Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

Hope is one of the cardinal Christian virtues and a gift of the Holy Spirit. If we reflect on the opening verse of this writing, we observe that God has amazing yet mysterious ways of blessing us with spiritual gifts. It is fantastic because the spiritual gift of hope brings peace even amidst utter chaos.

In my placement site in Southeast Asia, I witness the hope of the Lord in both mysterious and amazing ways. The context in which I am serving is not hospitable for Christianity. Openly professing the gospel of Christ to nonbelievers is prohibited. Most churches operate underground. Only one denomination has gained government recognition, and it also must keep operations limited. The situation is better in the capital, but serious consequences await you in the countryside if you talk about the Good News of Jesus.

I have met and heard stories of pastors who were excommunicated from their community and even jailed just for talking about God. This is the very point where I witness the hope of the Lord in my placement site. Christians here have never let go of hope, despite persecution; they continue to profess God’s word. I see how persecution has revitalized their faith rather than breaking their hope. 

As Psalm 27:10 states; “My father and mother may abandon me, but the Lord will take care of me.” Many new Christians here are banished by their families, but even such painful incidents work in building their faith in God, cultivating hope. 

The ways that I witness hope here I have never seen in countries that are free to worship God and spread the gospel. Here, I have seen the hope of God spreading inwardly and outwardly, vertically and horizontally. Personal hope helps people grow deeper in their faith and continue working for God. The hope of salvation and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ is spread to others. The hope of freedom from sin and cleansing of the heart is passed to each other amid worldly torment. Hebrews 10:22 describes it as encouraging believers to approach God with sincere hearts and full assurance of faith, having their hearts cleansed from a guilty conscience and their bodies washed with pure water.  

Prayer: May all the missionaries and servants of God in this place become the source of hope to all the people who have met, or are yet to meet, Jesus. May we all not only receive the hope of the Lord but also reflect the Lord’s hope like sincere mirrors. Amen!

S. Gill is a Global Mission Fellow serving as an English teacher in Southeast Asia.

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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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PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – I enjoy the times I go with the staff to visit our mission sites. We know that in those special times that we bring good news, in the same way, we also receive good news. Though at times God leads us to meet people who have sad stories, the meeting often becomes the beginning of a good relationship. 

Caring for women has been a part of my ministry because women are very dear to my heart. As a missionary woman who serves as a treasurer and mission coordinator, I believe that women have this inner strength to handle any situation in life. They just need opportunities.  

We started the Women’s Livelihood Savings Cooperative program in one province in Dec. 2021 after the pandemic. With the help of our women’s coordinator, we organized two groups. At first, we sat down with them and listened to their stories and struggles.

One member told of her story when she gave birth to a special needs baby who was not accepted by her husband and his family, who said she was cursed; she and her baby were abandoned. She lost her job. It devastated her, to the point of almost committing suicide. But because she believed in Christ, she had faith that she could care for her child by herself. She opened an English school in her garage and taught children from the neighborhood. Now with the help of the Women’s Livelihood Savings Cooperative, she was able to improve her life not only financially, but emotionally, because she found good friends. In addition, her husband returned to her and his family accepted their grandchild. The Women’s Livelihood Savings Cooperative helped a lot of women financially and emotionally because they have livelihood groups that are empowering them to extend loans they can pay off with small interest rates, growing their savings and sustaining their families.

In the same province, we missed a meeting with a health director, so we decided to visit a couple who are retired pastors. One is managing a center on her property for women with mental health problems, with 14 women and one child. She told us each person’s story, and how she started with one. She described how God whispered to her when she passed by a woman who was pregnant, who, it turns out, had been raped and was not in her right mind. The pastor returned and took her in. After that, she invited more, old and young, abandoned by families and loved ones, abused and now blessed. We started helping her and every time we visit we bring something for the women. The latest gift we gave was a deep well, one of our projects. Now they have a good supply of water for drinking and bathing. We were also blessed. And I know that these women, in whatever their situation, feel the love and the hope that God promises.

Pray with me:

Thank you, God, for leading us to people and connecting us to them. And may we both be blessed because of this chance meeting…. just like Mary when she visits Elizabeth…something jumps inside of us because we know that God is blessing us with good news for them. May you bless more people through our unexpected visits, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Helen de Leon Camarce is the country coordinator and treasurer for the UMC Mission in Cambodia. Originally from the Philippines, she served as director of the Women’s Empowerment program in Cambodia and as a leader with the Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS) of the UMC in the Philippines.

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 – Typhoon Gaemi, named Carina in the Philippines, took a direct path across Taiwan on July 24 and its outer band of winds struck the Philippines along the western coast of Manila. Unfortunately, it arrived just about the time a tropical depression formed, and a southwest monsoon hit the islands too, all of which caused massive flooding and landslides. On July 25, a tanker hauling about 370,000 gallons of oil hit the rough seas in the Bay of Manila and consequently sank. Within five days, two more vessels faltered and went aground or sank.

All around the Bay of Manila fishing villages and even inland towns have been affected by the triple calamity.

The Manila Episcopal Area Disaster Management Office (MEA DMO) supported by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), activated its disaster response protocol and assessed the triple disasters as a category 3 event (out of 5). Local churches gave direct aid by distributing food and water. The Manila Episcopal Area sent out a “call to action” and churches took a special offering, which included food offerings.

A committee was created to streamline UMC relief and recovery operations. At that point, the MEA DMO requested two UMCOR solidarity grants, one for storm and flood relief and the other to provide relief to fishing villages affected by the three oil spills, augmenting what the local churches were already doing.

The committee, headed by the Rev. Joseph Estadilla, district superintendent and dean of the cabinet for the Manila Episcopal Area, worked to maximize and ensure a coordinated response for local churches and annual conferences.

D.S. Estadilla and other team members visited affected areas to assess the damage, gather information about what the local municipalities were providing, and discern which families and communities were most at risk because they were not receiving municipal aid. They concentrated UMC relief in those areas.

D.S. Estadilla, who oversees the Bulacan Annual Conference, is also from Bulacan. “I’m from an island near Manila, Binuangan Obando, and I was able to go home to my barangay (town) and gather some information from the fisher folk there. They shared with me that because of oil contamination, the government banned all fishing, and they were not able to work. This would continue for about a month. They were having trouble with their daily needs, especially food, because most of the people depend on catches from the sea and Manila Bay. We provided some food packs from donations of United Methodist members.”

Other coastal areas such as Cavite along the bay were also affected. Rev. Glofie Baluntong, the executive director of the Philippine Central Conference Board of Church and Society, was involved in a coalition for emergency response and information sharing with communities in Bataan and also across the bay in Cavite.

“People found oil remnants on the fish and crabs they brought in,” she explained. “This is proof of the oil spill, and we could see black oil in the sand on the beaches. The effect of this in barangay Amaya, where the MEA DMO has a relief operation, is oil on the beaches and in the rivers. It has penetrated the water in household wells. Because of this, they observed that the birds do not come; there is no fish they can eat. They even reported some pets had died from eating contaminated fish.”

Apart from the fishing, they lost houses in the coastal villages. They contend that reclamation, or development projects, such as the new Bulacan Airport and adjacent hotels now underway, have caused negative long-term effects. “They layer fillers of stone and sand in the sea to build upon and then they dredge soil, silt, sand and rocks from different areas to fill in the construction,” Rev. Baluntong explained.

D.S. Estadilla described some of the resulting complications of the reclamation projects in Bulacan. “In my area, churches and their communities in port communities were under water. All of these were on the coastal area of Manila Bay. High tide and the typhoon joined together. The flooding was grave, unlike I’ve seen in other years.

“In one barangay, Meysulao, Calumpit, Bulacan, the flooding reached up to the neck of the average person. Small boats had to be used to transport goods and people, and it affected everyone. Even in mid-October, I spoke with a pastor there and he said there is still water on the roads after three months. The slow downstream flow of water to the Manila Bay is being blocked by reclamation projects.”

In a “next step” along its journey, the MEA DMO was officially inducted into the Disaster Risk Reduction Network of the Philippines (DRRNet Phils) in September. This organization is dedicated to disaster risk reduction and building resilient communities across the Philippines. It works on many of the hazards the DMO encounters on a broader scale together with its members.

“Joining the DRRNet Philippines is truly an answered prayer and a dream come true for us in the Disaster Management Office,” said Josephine (“Phine”) Cedillo, coordinator of the MEA DMO. “Now that our program is recognized and connected with the DRRnet, we are better equipped to support those most in need. DRRNet is also a member of the National Disaster Risk and Reduction Council. Joining allows us to enhance our impact on disaster preparedness and community resilience.”

The DRRNet offers the MEA DMO a chance to form collaborative partnerships with like-minded non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, academic institutions and government agencies. The DMO also gains access to training, workshops and seminars to enhance its skills and knowledge.

UMCOR International Disaster Response has supported MEA’s Disaster Management Office operationally since 2017. The DMO has implemented many successful relief projects. Katie Hills, director of UMCOR Disaster Response, says the MEA DMO has responded to countless typhoons, fires in informal settler communities, earthquakes, and COVID economic impacts since 2017. “It’s notable they always keep creation care central to their programming. They were inducted into DRR net thanks to a track record of high quality humanitarian programming.”

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

International Disaster Response

United Methodist Committee on Relief International Disaster Response and Recovery (UMCOR IDR) serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance for disasters that strike outside of the United States.

Central Conference Disaster Management Offices in the Philippines and in Africa are supported by and connected with UMCOR through International Disaster Response. Make a gift to help UMCOR provide for the basic needs of people and communities devastated by both natural and humanmade disasters. For the latest news on responses, click here.

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ATLANTA – Ashnita Shakina Maxton grew up as a pastor’s daughter in the Uttar Pradesh, India. In fact, she says she comes from a long line of Christian missionaries and pastors. For the past 14 years her family has lived in Lucknow where her father pastors a Methodist congregation. Maxton found it difficult to leave India to travel to the United States to begin a doctoral program in psychology at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, in 2022.

“I am pursuing my Ph.D. in Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies, focusing on the concepts of positive psychology, such as forgiveness, spirituality, and temptation in relation to addiction and recovery among college students. I developed my research focus in this area with a desire to serve my community and all the young individuals struggling with addiction,” Maxton explains.

“And, coming to the U.S. was the first time I have ever left my home,” she continued.  “I’ve never been out of my country anywhere else. And the first time that I do, I come here to the U.S. all by myself.”

It seems she took a leap of faith in many ways, to find the kind of program she was looking for and a professor and department that considered the roles forgiveness and spirituality and temptation play in recovery. After she had committed to the program and spent a year in the U.S., she reached back to her bishop in Lucknow, Bishop Subodh C. Mondal, to see if the Methodist Church in India could help to sustain her studies. Bishop Mondal wrote her a recommendation and suggested she apply for the World Communion Scholarship through Global Ministries.

When asked what motivated her to devote her graduate studies to the field of addiction and recovery, Maxton said this is a question she is often asked, particularly once she arrived in the U.S. “People ask me if I’m studying addiction because of something in my personal experience. Did I know someone who was addicted? They are always a little surprised when I say I don’t. It is just a general and genuine interest I have in this field and empathy for people struggling with addiction.”

As part of her master’s program in India, Maxton participated in an internship at a rehabilitation center. “It was something I never did before, a completely different experience” she said. “I’d never been around a hospital or a rehabilitation center, per se. I came across a lot of young people…older people as well…but mostly, there were a lot of young students being admitted. It was hard to see some of them.”

Some students, even though they were admitted to an in-patient hospital and battling addiction, were still trying to complete their studies, and would leave the hospital for a day or two to take their exams.

“I felt like there was so much potential in the youth, and when they struggle so with addiction, it hinders them to reach their full capability or achieve their potential,” Maxton reflected. But then, she dug a little deeper.

“In Lucknow, I live next door to a psychiatric hospital, and we share a boundary with that hospital. We have a few windows facing the parking lot of the hospital and I’ve seen people being dragged from the parking lot to the hospital. Their family members bring them. You see people with mental illness, with addiction, with any sorts of psychiatric illnesses being treated in that hospital.

“I’ve seen young children, women and men – it is common for family members to admit their loved ones for treatment. I feel like addiction still carries a stigma in India. If someone finds out there is person in your family who is going through addiction, it brings down your family name. So, in order to conceal and protect the family, people bring their loved ones in the middle of the night or the early morning.

“We are so close to that hospital, I could hear the yelling, the screaming, so, I’ve grown up seeing and listening to that. It’s probably another reason I got into this field.”

It turns out, the psychiatric hospital across the parking lot from Maxton’s church in Lucknow is Nur Manzil, a facility founded by the Rev. Dr. E. Stanley Jones in 1950. Jones, an American who started his missionary career with the Methodist Board of Missions in 1907, had served as an evangelist and theologian in India until his death in Bareilly, India, in 1973, years before Maxton was born.

On a pillar outside Nur Manzil, on a street that the Maxton family must have passed by many times, is a free-standing plaque that reads: “The purpose of the [Nur Manzil] centre is to provide full benefits of scientific psychiatry to all irrespective of race, religion, caste, colour or gender.”

When Maxton completes her studies at Texas Tech in another year, she will return to India to continue her work. She’s still discerning what exactly that work will be. In any case, she looks forward to reconnecting with her church.

“My desire to serve my community has been greatly inspired by the life and ministry of Rev. Dr. E. Stanley Jones. His work of evangelism in India and his effort to make mental health facilities available for people really inspire me. I would like to use my skills and research to contribute significantly to enhancing the effectiveness of positive psychology in promoting well-being, personal growth and recovery for persons living with substance abuse problems.”

For World Communion Scholarship inquiries

The World Communion Sunday offering provides scholarships and leadership development opportunities for international students and U.S. racial-ethnic students who are pursuing advanced degrees. Gifts not only make an impact in the lives of individual students, but also the religious, social and civic communities in which they lead and serve. These funds are administered by Global Ministries in collaboration with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

As Global Ministries and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) continue their work of greater alignment, scholarship inquires for both agencies should be directed to the GBHEM Scholarship Office at +1-615-340-7344 or scholars@umcmission.org.

Give to the World Communion special offering at your local church, or connect here to give online and mark World Communion Sunday.

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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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Global Mission Fellows completing their two-year terms of service in spring 2024 shared photos and memories about their time as young adult missionaries.

Catch a glimpse into the work of 10 GMFs and what they found meaningful in their placements all over the world. 

A large part of the economy of Kamina is based on traditional subsistence agriculture, fishing and cattle breeding. Modern farms are rare. Yet, Kamina lacks neither rich land, nor rivers and lakes full of fish.

The people in the photo are from the southeastern part of Kamina in a village called Kinkunki, which is not far from Kamisamba farm, where I work. They are mostly peasant farmers whose livelihoods depend on their farms. Because of their financial constraints, this rural village finds it difficult to send its children to school, which results in high rates of illiteracy in the community.

The children, without resources to attend school, don’t have any other option than to join and support their parents in farming.

However, they lack some of the basic agricultural tools that could improve their farming techniques. They usually come to Kamisamba Farm to work during harvest. After the harvest, Kamisamba provides them with seeds that help them plant their own fields to improve their crop production.

In my place of assignment, I am involved both in the El Sembrador Sschool and in the church (which is located on the school grounds). I direct the English program, help with the school’s marching band, teach the recorder, pianica and the lira (glockenspiel), and I am involved with the church’s music team.

However, I have never felt so fulfilled and happy as I was during this moment. This is the first joint young people’s retreat/fellowship that I organized with the new GMF, Binu Bill Bright Abel from India. This was attended by the youth of two churches, both part of my work assignment: Iglesia Metodista Pastocalle and Iglesia Metodista Agua de Vida in Romerillos. We fellowshipped with each other, cooked and shared food, and listened to the Word of God shared by my seminary Professor, Dr. David Upp. The goal was to build a closer connection between the two churches and a community of young believers.

We all need friends, community, support and a sense of being loved. It is a blessing to have found all these through a local spiritual community in my place of assignment. This is one of the local churches in which I have spent time serving with the youth alongside the youth pastors of the church. Engaging in Bible studies together, celebrating and grieving with one another, visiting each other’s homes and learning more about our cultural dynamics has assisted in relationship building and enhancing our spiritual growth through shared stories of God’s experiences in our lives.

One of the days I will remember is July 9, 2023, pictured above. I had a role to play in the Sunday worship service. To my surprise, after the benediction, the band played a birthday song and the whole congregation started singing along, surrounding me. They showered me with gifts and prayers. I felt loved, like family, while joy overflowed in my heart on that day. With gratitude in my heart, I look forward to the continued growth and connection with them in my last days of GMF service and beyond.

Since the organization’s founding in 1994, Koinonia’s mission has been to mobilize ecumenical solidarity and render service to historically and culturally vulnerable groups that are in the process of social and political emancipation. The organization makes alliances with Black communities that are set in urban and rural areas, with women, young people, LGBTQIA+ communities, and with people who have HIV and AIDS.

Koinonia trains young people and adolescents on gender and diversity rights and coordinates public advocacy with people living with HIV, raising awareness in churches and religious communities on health and sexuality issues, and strengthening religious actions for inclusion.

The aim of the event pictured above was to build spaces to encourage and discuss information about the combined prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections as well as provide psychosocial support for people with HIV and AIDS, aiming to minimize the damage caused by pandemics in the outskirts and metropolitan regions of the city of São Paulo.

I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with children, teenagers and senior citizens. Our organization focuses on the underprivileged and marginalized, but especially the children. They have the right to learn and develop, but because of their circumstances, they are not growing in optimal conditions.

In the photo, the children are playing games after their classes. Although the conditions there are very poor, the children always smile brightly and welcome us whenever we visit. I believe that children need more attention because they are the generation that will continue the work of God in the future. We provide alternative educational programs for these children, and we also have Bible study classes with them. This ensures that they develop both physically and spiritually.

The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy and community education. In Seattle, I work as a citizen intake coordinator to help clients navigate their program eligibility and provide direct representation to support attorneys and legal advocates through the U.S. legal system.

Part of why I applied to be a Global Mission Fellow US-2 was to take part in mission that works toward positive impact, to advocate for social justice for those who need it and are experiencing injustice and working with communities instead of for them.

But leaving Oklahoma to come to Seattle, I found it was also important to find a good church community outside of work and one that matched the GMF mission. Here are a group of us kayaking on a church retreat as we spent the weekend at church camp growing together and feeling connected!

Serving people and serving the community is the way I serve my God. I am grateful for the skills God gave me to use in my ministry, especially to work with kids and young people.

It is my pleasure to meet and work with a diverse community that allows us to show our love, respect, kindness and unity.

Connecting the church in mission and engaging with the community has a big impact on me as I lead a team. In Northern Ireland, we do surf workshops while sharing the Gospel of Jesus as we believe that “Real Life Awaits.”

The spiritual life of young people is strengthened through the balance (Sports and Workshop) of the ministry, also, they’ll grow in personal and in social holiness. Ministry has a big influence on an individual’s life, portraying the ministry of Jesus in the boat, in the sea, in the mountains, in the cities, as we see differently and serve differently.

I work closely with the Green Scenery Advocacy Team in organizing advocacy activities, including seminars, conferences, and some specific campaigns. I assist in designing, planning, implementing and monitoring advocacy project activities, and in organizing seminars, workshops and special lectures.

Here we work hand-in-hand with vulnerable communities to help them understand the impacts of climate change, empowering them to advocate for ways to help the climate recover and reduce practices that are unsustainable.

In serving with the Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance in Kenya, my focus lies within a climate policy and advocacy organization, distinct from direct church engagement. However, driven by a desire to find a local spiritual community of support, I connected with a United Methodist congregation while on this spiritual journey.

Following the disaffiliation of larger UMC churches in Kenya, including all of those in Nairobi, I, alongside like-minded believers, embarked on a mission to revitalize our United Methodist roots. Through collaborative consultation and concerted effort, we successfully planted six United Methodist churches in Nairobi. Today, these churches stand as beacons of hope, embodying the spirit of the UMC and nurturing spiritual growth within our community.

I am from the Philippines, and I serve in Clarendon Shelter, a homeless shelter in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland. My job description involves learning about homelessness and active participation in doing support work.

I’ve learned never to underestimate the power of being different, especially in places where you will stand out. When I came to Derry, I was so afraid of being judged or profiled because of who I am and where I come from. However, I realized that if I don’t step into a lighted space I will forever be in the dark – unseen and unheard.

I started sharing my ideas in the shelter and facilitating projects with the residents. Going to schools and churches to share facts about the issue of homelessness helped me to feel at home with different people, especially young children, and to create an advocacy project.

Here at Clooney Hall Methodist Church, I met with the Elders Luncheon Club to share about the rapid growth of homelessness in Northern Ireland and the importance of advocacy for housing rights and how congregations and church members can get involved.

Please pray for these GMFs and their broader cohort of fellows as they transition to new careers, further studies or another phase of discernment in their lives.

Meanwhile, the 2024-2026 class of young adult missionaries has been selected and trained for service and will soon be arriving in their placements!

Learn more about the Global Mission Fellows program, including how to apply and ways to support.

The post 10 Global Mission Fellows reflect on 2 years of service appeared first on Global Ministries.

You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it – not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives – and we publish it.

2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (The Message)

SOUTHEAST ASIA – When I was called to become a deaconess of The United Methodist Church, I knew that God had given me new opportunities to help and lead young people to serve the church and the wider community through the ministry of teaching. When God called me to become a missionary, I knew that was also a Kairos time for me to participate in the missio Dei in another place where I see myself as an instrument of expressing God’s love to the world.

The mission work here in Southeast Asia poses challenges. The United Methodist Church has not been recognized by the government, making it difficult to conduct church activities in rural areas. Registration has been our hope since this mission began in 2009. It takes a lot of creativity among missionaries and the local leadership to engage in church work without compromising the security of our local pastors. In this situation, I see the faithfulness and the zealousness of our local pastors to witness and minister to their own people, despite difficulties and limitations.

I have joined them in many of their activities, such as visiting the sick in the hospital, praying at home, worshipping in different house churches and visiting their farms. As I join with other missionaries visiting villages, I see the need for a holistic development framework. Not only church planting but also meeting the basic needs of people. The promise of abundant life should be experienced in the here-and-now.

Aside from food, water and shelter, education is a priority need. The Sunbeam Language and Vocational Training Center (SLVC) serves as our bridge to connect the government and the local people. This center is a venue for sharing God’s love through our educational and vocational-technical programs. From 2016 to 2019, we served around 300 students from primary to tertiary levels, reaching out to teach English to students of a government hospital and three other health-related offices under the Ministry of Health. Our students recognized the contribution of this Christian institution to their leadership development. They realized that religion is not a barrier to bringing about personal and social transformation, especially in the field of education.

Nonetheless, our community training in various provinces has exposed me to the stark realities of little access to education, economic scarcity and the vulnerabilities of people, especially the health needs of women and children. But these social realities make communities more resilient, while at the same time, they nurture community solidarity and concern for the welfare and well-being of all. 

But God is good all the time and faithful to sustain our ministry. Our water projects and English classes have provided us with good experiences that made collaboration with the village chief and local government officials possible. The community knows that we are a church that reaches out to serve the needs of the people. The church plants the seeds of hope, love and community transformation. The experiences liberate and empower our local pastors as they realize their need to be the salt and light in their own community.

Dr. A. Broncano, a deaconess of the UMC in the Philippines, is a missionary with the United Methodist mission initiative in this Southeast Asian country and coordinator of the Women, Youth and Children’s Ministry. She has a doctorate in Philippine Studies with a major in Society and Culture and minor in Women’s Studies and a Master of Arts in Social Development Studies. She is married to a high school teacher and they have two adult sons.

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.

Support the ministries of missionaries working around the world.

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