A letter from Tom Harvey serving in England
March 2015 – Global Migration
Dear Friends and Partners in Mission,
Diaspora is a term with which you might not be familiar. It means “dispersion” or “scattered.” Biblically, it often referred to the Jewish communities scattered through the Roman Empire that Paul visited on his missionary journeys. It is a term used by Peter in his epistle written to God’s chosen migrants in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Peter 1:1).
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Tom on Jumbotron
In mission work and mission studies today “diaspora” refers to the massive migration of people globally that is rapidly changing the nations, societies, and churches we attend. Migration experts have estimated that there are now over 214 million international migrants and over 700 million internally displaced people. This means there are close to 1 billion scattered peoples across the globe. At Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS) we now have a whole group of scholars, including myself, who have begun to specialize on the modern diaspora movement of people around the globe and how this impacts the church and mission.
A letter from Kurt Esslinger on Interpretation Assignment from South Korea|March 2015
A letter from Elisabeth Cook serving in Costa Rica|Spring 2015
A letter from Esther Wakeman serving in Thailand
January-March 2015 – Ministry Through Fun Times
Dear friends,
In January Payap University hosted the 5th ASEAN Textiles Symposium—an international event that included a visit of the Crown Princess of Thailand to our campus—which is a huge deal. The whole Payap community worked hard and cooperated wonderfully. The first and second floors of our library were transformed into a bamboo showroom filled with gorgeous fabrics and clothes from the region. The princess seemed genuinely interested, and everyone was pleased with the good press and the good fun.
Two fashion shows were organized by Ajarn Suchinda, the director of the Christian Communications Institute (CCI). Many of you have enjoyed watching CCI’s Thai dance and drama performances over the past few years. Suchinda put his creative genius to work in a similar way for the fashion shows. Our students were the models and I was like a proud mama watching them strut their stuff on the catwalk. I especially liked the show using all Thai materials—Thai silk is gorgeous, and some of the creations were delightful. These events showed us we can do a great job when we all put our hearts into it. It was a helpful, unifying event.
A letter from Dong Ho and Sook Nim Choi serving in Indonesia
March 25, 2015 – Settling In
Dear friends and family,
Greetings! We pray you are well and prospering.
We have been in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for almost four months. Thanks to the support, guidance and help from many, we rented a house in a safe and bustling neighborhood not far from Duta Wacana Christian University (where we both serve), bought a used car, and even found a gym for keeping in shape. As expected, initially we had to deal with the (hot and humid) weather, unfamiliarity with local ways and customs, and difficulties in moving around and communicating. But we are happy to report that, after the initial shock, we have settled down and are able to move freely and communicate with limited frustration (together with our efforts to acquire and exercise the local language, our body language skills have been put to remarkable use!). That being said, we are still searching for community and looking to establish a balance of outer and inner life.
Indonesia declared its independence from the Netherlands in 1945 after enduring more than 400 years of colonial rule. The brand of Christianity of the European colonizers had met a local matrix suffused with Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism—which had swept through the islands in previous waves of migration and exchange during pre-modern times—and with local animist cults, which together to this day give form to the worldview and everyday lives of peoples in this archipelago nation of 250 million souls. As much as Indonesia is shaped by its past experiences, it is also informed by its forward-looking expectations regarding its life and place in the global community.
A letter from Burkhard Paetzold serving in Germany
April 2015 – Ministries in Eastern Europe
Dear friends,
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Let us celebrate Easter. Let us celebrate Christ’s victory, the victory of life over death and our hope that injustice, violence and the destruction of God’s creation will not have the final say.
As a regional liaison for Central and Eastern Europe I hear questions like the following from time to time: “Why would we, PC(USA) World Mission, need to be present in this part of the world? Europe is very advanced in many aspects; they don’t need our help.” I believe our missiology is different—it is mutual. So I see myself as a bridge-builder. To facilitate sharing our mutual insights as Christians in different parts of the world helps to support the least of these to combat racism, injustice and violence and to share the good news that “Christ has risen for all of us.”
The situation is diverse, so let me try to illustrate, where and why I see our mission worker’s and my own accompaniment and solidarity with our partners in Europe.
I cannot do this without your support, so first and foremost let me thank you very much for all your support for my ministry as a regional liaison for Central and Eastern Europe and the Roma people. Your continuing encouragement and financial support means a lot to me.
A letter from Bill and Ann Moore serving in Japan
April 2015 – God at Work in Japan
Dear Friends,
As part of our work both of us have the privilege of speaking in chapel services at Yodogawa Christian Hospital (YCH) in Osaka, which is a ministry founded by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and operated by our corporation in Japan called “Japan Mission in mission partnership with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),” also known simply as Japan Mission. From Monday through Saturday at 8:30 in the morning well over 200 YCH staff and patients gather in the chapel for a brief service of worship to begin the day. As Representative Director of Japan Mission, Bill recently spoke at chapel on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of YCH’s founding. He spoke about the Japan Mission’s efforts from YCH’s early beginnings to provide compassionate and loving whole-person healing of body, mind, and spirit to witness to the love of God that we know in Jesus Christ, the Great Physician. He encouraged the staff to let their lights shine every day as they cared for patients and carried out YCH’s ministry of healing.
After the chapel service ended and the staff rapidly dispersed to their respective workstations, a man wearing pajamas remained behind. He was immediately identified to Bill as a patient, because in Japan it is the custom of inpatients to roam the hospital in their pajamas. The gentleman slowly walked to the front of the chapel, bowed deeply toward the cross and with tears streaming down his cheeks, softly uttered a prayer. Thinking that he was in distress, Bill approached him and asked if he cared to talk. It turned out that his tears were actually tears of joy and thanksgiving and that he had come to the chapel to thank God for the healing he had received. He entered the hospital with little hope for relief, but now that his illness was under control he had new hope for the future. God used Yodogawa Christian Hospital to give him his life back, so he was overcome with joy and felt compelled to thank the Lord. Like the one Samaritan among the ten lepers that Jesus healed, it was this one who came back to praise God and give thanks to the Lord.
A letter from Karen Moritz serving in the Czech Republic|Spring 2015
A letter from Eric and Becky Hinderliter serving in Lithuania|Eastertide 2015
