She Made Kenya Her Home: In Loving Memory of Dana Jacobs

(August 24, 1967 – January 13, 2017)

Dana Jacobs exuded love, compassion, and genuine concern for all people. She cared deeply for every abandoned or orphaned baby who came through the gate of the Africa Gospel Church Baby Centre, whispering to each one, “Your parents are coming for you.” It was a sacred calling to care for these children and to tell them that they were loved, they were wanted, and they would have a family someday.

This calling to serve with World Gospel Mission in Kenya came after some resistance. At the time her husband, Dan, felt God’s pull to Kenya in 2005, Dana was happy and comfortable in the life they had built in the United States, the result of years of hard work. They had four kids, a lovely home, and a secure future. But God had something else for them, and when Dana surrendered to His leading, they found that He enabled them to find purpose in a ministry that was greater than anything they could have imagined. 

Dan gave leadership as the director of the baby center while Dana coordinated the many teams and visitors who came to the center each year. In this role, she managed the logistics involved in housing and feeding large groups, helped visitors process what they were experiencing, and served as a liaison between supporting partners and Kenyan staff. And she was famous for her delicious homemade pizza. 

Dana made Kenya her home. She embraced the role of sister and mother to staff and babies alike. Dana’s impact on the lives of children will stretch across decades and around the world. 

“When you go in obedience to God’s calling and surrender your life to Him, miraculous things happen,” Dana wrote in 2016 when she was at WGM headquarters for a training event. We are grateful for the years of remission she was able to have after her cancer diagnosis. Yet we still grieve, wondering why Dana lost her life at this time. Our hearts hurt for Dan, Hope, Carson, Talia, Nathan, and Andrea, and for all who knew and loved Dana. 

We have confidence in knowing that she loved her Savior to the utmost and served Him with everything she had. We rest in the knowledge that she is with Jesus. Hebrews 10:23 (NIV) reminds us, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” We rejoice that Dana is in the presence of the Source of that hope today. 

GIVE: Africa Gospel Church Baby Centre is a home for orphaned and abandoned children in Ngata, Kenya. You can honor missionary Dana Jacobs' memory by partnering with this ministry. 

September 25-30: Praise God for the wonderful examples given in the Bible about how we are to treat foreigners. 

Is the Cost of Missions Worth It?

Shelly McCollum, Support Staff
The Call, January-March 2017

How do you rate a mission organization’s impact and effectiveness at achieving its purpose? Many times, financial indicators and ratios are used to measure impact. Financial partners may ask, “How much of every dollar goes directly to programs?” While these overhead to program ratios may be beneficial as one type of measurement, they do not tell the whole story and are not the best indicators of effectiveness.

What do we mean by overhead and program ratios? Every dollar you give to World Gospel Mission is apportioned to various cost categories. Overhead and fundraising costs are not associated with any particular program and include infrastructure costs, such as technology and financial systems, building maintenance, fundraising, legal costs, and administrative support salaries. Robust infrastructure systems are critical to supporting WGM missionaries who serve around the world. Gifts must be receipted to donors, expenses reimbursed, grass mowed, email systems checked, and travel costs incurred as missionaries build support teams.

Rather than focusing on low overhead and fundraising cost ratios, more value should be placed on whether funds are being used to achieve organizational effectiveness, public accountability, and proper governance. Low overhead and fundraising ratios could have adverse impact if adequate systems are not in place to support the mission of WGM.

WGM’s ratios for 2015 to 2016 include:

• 82 percent for program costs
• 12 percent for administrative costs
• 6 percent for fundraising costs

However, what does that really tell you about the impact WGM is making toward achieving its goals? Are people hearing the gospel? Are infrastructure systems in place to adequately support missionaries serving around the globe? Are missionaries funded quickly enough to keep the costs of fundraising low? Overhead and fundraising costs that are too low may mean the missionary or ministry project does not have adequate support to succeed. Overhead and fundraising expenses should be based on whether these costs increase the organization’s net mission value. One organization with an 82 percent program ratio may be accomplishing its goals while another with the same ratio may not.

Donors should not use these ratios as the “sole” basis for measuring impact and for making philanthropic decisions. These costs have no meaning apart from their contribution to the whole effectiveness of the Mission. Hearing the “soul” impact WGM and the missionaries you support are making around the globe should be the driving factor in your charitable decisions. Impact is what matters most! 

GIVE: There are many ways to partner with a WGM missionary, volunteer, ministry, project, or location. Learn more about giving a tax-deductible gift.  

Is It Worth Sowing Seeds among Troubled Kids?

Tracy Dubois, Support Staff, with Terry and Colleen Hawk, Regional Directors
The Call, January-March 2017

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 RSV)

When you plant pumpkin seeds in your garden, you expect to harvest pumpkins. If you plant sweet corn seeds, you expect to eat sweet corn soon. However, when it comes to sowing the seeds of God’s love in the hearts of children, the harvest is not always immediate or what you expect.

According to www.churchleadership.org, the average age of when people become Christians has steadily dropped over the years. Roughly 80 to 85 percent of people who become Christians do so by:

• the age of 18 (1978)
• the age of 16 (1988)
• the age of 15 (1998)
• the age of 14 (2008)

Didier is living proof of this promise and these statistics. He was born in Honduras and lived with his grandparents. The family was very poor, forcing Didier to dig through garbage to find food. His grandma died when he was 8, and Didier started getting into trouble. Three years later, Didier was sent to Escuela El Sembrador by his grandfather, who was unable to care for him. Didier studied at El Sembrador from 1993 to 1997, when he completed sixth grade.

Didier accepted Christ during a church service at El Sembrador when he was 13. Jorge Pacheco, a former El Sembrador student who was serving as a counselor at the school, helped lead Didier to the Lord. Terry and Colleen Hawk directed the school at the time.

Didier later walked away from his faith and moved to the U.S. But, by God’s grand design, Didier returned to the truths he learned at El Sembrador. He and his wife, Lourdes, began attending church and decided to renew their commitments to God and raise their two young sons in His light.

In May 2016, at age 35, Didier was baptized by Jorge—the same man who helped lead him to the Lord in 1997—in a Hispanic church in New Orleans. The Hawks were present for this grand celebration.

“It was a special God moment when Jorge baptized Didier,” Terry and Colleen recalled. “May this be a call for people to invest in the lives of young children, because you never know what the seed you plant will bring to harvest. It is truly worth it!”

Jorge added: “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58b NIV).”

“I feel very blessed walking with the Lord,” shared Didier. “I have established a Christian home and have my own construction company. Lourdes teaches a Sunday School class, and I am waiting for the Lord to show me what He wants me to do in the church.”

PRAY: Pray that Didier and Lourdes will remain strong in the Lord, that Didier will find his ministry niche, and that their family will be a testimony of God’s love and faithfulness.

GIVE: Help other boys like Didier and invest in the life of an El Sembrador student today. 

Wrapping and Warming Hearts

Tracy Dubois, Support Staff
The Call, October-December 2016

Across the country, women of all generations get together in church basements to make quilts for newborns, newlyweds, orphans, and local hospitals. Other small groups stuff pillows for those in need while some fill grocery bags with food for hungry children to eat on the weekends. In Albania, a group of women meet to knit products they can sell to help support their families.

“Economic opportunities for women in rural communities are difficult to come by,” explained missionary Cydil Waggoner. “Where we serve in Albania, limited education and resources, not to mention the expense and difficulty of commuting and responsibilities for family care, all represent barriers for women to contribute financially to their families. Our attempt has been to develop skills (or take advantage of existing skills) to empower these women to create commodities that can be sold to help their families economically.”

When Cydil first became a part of the women’s crafting ministry, the ladies were making jewelry. Their creations had a very low profit margin, and the earnings were split evenly among the women. The ministry switched to knitting, which the ladies were already skilled in, allowing each woman to earn based on her ability, labors, and creativity.

Knitted items for sale include scarves, headbands, legwarmers, hats, fingerless gloves, and even a few pieces for men. Proceeds from past sales have enabled Albanian wives, moms, sisters, and aunts to buy necessities like heating oil and medicines as well as luxuries like their family’s first indoor kitchen sink!“

To those who have already purchased from Village Knits, thank you for making a difference in the lives in this little corner of Albania,” Cydil stated. “For those of you who are reading about Village Knits for the first time, see what we have to offer at the Village Knits website."

Although final sales are the goal of each knitter, there is much more going on behind the scenes as this winter wear is purchased and worn around the globe.

“As I photograph, tag, catalog, and post new merchandise, I breathe a prayer that each item will be bought, that faith will grow with each sale, and that answered prayers will wrap and warm hearts just like the products wrap and warm bodies,” Cydil shared.

MORE: Christmas is just around the corner. Visit Village Knits to start knocking items off your shopping list. You can also follow this community on Pinterest.

The Power of Changed Lives

Debbie Cartwright, Missionary, American Indian Field
The Call, October-December 2016

There was a time when Mike and Delia weren’t very good parents or very good citizens of their community. Their lives were wrapped up in their addictions. But Jesus changed that in a powerful way, thanks to the fervent prayers of Mike’s mother and her church family. Suddenly, Mike and Delia became the parents their children had needed for years. But, even more than that, they became surrogate parents to many other youth in the community needing love and support. They brought children to church, fed them when they were hungry, and became attentive to their needs and prayer concerns.

However, one thing held them back; they had never been legally married. They hadn’t been following Christ for very long when they sensed that this was something they had to make right. They could have quietly held a private ceremony with a few family members, but that wasn’t the call they felt from God. No, their wedding was to be a witness to the community and an act of worship with their church family. They asked for their vows to be completed as part of a Sunday morning church service.

On that special day, we sang hymns together and prayed for the needs of the community. Then my husband, Steve’s, weekly “sermon” was a Christian wedding ceremony, celebrating the commitment of these two people and their new lives in Christ. The bride and groom made their promises to one another before church family and many, many friends from their “old lives.” Their wedding attendants and ring bearers were their own precious children, beaming with pride.

It was a powerful testimony that reached into many hearts. One young man came to Steve after the ceremony and said, with tears in his eyes, “I can’t get over the change in their lives. If God can do this for them, do you think He can do this for me?” He received the assurance that God’s mighty power could work in his life, too. There at the wedding, he prayed for Christ to change his heart and life. 

What an exciting moment! Steve was anxious to tell Mike and Delia what had happened but had to wait a while to share the good news because they, too, were praying with friends and loved ones touched by their story of life change. Their wedding became more than a celebration on the Gila River Indian Community; it became a party in heaven, welcoming prodigals home!

GIVE: Is God asking you to partner with Steve and Debbie Cartwright in welcoming more prodigals home? Click here to support them financially.

Offering Hope in the Midst of Transition: Responding to the Refugee Crisis

Mark Landerholm, Missionary, Hungary
April-June 2016

“And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!” (Mark 13:17 ESV) 

These difficult words of Jesus echoed in my head as I stood in a refugee camp in Croatia watching pregnant women and nursing mothers come into the camp, one after another. I thought of my wife, Eszti, and my 13-month-old son, Samuel, and imagined having to decide that it was in their best interest to leave our home and everything we had and put them on a raft for a highly perilous sea crossing. And then to make them walk across unknown and often unfriendly countries to settle in a country that doesn’t want us. I cannot fathom the difficulties and fears that such a journey would entail, yet I have encountered thousands who were on such a journey. Thousands who have no homes, no beds, and no ability to provide for their children.

These mothers have stuck with me, as have these words of Jesus, and they have shed light on one another. I always looked at these words of Jesus as simply being practical: being pregnant or having a nursing baby would make fleeing much more difficult (Jesus spoke these words about fleeing Jerusalem before it was destroyed). However, these mothers had conquered great dangers and difficulties; they had successfully fled with their nursing babies—some had even given birth during their journey (one night, a 13-day-old baby arrived in camp). I saw desperation in their eyes: fear of how they were going to provide nourishment, warmth, and life to their little ones. Despair as to whether or not they could be the mothers these children they love more than life itself need. I saw that the extreme evilness that humanity is able to perpetrate can pervert even life’s greatest blessings. Jesus’ words say to me that to have children in the midst of extremely evil days is equivalent to a mother (or father) having their heart ripped out and stomped on. This is what I saw mothers and fathers experiencing as they feared for the provision, future, and very lives of their children. My heart ached and continues to ache.

However, the fear and despair were not the only things I saw in their eyes; I saw hope! As I handed apples to them and their children, a spark of life came into their faces; they had reason to believe they could go on, reason to believe their children’s needs would be met, and reason to believe the future might be brighter than the past.

Thank you for your generosity in responding to the refugee crisis. Your gifts have contributed to this hope. You helped purchase apples, bananas, granola bars, juice boxes, blankets, winter jackets, shoes, baby carriers, winter hats, gloves, and more. You helped to enable lunch bags to be made and distributed to the migrants for their journey. You helped the love of Christ reach these desperate people. Because of that love, hope is conquering the despair.

While our interactions as refugees enter Europe are few and brief, we strongly believe that how we receive these desperate people—the majority of whom have never encountered the gospel of Jesus—will make a huge impact in both how they integrate into life in Europe and how they respond to the gospel. We are excited at hearing news that many in Germany are coming to Christ, and have been encouraged to have the opportunity to look at Scripture together with a group of refugees that have settled here in Hungary. Responding with the love of Jesus isn’t to be manipulative or conditional, but His love always moves us to point to the ultimate hope and life in Him. 

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me... ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:35-36, 40) 

GIVE: You can partner with Mark, Eszti, and Samuel as they continue to show Christ’s love to refugees by making a financial gift. 

PRAY: Ask a close friend to join you this month in praying for the refugee crisis. Pray for God’s grace and peace to be with the refugees who are fleeing violence and poverty. Pray for missionaries as they reach out to them in Christ’s name. 

40 Years behind the Lens: Bob’s Favorite Shots

Bob Bushong, Support Staff, 

with Rachel Elwood, Support Staff 

January-March 2016

I’ve been with WGM since 1975 in a number of roles, but one of my favorites has been field photographer. I’ve gotten to see and record some amazing things: history in the making, faces that will never leave me, and testimonies of God’s great love. It’s been great to see how God can use my camera as His tool to tell His story.

Meredythe Scheflen took us to this overgrown sugar cane field near Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and insisted that one day it would be a university. She served tirelessly as a missionary in Bolivia for decades, and today, Bolivian Evangelical University is the largest private university in Bolivia with over 2,000 students enrolled.

MORE: Go to www.ueb.edu.bo to learn more about the ministries at BEU.

I felt like a real daredevil, practically hanging out of this Cessna to take photos of our Wings of Peace aircraft. This photo is especially meaningful because a few years later, WGM went through one of the most difficult chapters when a plane was lost in flight, along with its seven passengers.

GO: 

Through compassionate, education, family, and 

youth ministries, WGM Bolivia is reaching out to those aged 29 years and younger with the love of Christ. Discover how you can help share Christ’s love in Bolivia at www.wgm.org/bolivia.

It was a privilege to watch Dr. Ernie Steury work with patients at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya. He was the first missionary physician at Tenwek and truly laid the groundwork for it to become one of the leading missions hospitals in East Africa.

GIVE: While Tenwek’s medical services are patient-fee funded and usually affordable, these services are also made possible through donations from ministry partners like you. Donate at www.wgm.org/tenwek.

One of the best things about having taken photos on our fields for so long is that I’ve seen nationals develop into strong leaders. Reuben Lang’at (right) was doing his student missions internship to the Maasai people when I took this photo in the 1980s. He is now a WGM board member.

PRAY: Pray that the Lord will touch the hearts of qualified personnel to partner with WGM’s vital educational ministries around the globe. Training pastors, church leaders, and missionaries for Africa is a wonderful privilege.

I will never forget this little girl. She and her sister were

about the same ages of my own two daughters at the time, 

and I remember thinking how easily their lives could have been flipped, and it would have been my own kids who were struggling to draw water from a well.

GIVE: Poverty affects both the people of Bolivia and the church’s ability to serve. World Gospel Church of Bolivia needs funds to support pastors, improve church buildings, and fund missions. Partner with World Gospel Church of Bolivia through giving at www.wgm.org/wgc-bolivia.

The Wow House

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Saltillo Ministry Center
Mark Dunbar, Missionary, Mexico
October-December 2015

When we first came to Saltillo, Mexico, we immediately saw that the guesthouse was barely adequate for our theological education classes and guesthouse needs. The house was not a place we could grow into; in fact, we had already grown out of it.

Our first plan was to ask our neighbors if they would sell us their property so we could combine the two areas. They were not willing. The WGM Mexico team then created a wish list of what the ideal guesthouse/ministry center would include:

• Four bedrooms, three bathrooms
• Parking for five vehicles
• Classroom for 30 participants
• Separate living quarters for hosts
• Recreation area for children and youth

That same day, we looked at a house being sold by another missions group. We had heard that the house was built with work groups and training in mind. It included:

• Five bedrooms, three bathrooms
• Parking inside the property for up to 10 vehicles and additional parking outside the property
• Classroom for 80 participants
• Separate living quarters for hosts
• Separate ministry office space
• Back porch and garden space for group meals or recreation area
• Nearby park for children’s/youth activities

After a quick walkthrough, we immediately referred to the property as the Wow House. It had everything we had dreamed of and more, and it was located in a growing part of town geared toward young professionals. Unfortunately, it also had a high price tag.

Since that time, God has worked miracles and confirmed that the Wow House is where WGM Mexico should be ministering from in Saltillo. A few God-given clues were that the owners were praying that the property would continue to be used for ministry; the owners were involved in their own building project that they called, interesting enough, the WOW (Walking on Water) project; and we received a partial bequest directed toward the project from a new supporter.

In faith, WGM Mexico made an offer much lower than the original appraisal. The owners, after much prayer, accepted the offer! They allowed us to move into the property in May, before all the funds were raised. Theological education classes and other ministries are already being held at the center, and the location is an open door to reach the younger generation for Christ.

GIVE: Invest in the Wow House dream. Give online at www.wgm.org/saltillo-ministry-center or make checks payable to World Gospel Mission with account #31575 on the memo line. Send check donations to: World Gospel Mission, P.O. Box 948, Marion, Indiana 46952-0948.

A Guitar, the Bible, and Jesus

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Steve and Debbie Cartwright, Missionaries, American Indian Field
October-December 2015

Mark* didn’t really stand out as someone likely to make something of himself. He was one of over 250 people who took the Victory Guitar Outreach class in a series of eight-week courses over a couple years at Thwajik Kee—The Healing House, which is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center on the Gila River Indian Community south of Phoenix, Arizona. Probably more than 90 percent of those people returned to rehab at least once, many over and over again. Their futures didn’t often look very hopeful. The “plan” was to teach guitar (and Bible) to the residents and give them a skill they could draw on in times of trouble and temptation, as well as to give them hope of a better future through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

One thing that was not part of the plan was getting people to attend our church. The rehab center was in a different district of the reservation than Siloam Church. Also, the people in the rehab center came from many different tribal backgrounds from all over the country, not just the Gila River Indian Community.

But Mark found our church anyway because of the connection. He was looking for a place he could play his guitar. Steve didn’t even remember him, but Mark remembered Steve. He was no longer a rehab patient—he was a rehab worker, now helping other addicts to overcome their addictions. He began to attend church faithfully, playing with our “guitar choir” and often singing special songs and giving testimonies of how God was helping him.

When the opportunity came for Steve to teach a new Victory Guitar Outreach class in Sacaton, on the other side of the reservation, Mark asked if he could help. This was such a blessing! Teaching guitar to a large group of people without assistance is always a challenge, and Mark was excellent help. The biggest blessing was when Steve encouraged Mark to do more than just help with the guitar part—that he could teach one of the Bible lessons, too. Although a little nervous, Mark did a great job and has realized that he would be able to teach the entire eight-week course on his own if he ever had the opportunity.

As far as this life touched by God—our “plan” was okay, but God’s reality was much better!

*Name has been changed.

GIVE: Do you want to be a part of Victory Guitar Outreach? A gift of $25 will provide all the printed materials for one student and $175 will provide both a guitar and materials for one student. Send gifts with #21723 written in the memo line to: World Gospel Mission, P.O. Box 948, Marion, IN 46952.

PRAY: Please pray for students to take what they have learned through Victory Guitar Outreach and practice to get better. Pray also that they will use their new found music skills as a ministry.

Radio Lumière: Mouthpiece of the Gospel

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By Pastor Varnel Jeune, Director of Radio Lumière

In the family of God, I see the role of Radio Lumière (French for light) as a mouthpiece that spreads the message of truth across the nation of Haiti. We rejoice especially in the increased number of unsaved who actually came to the station to give their lives to Christ, among whom were several young prostitutes, thieves, and even murderers.

Recently I was visited by Jean Alexis, the pastor of a large church in Florida. Pastor Alexis was a former voodoo priest. He wanted to use his magic to kill a Christian sister who lived near his home. Her radio was always on as she listened to Radio Lumière. Jean Alexis—and everyone within hearing range—was constantly exposed to the messages, songs, and Bible studies. He was furious that business was so bad because of Radio Lumière. Then one day he overheard a message that said, “Satan has no power over the children of God.” He realized he would never be able to destroy the sister and immediately gave his life to the Savior.

A few weeks ago, a young man came to the station to give his testimony. He used to be part of a gang in Port-au-Prince whose express goal was to kill every policeman they met. Then one day this young man took three shots to his right leg, requiring amputation. While lying in a hospital bed, he heard the message of salvation on his roommate’s radio that was tuned to Radio Lumière. He gave his life to the Savior, and he is now the choir director in a church in Port-au-Prince.

This has been happening all year with many testimonies of people with wicked lives that have been completely changed by the message of salvation, pardon, and hope from Radio Lumière. Please pray for the ministry of Radio Lumière and support it so that this light, planted in 1959, will continue to burn brighter, farther, and stronger during these troubled times in Haiti.

GIVE: Radio Lumière needs your help to stay on the air. You can give to this ministry online atwww.wgm.org/radiolumiere.

GO: Radio Lumière is now fully staffed by Haitians, but volunteers are needed to serve on a short-term basis. Visit www.wgm.org/go for a list of available ministry opportunities.

An excerpt from...

Interview or Intervene?

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The key to following the Lord’s leading
By Michael Johnson, Missionary, Out of Nazareth (Pennsylvania)
April-June 2015

Michael and Kay Johnson followed the Lord’s leading to move from a significant ministry to the least of these in Kenya to the impoverished in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many may view this change in ministry as risky. Critics and analysts alike will tell you that it is harder for a missionary to raise partners in stateside ministries, but the Johnsons don’t answer to others’ evaluations. They followed the call of the Lord, and this is where their journey is taking them….

He answered without hesitation: “I wash up with a bucket of water that someone brings to our house.”

He looked no older than 9 years of age. He was standing at the clinic door surrounded by his friends and was polite and very clear in his request, “We don’t have water at home. Could I have a bottle of your water, please?”

My wife, Kay, could not believe what she was hearing. “What do you mean, you don’t have any water?” she asked. “What do you drink? How do you wash?”

“I told you,” he repeated, “someone brings water to our house in a bucket. That is how we clean ourselves and get our water to cook.”

As Kay told me this story, we asked ourselves, “Have we left Kenya?”

We have been in Philadelphia for four years since our return from Kenya. We thought we had left the challenges of serving the underdeveloped, impoverished, malnourished, and resource poor. This boy standing at the door and staring at the bottles of water on our shelf tells us a different story.

The distance of 8,000 miles separates us from the culture of a tribal group, but not the culture of poverty.

Why don’t people have access to healthcare? The reasons are many and complex. However, we don’t have the luxury of interviewing. We must intervene. Miriam Medical Clinics is Christ’s work in Philadelphia to people who stare through the glass window separating them from the plenty, while living in poverty. The lack of resources starts with fear and ignorance of an ever-increasingly complex maze of healthcare options or finding help from an overburdened social service safety net.

Poverty looks like this: a mother working two part-time jobs, living in an apartment that has been condemned by the city. She is afraid to alert the city because the rent is so cheap and she doesn’t want to have to live on the streets again with her three children when the city inspectors come. Someone has rigged up electricity and gas for the coming winter and hopefully she can continue to get water from her neighbors. If the illegal faulty wiring and loose-fitting gas pipes hold, they can make it through the winter. If they get caught, they face fines. If they are not careful, they could perish in a fiery explosion.

Mom has already spent time in jail for not paying the truancy fines because of the kids missing school. The kids lived with their grandmother during those six weeks, and the mother thinks her teenage daughter was molested while she was away. The daughter missed even more school and contracted a sexually transmitted disease.

Her son is the child looking for water right now. When she shows up and tells us the whole story, we are certain we are in the right place.

“Just give my son a bottle of water so we can go.”

“Miss, would you care to see our social worker?” Kay asked. “I am sure she can help get your water turned on and deal with the landlord.”

Now she really opens up. “Would you do that for me? I don’t know how to deal with all of these forms and phone calls. I really do know I should get my medicines, and did I tell you about my blood pressure?”

“Yes, we can do that for you. It seems for sure that you are being cheated. This is especially true because you have shown us the inspector’s letter saying the building is condemned.”

I offered to check her blood pressure while I’m at it. It occurred to me that it is difficult to treat asthma for the households where kerosene heaters will be used, and we dare not talk about personal hygiene until we get the water turned back on.

Seeing the doctor is only part of the solution for the people we serve. Our social worker is on hand to help get electricity and gas restored so the kids don’t have to sit around the stove as the weather gets cold. She will deal with the city license and inspection to find safe, affordable housing.

We have determined that it makes as little sense in Kenya as it does here to tell someone to take this medicine on a full stomach, or drink a full glass of water afterward, if neither is available. Our calling is to serve, not determine who is deserving.

At the end of the day, as they say in Kenya, we got her water turned on. Now we can address her health: diabetes, hypertension, and probable electrolyte imbalance caused by her diuretic.

We intervene, then interview. We do so in Christ’s name. We care because He cares. Miriam Medical Clinics is ready to help. We invite you to join with us.

GIVE: Help Miriam Medical Clinics provide patient care in Christ’s name. The clinic needs at least $80,000 for electronic medical records software and retrofitting and outfitting the building. Give online or send a check payable to World Gospel Mission with account #35262 on the memo line, to:

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

Positive Relationships

Positive Relationships

The key to partnerships in ministry

Larry Overholt, Missionary, Honduras

Partnerships allow us to accomplish more than would be possible if we were working independently of each other. The Teacher in Ecclesiastes gives wise advice on the value of collaborating with others: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor...” (Ecclesiastes 4:9 NIV) and “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12b NIV).

A good partnership improves over time when built on positive relationships. Any successful partnership in missions depends first on our right relationship with God. Most importantly, we must realize that “we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Our primary partnership is when we seek to do God’s will and not our own. All other partnerships depend on our love of God and our willingness to serve Him.

Looking back over our decades of missionary experience, many things have happened due to successful partnerships. Projects were developed, churches built, and relationships healed. All have depended on many people working together, forming lasting partnerships.

Work teams are an invaluable partnership to the ministry on the field. Team members contribute to building relationships in the communities where they come to help. The local nationals feel a deeper relationship with others and an increased partnership in the ministry when they have the opportunity to work alongside those who come on work teams. We have experienced that with church groups, university groups, and individuals who come to work with us.

The most obvious essential partnership is what takes place between missionaries and our support teams. Those partnerships require that both the missionary and donor be obedient to God’s calling for them to serve Him. Missionaries and their support team partnerships involve much more than economic support. Missionaries depend on prayer support. Both missionary and donor share in the joy of the harvest.

Partnerships with co-workers are an important part of working on the mission field. One of the most satisfying accomplishments as a missionary is to arrive at the point where both the missionary and national feel they are equal partners on the team.

Partnerships with universities and university students are necessary if we expect to carry the missionary momentum into the next generation. The university students often provide innovative suggestions and information that help us do our jobs better. They are also our best source for future missionaries.

A partnership that sometimes goes underappreciated is the vital partnership between missionaries on the field and those working in the home office, doing so many things that we are unable to list them all.

As missionaries, we are grateful for each partnership of which we have been a part.

Missions is not a solo job. Larry points out several partnerships you can take part in. Inspired from a few options in this article, pick one of the following ways to partner with Larry and Angie Overholt serving in Choluteca, Honduras:

1.      GO—for a week or two and serve with the Overholts and the nationals in Honduras. Join a team at www.wgm.org/teams.

2.      GIVE—a financial gift to help fund the ministry of Larry and Angie Overholt. Give online at www.wgm.org/overholt.

3.      PRAY—for the WGM missionary staff and nationals as they work alongside each other. Pray that God will grant them wisdom, clear communication as they work together, and a love for each other that comes from a right relationship with God.

Invite. Transform. Send.

An excerpt from...

Invite. Transform. Send.

By Kennedy Kirui and Jonathan Mayo, Missionary, Uganda
October-December 2014

What started as a small prayer group and Bible study at one university in Uganda has now grown into a discipleship movement that is seeking to grow a passionate movement of disciples and campus churches on and beyond every university campus in Africa. We are currently working with nine universities in East Africa and sense God is opening more doors across Africa, especially since we have students from not only Uganda and Kenya, but also Burundi, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia. The University Discipleship Movement is growing into a reality that God is not only calling us to join Him in as He works in the lives of emerging leaders in Africa, but He’s also growing a discipleship movement that will spread across campuses and into every sphere of society. We believe this is the hope for transformation in Africa.

The DNA of UDM is discipleship. We achieve this through small groups, Bible studies, and one-on-one relationships between students and mentors. We disciple students who disciple others, who we hope will continue discipling still others (2 Timothy 2:2). God is blessing us with great opportunities to reach students from many different countries and backgrounds. This offers us a unique opportunity to impact deeply and influence widely.

We get new invitations every so often to new universities, and we are praying for more resources and more people who will respond to the call for help in engaging, equipping, and empowering emerging leaders in Africa. The demand for further education is huge, and, to us, this is a call to reach out wide and deep.

For us in UDM, we believe that the solution for Africa is not more money or political leadership. We believe at the very foundation that Africa needs discipleship—discipleship that will help people develop a godly worldview and have a biblical mindset. The church is growing the fastest in this part of the globe, but the greatest challenge is that most people remain just converts. Our call is to see more people become true learners and followers of Christ.

Join us as we continue to grow the discipleship movement in Africa.

GIVE: Provide Bibles, Bible study materials, books on leadership, and other needed materials for the University Discipleship Movement. Make checks payable to World Gospel Mission and write account # 21343 on the memo line. Send check donations to:

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