LEADERSHIP Training Requested
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When in Florida earlier this year for a Hope International Missions board meeting, Steve spent considerable time with our ministerial and laity brethren from the Bahamas. These precious national leaders receive periodic contact from us through phone calls and the sending of Christian literature.

In talking with them, some have requested leadership training seminars from us. They wish to further their understanding of ministry and the mission of the Church. They are not asking for missionaries to do their church work for them, they simply desire training so they can do an even better job than they presently are doing.

This group photo includes (l-r): Percy Sands, Oswald Bain, Henry Rolle, Steve, Richard Munroe, Frankie Scott (Bishop of Bahamas Holy Bible Mission), Sid Grant (Director of Hope International Missions), and Raymond Burrows.

Connecting with
National Afrikaans
Church & Mission Leaders

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Church & mission leaders from South Africa, Gideon Jacobs and Anthonie Kruger, paid us a visit during a recent US tour. Based in Smithfield, South Africa, "Uncle Gideon" ["uncle" is a respectful and personal title when addressing South African "elders"] heads the ministry of Kwasizabantu Mission in that region. Periodically, he and some of his church leaders tour the US. Their work has recently been coming into connection with holiness churches.

The warm and friendly fellowship shared with "Uncle" Gideon is very refreshing. He has again extended an invitation to us to visit his work and to work with them for a month or so in leadership training at various points throughout South Africa. This is another wonderful opportunity to impact national leadership!

Accompanying him on this trip was the principal of their Christian school, Anthonie Kruger. Although this was our first time meeting, we quickly became fast friends. Anthonie was in our area for several days after "Uncle" Gideon continued his tour. It was great to get to know him and to develop mutual respect and appreciation.

For your information, Joy's sister, Carol Witter, is now serving as a missionary under Hope International Missions at Ladybrand, South Africa. Ladybrand is approximately an hour and a half drive from Smithfield. Sometime before Carol and her team began their school year, she connected with the Smithfield mission school as part of her training for the school set-up in Ladybrand. Our new friend Anthonie is the principal of the Smithfield school with which she connected! It is definitely a small world!

[l-r: Steve Mowery, Gideon Jacobs, & Anthonie Kruger]

Our Prayer Card

Here is a view of our prayer card for the various ministries we have among holiness missions [for more details, see BLOG Entry 09/06/06].

To receive a hard copy or multiple copies of this prayer card, e-mail us at Missions@PVBI.edu with your request.

Moments for a
Missionary Meeting

Missionaries needs some moments to encourage one another. Thus, this brief --albeit refreshing-- meeting with others of like mind. What a joy is was to see once again Filipino National Leader David Yucaddi [photo above] and his co-worker veteran missionary Timothy Keep (Field Supervisor for Bible Methodist Missions: Philippines)! During their quick US missions tour, they had a brief stop at the Emmanuel Wesleyan Church in Gratz, PA. For that evening church service, I was accompanied on my visit to Gratz by my South African friend, Anthonie Kruger.

Brother David has a genuine vision for his people. He is serious about evangelizing this nation. He has developed an evangelism training center there in Banaue, Philippines. The effectiveness of his ministry is seen by the steady church-planting progress being made in his region. He and his ministry comrades are establishing churches in remote mountainous areas which are neglected by other missions. His ministry has even impacted the lives of some of our Penn View Missions Division interns during their internship training in the Philippines.

After the service there at Gratz, we had a few fast-and-friendly moments as we mutually shared our appreciation, love, and support as comrade-in-arms. Our hearts throb with the same "missionary heartbeat!"

[l-r: Anthonie Kruger, Steven Mowery, David Yucaddi, Timothy Keep]

Ukrainian Pastor Tours the States
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For the past few years, Steve has assisted one of our Ukrainian pastor friends (Nicholay Mironenko) in trying to get his brother to the US to visit some Ukrainian churches as well as to visit with our missions students. Each attempt was met with some type of hurdle.

The purpose in getting this brother to the States is not to have him re-locate to the US, but to strengthen him and his Ukrainian work as well as to edify the Ukrainian churches here in the US which are connected with him.

Finally, after several tries, Steve and Nicholay were instrumental in getting Pastor Vasil Mironenko [see photo above] into the US for a ministry tour. The US State Department granted permission for Vasil's visit. They did not merely provide him with a one-entry visa, but a FIVE-YEAR, multi-entry visa!

Nicholay and his Slavic church host our Summer Institute for Missionary Orientation each year in a cross-cultural worship experience.

In November, we (Steve & Joy) took our children and most of our Penn View missions students to a special service where Pastor Vasil was among the speakers. The congregation was made up of Ukrainians, Slavic people, Americans (our group), plus a friend of ours from South Africa! What a variety of nations were represented in that meeting. That is what the grace of God can do for mankind!

The service was almost FOUR (yes, 4!) HOURS long! The reason for this was the fact that during the service four different church leaders spoke and were followed by English translation. One of the speakers was an elderly man who had escaped from the notorious Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald during World War II!

Following the lengthy --albeit culturally enlightening-- service, we had a time of eating a variety of ethnic Ukrainian and Slavic quisine. The food and the fellowship were so enriching. ...And it was great to finally meet our brother in the Lord --Vasil!

Vasil is now back in Ukraine rejuvenated and encouraged to advance the local churches in his own country.


[l-r: Vasil, Steve, Nicholay]

Serving a Leader of the
Persecuted Church

[Please note: Due to security reasons, some of the information in this article is generalized and somewhat sketchy. The pictures are prepared so as not to compromise the life and ministry of Pastor "Joshua" or his family -- who still remain in an African country.]

This past summer, a missionary friend introduced Brother Joshua (a psuedonym for security reasons) to us. Right from the start we had warm, friendly fellowship together. During our visits together, he shared insights about life in a country controlled by a Marxist and Muslim government.

Converted in the 1960's under a national Christian leader and trained by missionaries at the mission Bible school, he later trained in the university and has tried to use his Christian example to be a witness to others wherever he goes.

In the capital, Brother Joshua has been working with house-churches. During the secret services, songs are sung in whispered tones and testimonies are quietly given as the gathered Christians praise and worship their Savior. Scriptures, sermons, and words of exhortation and encouragement are also shared. Due to the nature and sensitivity of the situation, more information cannot be shared. Certain levels of secrecy must be maintained in a public forum such as this newsletter. Let it be said that the government authorities intend to wipe out Christianity in that country.

Some of his "underground" church people have been imprisoned for various "illegal" activities. Some are currently held in slave-labor camps like we used to read about in the old Soviet Union era. Enough said.

We introduced Brother Joshua to our local Church and made arrangements for him to speak. Hearing first-hand accounts of pressures put on Christians in his country brought the “concept” of the persecuted church closer to home.While in Kansas for a missionary convention, Steve visited the headquarters of The Voice of Martyrs in Bartlesville, OK. There he received helpful information regarding legal contacts for Brother Joshua who desires political asylum for himself as well as his family, which remains in Africa.


Brother Joshua called us recently and indicated he has received his official papers granting him political asylum! Since his papers are received, his next step is to obtain permission to relocate his wife and children here to the US. We now understand a bit more clearly the verse which instructs us to "remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body." (Hebrews 13:3).

Serving
Church
Leaders
from
Belize
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Befriending national leaders is very important. Both friendship and cultural understanding provide foundations necessary in order to effectively minister to these church leaders.

This past summer we endeavored to be a blessing to Belizian Christians from the Crooked Tree Wesleyan Missionary Church at Crooked Tree, Belize. Clarence Gillett and his wife, Winnie, attended Penns Creek Camp. They were accompanied by their leading church musician Eric Lauriano.


During their weeks here, we spent many hours connecting with them and serving them in different ways. Providing meals for them and taking them to stores so they could purchase supplies, clothing, and other things they needed to take back to Belize were part of our ministry to them. The rapport which developed between us was enriching.

For some time, this church and its people have been on our hearts. They are desiring some leadership training and have invited us to travel to Belize to share with them.

This Belizian team enjoyed their stay in central Pennsylvania. While they were with us, we had them share with the congregation of the church we attend. These friends were strengthened in the faith and encouraged to continue working in their hometown among their people. It is so important that quality national Christians shoulder the responsibility of their local churches as they reach out to their own communities within their countries and to the regions beyond.
Presently, the laity of the church are carrying the full load of the local flock there at Crooked Tree. They are requesting people who understand cultural differences to go down and to hold revival services for them. During such times, they are also desiring special training which will help them in their church work.

They are not asking us to be their missionaries for them, they want training so they can do the work more effectively. It is excellent mission practice to train nationals to shoulder the local church responsibilities and also to have a missionary vision for the world!

[l-r: Joy, Winnie, Clarence, Steve, Eric]