Rev. Dr. Kevin Murriel gives thanks for a recent trip to Bangui, CAR, where he attended the dedication of the first United Methodist Church facility in the country. His church in Atlanta, Cascade United Methodist Church, dedicated more than $150,000 of its 2024 Lenten offering to the building of a new church sanctuary and office facility in Bangui (see earlier story). That facility was completed this year.

ATLANTA – I give thanks to God for the opportunity to journey to Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR). Words can hardly express the depth of the experience we shared with the people of this region, particularly during the dedication of the very first United Methodist church facility that now stands as a testimony to God’s faithfulness and the generosity of the Cascade congregation.

God is doing a marvelous work in the Central African Republic. Thousands are being discipled, and the United Methodist movement is growing in powerful and meaningful ways. I share just a few highlights from this life-changing trip as witness to the tangible impact of our collective ministry.

During the service of dedication for the new church, hundreds gathered in celebration. Sixty individuals were baptized into the faith, publicly declaring their love for Christ. The front of the church is adorned with a sign bearing the names of the donors from Cascade and our extended family of supporters – whose generosity made this possible.

The church dedication was a worship experience like no other. We sang, we danced, we received an overwhelming welcome parade, celebrated Holy Communion, preached the gospel, and fellowshipped with our new brothers and sisters in Christ for hours. It was an atmosphere of joy, gratitude and deep spiritual connection.

I had the distinct honor of training nearly 50 pastoral leaders from across the region. These women and men are at the forefront of ministry, leading more than 30 congregations – many of which gather under simple structures in remote districts. Yet, despite limited resources, their faith is strong, and their mission is clear: reach more souls for Jesus Christ in a nation still healing from the scars of war.

We were also able to spend time with the Global Ministries missionary, G. Seza, and the logistics team who serve tirelessly to make ministry possible on the ground in CAR. One of the most humbling and joyous surprises came when the District Superintendent, the Rev. Aquilas Soranaka, announced that the name of the new church would be “Bethel-Cascade United Methodist Church.” This name was chosen by their leaders in honor of Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda and the faithful members of Cascade UMC who generously gave to make this historic project possible.

Bethel-Cascade UMC stands as a beacon of hope and a tangible sign of God’s promise in the Central African Republic. It is already thriving and will serve as a spiritual home for generations to come.

Our work, however, is just beginning. We will remain in ongoing conversations with Global Ministries about how we can continue to support this region. A UMC health clinic is currently under construction, with plans to add a maternity ward to combat maternal mortality. The need is great, but so is our God.

And then, there were the children. So many beautiful, joyful children who captured our hearts and reminded us why this work matters. Their smiles were the very face of hope.

I thank Cascade for being a church that doesn’t just pray about the world – we show up and serve it. God is doing a great work through us, and I am excited about what lies ahead. The true impact cannot be captured in photos alone – it lives in the hearts of the people we encountered and in the seeds of hope we’ve planted together.

The Rev. Dr. Kevin R. Murriel is the senior pastor of Cascade United Methodist Church with campuses in southwest and midtown Atlanta, Georgia.

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Life is undeniably tough for migrant workers in Taiwan, where we work as Global Missionaries with migrant workers, especially with people from the Philippines, where we come from as well. Families back home often make the painful decision to let their loved ones leave in search of decent work and the hope of a better, more abundant life. This pursuit often comes at a high cost: creating absentee parents, spouses and children. To sustain daily needs and chase a brighter future, many are forced into long-term separations, not just for months, but for years.

We encounter both men and women who have left families to work overseas. Our ministry, called TAHANAN, meaning “Home,” is a place of comfort and a supportive community. They find us through fellow workers and by other means. One woman was new to working abroad and had difficulty adjusting to life as a Filipino Migrant Worker. Although our place is primarily a provider of social or emotional services, our ministry offers something just as essential – what we call “spiritual upliftment.” We believe in helping migrant workers rediscover their God-given identity and integrity.

As this woman stayed with us, we discerned she had challenges within her marriage. Her husband, left behind in the Philippines, had become increasingly controlling. Fearing that his wife might fall in love with someone else, he forbade her from making friends or joining community gatherings. He instructed her to go straight to her dormitory after work, with no social interaction. Each time she needed to go out, he demanded she ask his permission.

To make matters worse, her husband maintained the illusion that she was living comfortably abroad. He had no idea of the harsh reality she faced with loneliness, exhaustion and the emotional weight of her situation. She struggled to work and even sleep, feeling suffocated and emotionally strangled. She longed to return home, to escape this burden and the growing homesickness, but she was trapped by debts and the ongoing needs of her children in the Philippines. She knew she must stay for several more years, not just to pay off loans, but to support her family’s basic needs. Many are caught in this kind of trap.

Migrant workers often anticipate that separation may negatively affect their families. According to FilipinoTimes.net, “Families of the majority of those who go abroad for work are affected. Family breakdown is one of the social costs of migration. There are those who, according to their spouses, no longer provide financial support.” This reality is evident in our mission, where we have heard the regrets, longings and emotional struggles of many migrant workers who come to us for help.

TAHANAN exists to address these challenges. We offer a home and a sense of family, giving migrants a safe space where they can belong, even temporarily. Through intensive spiritual and emotional counseling, seminars and community support, we help migrant workers navigate the pressures and struggles they face, especially in matters concerning their families.

We also strive to connect with their families back home, assuring them that their loved ones are being cared for and encouraged to grow emotionally and spiritually. We hope churches and even the government will create and support more programs that care for the families of migrant workers, so that the sacrifices of these modern-day heroes are not wasted.

As missionaries, we witness these struggles firsthand. We are committed to walking alongside every migrant worker who comes our way because we believe each one is deeply valued by our Father in heaven. Scripture teaches us to go after the one lost sheep because we know that when separated from the flock, it becomes vulnerable to wolves and other wild animals.

TAHANAN helps migrant workers grow wholistically, emotionally, spiritually and relationally through the teachings and training we provide. In fact, there are many who return home transformed, bringing with them the values and principles they learned here, and starting anew with their families. They now pursue a truly abundant life, not just in finances, but in faith, character and purpose.

The migrant workers recognize TAHANAN as a ministry that advocates their well-being. They see it as a safe refuge, especially in times of abuse and oppression. We have built this reputation through our committed and active presence among them at TAHANAN and through community engagement.

The Rev. Richard Navarro and the Rev. Alma Jumuad Navarro are both elders in the East Mindanao Annual Conference. They have served in Taiwan as Global Missionaries since 2014. They have two children, Charis and Chadash.

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places. Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.

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

Romans 5:3-4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Hope in the Lord!
Be strong! Let your heart take courage!
Hope in the Lord!

Psalm 27: 14

David, the author of this Psalm, knows from experience what it means to “hope in the Lord.” He was anointed king at age 16 and didn’t ascend to the throne until he was 30. In the meantime, he was hunted down in the desert by the jealous King Saul. He waited patiently for God’s promise to come true. It’s not easy to hope in God, to wait for Divine intervention. 

Waiting for God’s promise reminds me of visiting Gahambwe, Burundi, in 2020, in the Methodist District of Kiniyiya. When I arrived, I was surprised to see pregnant women, old women in tears and men collecting rocks and stones to deposit in a designated area in the bush. Though they had no money for the work, they hoped that a health clinic might be built, and they put that hope in God.

This community lacks pure water, so they drink polluted river run-off, which causes disease – malaria because of breeding mosquitoes, and cholera. They told me for a long time that their community was suffering, that women and young children were dying because there was no health center near this community.

Seeing these mothers and grandmothers, and even physically handicapped people, holding these stones to deposit them, I began to shed tears. I wondered what could be done and from whom the solution would come. Being a missionary in Africa isn’t easy. People you meet think you can solve their problem in the blink of an eye.

I asked them to hope in God, who hears the prayers of those who call, as we took the information to Global Health at Global Ministries. The day after I returned to Bujumbura, I prayed that God would grant the prayer made by this community. I even wrote this prayer for Gahambwe in my journal on my life as a Global Missionary.

We continued to pray, waiting for the Lord to intervene. And even when the health coordinator of the UMC of Burundi and I were working on the project, we prayed that we’d get there.

Today in 2025, we declare that God has truly been manifested. With the support of Global Ministries through its Global Health unit, this desert scrubland has become a fully equipped health center, with a community well alongside, giving a whole community hope for life. The UMC in Burundi also contributed to this work to build one of the units on the campus. This work is in the image of Jesus, who is the light that makes the darkness disappear. A miraculous development is taking place in Gahambwe.

Let us put our trust in Christ because Christ is worth the wait. I have seen ways that God uses the very time of waiting to refresh, renew and teach us. And then God’s miraculous intervention is accomplished for our joy and happiness.

Let us pray together: Lord Jesus, teach us to hope in you and wait wisely for your intervention in our lives.

Patrick Abro is a missionary from Côte d’Ivoire who serves with the United Methodist Burundi Annual Conference as a health operations manager.

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I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

 Psalm 27:13

My first few years in  Central America it was common to see women carrying jugs of water on their heads. Usually, they were carrying the water that their households needed for the day. Just a few years ago many Central American families lived without close access to water.

Today it is not very common in Central America to see anyone carrying water. This makes the reality of inadequate water access much more hidden. In many communities running water may be available only a few days a week. And when it is available the demand is so high that it only runs at a trickle. While families have running water on their property, they still must complete basic chores like laundry washing at the river because water is scarce.

With this context in mind, the concept of living water that Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman at the well, and continues to offer to anyone who is thirsty today, has a greater significance. It is often in the dry spells of life that a need is more recognizable. Give thanks to God for any need that you may have today. Many times, we as humans are ashamed of our needs, thinking that need represents weakness, shortcomings or failure. Without need we never long for a Savior. Need is not something to avoid, rather it is something to be embraced. Give thanks to God for any need that you may have today and take time to reflect upon how that need may represent an opportunity to grow in your faith and trust in Jesus.

Imagine the One, who is and was and is to come, sitting on a humble donkey, entering Jerusalem with full knowledge of each of the events that would occur in the upcoming days, eventually leading to him laying down his very life for the sake of others. It is incredible to have a creator who loves his creation enough to step down from his throne and take on the very life of that creation. I am moved by the extreme level of humility that Jesus took on to have a living relationship with me. I am even more humbled when I realize that I am called to follow his example.

In following Jesus’ example of a humble servant, we are called to lay down anything that may hinder us from connecting to him. What looks like a blessing in the physical or material world may be a hindrance. What looks like suffering or need may be a blessing.

Where many see suffering and lack, Jesus sees blessing. What many see as abundance and “at your fingertips” access and luxurious comfort, may be a stumbling block.

Prayer: Holy God, Lord of Heaven and Earth, Savior of the world, thank you for coming as a humble servant. Thank you for creating us with an eternal need for You. Help us today to see need in a new light, as an opportunity to trust in you. Help us not to try to erase need from the world, but to embrace it by finding ways to live in community with those in need, together pointing each other to you. Amen.

About this reflection

Ellyn Benson Dubberly is a Global Missionary serving as a leadership development coordinator in Central America with the Evangelical Methodist Church in Central America.

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“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Mark 10:17b and 21

MADRID – As a global missionary with Global Ministries, I had the privilege of preaching at the Spanish Evangelical Church (IEE) in Madrid this fall. For decades, the Evangelical Protestant Church has been a marginalized voice, striving to remain steadfast in its mission to offer hope and comfort in a society that has often viewed it with suspicion or disdain.

Despite cultural and political pressures, it has sought to be a beacon of light for those most in need, including migrants and those displaced by the forces of capitalism and gentrification. Its commitment to social justice and caring for the marginalized reflects a gospel interpretation that challenges the power structures and inequalities permeating the country. My sermon was guided by the lectionary in Cycle B, focusing on passages from the Gospel of Mark. This provided an opportunity to reflect on the call for justice, compassion, and the radical hospitality that Christ embodies.

In our time together, we spoke of the urgent need to open the doors of this country, Spain, as a truly welcoming home for all, advocating for the end of violence and discrimination. We encouraged the congregation to embody the love and mercy of God in a world increasingly torn by hatred, division and the harmful rhetoric that fuels them. This world is not unlike the one baby Jesus experienced, as his family forcibly fled their country as refugees to escape the threat of death to the child. 

Today, across the globe, we are witnessing a dangerous rise in hate speech and divisive ideologies that seek to marginalize and oppress. From social media to political platforms, inflammatory language has become commonplace, even in the words of medium-quality comedians, contributing to an atmosphere of fear and hostility that threatens the communities. In this climate, the message of the Gospel is more relevant than ever: we are called to be agents of peace, to seek equity and to stand in solidarity with the oppressed. And, because of the political situations unfolding in powerful nations after elections, the Christian community founded on the Gospel of Jesus is called to resist.

Inspired by the sermons and theology of John and Charles Wesley and Latin American theology, I challenged myself and the congregation to not only proclaim love for our neighbor but to demonstrate it through concrete actions (orthopraxis). We were reminded that faith is not passive; it calls us to actively resist injustice, advocate for the voiceless, and be living witnesses of Christ’s teachings. In times of hatred, white supremacy, racism and corruption, our response as Christians must be one of courageous love, rooted in the conviction that peace and equity are not just ideals, but divine mandates.

Please join your hearts with our Spanish members and pray with me, as a whole Christian family:

Dear God: May we continue to rise to this call to resist injustice and advocate for the voiceless as living witnesses to Christ’s teaching. Beyond Christmastide and into the New Year, may we recommit ourselves to be vessels of God’s peace in a world that so desperately needs it. Amen.

Pedro Zavala, from Mexico City, Mexico, is an academic officer associate and a professor with the United Evangelical Theological Seminary in Madrid, Spain. He served as a professor and an academic dean at Seminario Metodista “Dr. Gonzalo Báez Camargo” as former GBGM National in Mission (NIM), and private educational institutions (ITESM, UCSJ, CTM). He and his spouse, Cecilia López Bátiz, are the parents of a young son, Xavier.

Global Missionaries
Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

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

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

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

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

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

Pray with me:

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

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

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

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But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33 (NRSV)

KANYAMA, ZAMBIA – After a night of deep sleep, I wake up to a calming natural white noise from a waterfall known as the Mujila Falls, which is not too far away from my house. At around the same time, the golden Zambian sun rises and peeks through the old curtains on my window which were sewn by members of a Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team that visited many years ago. Before I can gather myself together, I hear the ensemble of animal noises; ducks, layers, turkeys, pigs, cattle and goats, as if they are making a case that if we do not immediately attend to them, then we should release them to enjoy freedom in the vast untampered forest that surrounds us.

Not long after, my colleagues start to trickle in from the Kapundu and Kanyama rural wards and at 7 a.m. sharp, the farm is thriving with people going up and down our meandering dirt roads and animals being herded to pasture. It is common to see a few motorbikes and bicycles belonging to customers already waiting in line to buy reasonably priced eggs and vegetables. A stone’s throw away from the farm, two classes of about 50 young pupils each are getting ready to play and learn at our Mama Roxanne Community School and Mujila Falls Mission School.* This is how every day starts at the Mujila Falls Agriculture Center, and the work goes on until about 5 p.m. when we are all very tired and retire to our homes for yet another night of deep sleep.

It feels like a dream and indeed it is a miracle how we manage to carry out our duties seamlessly day in, day out, despite all the real and potential challenges that we may encounter. I am very grateful to many supporting churches in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. In recent years, we have focused the activities of the farm toward early childhood education, primary school education and practical training for youths and young adults.

The community is quite supportive and engaged, and we are blessed with success. This year we had the 6th graduation ceremony at Mama Roxanne Community Center. We have completed the first grade at our primary school and we are on our way to complete building a new trade school/vocational center. We have received generous support for the vocational center from Antigo UMC in Wisconsin. With the new teaching and training infrastructure we have been empowered to reach out to more lives than we have ever imagined and to be part of a more sustainable development.

This is my seventh year as a missionary, and many Christians around the world believe that the number 7 is significant and has meaning, with some alluding to an interpretation of perfectness and completeness. In the past 7 years, I have enjoyed a front seat view of a transformation of our small community.

Please pray with me with the Scripture in mind:

Dear God: We are motivated by Mathew 6:25-33, where you encourage us not to worry. I invite all to join with us, whether in Zambia or anywhere else in the world. May we stop our worry and instead, may we have the strength to step out in faith to help those in need. And all things will be given to us as well. Amen.

*Missionaries Roxanne Webster and her husband Paul Webster founded the agricultural training center that became the Mujila Falls center in Zambia. The school and community center are named in honor of Roxanne who died of cancer in 2004.

Temba Darlington Nkomozepi, from Zimbabwe, is an agriculturalist with Mujila Falls Agriculture Center in Kanyama, Zambia.

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

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_{Lulu Ramirez (center) with a Quiche women’s cooperative participating in the Guatemalan Methodist Church’s microloan program to make traditional cloth for women. (Photo: Courtesy of L. Ramirez)}

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Matthew 25: 40

GUATEMALA – One of our Guatemalan sisters, Tomasa, lives in a rural area of Guatemala. She speaks Quiche, her native language, in a country whose official language is Spanish. Spanish is taught in elementary schools, but Tomasa had no opportunity to attend school. (Some of the women I meet don’t even have a birth certificate). She understands Spanish but can’t speak it and has little chance of finding a job.

She was sexually abused years ago and delivered and kept her baby boy. Her only way of surviving was washing clothes for other families daily – handwashing piles and piles of cloths, outside in the cold weather, earning a mere 3-4 U.S. dollars per day.

But God had other plans for my Quiche friend!

In 2019, we started a microloan program in Guatemala with the help of friends from the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the UMC. This program assists several groups of women in rural areas. When we meet the women, we talk about the “Parable of the Talents,” and why it is important to use the talents and gifts that God has given each one of us. Then these groups of ladies discuss their options and agree on a project that they know could be profitable for them. We need from three to seven women for a viable project, learning to work together as one body in Jesus Christ.

We do not choose their project; they decide based on their own skills. Some choose animal raising, with chickens and eggs; others raise pigs. We provide training in their own language on feed, vaccines, building shelters, from someone who knows animal husbandry. Some choose embroidery, which they have practiced since they were little girls. And they come up with many other kinds of projects. They pay back the loan eight months later, with zero interest, and the loan revolves as long as they keep paying it back.

Then we’ll give opportunity to a new group of women to start a project.

Tomasa was part of one of those groups. She started buying material (textiles, thread) to make and sell what they call “tipicos” traditional Guatemalan outfits for women.

She reinvested her profits, buying more material and even her own loom, so her business kept growing.

She paid back her microloan and took out another one. She has paid back every microloan she requested. She is proud because she has become a respected woman in her community and she is so grateful because now her son can attend school, and she can afford his uniforms and shoes.

As we start building relationships with these women, we might not have long conversations, but they know they are heard, they are loved, they are enough, and they extend their trust. Language is not a barrier when sharing Jesus’ love with a hug or time spent listening.

Please join me in prayer for the women we serve, and I give you their own words to meditate on:

Dear God, help us to remember women in rural areas who have no access to education or job opportunities, who say: “Thank you, nobody ever asked us what we wanted or needed before.” We thank you for connecting us with their need and their creativity and will to improve their lives. For those who say: “We are not important, so thank you for coming here and listening to us,” may you sharpen our listening skills and keep their stories before us. For those who say: “Nobody cared about us, so thank you for being here,” may your presence connect us across cultures and miles. And when they ask: “Why do American people who don’t know us help us?” may it be that we are so grateful for your love, God, that our thankfulness and love overflows to include even those we have not yet met.

My God bless you abundantly!

Maria de Lourdes Ramirez Meneses (“Lulu”) is a Global Missionary with Global Ministries. Originally from Mexico, she began her missionary service in Nicaragua in 2017. Today she serves with the Evangelical National Primitive Methodist Church of Guatemala as a Volunteer in Mission coordinator. Her husband, Richard Mroczka, is a Western PA Conference missionary who also serves in Guatemala.

Global Missionaries
Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

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At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory […] Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near [….] Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.

Excerpted from Luke 21:25-36 (NIV)

LETTERKENNY, IRELAND – When the Methodist Church of Ireland asked for a Polish church planter, it relied on a census from several years before, where Letterkenny’s Polish population was the largest ethnic minority here. In 2024, one can’t help but feel it’s the Irish who are becoming the largest minority. Unlike in Dublin, which has seen violent demonstrations under the “Ireland-is-full” banner, life here, on the far Northwestern edge of the island, is quite peaceful, but it may well be a calm before the storm.

The migratory trends are bound to continue: the war in Ukraine shows no signs of easing; post-Brexit migration through Northern Ireland, which has no border with the Republic, is on the increase; and the numbers of boats crossing the Mediterranean into Europe are also increasing. New wars break out all over the globe. In Northern Ireland, the police stations look like fortresses, with tensions rising.

Yet, in the midst of it all, God is at work, and if you keep your eyes open, you will see clear signs of this. At the exoteric, apparent level, this town of about 25,000 boasts a growing number of faith communities, chiefly Baptist, Jehovah’s Witnesses and charismatic faith groups. Things have been happening at the unseen level, too. In this land of beer and whisky, the Alcoholics Anonymous movement has been growing. Many claim to have been saved from untold misery and premature death by the intervention of a Higher Power. For economic reasons, pub attendance and alcohol consumption are apparently going down, too.

And here I am, a Methodist missionary on a “mission impossible.” The local Poles either remain Catholic or want to have nothing to do with organized religion, whereas Ukrainians are attracted to very conservative denominations or are getting organized by themselves into charismatic groups. Before I can start church planting, I need to go home hunting, which is a tall order, given the influx of migrants, the start of a new academic year and the “faulty cement scandal,” a manufacturing fault in the mineral content of cement building blocks, which has left thousands in Donegal County homeless and on the lookout for places to rent. And yet, within 10 days, I found an apartment.

In another 10 days, I found a restaurant run by two Polish women. They have a venue, I have ideas. They are open to extending their offer, and they are … spiritual, with both in one way or another coming from an alcoholic background and, though anticlerical, believing in a Higher Power. I am a layperson rather than clergy. When people salvaged and transformed by God meet a missionary to walk the path of post-recovery with them, anything is possible! We can create a community of faith for the transformation of ourselves and our wider community…for starters.

I pray that Methodists see this situation as a universal call and a spiritual opportunity.

Lord, help us discern ways in which we can walk with people who have just experienced your powerful liberation from their forms of enslavement, old and new! Help all involved to make sense of your intervention, come together and get involved, adding meaning to a newfound life.

Leslaw Olgierd Kawalec is a Global Missionary and layperson from Poland serving as a church developer in Letterkenny, Republic of Ireland, with the Methodist Church of Ireland, a denomination that spans both Ireland and Northern Ireland. He is a church planter in Polish and Eastern European communities. He has a degree in English Language and Letters and has also studied theology and archaeology.

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