JUNE 2001

HEADLINES

Frontline Missions: Women's Ministries Training for Sudanese Refugees

World WM Advisory Held in Silver Spring in March

Special Prayer Requests

Election in Australia

VIEW ORIGINAL LAYOUT OF THE NEWSLETTER USING ACROBAT.PDF

ABOUT WM NEWSLETTER

EDITORIAL | NEWS FROM THE WORLD. . . | ARCHIVES | ABOUT WM NEWSLETTER | HOME

Frontline Missions: Women's Ministries Training for Sudanese Refugees

In late April, Anne-May Wollan, the Women's Ministries director for the Trans-European Division , and Valerie Fidelia, WM director, Middle East Union, spent time with the women who are refugees from the Sudanese civil war. They did training and nurturing in two refugee camp villages in northern Uganda, Africa.

Wollan writes, "I have to admit I was totally exhausted when I arrived back home. Valerie and the South Sudan Field WM director, Pinky Gulfan, and I had a two week long program in two different camps touching on a variety of subjects such as health, nutrition, small group evangelism and prayer ministry. We really had a rewarding experience."

The following are abridged reports, from Fidelia.

When the women of Alere leaned that the TED director was to visit them, they pulled out all the stops to make her welcome.

A local mud and thatch house were donated and the women set about spring cleaning. The house was emptied of all its furniture and the curtains washed. The walls, inside and out, and the floor, were all re- plastered with fresh mud and a nice wooden bed with large mosquito net was acquired. The final touch was a bunch of pretty local blossoms placed lovingly on the table.

The camps are situated on the hillsides and in the fertile White Nile valley; round, mud and thatch houses nestle along the sides of washboard dirt roads. In order to survive, the refugees cultivate a variety of vegetables, beans, and fruits on a subsistence farming level. Many of the villages have an Adventist presence. The meetings were well attended despite the fact that the villagers were in the middle of their main planting season.

Some of the children had never seen a foreigner before and took some time to get used to our pale complexions. They finally overcame their fears and made friends.

The staple starch food of southern Sudan is cassava, a root vegetable. So when Pinky Gulfan told the women that she was going to teach them how to make bread, much interest was generated.

In her own inimitable style, Pinky set about the demonstration. The oven, made out of an old metal oil barrel, was placed over a charcoal fire; sand and stones were arranged in the base of the barrel. The bread was then placed on these and the lid covered with more sand and stones. (Please don't ask how she knows when the oven is hot enough she just does!)

The local pastor's wife, Josephine, proved to be a quick learner, and by the end of the afternoon she had produced a tray of cinnamon rolls, a braided French loaf, and rolls of various shapes and sizes.

The finished products were delicious and a tea party was held to enable all the women to have a taste. A carnival atmosphere prevailed with a lot of fun and laughter. This was particularly poignant as most of these families eat only one meal a day and seldom have treats of this nature. It is hoped that bread making will become a cottage industry in that area, allowing women to gain some income for themselves.

For sixteen days we had been out of communication—could not even give notice of arrival time, but were always warmly welcomed. Plans were made for further Women's Ministries training and plans for a WM group in each local church.

****Please see our web page for bread making pictures from Sudan: http//wm.gc.adventist.org.

(back to headlines)

World WM Advisory Held in Silver Spring in March

Once every five years, in the year following a General Conference Session, the departmental directors in the world divisions come to the General Conference for a week of Advisory—reporting, planning, sharing ideas and challenges. This year the Women's Ministries directors met from March 26 - 31.

At the time of the 1996 Advisory, not all the divisions had yet chosen directors and one was unable to come, so it was very special this year when every division was represented. Seven of these directors had not been at the 1996 event.

One of the new features of this year's Advisory was "A Celebration of Women" held on Sabbath. This gave the directors the opportunity to tell a little about what is happening in their fields. An offering was taken for 8 special projects; the donations amounted to about $3500.00 (some money is still coming in) and the directors thank each one who attended and contributed.

Several significant actions were approved at the Advisory. The directors voted to have the first ever world-wide women's convention/congress. The date and place is yet to be finalized but we are looking to Brazil or Zimbabwe in either late 2003 or early 2004.

Actions were also taken to request the church for a Sabbath on the Church Calendar of Special Days and Events for a "Prevent Abuse Emphasis" Sabbath, and two recommendations regarding the participation of women in church leadership and the paying of WM directors at conference/field/mission and union levels. Other actions dealt with female genital mutilation, the WM logo, and to approve "An Affirmation of God's Gift of Sexuality and Framework for Sexuality Training" document.

Jan Paulsen, the GC president, and his wife Kari; and Eugene Hsu, the vice-president who works with Women's Ministries spent some time with the directors.

During the Advisory each division director was also given an opportunity to give an in-depth report regarding the work in her territory.

Other agenda items discussed were scholarships, statistical reports, resources, yearly emphasis, the WM newsletter, the devotional book, the WM logo, how to deal with abuse and HIV/AIDS, Muslim evangelism and the 10/40 Window, how women can better participate in church leadership, the General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri, USA in 2005, strategic planning, literacy tutor training, men's ministries, confusion between Dorcas and WM, and mentoring.

The directors also received briefings from GC leaders regarding leadership training, how we can liaison with the United Nations, Global Missions, and a training seminar on preparing budgets.

All was not just agenda, however. The directors received many books and seminars as resources, and an hour or so one day was devoted to the fun topic of finding our best clothing colors.

(back to headlines)

Special Prayer Requests:

We are told that "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective (James 5:16, NRSV). Right now we are in need of your prayers for two Women's Ministries concerns.

The first is for a green card for Heather-Dawn Small. She was elected in April as the new associate director of Women's Ministries to take office when Lynnetta Hamstra lays aside her responsibilities August 1 to stay home as a full time mother. But before Heather can come to the General Conference Headquarters to work she needs a green card from the US government. Lately they have been very hard to obtain. So we need your prayers. In fact, six other church departments are waiting for green cards for persons elected at or since the 2000 General Conference session. So your prayers for all these individuals would be appreciated.

The second need is for the satellite video program. Women's Ministries will be presenting "Discipling People: Growing in Jesus," a training seminar from Mwanza, Tanzania, on June 28. We need your prayers for the production of this venture, for those who will be doing the presentations, and for those who will be watching and learning from it.

(back to headlines)

Election in Australia
News about Adventist Women

Deseley Scott, a Seventh-day Adventist woman in Australia was recently elected as a member of Queensland's Legislative Assembly. Scott, who describes herself as "Just a mom who went to the church down the road," sees politics as "a form of social work meeting people's needs as they come to you." It makes us think that Women's Ministries can help prepare women for wider service, representing our church in the government. Scott plans to focus on the needs of her electorate, many of which are common to women: unemployment, public housing, crime, drugs, domestic violence, and transportation.

(back to headlines)

(back to headlines)