Mission co-workers the Rev. Bob and Kristi Rice firmly believe that God has a reason for them to be in the United States at this time.
Forced to leave South Sudan during the early stages of the pandemic, they have used the time not only to continue their work, but to also reflect more deeply on the challenges the U.S. faces around systemic racism, continued brutality against people of color and the need for restoration, reconciliation and peace.
Validating loss and understanding our feelings is a concept not difficult to grasp during a global pandemic. But for mission co-workers the Revs. Nancy and Shelvis Smith-Mather, their 7-year-old son Jordan reminded them that sometimes you have to find the courage to lean into the pain to get through it.
Serge is a young boy in Congo who lost both his parents. He started living with his grandmother, but when Serge misbehaved, his grandmother accused him of being a sorcerer. He was kicked out and forced to live on the street.
Like many Presbyterian mission co- workers, Dustin and Sherri Ellington have a foot in two worlds.
The Ellingtons, who have served in Zambia with sons Clayton and Christopher since 2010, are currently in Pasadena, California, sheltering-in-place during the pandemic.
As COVID-19 circles the globe, mission co-workers the Rev. Ryan and Alethia White in Germany believe that working together, in our respective corners of the world, can improve protection for human rights everywhere.
Charles and Melissa Johnson served as ruling elders in their home congregation, Northwood Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, and now as mission co-workers in Zambia. In both places they found joy and strength in the strong sense of community that surrounded them. Now sheltering in place in Atlanta at Mission Haven, short-term housing for mission co-workers, they are busy staying connected to partners, supporting churches and finding that sense of community in new places.
Mark Adams and Miriam Maldonado Escobar live and minister on the border of the U.S. and Mexico in the shadow of a 30-foot steel dividing wall, grateful for the opportunity to provide witness to the reality that “Jesus is our peace and has destroyed the dividing wall of hostility.”
Validating loss and understanding our feelings is a concept not difficult to grasp during a global pandemic. But for mission co-workers the Revs. Nancy and Shelvis Smith-Mather, their seven-year-old son Jordan reminded them that sometimes you have to find the courage to lean into the pain to get through it.
A massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday has left at least 100 dead and more than 4,000 people wounded. The cause is still under investigation.
As COVID-19 circles the globe, mission co-workers the Rev. Ryan and Alethia White in Berlin, Germany believe that working together, in our respective corners of the world, can improve protection for human rights everywhere.
