Medical Ministries [May 11-17]

Medical ministries are meeting the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world. The story of a man named Armando in Honduras highlights the importance of this life-saving cause.

Armando faced a crippling physical illness, which doctors assured him was incurable. He had essentially given up on life until someone from Forever Friends Church in Choluteca introduced him to the Lord. Armando turned his physical needs over to God and was soon walking without difficulty. Now he wants to help others with physical problems find that same hope. He began working full time in the construction of the Forever Friends clinic buildings and now serves as the clinic’s full-time chaplain!

• Pray for patients who seek medical care through one of these ministries. Pray for opportunities for the staff to share the message of the Great Physician.
• Pray that staffing needs will be met, so that the best possible level of care can be provided.
• Pray for healthcare workers who are being trained at these ministries. Pray that they will learn the skills they need to reach out to their own communities.

ACT: Want to have a part in being the hands and feet of Christ? Medical missions touches lives in a unique way and presents powerful opportunities to share the gospel. The Great Co-Mission Catalog has medical projects ready for you to take on!

PODCAST: Enjoy interviews with missionaries who serve in key missions causes. Listen to this week’s podcast!

CALL: Call WGM’s Prayer Lifeline at 671.7232 (Marion, Indiana, area) or 1.800.426.0846 (toll free) to join other concert-goers in hearing this week’s recorded prayer.

SHARE: Invite others to pray with you during the concert. We depend on your prayers! Email us at thecall@wgm.org and tell us who you are praying with so we can encourage our staff.

Community Transformation through Partnerships

An excerpt from...

Community Transformation through Partnerships

By Larry Overholt, Honduras
January-March 2014

As facilitators of community transformation, missionaries can benefit by developing partnerships with other organizations. By working with others, they have increased potential for building bonds of trust in the community. Partnerships also increase our access to a diversity of resources. As a result of working together, we are ultimately likely to accomplish much more than we could by “going it alone.”

In Choluteca, Honduras, WGM missionaries and local church leaders are building strategic alliances with business leaders, educational institutions, and governmental agencies. The Choluteca collaborative involvement with The Ohio State University is one example of a valuable partnership that continues to develop beyond anything that we could have initially imagined. The working arrangement between World Gospel Mission and Ohio State began in 2000 when my wife, Angie, was studying for a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Out of a desire to expose fellow nursing students to the medical conditions in Honduras, Angie teamed up with her professor, Dr. Kathleen Stone, and one other student for the first nursing brigade to Choluteca.

The OSU nursing brigade has since grown to involve around 40 participants each year. Presently, students from the nursing, pharmacy, and medical schools have the opportunity to receive three hours of credit for participating in this study abroad program from Ohio State. Professors and medical professionals accompany the students to oversee the educational experience. Every year around 1,500 patients are seen in a five-day period. The local church helps organize the event in each community, and church members participate by offering spiritual counsel to patients.

Part of the advantage of networking is that our contacts and opportunities are multiplied when we work with others. The OSU medical connection is branching out to include other possibilities within Ohio State and also at other universities in the United States and with the university system in Honduras.

The OSU College of Engineering has started sending teams of students to design and build alternative energy projects at the vocational school and to work on a business model for the aquaponics projects. The aquaponics project has caught the attention of local businesses and governmental officials who would like to see the model become available to all of southern Honduras.

The OSU College of Agriculture plans to send teams of university students to help us work on vocational agriculture programs. This has led to developing a sister organizational relationship between our Choluteca vocational school and a vocational school in Ohio.

We appreciate your prayer support as we discuss with Ohio State and the Honduras university system ways we can work together to improve nursing education in Honduras. We are looking at the possibility of developing a nationwide vocational nursing program at the high school level as well as improving the Honduras university programs. 

ACT: Create your own partnership and help expand the aquaponics model in Honduras. The Great Co-Mission Catalog offers you step-by-step directions on how you (and your personal network) can raise funds for this missions cause. Find the aquaponics project under community health and development at www.wgm.org/catalog.

The Wesleyan Alliance

An excerpt from...

The Wesleyan Alliance

A partnership for equipping pastors
By Meg Dul, Hungary
January-March 2014

Remember our rejoicing when communism fell? Finally, freedom for our brothers and sisters in Christ to worship openly! But sometimes change comes slowly, and effects of communism still linger.What do you do, for example, when the established seminaries employ professors who are openly anti-Christian? Where do you send the young people to train to be Christian leaders?

A group of Christian leaders and missionaries in Hungary had a dream of developing a training center where young believers could become equipped to be pastors and lay leaders in their churches, studying theology from a Wesleyan perspective. This was too big an undertaking for any organization on its own, so in 1998 the Wesleyan Alliance was formed out of World Gospel Mission, OMS, the Salvation Army, the Methodist Church, the Free Methodist Church, and the Church of the Nazarene.

Finally, in 2006, the dream of a training center was realized. Young Hungarian Christian leaders can receive an accredited degree in theology, taught from a Wesleyan perspective. Small churches and missions organizations no longer have to wonder where to send their young people to be trained to be pastors and lay leaders. Two Korean missionary churches have also joined the Wesleyan Alliance, making it quite an international organization. Working together and with the Holy Spirit, we have accomplished so much more than any of us could have done alone.

Create your own alliance. Because of the religious restriction Hungarians experienced during the days of communism, the desire for translated Christian books is persistent. By gathering your sphere of influence (your alliance), you can help develop lay leaders in Hungary, too. For every $600 you raise, a book can be translated, and each additional $6 pays for the printing of one copy of a book. Set a fundraising goal and work together for Hungary. Working together, your alliance can accomplish more, too!

GIVE: Help develop lay leaders in Hungary. Make checks payable to World Gospel Mission and write project #31454-CALL on the memo line. Send check donations to:

World Gospel Mission
P.O. Box 948
Marion, IN 46952-0948

Checklist for Estate Planning

An excerpt from...

Checklist for Estate Planning

By Mark Moore, Support Staff
October-December 2013

The first step in estate planning is to have a will or living trust agreement that meets your current needs. If you’ve already done that, you can put a big check mark on your list. If it’s been a few years since you had those documents prepared, the next step will be to have your attorney bring those documents up to date. Can you check off the following items?

• My choice for executor (or successor trustee), guardians, and trustees for my minor children, and any alternates, are the best choices under my present circumstances.
• I’ve designated the distribution of any specific property, accounts, or personal items I wish to go to particular family members or friends.
• I’ve stated how the balance of my estate is to be distributed and I’ve considered the inclusion of charitable organizations, such as my church and missions organizations.

So far, so good. Now you need to make sure your documents are stored in a safe place and that you’ve notified your family where they can be located. Keep a current list of assets with your important papers, including bank accounts, investments, property deeds, car titles, etc. That will save your family time and aggravation. We’re making progress!

Next, consider having a durable power of attorney. This will allow your spouse, trusted friend, or family member to sign financial and legal papers on your behalf during your lifetime. That will come in handy if you become incapacitated or if you’re away from home and need someone to care for your financial affairs.

Finally, it would be good to have an advance directive for healthcare, stating your desires regarding important healthcare decisions should you become incapacitated. If you don’t wish for life support to be continued when the end is near, you will also want a living will to be included.

If you have questions about planned giving, please contact Mark Moore at stewardship@wgm.org or 765.661.2803.

A Miraculous Donation

An excerpt from...

A Miraculous Donation

By Carolyn W. Wade, Kenya
April-June 2013

In 1996, Ken and I were raising support to arrive in Kenya for our first term with World Gospel Mission. We were making steady progress financially, but one day we received notification of a larger-than-ever monetary gift to our ministry.

This couple, new acquaintances of ours, called us one September day in 1996. They informed us that we would receive a check in the mail for a large amount of money. We were astounded! The man had been unexpectedly named in a relative’s will. The couple chose to bless us with this gift that moved us over the top financially. 

Not only did the amount convert into a few hundred dollars of support a month for that first term, but it also met our cash need and secured funds for a vehicle to use in Kenya. Never before and never since has this occurred in our days of ministry.

What a blessing that was to us and how encouraging it was to our families who were also new to a faith mission endeavor. We quickly learned that God would raise up funds from obedient people (not necessarily people we knew well).

Each time we come on homeland ministry assignment (HMA provides missionaries with opportunities to share their call to missions and to challenge believers to become actively involved in missions), this experience reminds us that God did it before and will do it again as we trust Him.

Missionaries (and anyone involved in Christian service), believe that God will raise up people to help you get to the field or keep you ministering to those you have been called to serve. And to all of The Call readers, your gift is never too small or too large. You will have immeasurable impact on sharing Christ around the world.

Many of you have been faithful in your giving throughout your lives. Consider leaving a legacy with your finances that will impact ministry far beyond your time here on earth. If you would like to discuss your estate planning options, contact Mark Moore at 765.661.2803. All discussions will be held at no charge and in complete confidence.

Have a financial gift God has asked you to share? Giving to the WGM missionary staff is a short click away. Visit www.wgm.org/donateonline to share your financial blessings and ensure your gift will change the world for Christ.

A Visit for Silas

An excerpt from...

A Visit for Silas
Using a long weekend to share God’s loveBy Linda Spriegel, Kenya
April-June 2013

“Mom, this weekend when I come home, I would like us to get Silas from the Africa Gospel Church Baby Center and bring him to see his mom.” My daughter Julia was calling from boarding school, planning for the long mid-term weekend coming up. With all three of our teenagers at Rift Valley Academy, my husband, John, and I look forward to these precious times when they visit and the anticipated family games, hikes, talks, and relaxing. But add a 21-month-old to the mix? And there were several hurdles to jump to get the needed permissions and make the arrangements. Yet we knew this was not the first or last time we as a family would be stretched by Julia’s compassionate heart, so we agreed to pray with her and began working on the details.

We had met Jennifer and her son Silas 10 months earlier when Jennifer brought him to Tenwek Hospital. Silas, at 11 months, was a classic picture of malnutrition. At this hospital visit, Jennifer told Dr. Chuck Bemm that she needed to give up her baby and that someone else needed to take care of him or he would die. Knowing Julia’s love for children and her hours of experience volunteering at the nursery, the Bemms asked her to care for Silas while they handled the necessary paperwork. Then Julia and our other daughter, Rebecca, escorted him the three hours to the Baby Center and handed him over to the staff’s loving care.

In the months that followed, Julia visited Silas a couple times, and we were able to show his pictures to his mom, who expressed a desire to see him. When Julia heard that Jennifer was in her last stages of HIV, she wanted to give Jennifer a tangible evidence of God’s care by bringing healthy Silas to see her.

It was a beautiful morning when we drove to Jennifer’s village with Silas to reunite him with his family. His mother and his four siblings who were there were overjoyed to see chubby Silas. As Jennifer shared her gratefulness, she referred to the story of Moses, identifying with his mother who had given up her son and one day he had been mightily used by God. She has the same vision for Silas. When her other children asked if they would get to see Silas again, she said, “He is in God’s hands. We don’t know if he will help our family or someone else’s, but he will be used by God in his future.”

Silas is back at the Baby Center, waiting to be adopted. Sadly, Jennifer passed away in December 2012. Even though she was very sick before she died, her favorite thing to talk about was Jesus, and she knew He had good plans for all her children.

You can offer continued care to Silas and other little ones at the AGC Baby Center through the Great Co-Mission Catalog. By recruiting your friends and family to personally connect with this need, you have the opportunity to change these little lives forever. Learn more about the AGC Baby Center project needs at www.wgm.org/catalog.

Seeds of Blessings

Estate Planning: Seeds of Blessings

By Melanie Miller, Honduras

January-March 2013

She raised her six young children alone, by no fault of her own. Her husband of 20 years had died from medical malpractice. Her shoulders were weighted with the insecurity of the unknown. But with humble, tenacious faith, she looked for, fiercely claimed, and stood on the promises of God’s care for the widowed and orphaned. Her faith was honored by a God who never fails. This woman is my grandmother, Lovina Miller.

The little girl was eight years old, and the day began as any other day...only to culminate with the first of many seizures in the years to come. Options for treatment were few. Lacking financial resources, the family could only place the young child in God’s care despite her continued seizures. “God gave me my daughter, and I have given her back to Him. He is the one who must provide,” said her mother, at peace but broken over the pain and suffering of her youngest child. This child is Heydi Selena Maldonado Estrada, a member of Shalom Church and a friend of our family.

A life of faith lived in the Midwest produced seeds of blessing. Upon Lovina’s death, she designated part of her estate to mission work. God took those seeds of blessing and blew them all the way to Choluteca, Honduras, where Mark and I plant, water, and pray they blossom into blessing.

Through the gift of Grandma’s faithful living, Heydi was offered the opportunity to seek specialized care in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. Upon her first visit, her medication was changed and she has been seizure free. The true test lies in the upcoming months. Will you pray with us for a miracle for Heydi?

What challenges me is the impact of Grandma’s life that continues on, long after her death. Imagine touching others far beyond your own ways, means, and even duration of life. Are you living in a way that provokes God’s blessing?

GIVE: Create your own seeds of blessings by creating an estate plan. For assistance, contact Mark Moore, WGM attorney, at 765.661.2803. All discussions will be held at no charge and in complete confidence.

Making a Difference Together

An excerpt from Making a Difference Together
Haiti after January 12, 2010
By Paul Shingledecker, Haiti
January–March 2011


Maybe one of the biggest things we at WGM have done is just to be there for them and with them. I don’t know how many times Pat and I have been thanked for caring enough to come to their plight and walk through this tragedy with them. Those first 10 days were especially critical as I went and just lived in the courtyard with them and saw and photographed and suffered their pain with them. I was there to encourage and to speak a word of comfort, as well as a word of counsel and direction, when many were still too dazed to even think clearly.

But neither Pat nor I nor Sheryl can take all the credit for much of this. You see, it wouldn’t have been possible without the outpouring of gifts to the Haiti Crisis Fund and the prayers and support of so many of our WGM champions. You cared about Haiti in 2010 and it showed.

So where do we go from here? What impact will we have on Haiti in 2011?

We still need to help Radio Lumière. We still need your gifts to the Haiti Crisis Fund so we can continue to help them buy diesel and so Pat and I can continue to go to Haiti and be there for them.


We need churches, Men With Vision groups, and you in your sphere of influence to raise funds to build homes. Together, we plan to build houses for over 40 Radio Lumière staff who need help either rebuilding or repairing their homes. It won’t be cheap. Building material costs have skyrocketed due to the demand. We’ll need committed champions who’ll be willing to raise up to $8,000 per home.


We need you to pack your bags and go to Haiti to build or repair a home. It won’t be easy. Team members will have to work in the heat, without much in the way of amenities, to rebuild. Are you up to the challenge? Bring your friends, small group, and others because the need is great.

Georgette and her three children and many of the other staff tonight are still sleeping in tents. The tents you provided in 2010 are showing wear and probably won’t last far into 2011. We need to get these people into secure homes with a roof over their heads. Remember, we can’t do it for 1.5 million people, but we can make a difference in 2011 for one, two, or even 30 or 40 if we do it together.

ACT: Can you rally your sphere of influence and together raise $8,000 to provide a new start to a Haitian family in need? Make an impact in Haiti today!

Fundraising: No Novocaine Required

An excerpt from Fundraising: No Novocaine Required
By Kyle Dubois, WGM Partner
November/December 2010

I’m the finance and facility director for a nonprofit arts and entertainment facility. I’ve also been part of six short-term missions projects, both domestic and foreign. Does that make me qualified to write this article? Absolutely not! However, that just may be the point. A lot of times we don’t feel “qualified” to do missions work, but God uses us for His purposes anyway.

When going on any short-term missions trip, the first obstacle for many is the financial commitment that is often required to make it happen. Looking at what’s required financially to go can be overwhelming. When we set out four years ago to go to Jamaica with a large number of students from our youth group, our goal was to raise $24,300 for our group of 18 to make the trip.

While fundraising is part of working for any nonprofit organization, with my occupation and background in accounting, I’m close to it. However, it isn’t always on the top of the list of favorites for any of us. Fundraising for me rates just ahead of being in the dentist’s chair with gauze stuffed in my mouth, hoping that I’m numb as they come at me with that needle.

With that thought in your mind and your mouth now slightly sore as you think about it, I’m going to give you some suggestions for ways you can help make your missions goals a reality.

You’ll never get there if you don’t ask!
First and foremost, you need to come up with a fundraising letter.

Feed me!
A very successful fundraiser for groups wanting to raise money for missions is having a lunch or supper geared toward the cause. With getting some donations of food and local business sponsorships, you can raise a large amount of money in a short amount of time.

Pizza! Pizza!™
Little Caesars™ has a pizza kit program designed for fundraising that is really easy to organize. Go to www.pizzakitfundraising.com to learn how Little Caesars Pizza™ can help you raise “dough” for your next trip.

Shop ’til you drop!
If you like shopping, this one’s for you! Through Great Lakes Scrip (www.glscrip.com), you can get rebates from many of the stores where you shop on a regular basis.

These are just a few ideas that can help get your missions fundraising off to a good start. If you can survive the dentist, this will be no problem.