Global Workers and Partners Week 2021
Rooted Confidence 2021
“Then you will walk in your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden danger, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.” (Proverbs 3:23-26)
Inspiring Stories
Part 1 - Drawing from a Sure Source ⇩
An interview with Dan and Marie Chappel.
Part 2 - Leaning on a Different Understanding ⇩
Hernso Philogene is our primary agricultural trainer in Gens De Nantes. Read his story.
Part 3 - Different Contexts, Same Message ⇩
On the ground with partners in Ecuador, a report from the Elliotts.
Part 4 - The Faith and Courage to Try ⇩
Stories from EKHCDC in Zala.
Part 5 - Walking with Sure Footing ⇩
Wrapping up our week with next steps.
Part 1: Drawing from a Sure Source
As the EMCC continues to discover how to participate in Jesus' mission with the global church, especially during these times of universal hardship due to a global pandemic, we can draw encouragement from those who are drawing from a well of deep-rooted confidence in the Triune God.
Our Global Workers (a.k.a. Missionaries) from Canada, serving cross-culturally and internationally, provide us with a perspective, a posture and a mindset for how to walk in trust as they serve alongside the global church in mission. Our Global Partners, serving in their local contexts around the world, continue to generously offer the lessons they are learning as they serve amidst continued lockdowns, political instability, and supply shortages. This week, we'll hear from a few of them, and discover what Jesus might be saying to us. He is a sure source we can depend on as we seek to participate in His mission.
“Then you will walk in your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden danger, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.” - Proverbs 3:23-26
#rootedconfidence
How have Global workers adapted and changed, to embrace new roles? How have Global partners discerned and pursued fresh ways to serve their communities? ….all while further discovering the sure source they can stand on? Follow this week to find out, starting with today's reflection from Dan and Anne-Marie Chapple.
An Interview with
Dan & Anne Marie Chapple
The long mission-sending history that we have in the EMCC has inspired generations of the church to pray, to become engaged, and to build upon what God has done through others before us. And as a result, we now belong as co-participants with a global family.
Dan and Anne-Marie Chapple demonstrate this posture as they enter a new phase of ministry, serving our partner denomination in Mexico and other Latin American partners from Canada. Listen to their journey to this point and how God has guided them through a wave of transitions.
Part 2: Leaning on a Different Understanding
For Global Workers who have stayed in place during COVID-19, and those who are continuing to encourage and build capacity in others by resourcing from Canada, it is such good news to see their relationships with our Global Partners continue to grow in mutual love and service.
Marilyn McIlroy has shared this journey with us, as her longstanding service, relationship, and eventual resourcing of AEM, our sister denomination in Haiti, has moved through several chapters.
This latest chapter of partnership in Haiti with Herlynda Philogene and others has seen many moments of concerted prayer. Throughout 2021, with the escalating turmoil within the country, our friends in Haiti are currently facing a difficult day.
And yet…..
AEM leaders from Gens De Nantes have consistently served that community and considered those in the AEM network who needed support. They travelled to areas affected by the most recent earthquake in Nippes and on to Benoit to offer medical care and support to those remote communities – amidst safety concerns.
Their demonstration of continued service shows a resilience and trust in Jesus’ constant companionship. I hope you will be encouraged by the story that Hernso Philogene shares, along with the work that Marilyn and our friends at the AEM engage in together.
Hernso’s Story
Reflecting on Proverbs 3:26
Hernso Philogene is our primary agricultural trainer in Gens De Nantes and serves as a key coordinator of the Education, Food Security, and Community Mobilization initiative.
“Let me introduce you to Arisson Bruno. He is a young student in the Gens de Nantes (GDN) AEM Middle school. His family is benefitting from the training and support of the GDN Education Initiative.
"During the school year Arisson developed a sore on his foot which led to a very swollen leg and difficulty walking. He was unable to even wear a shoe. The family were resistant to medical care; they preferred the route of the local bokor (witchdoctor). They are not followers of Jesus.
"All the students in the AEM Middle School (Grades 7-9) have participated in the Farming God’s Way curriculum in class as well as the practical experience in the experimental garden. Arisson heard in those classes that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; he would have heard 'trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him – God – and He will direct your paths.' Arisson learned that in trusting God you will see His provision and that His ways are sufficient. He also learned in his class that God hears and answers our prayers, as Jesus said, 'Ask and it will be given to you.'
"When Arisson began to miss days at school because of his ill health and inability to walk, his teacher and fellow students came to visit and they prayed in faith asking God to heal his leg and foot. In time, the leg was healed and soon Arisson expressed his desire to become a follower of Jesus. He had heard so often 'Bondye kapab fe tout bagay.' God can do all things. The same God who hears the prayers for successful gardens and good harvests, cares for each person and desires that they know Him. Arisson is praying that his parents will come to know Jesus too.”
Key Prayer Points
Provision in the form of:
access to materials and supplies needed to advance this initiative in GDN.
ability to access finances in banks that have seen closures due to turmoil.
currency stability.
For schools to remain open, and that teachers and parents can continue to interact as they implement their Gardens of Faithfulness.
For the clinic to remain open and supplied to serve the communities around them, especially in light of sporadic closures of hospitals.
Part 3: Different Contexts, Same Message
When we consider global workers and partners, there is a tendency to focus on how different or difficult their contexts are from our own. However, as Tej Rokka has reminded some of us this fall, “our culture, language, and geography may be very different but the gospel message remains the same.” This is the beauty of understanding how we –individually and collectively – are part of a global community of followers of Jesus. All of us are seeking how to demonstrate the attitudes, behaviours, and character of Jesus in a way that is contextually relevant.
As you read Keith and Ruth Ann Elliott’s report from Ecuador, I hope you can see where our collective questions and work may be the same, and appreciate where it is different. May we draw encouragement from these followers of Jesus serving their communities.
On the Ground with Partners in Ecuador: A Report from the Elliotts
Keith and Ruth Ann Elliott, EMCC Supervised Global Workers, arrived in Ecuador in early October. As global partner developers, they are there to listen, encourage, strengthen and support pastoral couples and individuals. They are scheduled to return to Canada on Nov 29. In the midst of this trip, they have sent us the following update.
Since we began meeting with people, we have heard many amazing testimonies of God’s faithfulness: conversions to Christ, calling to service, people transformed, and lives given in life-long service. We have been encouraged by the great number of new people in the churches we knew previously, and a whole new generation of young people involved in church.
We have been surprised by the openness of people to share their personal stories. To be sure, there have been some very ordinary conversations about ministry matters, but these have been the exception. Ruth Ann has been keeping a few notes on each of our meetings so we can remember to pray for them.
There have been many hugs and quite a few tears of joy shed.
There are challenges:
How many will return to church now that restrictions are being lifted
Will there be jobs for those who lost their employment or businesses?
What do we do with those who seem to have turned away from the faith?
In some places the gospel message has been heard many times and put off or rejected. However, in other places, people are turning to the Lord Jesus in faith and many are eager to hear the gospel. New churches are being planted.
Does this sound familiar? Pastor John Cedeño says that the church is being sifted during this time of the pandemic.
In the midst of this, we have been very encouraged by seeing indications of God’s faithfulness in the lives of many people who are serving in their communities, including one pastoral couple faithfully making a difference in Guayaquil.
Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador and unfortunately it is known for crime. The prison riots last month and last week have been in the news all over the world.
We visited Efrén Panta and his wife Bartola last week. They pastor a church on the north side of the city and supervise two other congregations in Guayaquil. During our conversation, we asked them about the problems they are facing in the city and they gave us a long list: femicide, sexual assault on girls, incest, contract killings, an increase in drug trafficking, violent robberies, ‘H’ a new potent street drug being given to adolescents, poverty, lack of employment, etc.
Last month, thieves broke into the church building and took their sound system and all the musical instruments. At times they feel impotent and overwhelmed. They know God has called them to work in the city so they pray and continue working.
Since the restrictions have been lifted, Efrén taught a weekly class for couples on marriage for six months. They raised funds through bake sales for their weekend getaway at the end of the class. For the very first time in their lives eight couples went on the weekend retreat.
Bartola started new Bible classes for children across the highway from their church building in a slum area of Guayaquil.
They have both been involved in starting two new congregations in the rural area where Bartola grew up, even though it is a five-hour trip away from where they live.
Be assured. Lives are being changed by the gospel.
Part 4: The Faith and Courage to Try
On behalf of the EMCC, World Partners is privileged to work with global partners in addressing food insecurity on the African continent. Largely through conservation agriculture (CA) training, partners in Ethiopia and South Africa continue to mobilize churches and other followers of Jesus to integrate their personal (or collective) faith with the work of their hands – in both planting and harvesting food for themselves and others.
Throughout the Bible, the agricultural metaphors are rich and there is abundant opportunity to share key biblical principles and gospel mandates as these partners address food insecurity in their regions. One of those is the all-sufficient nature of God, and the trust we place in him as we diligently work (or in this case, plant) and believe He will bring about the results.
We will be sharing stories of EKHCDC (Ethiopia Kale Heywet Church Development Commission) today. Through our partnership at CFGB, they continue to serve those displaced by conflict in the Tigray region as well as continue with an existing project in Zala. Links to the work in South Africa, through Inundo Development, will also be available.
I hope these stories, centred in agriculture, will prompt you to consider your own sense of confidence in God’s all-sufficiency in your life, and where He may be calling you into further dependence.
Stories from EKHCDC in Zala
As we approach the end of the second year of this project, here are some stories from EKHCDC in the last reporting period, which include introducing Church and Community Transformation Training (CCT) as well as establishing self-help groups (SHG) in the Zala Woreda.
Batale Beyene is the 48-year-old widowed mother of two sons and one daughter.
She owns 1.25ha of land for housing and farming. Her livelihood depends on agriculture & she mainly produces maize, sweet potato, haricot and cassava. She has one plough ox, one cow, and one calf.
She shares ‘’my family is food insecure. My small land is not productive; year after year I could not feed my family. When the project came, I was selected as a project beneficiary by the Kebele administrators and steering committees. This is amazing and I am very glad to be part of the project, as a widowed woman getting this kind of opportunity is a great privilege.”
Batale received regular training and support on the key principles of CA in her local language. She allocated a small plot of land for CA maize.
CA teaches farmers to use the materials they already have at their disposal to care for the soil that produces the harvest. It is a practical lesson around God’s provision and an exercise in faith/courage to try something different. Initially, Batale was unsure about mulch as it easily decomposes & needs to be constantly applied to cover the soil. But, the program staff continued to encourage her, and she used any leaves, twigs, and shrubs that she could find.
The CA maize looked much better in height and colour compared to the crops she was producing before. At the end of the season, Batale harvested 75 kg of CA maize. The CA maize was not only greater in yield but also in taste, kernel size, flour quantity and was less labour for plowing & weeding. This step of faith, and support along the way, led to abundance.
“My kids were also happy and like the taste of the maize!”
In the same year, she decided to increase the CA maize plot to 1250 m2 and harvested 450 kg of maize.
Batale says, “I am also a member of Madiyaro SHG established in the kebele. We members save 10 birr each a week. In the last few weeks I managed to save 160 birr. We have a strong social tie and we support each other to dream for the future. CA is our future.”
Batale chose to have faith and try something new. We praise God for a fresh confidence she now has in providing for her family, through those at EKHCD coaching her in an approach informed by the gospel.
Key Prayer Points
For the Zala project, may EKHCDC and those involved have:
continued wisdom in serving these beneficiaries among increased Covid-19 spread.
access to food supplies and materials, as prices have doubled due to Covid’s impact and the situation in Tigray.
Fruitful conversations with those church leaders as they mobilize their church to take increased ownership of the continued food security of their communities .
For the crisis response in Tigray, may EKHCDC and those involved have:
continued access to the region to serve those most vulnerable, through the local church in Mekelle.
wisdom in showing care to those that have suffered violence and displacement.
confidence in God’s alongsideness during this time as we all pray collectively for a peaceful outcome.
Part 5: Walking with Sure Footing
After finishing a time of prayer together with our Global Workers and Partners, it was encouraging to hear from those that participated how this week’s theme from Proverbs 3: 19-26 has prompted reflection on their own context and the ways God is encouraging them to continually depend and trust in Him.
Moving forward, World Partners hopes to encourage and engage you, as part of our EMCC family, in how you can walk in obedience, with confidence in God’s ability to speak to and guide you. We hope, out of your steps of obedience, that you can extend that same encouragement, partnership, and prayer to global workers and partners.
We've heard this week from some of them, who've shared things like:
“What sometimes seems like a hardship is God preparing a new way to do things.”
“The same God who hears the prayers for successful gardens and harvests, cares for each person and desires that the know him.”
“The church [in Ecuador] is being sifted during this time of pandemic. In the midst of this, we have been very encouraged by seeing indications of God’s faithfulness in the lives of people who are serving their communities.”
This posture of continued service is infused with a dependence on the Triune God and alongside companionship of Jesus.
We, at World Partners, believe this attitude of deeper dependence and trust is a prayer for ALL of us. We hope this week has left you willing to ask the question: What is Jesus saying to you? What might be your next step?
How might Jesus be inspiring you to participate in His mission? Maybe it is….
To trust that right where you are is where God has sent you?
To enter into a relationship-first partnership with EMCC global workers or partners?
To encourage a global mission heartbeat in your church, scattered or gathered?
To invest the time into discipling or mentoring someone who has been on your mind?
We’d love to hear what has risen to the surface. World Partners is here to serve the EMCC, and to assist you in inspiring you and your people, from any generation, to trust in His wisdom and discernment as we all follow Him.
Learn
Click here to learn more about World Partners and read previous campaigns.
Visit our Global Mission Tools and Resources to learn more about the approach of our global workers and partners, as well as WP's Theology of Integral Mission.
Book a consultation with World Partners if anything sparked your curiosity around global mission engagement for yourself, your church, or our role as the mission mobilization arm of the EMCC.
Connect
Visit our Directory to find the workers and partners featured this week. Send them a note of thanks and encouragement.
Get in touch with World Partners, as we would love to assist your church in your partnerships with those whom you are missionally engaged.
Mobilize
Support EMCC Global Partner Projects
Visit our Integral Development page, which lists the work of the global partners highlighted this week as well as others that could use your prayerful and financial engagement.