Hope Missionaries, Monthly update for January, 2016
Mihai & Ana Laura BucurWOL, Romania, Contact Barb Clayton
WOL website
Address; USA - Schroon Lake, N. Y.
Phone - Cell: +3706780036o
Email -
Newsletters quarterly by e-mail. / Mihai and Ana were at Hope on March 8, 2015 for an update. They have new pictures on Facebook. We e-mailed them for an update & newsletter on Jan 20.
Mihai and Ana continue to minister in Romania at a camp to young people in evangelistic and discipleship programs. They have two children, Sophia and Lucas. In 2013 Mihai was officially installed as the new Field Director for the country of Romania. 2015 was a challenging year with Mihai recovering from severe renal colic and living in a country very close to the conflict in Ukraine. /
Jacob & Beth Devine,
New Tribes Ministries, Interface, Wewak, Papua, New Guinea, Contact Bruce Cutter
Currently on Home Assignment
blogs.ntm.org/jacob-devine/
Current Address:
49 Woodbine Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201 USAor
4174 Highway 3
RR1 Shag Harbor, Nova Scotia B0W 3B0
US Cell Phones:
413 212 7073 – Jacob
413 369 5056 - Beth / Jacob & Beth were at Hope Jan 13 and gave an update to the early Sunday School Class. We e-mailed them our best wishes and asked them to stay in touch on 1/20/16
This is the e-mail received Jan 19. “We have started our trek south, heading out on our road trip! We are now in Springville, PA where we have enjoyed time with a NTM Member Care couple. Tomorrow we get to visit some co-workers and Jacob’s brother and family here in PA. We are hoping that we will run into some warm weather as we continue to head south, but today we heard that there is a big snow storm coming. Virginia is supposed to get 33 inches of snow when we attempt to drive down on Friday and Saturday. We would appreciate your prayers as we travel to VA, TN, KY, MO, IN, MI and on to Ontario, Canada and back to Nova Scotia mid-March. Please pray for safety and wisdom through any weather that we encounter. It seems that life is always an adventure no matter where we are in the world!” /
Rev. Mike & Janet Hencher,
The Missing Peace Trust, Gloucestershire England Contact: Linda Hasty
Mike Hencher
61 Knights Way,
Newent,
Gloucestershire, GL18 1QJ
Mobile: 07519 743419 / Visited Missing Peace Trust website and sent e-mail on Jan 20 asking for an update.
August 2015 Pastor Wes and Suzanne visited the Western Way Chapel bringing the message and gifts and support from Hope Church
There are great messages and resources on both the Western Way Chapel and Missing Peace Trust websites. /
William & Hannah Levi, Operation Nehemiah, South Sudan.
Contact: Suzanne Smith
Operation Nehemiah Missions PO Box 563 Lanesborough, MA 01237
Mobile: 413-770-4711 E-mail:
Newsletters sent to Hope Members / William spoke at the Hope Annual Missions Conference in October, William and Hannah had sent out a December Newsletter. This is part of it.
Christmas Message 2015
Shalom. Thanks to your help. The year 2015 was a truly incredible year of support for the People of South Sudan through Operation Nehemiah Missions. Your overwhelming kindness and generosity has made a tremendous difference in the lives of many people. With much appreciation to you and your family, I want to thank God for you and wishing
you Blessed Prosperous year 2016. On Christmas, we gather here with Operation Nehemiah’s board of Elders at our home with family on Christmas day and New Year Eve reflecting on the birth of Yeshua and the significance of His birth to the entire Creation of human race under the planet earth. /
Craig & Kristi Libby,
Mexico Medical, Baja, California.
Contact: Alice Bassen
Craig, Kristi, Josh & Katie Libby
Serving with Mexican Medical Ministries
7850 Lester Avenue
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
website / Craig and Kristi just sent a January update on the 20th. They are enjoying their family and a new home while looking forward to a missionary trip:
“One of the things we asked you to pray for in our last E-news was for a larger place to live. Many of you receive our written letter that we send out once a year, so you've already read about the home the Lord has given us. We are enjoying it very much and have loved having several visitors, including our parents”.
Palenque Bound
January 30 all four of us will depart for Palenque, Chiapas, as we lead a one week outreach team to five different communities with local national missionaries. This is a city located in the north of the state of Chiapas, Mexico.
Please lift up these prayer requests with us:
1)That people will come to know Christ.
2)That the national missionaries will be encouraged by our presence.
3) That we are able to get all of our medical supplies and medication there easily.
4) For safety as we travel on mountainous roads.
5)That the rental vehicles will work well and not have any issues.
6)For good health as we are fighting colds now.
7)For great team bonding with our team of 12. /
Jennifer & Carlos De Selvilla,
Contact: Barbara Clayton / Jennifer & Carlos De Selvilla have come off the mission field in Honduras. Carlos is in the process of citizenship and they are living in Worcester, MA.
This has been a very challenging change for their family and they need your prayers to adapt to a new life in the US. We sent an e-mail 1/20. /
S.D. Ponraj,
Bihar Christian Church, India
Contact Linda Hasting
Rev. Dr. S. D. Ponraj
Senior Pastor
Bihar Christian Church
102, Anuradharaj Residency
Road No.3, New Patliputra Colony
Patna Bihar 800 013
Cell No: 09431022146
/ Rev Ponraj continues at the lead Pastor of Bihar Christian Church. Our lest e-mail was Jan 8, 2016 in which he asked for prayers and assistance recovering from a flood that did a great deal of damage. We returned a greeting and best wishes for 2016. The last newsletter was in
This report comes from Bihar with a good news that the Church in Bihar has grown 143% according to the Census figures, Praise Lord. We rejoice with you because it was because of your prayers and support to various missions and churches working in Bihar, that this has happened. While we rejoice with this news, we are mindful of the teeming millions in Bihar who have never heard the gospel even once in their lives and they have been waiting for a long time and we need to reach them as quickly as possible with the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ before it becomes too late.
We are currently working change the support to S.D. Ponraj to go directly to Bihar Christian Church rather than BORN, his last ministry. /
Michael & Rachael Sleep,
Contact, Joan Cooper
Wycliffe Bible Translators
New assignment,
Wycliffe Bible Translators
PO box 628200
Orlando, Florida, 32862-8200 / After having served in Southeast Asia, the Sleep family was invited to take a stateside assignment. Michael has begun a new role as a Systems Administrator. His job is to provide the necessary technical support for servers and related equipment to ensure that it operates with a minimum of downtime. Bible translators depend on these systems and the programs that are developed within the network Michael maintains. Rachael has become very involved in their church and her contributions cleaning and serving meals there are very appreciated. Together they are leading a young adult Bible study. Please consider joining their Wycliffe ministry partnership team as they answer the Lord's calling to Missions. Email sent Jan 20, 2016 for an update. See the Winter 2015 update. /
Rev. Edward & Christine Vergara, contact Barb Clayton
AOG World Missions
3291 W. Erie St
Springfield, MO, 65807-8260
/ Rev. Edward and Christine Vergara, Ministry in Uruguay, South America.
Our last newsletter was in the fall with a Christmas card in December. This is the link for the video, it gives a great overview of their ministry history and what they are doing now. Video link:Edward & Christine Report on Uruguay We emailed them for an update on 1/20/15
“Dear Friends,
Attached to this note is our Video Newsletter, with a report on Uruguay. There is no doubt that this is harvest time in Kingdom related matters.
We pray God's renewal upon your life, family and congregation, with appreciation for the prayer support and the finances given, even in challenging times. God's best to you, always. Edward & Christine Vergara.” /
Dr. Russell & Beth White,
Surgeon, Tenwick Hospital, Kenya, Africa. Contact Bruce
Email:
Mail: Tenwek Hospital, PO Box 39, Bomet, Kenya 20400
Phone +254 713 737384
Quarterly newsletters online
Online / Dr. Russell White is the Chief of Surgery at Tenwek hospital, a teaching hospital in Kenya, Africa. We received the Fall, 2015 newsletter from Tenwek and have e-mailed a request for a family update and possibly dates when he will be back in the states on a speaking tour. He was last here in 2014 and the home assignments are usually every three years.
This is an overview of Dr White’s role in Tenwek Hospital;
Russ: Russ spends the majority of his time teaching and discipling young Christian doctors who are studying surgery at Tenwek Hospital. He is also actively involved in the life ofthe local church. Specific ministry roles include: Chief of Surgery, director of Residency Training Program in General Surgery, director of Medical Education, director of Cardiac
Surgery, and director of Surgical Research Program atTenwek; lay leader at Bethesda Africa Gospel Church; and board member of Kenya Highlands Evangelical University. /
Dr Wes & Cindy White, Mosiac Community Missions, Glasgow, Scotland.
Contact: Alice Bassen
Email: ()
Upper Room Church
About their Ministry
/ Wes & Cindy were the founders of CA’s original Glasgow church plant, Mosaic. They are now leading a house church, Upper Room Church, that is made up mainly of Iranian refugees and they serve in preaching, worship and pastoral roles.
Wes also serves as CA's UK Advancement Team leader and teaches at the Scottish School of Christian Mission. Cindy coleads a women's book/bible study group and is involved with pastoral care ministries. The White’s also host Upper Room Church in their flat: 50+ people every Friday night!
The Whites have 5 children. Their oldest, Heather, and her husband Carlo live in Glasgow with their 5 kids. Lauren, Brendan & Elena live in the US. Lauren is married to Riley and Brendan & Elena are in university. Aiden lives at home. To find out about Upper Room Church, click here: We emailed a greeting & news request 1/20. /
Dr. & Mrs. Bryant (Faith) Wood, Associates for Biblical Research, PA. Contact: Bruce
email:
The Associatesfor Biblical Research
PO Box 144Akron, PA 17501
+1 717-859-3443
+1 717-859-3393
1-800-430-0008 / Ancient Greek City of Knossos Larger Than Previously Thought
We checked the ABR website for the most recent update: This was posted about a month ago: “Recent excavations at the ruins of Knossos on the island of Crete, Greece have revealed that the ancient city was significantly larger than previously thought. Archaeologists believed the city had suffered decline beginning around 1200 BC. The findings suggest this was not the case, and that Knossos had instead prospered. The island of Crete is the destination of the Apostle Paul's letter to Titus, whom he had left there to "straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town" (Titus 1:5). Roy Anderson is a short term missionary to ABR.
The missions team sent a greeting for 2016 and request for the newsletter. /
Libby Little, Global
Speaker for Interserve
Contact: Joan Cooper
Interserve website:
e-mail; / Just Received Jan 20,
JOIN US At
Loudonville Community Church
374 Loudon Road | Loudonville, NY
Friday, March 11@6 pm
The Unseen--the marginalized people of Asia and the Arab world--live in conditions of material and spiritual poverty. Most have never met a follower of Jesus, but God has not forgotten them.
Come enjoy a simple meal featuring flavors from their world and glimpse how God is reaching out to them through Interserve Partners.
There is no cost for the meal, but an offering will be received.
Registration is required--Please RSVP by March 7.
Questions? Please call us at 800.809.4440 or email . /
Jeff Walsh,
Director, Advent Christian Missionaries,
World Missions, Contact Suzanne Smith
Phone 704-545-6161
or
Email, Jeff Walsh: / The Advent Christian Missionaries thru World Missions is supported by Hope Church. Jeff Walsh is the director and we received an electronic newsletter a few days ago. In addition to their ongoing ministries all over the world they are working on a way to support refugees in the middle east fleeing war torn countries. Please keep them in your prayers. /
Pat & Kathie Greco,
Kenya Highlands Evangelical University
Kenya, Africa.
Contact Joan Cooper
Members of Hope Church
/ In addition to their missionary work Pat and Kathie will be holding a Bible Study this year. “The South County Bible Study Fellowship group will begin it's Winter term on Jan 13, 2016 at 7 pm. We will be meeting weekly on Wednesday nights at our home, (29 Mahaiwe St, GB) until further notice.
We are beginning a new study using Ligonier Ministries video material on the Classic Christian book, Pilgrim's Progress.New members are welcome.
Further Information: email: or phone: 413-528-1684 /
Roy Anderson & Sue Choquette
Short Term Missions
Contact, Bruce Cutter
Africa Connect:
Associates for Biblical Research
Serving in Missions; / Hope Church has many other members who participate in both short and longer term missionary work. Roy Anderson often works with the Associates for Biblical Research. Sue Choquette is the Director of Medical and Healthcare Initiatives for Africa Connect & Steve Vannah is the Northeast Director for Serving in Missions. All three spoke at the 2015 Hope Missions conference and their contact information is in the Hope Church Directory. Websites for each ministry are to your left. /