Vol. 4 No. 2

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“Speak, for yourservant is listening.”

Hear the Call

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BRATING 200 YE

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1814 – 2014

Dr. Khin Kyu Kyu, ChaplainMyanmar Institute of Technology

(story on next page)

Special Edition

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ContentsExecutive Director’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Evangelism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Health & Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Human Tra!cking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Theological Education, Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Education, Peace & Refuge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Mission Partnerships, Global Mission Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Recruitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Sources of IM Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

On the Cover: Dr. Khin Kyu Kyu, Chaplain at Myanmar Institute of Theology (MIT), embodies the continuing partnership in mission between Baptists in Myanmar (Burma) and International Ministries (IM). Herself a graduate of MIT, Khin Kyu Kyu

completed a Doctor of Ministry degree in Marriage and Family Counseling at Eastern University’s Palmer Semi-nary in 2007, with the help of an IM Leadership Develop-ment Grant. That investment in Khin Kyu Kyu continues to pay rich dividends in the lives and ministries of the MIT community and the churches they serve.

To subscribe to this newsletter,send your name & address to:

On LocationInternational Ministries

P.O. Box 851Valley Forge, PA 19482

Reid S. Trulson, executive directorCatherine Nold, Ed.M., communications

Rev. James G. Layton, senior writer/editorRev. Laura J. Dalton, contributing writer

Devon Nassif, senior designerJill Mussel, project manager

Vol. 4, No. 2

SPECIAL EDITION — SPRING 2012

Hearing God’s Voice through OthersEvery Christian is called to minister. The missionaries and volunteers featured in these pages have a story to tell about their unique calls. So does the Rev. Hopeton A. Scott, President of the Board of Directors for International Ministries.

The Rev. Hopeton A. Scott Pastor, First Baptist Church

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Hearing the Call“Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16:9)

Sometimes God’s call seems so clear. Patrick (c. 387-461) was called to the Irish while seeing a vision and hearing a voice. Cyril (826-69) was called

to the Slavs while struggling to read Gregory of Nazianzus and discovering the power of translation to convey God’s Word. Mother Theresa (1910-97) was called to the poor of Calcutta while riding a train and sensing an awareness so clear that she could say, “It was an order.”

For many, however, discerning God’s call is far less distinct. Indeed, many of Jesus’ followers have recognized God’s call through a gradual process rather than from a single, unmistakable knock-you-off-your-feet event as Paul had. (Acts 9:1-6)

Ann Hasseltine’s call grew from her simple desire “to be useful.” Although she did not start with a clear sense of God’s will, she realized that her education could be used. So she began teaching several children. Ann continued seek-ing guidance. While reading the life of David Brainerd, missionary to Native Americans, she began thinking of people around the world who had yet to experience the fullness of God’s love through Jesus Christ.

After meeting young Adoniram Judson, who asked her to marry him and share life together as missionaries in Asia, the process of discerning God’s call continued. Ann con!ded, “My mind has still been agitated…. But I have, at all times, felt a disposition to leave it with God, and trust in him to direct me…. But whether I spend my days in India or America, I desire to spend them in the service of God….” (Ann Hasseltine’s journal, October 28, 1810)*

How does one hear the invitation to “come over and help us” and know that this is God’s call? As in our last two issues, this special edition of International Ministries ON LOCATION continues the focus on hearing God’s call. It does so primarily with an in-depth look at those serving in three Ministry Focus Areas: evangelism, health and healing, ministry to people that are victims of, or are vulnerable to human traf!cking. This issue also outlines the importance of four other areas: theological education, economic development, education and peace and refuge.

To be in the center of God’s will is to !nd true ful!llment. Whether that center is in the place that we now call home, or on location elsewhere in the world, may we be able to say with Ann Hasseltine Judson, “O Jesus, make me live to thee, and I desire no more.”*

*Source: Knowles, James D., Memoir of Mrs. Ann H. Judson, Late Missionary to Burmah. Boston: Lincoln & Edmands, 1829, p. 39.)

Executive Director’s MessageREID S. TRULSON

Saint Patrick Saint Cyril

Ann Hasseltine

Adoniram Judson

Mother Theresa

1

EvangelismANSWERING THE CALL FOR EVANGELISM

come grow in their

change

the Spirit.

come

their actions.

God Called Me to an Adventure in Evangelismby the Rev. Walt White, IM global consultant

hen I was asked in April 1996 to become a global consultant, my wife, Jeanine, and I did not need to pray about our decision. God had already

spoken to each of our hearts. We were restless and had a sense that there was something new God had for us. So when the offer was made, it was like a blurred picture coming into focus, for what was being described had always been buried in our hearts.

Suddenly all the different experiences, gifts and mystifying transitions in our lives made sense. Jeanine and I had been serving in Bangladesh from 1977 to 1989, but the door had closed when the government would not continue to provide visas. Then we ministered in Thailand from 1989 to 1993 until our daughter developed a health problem. We had initially seen these events as brick walls, but they actually were to be God’s bridges.

I realized that in God’s timing, having mis-sionary experience in more than one country opened my mind to new dynamics for sharing our faith wherever I was needed. My love for travel also became an asset because this posi-tion was to involve numerous journeys world-wide. I felt an instant sense of joy and excite-ment in accepting God’s invitation to this next adventure.

One of my responsibilities today as a global consultant is to be a resource person to teams of missionaries and Baptist partners. I help them consider new ways of communicating the ancient truths of Jesus Christ to those whose worlds have been shaped by the major historical non-Christian religions. People in the Middle East, Africa and Asia are learning to live in obedience to Christ in a way that is faithful to God and honors their culture. I give thanks to God for my call to this great adventure!

During evangelism training sessions aroundthe globe, Walt shares how resources, likethe book God Is, have been used by God inWalt’s own cross-cultural Christian witness.

Charles West

At 33% the proportion of Christians worldwide has essentially remained unchanged for the past century.— International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 36, No. 1, January 2012

2 www.internationalministr ies.org

Come, You that Have No MoneyThe Lord says, “Come, everyone who is thirsty—here is water! Come, you that have no money... come to me and you will have life!” — Isaiah 55:1a, 3a Good News Translation (GNT)

IM missionary David Turley in Okinawa, Japan reports, “A woman approached the church’s coffee house door. She entered after being assured she would not have to pay. Soon, between sips of coffee, ‘Tachi’ was on her feet dancing and clapping to gospel music. When the music stopped, however, she sat down with a sullen face. ‘I’m sad and lonely,’ she muttered. ‘I was in a cult that took all of my savings. I can’t visit my daughter in America.’

“I silently prayed as I offered her comfort, ‘Our church is like a family. We worship Jesus Christ. He loves everyone, and His love is free! Come visit us tomorrow morning, I think you will feel a part of Christ’s family; then perhaps you won’t be so lonely.

“Tachi showed up that next day! Church members wel-comed her. She sang praise songs enthusiastically and listened intently to the gospel message. Three weeks later she told me that she trusted Jesus. She wanted to be baptized! After a several-week tutorial with the pas-tor, Tachi was ready. She gave a moving testimony to the church. It reminded me that she, who did not have to pay to enter the coffee house, found an answer to her thirst of loneliness—an answer Christ paid for on the cross. At her baptism, she joyfully came up out of the water, and a few months later she was even able to visit her daughter. Tachi remains active in the church and is growing in faith.”

IM missionaries David and Leslie Turley have served in Okinawa for more than seven years. David works with the Okinawa Baptist Convention, and Leslie has been an ad-ministrator at the Okinawa Christian School International.

IM Missionaries Teach Other Missionaries to Fish“You can give people some !sh, or you can teach them how to !sh.” Ann and Bruce Borquist are teaching future mis-sionaries in Brazil how to !sh. As Jesus called some of the !rst disciples, saying, “I will make you !shers of people” (Matthew 4:18-20), so he calls followers to the work of evangelism today. Through the National Baptist Con-vention of Brazil and its cross-cultural missionary agency, JAMI (Junta Ad-ministrativa de Missões), the Borquists are focusing on “mission mobilization,” mobilizing the whole Body of Christ to be part of the whole mission of God in the whole world.

At JAMI’s missionary training center in Belo Horizonte, Ann and Bruce minister as instructors and pastoral counselors for new missionaries. Graduates from the class of 2010 are now serving or making prepara-tions to serve in Spain, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Albania, East Timor and with an indigenous group in Brazil. One of those graduates is Pastor Denilson de Souza. He and his wife, Fernanda, are being used by God to revitalize a church in Pontevedra, Spain. After less than a year, the

congregation has moved to new facilities, devel-oped ministries for youth and women and started to reach out to its largely secular community.

The Borquists also work with Brazilian Baptist churches to help their members “get off their seats and into the streets.” In their home church in Belo Horizonte, they mentor a youth/young adult group that has

tripled in size. The church’s Mission Mobilizers Team, led by Ann and Bruce, is involving its members in evange-listic outreach, a community school endeavor, a Saturday program for kids in a nearby poor neighborhood and new church planting efforts in three nearby towns.

Through Isaiah God spoke to the thirsty, saying,“Here is water!” A lonely woman, thirsting for meaning in her life, entered the

waters of baptism after she learned of Jesus’ love.

LEADING PEOPLE TO FAITH AND STARTING NEW CHURCHES “…make disciples of all nations….” Matthew 28:19

Ann (left) works with students participatingin the English for Mission module, which

enables graduates to plan with othermission teams worldwide as they

share the good news of Christ.

The missionary training program, whichincludes 5 modules developed by theBorquists, calls for times when Bruce

(right) encourages students like Denilsonas they prepare projects in such areas

as evangelism and discipleship.

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3

IM Missionary Takes Flight to Reach Congolese Villages

A rduous trips to share Christ with remote African villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo are usually done by foot or bicycle and may take many

hours. But IM missionary Glen Chapman can make those journeys in minutes by using a "ying powered parachute.

Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is the heart of every missionary’s pur-pose. While Glen’s primary focus is to teach at the Kikongo Pastor’s Institute, he is also an evangelist as he uses the Campus Crusade Jesus !lm in areas without television, movie theaters or even electricity. “I load my generator, speaker/ampli!er, projector, computer, extension cords and a king-sized sheet in the back of my powered parachute. The fragile equipment rides better than if I traveled on paths across rivers and valleys.”

Glen lands on bumpy soccer !elds surrounded by eager villagers. “It is heart-warming,” Glen says, “to hear people’s reactions as they view the !lm. The local tribal language is used in the !lm, so people initially gasp to hear Jesus speak it. The most dramatic reactions come at the depiction of the cruci!xion—tears "ow and there is actual wailing as people see what Jesus did for them.”

When asked how many villagers usually view the !lm, Glen responds, “I gave up trying to count the people in the dark, and when I inquire of village lead-ers, they simply say, ‘Bo ke mingi,’ meaning, ‘There are a lot!’ In addition, the speaker system carries during an African night so even those who stay home can still hear the gospel message.”

Glen has an attentive audience again the next day at take-off. He then says, “This "ying machine can only take me up for a short time, but will eventually bring me down to earth again. So the power of this machine should not im-press us as much as the power of Jesus, who can take us to our heavenly home . . . forever!”

After an evening showing of the Jesus film, Glen (center) packs audiovisual equipment at the back of his powered parachute as villagers gather to share a fond farewell.

Jan and Larry Martin

Gary Baits trains

Evangelismcont.

LEADING PEOPLE TO FAITH AND STARTING NEW CHURCHES “…make disciples of all nations….” Matthew 28:19

For more information about these missionarieswho are answering the call for evangelism, go to:

www.internationalministries.org, search on PEOPLE.

4 www.internationalministr ies.org

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A Prophet Inspires Service to the Poor of NicaraguaThe average poor child in Nicaragua is three times more likely to die than a Nicaraguan child who is not poor and six times more likely than a child in the United States. The prophet Amos spoke on behalf of the poor, and his name forms the acronym used by the Nicaraguan Christian organization served by International Ministries (IM) medical missionaries Drs. David and Laura Parajón—A Ministry Of Sharing (AMOS) Health and Hope.

Prior to becoming missionaries, David was an internist and Laura was a family physician in the U.S. As they prayed about their future, they felt called to re-spond to the medical needs of the poor elsewhere. “In 2001, we left everything we had in the States except for our minivan,” Laura explains. “We needed that for our three preschool children!”

During their !rst term of missionary service (2001-2006) the Parajóns were as-signed to the Baptist Convention in Nicaragua. David served as the director of the Baptist Hospital, and Laura was the director of a rural health program.

AMOS had begun under the leadership of David’s father, Gustavo, a man of God like the prophet Amos. He was also an IM medical missionary doctor in Nicaragua from 1968 to 2011. At the invitation of leaders in rural communi-ties in the municipality of San José de los Remates (SJR) and the Nicaraguan Council of Churches, David and Laura are devoting their second term to community-based primary health care through AMOS.

The results speak for themselves. In SJR—a 174-square-mile area, sixty miles northeast of Nicaragua’s capital, Managua—mothers walked three hours to get health care for their children. Today, health clinics, led by members of the community called “health promoters,” operate in !fteen villages. In 2010, the infant mortality rate in those villages dropped lower than

the Nicaraguan average. By 2011, no infants died in SJR, which is an infant mortality rate better than in the U.S.!

David, Laura and their staff train local leaders, who diagnose and treat the most common diseases, manage a small clinic and dispense medications provided by AMOS. David says, “We see the communities as our partners and seek to accompany them in identifying and solving problems like intestinal parasites and the need for sanitation. Our health promoters follow the example of Jesus, addressing physical, emotional and spiritual health.”

Health & Healing

ANSWERING THE CALL TO PROMOTE HEALTH AND HEALING“…I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.” —3 John 1:2

Reducing child mortality rates is a goal all United Nations member states are striving to achieve by the year 2015. The leading causes of death for children under the age of five are pneumonia (17%) and diar-rhea (16%). These exceed the deaths caused by AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Another 30% of young children die from under-nutrition.

— World Health Organization, The Global Burden of Disease, 2004 update

Dr. David and Dr. Laura work with an AMOS sta!supervisor (center) to organize the medications for

distribution to Nicaragua’s rural community health clinics.

PROMOTING HEALTH AND FIGHTING EPIDEMICS“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?” Jeremiah 8:22

Turn page for more

5

Health & Healingcont.

Medical Ministry Grows to Serve Thousands in South AfricaHealth concerns, like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol are routine in the United States. But for most South Africans, who have limited access to medical care, they are potentially fatal. In addition, HIV is so com-mon that a full 25% of all medications given around the world for that disease are used in South Africa. IM medi-cal missionary doctors Anita and Rick Gutierrez are now in their ninth year of addressing these critical health care needs in South Africa. Since 2003, they have connected many thousands to medical treatment and introduced them to Jesus through a program they created called “Bethel Health Builders.”

Health Builders are a team of South Africans with no previous medical experience, who are trained by Anita and Rick in both the classroom and on the !eld. After six months’ training, Health Builders are able to perform screening tests and provide referral services and education on the east coast of South Africa. The use of small con-sultation tents, instead of typical large ones, has fostered trust and con!dentiality for those being served by the Health Builders. “We also produced professional-quality, animated videos,” Rick explains, “in English and Zulu for use with portable, rechargeable DVD players. Presenting accurate information in this way is a crucial health educa-tion achievement.”

At the close of 2011, fully-trained Health Builders per-formed more than 15,000 encounters, conducted ap-proximately 2,000 HIV tests and detected 262 new HIV infections, while they made an estimated 3,000 referrals. Promoting health and healing extends beyond the physi-cal. Evangelism and disciple-making are part of the every-day work of the Health Builders, whose training includes in-home Bible study coaching. As a result, eight ongoing discovery Bible groups have been established in Zululand.

Recently, a major bank, a hospital and the South African Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS have asked Anita and Rick to provide training materials and expertise for their health initiatives. Anita says of their expanding ministry, “Health building is an art, and we give thanks to God that we are among the pioneer practitioners in South Africa.”

China Receives Medical Help through an Energetic IM MissionaryShe is neither a doctor nor a nurse. In fact, IM missionary Judy Sutterlin teaches at the Nan-jing Union Theological Seminary. Yet God has been using her to bring health and healing to villages in China through her work with an IM partner organization, The Amity Foundation.

Judy began her ministry in 1992 through Amity, an organization established in 1985 by Chi-nese Christians. She !rst served as an English teacher in Hangzhou, provided pastoral care to other Amity teachers and led worship services at teachers’ conferences. In 2003, Judy became the IM contact person for an Amity Project designed to help support children in Henan Province who had become orphans when their parents died of AIDS.

Believing in Judy’s energy and sensitivity, IM began supporting Amity’s Village Clinic Project in 2004. Today, 27 clinics serve in two central China provinces, Ningxia and Gansu, which IM helped build. IM has also assisted in providing medical equipment and med-icine for these clinics. In addition, through partnership with IM, Amity’s Village Doctor Training Project and County Training Program have prepared health care workers to treat wounds and recognize conditions that require expertise not available at their clinics. The new doctors also provide health and hygiene education and

House of Love Brings Hope and HealingNam knew nothing but rejection during her entire life in Thailand. Her mother gave her away. She married when she was sixteen years old, but her husband died, leaving her alone. She was infected with HIV and was trying to raise her three-year-old daughter. Facing fear and rejec-tion from her late husband’s family, Nam and her daughter were brought to the House of Love, a ministry begun by IM missionary, Kim Brown.

Nam remained restless at the House of Love, unable to place her trust in the strangers who were caring for her. She ran away, only occasionally returning to visit her daugh-ter. While living on the streets, she was jailed for stealing to feed herself. Feeling hopeless, she stopped taking her AIDS/HIV medication. Eventually, she became very ill and called the House of Love when she was close to death. Her daughter, now eleven, was angry with her mother and would not talk to her. But hope was on the horizon.

Kim, who has ministered through the Thailand Karen Baptist Convention since 1984, reports, “Nam was given medical care and emotional support at the House of Love. Here, she was able to accept love for the !rst time. After

Dr. Anita and Dr. Rick have developed a training program for Health Builders,non-medical personnel living near Durban, South Africa, who are now

competent to administer free, basic health-screening tests for thousands.

6 www.internationalministr ies.org

several months she began to improve physically and accepted Christ as her Savior. Now, she is rebuilding her rela-tionship with her daughter and is learn-ing to trust in God’s love.”

In addition to overseeing the work at the House of Love, Kim supervises two other ministries that address the needs of the Karen (pronounced Kuh-ren´), an ethnic minority persecuted in Burma for centuries and now living a refugee exis-tence in northern Thailand. The Chris-tian Center for the Development of People with Disabilities reaches out to people who are caring for family members coping with physical challenges. The House of Blessing Day Care Center provides a safe place for children who live in the slums. It prepares them to enter Thai schools, and also works to strengthen their families.

Kim is grateful for the faithful support given for her ministry with and to the Karen people. She writes, “Each one of us here daily is reminded how it is God’s provision and strength that enables us to accomplish Christ’s good pur-poses. Please join me in rejoicing and in interceding, too.”

PROMOTING HEALTH AND FIGHTING EPIDEMICS“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?” Jeremiah 8:22

basic health care for common illnesses.

In Ningxia, a poor woman became sick in the !elds. An Amity-trained physician, Dr. Wang, was summoned. He diagnosed the cause of her illness as high blood sugar and high blood pressure. Villagers carried her to the clinic, and the doctor treated her with glucose and some medicine. After she recovered, the pov-erty-stricken woman wanted to !nd a way to pay for the medicine, but Dr. Wang told her it was free. It had come because of White Cross

gifts. She and Dr. Wang say, “Thank you!”

When a villager in Gansu broke his !nger in a wheat grinder, he was treated initially by a village doctor, Dr. Wei. This health care worker bound the !nger and helped the wounded man get to the hospital without loss of blood. In another Gansu village, the life of an 80-year-old bedridden woman with lung problems was saved by Dr. Li. He used a new phlegm suction machine that was purchased through IM’s contact with a U.S. congregation.

“What is impossible for people is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27) One IM missionary in China, Judy Sutterlin, a teacher, is being used mightily to help enable village doctors bring health and healing in their corners of the most populous nation in the world.

“Bye-bye, Cholera”

Thanks to the ministry at the House of Love, begun byKim (center), Nam (right) and her daughter have

started embracing life . . . and each other.

For more information about these missionaries whoare promoting health and fighting epidemics, go to:www.internationalministries.org, search on PEOPLE.

Dr. Wang reviews a village patient’s medical record

with a county health bureau representative (right).

As globalization has reduced barriers to cross-national contacts, illnesses previously contained to one area may now impact many parts of the world.—Globalization and Health, 2005, 1:14

As a result of Judy Sutterlin’s“most caring acts of charity,”

she received the JiangsuCharity Award in October 2011.

Bill ClemmerKatherine & Wayne Niles

continent.

IM missionary Kihomi Ngwemi,

Haiti

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Human Tra!ckingI Serve as Christ’s “Cracked Pot” around the Worldby the Rev. Dr. Lauran Bethell, IM global consultant

We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. — 2 Corinthians 4:7 (The Message)

n 1987, God created the “New Life Center” in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which ministers to girls and young women who are vulnerable to exploitation. I was

privileged to be called as its !rst director, and after a few years I returned to the U.S. to speak in churches about the Center. For many listeners it was the !rst they heard about human traf!cking. I spoke more than 200 times, result-ing in a growing awareness about the evil of this modern form of slavery and increased funding for the Center.

When I returned to Thailand, I realized that I was now known in many of our churches as “Lauran-Bethell-Director-of-the-New-Life-Center” all one word.

I was that woman who took care of all those who were being served at the Center. My “new name” sent me into a panic. I realized that if the New Life Center succeeded, then I was a “success.” And if it failed, I was a failure.

From this realization, I began working hard to reclaim a central truth of our walk with Jesus Christ. Our true identity as followers of Jesus is not what we do or the number of our successes. Our identity is simply that we are precious and beloved daughters and sons of God, created in God’s image. Period. And whatever journey God has called us to follow, whatever good comes from what we do, it is

all because God has worked through us. Period. The successes we might see are God’s. The failures—well, they will keep us closer to God as we can have con!dence that God will show a purpose through the pain of failure.

This is the core of the message that God has given me to share around the world: each person is precious to God; Jesus died to redeem me, and you, and those in prostitution—plus their pimps and traf!ckers and johns. We are all

“unadorned clay pots” (cracked pots or “crackpots”!) in need of God’s hope and healing. And when we become aware of God’s precious treasure inside, it can shine through! I can relax in the knowledge that I can continue to be the cracked, worn pot whose name happens to be “Lauran”—and have con!dence that it will be God’s light that will shine through and do do the healing work.

What an honor it is to have each of you as my “cracked pot partners!”

ANSWERING THE CALL TO CONFRONT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

“I will enter into judgment with them….(They have) traded boys for prostitutes, and sold girls for wine….” — Joel 3:2-3

Modern slavery continues to be a reality for millions of people, rather than for an isolated few.— Tra!cking in Persons Report 2011, page 2

The Kelseys Work to Multiply “Laborers for the Harvest”Over 20,000 people, the equivalent of a small city in the United States, are being traf!cked into Italy every year. These girls and women—brought from Eastern European and African countries including Romania, Moldova, Hun-gary, and Nigeria—provide sexual services that one of every three Italian men purchase at least once per year.

IM missionaries Debbie and Jim Kelsey work with this exploited population as part of their ministries with immigrant churches in Italy. Since 2007, Deb-bie and Jim have shared their vision to confront human traf!cking. They have encouraged congregations, women’s groups and youth groups to reach out to these vulnerable women, who attempt to escape the poverty of their own

Lauran encourages anti-tra"ckingaction at conferences worldwide, such as for the Irish Baptist Net-

works in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

8 www.internationalministr ies.org

CONFRONTING SLAVERY IN OUR TIME “…He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners….” Isaiah 61:1

IM Missionary Works to Prevent Exploitation in Costa RicaPastors in Costa Rica have been seeking to help an increasing number of young women who:

� Face domestic and sexual violence in their homes � Feel trapped in community settings that treat them as

products instead of people � Move to the city to sell their bodies as a seeming

“quick !x” to a dead-end existence

As part of her ministry with husband, Gary (see page 4), Mylinda Baits empowers pastors as she teaches courses at the Baptist Seminary in San Jose and leads workshops for churches in the surrounding area. She is also helping establish the Butter"y Center for Transformation in La Guacima e Alajuela, a church-based fam-ily ministry working to keep young people out of the sex trade. Mylinda comments, “Our anti-human traf!cking programs are emphasizing prevention over rescue. Prevention may not be as dramatic as rescue, but it is nearly always more cost-effec-tive—in terms of saving people from emotional pain and the ex-pense of rehabilitation, a neces-sity for victims of oppression and exploitation.”

The Center serves the community of approximately 500 people, providing parents with both formal and informal training in non-violent, child-rearing practices. Children also attend after-school and weekly preschool programs at the Center, a safe place where they can grow. This pre-vents damage to their vulnerable lives and can save many from ever considering the sex trade.

As a way of connecting more fully with women, the Center also offers classes in sewing and candle-making. A candle cooperative has been formed to provide a sustain-able means to support both the women and the Center.

Re"ecting on what she and the Center have been attempt-ing to do in their anti-traf!cking prevention work, Mylin-da refers to a Franciscan benediction, which says in part:

May God bless you with angerAt injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

And may God bless you with enough foolishnessTo believe that you can make a difference in the world,So that you can do what others claim cannot be doneTo bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.Amen.

countries only to be exploited in Italy.

Recently, the Kelseys were instrumental in assisting four-teen organizations to form an Italian evangelical network to confront human traf!cking for prostitution. Debbie says, “It is rewarding to watch God bring together people with differing gifts and varying backgrounds to work to-gether in reducing the demand for women in prostitution and to help those currently being exploited.”

As a result of this network, two groups have consistently reached out to women in the streets of their cities. The network also plans to hold three regional seminars over the next two years to increase awareness and invite other “laborers for the harvest.” Getting people involved can be dif!cult because Christians often shun women of the street.

Jim responds to this tendency by sharing his own journey. He describes his feelings when he was a pastor of U.S. churches during the 1990s, saying: “I saw such women in the neighborhoods as nuisances who made life less pleasant and safe—a public safety problem and a threat to housing values. But now I see them as human beings who want the same things for their lives that we all want: love, safety and a purpose. These women are not a prob-lem to be resolved but are people worthy of love, respect and compassion. They are in need of our outreach as we help them !nd a life more be!tting their deep and vibrant humanity. They are made in the image of God—and in the words of Genesis, ‘Very good.’”

A visiting mission group from the U.S. saw these women in the same redeeming way. Group members became ad-ditional “laborers for the harvest.” They invited African women who were working the streets in two Italian towns to a seminar they were leading on strengthening relation-ships with God, their families and church members. Fol-lowing the seminar, the pastor said to Debbie: “Several years ago, our church was active in helping a number of street women start a new life. Now we will focus on help-ing these women as they strive to change their lives. We have seen in the past that when they are willing to do that, God opens doors for them!”

Debbie (3rd from right) and a local church leader (center) welcomed a mission group from New Salem Baptist Church, Columbus, Ohio and

Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pa. The group invited immigrant women to a seminar on strengthening relationships.

Mylinda and others provide a caring environment at children’s club, a

ministry for young ones who could one day be victims of tra"cking

without expressions of love early in their lives.

Turn page for more

9

Human Tra!ckingcont.

CONFRONTING SLAVERY IN OUR TIME “…He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners….” Isaiah 61:1

A Young Lao Boy’s Dream Becomes Realityhen IM development workers Lori and Matt Mann encountered Mee, a ten-year old boy who was begging on the streets of Vientiane, Laos, they

were concerned for his life. Street children, desperate for money, are at high risk of exploitation and human traf!cking. With little or no parental care, they are easily tricked into sexual exploitation and forced labor. As the Manns got to know “Mee” (not his real name), they learned that his parents were opium addicts from a village an hour away from the capital. They forced him to pay for their opium-smoking habit by begging for money in the city. When he got enough, they returned to the village.

Mee’s dream was to go to school, but as in many countries, Laos requires pay-ment for such items as books, supplies and uniforms. His opium-dependent parents were spending all the money he earned on their drug habit. Matt and Lori approached local of!cials to see how they could help this young beggar become a student. Lori says, “There were other children from the village in similar situations and so we began a scholarship program in 2002.”

This approach was successful for most of the children, but not for Mee. A few months after school began, the Manns saw Mee on the streets again. “Better to eat in the city than to starve at school,” he told them. A few weeks later, when they asked whether he had enough money to go back to his village, Mee replied, “My parents take all the money I get and smoke it.”

Mee was growing up on the streets, and the Manns recognized he was beginning

to give up on his dream of an education. They knew he could soon become a victim of human traf!cking and promised him they would !nd a way to help.

Later that year, the Manns opened a home for street children. Matt says, “As one of our !rst residents, Mee was able to pursue his schooling and soon received academic awards. Two years later, he was recognized as a gifted musician and was part of his school’s band. Mee is now 21 years old and will graduate from high school. His new dream is to go to college, and he is praying about what God wants him to study.”

The Manns’ ministry has its roots in Matt’s child-hood. He was raised in Thailand by his IM mission-ary parents, Richard and Marlene Mann. While at a U.S. college, Matt felt called to return to Asia, living out his faith cross culturally. Lori grew up in Cali-fornia and was led to Christ by a high school teacher at the Christian school she attended. She felt called to minister overseas after meeting Matt and hearing about his experiences on the mission !eld. Matt and Lori began serving in Thailand in 1990, one month after they were married. Matt became involved in community-based economic development and Lori taught English. Ten years later they began ministering in Laos as well.

Karen Smith Kit Ripley— Siddharth Kara, fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School

Lori gives first-aid treatment to Vientiane street children whose bare feet can develop sores

that become infected.

Before the Manns opened a home forstreet children like “Mee” (right)

in 2002, the youngsters walked 2 to3 miles to Matt’s o"ce to bathe, eat

and take an afternoon nap.

The demand for cheap goods, services, labor, and sex opens opportunities for the exploitation of vulner-able populations. And it is on this demand that human tra!cking thrives. —Tra!cking in Persons Report 2011, page 19

“Ending this crime (of human tra!cking that is) so mon-strous is not a political issue; it is an American imperative, and a human responsibil-ity. This is why there are still modern-day abolitionists. And this is why the rest of us should join them.”

—Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, 2008

For more information about these missionaries whoare confronting slavery in our time, go to:

www.internationalministries.org, search on PEOPLE.

OL

10 www.internationalministr ies.org

Economic Development

CREATING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND BUILDING FUTURES“I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.” Zechariah 13:5

TRAINING FUTURE CHURCH LEADERS“And what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.” 2 Timothy 2:2

Theological Education

ANSWERING THE CALL FOR THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION

ANSWERING THE CALL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

New Opportunities Abound in Mexico Charles and Ramona Shawver serve in theologi-cal education through the Baptist Seminary in Mexico City. Chuck mentors the students and co-ordinates their pastoral work in nearby churches. Ramona is the academic advisor for the resident seminarians. The Shawvers’ ministry includes working with more than 200 students beyond the seminary through extension programs.

Chuck reports, “Here in Mexico, there is a great hunger among God’s people to study the Word and make a difference in their communities. The churches of the Council of Rural Indigenous Evangelical Churches of Mexico and the exten-sion programs of the seminary are growing even as we receive invitations to assist in new places. Our students are serving in evangelism, children’s ministry, youth ministry and community health programs. Recently, a church in Chimalhuacan asked me for help in starting a ministry for youth in the church and neighborhood. Additionally, Ramona is working with leaders in the theological community and seminary to develop a chap-laincy ministry both to the seminary community and our neighbor, the National Autonomous University of Mexico.”

Glimpses of the Kingdom Come to Chile “We see paths opening up, con!rming that people are being transformed with things ‘falling into place’ in ways we could not have engineered.” That is how Barbara and Dwight Bolick describe the way God is work-ing through their eight-year ministry with the indigenous people of Chile, known as the Mapuche, who struggle with severe poverty.

The Bolicks have been praying for a year about being able to use an aban-doned medical clinic for its original purpose and for a rainwater-collection demonstration project in Curihue, a city in southern Chile. Dwight ex-plains, “We continued to pray for what seemed an impossibility. Then recently one of the Spinners’ Groups that Barb leads told her that the local municipality agreed to add its funds to One Great Hour of Sharing contri-butions for renovating the building!”

Barbara and Dwight have encouraged the Mapuche to become secure in their identity as people created in God’s image. The result has been economic development fully integrated with a proclamation of the gospel, involving traditional weavings (the Spinners’ Group), beekeeping and entrepreneurship training.

Dwight re"ects on the Curihue news, saying: “Glimpses of the kingdom are ours as we learn to practice Proverbs 3:5—‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.’”

As a seminary professor, Chuck literally “walks with his students,” when he provides classes through

extension programs in remote indigenous communities.

Barb regularly encourages leaders of two Spinners’ Groups from 13 com-munities covering a 155-mile area.

11

OPENING THE MIND, EMPOWERING THE HEART“You shall love the Lord your God…with all your mind….” Mark 12:30

SEEKING PEACE AND OFFERING REFUGE“Seek peace, and pursue it.” Psalm 34:14

Two Knocks at the Door in JapanIM missionary Roberta Stephens was surprised when she answered the knock at the door of her apartment and saw a former student from the Shokei Girls’ School (now Shokei Gakuin) where Roberta served. Seven-teen years had passed since “Ami” (not her real name) graduated, and she had much to share. The impact of the school, whose roots went back to 1892, became evident.

Roberta says, “After reciting a number of ways she had been blessed as a student, Ami told me of her journey through life—years that involved an unhappy marriage and its termination. She then recalled her school days that included learning Bi-ble verses and seeing the large picture in Shokei’s worship hall of Jesus knocking at a large wooden door. I asked her if she’d ever noticed that the door had no doorknob, that it couldn’t be forced open from the outside. Within a matter of hours of talking together that day, she decided to open the door from the inside of her heart. She invited Christ into her life, and we experienced the joy of her becoming a member of God’s family.”

Education

ANSWERING THE CALL FOR PEACE AND REFUGE

ANSWERING THE CALL FOR EDUCATION

IM Missionaries Respond to Lives Shaken by Domestic Violence Having served as IM missionaries in Chile (2000-2009), Carlos Bonilla and Mayra Giovanetti began their work with the churches of the Baptist Evangelical Union of Spain in 2010. Carlos’ ministry focus area is educa-tion. Mayra quotes Hebrews 7:25 to describe her peace and refuge efforts: “[Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (NIV)

Through the First Baptist Church of Lorca, Mayra helps serve victims of domestic vio-lence and addictions. First Baptist’s ministry, The Good Way Women’s Shelter, is led by Pastor Miriam Gomez and coordinated by Juana Garcia. Juana is a former resident of the shelter, whom God rescued from years of domestic violence and subsequent addictions.

Many residents, like Juana, have come to salvation in Christ and been baptized. Be-cause these changed lives are a witness to the

community, the shelter continually receives referrals from the municipal-ity. What may seem impossible for others to accomplish is possible with God—“Jesus is able to save completely!”

Mayra (left), Pastor Miriam (center) and Juana, the coordinator of The Good

Way Women’s Shelter in Lorca, Spain celebrate receiving financial support

for this peace & refuge ministry.

A former student’s surprise visitled to her decision to have

a new life in Christ.

Peace & Refuge

12 www.internationalministr ies.org

SEEKING PEACE AND OFFERING REFUGE“Seek peace, and pursue it.” Psalm 34:14

Mission Partnerships

Support a Project. Make an Impact. Change Lives.

Those who want to a make direct and meaningful impact on the well-being of a particular person, group

or church can donate to a Global Mission Project. This program was introduced by International Ministries in 2010 in response to church groups’ requests to fund special projects.

It started as an experiment with just a few projects and has grown to 70 today. Each project has been selected by an IM missionary because he or she sees an immediate need that is not likely to be funded through any other source. The missionary also closely monitors the project to ensure that principles of good stewardship are followed and the funds are used wisely.

Projects available for church groups and individuals can be viewed and selected at www.internationalministries.org/projects. New projects are added regularly and any size donation is appreciated. Those projects that have been fully funded are noted. For more information, contact Chris Marziale at chris.marziale@abc-usa.org.

Examples of Global Mission Projects

Goats for Family Income & Milk in Burundi, $70/Goat

Women’s Shelter Occupational Training in Spain, $725

Books for Literacy Classes in Bangladesh, $100

Chicken Coops for Health Build-ers in South Africa, $500 ea.

Story Cards for Traumatized Children in Japan, $500/20 Cards

Restoring Sight to Children in Haiti, $110/Child

Job Training for Handicapped Kids in India, $186/Child

Preschool Lunch Program in Thailand, $400/Month

Global Mission Projects

The Great Commission Becomes More than Words

As churches want to become involved with all aspects of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), they ask:

“How can we gain more understanding of, and become more involved in, the work of International Ministries missionaries?” The answer, developed in 2003, is: “Be-come a member of a Missionary Partnership Network (MPN).” An MPN is composed of individuals and congre-gations that seek a close bond with a particular missionary or missionary couple and who are eager to provide sup-port in a variety of ways.

At the core of an MPN is a Missionary Partnership Team (MPT), a group of !ve to ten people usually from multiple churches. These people are invited by IM missionaries to join them and the IM staff in establishing and expanding their MPN.

Members from a single congregation may be part of more than one missionary’s MPN. For instance, Central Baptist Church of Spring!eld, Illinois, has been involved with MPNs for four different IM global servants. This personal involvement has led some members to become part of mission teams that have traveled to help work on projects in Costa Rica, Cuba and Nicaragua.

MPN participation can also in-clude other unique experiences. Central Baptist has not only provided signi!cant prayer and !nancial support for Katie and Taku Longkumer, who recently began their IM ministry in North East India, it also hosted their commissioning service in August 2011.

You or your church can “go into all the world” by becom-ing part of an MPN. Just go to: www.internationalministries.org and search on PEOPLE. When

you discover a missionary whose ministry matches your interests, contact Ruthie Stevenson at Ruthann.Stevenson@abc-usa.org

By joining an MPN, you can:

� Sign up to receive the missionary’s journals in your personal email

� Request to receive news distributed by the MPT � Pray for and communicate with the missionary � Give !nancial support � Volunteer to go on a mission trip to the missionary’s

country of service

Katie & Taku Longkumer wereblessed by an MPN church that

hosted their commissioning service on August 21, 2011.

13

VolunteersVolunteers Do Not Need to Wonder, “Who’s Calling?”

ot long ago, when the telephone rang, family members would race to discover who was calling. There was

never a question that the call would be answered. Now, caller ID has changed that. Instead of being excited to !nd out who is calling and why, we look at the incoming ID and decide if we want to answer.

When volunteers identify the voice of God calling, they can answer through International Ministries (IM). IM offers three opportunities to serve: 1) multigenerational groups become Discovery Teams that travel to expand their vision or work on projects; 2) young adults have month-long mission experiences through Ignite, formerly Xtreme Team; 3) individuals and groups help ful!ll the long-term strategies of IM missionaries and partner organ-izations as they serve from ten days to a year or more.

Susan Goncharenko chose the third option when she heard God’s call to serve in Eastern Europe. “Something was clearly developing in my heart and frame of mind,” she says, “to shift gears so that my energy, strength and God-given talents could be channeled in positive, new directions. This feeling was con!rmed by doors that kept opening up, inviting me to step out in faith and take an early retirement. That decision enabled me to embark on challenging endeavors along with spontaneous adven-tures, yet with the very stable and secure undergirding in knowing: ‘God is in total control’.”

Susan heard God’s call through a friend who knew of IM missionaries Pieter and Nora Kalkman and the volunteer team at IM’s of!ce. As a result, Susan prayed and prepared,

Susan (with headband) used her abilities in a variety of ways,including leading craft times at a children’s camp in Hungary.

faithfully serving in Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Re-public from July to September, 2011. Through her different assignments Susan experienced God’s faithfulness, power and love. She was able to minister without knowing the language, becoming a witness through her own experi-ence and letting God equip her for a teaching ministry.

When Susan returned to the U.S., her call to ministry in Eastern Europe continued. She joined the Kalkman’s Missionary Partner Team (de!ned on page 13), receiving a blessing as she continues to serve God through her sup-port of the Kalkman’s ministry in Europe. Susan is also making plans to return to Europe as a volunteer mission-ary in 2012. She says, “To God be the glory for all that had been accomplished during my mission trip adventures. The Lord kept me safe and healthy. It was a marvelous feeling of having been part of God’s purpose and will, not only in the lives of the differ-ent people with whom I interacted, but also in my own life.”

Becky Hall already had an interest in international relations when she was called to Mexico in 2007 as a member of an Xtreme Team. She continued to heed God’s call after her college graduation when God led her to nine months of volunteer mission service. She worked with Adalia Gutiérrez and Raymond Schellinger in Tijuana, Mexico at Deborah’s House, a ministry for women who are victims of domestic abuse. She also served in El Salvador with Kim Kushner Domin-guez, teaching English. As she followed God’s leading, she learned about herself as well as about the two minis-tries and the brothers and sisters who are part of them.

Becky is continuing to answer God’s call by pursuing a Master of Divinity degree—part of a journey that she would have never imagined in 2007. She says of her response to serve internationally, “I believe that we can never bring greater glory to God than when we break down boundaries created by different cultures, perspec-tives, or borders. When they’re removed, we can see those on the other side as children of God.”

When God calls, are you racing to answer, or are you screening the call? Susan and Becky answered, followed and continue to let God lead them into ministry. More than 1,200 volunteers did the same from October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011. Listen…. Is that call for you?

Wherever Becky has served, shehas actively built relationships

with children and youth.

14 www.internationalministr ies.org

Recruitment

Hear the Call: 26 Ways for You to Serve God . . . and More to Come!

American Baptist International Ministries (IM) is recruiting new missionar-ies and development workers for long-term service around the globe! These

men and women become hands and feet of Christ as they evangelize, bring healing, confront human traf!cking, teach, introduce economic development projects, work for peace and help provide refuge.

Recently, IM sent Katie & Taku Longkumer who began serving in North East India in October 2011. J.D. & Rhonda Reed are currently in language training in Costa Rica in anticipation of their ministry in Bolivia.

Three additional couples have been endorsed and are building their Mission-ary Partnership Networks (see page 13) in preparation for appointment and commissioning as new IM missionaries: Dagoberto & Dilia Zelaya serving in Honduras, Debbie & Keith Myers in Mexico and Emerson & Ivy Wu in Macau.

IM is increasing efforts to identify others God is calling to international service as we receive new requests for missionaries to work alongside international Christian partners. (IM works with more than 200 partner organizations globally.) Together, we enable people to come to faith in Jesus, grow in their relationship with God and change their worlds through the power of the Spirit. Twenty-six current openings for international service are now posted as “Career Opportunity” on the IM website at: www.internationalministries.org/ get-involved, and more will be added as partners make additional requests.

A wide range of educational backgrounds, abilities and prior experiences are desired. Do you have a Ph.D. in theology? God may have a place for you to teach at a seminary in China. Are you a doctor or nurse? Your experience and skills are needed to provide treatment and training at the Vanga Evangelical Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Maybe you are a skilled handy-man (or woman)? God could use you as a maintenance supervisor at a Chris-tian School in South Africa!

“Perhaps you’ll have an experience like that of the Apostle Paul, whose life and ministry changed directions when he had a vision of a Macedonian man say-ing, ‘Come over and help us.’ (Acts 16:9)” advised IM Director of Recruitment, Jim Bell. “IM’s international partners are extending invitations for new mis-sionaries to come over and help them, and IM is available to help you hear that call…and respond!”

Please visit IM’s “Get In-volved” listing frequent-ly. For more information contact recruitment@internationalministries.org.

As you consider your future, please remember that not only you, but also all who are learning of these increased op-portunities, are joining in prayer that God will call and “send out work-ers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:38, NASB)

Taku & Katie Longkumer

Dilia & Dagoberto Zelaya

Emerson & Ivy Wu

J.D. & Rhonda Reed

Keith & Debbie Myers

In 2011, seven occupational therapy students from the University of Minnesota volunteered to work at the annual Adventura de Niños Excepcionales (Adventure of Exceptional Children) camp for nine youngsters with special needs in Honduras. The Zelayas hosted the group.

The campers learned and practiced skills like taking turns, encouraging friends, recognizing and writing their names, following directions, making good choices and manners.

15

Sources of IM Funding

Approximate # Participating 2010-2011 Giving 2010-2011

Congregations $ 6,268,000 2,630Endowment Income 2,845,000 824Individuals/Families 2,164,000 2,854Planned Gifts 300,000 18One Great Hour of Sharing 473,000 n/aWhite Cross 350,000 501United Mission 366,000 n/aOther Income 359,000 n/aBusinesses/Organizations/

Other Groups 436,000 176

$ 13,561,000 7003

International Ministries depends 100% upon the generosity of individuals and U.S. churches.

Planned GiftsGiven by: Individuals

Individuals and churches can choose from a variety of ways to provide financial support for International Ministries—from gifts that reflect a long-range view, like endowments and other planned gifts, to those that respond to immediate needs, like the World Mission O!ering, Personalized Support and One Great Hour of Sharing. The following describes the ways you can give.

Businesses/Organizations/Other Groups

WhiteCross

One Great Hour of Sharing

United Mission

Other Income

Planned Gifts

Individuals/Families

Endowment Income

Congregations

Perkin.Simpson@abc-usa.orgwww.abcofgiving.org.

16 www.internationalministr ies.org

World Mission O"eringGiven by: Churches

www.world-missiono!ering.org

Ray.Schooler@abc-usa.org.

United MissionGiven by: Churches

PersonalizedSUPPORT

Personalized SupportGiven by: Churches, Individuals

www.internationalministries.org/give

WORLD

OFFERINGMISSION

Christian Community Credit Union is partnering with IM to o"er the IM Platinum Rewards Visa Card — a unique credit card that gives to global missions while the cardholder saves money and earns rewards. A $50 donation is given to IM for each new card approved, and an additional donation is given on purchases. For more information, visit myCCCU.com/IMcard.

One Great Hour of SharingGiven by: Churches

www.abc-oghs.org.

White CrossGiven by: Women’s Groups, Churches

www.interna-tionalministries.org/topics/white_cross

17

American Baptist Churches USA

MISSIONTo glorify God

in all the earth bycrossing cultural

boundaries to makefollowers of Jesus Christ

I380.PUB.05/12

Vol. 4, No. 2

SPECIAL EDITION — SPRING 2012

The Luther Rice SocietyGiven by: Individuals

luther

societyRICE

Jim.Wiegner@ abc-usa.org.

Sources of IM Funding (cont.)

18 ON LOCATION Spring 2012