The Rev. Sando Townsend, the outgoing moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Liberia, has invited the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to walk alongside the Presbyterian Church of Liberia, and U.S. church leaders are taking him up on his offer.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4) — God calls us to join hands with one another, regardless of the continent or country or context in which we live.
World Mission announced Friday it has named Luciano Kovacs as the new area coordinator for the Middle East and Europe. Kovacs is filling the position that became available when Phillip Woods became associate director for strategy, program and recruitment.
I took Elias and Gilbert, Kenyan doctors, to the medical library of Yonsei University Health System in Seoul, South Korea. They came to Korea to be trained in the hospital’s urology department. They walked around in the library and stopped at the urology section, picking up a few books and flipping through the pages. They took out “Campbell-Walsh Urology,” a textbook regarded as the bible in the field. I could see their sparkling eyes, which seemed like children’s eyes that wanted a toy so much but could not possess it. I told them that they could borrow books from the library, but they politely declined. I felt sorry to see them turn back from the bookshelves.
During Presbyterian World Mission’s recent global partner consultation for Asia and the Pacific in Thailand, more than 50 representatives came together for two days to discuss the effectiveness of current partner relationships, what it means to be partners in God’s mission today, where God is calling us to put our energy and what resources are needed to move forward.
The church in Davydovo, Russia, was a thriving community of 1,000 members from five surrounding villages before the revolution. It was abruptly closed by the Communist authorities in 1936. People pulled down the cupolas and crosses with a tractor. The building was used for storage and then as a club but was neglected for 70 years. The roof collapsed around 1960, and there was nothing left but the shell of a building — only walls.
Every morning when I wake up here in San Jose, Costa Rica, I wonder what the day will hold. A trip to the hospital? A phone call from a family in need of food? Over and over in recent months, I have been reminded that being a mission co-worker of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) means standing alongside those in need.
According to a United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime 2016 Global Report, nearly 71 percent of human trafficking victims are women and girls, and one-third are children.
“The dishwashing detergent is lost.” In Cuba, one would say, “El detergente de lavar platos está perdido.” That means that you will not find dishwashing detergent in the store these days. As we enter our fourth year as mission co-workers in Cuba, we realize how easy it is sometimes to forget that we are strangers living in a foreign land.
