By Randal Dick
Superintendent of missions
NEAR BUDAPEST, Hungary--Nine Worldwide Church of God members and former Ambassador University students are preparing to journey to Ukraine to serve with Mission Nazareth.
Our young people will interact with the community at large by teaching English, doing various projects with the Children of Chernobyl camp, conducting student hymn sings and Bible studies, visiting an orphanage for physically and mentally disabled children and evangelizing with the Sabbatarians.
The group members are Jon Kost, Nadia Kubik, Nat O'Reilly, Becky Van Lanen, Sarah Van Lanen, Tonia Weik and Michelle West. Ben Trautmann, a ministerial trainee for the past year in Germany, will also serve this summer.
In addition, Oleh Kubik, Binghamton and Elmira, New York, pastor, will visit his daughter, Nadia, as well as relatives in Ukraine.
Craig Shrum, veteran of the project for all four years, and director for the past two years, will again serve as co-coordinator for the mission. Craig has been in Ukraine since April, Ben joined him in May, and the remainder of the volunteer group will arrive at the end of May. The mission will run for about eight weeks.
The Ukraine outreach project has brought together the leadership of the Worldwide Church of God and the leadership of the Ukrainian Sabbatarians.
In order to refresh the relationship, John Halford, European regional director, and I traveled to a town outside of Budapest, Hungary, in May. There we met with Vasyl Mondich, pastor of the Khust Sabbatarian congregation, Victor Pavliy, director of Mission Nazareth, and Ivan Pavliy, pastor of the Rokosova congregation.
We discussed the future as well as events that had transpired in both organizations in the past two years. We reaffirmed our desire to assist one another in proclaiming the gospel.
The Ukrainian leadership gave John and me an update on the Sabbatarian refugees from Tajikistan.
Unfortunately the civil war there has religious overtones as the two sides also represent a conflict between Christians and Muslims.
The Tajikistan Sabbatarians are being driven from their homes and lands. They are leaving with basically the clothes on their backs.
The Ukrainian Sabbatarians have undertaken to help their brethren, and have received approval from the Ukrainian authorities to relocate the Tajikistan refugees in southern Ukraine.
In addition, the Ukrainian Sabbatarians are committed to help the Tajikistanis resettle by providing housing and basic necessities to start a new life.
They asked if brethren of the Worldwide Church of God could be made aware of the need.
We assured them that we would let all of you know of this noble work and would be prepared to gather and pass on contributions people are moved to make. Donations can be made payable to the Worldwide Church of God and marked "for Ukraine."
DUBAI--In some Mideast countries, expressing your Christianity can "end you up dead" in a big hurry.
Hence, we may not think a lot about the presence of brethren in the Middle East. But they are there and they would appreciate it if the rest of us knew they were there and would remember them in our prayers.
Following is a report from David Silcox, who supervises the ministry in the United Kingdom.
Dubai is home to the largest group of WCG members in the Middle East. All but one (a man from India) are Filipinos.
My wife, Nancy, and I visited members in Dubai and Oman for the spring Festival season.
This year 10 people took the Lord's Supper, 23 met for the Night to Be Much Observed, and 15 attended the first worship service.
When I first visited Dubai five years ago I stopped for 18 hours to meet our then-lone member, Juanito "Nitz" Malaga, a Filipino working on contract for Dubai Aluminum.
Nitz and his wife, Joy, have three children, Al Jon, Honey Joy and David. He is a good example of personal evangelism, and through him a colleague, Emy Tiongco, became interested and was baptized on leave in the Philippines.
Emy's daughter, Tara, 14, is the only teen in the group. The group has four single young adults: Christie, Rhapsody, Kim and Boyet Dacudao.
Christy was baptized four years ago and Rhapsody last year. Their brother, Kim, arrived a year or two after them and was baptized 18 months ago.
Douglas Macaraeg and his wife, Wilma, have three children. The youngest, Donna Belle, is five months old. Douglas was also baptized 18 months ago. His father and brothers are members in the Philippines.
The most recent addition is Oscar D'Silva of India, who learned about the church when he began asking Emy questions while trying to sell her company stationery.
We traveled from Dubai to Oman April 24. The air-conditioned bus takes six hours and stops twice--at the Omani border and at a service area for refreshment.
Oman is a more conservative society and does not encourage tourism as Dubai does.
In Oman, as in Dubai, the main religion is Islam. It is not easy being a Christian in a Muslim country, but other religions are tolerated among expatriates.
This explains why our members in these countries are expatriates. Three of our members in Oman are from India. Dr. Shri AyaRam runs a clinic for the Police Academy, while his wife, Suzi, also a doctor, works in a hospital. They have a daughter, Ruth, studying at a university in Kentucky, and a son, David, 16.
Mr. Mendes is an engineer in an air conditioning plant.
The other members are from the Philippines. Lourdes "Ludy" Reyes is a secretary and has a son at a university in the Philippines.
Criselda Banguit, whose father is a longtime member in the Philippines, works for an African family on contract. Lorena Portal works in the maternity ward of a hospital and has a baby daughter herself.
Delia Lapada, a member of many years from Manila, works for several families as a housekeeper and nanny. Raoul Miralles is the newest member, baptized three years ago, and works as a driver for the Sultan of Oman.
Rhen Cruz teaches English in an immunization program.
Oman is implementing a policy that takes jobs now filled by guest workers and gives them back to Omanis. This is causing concern and job insecurity for our members.
Because of this, member Ramon Amoncio, his wife, Rose, and three children, Rowena, Grace and Jesmon, are moving back to the Philippines.
Although we spent three days in Oman, because of distance and other considerations, we met with individuals or small groups and saw all but one of our members there.
We returned to Dubai by bus for the final service with the group there. Seventeen shared a meal at a member's home.
The Mideast members appreciate prayers on their behalf. It is not easy being such a small group in an isolated part of the world.
They have no job security, and most are isolated from friends and family. It is especially difficult for families with small children, as Christian religious material for teaching is difficult to obtain in a Muslim country.
Each year we go, we leave with a fresh determination to find new and better ways to serve our brethren in this part of the world.
Kuwait--3 members (baptized)
Israel--2 members
Jordan--0
Saudi Arabia--6
Lebanon--1
Oman--7
Dubai--17 meet regularly
WCG members in Dubai
May 20, 1997, WN, page 7
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