Bearing Witness | 2021 Impact Report

BEARINGLOVE WITNESS HOPE to God’s Love, Joy, Hope, and Peace

People of purpose— just like you—are bearing witness to God’s mission of peace and reconciliation in families and communities the world over.

“We are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.”

—Ephesians 2:10 (CEB)

LOVEJOYHOPEPEACE

We Are Created in Christ To Do Good Things We invite you to join people of purpose— people just like you—who are bearing witness to love, joy, hope, and peace in families and communities the world over.

Be inspired by the transformative work of Global Ministries and UMCOR in the United States and around the world when people like you partner with us in God’s mission of redemption.

“As a church, we are supposed to preach peace, justice, and reconciliation. That’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to help people understand that Jesus came to give life—abundant life.”

Rev. Dr. Jean Claude Masuka Maleka United Methodist Missionary—Evangelism and Church Planting Ivory Coast 4

You bear witness to God’s presence in the world when people in need receive water, food, and shelter.

Join others just like you who are furthering God’s mission in so many ways, including by: • Aiding (and continuing to aid) vulnerable, displaced families in Kabul and six other Afghan cities following the Taliban’s takeover.

• Providing emergency assistance to nearly 3,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh when their shelters were destroyed by fire.

• Providing 2,200 Kenyan households with food and

other essentials after devastating floods.

• Giving food, essential supplies, shelter repair, and livelihood recovery to survivors of earthquakes, cyclones, floods, and COVID-19.

• Providing safe water and hygiene to rural communities in Ecuador and Bolivia whose water system was destroyed by an earthquake five years ago.

Give people at-risk water, food, and shelter

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You bear witness to God’s presence in the world when the sick are made well and the vulnerable are protected.

Join others just like you who are furthering God’s mission in so many ways, including by: • Providing life-saving inter­ ventions to 1,383,947 (and counting!) at-risk newborns and children worldwide, mobilizing millions of dollars more in partner-in-kind gifts to improve maternal, newborn, and child health (including treatment and prevention of malaria and HIV and AIDS).

• Providing more than $12.3 million for strengthening health systems in 35 countries.

• Building and resourcing nine new buildings to support a new hospital compound for communities in East Congo that had no hospital within a 62-mile radius.

• Promoting COVID-19 awareness and prevention in Africa and Asia.

• Constructing new handwashing stations and latrines at 12 Methodist primary schools in the Ivory Coast.

Help heal the sick and protect the vulnerable.

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“When you see the patients and medical personnel who worked through unimaginable conditions and the children who have waited so long for a new school, you see the love of God.” Jean-Paul Dietrich United Methodist Missionary Democratic Republic of the Congo 7

“As I grew up, the only thing I wanted to do was serve those in need.”

Innocent P. Afful United Methodist Missionary Coordinator for Vulnerable Children Democratic Republic of the Congo

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You bear witness to God’s presence in the world when the displaced are made welcome and people at risk find community and connection.

Join others just like you who are furthering God’s mission in so many ways, including by: • Providing physical and emotional nourishment to asylum seekers—often unaccompanied children—at reception centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a major stop for migrants fleeing nations like Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq.

• Giving nearly $2.5 million since 2020 to partners assisting survivors who are among the globe’s 82.4 million displaced people.

• Supporting missionaries like Innocent P. Afful who, as the

coordinator for vulnerable children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is committed to improving the lives of at-risk children and their communities.

• Training and resourcing nearly 2,000 disaster response volunteers in 2020, equipping them to assist survivors of wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes across the United States.

Give the displaced welcome and community

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You bear witness to God’s presence in the world when the disadvantaged discover hope and survivors recover their dignity and self-esteem.

Join others just like you who are furthering God’s mission in so many ways, including by: • Strengthening farming communities through the Bishop John K. Yambasu Agriculture Initiative.

• Providing hope to survivors of severe weather disasters by: › Funding 61 disaster response grants totaling nearly $2.7 million in 2020. › Certifying thousands of early response team members in 2018-2020 who stand ready to respond to the needs of survivors in the United States.

Give the disadvantaged hope and survivors their dignity.

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“I am called to embody hope, faith, and love in a Good Friday world.”

Magdeline Rose Russo US-2 Missions Fellow United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries Florida 11

YOUR GIFT EMPOWERS

PURPOSE. THEIRS AND YOURS. As people of purpose, together we inspire and empower others to live lives of principle, determination, and purpose.

“God comforted me and guided me through a process of healing and freedom, and made me resize my ministerial call. My fervent desire is to arrange my life so that God’s purpose is fulfilled in me, and that everything he has given me is at his service.”

Yorleni R. Jiménez Rojas United Methodist Missionary Honduras

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Loving God and His People People of Purpose: Esther and Robert Armstrong Former residents of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Robert and Esther Armstrong are remembered for their relentless commitment to improving the lives of others.

In service to her church and conference, Esther served on denominational boards, including the Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief and the Board of Pensions for Methodism, and helped organize a soup kitchen for people in need (mainly ethnic minorities) during the Great Depression.

During a remarkable town meeting, Robert advocated that the town sell land in an all-white community to the town’s first Black physician, declaring, “If this man is good enough to become a member of St. Paul’s Church, I believe that he is good enough to live beside me, or you, or any other member of this church.”

The Armstrong’s love for God and others continues on through their bequest to Global Ministries, supporting missional outreach around the world.

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Giving the Gift of Life A Man of Purpose: Paul Brockus During several visits to Cambodia, Paul Brockus was moved by the plight of children and families living amidst severe water shortages.

In response, he established a Donor Advised Fund in support of the Brockus-Chapin Clean Water Project, which will ultimately provide clean water and sanitation to 14 communities and 700 people at risk.

Global Ministries’ Community Health and Agriculture

Development (CHAD) program in Southeast Asia helped facilitate Paul’s desire to ally with the Cambodian people and strategize a plan for constructing wells and latrines in the areas of greatest need.

So far, thanks to the generosity of the Brockus family, 28 wells have been constructed and 100 water filters donated to needy families in three different communities.

Community members, who played an active role in assisting with the projects, give thanks to God and to the Brockus family for these new “life-giving” resources.

“We are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.”

—Ephesians 2:10 (CEB)

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Become a Person of Purpose Partner with Global Ministries and UMCOR today and bear witness to God’s mission of peace and reconciliation to a world in need.

Give Today

We are created in Christ Jesus to do good things.

When you support Global Ministries and UMCOR today you: • Bear witness to God’s presence in the world.

• Foster human dignity among all peoples.

• Further renewal, reconciliation, and restoration the world over.

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LOVEJOYHOPEPEACE

Join God’s Mission of Redemption Your year-end gift to Global Ministries and UMCOR today will help empower the work of faithful United Methodist missionaries, bolster global health, support disaster response and development efforts, and further evangelism and church revitalization.

Give Today

“I believe that Jesus Christ is the only answer for every person and nation. I would like to introduce Jesus Christ to people who have wounded hearts from their history.”

Rev. Young-Chuel Cho United Methodist Missionary Director of Church Development and Spiritual Life Eurasia

General Board of Global Ministries | The United Methodist Church 458 Ponce De Leon Avenue, NE | Atlanta, Georgia 30308