to fill at the Wycliffe USA headquarters.

Among Ministers.

  • Andrea Dupois is the new part-time youth director of Mongul UB (Shippensburg, Pa.).
  • Enrique Lopez is the new pastor of the Hispanic UB church in Phoenix, Ariz., called Corona de Gloria.
  • Andrew Atkins is the new senior pastor of Monticello UB, Spencerville, Ohio.
  • Ron Strader is supply pastor of Mt. Olivet UB, Chambersburg, Pa. The previous pastor, Stan McCammon, is now pastoring Good Shepherd UB in Huntington, Ind.
  • Mark Anderson is part-time youth pastor of Eden UB (Mason, Mich.).