Back in Action

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Joe and Viya Stoltenow (Serving in Cambodia):

We are very happy to announce that Ray of Hope is back to normal operations, well, mostly back to normal. We have re-opened our mission center and the kids are back on a structured schedule of education, meals, and Gospel. As with the rest of the world we are certainly using Zoom Meetings more than usual. But thankfully it is helping our students to continue their school work and they’re all on track to graduate their current grade levels.

The kids and staff were so happy to return to our center and get our lives a little bit back to normal. Our schedule has changed a little and we fortunately still get to sleep in a little as our kids Zoom classes don’t begin until 11:30 am. We pick the kids up around 7 am each day and bring them to our center for baths, breakfast, and Bible before we give them some break time where we help the kids prepare for their classes. Then, when classes begin, we spread the kids out and get them setup on computers and they begin their classes. After class we help the kids with homework, feed them lunch, and give them another break before its time to go home.

To  visit our Facebook page, click here!

Student Spotlight

Srey Sok Saát (Khmer for “Beautiful Hair)

To protect the privacy of these street children and their families, we will not be providing the actual names of our students online.

Srey Sok Saát is ten years old and was one of our original five students, along with her younger sister, back when we started Ray of Hope three years ago. She was very shy when she first came to our center but over time she really opened up and showed us just how fun and happy she really could be. She has a strong desire to go to school and she especially enjoys studying Khmer (the Cambodian language). She also loves listening to our Bible lessons everyday and her favorite Bible story is Father Abraham.

She is currently doing very well in her online classes as she prepares to start 4th grade next year. She also very much enjoys learning new Bible stories and frequently asks questions during our lessons.

Srey Sok Saát lives in a slum near the Sangker River here in Battambang. She lives with her large family of aunts, uncles, and  cousins, but spends most of her time with her mother and younger sisters. Unfortunately, Srey Sok Saát was born with a blood disease that causes Anemia and requires frequent trips to children’s hospital in Siem Reap to receive treatment.

Through the generous donations made by Srey Sok Saát’s sponsors, we have been able to personally oversee and help the family with these trips to Siem Reap. We are incredibly thankful to her sponsors and to all of our supporters who are making it possible for us to help these children.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Stoltenow!

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Preparing for Nigeria

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionary Joshua Wareham (Preparing to serve in Jos, Nigeria) :

With the virus still prevalent, Hillcrest will be beginning the school year online. This is great because I am still in the states! I wish I was overseas, but this will have to do until the Nigerian consulates open. I have been working on my orientation for working at an international Christian school while at home.

We will learn of the strength God provides us when life is tough. It is good to know that God guides us through situations we don’t want to be in, or even signed up for, yet we somehow always get through them and look back saying, “Wow, how did I make it to the other side?”

We will learn how special we and the people we serve are. Each one of us has a unique and special relationship with Him that no one else can truly understand. We are individualistic. Our experiences in life are all different; and how they impact us, impact our relationship with Christ whether it be positive or negative. But! Learning how special each person is and what their personal relationship with Christ is, can open up conversations that Christ can work through to water a seed that has been planted by you.

Update of What is Happening

As I said before, I am still in Georgia until the Nigerian consulates open. I have been preparing for Hillcrest through this orientation. I am only about half way through it, and it is definitely eye opening. I have been reading the novels I will teach the middle schoolers. I have finished a few of them: The Hobbit, Iqbal, War Horse, and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (This one is funny so far. I am about half way through it.) School starts August 5th! It is exciting and a little nerve wracking, but Christ will see me through.

As a teacher, I am always excited to share my knowledge about what I know. I would be ecstatic to share, explain, and talk about my call to Jos, Nigeria. If you, someone you know, or bible study groups, home groups, or churches want to hear more about my mission please contact me through my dedicated missions email: warehamj72@gmail.com.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Joshua!

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Visitation and Godspeed

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries David and Luz Maria Ernst (Serving in La Caramuca, Venezuela):

On Thursday, July 2, 2020, we organized a small graduation ceremony for the six students of our preschool who will advance to first grade in the next school year. At this point, it is not certain whether the next school year will begin in September or in January 2021. We have not had the preschool meet on site since the COVID-19 crisis began about four months ago, but every weekday morning our teachers have distributed food and homework assignments to the families of the preschool children. The children completed the work required for their promotion to first grade at home and submitted the results on-line or by telephone. Our graduating students include:

Leonanyelis Milano; Thamar Cárdenas; Melany Torrealba; Cristofer Aldana; Elimelek Valero; and José Ayala.

What will be our new normal?

Our preschool program is subject to regulations by the secular government’s Ministry of Education. Over the years we have had to adapt to changing rules and requirements. When we reopen the preschool, there may be more modifications in store. There is a growing need for the care of children under two years of age, and we are being asked to shift the emphasis of our program in that direction. One proposal is that we limit our enrollment to children under three years of age. Another is that we convert entirely to nursery care of infants. In any event, we would have to purchase additional equipment and make other adjustments in our program. Thanks be to God, we just received a donation from the LeadaChild organization that will help us make a start in that direction.

Luz Maria’s afterschool tutoring program technically is on hold, due to the closing of schools, but we continue to meet with young people in the program for Bible studies and English classes.

Pushing pedal power

We thank Ruth Carpenter for the suggestion and plans for building a pedal-powered generator for running our water pumps during prolonged blackouts. We are looking to gather all the needed parts. Once I regularly went on long bicycle rides, but it is too risky to wander alone on the streets and roads of Venezuela today. This would provide me, at least, with the opportunity for exercise, as well as additional electrical power.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Ernst!

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Perseverance

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Eric and Linda Funke

The Newest U.S. Citizens!

Early in June we submitted the lease agreement, school enrollment, and bills necessary to prove residency to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. On July 3rd, we received the best 4th of July presents ever— Michael and Julia’s Certificates of U.S. Citizenship! They are now officially Tanzanian Americans. Praise the Lord! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us, encouraged us, and donated to the Funke Kids’ Citizenship fund during this long journey. We couldn’t have done this without you. 🙂 

Joys This Month

This month we had the joy of camping with Linda’s immediate family over Father’s Day weekend. Our kids greatly enjoyed Vacation Bible School at home with kits and videos from Messiah Lutheran Church in Plano. We also fulfilled our promise to our kids that they would get swimming lessons this summer, they are doing wonderfully! Our kids also enjoyed their first 4th of July in the U.S. as we were able to see fireworks from our front yard.

News From Tanzania

As the president of Tanzania has declared that there are no longer cases of COVID-19 in the country, Tanzania has begun reopening schools and other sectors in society. Meanwhile, we hear from doctor friends there that they are still seeing several deaths from COVID-19 daily. They have asked for prayers as they anticipate a large number of new cases with schools now reopening. Mwadui Lutheran Secondary School started classes again on Monday June 29. Please pray with us that none of the students and teachers who returned to campus brought COVID-19 with them. GLO missionary Cheryl Kruckemeyer is currently co-teaching English classes, helping youth connect by email with penpals in the U.S., and enjoying time with students on the basketball court. Sadly, we found out a few weeks ago that Cheryl’s first work permit application was denied. Diocese General Secretary Happiness Yorum Gefi traveled to Dodoma on Friday, July 3 to file an appeal. Please pray for a successful and smooth appeal process. If you want to read the newsletter from Cheryl, click here!

GLO missionaries Dixon and Christy Gbeanquoi are continuing to serve their church community in Mwanza. Dixon has also begun teaching classes again at the Lutheran Bible school. Many of the other missionaries from Europe returned to their home countries, so Dixon is now teaching four different classes. We praise God that they received about $3,000 this past month. That being said, they still need $3,500 to continue their ministry through December. They are particularly in need of monthly donors. By the end of August, Eric will begin receiving a paycheck. Therefore, if you have been a monthly donor, we ask that you consider transferring your monthly donations to the Gbeanquoi family at that time. They are a wonderful family, and we would love for them to be able to continue their amazing ministry in Mwanza. You can see their most recent newsletter by clicking here.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Funkes!

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Isolation Update #7

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Tim and Beth Heiney (ed. note: Because of the complications caused by the pandemic, Beth remains in the US with no prospect of returning to Guinea, while Tim remains on the field):

From Beth in the USA: Boy if you’d have told us in March I’d still be here in July I think Tim would have put the kabosh on the trip instantly. What am I doing with myself during this time? Moving around a lot mostly. Since I landed in Colorado almost 4 months ago now I’ve been in Kansas City, Idaho Falls, back to Colorado, Las Vegas, and now this month we flew up to Tacoma, Washington. While there I was able to touch base with our dear friends, Dan and Ella Kunkel who we’ve known since moving to Ghana in 1985 as well as their son Kris and his lovely family.

From Tim in Guinea: I feel compelled to write an update again, but things are changing so fast here, going up and down, that it may sound like something I already wrote twice before or something like that.

In Beth’s last update, before John’s son died, I was happy because it looked like things were going to open up. But then they didn’t, and I was a little down. Well, I was quickly back up again, because news came out that on Sunday June 28th churches and mosques would open, and on Monday schools would open.

I was up again! This was it! I believed the big breakthrough had begun! Even better, one of our DMM groups confirmed that they were ready to open again, and on Wed. the 24th, we met. It went really well for having been off for so long. I couldn’t believe how well one of the older guys told the story from our last meeting.

Then things started to go south.

We heard that churches could open, but only for fifteen minutes. (This is fine for mosques because that is all the time they need.) Our services are usually at least 2 hours long. So, no Easter celebration, no sermon. We could barely have a song and pray for everyone. We would continue to follow scripture readings in home groups. But it was a start.

Then we heard only some classes in the school were opening – but only the ones that needed to take exams to be promoted to the next levels like from grade school to middle school and middle school to high school.

In the end, I had to concede, one day before I had hoped to break out. We had church for fifteen minutes on Sunday. It was great to be together, but it was over in a flash. We hope that will kind of loosen up in coming weeks.

Last of all news just came out of more extended airport closures in our area, even while other parts of West Africa are opening, meaning Beth will not be home anytime soon.

Thanks for all your prayers. That one class did happen, and we did have church, and we are planning one reopening another DMM group. May God be with you all!

Blessings and love, Tim and beth ><>

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Intro. and Outro

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Aaron and Yeni Farrow (Serving in Valparaiso, Chile):

This month, I will as usual tell you about the last few weeks, but I will also be speaking about the much more important transition for myself and family.  In addition, I will be introducing you to Axel Eliel Farrow.

My 2-year commitment will be over at the end of August.  This means I will be coordinating all the logistics, documentation, fundraising to get my family back to Texas, safe and secure.

I want to thank you all for walking with me for the last two and a half years of this journey from the discovery period, language school, and my time here in Chile.

Introducing Axel Eliel Farrow

May 28th, 2020 Axel was born here at around 5 a.m. at Van Buren hospital here in Valparaiso, Chile.  He weighed in around 3260 grams which if you are an ‘mercan like me means absolutely nothing (7 lbs. 2 oz).  He is healthy, active, and strong willed.

Yenifer is doing good as well.  She had a C-section which has its own challenges. Her pregnancy was not easy, with her on bed rest going back to February. As you might expect the last month has been a journey. My wife and I are learning and finding our rhythm.

I used to wonder what people meant when they said it changes your life.  I’ll be honest, I haven’t laughed much in the last 20 years.  I find myself looking in his eyes and doing so for no reason.  He probably thinks I am a jerk for laughing while he wines.

Yeni and I are truly thankful for everyone’s support in Facebook, the kind messages we received, and support for our family and mission.

Participation Integration and Collaboration

Back in March when I was setting up our individual workshops to develop the professors, I created an accompanying document titled P.I.C. as a document that clearly defined the broader vision of our Faith Formation programming.

A brief synopsis of P.I.C. Participation, Integration, and Collaboration) Participation, has to do with our pedagogy.  Participatory lesson planning revolves around creating activities exercises that involves students in the learning process.  Instead of question and answer sessions, students are challenged to synthesize their learning into a poem, song, or a diagram that correctly proves their level of understanding.  It is a great way to show ourselves and our community that we are learning.

Integration on the other hand is how we share our resources and creativity. This occurs during planning for the most part. In our context, becoming acclimated with using a cloud drive with shared documents, using forms and rubrics etc. Furthermore, knowing how to navigate and interpret them.

Finally, Collaboration is the goal of connecting the Church and our Pastors directly with our families at the school.

Thanks to a gift from one our partners, (James K). we were able to get a good camera and Pastor Juan Pablo is producing videos like this to include in our home study curriculum.  The mission of our church is to deliver people to the altar so that they can know the Sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  This is not going  to happen if our students haven’t familiarized themselves with their Pastor. Having a system where the team can Integrate and collaborate digitally makes it all possible.  This might seem like second nature to many of you. Here, this was a dramatic shift in thinking.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Arrow!

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Music, coronavirus, music projects, and insects!

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionary Ben Tino (Serving in Zacapa, Guatemala):

It has been almost two months since I sent out my last newsletter, and well not much has changed since then. Here is a brief update on the coronavirus situation in Guatemala:

1) We will probably reach 20,000 cases in the country by the time you read this newsletter

2) Curfew is Mon-Sat 6pm-5am, and Sunday 24 hrs.

3) No circulation of vehicles to and from different states without permission

4) Mask mandatory once outside of house/proper distancing measures

5) International flights set to open Aug 15th, (although United is now offering emergency flights to the US)

The situation is very much similar in these smaller countries of Central and South America. I pray, that soon we can resume our original daily routines, so that everyone can go about without so much fear of a deadly virus, and can continue to glorify God’s name.

So what have I been doing these days? Good question… I keep myself busy with music!

Aside from my personal practice each day, I prepare the music for our Sunday service, which we record in advance, and I have taken on a few personal music projects of my own.  During the week I have been teaching 7 students, which is far less than where I was at before the virus outbreak. A new project I have taken on with them this past month is each Friday I select one of my students to record with me a Christian song, whether singing or playing an instrument, and we post that song on our church’s Facebook page for our members to watch and listen. With this project my students have something to practice towards, and the video serves as a nice musical offering for all to enjoy during these rough times. Below are the links to them. Take a listen!

Click here to watch the videos!

In Venezuela it was the tarantulas, in Miami the cockroaches and lizards, and now in Guatemala its the scorpions!! I seem to find one of these per month hiding near the bed, behind the fridge, or in my yoga mat…

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Ben!

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To the Ends of the Earth

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Jim and Liisa Tino (Serving in Santiago, Chile) write:

Where are you finding refuge? Social media? Probably not the best idea. Pining for how things used to be? The past is past. Political activism? Sometimes effective, sometimes not. The only sure and certain Refuge that we have is the Lord – who (by the way) is still the Most High! Our world right now needs front line workers who can take the hurting, the lost, the dazed and the confused by the hand and lead them to the Refuge, Jesus Christ! Will you point someone in your neighborhood to Jesus? Will you help us lead more people in Santiago to the Refuge?

Sharing Jesus’ Love in Real Ways

 “I’m desperate. I lost my job and I don’t have money to pay the rent, or even to buy food. Please help me!”  This is just one of the many messages we receive on our church website or by facebook every week. Many immigrants have had their already difficult lives fall apart. They are unemployed and are often left homeless. Our mission has decided to offer food baskets to as many of these cases as possible. When the people pick up their food at church, we pray with them and give them Christian literature. We are also using our “Used Clothing Store” to help out these people. Eventually, this resale shop will provide income for the mission, but right now it’s a resource for many people who are not prepared with winter clothing.

Life Today in Santiago

While the US is cautiously “re-opening” amid protests and violence, Santiago is moving in the opposite direction. As you may recall, Chile was rocked by violent protests in the last quarter of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Coronavirus put an end to the protests here. As the numbers of COVID-19 cases have grown, life in Santiago has been increasingly more restrictive. Since mid-March, all non-essential businesses have been closed and a curfew has been in effect (10 pm to 6 am). Rolling quarantines were implemented next, which turned to a full quarantine for the whole city in May. As of this writing, all of Santiago (7 million residents) are under quarantine, and have been for the past 7 weeks. What that means is that you need police permission to leave your house for any reason, including going to the grocery store. The permission is obtained online using your national ID number and is good for 3 hours. Each adult can obtain a maximum of two permissions per week. Fortunately, Jim so far has been able to obtain a “safe conduct” permit for the essential workers of our mission, so we have been able to go back and forth to the church and continue ministry as best we can!

Real Ministry online?

“Greetings to everyone on the other side of the screen!”  Jim never thought this would be his normal way to start a Sunday service! But live-stream worship from our home has become our new normal.  We’re finding out this is a tiring task!  Pastor Jim also has a group of 5 confirmands studying catechism with him on-line. These last 2 weeks he has also been teaching a doctorate level class at the seminary in St. Louis, “remotely”.

Lastly, covid-19 can’t stop the music!  Liisa is busier than ever teaching on-line piano and guitar lessons!

Fall Furlough!

Although here in Chile we are still under mandatory quarantine, the United States is beginning to loosen up travel restrictions. With that in mind, and with complete FAITH in the Most High, we have made plans to travel to the USA in September. We will be stateside for about 12 weeks. During that time, we hope to visit family, friends and supporting congregations. If you would like to schedule a time for us to visit your congregation or group, please email Jim at: revtino@hotmail.com. Take note of the following tentative schedule:

SEPTEMBER: New England

OCTOBER: Michigan

NOVEMBER: Florida

For congregations not in the named areas, we are open to working with you to schedule a special trip!

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Tino!

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The vision unfolds

Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Dale and Cheryl Talsma (Serving in Jos, Nigeria) write:

We’ve been here largely isolating in our home in Jos, Nigeria as the government tries to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 with orders like in much of the world – stay home, etc.  “But the Word of God is not in chains” (2 Tim 2:9), Paul asserted while forced into the lockdown of prison in Rome! How can we engage this world in need with the life-giving Word of the Gospel?

I have been filled with a sense that reminds me of the surprising impression I experienced 20 years ago immediately after my body was burned in a fire in Obot Idim, Nigeria. As the pain was searing and I could see flesh dangling from my arm, I felt an almost joyful anticipation that God was at work in this for a good purpose and opportunity. God works in way impossible to humanly program. I have, since the beginning of this outbreak of the coronavirus, had a similar anticipation that God is at work to open a great opportunity to save souls.

We are sending here a Report that attempts to summarize 18 months of Cheryl’s and my ministries as GLO missionaries. Many aborted attempts over the last months have reduced us to sending this Report which while too short to do justice to all God has been working, is yet too long for easy reading.

Click here for more details from the past 18 month!

Travel tally

I decided to tally up some stats on what was probably the most extensive travel itinerary in my 8 years serving as International Missionary Developer for GLO.  Due to scheduling difficulties, what was meant to be two trips were compacted into one of 39 days in 2019 (20 Oct. to 28 Nov.)

• Countries: 6 countries (in two continents). Would have been 7, but denied entry into the DRC.
• Flights: 14 flights, 29,937 kms, 13 different airports, 102 hours (including layovers)
• Buses: 16 buses, 3,143 kms, 83 hours.
• Different sleeping places:  16, not counting planes/airports

I thank God for making such travel possible and making complicated scheduling actually work out! Yet it was a bit grueling, and not least for Cheri managing my long absence.

Cheryl’s ministries

Hillcrest School teachers can once again attest to the grace of God that was solely responsible for enabling the successfully completion of the 2019-2020 school year! These months have been like no other in my four years of teaching in Jos!

The last quarter of the year brought another unexpected change as across the world school buildings were closed. In one short and frantic week, learning moved online for most of Hillcrest including me and my 20 fourth graders. I have never been busier as a teacher than in those weeks! I also worried more because appraising students’ comprehension and integrating the necessary aspect of socialization in the elementary years seemed impossible as students tried to learn in the isolation of their own homes.

Our school and so many other Christian organizations persisted in doing what we were called to do, even as our circumstances changed and we were unsure of the outcomes. We still don’t know what the situation on ground will be once school is to begin anew, but we do know Who is in control and Who loves us and promised to be with us, guide us and give us the wisdom we need at the time we need it.
Leaning on the Lord and learning to trust Him is certainly not a “one and done” thing. I need to practice it daily, sometimes situation by situation.

Hillcrest Administration wants to preserve some of the positive aspects of distance learning for our community of education at Hillcrest. Many of us feel we have gained some new skills and insights that could add some benefits to our students’ learning. If we need to start online, we know that is doable, but we sure would prefer having our new students with us in class to get to know who they are, personally interact, and form our new community.
As we look to August 5th, the first day of school regardless the circumstances, we first must rest and recharge, then do some additional reflection and training, before we focus on preparing for new students.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Talsmas!

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Ready to go

Global Lutheran Outreach missionary Josh Wareham (preparing to serve in Jos, Nigeria) writes:

The school year has finished. Classrooms are clean and summer has started. I have moved to Georgia, and I am now waiting to depart to Nigeria. As the days pass by and my anxious excitement builds, I laugh to myself and say,”Hmm, Africa? Okay, sounds like an adventure, God.” With this excitement also comes the anxiety of the “What if”. What if I don’t get my visa in time? I can’t send in my papers until maybe July 4th; my flight is July 12th. What if I get sick before I fly there? I can’t board the plane with any sort of fever. What if I get there and I get carried away by the mosquitoes? Who knows? It’s funny how God works in our lives. With these thoughts of worrying about what will happen in the future Christ’s words seem to somehow pop into my head, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” I believe God blessed us with a memory bank so that this verse can be applied. I have had lots of time to meditate and converse with God as I wait.

Everything has fallen into place for me to go to Hillcrest. I sold my truck, moved to Georgia; and I have most of what I will be taking there in a corner ready to go. All I need is my visa, and then in eighteen days I am off to Nigeria! (Did I say this already? I’m not counting the days or anything.)

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Joshua and his steps for a new life as missionary!

As a teacher, I am always excited to share my knowledge about what I know. I would be ecstatic to share, explain, and talk about my call to Jos, Nigeria. If you, someone you know, or bible study groups, home groups, or churches want to hear more about my mission please contact me through my dedicated missions email: warehamj72@gmail.com.

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