Where Worlds Meet - July 2017
In this month's edition of Where Worlds Meet:
Read about how Nazarenes in June gathered for the quadrennial General Assembly and Conventions.
Refugee from Syria finally understood who Jesus is after visiting a Nazarene church in Lebanon.
And more...
Download the Where Worlds Meet
© 2017 Eurasia Region, All rights reserved
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Former missionary to Eurasia elected general superintendent Carla Sunberg, who grew up in Germany and served as missionary in Russia, was elected, along with Filimao Chambo, regional director of Africa.
‘I’m ready to serve’
Refugee from Syria finally understood who
Jesus is after visiting a Nazarene church in
Lebanon.
Nazarenes represent Eurasia
at General Assembly sites
Eurasians gathered in Indianapolis, U.S.,
Manchester, U.K., and Hyderabad, India
Letter from the Regional Director
Reflections on General Assembly
Last week, all of the regional office staff sat down together for our first post-General Assembly meeting. It is almost like a wedding day: months of preparation for one single event. Then once the day is over you ask yourself “Where did all these hectic activities go?” But as you start sharing with one another and remembering, you get a sense of the impact and the beauty of the event.
The people of Israel, in Exodus 19:16-17, were called together to listen to the Lord, and to be affirmed in their identity as people of God: “This is who you are as a community and as a body.” The denomination’s quadrennial General Assembly, which gathers as many as 20,000 Nazarenes for a week of worship, fellowship and business, is meant to do the same. So, listen with me to the mosaic of highlights that the Eurasia staff carried with them in their hearts.
The first one shared: “For me the highlight was the sense of unity. In several key moments, there was a coming together of the global church. It seemed that in electing our two new general superintendents that delegates from north and south, east and west wanted to be of one mind very quickly, accepting the need to have broad representation.”
Becoming a truly international church – one body, one Lord, one faith – is a real challenge. How can I really Letter from the Regional Director make the burden of my brothers and sisters elsewhere also my burden, even when it is no issue at all for where I live? By bridging these cultural differences by calls for a deep surrender to the Lord and to my brothers and sisters.
Personally, I saw this unity put into practice when we dealt with several complicated resolutions on articles of faith, Christian conduct and contemporary issues. I do not recall a General Assembly where as many international delegates addressed the assembly. We listened to district superintendents, but also doctors, a psychiatrist, lawyers and judges from all over the world. The high-quality input reflects the maturing Church of the Nazarene around the globe.
Another shared how this assembly provided opportunity to translate the Study Map for the Nazarene Articles of Faith (www.studymaps.org), created by Stéphane Tibi, now the region’s education coordinator, into an additional 16 languages. What an accomplishment! For our region, with its dozens of languages, having indigenous holiness resources available to all hinges on translations.
One of our team members was profoundly moved by the 20th anniversary of the JESUS Film Harvest Partners ministry. Eurasia Region, especially, has seen an incredible response to the gospel presentation on film. Of the nearly 300,000 Nazarenes in India and South Asia, many found Christ through the JESUS Film and the follow-up by the film teams.
“In these 20 years, we were told
that, globally, 15 million people
made a decision for Christ in
response to seeing the JESUS film.”
As I listened, I thought, “What an
urgent prayer request this brings
with it. It is so different from what
we deal with in Europe. How do we
pray and support our churches in
India and South Asia to adequately
disciple these many new believers?
How do we respond to the growing
opposition in some areas to the
gospel and public evangelism
meetings?”
The Eurasia presentation during
the NMI convention on June 23
sought to draw the delegates
into the needs, challenges and
opportunities of our region. In a
blended, 20-minute multi-media
presentation we shared through
videos, readings, prayer songs and
stories how the church-in-mission
is engaged in the challenges of
refugees, secularisation and poverty.
(Soon you will be able to watch
the presentation online on www.
eurasiaregion.org).
One by one we shared our highlights
of where we had seen the Lord
at work and speaking to us. I
thought we were done and that
everyone who was at the assembly
had spoken. Then one other
German woman said, “I want to say
something as well. I watched the
General Assembly online. And I saw
that Carla Sunberg was elected. And
I was so proud: as a child, she was
part of the Sunday School class I
taught at that time. I want to thank
the Lord for this as well.” (See story
on page 4.)
In the Kingdom of God, important
steps have small, but significant,
beginnings. Somehow that last
comment took us all back to the
essential role of the local church,
where people hear and respond to
the full Gospel, love and care for
one another and for the town or
city they live in. Seeds are sown and
mature in the fellowships where we
can look each other in the eyes, eat
and pray together, and put a hand
around one another’s shoulder in
the name of Christ.
In other words: The wedding
celebration is over, back to normal
life! [Arthur Snijders
Eurasia Regional Director]
Church of the Nazarene elects two new general superintendents
Filimao M. Chambo and Carla D. Sunberg were installed as the Church of the Nazarene’s 42nd and 43rd general superintendents, respectively, Thursday night at General Assembly.
Watch the installation service
for Sunberg and Chambo:
http://tiny.cc/vlgcmy
Global churchChurch of the Nazarene elects two new general superintendents
Filimao M. Chambo and Carla D. Sunberg were installed as the Church of the Nazarene’s 42nd and 43rd general superintendents, respectively, Thursday night at General Assembly.
Chambo, director of the denomination’s Africa Region, was elected to the Board of General Superintendents June 26. Sunberg, a former missionary serving as president of Nazarene Theological Seminary, was elected June 27.
They join current BGS members Eugénio R. Duarte, David W. Graves, David A. Busic, and Gustavo A. Crocker to make up the Board for the next quadrennium, 2017-2021. Retiring members Jerry D. Porter and J. K. Warrick participated in the installation service.
Carla Sunberg
President of Nazarene Theological Seminary, Carla Sunberg was elected on the 11th ballot at the 29th General Assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. “Dear church family,” she began after a lengthy ovation. “I am completely overwhelmed today. Thank you so much for believing that God might be able to use me in this kind of a capacity. I am simply God’s child, and I am a child of this global church. You are the ones who raised me up, and I say thank you.”
Sunberg, who was born in Germany and raised on the mission field, thanked her German church family – in German – before switching to Russian to thank her Russian church family. Carla and her husband, Chuck, served as missionaries to the former Soviet Union.
“Thank you to my brothers and sisters in the former Soviet Union,” she said. “It was a privilege when I was ordained with all of you; and may God bless you all!”
Sunberg was ordained in the Church of the Nazarene in 2004 in Moscow on the Russia North District. She and Chuck were pioneer missionaries for the denomination, living in Moscow for 13 years. She served as director of compassionate ministries there and later as director of theological education on the Commonwealth of Independent States Field.
In 2005, the Sunbergs returned to the U.S. and pastored at Grace Point Church of the Nazarene in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Carla served as pastor of evangelism and discipleship. In 2011, she and Chuck accepted a call to serve as co-district superintendents for East Ohio.
Carla is the second woman general superintendent in the denomination’s history, joining Nina G. Gunter, who gave Tuesday’s morning devotional to the assembly.
“As a little girl, my only desire was to follow and serve Jesus,” Carla said. “And I have to confess to you as I grew up in the church, I didn’t know if there would ever be a formal way for me to do so. A little bit later in life, my dear, sweet husband said to me, ‘If only you were a boy, you would have been the preacher in the family.’ And that day, the voice of the Lord said, ‘And why aren’t you?’
“And so my dear sisters,” she continued, “God has raised up sons and daughters to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am honored.”
Sunberg, who was elected president of NTS in 2014, said she and Chuck had been praying in advance of General Assembly “should this day (the election) ever come.” “Recently the Lord said to us, ‘You must be willing to be willing,’ and so, I stand before you today willing and committed to humbly serve my church.”
Carla, who is the daughter of former general superintendent Jerald D. Johnson (1980-1997), thanked her father from the podium, wishing he could have been in Indianapolis.
Carla is the first second-generation general superintendent.
She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from MidAmerica Nazarene University, a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Nazarene Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Historical Theology from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. In May 2012, Carla was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Olivet Nazarene University.
Chuck and Carla have two adult daughters, Christa (Maciver) and Cara (Shonamon).
Filimao Chambo
Chambo, who is from Mozambique and lives in South Africa, addressed the assembly after his election June 26.
“As a child, I sensed in one of my conversations with the Lord that he was calling me into full-time ministry,” he said. “My response to the Lord was ‘no, this will not happen … if you really need to call someone, call my brothers or my sister.’”
Chambo, born in a Nazarene hospital to parents who were both pastors, shared that he attended a youth camp where a missionary couple prayed God would call young people into the ministry. It was at that camp Chambo again heard God’s call to be a minister.
“I said, ‘Lord, I really thought that we settled this many years ago.’ But I’m glad that in that youth camp I said yes to the Lord,” he said.
In college, Chambo said he sensed God was calling him to a ministry beyond just one location.
“It was clear that God was calling me to be available to serve His people around the world,” he said. “One thing that I know is that when God calls, it’s not just a one moment call. He continuously calls us every day, every moment, for whatever He wants us to be a part of.
“As I stand here before you today, I stand as a servant of God who has been equipped by the church, transformed by God, willing to continuously surrender his life to be a servant.
“My prayer was if it is of God, it will give me peace,” he continued. “So, I stand before you and say ‘yes, I accept to serve you.””
Chambo completed a diploma in theology at Seminario Nazareno em Mozambique, a Bachelor of Theology at Nazarene Theological College in South Africa, a master’s in biblical studies at the University of Johannesburg, and his Ph.D. in biblical studies at the same university. He was ordained in 1999. Chambo speaks several African languages in addition to English and Portuguese. He has served in many leadership roles, including pastor, teacher, and principal.
Filimao and Samantha Chambo have a daughter, Tsakani, and a son, Emanuel. [Reprinted from Nazarene news, www.nazarene.org.]
Watch Carla Sunberg’s election: http://tiny.cc/ungcmy
Watch Filimao Chambo’s election: http://tiny. cc/5mgcmy
Global church
Eurasian Nazarenes represent region at 2017 General Assembly and Conventions
Refugees. Secularism. Poverty.
On June 23, Regional Director Arthur Snijders shared stories of how local churches across Eurasia are rising to meet these challenges through the love of Christ when he presented before the Global NMI Convention at the 2017 General Assembly and Conventions in Indianapolis, U.S.
It was among numerous moments throughout June 21-30 when Eurasians represented the region to our global church family.
Before the presentation, Joseph Chalhoub, NMI president for the Lebanon District, prayed for the convention. Vocalists, musicians and dramatic readers included representation from British Isles North, Germany, Jordan and the regional office. Philip Weatherill, of British Isles South and the elected Global NMI President, helped to lead the convention.
General Assembly is held every four years, gathering as many as 20,000 Nazarenes from around the world to worship God, celebrate unity amid diversity, and to conduct the business of the church, including electing two new general superintendents (see story page 4).
This quadrennium, Nazarenes gathered simultaneously in 10 locations around the world, worshipping, discussing and voting via live satellite feeds -- all around the theme of “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope, One Lord, One Faith.”
International fellowship was a highlight for many, including Daniel Fink, district superintendent for the Italy District, who said he enjoyed, “meeting old friends and new ones, pastors and missionaries from all regions and the strong sense of fellowship, love and unity.”
It also gives a “glimpse of our global Nazarene family and seeing that the beauty of our church is determined by the diversity and the strengh that each region contributes into it,” he added. For Dalia Matijević, of Croatia, who attended General Assembly for the first time, it was the opportunity for greater understanding of the global church she is part of.
In Indianapolis, the Eurasia part of the Nazarene Global Mission exhibit displayed facades to represent different ministries and cultures in Eurasia. Missionaries and national leaders gathered in the exhibit each day to meet and greet other Nazarenes interested in learning more about what God is doing in Eurasia, and how they can be involved.
Many people from other world areas enjoyed coming to the exhibit to see friends, to pick up information, and try on traditional clothes from different Eurasian cultures.
In Eurasia, Hyderabad, India, and Manchester, England, hosted simultaneous Nazarene Youth International (NYI) and Sunday School and Discipleship International (SDMI) conventions where more than 300 people in total participated in the global conventions.
Wouter van der Zeijden, of the Netherlands, compared his experience at the 2013 NYI convention in the USA to this summer’s smaller site in Manchester, U.K.
“It exceeded all my expectations. The intimate atmosphere doubled my enthusiasm! It was like attending an NYC with a combination of business, worship, lots of games and great fellowship with about 150 people all over the Eurasia region.”
Of the NYI gathering in India, Oshan Isemonth, of Sri Lanka, said, “My favorite moment in the whole event was when we did a cultural dinner and everybody offered something from their country. It was one magical moment to see Nazarenes cook and share food -- I think food is the 6th love language.”
Representatives for CIS and South Asia made time for meetings and fellowship with people who have been partnering to support the growth and development of the church in these fields.
During the second week, delegates participated in committee meetings, discussed and voted on amendments and resolutions.
To read summaries of the resolutions that were passed each day, visit http://nazarene.org/articleposted/general-assembly
Offerings were received during each of the event’s five worship services, both online at Nazarene.org/give-ga and in person. As a result of global Nazarenes’ generosity, more than US$100,000 will be donated to Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) for refugee support.
2017 General Assembly and Conventions have ended, but VOTE: Nazarenes gave $100,000 for refugee support the memories, relationships and decisions will carry forward until the next gathering.
“I will share my experiences with every local church of the district and with all our leaders,” Fink said. “I want to encourage them to keep engaged with the global mission of the church. We are a giving and sending church.”
A Syrian refugee flees to Lebanon, where he discovers Christ through a Nazarene church. by Gina Grate Pottenger
Growing up on a family farm in Syria where Naseef helped his parents toil in the fields under the hot sun, Naseef dreamed of a different life. Someday, he told himself, he would become finance manager in a corporation.
Back then, many Syrians could pursue their dreams, and Naseef was well on the way to realizing his own when he enrolled at university to study his passion: economics.
But the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011 and shattered his dream.
The Syrian government had begun drafting young university men into the army to fight opposition forces. However, they did not draft men who failed in their studies. Some students deliberately failed for two years to avoid government military service.
Naseef came from a small Christian village, and he did not want to be part of the war, so he purposely failed out of university. It was a painful decision.
“I love economics,” he said.
Naseef took a job in a small glass shop and rejoined his family with their farm work.
The war came to Naseef’s area of Syria in 2013. The government sent about 200 troops to fight the opposition forces, and the village showed them hospitality. Naseef’s family took 10 of the young soldiers into their house, fed them, and they became friends. They exchanged contact information so they could stay in touch on their mobile devices.
After the soldiers moved on to another area where the fighting was more intense, Naseef and his neighbors could not get any responses from their new friends. Later they learned the horrifying news: all the soldiers had been massacred in an ambush.
Similar stories reached them concerning other troop massacres. Rumors and fears circulated about traitors.
That’s why many young Syrian men are so afraid to join the military that they flee the country, Naseef said.
“It’s not like I’m fighting for my country. I’m going to die because of the traitors.”
Naseef’s family decided to send him to Lebanon to save his life. He moved into a house with other refugee friends near the Beirut Church of the Nazarene. One day, Naseef was invited by a friend to the church. The people warmly welcomed him. Fascinated by the teachings, he began attending regularly.
Naseef was raised in another denomination. To Naseef, his family and his village, going to church was simply a religious practice.
“In our village, even the priests do not know much about Jesus, like how many years He lived on the earth.
Many people living there in the village do not know about Jesus. So I got to know Jesus in the church,” he said.
Hungry to know Jesus personally, he began reading his Bible every day.
“I learned more and more in the church... and I asked Pastor Andrew to get baptized,” he said.
Naseef joined the church as a member and will be baptized this month with six other young people.
Unfortunately, Naseef ran out of the funds he had brought with him to Lebanon. The Beirut Church of the Nazarene helped him find a place to stay, as they have done with other refugees. Unable to find a job because of his refugee status, Naseef spends his days in the church’s kitchen, assisting the three women who cook more than 100 hot meals per week for the church’s educational program for Syrian refugee children. He also helps to clean the church and classrooms.
“I believe that the Holy Spirit lives in me and I’m ready to serve and tell about Jesus.”
*Name changed for security
Eurasian Nazarene bears witness to oppression
Gusztinné Tulipán Mária was born to Christian parents in Hungary at a time in that country’s history when Christ followers were being persecuted under Communist rule.
By the 1990s, the culture had begun to change in monumental ways. Mária was an eyewitness to great events.
As she reflects on her years serving as an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, Mária says this about her homeland: “I do like the complexity of the ugly and the good together…and discovering the touch of God’s hand through it all.”
To order Eyewitness: Seeing from Within an Oppressive Society, visit: http://tiny.cc/4799ly
To find out more about other Nazarene mission books, visit: http://nmi.nazarene.org/10073/ story.html
New RAC and GB elected
The Eurasia Regional Caucus held RAC (Regional Advisory Council) elections on 24 and 27 June. Eurasia General Assembly delegates voted in approved early voting and nominated General Board members who were confirmed by the General Assembly the week of June 26-30. Please find below those elected and the Eurasia Regional SDMI Coordinator and Global NMI President who serve on the General Board as well. We also extend recognition to Cathy Tarrant who was elected as the Eurasia Regional NMI Representative to the Global NMI Council for the next four years.
General Board
Sanjay Gawali - India Western Maharashtra -District Superintendent
David Montgomery - British Isles South - District Superintendent
David Day - British Isles South - Accountant
Christoph Nick - Germany - Project Manager in research/development for a microsystem techology company
Mary Schaar - Germany- Pastor in Stuttgart, Germany
Vinay Gawali - India Eastern Maharashtra - Associate Professor with Kasturba Nursing College
Eurasia SDMI and Global SDMI Representative- Milon Patwary - Bangladesh South - NCM Canada projects in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh
Global NMI President - Philip Weatherill - British Isles South - Vice-President for a pharmaceutical company
RAC- Regional Advisory Council 2017-2021
India
Vinay Gawali - Eastern Maharashtra - Associate Professor with Kasturba Nursing College
Mrs. Jothy Rajulwala - NW India - English teacher grades 9-12
South Asia
Milon Patwary - Bangladesh South - NCM
Canada
Daniel Kalaichelvan - Sri Lanka - District Superintendent
Northern Europe
Carl McCann - British Isles South - Pastor of Ashton Church of the Nazarene
Martin Wahl - Germany - Assistant to DS and Pastor in Berlin
Western Mediterranean
Raquel Pereira - Portugal - Registrar for EUNC
Eastern Mediterranean
Bassel Habiby - Lebanon - Works for Auditing/Accounting Firm
CIS
Svetlana Kleshchar - Ukraine - Pastor in Kyiv and Foreign Language Teacher/ Interpreter
Central Europe
Kaj Ove Bollerup -Denmark - DS for Scandinavia
Once again, we greatly you and your service to our Lord and His Church.
Prayer requests
Please pray for Filimao Chambo and Carla Sunberg, as they fill their new roles as general superintendents in the Church of the Nazarene.
Pray for the safety of the many Nazarenes still traveling following General Assembly.
Pray for our church regionally, as well as globally, as we seek to implement the decisions, ideas and strategies from General Assembly.
Pray for Naseef as he grows in his new faith in Jesus Christ. Pray protection for him and his family.
Also, pray for the churches in the Middle East, across the region and around the world who are ministering to refugees.
Eurasian Nazarenes represent region at 2017 General Assembly and Conventions
Refugees. Secularism. Poverty.
On June 23, Regional Director Arthur Snijders shared stories of how local churches across Eurasia are rising to meet these challenges through the love of Christ when he presented before the Global NMI Convention at the 2017 General Assembly and Conventions in Indianapolis, U.S.
It was among numerous moments throughout June 21-30 when Eurasians represented the region to our global church family.
Before the presentation, Joseph Chalhoub, NMI president for the Lebanon District, prayed for the convention. Vocalists, musicians and dramatic readers included representation from British Isles North, Germany, Jordan and the regional office. Philip Weatherill, of British Isles South and the elected Global NMI President, helped to lead the convention.
General Assembly is held every four years, gathering as many as 20,000 Nazarenes from around the world to worship God, celebrate unity amid diversity, and to conduct the business of the church, including electing two new general superintendents (see story page 4).
This quadrennium, Nazarenes gathered simultaneously in 10 locations around the world, worshipping, discussing and voting via live satellite feeds -- all around the theme of “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope, One Lord, One Faith.”
International fellowship was a highlight for many, including Daniel Fink, district superintendent for the Italy District, who said he enjoyed, “meeting old friends and new ones, pastors and missionaries from all regions and the strong sense of fellowship, love and unity.”
It also gives a “glimpse of our global Nazarene family and seeing that the beauty of our church is determined by the diversity and the strengh that each region contributes into it,” he added. For Dalia Matijević, of Croatia, who attended General Assembly for the first time, it was the opportunity for greater understanding of the global church she is part of.
Watch short interviews
with Eurasians at General
Assembly, talking about the
challenges of secularism,
poverty and refugees:
https://vimeo.com/eurasia
“I was thrilled to discover the whole
church body is functionally connected and
sensitive about what is going on the other
parts of the world,” she said. “Having access
to different perspectives, circumstances
and understandings on the same topic:
‘How to make my church more Holy Spirit driven,
more God-oriented, more socially
relevant, and more holy,’ was immensely
exciting, encouraging, and a useful
experience for me.”In Indianapolis, the Eurasia part of the Nazarene Global Mission exhibit displayed facades to represent different ministries and cultures in Eurasia. Missionaries and national leaders gathered in the exhibit each day to meet and greet other Nazarenes interested in learning more about what God is doing in Eurasia, and how they can be involved.
Many people from other world areas enjoyed coming to the exhibit to see friends, to pick up information, and try on traditional clothes from different Eurasian cultures.
In Eurasia, Hyderabad, India, and Manchester, England, hosted simultaneous Nazarene Youth International (NYI) and Sunday School and Discipleship International (SDMI) conventions where more than 300 people in total participated in the global conventions.
Wouter van der Zeijden, of the Netherlands, compared his experience at the 2013 NYI convention in the USA to this summer’s smaller site in Manchester, U.K.
“It exceeded all my expectations. The intimate atmosphere doubled my enthusiasm! It was like attending an NYC with a combination of business, worship, lots of games and great fellowship with about 150 people all over the Eurasia region.”
Of the NYI gathering in India, Oshan Isemonth, of Sri Lanka, said, “My favorite moment in the whole event was when we did a cultural dinner and everybody offered something from their country. It was one magical moment to see Nazarenes cook and share food -- I think food is the 6th love language.”
Representatives for CIS and South Asia made time for meetings and fellowship with people who have been partnering to support the growth and development of the church in these fields.
During the second week, delegates participated in committee meetings, discussed and voted on amendments and resolutions.
To read summaries of the resolutions that were passed each day, visit http://nazarene.org/articleposted/general-assembly
Offerings were received during each of the event’s five worship services, both online at Nazarene.org/give-ga and in person. As a result of global Nazarenes’ generosity, more than US$100,000 will be donated to Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) for refugee support.
2017 General Assembly and Conventions have ended, but VOTE: Nazarenes gave $100,000 for refugee support the memories, relationships and decisions will carry forward until the next gathering.
“I will share my experiences with every local church of the district and with all our leaders,” Fink said. “I want to encourage them to keep engaged with the global mission of the church. We are a giving and sending church.”
Attend a training!
• August 4-6, Dordrecht, Netherlands
• October 6-8, Irpin, Ukraine
• January 12-14, Northern Europe
Save your place: eurasiaregion.org/
volunteers/events/
Is God calling you?
Become a missionary in the Eurasia Region!
Find out more and apply now:
To explore your call or train for missionary assignment,
visit the website.
www.eurasiaregion.org/volunteers
TestimonyA Syrian refugee flees to Lebanon, where he discovers Christ through a Nazarene church. by Gina Grate Pottenger
Growing up on a family farm in Syria where Naseef helped his parents toil in the fields under the hot sun, Naseef dreamed of a different life. Someday, he told himself, he would become finance manager in a corporation.
Back then, many Syrians could pursue their dreams, and Naseef was well on the way to realizing his own when he enrolled at university to study his passion: economics.
But the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011 and shattered his dream.
The Syrian government had begun drafting young university men into the army to fight opposition forces. However, they did not draft men who failed in their studies. Some students deliberately failed for two years to avoid government military service.
Naseef came from a small Christian village, and he did not want to be part of the war, so he purposely failed out of university. It was a painful decision.
“I love economics,” he said.
Naseef took a job in a small glass shop and rejoined his family with their farm work.
The war came to Naseef’s area of Syria in 2013. The government sent about 200 troops to fight the opposition forces, and the village showed them hospitality. Naseef’s family took 10 of the young soldiers into their house, fed them, and they became friends. They exchanged contact information so they could stay in touch on their mobile devices.
After the soldiers moved on to another area where the fighting was more intense, Naseef and his neighbors could not get any responses from their new friends. Later they learned the horrifying news: all the soldiers had been massacred in an ambush.
Similar stories reached them concerning other troop massacres. Rumors and fears circulated about traitors.
That’s why many young Syrian men are so afraid to join the military that they flee the country, Naseef said.
“It’s not like I’m fighting for my country. I’m going to die because of the traitors.”
Naseef’s family decided to send him to Lebanon to save his life. He moved into a house with other refugee friends near the Beirut Church of the Nazarene. One day, Naseef was invited by a friend to the church. The people warmly welcomed him. Fascinated by the teachings, he began attending regularly.
Naseef was raised in another denomination. To Naseef, his family and his village, going to church was simply a religious practice.
“In our village, even the priests do not know much about Jesus, like how many years He lived on the earth.
Many people living there in the village do not know about Jesus. So I got to know Jesus in the church,” he said.
Hungry to know Jesus personally, he began reading his Bible every day.
“I learned more and more in the church... and I asked Pastor Andrew to get baptized,” he said.
“In our village, even the
priests do not know
much about Jesus, like
how many years did He
live on the earth; and
many people living there
in the village do not
know about Jesus. So I
got to know Jesus in the
[Beirut] church.” [Naseef]
Agape Table
Several days a week, the
Beirut Church of the Nazarene
cooks and serves hot meals to
about 80 disabled and elderly
people who live in the area.
The church also provides
weekday education to a
number of refugee children
who haven’t yet qualified to
attend Lebanese schools, and
Agape Table feeds them, too.
Read the story at: http://www.
eurasiaregion.org/achrafiehsagape-table/
To help support this and other
Nazarene schools that are
assisting refugees, visit:
http://ps.ncm.org/projectpage.php?project=acm1245
To support Nazarene churches
who are helping refugees and
their families, visit:
http://ps.ncm.org/projectpage.php?project=acm1645
“One day he shared with me how he woke up and
experienced a wonderful joy in his heart, and he knew
that the Lord has touched his heart, and he is God’s son
now,” said Pastor Andrew. “He reads the Bible faithfully
and knows verses by heart. He witnesses to his Syrian
friends through Facebook, and he is helping us now with
the follow-up of the Syrians who come to the church.”Naseef joined the church as a member and will be baptized this month with six other young people.
Unfortunately, Naseef ran out of the funds he had brought with him to Lebanon. The Beirut Church of the Nazarene helped him find a place to stay, as they have done with other refugees. Unable to find a job because of his refugee status, Naseef spends his days in the church’s kitchen, assisting the three women who cook more than 100 hot meals per week for the church’s educational program for Syrian refugee children. He also helps to clean the church and classrooms.
“I believe that the Holy Spirit lives in me and I’m ready to serve and tell about Jesus.”
*Name changed for security
Eurasian Nazarene bears witness to oppression
Gusztinné Tulipán Mária was born to Christian parents in Hungary at a time in that country’s history when Christ followers were being persecuted under Communist rule.
By the 1990s, the culture had begun to change in monumental ways. Mária was an eyewitness to great events.
As she reflects on her years serving as an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, Mária says this about her homeland: “I do like the complexity of the ugly and the good together…and discovering the touch of God’s hand through it all.”
To order Eyewitness: Seeing from Within an Oppressive Society, visit: http://tiny.cc/4799ly
To find out more about other Nazarene mission books, visit: http://nmi.nazarene.org/10073/ story.html
New RAC and GB elected
The Eurasia Regional Caucus held RAC (Regional Advisory Council) elections on 24 and 27 June. Eurasia General Assembly delegates voted in approved early voting and nominated General Board members who were confirmed by the General Assembly the week of June 26-30. Please find below those elected and the Eurasia Regional SDMI Coordinator and Global NMI President who serve on the General Board as well. We also extend recognition to Cathy Tarrant who was elected as the Eurasia Regional NMI Representative to the Global NMI Council for the next four years.
General Board
Sanjay Gawali - India Western Maharashtra -District Superintendent
David Montgomery - British Isles South - District Superintendent
David Day - British Isles South - Accountant
Christoph Nick - Germany - Project Manager in research/development for a microsystem techology company
Mary Schaar - Germany- Pastor in Stuttgart, Germany
Vinay Gawali - India Eastern Maharashtra - Associate Professor with Kasturba Nursing College
Eurasia SDMI and Global SDMI Representative- Milon Patwary - Bangladesh South - NCM Canada projects in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh
Global NMI President - Philip Weatherill - British Isles South - Vice-President for a pharmaceutical company
RAC- Regional Advisory Council 2017-2021
India
Vinay Gawali - Eastern Maharashtra - Associate Professor with Kasturba Nursing College
Mrs. Jothy Rajulwala - NW India - English teacher grades 9-12
South Asia
Milon Patwary - Bangladesh South - NCM
Canada
Daniel Kalaichelvan - Sri Lanka - District Superintendent
Northern Europe
Carl McCann - British Isles South - Pastor of Ashton Church of the Nazarene
Martin Wahl - Germany - Assistant to DS and Pastor in Berlin
Western Mediterranean
Raquel Pereira - Portugal - Registrar for EUNC
Eastern Mediterranean
Bassel Habiby - Lebanon - Works for Auditing/Accounting Firm
CIS
Svetlana Kleshchar - Ukraine - Pastor in Kyiv and Foreign Language Teacher/ Interpreter
Central Europe
Kaj Ove Bollerup -Denmark - DS for Scandinavia
Once again, we greatly you and your service to our Lord and His Church.
Prayer requests
Please pray for Filimao Chambo and Carla Sunberg, as they fill their new roles as general superintendents in the Church of the Nazarene.
Pray for the safety of the many Nazarenes still traveling following General Assembly.
Pray for our church regionally, as well as globally, as we seek to implement the decisions, ideas and strategies from General Assembly.
Pray for Naseef as he grows in his new faith in Jesus Christ. Pray protection for him and his family.
Also, pray for the churches in the Middle East, across the region and around the world who are ministering to refugees.
Where Worlds Meet
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