For SIM workers, by SIM workers
MAY 2022 • VOL 4 ISSUE 2
JOIN IN 10 DAYS OF PRAYER
SIM is helping Ukrainian refugees Ted Watts, a mission surgeon in Madagascar Home comforts help Ryan share the gospel in Thailand
CONTENTS New harvest workers in SIM................. 4-5 Care and support in changing times......... 6 Q&A with Worku Hailemariam................ 7 SIM’s For Freedom ministry steps in to help Ukrainian refugees ....................... 8-9 Called: Ted Watts in Madagascar....... 10-11 Ministry opportunities.......................... 12 June 1 Day of Prayer plus news.............. 13 Tackling the ‘giants’ of Covid-19 ........... 14 Leader appointments ............................ 15 Home comforts help Ryan share the gospel in Thailand............................................. 16 Cover photo: SIM workers in prayer by Rene Palacio
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Convinced that no one should live and die without hearing God's good news, we believe that He has called us to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in communities where He is least known
© SIM International 2022. Connect is an internal publication of SIM for the encouragement and information of its workers. SIM International Director: Joshua Bogunjoko International Communications Director and Editor of Connect: Tim Allan Design: Pilgrim Communications Email: connect@sim.org • Web: www.sim.org
BY TIM ALLAN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
CORPORATE prayer has the power to change lives, to change communities and to change organisations. That is why we so want everyone in SIM to join our 10 Days of Prayer this year and, indeed, every year. We all know there is value in praying privately, on your own. God hears all our prayers. But the sense of shared joy, shared purpose and shared commitment when we pray together can have profound impacts on those who pray — and on those being prayed for. Indeed, as we pray for the name of Jesus to be made known in communities where he is least known, it can have eternal impact. As SIM workers, we are bound together by the same mission, vision and purpose. The 10 Days of Prayer No matter where will bring us closer we work, no matter to God, to a greater whether we are sent understanding of him workers or staff, no matter where and of how he wants we come from in our work to proceed. the world, we all want to see more people come into relationship with Jesus Christ. We long to make disciples of the Lord Jesus in communities across the globe. We have all signed up to that commitment, but sharing in prayer helps bring our shared purpose alive. As we re-state our mission through prayer, we re-commit to playing our part in achieving those goals. This year’s devotionals focus on the unique qualities of God, as revealed by the way he describes himself in the Old Testament. Through them, we discover truths about God’s character, purposes, priorities, and capabilities. A deep and intimate relationship with someone is impossible without self-disclosure and WWW.SIM.ORG
SIM workers in prayer together sharing. So, we thank God for revealing himself so that we may draw closer to him. Of course, there is much to pray about, both in the world and in SIM. We think of the global pandemic, the many places where war and conflict reign, and of the many people struggling for even the most basic necessities. Within SIM, we want to keep the search for a new International Director before God, as well as the ongoing challenges of doing ministry in increasingly sensitive contexts and the everpresent need for workers. But our greatest need is for God’s guidance,
wisdom and leadership, as we seek to fulfil his global mission. The 10 Days of Prayer will help give us a greater understanding of how he wants our work to proceed. Please take time to pause from your routines and give yourselves wholeheartedly to pray with SIM’s global family during our 10 Days of Prayer. While we can pray on our own, we have this unique privilege of expressing our oneness and celebrating our unity in the body of Christ. To find the full range of 10 Days of Prayer resources in several languages please go to www. sim.org/pray-with-us/resources prayer.
WHY DO WE HAVE 10 DAYS OF PRAYER? Many people in SIM wonder how the 10 Days of Prayer came to be an annual event in our organisation. It dates back to the early 1990s, to the time when we merged with the Africa Evangelical Fellowship. It MAY 2022 • VOL 4 ISSUE 2
had long been part of their tradition and so it became part of ours; first as a way to honour their heritage and then as a key part of our DNA. The 10 Days of Prayer event moves around the
calendar each year, because it is always the 10 days from Ascension Day to the Day of Pentecost. This year, we will be praying together from Thursday, May 26 to Saturday, June 4.
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
SIM'S MISSION
WHY 10 DAYS OF PRAYER SHOULD BE A PRIORITY
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NEW HARVEST WORKERS Church: Sungnam Church, Seoul. Where will you serve? South Asia. What will you be doing? After language and culture-learning, I’ll be working among women and children. Pray: That my language and culture learning would improve, that I will arrive in my ministry location at God’s appointed time and for the health of my elderly parents in Korea.
Church: Knighton Free Church, Leicester, UK. Where will you serve? Nigeria. What will you be doing: Working with the Sports Friends team, using football to share the gospel and encourage existing Christians within the community. Pray: Raising support and sharing my vision with those I come into contact with.
Byron King
Okryon Lee Church:
New harvest workers
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Dan Muchai
Church: Global Challenge, Cape Town, South Africa. Where will you serve? SIM International Leadership & Services. What will you be doing? Administrative Assistant to the Global Director of Operations, based in Cape Town. Pray: For me to settle into this new role and to serve the organisation and the team I’m working with well; for favour and grace in connecting with fellow SIM workers arond the world.
Where will you serve? Ayutthaya, Thailand.
What will you be doing? Discipleship,
music, working with children and young people and, we are sure, much more besides. Pray: That our visa will arrive soon and we will be able to join the team in Thailand; that we would have a good farewell from our family, friends and the wider community in Germany.
Fabian and Linda Bruecher
Church: Redeemer Church, Manchester, UK. Where will you serve? Potosí, Bolivia. What will you be doing? Josh will be working in a Bolivian-run clinic helping provide health care to the local community. Rachel will use her social work skills to help in various projects. Pray: For people who want to partner with us in prayer and financially; for our church as they send us – that they would be willing to see this time we spend in Bolivia as an opportunity for them to participate as a family in God’s global mission; for quick acquisition of Spanish - Josh has a long way to go!
Josh and Rachel Griffiths
Church: Moorlands Church, Lancaster, UK. Where will you serve? Mandritsara, Madagascar. What will you be doing? Helping teach the children of mission workers who are serving at the Good News Hospital. Pray: Clarity as to what I’ll be doing during my gap year before going to university and for God to use it to grow his kingdom; that many people who come into contact with The Good News Hospital would be brought out of the darkness to know Jesus.
Lucy Rurlander
Anzel Brink WWW.SIM.ORG
Winnie Munyiva
MAY 2022 • VOL 4 ISSUE 2
New harvest workers
Church: Emmanuel Baptist Church, Nairobi, Kenya. Where will you serve? SIM International Leadership & Services, based in Nairobi. What will you be doing? Internal Communications Editor in the SIM International communications team. Pray: That I will diligently fulfil the responsibilities entrusted to me and be a blessing to my SIM co-workers everywhere.
Free Evangelical Church, Breitscheid & Baptist Church, Aschaffenburg, Germany.
Church: Christ is The Answer Ministries, Nairobi, Kenya. Where will you serve? SIM International Leadership & Services, based in Nairobi. What will you be doing? Executive Assistant to the Global Director of Finance. Pray: That I will get to serve God efficiently in my position as the Executive Assistant and that I will be able to learn the different tools that I need to use for the job.
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These days remind me of the Bob Dylan song, ‘The times they are a changing.’ The message is heard every day in conversations around the world. It seems like we have slogged through the last two years just trying to make it from one day to the next. Whatever culture you are from, or whatever your age, everyone has been impacted by the storms that have hit us these last two years - pandemic, wars, depression, hopelessness, and death have been a part of all our lives. What has resulted from these cataclysmic events? The World Health Organization reports that Covid-19 has triggered a 25 per cent increase in anxiety and depression. As SIM people, how do we help ourselves and others face the challenges that have been forced upon us by these world events? Allow me to give some suggestions. 1. Self-care - Remember you are no good to anybody else if you don’t make sure you are taking care of yourself. Notice I said ‘taking care’ as an intentional, ongoing, lifestyle practice. Don’t allow yourself to be defined by the work and how much you accomplish. Spend time with God and take a sabbath day every week. Do things that help you to relax. Turn off the TV and cell phone and take a digital break. You will be amazed at the results. 2. Be present - A friend of mine said some wise words recently, “Proximity changes perspective.” When my wife, Stacey, and I were going through some difficult times people seemed to be full of advice that didn’t help us. Why? Because they were not close enough to the situation to understand. We don’t remember any of the advice these well-meaning people gave us. We do, however, remember those who listened well and helped us examine what was happening to us and journeyed with us through the pain. 3. Don’t be a hurting person’s theologian - I was talking to someone who had experienced a
Q&A WITH AN SIM LEADER WORKU HAILEMARIAM, REGIONAL DIRECTOR EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
Bob Dylan in Hamburg, 1984 by Heinrich Klaffs. Creative commons licence CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
CARE AND SUPPORT IN CHANGING TIMES
very traumatic event. When I tried to console them with a spiritual comment they said, “I don’t know how I feel about God at the moment.” Did I straight away try to convince them God cares for them? No. I just listened. Later they concluded that God loved them, and they were able to see how God was navigating them through their pain. I have met several SIM people whose children are not walking with the Lord. It is painful but many have decided “to maintain a relationship with my child, I can’t be their theologian. They know what I believe. I must let God work out his plan and constantly remind myself he is not finished writing my child’s story.” 4. Reach out - Hopefully, you have a people or member care team at your sending office and/or where
you serve. Be intentional about reaching out to see what is available. If you don’t have access to such people, reach out to someone on the SIM International Emmaus chaplain team, or the pastoral care alliance – we are here for you and your team. If you reach out to us, do ask us some key questions: • How is your care confidential? • What services do you offer? • Do you have a list of care-givers I can reach out to? • If I need extra counselling or professional help, could I get financial support? Our goal on the Emmaus Team and the Pastoral Care Alliance is to ensure every SIM person who needs support has access to it. If you have any questions, email international.Emmaus@sim.org. WWW.SIM.ORG
Tell us a little about your background. I was born in Addis Ababa into an Orthodox Christian family – my mum was a Christian and my dad a Muslim, but he converted after marrying and was baptised. I went to school in Addis and then worked as a cartographer for the government for nine years. I was a member of the Ethiopian Kalahewit Church and did a lot of youth ministry. I then became the national coordinator for the church’s youth ministry. While doing that, I did more theological study – first a diploma, then a degree, then a Masters. I’ve just finished a PhD in Islamic Studies with the Oxford Centre for Global Mission. I joined SIM in 2010 as support services manager for Ethiopia, then was the first director of the East Africa Sending Office, which opened in 2012. I moved into my current role in 2021. Tell us a little about your family. My wife, Tiruwork, and I have been married for 31 years and have three sons – Mesay is 28 and works for the Italian Embassy in Addis having graduated in communications from the University of Perugia; Nahum is 26 and is studying civil engineering at the University of Perugia; Ammanuel is 13 and is at the same Italian school in Addis that his brothers went to. Mesay and his ex-wife Alexandra have given us a granddaughter, Ambrosia, who lives with her mother in Poland. How did God lead you to SIM? That is a long story, but two godly men, Steve Strauss and Steve Bryan, were very important. Steve Strauss taught me at the Ethiopian Bible College and then I worked closely with Steve Bryan when I became college registrar and he was dean. We became more like brothers than colleagues. I was always in contact with SIM workers through church and work and when Tim Jacobson, another influential figure in my journey, retired I took on the role of support services manager and became an SIM member.
What do you hope to achieve in your role? I would dearly love to see more workers sent from East and Central Africa to places where Jesus is not known. I would also like to see our directors in this region better equipped and supported and more able to make succession plans. I would also love to see us start more work in Eritrea, building up mature Christians so they are more able to share their faith. What inspires you when life gets difficult? Hope. Hope in the Lord, hope in my shepherd. Living in Ethiopia is full of challenges, not least the civil war of the last year and great uncertainty around the economy, but my hope in the Lord allows me to go forward. What do you do when you’re not working? I love to read and to study, and to spend time with my family. I enjoyed doing my PhD in a branch of folk Islam and I enjoy learning languages (Worku is too modest to say, but he speaks Amharic, English and Arabic. He can read Italian, Greek and Hebrew). I often listen to the Bible in Arabic. I love keeping up the news, with the BBC, France24 and Al Jazeera the stations I look at the most. What is your favourite Bible verse? Psalm 23, verse 1: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. That is a great help to me. What piece of technology could you not do without? I am trying to spend less time on my cell phone, but it is vital for my job. I get calls at any time of the day or night! I also need my portable wi-fi — without it I cannot operate. How can we pray for you? Please pray for more workers to be raised up from my region; for our work to resume in Eritrea; and for my son Mesay to walk more closely with the Lord. From left to right: Ambrosia, Mesay, Tiruwork, Nahum, Ammanuel, Worku
Q&A with an SIM leader
People Care team
BY MARK CONARD, SIM CHAPLAIN LEAD, EMMAUS TEAM
7 MAY 2022 • VOL 4 ISSUE 2
SHARING LOVE OF CHRIST WITH UKRAINE REFUGEES For Freedom and Trauma Healing ministries help those fleeing war BY ZOE CROMWELL, SIM NEW ZEALAND
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contacts. Sarah says, “This is the first refugee crisis response that has been led by members of the public. It took nine to 10 days before EU governments started doing something, but it was within hours that ordinary people, many of them from churches, were turning up at borders to help. Now it’s a matter of how we resource those ordinary people on the front lines.” For the rest of us, it’s also a matter of not giving in to ‘Ukraine
Sarah Scott Webb works from her Christchurch home to help Ukfrainian
fatigue’, so over-exposed to the crisis that we say “enough” . Equipping churches and partners in Europe as they respond to the refugee crisis is a long haul and our support is needed. Along with Karine Woldhuis of SIM Australia, Sarah co-leads For Freedom, SIM’s anti-trafficking ministry. She liaised quickly with her contacts in the European Freedom Network (EFN) and has now been appointed Trauma Response lead for this coalition of evangelical antitrafficking NGOs and churches. In March, when EFN released We Stand With You – a basic safety flier for refugees – Sarah found translators within 12 hours. She discovered a professional Russian translator in her own church. Hundreds of thousands of these fliers have now been distributed in several languages. Since then, Sarah has been in working groups developing resources, including trauma response training, for the churches which opened their doors to the refugees. It quickly became clear that the volunteers needed self-care seminars, to avoid burnout when the load became overwhelming. These are the hidden effects
TRANSLATORS AND INTEPRETERS! WE NEED YOU We are in urgent need of translators and interpreters from English into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean and Mandarin. We want to ensure everyone in SIM can access the knowledge needed for leadership roles, which is why translation and interpretation is so vital. We need translators for prayer materials, documents and even some emails. We would love to grow our pool of translators so that no-one is ever asked to do more than they feel comfortable with. Our interpreters allow people across SIM to
play a full part in online and in-person meetings. We have many bilingual staff and you could encourage them to try interpreting. They need a high degree of proficiency in both languages but can start by sitting behind one person who needs interpretation and whispering in their ear during a meeting. Some people just have a knack for it, and with practice, can get even better! If you could help in any way, please email SIM International’s Communications Director, Tim Allan (tim.allan@sim.org). WWW.SIM.ORG
PLEASE PRAY
Romanian evangelist Daniel Rus (left) with a refugee family in western Ukraine
of the war in Ukraine which don’t make the news headlines. But alongside the people offering hospitality come human traffickers. A Romanian colleague told Sarah that, as she was handing out trafficking prevention fliers to women crossing the border from Ukraine, she felt the Lord point out a particular woman to talk to. Sarah says, “She handed over a flier, and also gave her a business card with her phone number on it. This woman was waiting for a bus and when it arrived she hopped on, believing it would take her to safety. “After about 30 minutes my friend got a call from her saying, ’Help, the bus is taking us in a totally wrong direction and we don’t know what to do.’ My friend called the Romanian police, who managed to stop this bus full of MAY 2022 • VOL 4 ISSUE 2
For Sarah and Karine as they become more and more involved with preventing human trafficking in Europe, that they would rely on God’s strength, not their own. For the churches and church workers to know when and how to share the gospel with those who are frightened, lonely and vulnerable. For an end to the war in Ukraine and for God’s will to be done in the region.
Ukrainian women. But how many other buses run by trafficking gangs have been successful? “Human traffickers flock to crises like this, often posing as pastors or aid workers, looking legitimate but with nefarious intent. We knew that as soon as this situation erupted traffickers would be taking advantage. “In the first few weeks a lot of this happened at the borders. But as the borders became more organised, traffickers moved to train and bus stations throughout neighbouring countries. They also use accommodation and transport websites to recruit vulnerable refugees. EFN has a team working to ensure safeguards are in place and checking is done. Several suspect websites have been found.” As a result of the quality of
the resources the EFN network is developing, and the speed and breadth of their response, a group of 40 NGOs, such as Habitat for Humanity, Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, have asked EFN to train their emergency response teams in trafficking prevention. For Freedom is providing support to partners in Romania. For example, they have covered rent and living costs for a Ukrainian refugee now serving as a translator and assistant. Funds have been raised to send SIM’s Trauma Healing Coordinator Nancy Writebol to Romania. This month, Karine is travelling to meet SIM directors in Europe to see how For Freedom can provide longer-term support. We are in this for the long, hard season that is coming.
SIM SERVES REFUGEES
SIM SERVES REFUGEES
THE Ukraine refugee crisis goes on. Refugees are still escaping the war-ravaged country, but the millions who have already crossed the border have now spread throughout Europe, with enormous challenges still in front of them. Sarah Scott Webb, from Christchurch, New Zealand, is one example of God’s provision for the refugees as he brings together people with the right skills and
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CALLED:
TED WATTS, SURGEON, GOOD NEWS HOSPITAL, MANDRITSARA, MADAGASCAR
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The call to mission runs deep in surgeon Ted Watts. He can’t pinpoint the exact moment when that began. It may have been planted even before he called himself a Christian. His journey to faith, and to mission, began when his brother, Tom, invited him to a Friday night youth club in the London suburb of Wimbledon where they grew up. Ted, now the lead surgeon at Mandritsara Hospital in northern Madagascar, recalls: “Tom, who is older than me, and one of my friends, Rupert, had been going to the youth club and invited me to go along one day. “I knew it was connected to the Ted with Rachel and their two boys, Ethan and Jamie church, but the main attractions for me were that it was something during his fourth year of university, up in; his brother, who is now a to do on a Friday night, free food, spending six or seven weeks at the pastor; and successive summer table football and, because I was at hospital and having his eyes opened camps for first bringing him to an all boys’ school, the chance to to the reality of living in a very faith and then discipling him to a meet some girls!” remote and hugely under-resourced greater maturity. From those beginnings has community. As Ted’s faith was growing, so grown a faith and a passion to He says: “Until then, I think was his interest in medicine. He serve some of the poorest people I’d been given quite a narrow view has Crohn’s Disease and spent in the world. of mission - that you had to be significant parts of his childhood The hospital teaching the Bible, or pastoring in and around Ted now works ‘We both realised from a church. But those few weeks hospitals. in serves a broadened my view. It is vital that Ted grew in very early on that we predominantly you proclaim the good news but his faith through rural community felt a call to mission. We university and there is a also a value in caring of around for people, who are made in God’s medical school. He discussed what we needed 350,000 people image and who are suffering, or met his future wife, spread across the to do and how it might oppressed by poverty.” Rachel, who is now northern third Ted and Rachel married in 2006 a paediatrician, impact decisions about of Madagascar, a and then spent more than a decade through the our future together.’ vast island which university Christian doing further medical, theological covers a bigger and language study. They have Union. On some of land area than France. been serving in Madagascar since their earliest dates, they discussed His patients are mostly 2017, with their sons, Ethan, 7 and what part mission might play in subsistence rice farmers, scraping Jamie, 5. their lives together. a hand-to-mouth living from tiny Ted is now one of six surgeons Ted says: “We both realised patches of land. He often sees at Mandritsara, some of them fully from very early on that we felt a them when their illnesses are strong call to mission. We discussed qualified and others in training. very advanced, because they are That is a huge improvement on what we needed to do and how very reluctant to stop working for the situation two years ago, when that calling might impact decisions hospital visits. Ted was the only surgeon and about our future together.” Ted credits the church he grew effectively on call 24 hours a day, Ted first visited Mandritsara WWW.SIM.ORG
seven days a week. The hospital has 58 beds and the 225 staff treat a huge range of conditions, from women affected by fistula, to cancer; from broken bones, to complex neurosurgery. More than 1,800 operations are carried out each year. Ted says: “To anyone who says the mission hospital is dead, I would say ask them to come and visit us. We provide a vital service in a place where there is virtually no state provision for health care. “And we have the opportunity to share the gospel as we treat people, which I would never be allowed to do in the UK. “Most of the people here are animists, which brings a lot of fear into their lives, but in hospital they hear the gospel. “We have a small service in each ward every day, with a Bible talk; there are three full-time evangelists and we always pray with the whole team before every operation. “When they come back for A bird's eye view of Mandritsara
follow-up treatment, we always ask them what they’ve made of what they’ve heard. “Since the hospital started, at least 65 churches have been started in surrounding communities, so God is clearly at work here.” Ted knows one of his main challenges is to equip the hospital for the day he and Rachel decide to leave. That may not be for a few years but that day will certainly come. He says: “We trust God. If he wants the hospital to remain open, he will raise up the people to make that happen.” That trust shows how Ted’s call to medicine is interwoven with his call to mission.
Ted (middle) leads his team during an operation at Mandritsara
PLEASE PRAY • For the schooling needs of Ethan and Jamie. The one teacher at Mandritsara is leaving later this year, so pray for a new teacher to join the team and for wisdom about home-schooling. • For Ted’s leadership challenges, especially as the people he leads are also his neighbours, his church friends and the parents of his children’s friends. That he would trust God’s wisdom in his relationships. • For the hospital to keep the gospel front and centre of all they do and that it would the priority in their everyday activities.
CALLED: TED WATTS
CALLED: TED WATTS
BY TIM ALLAN
11 MAY 2022 • VOL 4 ISSUE 2
JUNE 1
OPPORTUNITIES MINISTRY POINT PEOPLE NEEDED We are looking for several Ministry Point People (MPP) as we seek to develop our work. Our MPPs play a key role in connecting workers who are involved in similar ministries around the world as they reach communities living and dying without the gospel. The MPPs invest in our workers,
grow networks, open new opportunities and help entities in pioneering work. We need MPPs for our work among Buddhists, among Muslims, among Hindus, and for our diaspora and migrant work. We are also planning to have MPPs for church planting and for media. If any of these
SIM ZAMBIA COUNTRY DIRECTOR SIM Zambia is searching for a Country Director who can work alongside the Board to develop a strategic ministry plan for the future. The director will also provide leadership and pastoral care to the office team and the 30 personnel who are working throughout the country in a range of ministries, including healthcare, youth, discipleship, education and community development. You will also help us strengthen and expand our ministry partnerships. For more information, or to apply, please email Jeff Shaffer (zambia.admin@sim.org).
roles interest you, or you know of someone they would interest, please contact our Global Director of Ministry Outreach, Emma Brewster (gdmo@sim.org) as soon as possible. A full list of MPPs and their contact details is on Port – use the link from the dropdown menu on the home page of Port.
SIM CHAD PARTNERSHIP LEAD All SIM people in Chad are seconded to partners and this role will be responsible for leading the strategy of developing those partnerships. Good collaboration, communication and networking are essential if ministry and workers are to flourish. The role is part time (approximately 20-30 per cent) and can be carried out alongside another ministry role. Candidates must have a good level of fluency in English and French. It is strongly preferred that the Partnership Lead lives in, or near, Chad. For more information, or a job description, email the search committee chair, Helen Heron (international.personnel@sim.org). The closing date for applications is June 13, 2022.
DAY OF PRAYER AND FASTING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR SEARCH PROCESS
Everyone in SIM will soon be invited to send in nominations for the new International Director. The current director, Joshua Bogunjoko, is stepping down no later than February 2024, by which time he will have served more than two five-year terms. Joshua is asking all of us to dedicate June 1 as a day of fasting and prayer for the process of discerning who should succeed him. The search committee, led by International Board chair Gill Philips, are most grateful to all who responded to the recent survey regarding the opportunities and challenges likely to face the mission over the next 5-10 years. They have now written person and position descriptions and a ‘background to the mission’ document. They are about to invite anyone in SIM to suggest who they think has the right qualities to lead SIM for the next five years. The best way to do that will be to respond to an email (from international.idsearch@sim. org) that will shortly be sent to all sim. org users. In that, you will be asked for your nomination and the reasons for the suggestion. Paul’s prayer for the church in Philippi is very much the theme of this search process: “This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more
NEWS
events
The search committee meet on Zoom
in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11). We know the next five years will be just as challenging as the last five years, so our prayer must be that God raises up a gifted and godly leader. This is very much a time of discernment, after which the search committee will consider the nominations and work towards producing a short-list of candidates for interview early next year.
| resources | updates
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THE CASE OF THE SONGHAI IN NIGER BY JOHN DEVALVE
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SIM worker John DeValve has published a book examining how music and culture combine in the worship practices of the Songhai in Niger. Drawing on extensive research conducted over a six-year period, John explains the relationships between music, culture, and worship, using the Songhai church as a case study. In the process, he builds a model for further research and experimentation in how other Christian communities worship. The book is available on Amazon.
CLOUD OF WITNESSES The Cloud of Witnesses obituary section on Port has been updated with several new entries, including Andrew Creswell, Donna Welch, Joyce Beacham and Ruth Clark. To add an obituary, please email our Internal Communications Editor, Dan Muchai (dan.muchai@sim.org) with the details. MAY 2022 • VOL 4 ISSUE 2
BINGHAM ACADEMY IS LOOKING FOR NEW TEACHERS TO START IN AUGUST Bingham Academy needs new teachers in a range of subjects to start in August, 2022. The school, based in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, offers high-quality Christian education to the children of mission workers, of Ethiopians and of expatriates. It gives Christian teachers a great opportunity to share their faith through their work. There are openings for primary and secondary teachers in all subjects, including maths, sciences, English, geography, history, music and PE. To apply either go to binghamacademy@recruiterbox.com or email the Recruitment Coordinator (recruitment@binghamacademy.net).
NEWS
MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES
WORSHIP MUSIC AND CULTURE,
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WHERE CAN WE INTERVENE TO BATTLE THE ‘GIANTS’ OF COVID? BY EMMA BREWSTER, SARAH SCOTT WEBB AND JACQUI CROXON The World Health Organization estimates 15 million people have died from Covid-19 in two years. But that figure only shows a fraction of the devastation wrought by the virus, which has left significant social change in its wake. Our mission context has changed, with many more complexities than we previously had to navigate. Early in the pandemic, some worrying trends became clear: family violence and use of pornography were escalating; children were being pulled out of school to help families earn a living; there was widespread loss of income and employment, leading to homelessness and more migration. While none of these was new, all were exacerbated by uncertainty and fear produced by the pandemic. We began mapping them, to see where the connections were and consider how we could best respond. How could we bring
Jesus into these challenging and complex issues? Our diagram below begins to map some of these social changes. It is a working document; many more things could be added, including the positive opportunities Covid-19 is revealing.
Interpreting the diagram
Reading left to right, each column lists, in increasing severity, some of the Covid ‘giants’ we are seeing, up to the worst-case scenario. Column 1 lists seven primary giants Covid-19 has shown. They have each increased those listed in column 2. The space between columns 2 and 3 is our first opportunity to intervene! For example: • How can we support those who are homeless because they can no longer pay rent? How can we address rising hunger and food insecurity? • How can we address disruptions to education? Or the GIANTS COVID HA S RE VE ALED
inequalities between those who can access online learning and those who cannot? How can we help children who have missed years of schooling? Or been forced into marriage or pressured into joining gangs? • How can we alleviate mental health issues alongside increased trauma and anxiety? How can we bring the peace of Jesus to those struggling with uncertainty and loss? Our hope is that the diagram identifies where our existing ministries can prevent situations worsening and helps us consider new opportunities to explore. We encourage your teams to consider this diagram and other ‘giants’ in your context, then think through ways to intervene. If you would value further input for your discussions from the team, please email Emma Brewster (gdmo@sim.org) and they will be happy to help.
Where are our spaces for intervention? GIANTS COVID HAS REVEALED
Loss of livelihoods Increased unemployment
Poverty
Debt bondage
Debt
Child labour
Decreased remittances from migrant workers
Child & forced marriage
Homelessness
Use of loan sharks
Hunger
Forced labour
WORST CASE SCENARIO
Illegal & unsafe migration
Giants of Covid
Family breakdown Suicide Educational polarities and complexities
Mental health issues
Lockdown & restrictions
Grief Depression
Violence
Addictions
unable to treat other illnesses
Increased online sexual exploitation
(drugs, alcohol, gambling)
Risky sexual behaviour Pornography
Health systems overwhelmed
Social unravelling
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Trauma
Made worse by inability to access medical treatment Xenophobia
Death & Illness
Increased commercial sexual exploitation / prostitution
Anxiety Pre-existing health conditions
GBV and domestic violence
Increased HIV infection rates
Child sexual abuse Inequities of aid distribution
Rape & sexual violence
Conspiracy theories Fear, mistrust, rise of Q Anon Political upheaval
Gang involvement (grooming) Societal violence
Increase in authoritarian governments
Interim Mali Director Start Date: February 21, 2022 Bob and his wife Marcia joined SIM in 1978, and served in Côte d’Ivoire in theological education and as country director. After further service with SIM International, SIM Benin-Togo and SIM USA, Bob retired in 2012. He joined the faculty at Charlotte Christian College but served as interim director of SIM Thailand in 2019.
East Africa Office Director Start Date: January 1, 2022 Seble grew up in a Christian family in the Ethiopian town of Durame, in a former SIM mission compound. She has served as chair of the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church’s women at the denominational level, served on the national board and spent more than 20 years in academia. She lives in Addis, with her husband Tamiru and children Sebhat (15), Leul (13), and Bamlak (7).
AndrEs Corrales: Uruguay Director Start Date (Second term): March 1, 2022 Andrés, who came to faith as a teenager in Costa Rica, serves as director of SIM Uruguay and participates in several support roles on a global level with SIM. He also serves as the deputy director of the Seminario Biblico del Uruguay. Andrés and Sonia, married for 17 years, have two girls, Abby (15) and Camila (11).
Afonso Chinhama
Angola Director Start Date: March 31, 2022 Afonso grew up as a displaced orphan in the care of his halfsister. He worked for the SIMrelated UIEA denomination in a food distribution project before enrolling in Bible college in Lubango, graduating in 2012. He married Canadian SIM worker, Becky, in 2009 and joined the mission in 2013. He serves on the UIEA directors’ committee and SIM Angola board. Sheryl Greenwood
Unwanted/teenage pregnancies that can lead to abortion
Incl. domestic violence
Bob Arnold
Mark Faus: Governance Consultant
Start Date: April 1, 2022 Mark grew up in Ontario, Canada, in a Christian family. He was a missionary pilot for 10 years before taking management roles with the Mission Aviation Fellowship. He then led CEML Hospital in Angola. He and wife Jana, who have an 18-year-old son Carter, joined SIM in 2018. Mark has an MBA in Global Business and Management.
Increased trauma levels
Inter-ethnic conflict
Ecuador Director Start Date: April 5, 2022 Sheryl studied pre-medicine at Mississippi State University and has several further medical and theological qualifications. She and husband John have three kids and joined SIM in 2004, arriving in Ecuador in 2006. Sheryl has served in the MK school, as Personnel Coordinator, as Prayer Coordinator and as leader of the Compassion Ministry in Ecuador.
Persecution
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” —Psalm 89:14
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MAY 2022 • VOL 4 ISSUE 2
Jonathan Moore: Niger Director Start Date: May 13, 2022 Jonathan, whose parents served in Zaire (now the DRC) and his wife Bonnie spent 13 years at Sahel Academy in Niger, using their gifts in construction and teaching. Their third son was born there in 1996. Jonathan has been deputy director of Niger since 2017 after serving in various administrative roles, while Bonnie teaches literacy in the local community. They have been members of EEI Bangabana in Niamey since 1999. Nicolas Piaget: Liberia Director Start Date: August 18, 2022 Nicolas has a PhD in atmospheric sciences and is both an IT consultant and the current Liberia deputy director. He and his wife, Melvin, have four sons - Théotime (born 2012), Siméon (2014), Gabriel (2017) and Caleb (2020). Melvin serves as a dentist, as well as staying at home with the boys.
LEader Appointments
Economic downturn
Seblewengel Daniel
Increased human trafficking and exploitation
Education decline Absenteeism & interrupted educational outcomes
LEADER APPOINTMENTS
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PLEASE PRAY • Give thanks to God for the growth of the Ayutthaya team. Pray for their friendships to deepen as they serve together. • Pray for God to sustain Ryan as he juggles language learning, relationship building, and diabetes. • Ask God to make Thai hearts and minds receptive to the good news of Jesus.
HOME COMFORTS HELP RYAN SHARE GOSPEL IN THAILAND
FAITHFUL WITNESS
BY AMY BAREHAM CHAPMAN
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When Ryan arrived to serve in the Faithful Witness team in Ayutthaya, Thailand, last year he lived in a hotel. While it was sufficient, the Lord heard his desire for a more permanent home. When Ryan (above with a Thai friend) visited a rental property near his Thai language school and met the owners, a Buddhist husband and wife, he realised this was more than an answer to prayer – it was also an opportunity for relationship. The couple wanted an English tutor for their daughter; Ryan needed to practise his Thai. The husband enjoyed badminton; Ryan played it regularly. As Ryan chatted with his new landlords about why he was in Thailand, he was able to share briefly about Jesus. Ryan said, “I’m thankful that not only does the Father hear the needs of his children, but he provides in ways that are more than we could ask or imagine. He didn’t just provide a home, but a home with a family that has not yet heard the good news.” Since moving in, Ryan has found joy in the rhythms of the sabbath and hosting. Instead of studying scripture in a hotel bed, he now savours reading the Bible at a table
with his morning coffee. Ryan also loves to invite mission workers and their families over for games, food, and fellowship. And then there’s the gift of a kitchen. When Ryan, who has diabetes, lived at the hotel, he ate most of his meals at restaurants. He said, “The diet was drastically different from what I was used to. This home has been another provision in that I can now cook food that is best for my diabetes.” The definition of home extends beyond walls and a roof. Home is a living, breathing thing – Christ dwelling within, choosing vessels for ministry and the outpouring of his love. For the five Faithful Witness team members in Thailand, God’s shelter is evident all around. They see him in their answered prayers, their church services, their outreach programmes, and their community excursions. Of course, they see God in their trials, too. Just the other day, Ryan’s car broke down and began sliding sliding backwards in the middle of city traffic. With minimal language skills to call for help, he prayed in
desperation for the Lord to intervene. Together with several bystanders, Ryan managed to push the smoking car to a garage, where it was eventually repaired. Ryan says: “Up until this point, I was scared of looking incompetent or like a failure. I wanted to be perceived as having this whole transition thing down easy, and that learning the language was going as well as expected. God used this humiliating and defeating moment to teach me it’s okay to not have everything ‘put together.’ “Even better, it’s okay to throw our hands up in the air and laugh at moments like this. I walked away with the reminder the Lord was not looking for a perfectly shaped and prepared missionary to serve him, but one who is totally reliant upon him in all things.” Ryan and his colleagues are revelling in the new opportunities of a life devoted to ministry. They are forming a vibrant family – a home – of their own in Thailand. And in their fellowship is an invitation for anyone in Thailand to take a seat at Christ’s table. WWW.SIM.ORG
