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December 2003 News

December 11, 2003

Huntington, Ind. The UB Executive Leadership Team met on December 9 with the Missionary Church Transition Team. A process for joining the two denominations was agreed upon, and 36 questions which have arisen in United Brethren circles were discussed. On most of those issues, statements were agreed upon, and will be published here around mid-December. A mailing to United Brethren ministers is being prepared. The material--including all of the agreed-upon statements--will then be published on the website.

India. Our missionary couple in India wanted United Brethren people to be aware of an incident which occurred November 19 in Shadnagar, in the same state where they serve.

"A team of 20 American Christians (8 women) came from Florida to this town to do some Christian work through a small school for elementary school children and to help the women by giving them sewing machines so that could earn their livelihood through tailoring. For this purpose a building was rented.

"The local Christians and their American friends were inaugurating the work in the back yard of their office, with a good number attending. While they were praying, the Hindu fundamentalist party (BJP) group came and shouted that they were converting people to Christianity. The Indian Christians who were hosting these were beaten up. The crowd ran away and the Americans went into the van they came in. Soon police came and the BJP group quickly disappeared.

"The people said that the Americans and Indian Christian groups were trying to help them by donating sewing machines and doing a child literacy program. People also said the visitors only prayed but never asked them to become Christians.

"This incident was shown in our local and state news channels. We cannot believe what happened. The Christians did not officially complain to the police. The police say that they will not act unless they receive a complaint. We think the Christians decided to remain silent as probably they Americans came on tourist visas, which legally complicates the picture."

June Brown Update.June Brown, former missionary to Sierra Leone, underwent quadruple bypass surgery in late September in Harrisburg, Pa. That surgery went very well and she experienced a relatively short recovery period. In early November, June had a lumpectomy to remove a cancerous tumor. The doctor feels that the cancer was self-contained, and while June will be undergoing radiation treatments, the doctors are quite positive about her overall medical condition. If you would like to send cards of greetings and encouragement to her, the address is:

June Brown
2716 Rocky Spring Road
Chambersburg, PA 17201

Birdsalls Returning to Macau. In early January 2004, Russ and Nellie Birdsall will be making their sixth short-term trip to Macau. They will work in the English Language Program, teach Bible studies, do leadership development with the pastors of Macau and Hong Kong, and build relationships with the people of Macau and Taipa. A video has been prepared featuring Russ and Nellie as they share about their love for Macau and how they want to be used by God during the retirement years. If you are interested in using this video in your church, contact the Global Ministry office at 1-888-622-3019 and we will provide one. Also if you would like to help the Birdsalls financially in their ministry, you can make out a check to Global Ministries and on the memo line note that this gift is for the Birdsalls ministry in Macau. You can also give online via credit card through Paypal. Those gifts are tax deductible.

Among Ministers

  • Robert Larimore is the new senior pastor of Trenton Hills UB (Adrian, Mich.) effective November 1.
  • Gary Abney has been named senior pastor of Gaines UB (Caledonia, Mich.) effective December 8.
  • Wayne Goldsmith has been named interim pastor of Central UB (Montpelier, Ohio) effective November 2003.
  • Donald Palmer resigned as senior pastor at Pennfield Road UB (Battle Creek, Mich.), effective September 30. Mr. Tim Smothers is serving as supply pastor.
  • Steve Sparks is the new Director of Student Ministries (part-time) at Gethsemane UB (Jackson, Mich.).
  • Mrs. Ruth Barnhart, widow of one of former Mid-Atlantic Conference pastor Charles Barnhart, died November 17. She was 91.
  • Darren Duncan, our United Brethren representative to the US Air Force, was recently deployed to a classified location in Southwest Asia. He is ministering to the troops who are stationed there through worship, Bible study, counseling, and visitation. Please pray that God would use him and protect him while he is away from his family during the Holidays. Darren is a former pastor in Central Conference.
  • Rev. Everett Ray passed away on Monday, November 10. He was a retired ordained minister in Michigan Conference. His wife, Susie, is in a nursing home in Hastings, Mich.
  • John Carpenter is no longer Student Ministries Director at Lighthouse Church in Williamston, Mich. The position was cut for financial reasons, effective November 1. He is now pastoring in Florida with another denomination.
  • Tim Sovinec resigned as youth pastor at Fountain Hills UB (Fountain Hills, Ariz.) effective November 1. He will not be reassigned in the denomination.
  • Donald Skidmore is no longer the associate pastor at Living Water Church
  • Plant in Clarksburg, W. Va.
  • Wes Burk has been serving as music minister at Fowlerville UB Church. He resigned that position as of November 30, and has not been assigned to another church at this time.
  • Ron Lambright, the former senior pastor at Neshannock Community Church (New Castle, Pa.), has resigned. The effective date is unknown at this time. Patrick Daugherty is serving as the supply pastor at Neshannock at this time.
  • Donald Palmer resigned as senior pastor at Pennfield Road Church (Battle Creek, Mich.), effective September 30. Mr. Tim Smothers will be supply pastor at Pennfield Road for the time being.
  • Penny Poorman is the new Early Childhood Coordinator at King Street UB (Chambersburg, Pa.) effective October 7.
  • Kevin Whitacre is the new Director of Youth and Young Adults at Good Shepherd UB (Huntington, Ind.), effective November 3.
  • Here is a new pastoral assignment for your records, effective 9/1/03.
  • Don Herb was named Pastoral Assistant at Bethany Evangelical Church (Carlisle, Pa.), and Amy Moreno was named Director of Christian Education. Both assignments took affect in September.
  • Rick Burton, formerly the senior pastor at Central UB Church in Montpelier, Ohio, resigned effective October 31. He will not be reassigned at this time. The church will be looking for a pastor.

Macau. Jennifer Blandin, a fulltime UB missionary in Macau, sent the following on November 23.

50th Macau Grand Prix. This year marked the 50th year of car racing in Macau. Where do they race cars in such a small place like Macau? That would be on the streets of Macau! While it brings a lot of visitors from around the world to watch the Formula One motorcycles and Formula Three racing cars, it creates havoc for the locals! Macau's traffic jams get more jammed in November, but I guess that is part of the tradition!

Jana, her sister Cindy, and I took the opportunity to go to one of the time trials. It was exciting to see the cars speed by and we took lots of digital pictures. But after one hour, my ears said it was time to go! I think I 'heard' that experience for the rest of the day!

7-Year Stretch! In baseball, the seventh inning stretch is when you stand up and stretch because you've been sitting in those hard seats for so long that you no longer feel your toes. It's a tradition, but also a warm welcome because you've been a faithful fan to sit for that long and cheer on your team.

After a person has lived in Macau for seven years, a foreigner goes from being a "temporary" resident to a "permanent" resident. Somehow the time has snuck up on me--I just received my permanent residency card. Amazing how the time flies! I remember when I first agreed to come to Macau, I thought it would be for just three years. Guess God knew better to bait me and then hook me into seeing that His timeframe for me in Macau was longer than three years. Once again God's plan are far greater than ours, and for that I'm grateful!

Victories. For the past few months a teenage guy, Ziv (don't know where he got that English name), has been attending Living Word Church with his friends Edwin and Michael. At the beginning of this month there was an evangelistic meeting that Ziv and Edwin attended. During that meeting, Ziv accepted Christ into his life! We've got a new brother in Christ!

Today at Living Water Church was a baptismal service. Ken and Gloria, Maggie, and Fong Fong (a woman) took the public profession of faith. During the service, they each shared their testimony and how God had been working in their lives. Some of their non-Christian friends and family were in attendance and heard what they were saying. What a witness! Each shared about ways that life's difficulties havenāt disappeared, but that now they know that they are not alone! God is right their with them. It was an amazing service!

This Christmas we will hold a Christmas party at the Taipa English Center. We are making final plans and hope it will be a special time with the people we know from our English classes and Bible studies.

Please continue to lift both Jana and I up in your prayers. We are still seeking Godās direction as to what direction to take the work here in Macau. There have been additional pressures that have come up as well. I have appreciated the words of encouragement that have been received. They have been a true blessing.

The Philippines. Paul Coy, former UB missionary in Macau, has finished his third semester at Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS) in the Philippines, putting him halfway through his Masters of Divinity degree. He hopes to graduate in April 2005. Paul writes of a great opportunity which recently came his way.

"Halfway through the semester, I had an amazing surprise. It shocked me when Dr. Brent Cobb, Regional Director of the Asia-Pacific Region for the Church of the Nazarene, called me to ask me if I would accept a part-time job working 20 hours a week. This would not have been a surprise if it meant working with teens in one church, but he asked me to accept the position Youth Coordinator for the Asia-Pacific Region. This means I am responsible for facilitating the youth work in 29 countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. Cool part-time job with huge responsibilities, huh?

"The Nazarene church calls its ministry to youth NYI (Nazarene Youth International). I am one of seven regional NYI coordinators in the world for the Church of the Nazarene. I very humbly accepted the position in September, as I felt God's calling to serve in this position. I now enjoy working at Asia-Pacific Regional office on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."