Rebekah Cypert didn’t quite know what to expect while visiting China on a Global Ministry People-to-People pilgrimage. The number of skyscrapers and the friendliness of the people in places like Shanghi were among the surprises for her but what amazed her perhaps the most was her experience at a worship service at Gospel Church. “I immediately noticed all of the people scurrying out of their cars, mopeds, and bicycles eager to get there and this spirit of eagerness continued to be felt during the worship service,” Rebekah said. “This was the second service of the day and every seat was occupied.” This sharing, eager spirit was also felt later during a visit to a local YMCA/YWCA where the mission is to help children, people with autism and migrant workers who come to Shanghi for employment but are brought up short by the high cost of living. Everywhere, it seemed, Rebekah was faced with God’s loving presence.

In June 2008, Scott Nicholson of University Congregational UCC in Missoula, Montana, experienced first hand the herbicide spraying of crops in Colombia, part of the U.S.-financed war on drugs. The planes spray the crops in hopes of eradicating the coca crops (the raw material used to produce cocaine). Nicholson reported that the planes flew directly overhead, each escorted by machine-gun toting helicopters. A few days later, he visited farms that had been fumigated in Arauquita, Colombia. One couple, Luis Alfonso and Amilia, and their four children live in a small, dirt-floor home next to their fields of corn and yucca (cassava). They don’t plant coca, but their farm was one of those fumigated. That summer, the crops withered and did not produce a harvest. The family borrowed money to plant the crops and was unable to repay the loan. They are just one of many families who have lost the ability to support themselves due to the indiscriminate crop spraying. Although the policy of massive aerial fumigation has failed to reduce the coca cultivation in Colombia, regular rounds of spraying continue. For example, although nearly 60,000 acres were fumigated during five rounds of spraying in 2007, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime reported that the amount of coca detected at the end of the year was 5,300 acres – the largest since 2001. The spraying also has generated substantial income for several U.S. corporations that provide the planes, helicopters and herbicides. Citizens’ groups in Arauca, Colombia have called on their government to halt aerial spraying. Farmers have offered to manually remove the coca in exchange for assistance with alternative crops that would enable them to provide for their families. Many UCC members and congregations are working to stop human rights violations in Colombia, including the aerial spraying of crops. Global Ministries missionary Michael Joseph serves in Colombia with the Restoration, Life and Peace Commission of the Council of Evangelical Churches (CEDECOL). He provides pastoral critical presence to church leaders and lay people who are living in life-threatening situations.

Mardelle Bourdon/Pond, member of Pleasant Hill Community UCC in Pleasant Hill, TN relates, for about two years, I was on the committee to prepare for and welcome a refugee family. This was a highlight of my experience as a church member. The Mijatovics are from Serbia. They came with goals and skills that would be useful anywhere and they quickly found work in nearby Crossville. Today, both husband and wife are employed in management positions. The children are engaged in activities at school and at Cumberland County Playhouse. With good reason, we are greatly proud of these neighbors.

Carter Cassion tells of his inspiration: “When I first connected with the Rhode Island Conference’s Mission Evangelique Baptiste Bethesda (MEBB) in Haiti, I was about 17 years old with minimal spoken English. I learned English so that I could have an opportunity to start translating for the mission. I grew up in a very poor family and my parents could not help with my education. I met people from this mission and they were willing to provide my tuition for high school and college for my degree in computer science at a university in Haiti.

The Abdulai family arrived in May 2001 as refugees from strife-torn Sierra Leone. With no idea what lay ahead, they were met upon their arrival, by twenty members of St. Peter’s UCC, West Seneca, NY. Through all the turmoil of finding shelters and jobs, enrolling the children in school, learning to drive, and getting along, the church guided and supported the family. Mother Phebian graduated from nursing school, they became U.S. citizens, bought a house, and the children went to school. Two of the children now plan to become doctors, hoping someday to start a school in Sierra Leone. Pastor Hope Harle-Mould says, “We welcomed this family and ended up opening our own doors to the world.”

Nativity UCC in Buffalo NY sponsored a Laotian widow and her with four children in 1981. Then the congregation sponsored nine more families from Ethiopia, Laos, Iran, Liberia, Serbia, and Somalia. Their present family, Ali Kadhum, Emaam Saad, and daughter Noor, arrived in May, 2008 from Iraq. They had no family in the US and weren’t sure who would meet them.

Did you know that, on the average, only 11 cents of every dollar spent on coffee makes its way back to the coffee grower? The injustice of that system prompted the UCC Jubilee Justice Task Force to visit fair trade and free trade coffee farmers in Chiapas, Mexico. After meeting with coffee growers and leaders of co-operatives, the group came away realizing that fair trade and co-operatives do make a difference. They experienced a people who are learning to stand together, allowing small growers to keep their land. Schools are sprouting up, new agricultural methods are being tried – all aimed at preserving the dignity and livelihood of the community. John and Han Will, two of the 18 who visited Chiapas. You can visit the UCC Coffee Project from the UCC website. For those congregations who already serve Equal Exchange coffee, cool beans!

“We had no knowledge what lay ahead of us when we came to the United States in 2001. Leaving everything behind, we got used to a fearful life in a refugee camp. Upon our arrival at the Buffalo airport we had a warm welcome from members of St. Peter’s UCC of West Seneca, NY. Our fear dissolved; hope revived. Since that day, St. Peter’s has been a strong support giving us hope and a new life. Two of our children have graduated from high school and I have graduated from nursing school with as a CMA (Certified Medication Aide). In all these celebrations, St. Peter’s church was there as a family.” Phebian Abdulai

Named and Sent Matthew’s account of Jesus’ ministry is thrilling. We read story after story of amazing transformations. A leper’s sores disappear! A paralyzed man walks! A girl rises from her death bed! A mute person gains voice! These astonishing encounters are accented with stories of spiritual healing. People heard a marvelous word of hope in Jesus’s simple invitation, “Follow me.” Crowds formed in town after town to hear Jesus teach about a new way to live. Seeing the people’s eagerness, he empowered his disciples to extend this ministry. Healing and telling, telling and healing... the heart of ministry is the same today as it was then. People still experience spiritual and physical pain. We still are eager for messages of hope, love and faith. In 2007, the 50th anniversary year of the United Church of Christ, the faithful are still called to serve. Astonished, we receive the gift of grace to continue the ministry of Jesus. Just as Jesus brought the disciples from the sidelines to the forefront, so do we come together with the holy purpose of bringing God’s healing to the world. Time and time again, people are transformed by the power of the one great story. In the United Church of Christ, we are bound together by covenant in the shared purpose of God’s mission. No person, no congregation, no Conference, no national ministry body, no seminary, no council, not any of us stands alone. Together, we are named and sent.

"On July 26, 2009 it was thirteen years since we came to the US. When we first came, it was hard to understand the language and culture, but with the help of the Pleasant Hill UCC, Pleasant Hill, TN we fit in quickly. Within a few years we learned most of the language and got used to the culture. We actually never felt like refugees. We were just regular people looking for a new, peaceful home. Just saying thank you to the United Church of Christ isn't enough; no words can describe how grateful we are." The Mijatovic family: Dragica, Mia, and Zeliko Mijatovic; Vesna and Aleksandar Bojic, and Svetlana Petrovic.

“For almost 17 years, Little River, VA UCC has continued to play a very important role in all main events and changes in my life. My hope is in every embracing hug of friends after each church service; in the curious eyes of my kindergartener daughter; in the genuine belief and trust in people; and most of all in the amazing love and care of God. The Little River UCC witnessed and was directly involved in all my major life milestones: my U.S. citizenship, marriage, the birth of my daughter, Sophia. All these happened with my relatives still overseas. I am a family-oriented person, so the church becomes my family.“ Irina Karapetyan Melusky

When the Trans and their daughter fled Saigon in1975, they became separated from their two sons. The Trans new life began in Montebello, California, in October 1975. They lived with Rev. Ken Iha for several months and attended Montebello Plymouth UCC church services regularly. Uc Tran spoke several languages and was a military trained officer in Washington D.C. soon found employment. His wife, Tien was an excellent cook having owned her own restaurant in Vietnam. Their daughter Phoung (Jenn) did well in school and went on to college, graduating with a business degree. Jenn is now a senior business analyst at California State University. They were reunited with their son, Thai who inherited his mother’s love of cooking and is now a chef. The Trans enriched the lives of all who met them and their legacy lives on in their children and grandchildren today.

Montebello Plymouth UCC in Montebello, CA began as a mission to Japanese immigrants in 1913, the church was a sanctuary for people with different languages and traditions. With the start of World War II church families were thrown into a time of relocation and exile, spending the war years in the Rohwer Relocation Camp in Arkansas. After the war, they returned, and the church gradually reorganized and grew. In 1975 the congregation decided to sponsor a Vietnamese family. The church worked out the tasks that needed to be done—raising funds, finding employment, providing household furnishings, encouraging visits and outings. Rev. Iha said, “What stands out most for me is the transformation of the congregation from a guarded willingness to a wholehearted embrace of the adopted family.”

Dr. Pauline E. King’s vision was quite clear: All children should be given the best possible opportunity to succeed in life. To that end, she founded the Mudhiyor Balar Kudumba Grama Pannai (MBKG) Family Village Farm in 1969 to provide family life in India for many destitute orphans, semi-orphaned childern, deserted/widowed women and the aged. A strong Global Ministries partner today through the Child Sponsorship Program, the farm thrives due to the selfless efforts of King, who died at age 82 in 2000. “Mummy,” as she was affectionately known, served at the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India from 1954 till 1997 in various capacities and initiated many new programs including M.Sc. Nursing, receiving the National Award for Best Nurse in 1980. In 1978, King founded King’s Matriculation School, which reaches out to include children of the 27 neighboring villages. Many of them are the first of their generation to attend school, benefiting from computers and lunch programs, thanks to the generosity of partners such as Global Ministries.

Bethany UCC, Seattle, WA is located in one of the most diverse multicultural neighborhoods in the country. Member, Gwilym Tso tells this story: “Bethany has a house in the neighborhood. We were contacted by an immigrant rights organization for help. Together with community partners, we quickly repaired the house, gathered furniture, clothing, and household items. “Martha” and her girls moved in. They have become wonderful partners with our church community. We witnessed them come out of their fearful shells into vibrant, joyful, relaxed individuals. Through them, the Bethany community was encouraged to share our own varied immigration histories. Our journey together has taken many twists and turns and is ongoing, but we are grateful for all that we have learned.”

God’s Love Knows No Bounds… Strengthen the Church Close your eyes. Imagine a church that spans boundaries. Now open your eyes… and see Iglesia sin Fronteras/Church without Borders UCC, serving people from both sides of the Ciudad Juárez-El Paso border. Strengthen the Church is helping this new church start! The UCC’s Southwest Conference has had Hispanic congregations, including Iglesia La Trinidad UCC in El Paso, Texas, since its founding. Lay people from La Trinidad have been crossing to the Juárez site to do social service work. Las Iglesias Cristianas Congregacionalales de Mexico, concentrated on Mexico’s Pacific coast, have a strong sense of mission to their brothers and sisters in Mexico’s north. Members of Iglesia Congregacional de Mazatlan have made the 20-hour bus ride to minister to people attracted from the interior of Mexico by jobs in the border plants around Juárez. To the Spanishspeaking community of Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, the two cities on either side of the border have always been one; and it is in this spirit that this new church is being established. Christ expects us to feed the hungry and heal the sick. Work guided by Pastor Raúl Blanco Valdez is meeting those expectations: diabetes testing, reading classes, health education, vision and dental clinics. Women are learning income-generating handcrafts, youth are helped with drug problems, and children are offered English and computer classes. The congregation worships in a sanctuary constructed by volunteer work groups from across the UCC. Our vision is that this church will provide a strong Protestant witness to lower- and middle-income people attracted to the economy of the Mexico/USA border. We expect this partnership to bless communities where God’s love knows no bounds.

First United Church of Oak Park (IL) houses the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry. Prior to Thanksgiving, 2009, 600 frozen turkeys were ready for distribution. A woman with two small children in tow came too late to receive a bird. One man near the end of the line seeing her plight, gave her his ticket. She, in turn, invited him for Thanksgiving Dinner. Her benefactor politely declined, and walked away into the gathering darkness. We seldom see such generosity except for the story of Jesus who watched a widow drop her last two copper coins into the temple treasury.

“What amazed us most about these children was their ability to maintain hope and happiness despite the challenges they face. It was incredibly inspiring,” Emma said. The volunteers also worked at a local dump, home to 34 families whose houses are made of scrounged materials. The volunteers worked with “maestros” who taught them how to mix mortar to build a sturdy concrete block home for one of these families. But the most profound experience for Emma was meeting Solidad, a 70 year-old woman whose new home the volunteers helped finish. “Solidad had so much energy and spirit, and was so grateful for her new house. Just seeing her smiling face gave me inspiration to carry me through the day.” Emma had the privilege of giving Solidad a handmade quilt – an item that all new homeowners receive when the house is completed. “She immediately hugged it and wrapped it around her like a prayer shawl,” Emma said. “Seeing her happiness brought me to tears.”

The statistics may have caught their attention, but it was their hearts that brought 23 high school students and six adults from Connecticut UCC congregations to Oaxaca – the poorest state in Mexico. It is home to 3.5 million people, half of whom have no access to healthcare, 53% of whom have sixth-grade educations, 25% of whom are migrant farm workers, with an average annual income of $2,265 for a family of five. Oaxaca is as far from their lives in Connecticut in living conditions as it is in miles but, as Emma Lane said of the experience, it was, “one of the most enlightening, shocking and emotional experiences of my life.” Emma, a high school junior and member of First Church of Christ in Mansfield Congregational UCC, wrote about her volunteer encounters for the Connecticut Conference edition of UCNews starting with their visit to Casa Hogar, an orphanage supported by a Connecticut non-profit, Simply Smiles. Approximately one-third of the children at Casa Hogar have some form of disability – physical or mental – and receive residential and educational support from caregivers.

Most people know the wisdom of ‘teach a man to fish’ in the battle against hunger and poverty. That wisdom would be just as sound if we changed the saying to ‘teach a person to farm’. The Disciples of Christ Church in Congo (EDCC) has undertaken a project called the Agricultural Sustainability Farm to provide a source of revenue and food that is based on autonomy and sustainability for the people of the Republic of Congo. In promoting this holistic ministry, the EDCC with support from Global Ministries, recognizes people may know how to farm, but lack access to land and proper equipment. So, encouraging durable development helps its members to understand the importance of agriculture. Since women and children often represent the majority of church members, the farm will be an ideal way to provide work for them. Produce from the farm will be supplied to the cities of both Brazzaville and Kinshasa.