GC Women's Ministries Newsletter December 2001
| News From the World of Women's Ministries | |
Inter-American Division:
The women of the South
Caribbean Conference have accomplished quite a few "firsts"
in recent months:
First
Young Women's Retreat for the Mt. St. George church.
First
prayer breakfasts for the La Romaine and the Los Bajos WM.
The
San Fernando WM have started a grocery sou sou. Each member contributes
an assigned food item each Sabbath to be distributed to those in need.
Care
Givers in Action (CIA) and a discipling program have been started by the
Mary's Hill WM. The discipling program has a lunch the third Sabbath of
each month for new converts and youth; there is also a prayer group every
Friday for new converts.
The
Curepe WM held its first Tea Party Hat Parade and concert.
Prior
to her joining the GCWM, Heather-Dawn Small conducted her first evangelistic
campaign in McBean Village, Couva. There were 40 baptisms as a result.
North American
Division:
The Southwest Region Conference Women's Ministries held a "town hall" meeting in Amarillo in September. Sarah Carter, the conference director, led-out. Erma Austin, WM coordinator for the Mountain States area, invited other area directors to the meeting.
The day consisted
of a worship service, a seminar, reports, news of WM mission programs,
and a networking on ideas for local
programs. Men were invited to attend and a few did.
South American
Division:
The South American Division has completed the translation of the Women's Ministries Evangelism Manual and has given it to all the conference and union directors in the division. They have also prepared a condensed manual to give to all local church WM directors.
SAD WM also produced a manual on how to conduct Women's Ministries and have shared this with administrators at all church levels so that they know that Women's Ministries is a well structured, full church department. Evelyn Nagel, the division WM director, reports that WM has "huge ideas" for expansion.
Trans-European
Division:
Valerie Fidelia, director
of Women's Ministries for the Middle East Union reports that literacy
has been identified as one of the primary needs in South Sudan, an area
long devastated by civil war. If there is a chance to educate a child,
the males of the family are selected. In July Women's Ministries began
a literacy program in the Maaji Central refugee camp in northern Uganda.
The
majority of students attending are women. Thus far there have been 15
baptisms. "I praise God for the good efforts they have done not only
in educating, but in bringing people to Christ," reports Pinky Gulfan,
the Women's Ministries director for South Sudan Field.
Gulfan reports that the women of Yambio in South Sudan are hoping to start a soap making industry to raise funds for a Women's Ministries evangelistic series in the future.