United Methodist Missionary Association

UMMA Update, Christmas 2002

A Blessed CHRISTMAS and a Peaceful NEW YEAR to all!

A Message from Norma Kehrberg, Chair

Dear Friends:
During these past two months, I have become acutely aware of the depth of caring and concern in the worldwide mission family. This is evident in the sharing of concerns, thoughts and actions regarding recent events affecting mission personnel. I also continue to give thanks to Howard and Peggy Heiner and the role that they play in keeping UMMA issues on course.

We are making an impact. Voices are being heard. We can't make everything right but we share the word so more can join to make His will known through word and deed in the world.

Each year at this time, I have had an invitation to write some advent devotion. This is the one that I shared in my local church and also want to share with you.These words of Auden have come to me at various times in my life and continue to challenge me.

"He is the Way,
Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness;
He is the Truth,
Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety;
He is the Life,
Love Him in the World of the Flesh."

Words written over 50 years ago by W.H. Auden in his Christmas Oratorio are relevant today as we prepare to acknowledge again the birth of Jesus. During this year, we have become more aware that we live in a world of "unlikeness" and "anxiety" and find it difficult to comprehend the images that come from around the world.

A mother in Israel waits for the return of her daughter from the market as she hears the news of another suicide bomber; a family in Palestine wait for the return of their daughter who left to cross into Israel to go to school.Both do not return that day and the families grieve.
A family in Nepal implores their son, not to join the police with his friends. They know that the police are the first to die in the insurgency struggle in the mountain Kingdom. The son does not go but mourns his friends who are dead within six months of joining the force.
The resurgence of peace rallies in London, Rome, Washington and Honolulu after silence for so many years, are visible reminders to press our leaders to think of other ways.
A boy with wide open eyes and a smile on his face is holding his dish of ice cream at the "Christmas in August" dinner, something that most of us could look forwardto any day.

In times of"unlikeness" and anxiety, LOVE breaks through in this world of the Flesh. Love breaks through when we embrace peace rather than war; when we reach out to others; and when we are called to serve rather than be served. God reveals His Kingdom through grace in the times of anxiety, respect in the times of"unlikeness", and love shared in the meeting and greeting of others.

"For those who have seen the Child,
however dimly, however incredulously
God's Will, will be done."

Norma Kehrberg

A Christmas Message from an email of Jim Dwyer, Vice Chair

Welcome! We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

You can click and download the PDF file for printing and sharing. Or you may look at the "html" file online in your favorite browser. Our message is here.

Thanks for reading! - Jim, Helen, and Paul

Check Out Some Other Creative Missionary Websites

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
Janet and Roy May
http://www.pensamientos.com/Janet/creativ/news.htm

Raising funds for Advance Special by running the Miami Marathon.
Paul Jeffrey
http://www.gbgm-umc.org/honduras/marathon

Luis and Janet Garcia (kusayapu@entelchile.net)
http://www.emana.org

If you have a missionary web site you'd like us to look at please let me know so together we can give ideas and link to others. A future issue of UMMA UpDate will feature tips telling missionaries how they can make better use of the Internet. Please send me your experiences, examples, suggestions, and recommendations.

Prayers

Please keep Ruth Ann (Robinson) Caufield and family in your prayers (rar11pl@txcr.net).

Paul, their oldest son in his mid-fifties, died of a heart attack this past week. Paul was a pastor serving a church in Texas. He is survived by his wife Debbie and two children Brian and Evan.

Congratulations and Thanks

Congratulations to Gil and Maxine Bascom for receiving the Red Cross Senior Humanitarian Award for 2002 in Tacoma, Washington. It's amazing what these two do in addition to UMMA Coordinating and editing our news. We greatly appreciate their contribution to our leadership team.

A blessed Christmas season into the new year from all the UMMA leadership team!

Many thanks to all who have kept us updated this last year. UMMA UpDate is "Linking mission workers worldwide" through the coordinated efforts of the Steering Committee along with the Communications Task Force and others who share information and inspiration. This is the first issue that the editor has done mostly on his own and is sending out as a 1st draft due to time limitations and the holidays.

Be assured that our prayers are with you. May the words of the hymn, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" inspire us these 12 days of Christmas and into the new year as we struggle for justice, prosperity and peace.

"O holy child of Bethlehem! Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels. The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel."- rls

We welcome your comments:
gbascom1467@earthlink.net