news around the world Free Will Baptist International Missions serves churches, pastors, and people by helping them fulfill their role in establishing churches beyond North America so unreached peoples can know the joy of a relationship with the living God. To find out more about the ministry of Free Will Baptist International Missions, visit www.fwbgo.com.

Marincek‘s New Building, New Growth

Brazil—The congregation in Marincek, a suburb of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, worked diligently for several years to save the money to build a new auditorium (pictured below). Once they accumulated enough funds to start the project, they dealt with almost three years of red tape to receive government approval of the plans. They hoped a new building would lead more of their neighbors to enter the church and hear the gospel.

Once the building was completed, they used it to host a mother-daughter outreach banquet, because at that point, they had not been able to purchase the pews. The building, including pews, was dedicated in a two-day celebration July 9-10.

Two hundred twenty people attended the Saturday events. The choir from Ribeirão Preto’s First Free Will Baptist Church sang, Marincek youth presented a choral reading, a young mother delivered a monologue, and John Poole (the pastor of the First FWB Church) preached.

The Sunday service attracted well over 100 people, with many visitors attending from the community. Geneva Poole directed the play, “The Challenge of The Cross,” that confronted people with the need to take up their cross and follow the Lord. Two men responded to the invitation, accepting Christ as Savior.

On August 28, the new baptistry was used for the first time as five young people demonstrated their commitment to Christ. “Praise the Lord with us,” encouraged Bobby Poole. “The building is just a building, yet it stands as a testament of God’s faithfulness to our Church people and to the community.”

Ivorian National Association Held

Côte d’Ivoire—The Free Will Baptist National Association of Côte d’Ivoire met in Gouméré August 23-26, following an encouraging three-day pastor's retreat at the same location. The convention session speaker, Pastor Paul Amiezi, spoke on “Bearing Fruit.” A spirit of encouragement, joy, and perseverance permeated the week, despite the great political upheaval experienced the past year.

Business sessions bore the good fruit of well-informed decisions:

• The Bible Institute welcomes a new class of pastors-in-training this fall. The prior class was recognized, having completed their one-year internships with the majority staying on to pastor the churches.

• The house under construction for the academic director of the Bible Institute, funded by IM, now has its walls up.  

• The assembly unanimously reapproved the national project to build their first Christian school. Forty-two percent of their $22,000.00 goal is raised, and all were encouraged to give sacrificially to make up the difference. Hopefully, doors will open the fall of 2012.

• The recommendation that pastors be appointed by committee rather than chosen by congregations was again rejected. Our congregational heritage holds firmly to the local church’s autonomous right to choose her leaders.

• BERECA, the Ivorian FWB NGO, reported on Saturday. The nationwide ambition is to minister to AIDS patients and improve literacy. In the city of Agnibilekrou, BERECA ministry has touched 10,000 people. Of the pregnant women tested, 3.2% were sero-positive for AIDS.  

• Verlin and Debbie Anderson continue to serve as FWB missionaries, supporting the partnership between IM and the Ivorian church, and engaging in Community Health Evangelism translation, training, and endeavors.

THP Meets Needs in Japan, Brazil

Antioch, TN—THP recently engaged 14 people in service on two different continents. An eight-member team composed of Curt Holland (TN), Matthew and Halie Deckard (SC), David Gibson (TN), Gaelle Deperrier (France), Bettye Kimbrough (TN), Brooklin Holland (TN), and Samantha Jones (OK) departed Friday, August 19, 2011, for 11 days in Araras, Brazil.

Lar Nova Vida (New Life), a home for children who have nowhere else to go, received the team’s focused efforts. The workers painted building exterior and repaired and painted trim and gutters. They played with, listened to, and hugged children. When team member David Gibson fell from scaffolding and broke his arm, he returned to kick a soccer ball with the kids. The team returned safely on August 30.

THP Japan (Joe Wilson, TN; Justin Banks, TX; Andrew Gentuso, TN; Tammy Gentuso, TN; David Helms, NC; Crystal Hodges, CA) spent 10 days providing disaster relief for victims of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Projects ranged from cleaning mud-filled homes to delivering basic supplies to a refuge camp, from simple remodeling projects to listening to those whose lives were ravaged by the disaster, from cleaning and salvaging photos retrieved from the debris to cleaning and weeding an elementary school. The team left the States on July 1 and returned July 13.

Additional projects are planned for Kazakhstan, Panama, Cuba, and Côte ‘d Ivoire in 2011. These projects still need funds to cover costs of supplies. Currently, two trips are planned for 2012: Bulgaria and Côte d’Ivoire. To explore hands-on opportunities for overseas short-term service or to donate to any of these projects, visit www.hannaproject.com.

Snapshots Around the World

Côte d’Ivoire: Pastor Jérôme Kambou (below) successfully presented and defended his Master’s thesis on Saturday, August 13. The three-year effort is especially noteworthy due to the extended political unrest the country has endured.

Brazil: The Third FWB Church in Uberlândia, Brazil—a mission effort of the First FWB Church—organized and became self-supporting on August 6.

Uruguay: Neil and Mandi Morgan completed language school in Costa Rica in August. After two weeks of vacation in the States, they will join the Lancasters in Uruguay.

Japan: The Good News Kids Club continues to attract young mothers and their children to the Good News Chapel in Tokyo. Ruth McDonald plans to begin a parenting class in the fall with hopes to deepen opportunities with these women.

Panama: Two people were saved in the new work in Santiago, Panama (church pictured below), in early August—a young girl and a policeman. Both participated in weekly Bible studies.

The Hanna Project: Heath and Joni, Mick and Rachel, and Jenny began three months of intercultural training (September, October, and November) in preparation for their January departure for Spain.

Bulgaria: Eight children from the Svishtov church joined almost 60 other kids from across Bulgaria—many unsaved—in church camp in early August. Many kids heard of Jesus’ love for them for the first time.

Brazil: Marcelo Baço was ordained for the pastorate on July 9. He is working as a pastoral assistant to Pastor Lucas at First FWB Church in Campinas.

India: Members of the militant Hindu group, Bharati Janta Party, destroyed a new Free Will Baptist church building on August 6. They instructed Christians to not rebuild. The police instructed the marauders to return the building supplies they carted off. However, as of the end of August, the group not only had refused to return the church’s materials but also had filed a civil lawsuit to discourage and intimidate the Christian community.