The Global Mission Fellows program takes young adults ages 20-30 out of their home environments and places them in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice. Global Mission Fellows become active parts of their new local communities. They connect the church in mission across cultural and geographical boundaries. They grow in personal and social holiness and become strong young leaders working to build just communities in a peaceful world. 

Binu is a member of the Church of South India – Karnataka Central Diocese, a Protestant congregation in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. “Since my father is a missionary,” he said, “I have been supporting him in all church ministries, especially youth and children’s [outreach] in slum areas and villages.” Binu shares his musical talents through Indian classical instruments such as tabla (twin hand drums) and harmonium (also called a reed organ) and plays drums for various occasions and church services. 

He earned a Bachelor of Business Management degree at the Bishop Cotton Academy of Professional Management in Bengaluru. 

Witnessing his father’s ministry, Binu said, “I always had the urge to serve people for a better society. India is a diverse and beautiful country with different cultures, traditions, languages, religions, art forms and so on. But there is an evil side called the ‘caste system,’ which has been practiced for a very long period.” 

In early days, the caste system identified and segregated people by the type of work they did. Today, Binu, said, it is a tool of discrimination.  

“All the privileges,” he noted, “goes to the so-called ‘upper caste.’ The lower-caste people are denied access to natural resources, education and other basic necessities and face discrimination and violence.” 

Binu’s experiences as a member of a Dalit community motivated him “to fight for and stand for people who are oppressed and trying to seek justice,” he said. “I use any opportunity to share and to educate youth about equality and humanity and to spread the love of God.” 

Because of his skin color, Binu was rejected. “As time passed by,” he said, “I was introduced to the Student Christian Movement of India and was a member and representative.” The result was a change in attitude in lifestyle for the young man.  

“It added hope to my life,” he recalled, “and with some courage, I challenged myself and participated in the college elections. While campaigning, I heard from my fellow candidate, who was from an upper caste, saying, ‘Why do you want to vote for a Black guy? He is not one among us.’” Binu was undeterred. He gained strength through participation in seminars, conferences, rallies, protests, summer camps and workshops. 

“These helped me to realize all my past,” he said, “the way I was treated and the discrimination I faced my entire life, in different forms. I was able to be the voice for the voiceless.” He focuses on ecosocial justice, gender issues, human rights, interfaith relation and student concerns, as well as Dalit (untouchables) and Tribals/Adivasis (heterogeneous trible groups).  

“I am excited,” Binu said, “at the prospect of sharing my experiences and skills with Global Mission Fellows to empower people with similar circumstances. My exposure will prepare me to shape and develop perspectives on how collectively to seek and uphold justice.”

Abel, Binu Bill Bright

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“I belong to a family of church leaders, lay and clergy, who taught me to love God above all things and set the example of serving my neighbor as myself,” Rosangelica said. “The commitment to God’s business is the most important thing in daily life.”

As a child and youth, she wanted to serve and help others. She felt blessed and useful as she found opportunities and experiences for service through nonprofit and civic organizations such as the Girls Scouts of the USA and the Red Cross.

“They gave me the opportunity to use my talents,” Rosangelica explained. “Later, I had the opportunity to participate in ministries that enabled me to develop leadership skills.” She served in her local church, the Methodist Conference in Puerto Rico through the Youth Council of Ministries and the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in Latin America (CIEMAL).

“These wonderful experiences,” she continued,” moved me to apply to serve as US-2 missionary (1979-81). From then on, I knew that my calling was genuine, and I wanted to continue serving God and the church.”

In New Jersey, she learned about diaconal ministry – justice, love and service. Rosangelica began seminary studies. “Every job, every involvement of mine,” she said, “was in service to the less fortunate. For the glory of God, I have remained under God’s wings, making a difference. Now I want to put my boots back on and continue as long as God and the church allow me.”

Describing her faith journey, Rosangelica said, “I believe that maintaining an intimate relationship with God is not affected by where we are. God is the same, and God’s promises continue to nurture us wherever we are. With that certainty and confidence, I am sure that God helps to keep us connected and to grow in faith. This faith connection is not only with God, but also with [our] neighbor.”

No matter where she is, Rosangelica finds time to pray, read the Bible and share her faith. If she is away from her local church, she becomes involved in a faith community nearby.

“If I have the availability of internet,” she noted, “I participate in Bible studies and prayer with my support network. I enjoy Bible study, prayer, reading devotionals and gathering to worship the almighty God.

“With my actions and words, I can be an instrument of God in the now and in whatever place is necessary. Sharing with others also entails learning different means of practicing spiritual disciplines that can be beneficial to me and others. I also cultivate or practice times of silence, alone and/or serving, sharing God’s love for humanity. I do my best to maintain my spiritual health.”

Asked why mission is necessary, Rosangelica replied that as long as injustice, external and internal wars, people in need, and abuses of power in families, communities and governments exist, we must be God’s eyes and hands.

“Jesus invite us to be peacemakers and promoters of justice,” she said. “Our world is filled with hate, injustice and other evils.” God calls us to live God’s love by caring for one another, she asserted.

Acevedo, Rosangelica

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The Evangelical Methodist Church in Central America is a young community of slightly more than 1,000 members, of whom half are children. It also has many young adult participants. Central America has gone through a great deal of social upheaval in recent years, but its resourceful, resilient people are reconstructing a country committed to human rights, health, and economic prosperity. Through is programs and projects, the Methodist Church has become an expression of social conscience.

Ellyn is a native of North Carolina, where she is a member of the First United Methodist Church of Rocky Mount in the North Carolina Annual Conference. She received a Bachelor of Social Work from Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, and a master’s degree in Christian Education from Pfeiffer University, Charlotte, in 2011. She also holds a United Methodist certification in Christian education and children’s ministry. Ellyn has worked as a pre-kindergarten teacher, and from 2005 to 2013 was director of children’s ministries at her church in Rocky Mount.

Her parents exposed Ellyn to mission at an early age and she came to understand, she says, that “God’s love is way bigger than his love for me and my loved ones; that it stretched across the world.” She says that God has given her a desire to share her gifts with others. “I am humbled to be a light of Christ wherever he plants me, and am strengthened by faithful trust in the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.”

Her first mission trip was to Puerto Rico when she was in the fourth grade, the first of many such experiences. “The majority of our work was throughout Central America,” she recalls. “I remember struggling to understand why there were people with so little, when I saw so much materialism in my home country….Then I realized that while others might be poor in material things, I was poor in spiritual things. The people I met on those earliest trips were a witness to me of the joy that is present in a living, dedicated relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Ellyn’s interest in Central America began with her husband, Brian, who felt called to serve the young church there as a long-term volunteer. At first, he planned to spend three months in Central America and three at home, but came to realize more concentrated attention was needed there. The couple moved toward Ellyn becoming a missionary in the place where she had received such a warm welcome when visiting Brian.

In Central America, Ellyn was drawn in by the way in which the church includes children, youth, and women in worship. There are several women pastors. Young people are actively involved in worship leadership and evangelism. “My heart melted in Communion when all the children were served first, a beautiful reminder of Jesus welcoming children in his arms and blessing them,” she says.

Benson Dubberly, Ellyn

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Willie’s call to mission was inspired by the work of his parents (lay persons) as they received and worked with mission teams in the poor areas of Reynosa, Mexico. He began sensing God’s call to mission as he saw how US teams in Reynosa worked with the people with so much love and care, and how inactive his local church was in mission. “I felt they (US teams) were doing what we (the Methodist Church of Mexico) were supposed to be doing as a church,” Willie shares.

During the past few years Willie has been involved in many opportunities of ministry and mission. New ministries have been started in the communities with which work teams serve: sewing classes, wood-working shops for men, medical clinics, scholarship programs, Bible distribution, construction of houses/schools/community centers, breakfast and lunch programs, craft programs, a Personal Energy Transportation (P.E.T.) Shop and many other programs. “I have seen wonderful growth of the social outreach ministries of our church and hope to see many more.”

In 2008 Willie began helping in developing a new strategy for the Methodist Border Mission Network as the program works with immigrants along the US-Mexico border.

After attending the Instituto Tecnologico de Saltillo and earning a degree in engineering, Mr. Berman worked in the computer industry while serving part-time as VIM coordinator for the San Pablo District of the Eastern Conference IMMAR.

Willie and his wife Veronica are the parents of two young children. The Bermans attend Ebenezer Church in Reynosa, Mexico.

Berman, Guillermo

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As a pastor, Boehler served in various parishes of the Methodist Church in Brazil and as chaplain at the Izabela Hendrix Methodist University Center, Minas Gerais, and coordinated pastoral care at the Methodist University of Sao Paulo. She served in the streets of Belo Horizonte, Minas Geraid, and trained bilingual educators/literacy teachers in Brazil and Paraguay. Boehler worked with lay people and evangelical pastors of the Methodist Church with Bishop Adriel de Souza Maia.

She has produced Sunday school for resources for youth and young adults. As a university professor, Boehler taught at the Methodist University Center of Porto Alegre, where she coordinated the Gender Cathedra. At the Izabela Hendrix Methodist University Center, Belo Horizonte, she created the Human Rights Observatory and coordinated transversal courses in humanities, symposiums and congresses. At the Latin American Bible University in San José-Costa Rica, her focus was systematic theology and ethics. At the Ecumenical School of the National University, Boehler collaborated in writing projects for two master’s degrees and was a professor in master’s and doctoral degree programs in Costa Rica.

At the United Methodist University of Mozambique, Africa, Boehler taught systematic theology and anthropology and wrote a strategic plan and three extension project proposals for an academic journal. Since January 2023, she has been a professor in theological studies and theology and gender at the Augsburg Lutheran Seminaries in Mexico and the Baptist Seminary in Mexico. As a guest and volunteer, she served with FEET/CIEETS in Nicaragua as a theology teacher, lecturer, text reviewer and guide to theses and dissertations. She is a specialist in critical gender studies, decolonial and postcolonial theories and queer theory. Boehler’s experience and skills include writing and revising texts in Portuguese and Spanish, speaking to diverse audiences, and teaching virtual and in-person classes.

Boehler is the mother of two adult children, Guillermo and Arturo.

Boehler, Genilma

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Mr. Campomanes Ramirez’s program focuses on congregational development. Gifted in business management and financial consulting, he appreciates the opportunity to be a team player and learn from others. He has worked with short-term teams and local churches in Central America and is excited about the opportunity to blend his professional skills with his love for serving the church and being a part of God’s mission. The National Church, an indigenous body, needs missionary support in developing policies and processes for administrating its finances, ensuring accountability and improving stewardship practices. His placement coincides with the National Church’s fundraising campaign, aiming to collect one Quetzal monthly from each member. (One Quetzal equals 13 cents in the U.S.)

The National Church has approximately 12,000 members, 113 congregations and 70 organized groups for youth and women. Most church members live in poverty, struggling to survive as merchants in public markets, fabric weavers and small-scale farmers. Worship services and meetings are predominantly conducted in the Quiche language. The church continues to grow in numbers and in witness in Guatemala and beyond. In the early 1980s, it established formal relations with Global Ministries.

In Guatemala, church development happens naturally. When a congregation grows, some of the members who travel long distances to attend worship services often establish a small group closer to home, and it becomes a new congregation. Land is typically donated by a member or purchased by the community, and members build the church using local resources. Frequently, given the economic situation of church members, the National Church is asked to furnish or raise support to purchase roofing materials, windows, doors and bathroom fixtures.

As a teen, Mr. Campomanes Ramirez strayed from the Christianity of his childhood. But now, he said, “I’m more disciplined in terms of my relationship with God. I have been more consistent in going to church and practicing fellowship among brothers and sisters in Christ.” Daily prayer and Bible study strengthen his faith.

His call to mission was stirred when he began volunteering as an interpreter for a mission group that visits his hometown twice a year. “By doing so,” he noted, “I experienced many good things. I found beauty in meeting new people who selflessly want to share the love of God. Most of the time, we know the statistics about things like malnutrition, but it’s not until you put names and faces next to those numbers that you truly understand how deep the problem is.

“That first mission trip truly changed my life,” Mr. Campomanes Ramirez added. He was ready for more, so decided to have a conversation with God about it. “Finally,” he said, “I felt that God was calling me to do this and that this was the right thing to do for me and my passion.”

Born in Mexico, Mr. Campomanes Ramirez studied business management at Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico. Prior to his present assignment, he was employed as a cashier (2010-12) and a personal banking officer with Scotiabank Mexico (2012-16).

He is a member of Calvary La Esperanza (Calvary of Hope), a nondenominational church in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

Campomanes Ramirez, Edwin

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The Global Mission Fellows program takes young adults ages 20-30 out of their home environments and places them in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice. Global Mission Fellows become active parts of their new local communities. They connect the church in mission across cultural and geographical boundaries. They grow in personal and social holiness and become strong young leaders working to build just communities in a peaceful world. 

Chanyoung most recently was an evangelist at Sadong Chung-Ang Methodist Church, part of the Korean Methodist Church. “I led education, youth, pastoral care and older adult ministry,” he said. “I connected the church library with local libraries and taught students [to] speak English.” 

He earned Bachelor of Theology and Master of Theology degrees in religion and philosophy from the Methodist Theological University, Seoul, South Korea. 

As a university sophomore, Chanyoung had an opportunity to take a church history class. “I think it was God’s grace,” he said. “The professor taught very meticulously and advised me about my academic course. Especially, he taught me about the history of social justice through the church’s ministry. 

“I was inspired by Catholic theologian Hans Küng, who said, ‘No peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions,’” Chanyoung recalled. “I was also inspired by Brother Roger [Schutz], the founder of Taizé community. He said, ‘Reconciliation always brings a springtime to the soul.’  

“I have tried my best to learn about other Christian denominations.” 

A strong believer in healing and reconciliation through gospel and culture, Chanyoung especially admires priests Don Jose Maria Arrizmendiarrieta and Johann Hinrich Wichern. “Both created the Christian alternative community,” Chanyoung said. “In the name of love, they helped their people to set up their own determination and autonomy.”  

Already, Chanyoung has devised a creative reading project called “Conelpida.”  

“’Conelpida (con[with] + elpida[hope])’ means ‘share the hope,’” Chanyoung noted. He recommends three steps: First, read a book of your choice, feeling free to use YouTube videos and other tools to help with difficult concepts. Second, digest the book in your own way. “Every human,” he said, “can write, draw pictures, make songs and [follow recipes]. These activities encourage people to develop individual talents.” Third, “create your own works while communicating with the wider world.” 

With a broad range of interests – alternative education, Christian alternative communities, global issues, human rights, interreligious dialogue, liberation theology, reading and world history – Chanyoung seems ready to chart his next course through Global Mission Fellows.  

Choi, Chanyoung

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Vinicius Guimaraes dos Santos is an international Global Mission Fellow with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, engaged in a two-year term of service. He is studying for a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing at Center University, Una, Brazil.

The Global Mission Fellows program takes young adults ages 20-30 out of their home environments and places them in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice. Global Mission Fellows become active parts of their new local communities. They connect the church in mission across cultural and geographical boundaries. They grow in personal and social holiness and become strong young leaders working to build just communities in a peaceful world.

A member of Parish of Our Lady of the Conception Catholic Church, Aparecida, Brazil, Vinicius leads youth and teaches catechism.

“My life path is accompanied and led by God,” he said. “Daily, God has shown me what I need to improve and what decisions I need to make in the best way possible. Through all the moments and situations I went through, God was present, showing me what was best and helping me make important decisions. And so, it happened when I decided to be a missionary.”

He believes fervently in God’s call to mission.

“Dedicating myself to the mission of evangelizing people is something that God has had for me since the day I discovered myself as a servant of God,” he said, “and this has been a unique and exciting experience in my life. My spiritual growth comes from all the opportunities I have had to help someone discover God’s path and understand the wonderful the blessings he can provide in our lives.”

Even in tough times, God has prevailed, Vinicius said.

“Many times that I felt discouraged, God, with all his mercy and love, helped me to rekindle the flame in my heart, and I returned even stronger to my mission,” Vinicius said. “I see myself ready to learn more as a missionary, knowing that my spiritual growth will be even greater and more challenging, but that the reward of working for God will be infinite.

“God has always been with me, and at this moment, he trusts me with the possibility of accomplishing something new in my life, something that he prepared for me and has been preparing me for all these years: the mission of evangelizing.”

Working with the United Methodist project Shade and Fresh Water, Vinicius did educational community organizing and development. He also led adult adult sports teams in the community, encouraging and strengthening participants’ well-being.

“The Global Mission Fellows program,” he asserted, “fits with my efforts in educational community organizing and development.”

dos Santos, Vinicius Guimaraes

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Isaac Viavianibuca Drodrolagi is international Global Mission Fellow with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, engaged in a two-year term of service.

The Global Mission Fellows program takes young adults ages 20-30 out of their home environments and places them in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice. Global Mission Fellows become active parts of their new local communities. They connect the church in mission across cultural and geographical boundaries. They grow in personal and social holiness and become strong young leaders working to build just communities in a peaceful world.

He studied at Christian Outreach College, Suva, Fiji, and University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China. He volunteered with the China Outreach Program for the Homeless, was president of the University of Nottingham Student Union and participated in the University of Nottingham Rotaract Program. Isaac is fluent in English, Fijian and Central Arabic and semi-fluent in French and Chinese Mandarin.

He is a member of Raiwai Gospel Brethren Church, where he is a youth leader. He would like to train to become a deacon.

“My personal spiritual growth,” Isaac said, “has been a transformative journey, filled with ups and downs. Initially, my belief in God was rooted in my parents’ faith, but by the time I reached 14, I found myself questioning and seeking a deeper connection with the divine. I made a conscious decision to commit my life to the Lord.”

But when he began working after college, he realized he had drifted away from God.

“My lifestyle, habits, language and character reflected a worldly life, devoid of the spiritual depth I longed for,” Isaac admitted.

“However, last year marked a pivotal moment as I experienced an intense craving for a personal relationship with God. This longing compelled me to become more involved in church activities, even if I had previously found them tiresome.

“Attending church on Sundays became a goal, and I intentionally made adjustments in my life, including changing my group of friends, to align myself with my newfound spiritual path.”

During this time, he heard about Global Mission Fellows. “I felt an overwhelming desire to be used by God for the extension of His kingdom,” Isaac said. “The opportunity to serve in a different country was especially enticing, as it would allow me to step away from the worldly distractions of past friends and past temptations and focus a lot more on my life with God.”

Isaac expressed confidence that the GMF experience would provide the space and environment necessary for him to come back refreshed, renewed and stronger in his faith.

He also hopes his love for rugby and volleyball will offer opportunities to use sports as a practical way to communicate biblical lessons and as a platform to build relationships and connect with local residents wherever he serves.

Drodrolagi, Isaac Viavianibuca

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A member of Tyler Street United Methodist Church, Dallas, Mary earned a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, and a Master of Science degree in special education from the University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas. She and her husband, Alcides Escobar, are the parents of two young adult sons.

Mary is excited about returning to Paraguay after living in Dallas since 2018. She lived in Asuncion with her Paraguayan husband and two sons from 2013 to 2018 as a commissioned Global Ministries missionary. She directed a day care center in an impoverished neighborhood.

Strongly influenced by a cousin and an aunt, both missionaries, Mary intended her academic training in education to serve her mission goals. She began her professional career as a mission violinist, playing with the Celebrant Singers, an international music and ministry group based in California.

She taught special education for six years. Following language training, Mary was accepted by the then Mission Society for United Methodists for service in Paraguay. After fundraising for a three-year term, she worked as director of children, youth and music ministries for the Evangelical Methodist Community of Paraguay.

Moving back to Dallas, Mary worked in bilingual education – as a teacher and as an educational diagnostician – for three Texas school districts.

Urgently needing a full-time director to run daily operations of the Mary Jo Phillips Daycare Center, the Evangelical Methodist Community of Paraguay cannot afford to fund the position. Paraguay is a poor country, with pressing education and health issues. The EMCP is committed to both areas, as reflected by its day care center in the impoverished Santa Rosa neighborhood in Asunción, the capital city.

The ministry with single mothers and families with children, ages 2 to 5, strives to expand God’s kingdom by working in a social setting, caring for children with love and leading families to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Most expenses are paid by churches and individuals in the U.S., and parents are charged minimal fees. The center, open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., serves breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack.

“Wherever I am,” Mary said, “and whatever I am doing, I know that I am a missionary. I believe God has a plan to use me as a missionary in all aspects of my life, even to my own family and children.”

Escobar, Mary Louise

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