Volume 28, Issue 2
Spring 2018
Finding Refuge, Hope, and Healing in Uganda EXPLORING THE MINISTRIES OF MISSY ANGALLA AND KAREN ALFORD By Ray Johnson, Coordinator of CBF Florida and the Caribbean Islands
Karen Alford (left) and Sister Lydia (center) introduce team to first fistula survivor (right).
We were four Floridians who made the 21-hour flight from Florida to Uganda. Tammy Snyder (Associate Pastor at Bayshore Baptist Church in Tampa), Theo Johnson (Pastor at Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church in Miami), and Julius Francis (lay leader in DeLand) joined me on this “Trip That Makes a Difference” to learn from CBF’s missionaries in Uganda about their work with refugees in the Pearl of Africa, as Uganda is known. Of the four CBF field personnel who serve in Uganda, two are from Florida: Karen Alford, a nurse practitioner serving in Uganda’s oldest refugee settlement, Nakivale (pronounced Nah-Key-VAL-lee), and Missy Ward Angalla, who oversees Amani Sasa, which is the family ministry component of Refuge and Hope. Under the auspices of Amani Sasa, Missy coordinates scholarship
“Everyone here is fleeing from mean people.” These words, spoken to us by Shelah Acker, who along with her husband Jade founded the Refuge and Hope Center in Kampala, Uganda, struck with sufficient force to pierce our hearts, for we had heard several stories from some of the 500-plus students who are part of the Center’s daily ministries. and counseling programs as well as a separate women’s shelter ministry. On day two of our time in Kampala, our team heard from shelter graduates, all of whom are women who had fled mean people. My father, who was a general in the army, was murdered and I had to flee. I was in the fields when I saw the smoke rising from our village.We knew what that meant, and we ran for our lives into the jungle. I don’t know what happened to the rest of my family. A soldier captured and raped me. After I became pregnant, he threw me out on the street. My baby died when it was eight months old. Tammy Snyder, reflecting upon her experiences at Refuge and Hope, recalled the words of one refugee who said, “Most of my life I’ve been broken, but from that came good.” As Snyder observed about the Refuge and Hope Center: Muslims and Christians, side by side, in harmony are learning English and
new skills to hopefully one day, when the conflicts are over, return to their home countries. They dream of eliminating poverty and empowering their people by becoming leaders, teachers, social workers, politicians, missionaries and mentors through their opportunities at The Refuge and Hope Center.* Refuge and Hope Center is legacy work, for it is helping refugees rebuild a spiritual, economic, and relational foundation upon which future generations can build. Julius Francis even noted how the ministry is legacybuilding in his own life: If my own children were to find a cause to immerse themselves in I pray it be identical to the depth and breadth of the organization created by the Ackers. Starting with twelve students in 2008 to over five hundred students today, their vision has been and continues to be blessed by God.* The final half of our team’s journey took us to the southwestern corner of Uganda, to Mbarara, where Karen continued on page 7
Young Baptists
Worship Workshops Banquet 2 | 2018 2nd Issue
CBF FLORIDA 2018 SPRING CELEBRATION ISLAND VIEW BAPTIST CHURCH IN ORANGE PARK APRIL 20-21
Leading Laughing Friends 3
CBF Florida Students Pack 2,500 Meals Students from five CBF Florida churches came together on April 21 at Island View Baptist Church for the purpose of packing 1000 lbs. of food to be distributed to Floridians struggling with food insecurity. The food packing event was a part of CBF Florida’s Spring Celebration and was facilitated by Hunger Fight, an organization that ministers to those struggling with hunger. Since 1 in 6 people and 1 in 4 children in Florida are affected by food insecurity, there is much work to be done to create a food secure environment in the Sunshine State. “Our youth loved serving at this year’s food packing event with Hunger Fight! It was an awesome opportunity to join with CBF youth from around the state to grow in our awareness of food insecurity and address it practically in the name of Jesus. The students enjoyed working together as a team in an assembly line to produce meals that will truly make a difference in the lives of people in Florida communities. I look forward to our youth group joining CBF Florida churches in future mission projects as we continue in Kingdom work together.” — Nick Dawson, Minister of Youth at Bayshore Baptist in Tampa
MINISTERIAL SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS DUE
Sara Hunt-Felke (center), former recipient of CBF Florida’s Ministerial Scholarship, now serves as the Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at FBC St. Petersburg. She is pictured here at the Student Food Packing Event during Spring Celebration with fellow youth ministers Nick Dawson, from Bayshore Baptist in Tampa (left), and Britt Hester from Hendricks Avenue Baptist in Jacksonville (right.)
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We are now collecting applications for CBF Florida’s Ministerial Scholarships, established through the vision and generosity of Lucy Smith. Applicants should be participating members of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida, 18 years of age or older and should be able to demonstrate a genuine financial need. Please submit all applications online at www.floridacbf.org/ministerialstudent-scholarships by July 15, 2018. Previous recipients need not reapply. For more information on the scholarship, email Rachel (rshapard12@floridacbf.org) or Ray (rjohnson01@floridacbf.org) or call the CBF Florida office at 1-888-241-2233.
Thanks for the Gifts EVELYN HEWETT IN MEMORY OF WARREN HEWETT WINIFRED SAMS IN MEMORY OF HORACE SAMS LORRAINE CARSON IN MEMORY OF THOMAS PINNER
Disaster Recovery in Puerto Rico by Jesús García
Missions is not just about doing work. It is about genuinely connecting with and learning from those you go to work alongside. I have always felt that when I serve I am acting as the hands and feet of Jesus. On this trip I came to understand that we are just a part of what God was already doing that was begun long before we ever thought about coming to Puerto Rico. - Erica Hollingsworth, Parkview Baptist in Gainesville
One of the beautiful things about our relationship with CBF Florida and CBF Global is best illustrated in the fact that before, during and after Hurricane Maria our church felt great support. Knowing that we had many churches praying for us meant a lot to us. Knowing that churches were raising funds to help us rebuild, and in turn bless hundreds of families in needy communities, was amazing. Having a group from CBF Florida and CBF Global visit us just a month after the hurricane was comforting. We have definitely felt that we are not alone. We have felt the companionship of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Although many do not speak our own language, they do, however, speak the language of love, justice and compassion. We want to invite other churches to come to Puerto Rico and help us in the reconstruction process. Although there are areas that have already recovered a lot, there are sectors that still need much help. Rebuilding after a hurricane of such magnitude will lead to many years of recovery. Also, when you come to Puerto Rico, you not only help us to improve our economy, you will get to know our people and culture. Puerto Rico needs it more than ever! The experience with so many missionary groups that we have received over the years has been powerful. Hundreds of young people and adults have experienced the taste of Puerto Rico. I invite you to plan a mission trip for next year or in the next two to three years.
STETSON BAPTIST COLLEGIATE FELLOWSHIP SERVES IN GEORGIA by Rachel Jeyaseelan Stetson Baptist Collegiate Fellowship had the opportunity of teaming up with the Medici Project in Atlanta, Georgia for our spring break mission trip. With twenty students we gardened in a food desert, sorted through inventory for Books for Africa, built gardening boxes for a juvenile detention center, and provided extra assistance for a homeless shelter called the Gateway Center. Our trip educated us on the way to serve those in poverty with a focus on preserving their dignity. We even had an amazing opportunity of working with another CBF group from North Carolina. On our day off we visited some Civil Rights’ landmarks, and ended the day participating in worship practice with our hosting church, The Nett. This mission trip gave us an opportunity to work with so many different organizations, and build relationships with one another.
Above: 2018 Stetson BCF Mission Team Left: Gardening in a food desert
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Mission Engagement Opportunities CUBA MISSION TRIP: NOVEMBER 1-7, 2018 FBC Vero Beach is taking a group of 8 people to work alongside the Fraternity of Baptist Churches in Cuba and has invited individuals and churches from throughout CBF Florida to consider joining them. The trip registration deadline is July 20, 2018.
FRATERNITY OF BAPTIST CHURCHES ANNUAL ASSEMBLY: FEBRUARY 12-17, 2019 The 40+ churches that make up of the Fraternity of Baptist Churches in Cuba (FIBAC) gather each year for an annual assembly. The XXIII FIBAC Assembly will be held in Havana City at Ebenezer Baptist Church which is in the municipality of Marianao. Attending the assembly is a wonderful opportunity to meet and learn more about FIBAC and explore opportunities for partnership with them. The trip registration deadline will be November 1, 2018.
DISASTER RESPONSE: JACKSONVILLE AND PUERTO RICO (DATES ARE UP TO YOU!) There are many opportunities to support and encourage those who are still recovering from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. If your church would like to plan a mission trip (for a day, a few days or a week!) to help rebuild homes affected by the hurricanes of 2017, call us! Although we are months beyond these storms there is still a great deal to do to help the communities that were hit the hardest in their recovery. Your help is needed in Jacksonville and Puerto Rico and there are resources available to you for the purchase of construction supplies! If you are interested in participating in or would like to receive more information on any of CBF Florida’s upcoming mission engagement opportunities, please contact Rachel Gunter Shapard at rshapard12@floridacbf.org.
You are invited to the CBF Florida state meeting at General Assembly in Dallas. The meeting will occur on Thursday, June 14 from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in Cumberland G, on the Exhibition level at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. Join us for updates on the latest opportunities to engage in ministry and mission!
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PIVOT CUBA: MARCH 7-11, 2019 Pivot is a learning immersion experience for lay leaders of all ages that includes six studies exploring God’s mission in the world ahead of 4 days of Caribbean cultural acquisition and reflection in Havana, Cuba, in partnership with the Fraternity of Baptist Churches in Cuba (FIBAC). In 2019, CBF Florida will be partnering with Alabama CBF, CBF Virginia and CBF Latino Ministries, alongside our local hosts, FIBAC, for Pivot Cuba. This mission development event challenges thoughts and beliefs about God’s mission in the world and our role in that mission. The trip registration deadline is December 1, 2018.
STUDENT MISSION MADNESS: SPRING 2019 A number of CBF Florida churches have indicated their desire to partner in a youth mission event. We are excited to announce that 2019 is the year for it! Student Ministries from CBF Florida churches will be coming together next spring to partner in mission.
PIVOT MIAMI: (OCTOBER 2019) See Pivot Cuba description above for more details. Even right here in our own state we can experience cultural immersion, and who better to learn about community development from than our own ministry centers in Overtown and Miami! Stay tuned as more details of this trip develop.
UGANDA EXPLORATORY: FALL 2019 (DATES TBD) A two-week introduction to the work of CBF Florida’s mission partners in Uganda. The team will spend four days with Missy Ward Angalla and her husband Francis to observe their work with urban refugees at the Refuge and Hope Center in Kampala. From there, the team will travel to Mbarara to meet Karen Alford and to observe her work with Medical Teams International in the sprawling refugee settlement in Nakivale. The team will then spend time at Queen Elizabeth II National Park.
2018 Officers and Representative Assembly Moderator Tammy Snyder
Moderator-Elect (Pending) Amy Bock
Treasurer Ron Rooks
Secretary Gary McCall
Nominating Committee Chairperson Ken Boutwell
Past Moderator Kevin Collison
Panhandle Representatives Clint Akins Paula Carroll Howard Rhodes Sara Rice
Northeast Representatives Brenda Cohen James Crutchfield Courtney Hester Kevin Smith Ron Rowe
East Central Representatives Gail Davidson James Shoopman Bob Mulkey Linda Pigott
West Central Representatives Nick Dawson Aimee Hobbs Paula James Tim Sizemore
South Representatives Ellen Burnette Steven Reed Evan Rees Mari Carmen Roca
Uganda, continued from page 1
Alford lives and from which she travels more than an hour one way to the refugee settlement in Nakivale. Karen focuses her work on women with obstetric fistulas, a health issue that affects numerous women in the settlement. The condition is malodorous and shameful for the women and results in their social isolation, difficult pregnancies, and often the newborn’s premature death as a result of infections that are contracted during the birth process. We visited three women who had suffered from fistulas but whose lives had been restored through simple surgeries to repair the fistula. One woman, the first we met, was seventy-eight years old. A refugee from the genocide in Rwanda, she came joyfully out of her home, steadied by a cane and wearing a bright blue skirt and a white baseball cap. She wept with joy as she spoke to us. It was, as Theo Johnson said, both humbling and hopeful: My life has been forever impacted by Uganda Exploratory Team visits with the mission trip to Uganda, Africa. staff members of Refuge and Hope I felt (and still feel) humbled and Center. Pictured left to right: Tammy Snyder, Theo Johnson, Meshach, Ray hopeful as a result of this amazing Johnson, Victoria, Arnold, Julius Francis. trip. I was humbled seeing the lives and less fortunate conditions of so many in both Kampala and Mbarara, but also hopeful in witnessing first-hand the transformational ministry taking place through CBF’s Missionaries.* CBF’s missionaries in Uganda – Jade and Shelah Acker, Francis and Missy Ward Angalla, and Karen Alford – are individually and collectively the presence of Christ. What we witnessed inspired all of us to support their work personally and to help raise support for their work. For anyone who wants to help Missy Ward Angalla provide shelter for vulnerable refugee women, a gift of $1,600 will sponsor a woman in the shelter for the four-month long program. The program changes their lives! We are witnesses to that. For those who would like to help Karen Alford bring healing to women who suffer from obstetric fistulas, a gift of $1,500 will build out a bed and room on a fistula ward where these women can receive treatment without being ostracized prior to and following their surgeries. It was sobering to hear that everyone we met at the refugee ministries was fleeing from mean people. Yet, as one refugee woman stated with great faith, “I was taken away from my family, but God formed me into something different and something new.” That kind of faith is humbling, indeed. *Editor’s Note: You can read more from Tammy Snyder, Julius Francis, and Theo Johnson by visiting CBF Florida’s website (www.floridacbf.org) and checking out their blogs there.
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CBF Florida staff members, Pat Harold, CBF Florida’s Financial Secretary (left) and Melissa Rodriguez, CBF Florida’s Administrative Assistant (right)
Spring Celebration Continued Betty Anne and Sam Schlegel, St. Augustine
Left to right: Dick Atkins, Ron Rooks, Amy Bock and Merilyn Atkins
2018 Second Issue Volume 28 - Number 2 Contact CBF Florida at: P. O. Box 2556 Lakeland. FL 33806-2556 217 Hillcrest Street Lakeland, FL 33815 Toll-free: 888•241•2233 contact@floridacbf.org www.floridacbf.org
Staff Ray Johnson Coordinator Rachel Gunter Shapard Associate Coordinator Melissa Rodriguez Administrative Assistant Pat Herold Financial Secretary Serving and connecting churches and individuals in their calling to be the presence of Christ
CBF FLORIDA FINANCIAL REPORT January 1 – April 30, 2018
INCOME Individual Receipts Church Receipts Organizations & Partnerships Mission Development Event Income CBF Florida Endowment Funds Annual Missions Offering TOTAL INCOME EXPENSES Ministries and Missions Personnel Operations Annual Missions Offering TOTAL EXPENSES NET INCOME
$13,701 58,596 125,480 1,687 5,411 24,082 24,714 $253,671 40,583 73,981 21,355 3,049 $138,968 $114,703
Florida Fellowship News is published by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida, Ray Johnson, Coordinator. P. O. Box 2556, Lakeland, FL 33806-2556. Postage paid at Jacksonville, Fla. Phone (863) 682-6802. Toll free (888) 241-2233. Fax (863) 683-5797. CBF-Florida’s e-mail address is contact@floridacbf.org; Web address is www.floridacbf.org. Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Foundation Of Florida, Inc., Lakeland, FL. Registration Number: CH19014, Expiration Date: 8/24/2016. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE: 1-800-435-7352. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.