General Assembly Mission Council

A letter from Karla Koll in Guatemala

 July 1, 2010

World Pow Wow Photo: Erick Coll/UGC.

A big church family party. That’s how the final message for children described the Uniting General Council (UGC). People came from east and west, north and south to gather in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from June 18 to 26. This meeting brought together the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) to form the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). The new organization has 227 member churches in 108 countries.

A letter from Chris McReynolds on the U.S.–Mexico border

July 10, 2010

A family in Monterrey experiences flooding.

The flooding in the northeastern region of México (Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon) has been very severe after the recent hurricane Alex and tropical depression Bonnie. All the cities along the Rio Grande (or Rio Bravo) south of Amistad Reservoir (on the international boundary) are flooded to some extent. Reservoirs in the area are at maximum safe capacity and have opened floodgates. The Rio Grande, which crested at 42.5 feet, has not risen this high since the floods of 1954. The churches and members we work with in Ciudad Acuña/Del Rio, Texas, Piedras Negras/Eagle Pass, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo/Laredo, Texas, have been affected.

A letter from Doug Dicks in Jordan

June 2010

Doug listens intently as Father Nabil Haddad speaks to a group of religious journalists.

Don’t ask Father Nabil Haddad of Jordan what the Middle East would be like without Middle Eastern Christians.  At least, not at first.  It is true that he is concerned about the plight of Arab Christians in the Middle East, but that is not a starting point when engaging him in a conversation about the Arab Christian presence in Jordan and the Holy Land today.

Father Nabil is Arab by birth; Christian by faith; Greek Catholic (Melkite) by religious tradition; and Jordanian by nationality. He moves about the city of Amman, and all of Jordan, for that matter, in what he describes as his “Eastern” or “Byzantine” clerical robe, a crucifix on a long chain hanging around his neck and visibly present on his chest. Oftentimes he forgets his hat.

A letter from Daniel and Carol Chou Adams in South Korea

Summer 2010

“Re-tire’ment : A withdrawing from office, active service, etc.”

Daniel and Carol Chou Adams recognized at retirement ceremony at Hanil University and Presbyterian Seminary.

On March 23, 2010, we formally retired as professors at Hanil University and Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Korea. However, in an impressive and moving retirement ceremony, the President of the University named us both as Professors Emeritus and informed us that “you will always be members of our faculty as long as you live.” On June 30, 2010, we will be formally retired as mission co-workers with World Mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and become honorably retired members of John Knox Presbytery. This new status will be given recognition July 7-8 at the General Assembly in Minneapolis. But on July 11 we will board a Korean Air flight for a return to Korea to mentor two graduate international students at Hanil University in July, and then in August we will move up to the Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary in Seoul to serve as volunteer guest professors for the fall semester. On January 1, 2011, we will really retire, sign up for Medicare, and begin to receive our pension from the Board of Pensions. However, if the logistics can be arranged we will travel to Myanmar (Burma) and/or India to serve as visiting professors for a month in January-February. Although we will have retired three times it appears that we will not be “withdrawing from office or active service.” As the president of Columbia Theological Seminary reminded us only a few days ago, “Retirement is not a biblical concept.”

A letter from Sue and Art Kinsler in Korea

May 19, 2010

Trip by nine Korean Americans verifies aid and increases understanding

Kwonsa Mina Won embraces some of the orphans she has been helping by providing food and other needed supplies.

Sue Kinsler took a group of eight Korean Americans with her on her third trip in 2010. The Korean peninsula was in turmoil over the explosion that sank the South Korean naval ship Cheonan and the North government’s taking over the Diamond Mountain tourist facilities built by the South, which had blocked trips there for two years. But visiting with the helping hands of Christians, Sue’s group kept on with their planned visit to help needy North Koreans and further peaceful relationships, convinced that this is the Lord’s work. On arrival at Pyongyang Airport the group was met by three officials of the Overseas Koreans Aid Committee.

A letter from Bob and Kristi Rice in Congo

June 2010

Kristi at water source.

Sand gets in my sandals as we walk the rough and hilly path through the neighborhood. Women who are pounding manioc leaves or washing clothes in their yards shout their greetings. Children run up to shake our hands or stand and stare. I can see the lush green palm trees in the valley below, contrasting with the sandy yards and mud-brick houses on the hillside. Young women with large basins of water on their heads pass us as they return from the spring in the valley. We follow the pastor as he weaves through the narrow paths to visit his parishioners. We consider how dramatically different life is for someone in this corner of Kananga than the life we lead in the United States. Sometimes it is hard to believe we live in the same world!

A letter from Kay Day in Malawi

June 2010

Water is life. That is a theme echoed in all of Malawi. The strains of the theme have resounded at Chigodi Women’s Center since I arrived. There has been no consistent water there for several years. In the most recent year programming at the Center was difficult to impossible since we had to carry water from a hand-dipped well for all the needs of the Center, from bathing and cooking to washing and cleaning, for guests and for staff. This was one of the first problems identified when I arrived last August. I have been working to address the issue since then. That’s 10 months of meetings and planning and prayer. Rejoice with me. God in his faithfulness and in his perfect timing has answered our need.

A Letter from Sherron George in Brazil

Pentecost 2010

Something special happens when God’s people in mission come together to pray, worship, work, rest, eat and play. Sometimes we all experience Pentecost again.

A letter from Ingrid Reneau in Sudan

June 2, 2010

Post Election, Pre-Referendum: Transformational Education in South Sudan

Earlier this year I was in Pibor for a teachers training, and I made all kinds of wonderful discoveries about my capacity, only through the Holy Spirit, to persevere under demanding circumstances — and realized, too, that education in South Sudan cannot just be about “reading, writing and arithmetic” or the acquiring of English literacy and fluency! Such are insufficient to meet the depth of the learning needs in places like Pibor and elsewhere in Jonglei State and the broader South Sudan context.

A letter from Mark Adams on the U.S.–Mexico border 

June 2010

“For Jesus Christ is our peace who has destroyed the dividing wall of hostility between us ... Christ’s purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of two.” (Ephesians 2)

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

In the last months I have received numerous inquiries from partners throughout the United States about the impacts that the new Arizona law has had on our life and ministry. I have not been able to respond to all of the inquiries, so I will attempt to address some of the realities that we are facing here.

A letter from YAV Emily Brewer in Guatemala

May 2010

Every six weeks or so when we have a retreat with the other volunteers and Marcia we have a topic to study and a book to read that helps guide our discussion. A lot of times the topics aren’t necessarily specific to Guatemala, but we talk about them in the context of Guatemala and how our thoughts and ideas have changed since being in Guatemala.

A letter from YAV Megan McCarty in Miami

 June 2010

This is May’s update. This past month was kind of crazy because the church where I work was burned down. I sent out a letter to everyone right after it happened, which is what this update is initially talking about …

After I sent out my initial email a few days after the fire happened, I got back some great responses from my amazing support group. One very wise person told me that “sometimes out of tragedy, amazing things happen.” I was obviously very grateful for the reply, but part of me blew it off. At that point the wounds were too fresh. Things in Florida City were utter chaos. No one on staff could find time or peace of mind enough to get any sleep. We were running on coffee and prayers. However, having had time, clarity and, well, more coffee... I have been able to see the amazing things that have been happening down here in Florida City.

A letter from Rebecca Young in Indonesia

June 24, 2010

During the past academic year we had a unique situation at Jakarta Seminary. Two of our 350 students were a father-daughter pair. The father, Nelman, is working on his doctorate in theology while his 18-year-old daughter Wieke (pronounced “Wee-kay”) had just completed her second year as an undergraduate. This past semester I taught Wieke in an introductory theology course, and I am one of Nelman’s advisors on his dissertation.

A letter from David Thomas in México

May 31, 2010

Visitors from the Presbytery of Arkansas share a parachute game with the children of the village of Santo Domingo, Chiapas.

One day several years ago a 9-year-old boy in Navojoa, Sonora, asked me if there are traffic lights in the United States. More recently a child here in Cuernavaca asked me if we have Coca-Cola in the United States. While I was speaking at a church potluck dinner in Mississippi last year during World Mission Challenge, a woman asked me why so many Mexican people are coming to the United States. And I’ve lost track of the number of U.S. people who exclaim to me in surprise, “You mean, México has STATES?!?!”

A letter from Mark Hare in Haiti

May 26, 2010

Five members of the Road to Life Yard crew, working up the soil on a piece of land at MPP’s Colladère cooperative. We have around 500 moringa trees we’ll plant here, together with peanuts, pigeon peas and black-eyed peas. The rains have come and we have a lot of work to do! Wilner Exil (far right) is the crew leader for the Colladère work.

The rains have come. Here in the Central Plateau of Haiti those are sweet words. It has been a long dry season after very poor harvests in 2009. Most of the crops that farmers planted during the second of the two growing seasons last year withered in the fields or produced very marginal crops. The last significant rains in this part of Haiti were in September last year — we’ve had over seven months of drought. That is a record for my six years here in Haiti as a PC(USA) mission co-worker serving with the grassroots farmer organization MPP (Mouvement Paysan Papaye—Farmer’s Movement of Papaye).

A letter from Carol and Leith Fujii in Thailand

 June 2010

Vuthy, Chhivrong and family in Cambodia.

“Please answer my brother’s questions about God … I tried to explain what I understand …” Ratanak began while waiting for the doctor to arrive in their hospital room. As Leith, Ratanak and his brother talked about the existence of God, the context seemed very similar to when we first met over 10 years ago. You may remember Ratanak, our beloved Cambodian brother, who was in Thailand as a political refugee when he first met Christ.

A letter from Rebecca Young in Indonesia

June 2010

“For unto us, a son is born.”

Becca with baby Rhico just four hours old, Yogyakarta, March 27, 2010.

It isn’t Christmas, but it certainly feels like it to me. Rhico Tri Fidiansyah was born on March 27, 2010, to Insafi Gulo and Budi Hartono. I wrote about the marriage of Rhico’s parents in my newsletter of May 2009. As I noted in that newsletter, Insafi is my adopted daughter. She suffered injuries in the 2004 tsunami and lost her right foot. During her therapy she met Budi, who makes prosthetic devices at the rehabilitation center. Budi had polio as a child and is permanently crippled. Their meeting at the rehab center led to a romance, then marriage, and now a handsome son.

A letter from Paul and Darlene Heller in Malawi

June 2010

Chindikani

Blessed Chindikani.

It was an ordinary day with ordinary weather and ordinary baby behavior. We had nothing special planned. At midmorning, our neighbor who was seeking to adopt, along with the social welfare worker, walked in and asked for a conference with the director, nurse and matron. To our surprise, arrangements had just been finalized for Chindikani's adoption!

A letter from Catherine Day in Malawi

 May 2010

Pang’ono pang’ono is a Chichewa phrase that means “little by little.” It is a very common response to all sorts of questions, a response that has come to mean a great deal to me recently — maybe because I find myself using it so much. But in using it I have gained a different perspective on situations and on God’s timing for things.

A letter from Joe and Hannah Kang in Russia

May 2010

Privet, dorogai druzia (Greetings, dear friends)!

Student choir rehearsal at the end of the semester.

We do hope that this short note finds you all well, in good health and in strong spiritual growth. By the time this letter reaches you we will be back in the States for a brief visit, for our visa renewal and summer break before another extension program beginning August 11. Right now our first- and second-year students are in the middle of their semester end exams while the third-year students take their graduation exams. On the grounds seminary workers are busy mowing the rapidly growing grass. The long severe winter gave into a short struggling spring and then turned quickly into the warm summer weather with lingering white nights. It is amazing for us to see how quickly the trees are wearing green leaves right next to the Neva River, which is full of life.