Global Missionaries Commissioned

 from UMCOM.org reports

After more than three weeks of training, ten United Methodists were commissioned and sent to missionary assignments around the world in a ceremony at First United Methodist Church in Flushing, New York, Oct. 11. Family, friends, and supporters from around the country and world participated in the the commissioning via a live web event.
 
Global Ministries executive Judy Chung says that the training helps prepare the individuals for the mission field while building a foundation of support. "These three weeks are important not only to learn the nuts and bolts of mission, but for bonding with other new missionaries and getting to know the staff of Global Ministries who are standing behind them."
 
Rukang and Fresie Chikomb will serve together in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr. Chikomb said the training was helpful in strengthening his spirit for the ministry where he is called. "Being among the Global Ministries group shows how hope is built around the world. This training becomes a community that shows how we care for others."
 
Eumin and Prumeh Kim, two of the missionaries being commissioned, have strong connections with the church. They are assigned to work with the United Methodist Mission Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
 
Rev. Prumeh Kim, one of the newly commissioned missionaries, recalled his first visit to Kazakhstan, noting the distance between United Methodist churches: "After traveling through the night on a train, I arrived eight hours later to the house church off a dirt road in Ushtobe." Upon returning home to Queens, New York, where there are more than 200 faith communities, he thought, "Why are there so many churches here and so few churches over there? This marked the beginning of my sense of calling to become a missionary to Central Asia."
 
Thomas Kemper, the top executive for Global Ministries, says: "It is a joy to visit with this diverse group. I am confident that as they go into the world they will share Christ's love. Having served as a missionary in Brazil, I have experienced the powerful transformation that happens--not only in the communities they serve but also in the hearts of the missionaries themselves."
 
More information about the missionaries and their placement sites is found below.
 
 
International Missionaries
Michael Airgood
Advance #3021393
Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference
Assignment: Pastor/youth ministry, L'viv, Ukraine, Western Ukraine Annual Conference
 
Rev. Rodney Aist
Advance #3021391
New Mexico Annual Conference
Assignment: Pastor, Methodist/Waldensian Church, Milan, Italy
 
Rev. Kristen L. Brown
Advance: #3021280
Oklahoma Annual Conference
Assignment: Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem

Rev. Eumin Kim
Advance: #3021370
New York Annual Conference
Assignment: Co-director, Central Asia Mission Center, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Prumeh Kim
Advance: #3021369
New York Annual Conference
Assignment: Co-director, Central Asia Mission Center, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Fresie Chikomb
Advance: #3021434
Holston/South Congo Annual Conferences
Assignment: Safety/accountability manager, Southern Congo Wings of the Morning Aviation Ministry,
Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo
 
Rukang Chikomb
Advance: # 14959Z
Holston/South Congo Annual Conferences
Assignment: Pilot/mechanic, Southern Congo Wings of the Morning Aviation Ministry,
Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo
 
Jennifer Hansen
Advance: #3021389
North Georgia Annual Conference
Assignment: Pastoral training, East Africa Annual Conference, Kampala, Uganda
Church and Community Workers
 
Brynne Leah Howard
Advance: #3021279
Iowa Annual Conference
Assignment: Attorney, Iowa Justice For Our Neighbors, Des Moines
 
Lisa Maupin
Advance: #3021274
Nebraska Annual Conference
Assignment: United Methodist Ministries, Missouri River District
 

 

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