Hope in the Lord!
Be strong! Let your heart take courage!
Hope in the Lord!

Psalm 27: 14

David, the author of this Psalm, knows from experience what it means to “hope in the Lord.” He was anointed king at age 16 and didn’t ascend to the throne until he was 30. In the meantime, he was hunted down in the desert by the jealous King Saul. He waited patiently for God’s promise to come true. It’s not easy to hope in God, to wait for Divine intervention. 

Waiting for God’s promise reminds me of visiting Gahambwe, Burundi, in 2020, in the Methodist District of Kiniyiya. When I arrived, I was surprised to see pregnant women, old women in tears and men collecting rocks and stones to deposit in a designated area in the bush. Though they had no money for the work, they hoped that a health clinic might be built, and they put that hope in God.

This community lacks pure water, so they drink polluted river run-off, which causes disease – malaria because of breeding mosquitoes, and cholera. They told me for a long time that their community was suffering, that women and young children were dying because there was no health center near this community.

Seeing these mothers and grandmothers, and even physically handicapped people, holding these stones to deposit them, I began to shed tears. I wondered what could be done and from whom the solution would come. Being a missionary in Africa isn’t easy. People you meet think you can solve their problem in the blink of an eye.

I asked them to hope in God, who hears the prayers of those who call, as we took the information to Global Health at Global Ministries. The day after I returned to Bujumbura, I prayed that God would grant the prayer made by this community. I even wrote this prayer for Gahambwe in my journal on my life as a Global Missionary.

We continued to pray, waiting for the Lord to intervene. And even when the health coordinator of the UMC of Burundi and I were working on the project, we prayed that we’d get there.

Today in 2025, we declare that God has truly been manifested. With the support of Global Ministries through its Global Health unit, this desert scrubland has become a fully equipped health center, with a community well alongside, giving a whole community hope for life. The UMC in Burundi also contributed to this work to build one of the units on the campus. This work is in the image of Jesus, who is the light that makes the darkness disappear. A miraculous development is taking place in Gahambwe.

Let us put our trust in Christ because Christ is worth the wait. I have seen ways that God uses the very time of waiting to refresh, renew and teach us. And then God’s miraculous intervention is accomplished for our joy and happiness.

Let us pray together: Lord Jesus, teach us to hope in you and wait wisely for your intervention in our lives.

Patrick Abro is a missionary from Côte d’Ivoire who serves with the United Methodist Burundi Annual Conference as a health operations manager.

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ATLANTA – Lisa arrived at Old Mutare Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe almost a month before her delivery date. She lives more than 37 miles from the hospital, the closest to her home. She came to stay at the Waiting Mothers’ Shelter to be sure she could give birth in a medical facility. The shelter was just refurbished last year with the help of some outside supporters. The labor and delivery units were expanded and new equipment installed using grants from Global Ministries.

In many medical facilities across Africa, patients’ families are expected to provide all or some food during their stay. Fortunately, Old Mutare established a large garden last year to grow nutritious food for patients. “The vegetables we now eat are grown in this garden. I do not have to ask my relatives to bring me vegetables from back home,” said Lisa.

The garden was possible because the water system had also been reconstructed, with new storage tanks. The Zimbabwe Episcopal Area Health Board has been working on improvements to Old Mutare Mission Hospital over time, as well as to two other United Methodist hospitals, Mutambara and Nyadire, several smaller clinics.

Every year, the Global Health unit of Global Ministries awards grants to health boards and other United Methodist partners to support improvements in health care and administration. In addition, some episcopal areas receive grants for Mother, Newborn and Child Health; prevention and treatment of communicable and noncommunicable diseases; and for major infrastructure and facility improvements increase health care for everyone using the services.

Global Health partners with health teams from 14 sub-Saharan countries, encompassing nine United Methodist episcopal areas. The UMC supports hundreds of health facilities – hospitals in some cases and many small, remote clinics. Currently, about 190 health facilities are working on grant projects.

Working through partners that oversee the work of United Methodist health facilities in Africa, Global Ministries has helped to improve health services in many African countries. Health partners track the progress in their facilities, gathering information on their patients and services, the kinds of health problems they encounter, length of treatment, medical supplies and medicines. With reliable data, Global Health reports reaching, on average, more than a million beneficiaries each year. Last year, 48 grants were awarded among the health boards with 24 additional grants to other partners for a total of $5,291,657.

Reconstructing maternity and delivery wards and building new mothers’ shelters improve the conditions in which babies are born. But it takes much more to keep a baby thriving once he or she leaves the hospital.

United Methodist health teams have created community outreach programs that spread health information on the importance of prenatal care, giving birth in medical facilities, returning to the doctor for check-ups, vaccinations, and how to prevent malaria and other diseases and provide food with better nutritional value.

Some health facilities have staff that visit communities and set up clinics for health checks. Others train volunteers to give out important health information in their communities.

When major grants are released for reconstruction or building new facilities, water infrastructure is often included in the building plans. Clean water goes a long way in preventing disease. Most facilities open new wells and other clean water sources to the surrounding community.

Transportation is another factor for remote health clinics and hospitals to consider. Few rural residents have cars, and some communities lack roads altogether. Stocking facilities with supplies and medications is a constant challenge in some remote areas, especially in rainy seasons. Reliable vehicles are sometimes part of the plan in a health administration budget so conference staff can get to the facilities to assess operations.

The first UMC health boards were developed by UMCOR when Imagine No Malaria collected significant funding for malaria awareness, net distribution and treatment. The campaign needed organized and efficient ways to distribute supplies, information and medicines, that included follow-up by UMC health facilities. The creation of health boards worked so well to coordinate responses that the Global Health unit was developed to extend the work and further explore ways to improve health outcomes.

Today, United Methodist health boards and other partners have expanded their mission as professional health administrators. Even with the uncertainty of government aid, especially from the U.S., the mission of church-related health facilities, which draw support from larger religious and nonprofit networks, continues. They often serve in remote places among the people who need them the most. Family members the world over love and cherish their children, and in God’s eyes, every baby is a gift and a promise for abundant life.

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.

Global Health
Through United Methodist conferences and health boards, Global Ministries works to strengthen whole networks of health responses, from revitalization of facilities and staff training to building better water sources, developing sanitation facilities and promoting nutrition. Global Health concentrates on preventing, testing and treating those affected by preventable diseases, such as malaria, HIV and AIDS, and COVID-19, and supporting the most vulnerable populations, including mothers, newborns and children.

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ATLANTA – Eighteen global missionaries and five young adult Global Mission Fellows (GMFs) were commissioned – blessed and sent forth into mission service – on January 26 at Wanyange Central United Methodist Church in Jinga, Uganda. Together, they will serve across 15 countries, including Argentina, Cambodia, Switzerland and…Uganda. Their types of mission service range from pastor and professor to agriculturalist and doctor.

The worship service centered upon the theme of being called to mission, with scripture readings from Isaiah 6:1-8 and Matthew 28:18-20. Isaiah’s response, “Here am I, Lord. Send me,” served as a reminder of the importance of recommitting oneself to join in God’s mission.

Bishop Daniel Wandabula of the East Africa Episcopal Area delivered a sermon entitled “Living Out the Gospel, Transforming the World.” He reminded the congregation that God’s call upon our lives has the potential to change the world. “Missionary service is not a personal choice; it is a divine summons. Our missionaries and GMFs are not simply following a desire from within themselves. But they are answering a clear call from God to go and make disciples.”

After they were commissioned by Bishop Wandabula with the words “I commission you to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the world,” each candidate was presented with an anchor cross. The newly commissioned missionaries recited Wesley’s Covenant Prayer together, pledging their trust in God and service to the global church.

“Every time we worship in these commissioning services around the world, we are reminded what a great connection we have as The United Methodist Church,” said Global Ministries General Secretary Roland Fernandes. “And though we are different in so many ways, we are one in Jesus.” Fernandes also remarked on the renewed and strengthened relationship between Global Ministries and the East Africa Episcopal Area and shared his great hopes for the future of The United Methodist Church in the region.

As the service concluded, the congregation joined in a final blessing, offering encouragement and prayer over the group as they go forth to serve. Newly commissioned missionary Alejandro Alfaro-Santiz, who will serve in Argentina with his whole family, said he is excited to “…share God’s love through our actions and prayers and service in our daily lives.”

Sara Logeman is the senior manager of content and marketing for Global Ministries.

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Global Missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places. Explore and support the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

Global Mission Fellows (GMFs) are young adults, ages 20–30, who are committed to serve in social justice ministries for two years. They enter new communities, understanding their challenges and assets through relationships and with the long-term goal to overcome systemic oppression. Fellows partner with community organizations to address a variety of issues, including migration/immigration, education, public health and poverty. Learn more about applying to become a GMF and support current fellows.

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ATLANTA – 140 missionaries and staff gathered for a Town Hall Zoom meeting on Nov. 13, 2024, to talk with General Secretary Roland Fernandes and to celebrate milestone years of service for some missionaries and retirement for others. By the end of 2024, six missionaries at the gathering will be retiring from service in five different countries.

Fernandes affirmed Global Ministries’ rich history in sending missionaries over more than 200 years, and that they are all part of this legacy. “I want to remind all that this is not work that you do for Global Ministries or for The United Methodist Church, but work you do for God, and God has called each of you at this time in the place that you are. We live in hope knowing that God is with us and that we have the love of God amid all that is happening.”

The Rev. Dr. Judy Chung, executive director of Missionary Service, congratulated the group of retiring missionaries and gave each a chance to speak. They come from seven different countries and retire from assignments in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central Africa, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and Liberia. 

The Rev. Dr. Ediberto Lopez Rodriguez, from Puerto Rico, served for 23 years as a missionary professor in New Testament studies with the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico. He said: “I am very grateful for these decades of service to the Lord in the ministry of Global Ministries. My joy comes to fruition when I see my current pastor explaining Scripture every Sunday with competency, and I see his effectiveness as a pastor. He is one of probably 2000 students I taught. If I had the chance to have another life like this, I would come back to my teaching place, to my theological education work for Global Ministries or to whatever place the Lord may send me.”

Nan McCurdy and Miguel Mairena, who are married, retire after 36 years for McCurdy and 28 years for Mairena. Originally Nan started her missionary service in San Juan de Limay, Nicaragua, with her first husband, Phil Mitchell. They were sent by the Baltimore-Washington Conference in 1985. “Phil and I discovered that our most worthwhile work was accompanying people who were grieving and suffering,” McCurdy said. “Almost every family had lost someone at that time.” After becoming Global Ministries’ missionaries in 1988, Mitchell died from a pulmonary embolism in 1991, leaving Nan, and their two girls, ages 13 months and 3 years. When given the choice of staying in Nicaragua or returning to the U.S., McCurdy chose to stay.

“I explained that I was grieving in a country where nearly everyone was grieving, so God had placed me where I needed to be,” she said. She continued work for two years with a foundation for war victims.

McCurdy and Mairena met in Nicaragua and were married in 1995. They served together through four more missionary assignments, the last being with Give Ye Them To Eat (GYTTE) in Puebla, Mexico.

Miguel Mairena grew up on an island in Big Lake, Nicaragua, and had no access to start primary school until he was 20-years-old. He values education very much. “Beginning in 1996, every time Nan and I were in the U.S., I would go to Wesley Seminary for one or two semesters. I graduated in 2007, later in Nicaragua.” He studied law on weekends in Nicaragua and now has a master’s in criminal law as well.

To GYTTE, in Mexico, Mairena gave legal advice, theological advice, but most of all, his ability to fix anything and invent solutions to problems at the 40-acre farm and training center. With his help, they now have water all the time and solar-heated showers.

Grace Musuka began her assignment in 2012, working with United Methodist Women (now United Women in Faith) in Central Africa as a Regional Missionary. Her assignment has been to empower women as peace builders, healers, economic developers in their communities and as leaders in their churches.

“I witnessed women growing spiritually, economically and in their self-esteem,” she said. “I plan to keep growing in my legacy, and my sincere appreciation goes to United Women in Faith and Global Ministries for the chance they gave me to be part of this journey. I’m retired, but I’m not tired. I’ll continue in my work.”

A second Regional Missionary, Emma Cantor, focused her work on leadership and organizational development in Asia. Leadership training encouraged women to stand up for themselves and recognize their abilities. Cantor provided literacy education that combined spiritual growth and various social issues.

She noted: “Some of these young women have become scholars and some went on to careers, so they have developed their leadership and become good decision makers. The leadership in rural areas is about economic development that has given the hope for women and young people to become effective, passionate, compassionate – to help themselves and to help their communities.”

Dr. Emmanuel Mefor is a medical doctor from Nigeria. He and his wife, Florence Mefor, a nurse midwife, have served as medical missionaries in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Dr. Mefor will be retiring from his assignment as a general practitioner with Old Mutare Hospital in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Florence Mefor continues as a missionary with Old Mutare, so they will remain in Zimbabwe for a while longer. Dr. Mefor plans to continue work on a voluntary basis.

“My 24-year journey of missionary work was neither prepared for nor premeditated,” he noted. “We Christians are all called to work daily in the vineyard of our God. To the younger and will-be missionaries; remember that there will be obstacles along your way. Prayers, integrity and passion for what you do are paramount. Being passionate about what you do is the driving force that makes you tireless.”

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries.

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

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But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33 (NRSV)

KANYAMA, ZAMBIA – After a night of deep sleep, I wake up to a calming natural white noise from a waterfall known as the Mujila Falls, which is not too far away from my house. At around the same time, the golden Zambian sun rises and peeks through the old curtains on my window which were sewn by members of a Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team that visited many years ago. Before I can gather myself together, I hear the ensemble of animal noises; ducks, layers, turkeys, pigs, cattle and goats, as if they are making a case that if we do not immediately attend to them, then we should release them to enjoy freedom in the vast untampered forest that surrounds us.

Not long after, my colleagues start to trickle in from the Kapundu and Kanyama rural wards and at 7 a.m. sharp, the farm is thriving with people going up and down our meandering dirt roads and animals being herded to pasture. It is common to see a few motorbikes and bicycles belonging to customers already waiting in line to buy reasonably priced eggs and vegetables. A stone’s throw away from the farm, two classes of about 50 young pupils each are getting ready to play and learn at our Mama Roxanne Community School and Mujila Falls Mission School.* This is how every day starts at the Mujila Falls Agriculture Center, and the work goes on until about 5 p.m. when we are all very tired and retire to our homes for yet another night of deep sleep.

It feels like a dream and indeed it is a miracle how we manage to carry out our duties seamlessly day in, day out, despite all the real and potential challenges that we may encounter. I am very grateful to many supporting churches in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. In recent years, we have focused the activities of the farm toward early childhood education, primary school education and practical training for youths and young adults.

The community is quite supportive and engaged, and we are blessed with success. This year we had the 6th graduation ceremony at Mama Roxanne Community Center. We have completed the first grade at our primary school and we are on our way to complete building a new trade school/vocational center. We have received generous support for the vocational center from Antigo UMC in Wisconsin. With the new teaching and training infrastructure we have been empowered to reach out to more lives than we have ever imagined and to be part of a more sustainable development.

This is my seventh year as a missionary, and many Christians around the world believe that the number 7 is significant and has meaning, with some alluding to an interpretation of perfectness and completeness. In the past 7 years, I have enjoyed a front seat view of a transformation of our small community.

Please pray with me with the Scripture in mind:

Dear God: We are motivated by Mathew 6:25-33, where you encourage us not to worry. I invite all to join with us, whether in Zambia or anywhere else in the world. May we stop our worry and instead, may we have the strength to step out in faith to help those in need. And all things will be given to us as well. Amen.

*Missionaries Roxanne Webster and her husband Paul Webster founded the agricultural training center that became the Mujila Falls center in Zambia. The school and community center are named in honor of Roxanne who died of cancer in 2004.

Temba Darlington Nkomozepi, from Zimbabwe, is an agriculturalist with Mujila Falls Agriculture Center in Kanyama, Zambia.

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

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_{Photo: David Badebye}

ATLANTA — According to the World Health Organization, nearly 40 million people were living with HIV globally in 2023. Of that number, 630,000 died from HIV-related causes. And over 1.3 million people contracted the virus that year.  

Despite decades-long advances in prevention, testing, treatment and advocacy of this preventable disease, there is still much work to be done to eradicate HIV and AIDS.  

Global Ministries’ Global Health unit supports Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) programs in African countries where HIV has taken a particularly harsh toll. These programs in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – all managed within UMC health facilities – are designed to protect pregnant women and children from the devastating impacts of HIV by routinely testing for the virus and preventing mother-to-child transmission.  

Many of these women come from rural communities, working tirelessly on small family farms while raising children as husbands seek work in larger cities. There is often not enough food to go around, and fetching water can mean a long, arduous walk. While health care centers are within reach, the life-saving treatment needed for HIV –   antiretrovirals – can be a bus ride away and for many, this journey is simply unaffordable. 

In the poorest district of Uganda, Kamuli, the landscape is similar. Access to health care, safe and clean water, education and income generating activities are slim. Around 19% of the population live with HIV, with the numbers rising among teenagers and women.  

The converging realities of poverty and stigma led Inclusive Mission for Health and Hope (IMHH), a community-based Christian organization with ties to the UMC, to find an innovative way to empower single mothers and marginalized youth who have been disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. With support from Global Ministries, IMHH supported 70 participants with training, seeds and small livestock to develop their farming skills and establish sustainable livelihoods.  

The training sessions were practical: participants learned modern farming techniques, including how to establish home gardens with vegetables, maize, bananas and tomatoes. They were taught how to choose quality seeds, plant in lines, apply fertilizers to increase production and pesticides to decrease disease. Additionally, goat rearing through zero grazing was introduced as a means of improving household food security and providing a viable income.  

Participants like Oyunai and Namuli Jeniffer found success. They excelled in tomato farming, from preparing nursery beds to transplanting, and their harvests allowed them to start small businesses at the local market. These businesses have provided a steady source of income, allowing them to meet their families’ basic needs and work toward a better future. 

The initiative doesn’t stop at farming. Recognizing that many rural areas also lack access to marketable skills, training in tailoring, hairdressing, carpentry, crafts and small business management was also offered. With the help of micro loans to purchase equipment, beneficiaries like Kaudha, a single mother, have been able to apply her skills in hairdressing and earn up to $2 a day—enough to support her two children and ensure they have food on the table. 

Through improved farming methods and the acquisition of new skills, households are not only more food-secure, but individuals are empowered both personally and economically.  

And the ripple effect is evident: families are breaking free from the cycle of poverty, and in time, will be able to provide employment for others, creating a stronger, healthier and more resilient community.  

In recognition of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, 2024, we celebrate the ways in which the UMC is helping women living with HIV and AIDS to thrive and live abundant lives.

Global Health 
With United Methodist conferences and health boards, Global Ministries works to strengthen networks of health facilities, from the revitalization of buildings and staff training to improving water supply, developing sanitation services and promoting nutrition. The Global Health unit focuses on the health of women and children and responds to diseases like malaria, HIV and AIDS, and Mpox. Learn more. 

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“I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

John 10:9-10

QUESSUA, ANGOLA – Many women in the Quéssua community of Angola do not know the importance of prenatal consultations during pregnancy or going to a hospital for child birth delivery. Some are familiar only with traditional midwives and others even give birth alone at home. I am a Global Mission Fellow from Kenya with a diploma in nursing and midwifery and God has called me to serve this community as an outreach midwife at Quéssua Health Center.

I have been doing door-to-door outreach and creating awareness about the importance of prenatal consultation and hospital delivery. I thank God for the community openness and readiness toward change as they embrace the information in a positive way.

A good number of pregnant women are now coming to the health center and, monthly, I receive about 500-1000 women. This has been very encouraging and motivating to both the community and the health center. It means the fulfillment of the promise of an abundant life is near, and the chances of more women and families having healthy, strong children are increasing.

In addition to serving as a community outreach midwife, I also take part in mobile clinics. Access to health is a major problem because there are not enough hospitals, people travel long distances to reach them, and they lack transportation to get to them. Simply put, many people living in the interior of the villages are not able to access medical care.

There is always a sigh of relief and hope from people when we take the mobile clinics in those areas. They show up in great numbers, thanks to Global Ministries and other partners for the support they give. 

Health access is a necessity that no one should lack.

Please pray with me:

• That through the efforts of Quéssua Health Center, more people in remote villages in East Angola will gain access to health care, especially pregnant women seeking to deliver healthy, strong babies.
• That we can reach people with messages of hope and information that may save their lives and the lives of their families.
• That I may stand firm and strong in God’s mission to bring life-giving knowledge and expert care to those God has put in my path.

Sylvia Night Wesonga is from Nairobi, Kenya, and is now in her second year of service as a Global Mission Fellow in East Angola. She earned a diploma in nursing and midwifery at the Pumwani College School of Nursing and Midwifery in Nairobi City.

Global Mission Fellows

Global Mission Fellows are young adults, ages 20–30, who are committed to serve in social justice ministries for two years. They enter new communities, understanding their challenges and assets through relationships and with the long-term goal to overcome systemic oppression. Fellows partner with community organizations to address a variety of issues, including migration/immigration, education, public health and poverty.

Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

Make a difference. Make a gift.  

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MALANJE, EAST ANGOLA – Greetings from the Quéssua Mission in East Angola. I have worked for 10 years here as the agriculturist for the United Methodist Quéssua Agriculture Center. Though this site with its church, schools, hospital and farm was torn down to the ground during three decades of war that finally ended in 2002, we are rebuilding all aspects of the mission – with help from many partners, including Global Ministries.

My particular passion and calling from God is to continue to develop a productive and sustainable farm that also sustains the community. I am thankful to God for keeping me strong and committed to this ministry. I believe that God calls us together to the mission of serving the most vulnerable in our communities. To this end, we completed a large new chicken coop this year to ramp up our egg production.

The main goal of the project is to raise chickens for eggs to support malnourished children in the villages and contribute to the Sunday school children’s meal. This will provide extra protein and nutrients to the healthy meal, including produce from the farm, that is diligently prepared under the direction of missionary partners who lead the children’s meal mission in Quéssua. This is a challenging goal when between 600 to 800 village children are fed each Saturday and Sunday. Just a year ago, we served 400 to 600, so the need and our project has multiplied.

Chronic poverty contributes to a high rate of perpetually undernourished children. Most Quéssua village households can only manage to provide one meal per day. Toddlers are particularly vulnerable, and most children attend school with no breakfast. Some often go without eating a meal for a day or more. Imagine going to school with no breakfast, snack or the hope of lunch. These weekly meals are very impactful for the children, so we are doing our best to keep up with the demand.

Villagers also come to the farm to purchase eggs; two, three or five eggs at a time, with which they make an affordable, tasty, nutritious sauce that serves as a protein rich meal for the whole family. Eggs replace the usual dried fish sauce which many families can no longer afford. Families have their own unique recipes for using the eggs. We thank God that we can provide them to people at an affordable price.

The demand for eggs has grown, making us contemplate the need for increasing our production. The challenge that we are facing to accomplish this is the availability of chicken feed. The cost has increased with the deteriorating economy. We pray and believe that with God’s blessing and wider church support for our projects, we will keep moving forward.

East Angola Episcopal Area is participating in the Yambasu Agriculture Initiative and has received a food security grant from Global Ministries to increase income levels of smallholder farmers through agriculture, specifically through maize (corn) and pig production. Quéssua agriculture is a project site for this work. A new piggery was constructed a couple years ago, and pig production is well underway.

The village communities we serve receive vegetable seeds from the Quéssua farm each planting season and we follow up with them on methods to successfully cultivate these. Sometimes one or two of the communities have disappointing seed beds resulting in poor harvests, so, we decided to plant the seeds in a farm nursery and once the seedlings are ready, community members come to receive seedlings to transplant into their individual gardens.

This was a positive and productive experience and hopefully a learning one. The community spirit of the people, singing together as they arrive with their leader to receive their seedlings, is heartwarming and gratifying. During a visit to one of the gardens we were thrilled to see villagers preparing harvested vegetables for sale.

We also still provide seeds to communities along with training and tools. The happiness on the peoples’ faces while receiving the seedlings gives us a sign that they really needed them. They cannot afford to buy the seeds, yet they need the vegetables for their own consumption and the quantities they are given will help them have some extra produce to sell, enabling the purchase of other needed items for their families.

Agriculture is an important mission at Quéssua. In addition to providing meals for children and seeds and seedlings for nearby villages, the agriculture center also undergirds the whole mission, supplying produce, animals, eggs and peanuts to the schools, theological center and hospital. “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” (Romans 12:4-5). Thank you to all who support this ministry with prayer, gifts and service.

Kutela Katembo Dieudonne, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has served as a United Methodist missionary at Quéssua since 2014. He is married to Fatuma Nana Katembo, who is also a missionary serving as agriculture technician in the West Angola Episcopal Area. They have five children. 

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places. Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

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ATLANTA – Become a Global Mission Fellow (GMF) and join the movement of young adults who cross boundaries to better understand and respond to injustice.

The Global Mission Fellows program of The United Methodist Church places young adults, ages 20-30, in social justice ministries for two years of service. The program is excited to announce the launch of the application for the next cohort of fellows.

Since 1951, fellows have worked to address deep-rooted systems of injustice in a variety of areas, including food insecurity, migration/immigration, education and poverty. They gain a fresh perspective on systems preventing social change as they engage with current world issues.

“As we live in a world that is becoming increasingly polarized and the divide between socioeconomic classes, ideologies, race/ethnicity, and gender identities deepen, I believe God is pouring out God’s Spirit on all people so that ‘Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young will see visions. Your elders will dream dreams.’” (Acts 2:17, CEB), says the Rev. Dr. Judy Chung, executive director for Missionary Service for Global Ministries. “With the Spirit of God working in and through young people, a movement of God’s mission that ushers in justice and peace can transform the world.” 

The Wesleyan value of personal and social holiness is at the core of the Global Mission Fellows program. The program is open to those from different denominational backgrounds, but participants are expected to represent The United Methodist Church and uphold its social principles during their time of service.

Fellows form meaningful relationships with their host community as they are mentored by organizations meeting immediate needs and working toward lasting transformation. They receive ongoing training in spiritual and professional development and the program provides ways for the cohort to stay connected across countries and placement sites. 

The application deadline for the international track is Jan. 15, 2025. The program is not accepting applications for service on the US-2 track this year. Placement matches will be assigned throughout the selection process, but early application is encouraged for the strongest match. The application for the international track can be found at https://umcmission.org/become-a-fellow-international-track/.

Those selected for the next Global Mission Fellow cohort will begin onboarding in Spring 2025 and start service in August 2025.

For more information regarding the program or application process, email missionaryinfo@umcmission.org.

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About the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church

Global Ministries is the worldwide mission and development agency of The United Methodist Church. Founded in 1819, Global Ministries today supports more than 200 missionaries in over 60 countries, including the United States. It has personnel, projects and partners in 115 countries. Learn more about Global Ministries by visiting www.umcmission.org or by following www.facebook.com/GlobalMinistries and Twitter.com/UMCmission.

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