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Global Ministries

In wake of the abrupt loss of billions of dollars of U.S. foreign aid, decades of global health and development work is now at risk. Global Ministries has moved to fill some funding gaps through UMC connections to ease disruption of health services where possible.

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Death of Innocent P. Afful, a missionary from Ghana serving in Kinshasa, DRC, is an unexpected loss for his family, Global Ministries and the community he served.
Clanton Chapel in Dulac, Louisiana, leveraged a Global Ministries’ grant made possible by offerings received on Native American Ministries Sunday. Sunday April 23, 2023, is an opportunity for the wider United Methodist Church to accompany Native American communities in the United States as they strengthen their faith and reach out to their local neighborhoods in mission ministry.
On this Good Friday, traditionally a day of mourning and deep reflection, missionaries Francine Ilunga Mpanga Mufuk and the Rev. Dr. Jean Claude Masuka Maleka offer the good news of growth and church development in response to Christ’s great love and sacrifice.
Dr. Leonardo Garcia, a missionary doctor serving in Angola, shares a reflection this Maundy Thursday on humility, gratefulness and the sheer wonder in God’s healing power. Despite his medical knowledge, Leo encounters many medical mysteries and acknowledges the miracles he sees in his daily work.
Yambasu Agriculture Initiative farmers who recently trained with the YAI program in Porto Novo, Benin, realize tremendous change and results in their farming skills upon returning home.
On this Palm Sunday, Eunha (Grace) Choi, missionary from South Korea who served in the Philippines and now serves as a Missionary in Residence at Global Ministries’ Atlanta headquarters, reflects on John 15 and the ways missionaries, like Jesus, seek God’s guidance on God’s purpose for their lives.
A Global Health partnership with Engineers in Action supplies rural Indigenous Methodist churches in Bolivia with restrooms and handwashing stations. In Ecuador, a new water source for nine communities nears completion
Patrick Booth, a global missionary in Cambodia, gives an update on the ARK (Advancing Resilient Khmer) project in Phnom Penh.
An Ash Wednesday reflection from missionary Lisa Nichols, a Church and Community Worker and executive director of the Jubilee Project in Hancock County, Tennessee.

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Have questions? Send us an inquiry and we’ll get back to you promptly. Please direct all media inquiries to Susan Clark, chief communications officer for Global Ministries and UMCOR.

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Susan Clark, Chief Communications Officer
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800-862-4246

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Six Years, No Solution: A 500-Gallon Tank Carries Hope to West Virginia’s Forgotten

McDowell County is one of the poorest in the U.S., and the communities of Anawalt, Leckie and Gary are some of the hardest hit by the current six-year water crisis. All have Methodist churches that are part of the Welch Charge.

To ease the burden of residents who have to purchase many gallons of drinking water weekly, the Welch Charge contacted the West Virginia Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Jim McCune, for help. McCune’s United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) connection put him in touch with Global Ministries’ Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program. 

A WASH grant allowed them to obtain a 500-gallon “water buffalo.” The conference disaster response team arranged to fill the portable water buffalo from the Welch water system, the county seat of McDowell, and transport it to Gary, where residents have been supplied with refillable containers. Residents of all three towns can come to get water, and volunteers will also continue deliveries for those who need it. Meanwhile, residents, including church members, continue to advocate state and local officials for a permanent solution to their aging, compromised water infrastructure. Full Story