Recent Mission/Good News Moments

A special shout-out to the following churches for hosting amazing ministry (Good News) moments in the past couple months with Emmanuel Nabieu.

• Bethel UMC - Thank you for a great weekend of sharing the many ways your church is manifesting God's love. The sermon on the Greatest Commandments, which I call the the "5-Loves") as recorded in Mark 12:30-31 was a great fit for that weekned.

​

• Otterbein- Thank you for the invitation to speak at your church and for sharing the work on your Church's Facebook Page. ​

​​

• First UMC of Colleyville - It was great to be invited to your annual  Family Empowerment Kick-Off Event. Your church has over 70 Family Advocates. This is WOW! It was great to spend the weekend with your church and to hear all about the amazing ways you continue to grow your partnership with Helping Children Worldwide.

​

• Ebenezer UMC- Thank you for inviting Yasmine to the the mission trip interest meeting at your church. We continue to appreciate you for all the many ways your church is involved with this ministry. We look forward to having you in Sierra Leone this year on a Mission trip. We are sure that you are going to love it!​​

​

• Braddock St. UMC - Thank you for your many years of commitment to this ministry. What a generous congregation! Thank you for the invitation to share the impact of your church partnership with this mission.

​

• Church of the Lakes - You started this journey with a capital campaign and you have been deeply engaged ever since.  Thank you for the recent invitation to share the good news moments at all of your services. It was great to see how joyful eveybody was as we talked about the minstry and seeing how each person is playing a role in making things happen. We look forward to having your church on a mission trip in 2024!

By Sharon Gardner, literacy intervention teacher and First UMC of Colleyville Partner Church Representative
 
Jill Barker, Donna Edwards, Kerry Mueller and I, all educators, had the privilege of being part of a "virtual mission trip" to collaborate with Education Manager Mabel Mustapha and CRC Director Olivia Fonnie. Since the planned July 2020 mission trip to the CRC had to be cancelled due to COVID-19, our plans for a Teachers Learning Collaborative, Phase 3, had to be put on hold.  TLC is an initiative for teacher-leaders from Sierra Leone to lead professional development for other teachers from Sierra Leone, assisted by teachers from the US.  Olivia and Mabel talked with HCW and  asked if we would be interested in collaborating virtually, so that Mabel could share some of the training materials with teachers in schools.  Mabel was also interested in learning more about study skill strategies. We met several times online, and it was delightful! We discussed and shared information back and forth to support teachers and students.  This was a marvelous way to “go” to the CRC without leaving home, and to be in partnership with our sisters in Sierra Leone.

by Tina DeBoeser, Director of Missions & Outreach, Ebenezer United Methodist Church

​I had no plans to go to Africa in 2019.  I will say that again - I had no plans to go to Africa in 2019. My year was simply too busy. A year of too much going and too much going on. Although I had been part of a team in 2018 and fell in love with the mission and people, I was not going back in 2019. 

That was final.  

Ever heard of the old Yiddish proverb, “We plan, God laughs”?  I should have known my head’s very reasonable reasons for staying were no match for the Holy Spirit whispering ‘go’!   

So I went back to Bo to embrace the people, beauty, dignity, promise, and the mission. 

I am no stranger to international missions; I am in fact the Director of Missions & Outreach at a large suburban church. As such, one of my key roles is to recruit, prepare, and send teams around the globe to work with partner organizations like Helping Children Worldwide. I recognize and appreciate what a privileged position I hold, one where I have the freedom to choose to experience these opportunities. 

I am also no stranger to the criticisms of short-term mission trips. Many of the concerns raised are valid. When done poorly, a short-term mission trip can actually cause harm and prevent healthy development. 

But when we start a trip well prepared, with a humble heart, and the expectation of developing a mutual relationship, it can be a thing of beauty. This has been my experience with HCW. 

Returning to Bo in 2019 was especially exciting for me. Part of the trip was devoted to visiting and developing an agreement between HCW, my church and two (of an eventual five) villages. This new formal relationship is the brainchild of HCW and we are thrilled to be the beta test! 

Visiting Samie and Fengehun villages was a surreal experience. We were greeted by the senior residents and chiefs, welcomed with song and given the VIP tour of community resources and liabilities. 

Once we sat down to hammer out an agreement, it was fascinating to hear the villagers’ hopes for their community’s future. I was so encouraged to hear strong women speak about their aspirations for themselves and their children.  

One thing I have learned from short-term missions is the truth about mothers. All mamas, regardless of where on the globe they happen to stand, want the same thing.  They want the opportunity to raise their children in a safe environment, free of fear and disease. They want their children to have the opportunity to learn, pursue their purpose, to know that they are valued and loved, and to fall asleep with full bellies.  

I believe that much division and fear in the world could be solved with proximity. Taking the time to be in authentic give-and-take relationships with others who do not look, act, buy, speak, think, vote, love, or live like us is the only way to remove the fallacy of ‘otherness’.  Sometimes it takes going to the other side of the world to open your eyes and heart to those on this side of the street.  

Africa imprints on your soul, just as surely as the beautiful, deep, organic smell clings to your clothes and suitcase long after you have returned home. 

Although I have no plans to return in 2020, I believe I can hear God laughing right now.  

Learn more about joining a mission team to Sierra Leone: www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org/mission-trips