God is Still Calling

A Letter from Melissa Johnson, mission co-worker serving in Zambia

Winter 2023

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Dear friends,

 I was home. At that moment, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. My heart and mind felt such peace and calm here. I felt like I had been homesick and finally arrived back where I belonged. But it wasn’t home – I was in Africa, Kinshasa, DRC, to be exact. At that moment, I realized that God had been calling me home to this place. To Africa.

Many of you have heard this story – it is the beginning of Charles’ and my call story. The story of how God called us to Zambia.

When we first arrived in Zambia, I initially supported Charles’s role in agricultural development, and I trusted God’s plan to lead me to find a way to serve. God used my passion for justice, mercy, and walking with Him to call me to work with the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Zambia Health Department. When we arrived in Lundazi, through God’s grace, we were able to build relationships in Zambia and work alongside our partners for the glory of God.

One of my most important roles as a mission co-worker is to help build relationships and partnerships between U.S. congregations and my partner. Through interpretation visits to churches and newsletters like this one, I have been able to share the priorities of the CCAP Health Department. Your answer to God’s call to be the church in the world has allowed the CCAP Health Department to be successful in improving the infrastructure of the existing rural health centers in Egichikeni and Ndaiwala. The department has been able to repair wells and build mother-care shelters to provide safe and healthy places for pregnant women to wait and deliver their babies. They have been able to build a new rural health center in Phalaza that is almost fully complete thanks to so many generous gifts from individuals and congregations, as well as a Presbyterian Women Thank Offering grant. Many of you have supported the Days for Girls enterprise in a variety of ways. These women have gone from not knowing how to hold a pair of scissors to being professional seamstresses who have provided education about menstrual health, hygiene and reproductive health to almost 4,000 girls and women. They have also learned how to help many women overcome the fears and myths that have prevented cervical cancer screenings and early treatment.

Over the last eight years, I have learned so much, and I pray that my friends and co-workers have learned a little from me as well. Through the partnerships that Charles and I helped build with you and bringing you alongside the projects and priorities of the CCAP Synod of Zambia and the Health Department, we have all learned, grown and empowered each other.

After Charles retired in 2021, I still felt called to continue working with the CCAP Health Department. Because of the pandemic and Charles’ health issues, my work continued remotely for the majority of the last four years. When I learned in July that I would no longer be able to continue working remotely, I started praying that God show me where and how He was calling me to continue serving His people.

In mid-September, as I entered the sanctuary of Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Atlanta and connected with the pastor and staff, a deep feeling of belonging washed over me, reminiscent of the call I felt to Africa. My prayers were answered as God led me to a new chapter and calling to serve my community here in Atlanta. God is still calling me, but now He is calling me to serve here at home in Atlanta.

Starting at the end of October, I will end my service with Presbyterian World Mission and answer my new call to service with Central Presbyterian Church. Although this path and call were unexpected, I am deeply grateful for God’s blessings and the mysterious ways in which He continues to work in my life.

I will miss working with my partners and friends in Zambia, but I will stay connected with them, and I pray that you will also. Rev. Paula Cooper, the regional liaison for East and Central Africa, will continue telling the stories of the work of the Church of Central Africa Synod of Zambia. If you want to stay connected with CCAP Zambia, please connect with Rev. Paula at paula.cooper@pcusa.org or go to this site to sign up for her newsletters pcusa.org/paula-cooper.

If you want to build a relationship with another mission co-worker, please visit the Mission Connections homepage (pcusa.org/missionconnections) and learn about the amazing ways God is working in and through the PC(USA) in the world. 

Friends, please know you will continue to be in my prayers as well. Taonga chomene (thank you very much!) for your love, prayers and support – for me and the people of Zambia. If you want to stay connected with me, please feel free to send an email to my private email address:  mcjsa78@gmail.com. Let’s stay in touch!

Melissa

Please read this important message from Director of World Mission Rev. Mienda Uriarte

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Matthew 25:34-36

Dear friends,

Great things are happening in World Mission! As you know from the letters you’ve been receiving, our mission co-workers are at the forefront of showing us what Matthew 25 looks like in the U.S. and in the wider world. They are addressing issues related to eradicating systemic poverty, building congregational vitality and dismantling structural racism. Together with our partners, mission co-workers are engaged in life-transforming ministries in 80 countries around the world. Here are just a few examples:

As an education consultant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, José Jones assists the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) education department in the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic plans to strengthen the church’s primary and secondary education programs for more than 350 schools.

Based in Manila, Rev. Cathy Chang works closely with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and other partners in ministry to engage programs and networks across Asia that advocate for people vulnerable to forced migration and human trafficking.

Nadia Ayoub works alongside our Greek partners as they faithfully hold to the biblical call to welcome the stranger. Nadia serves with Perichoresis, a ministry of the Evangelical Church of Greece that provides housing and support to refugees; most of whom have come to Greece from Arabic-speaking countries.

Joseph Russ strengthens and supports a network of partners working in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to address migration issues in the Northern Triangle. Based on the needs people on the ground identify, Joseph empowers U.S. congregations to engage in advocacy related to Central America and immigration reform.

Revs. Drs. Noah Park and Esther Shin serve as professors at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC). ETSC graduates work toward revitalizing congregational ministries in Egypt and work with refugee and peace ministries in various countries in the Middle East.

Please consider giving an extra gift this year to support our mission co-workers as they walk alongside our partners and help shape a more life-giving, equitable and hopeful world!

Prayerfully,

Rev. Mienda Uriarte, Director of World Mission
Presbyterian Mission Agency
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

To give online, visit https://bit.ly/23MC-YE.

Honorary gifts can be made by checking the box and writing the mission co-worker’s name in the comment field online.