A letter from Ellen Sherby in Nicaragua
August 27, 2007
Dear Friends,
Last week I returned to Nicaragua from the week-long missionary sharing conference in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s a yearly event organized by the World Mission program area of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for mission co-workers like me.
It was the first time I’d been able to attend a sharing conference. I was so grateful to participate, as it allowed me to return to Nicaragua with my spirit refreshed and a greater sense of kinship with mission colleagues and the PC(USA) staff who make my ministry—and that of nearly 300 other missionaries—possible.
During the conference, roughly 35 mission co-workers assigned to Egypt, Cameroon, Mexico, Ethiopia, China, Peru, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and other countries shared personal stories of how they got involved in mission work, and told about how and where they are serving. We enjoyed Bible study, devotions, and singing together, and heard news from the General Assembly Council (GAC) and World Mission program area (WM) about changes in their structures, challenges to the PC(USA) for funding mission in the future, and how the church is expecting to work with those challenges. I was touched by two women colleagues I met during the conference.
Women of faith
One of the women was raised in former Soviet block country. The other was raised in the United States in an atheist yet spiritual family that celebrated “pagan” holidays like the solstices. Neither of these women was encouraged to believe in God nor introduced to Christian theology until young adulthood, yet both of them, in their early twenties, chose to follow Jesus, to become a Christian.
Learning from these women made me remember that the invitation to the “table,” to God’s salvation through Jesus Christ, is always open. The relative newness of their Christian commitment, contrasted with backgrounds devoid of faith in God, helped me see how God works through us and with us in mysterious ways that bring us to know God. It is never too late to seek God out or to be touched by God in unexpected ways. But we must be willing to hear God’s voice.
Mission Challenge ’07
PC(USA) is facing a budget shortfall in core funding for missionaries like me for the period 2009-2010. Here’s how you can help support PC(USA) mission workers like me (and these wonderful women I met at the conference).
For those of you who attend PC(USA) churches, please take note that the PC(USA) is organizing an event called Mission Challenge ’07. During October, 47 PC(USA) missionaries will spend a week sharing the stories of their ministry in 143 presbyteries.
The church hopes to put speakers in 700 churches that month to share the news that every day, in Christ’s name—and thanks to your faithful support—lives are being saved, wells are being dug, and hope is being shared with people in need around the world.
This is an opportunity for you and your church to learn about how the PC(USA) continues to work towards a vision of “mission in partnership” with churches, organizations, and institutions in more than 90 countries. During the first week of October, a box will arrive in your church with bulletin inserts equal to your church’s average Sunday attendance. The inserts include a call to action, inviting all to participate in mission by “praying faithfully and giving generously.” These are accompanied by a DVD featuring our new World Mission director, Hunter Farrell. It contains two brief but compelling videos that bring to life a representative sample of PC(USA) missionaries.
The PC(USA) can’t send a missionary to every church this October, but is hoping that all churches will participate in Mission Challenge ’07 by choosing a Sunday to view the DVD and distribute the bulletin inserts. Your pastor and clerk of session will receive information about Mission Challenge in September, and the DVD and bulletin inserts in October. Would you support and encourage your church’s participation in Mission Challenge ’07? Please make sure your church participates!
Sincerely,
Ellen
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 58
