Wings of the Morning
Missionaries Gaston and Jeanne Ntambo tell West Ohio Conference missionaries about their airplane transport ministry, Wings of the Morning, in DR Congo. (UM Insight Video Screen Shot)
Once again, let's raise our voices in praise of the United Methodists in the West Ohio Annual Conference for their support of missions. The Rev. Dee Stickley-Minor, director of connectional ministries, reports their stories in the latest issue of the conference's Mission Mosaic newsletter.
First, there's the highly successful Wings of the Morning transport ministry in DR Congo, operated by missionaries Jeanne and Gaston Ntambo. The Ntambos visited West Ohio in August, speaking at churches in Columbus, Athens, Toledo, Dayton, and Cincinnati. You can watch a video of one of their talks on YouTube. As United Methodist missionaries, the Ntambos are supported through the UMC's "second-mile" giving program, the Advance: Jeanne Ntambo - Advance #14176Z, Gaston Ntambo - Advance #14177Z and North Katanga Wings of the Morning - Advance #08597A
Then there's West Ohio's disaster response to the damages caused by Hurricane Ian in Florida and Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Donations are still going in the U.S. Disaster Response for the July flooding in Appalachia, UMCOR U.S. Disaster Response, Advance #901670.
Here's a great idea other annual conferences can imitate: magnets with missionary profiles so you can pray for them every time you hit the refrigerator! Plus, the Mission Mosaic newsletter provides links to mission partners' websites, another valuable way to keep missions uppermost in our hearts and minds.
Well done, good and faith West Ohio United Methodists!
Reality check on nuclear threat
After all that uplifting news from West Ohio, here's a stark reality check from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: even a small-scale nuclear war – such as might occur if Vladimir Putin sets off a nuke in the war against Ukraine – will most likely kill you and everyone else on Earth.
The threat of nuclear annihilation is more acute now than it has been for decades. This important report by the Bulletin, "Nowhere to Hide," provides more than enough scientific evidence of the horror of nuclear war for Christians – and all other believers – to join in a worldwide peacemaking effort. Add the Bulletin's report to National Public Radio's comprehensive update on the global effects of Russia's eight-month-old invasion of Ukraine, "How the ripple effects of Russia's war on Ukraine are changing the world," and we have a clear-and-present danger far more crucial than the political wranglings of The United Methodist Church.
Reading these two reports may fill you with dread, but they can also deepen your prayers and crystallize your mission outreach. Summon the courage of Christ to look this looming evil in the face and claim the faith we share to stand against it in whatever way presents itself to you!
Congo bikes
The Rev. Ngongo Asaka smiles after receiving a new bicycle and a Bible as tools for evangelism in Tunda, DR Congo. Asaka was among 52 pastors of rural United Methodist churches in the area who received the gifts from Crosspoint, a United Methodist church in Niceville, Fla. (Photo by Chadrack Londe, UM News)
Bikes and Bibles aid evangelism
For a dose of hope after contemplating the nuclear threat, read Chadrack Tambwe Londe's story for UM News about the gift of 52 bicycles and Bibles to United Methodist evangelists in Tunda, DR Congo. The bikes and Bibles were the gift of Crosspoint, a multi-campus United Methodist congregation in Niceville, Fla. The story will lift your spirits, we promise.
Media Mentions as of Oct. 24, 2022
PURLS AND PRAYERS: Nan's Needles brings comfort, love with prayer shawls – The Vicksburg Post
Zimbabwean family shares bounty with church – UM News