CRWM's Fall 2015 Among the Nations

Humbled in Honduras 4

TEA Time 6

Mentoring and Transforming in Cambodia 8

Restoring Education in Ukraine 12

AMONGChristian Reformed World Missions

Fall 2015 • Volume 4 • No. 4 • www.CRWM.org

2 • AMONG THE NATIONS

A publication of Christian Reformed World Missions

Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) exists to glorify God by leading the CRC to respond obediently to our Lord’s commission to witness to the Good News of God’s Kingdom and make disciples of all nations.

For more stories and videos about the work of CRWM, visit us at:www.CRWM.org

Cover Photo:An elderly man observes the funeral procession of the late King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk.

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AMONG

Looking through this issue of Among the Nations, you will get a glimpse of four unique ministries around the world. You’ll discover how God is working through a small Christian school in Ukraine, a leader of Cambodia’s largest Christian fellowship, and communities of believers in the Christian Reformed Churches in Rwanda and Honduras.

None of these ministries are led by CRWM missionaries, yet they all demonstrate the effectiveness of a key strategy in the work of CRWM—the strategy of partnership.

If our ultimate goal as a missions agency is to fulfill the Great Commission, we recognize that God is already at work in countless ways. He has given numerous gifts to others in areas where we as North Americans may struggle.

For this reason, much of CRWM’s work has moved toward ministry that focuses on the empowerment and equipping of others.

You will read on page 4 how partnering in missions has helped young North Americans grow in their faith. Nathan Groenewold has been learning and serving from long-standing CRWM partners in Honduras.

Although there are no CRWM missionaries located in Rwanda, you can see on page 6 how theological training for leaders in East Africa has opened the door for Kingdom growth in this area of the world.

You will also see how Tep Samnang’s skills for leading Cambodia’s growing Church have been sharpened by missionaries serving alongside him. These new skills make him an effective leader of a partner organization (page 8).

Finally, On page 12, you will see how George and Sarah de Vuyst, missionaries in Ukraine, equipped Maggie in her desire to improve education. God has laid this mission on Maggie’s heart for many years.

Thank you for the partnership role that you also play in these stories. Your prayers, financial gifts, and other means of support are essential to strengthening these relationships with local ministries.

Gary J BekkerExecutive Director

FALL 2015 • 3

Phil and Stephanie Beck first met in 2002 as members of a CRWM summer missions team to Nigeria. After that summer, the two finished school, Phil in education and Stephanie in nursing. They married in 2004.

“We knew we wanted to be involved in international missions again,” says Phil. “God closed some doors and opened others and in the summer of 2005 we returned to Nigeria.”

Phil taught at Hillcrest School in Jos, Nigeria, for one year and then served as Nigeria’s team leader. Stephanie spent much of her time raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and counseling those who were impacted by the virus.

Although being away from family during the holidays was one of the greater challenges they faced while serv-ing, one of their favorite memories came as a result of a Thanksgiving celebration in Nigeria.

Stephanie met a man named Terlumun during her first summer in Nigeria. Due to a challenging birth, he had cerebral palsy. His childhood was difficult, with many people in his community advising his mother to throw him away.

Terlumun moved to Jos to pursue a degree in special education. While there, he attended the same church as Phil and Stephanie, where they got to know him well.

Upon Terlumun’s graduation, Phil and Stephanie traveled to his hometown to celebrate. Terlumun’s family used this opportunity to thank the Lord for His faithfulness.

“Watching Terlumun’s elderly mother beam as she told the church about her son as people brought their thanks-giving offerings forward is an image that will remain in our minds,” Phil and Stephanie reflected.

In 2012, due to security concerns, CRWM withdrew Phil, and Stephanie from Nigeria. They have since resettled in Hamilton, Ontario, where Stephanie works at a children’s hospital and Phil serves with one of CRWM’s close part-ners in global Christian education, EduDeo Ministries.

In both of their roles, their cross-cultural experiences have proven to be a blessing. At the hospital, Stepha-nie finds herself interacting with people from a diverse background. With EduDeo, Phil is able to share his experiences from the Nigerian classroom with teachers and students in North America.

“Our experiences in Nigeria and elsewhere have taught us so many things about God, the world in which we live, and His call on our lives. As a result we have been challenged to evaluate, adapt and grow. We thank the Lord that we are able to draw upon and share those ex-periences with others in our work and personal lives.”

ALUMNI CORNER

Phil and Stephanie with their son, Elijah (left), and Terlumun and his mother (right)


HONDURAS

Nathan Groenewold says that his first experiences in Honduras were “as shocking as my first cold bucket shower—the kind of shock that leaves you gasping for air.”

Yes, living in a home with a host family that spoke a dif-ferent language and being hours away from paved roads or glass windows was shocking—but as that shock wore off, Nathan began to see why God had called him to take part in this year-long service and learning experience.

Partners in MinistryFor the majority of his time in Honduras, Nathan worked directly with a young man named Miguel, an experience that Nathan found both rewarding and challenging.

“The opportunity to work with Miguel was exciting,” said Nathan, “but we certainly come from different theological and cultural backgrounds.”

Nathan lived in Miguel’s home district of Mangulile, a town buried within a district particularly prone to vio-lence and drug trafficking. Nathan and Miguel had the task of working with the church in Mangulile to reach out to its young people.

Every Sunday, Nathan and Miguel spent about three hours leading ministry activities with the church’s ap-pointed teen leaders. Together, they led a Bible lesson and played with the children and teens from each neigh-borhood, some of whom attended the church.

The group also took part in a service project to the com-munity, where the children decided to build a latrine for one of the participants’ families.

“The real success here,” said Nathan, “is that those from outside the church and those within have taken a miracu-lous step towards unity. We cherish the hope that more teens might find the fount of this love and communion, Jesus Christ.”

Humbled in Honduras

Nathan’s year in Honduras made him rethink what he thought it meant to serve internationally

Miguel and Nathan point out their region of ministry - Olancho

FALL 2015 • 5

A Ministry of HumilityWhile he believes that his countless hours of leading Bible studies, leadership training workshops, and other ministry activities did bring positive change, Nathan found that some of these missionary techniques have been harmful in the past.

“My friends and co-workers in Mangulile have been conditioned to submit without asking ques-tions,” he said. “In our haste to correct, fix, teach, and donate, we have often sent the message ‘your ways are lesser.’”

Trying to reverse this way of thinking, Nathan found that some of his impactful moments involved submit-ting to those who might be inclined to submit to him.

“My most important moments have been allowing my neighbor to teach me how he gathers up the corn stalks to burn before planting, chopping at weeds with a ma-chete like a child, while the workers laugh at my clumsi-ness, or digging a grave with ten other men, sweating under the weight of the pickaxe.”

As his time in Honduras drew to a close, Nathan saw that his attitude of humility had in fact made a difference. After a particularly frustrating week for Nathan, Miguel sat him down to talk, telling Nathan that he needed to be more patient, identifying specific examples where he should have done so.

“The fact that Miguel felt comfortable correcting me (and rightly so) reflects how our relationship shifted from the ‘white guy with the answers’ to equal partners in ministry,” said Nathan. “That kind of partnership is so rarely seen in interactions between North American Latin American partners.”

What’s Next for NathanNathan’s time in Honduras has left him with improved skills in ministry and an understanding of the culture that one could only get from the full immersion that he experienced.

Upon returning to North America, Nathan plans to move to Boston, Massachusetts, where he will seek ministry opportunities in its Latin American community, while pursuing a master’s of divinity degree at Gordon-Conwell Seminary. He said he would readily consider returning to Latin America after his studies.

“It’s possible that God called me, the only English speaker for three hours around, to reinforce a sort of discomfort in my life that just might never leave.”

As Nathan discerns what God has in store for his future, praise God for the relationships he has developed with Miguel and other community members of Mangulile. Pray that these relationships will provide op-portunities for further cross-cultural growth.

“In our haste to correct, fix, teach, and donate, we have

often sent the message ‘your ways are lesser.’”

Nathan experienced many moments of humility and learning from local people


As a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church of Rwanda, Overseer Moise lacked much of the biblical training that churches in North America often take for granted. While some pastors have the ability to receive training at a semi-nary in another country, this was not the case for Overseer.

“Though Africa is increasingly becoming the heartland of Christianity, close to 75 percent of churches are led by people with little or no theological training,” said Rev. Mwaya Wa Kitavi, CRWM’s regional leader for eastern and southern Africa. “Further, studies show that only 5 percent of African pastors have been to a Bible college and only one percent have been to seminary.”

Working to provide practical training for pastors like Overseer, CRWM hosts a Theological Education in Africa (TEA) conference in this region every two years. This year the conference took place from August 17-21 in Kampala, Uganda.

Overseer joined pastors, church leaders, professors, schol-ars, students, and other worshipers from about 250 African churches. Much of this travel and hosting cost was reduced for Overseer and others thanks to generous gifts from CRWM donors.

Improved Preaching MethodsAll of the conference’s events were related to this year’s theme: “Church, Worship, and Theological Education in Africa.” While Overseer took part in about 20 hours of listening to speakers and engaging in workshops, one of the biggest lessons that he took away came from one of the very first workshops on biblical preaching.

“In the past, I have been depending only on the Holy Spirit to preach,” says Overseer, “I learned to take time and pre-pare sermons based on a biblical text.”

Overseer’s original method of preaching was common for many of the TEA conference participants and other church

Ministry Leaders in Africa find meaningful lessons at a regional theological conference

UGANDA

Overseer Moise (pictured standing in the left photo) and Kapongo Kalala (pictured in the above photo in a tan jacket) register for workshops that apply to their ministries.

FALL 2015 • 7

leaders in eastern Africa. Oftentimes pastors in the region take little, if any, time for preparing their sermons, says Mwaya, who chaired the TEA conference.

“The church in Africa is hungry for leaders who can dig into the deep places of Scripture and bring the treasures that we need to sustain us,” he said.

Overseer also learned about the role of the church as a place of forgiveness.

“I will stop chasing people away from the church and open its doors for all to come,” he told his fel-low workshop participants.

Josh Shaarda, who serves as a CRWM partner missionary in Uganda, attended the conference with several Ugandan friends and pastors. He said that their re-alizations were similar to Overseer’s.

“My friends had never realized that true worship is always a response to what God has done for us,” said Josh. “In Psalms, whenever we are called to praise, we are given a reason why we are to worship. They realized that this ele-ment of worship was lacking in their churches. They had often called people to praise but not given a reason why people should praise.”

Other HighlightsWhile many of TEA’s participants represented a wide variety of denominations—the Sudanese Reformed Church and the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church in Uganda, to name a few—several members of the Christian Reformed

Church in North America also attended and led sessions. This provided an atmosphere for learning and partnering with and from one another.

“Now I know how many people there are who are involved in ministry,” said Kapongo Kalala, a principal from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

One topic unique to this year’s conference was led by Fita Rasendrahasina, who serves at a music institute in Mada-gascar.

Participants explored the role of opera music in Africa and explored how they could bring creativity into their own wor-ship services.

Fita also demonstrated his own operatic skills at one of the event’s many worship services.

Back in Rwanda, Overseer Moise is sharing what he learned with other leaders in the CRC of Rwanda, adding to the impact of events like this.

“We praise God that each participant eagerly takes their new skills back to their home church and uses them to transform their community,” said Mwaya.

Praise God for this opportunity to deepen the understanding of the biblical worldview of ministry leaders in Africa. Thank Him for the gifts that these leaders shared with one another at the TEA conference.

“I learned to take time and prepare

sermons based on a biblical text.”

Fita Rasendrahasina performs at a worship service Michael Ribbens, missionary in South Africa (pictured right) with other TEA participants


Phnom Penh is home to many of Cambodia’s emerging leaders & first generation Christians

CAMBODIA

A few Sundays each year, members of New Life Fellowship Church in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, set time aside after their regular worship service and head to the nearby pool.

While the scorching-hot temperatures in Cambodia are often reason enough to be in the pool, members of the church are there for a different reason—the baptism of up to 30 members of the congregation, many of them under the age of 20.

One by one, young believers enter the pool and are baptized by their small group leader while onlook-ers sing and cheer. The sacrament is followed by a time of fellowship and community-building games both in and out of the pool.

Although Buddhism and traditional beliefs still permeate Cambodian culture, celebrations like this demonstrate the Gospel transformation that many of Cambodia’s young people are experiencing.

“From the world’s perspective, the Cambodian church might be counted as small and Cambodian believers as insignificant,” reflects Gil Suh, who serves with CRWM in Cambodia. “But there is a saying in Khmer, ‘toj tai klum,’ which translates to ‘small but sufficient.’”

Tep Samnang: A New Generation of LeadersSince Gil first began serving in Cambodia at the end of 2008, he has played a role in the growing church in Cambodia, focusing especially on the development of younger leaders in the city of Phnom Penh.

Life has been changing in the city since the time of the brutal civil war. As more resources become available, new businesses are opening and oppor-tunities for education are growing. Young people especially are taking part in this change, attending universities in Phnom Penh and becoming some of the country’s most successful business leaders.

Tep Samnang is one such leader.

Among the many people who were displaced and orphaned by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, Tep Sam-nang remembers fleeing the brutal civil war and ending up at the Thai border, where he lived in a refugee camp as a young orphan with his uncle.

Samnang has many terrible memories from the camp—crowdedness, lack of food, crime—but he also remembers meeting Christians who were work-ing hard to improve his experience.

FALL 2015 • 9

Phnom Penh is home to many of Cambodia’s emerging leaders & first generation Christians

One of the youth baptisms at the local pool

“The Khmer Rouge was a devastating time in history for Cambodia,” said Gil. “But God was still at work during that time.”

Eventually Samnang became a Christian himself while living on the Thai border. He took his develop-ing faith back with him when he returned to Cambo-dia and joined many other first-generation Christians at the Phnom Penh Bible School.

Back in CambodiaAfter more schooling, Samnang returned to the Bible School in Phnom Penh, serving as the school’s prin-cipal. But he recognized the many challenges that came with this role as a young leader, so he began seeking a mentor in this important role.

“I tried to find a mentor because when I do my work I have many things that I struggle with as a leader,” said Samnang.

Seeing the impact that Gil had made on pastors whom he mentored, Samnang asked Gil to mentor him as well. Gil began meeting with Samnang regu-larly, coaching him and helping him with common leadership challenges.

“Gil kept Samnang from throwing his hands up in despair,” said Joyce Suh, Gil’s wife. “He serves as a Christian example to him . . . a neutral voice with no hidden agenda.”

Samnang agrees, adding “Mentoring usually means telling someone what to do, but Gil’s methods really help me to grow by myself rather than somebody imposing their own ideas or knowledge.”


Samnang (right) appreciates Gil Suh’s form of ministry coaching

FALL 2015 • 11

Transformational Network in CambodiaAlong with their regular one-on-one meetings, Gil also invited Samnang to take part in larger discipleship meet-ings with some of the other young leaders that he coaches, Christian leaders in churches, businesses, and other areas who want to know more about applying the Gospel to their own area of work.

“When you’re Cambodian, it’s easy to do what society does,” said Gil. “But young leaders need to know how the Bible applies to their own situation.”

Gil recently saw a sign that Samnang’s leadership skills have been growing, as he was asked to become the next executive director of the largest Christian orga-nization in Cambodia, the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia (EFC).

“This is an important position for the entire body of Christ in Cambodia,” said Gil. “As EFC represents a sig-nificant number of Christian churches and organizations in Cambodia.”

As Samnang adjusts to this new position, pray that he will continue to seek God’s will in this new position. Pray that Gil may find effec-tive ways to continue mentoring Samnang and other young leaders in Cambodia.

While Cambodia has historically been a coun-try classified by poor agricultural communi-ties, this scene has been rapidly changing for the country’s largest age population—young people between ages 15-24.

Cambodia’s youth have been flooding to the large cities, most notably Phnom Penh, where about one tenth of the country’s population now lives. In fact, the population of rural villages has been falling by an average of 4 percent each year. Taking advantage of the nation’s independence, these young people see the nation’s capital as a center for busi-ness and education.

At the same time, when these young people leave for the city they often leave behind their ancient buddhist traditions that have been intertwined with the nation’s culture in villages. This has opened the door for a growing population of believers in the na-tion’s urban centers.

As Bible Schools and Christian churches be-gan developing in Phnom Penh, CRWM rec-ognized the need for developing leaders and began ministry there in 2008. Today these missionaries serve as leadership developers and partner in ministry with New Life Fel-lowship Phnom Penh Thmei Church.

Rural to Urban Migration in Cambodia


UKRAINE

When Maggie Palatova first moved to her husband’s home country of Ukraine, the two planned to send their children through the public school system. Unfortunately, the corruption and large classroom sizes in that system quickly changed their mind.

“The mentality that pervaded all aspects of life under Soviet Union control still dictates much of what goes on in Ukrainian public schools,” says Maggie. “Since children spend more awake time in school than they do at home, that mentality influences a majority of their lives.”

At the same time, Maggie started working for Kiev Chris-tian Academy, an American-run school for children of missionaries—including the children of CRWM’s George and Sarah deVuyst.

“I fell in love with the school and the job,” said Maggie. “The foundation of the school was truly biblical, and it pervaded every part of the atmosphere and learning pro-cess, from curriculum to conversations in the hallway.”

Maggie dreamed that other children in Kiev would be able to experience the same kind of learning environ-ment. Although laws and restrictions made this especially difficult, many restrictions were lifted in the beginning of 2015, and people like Maggie now have more opportuni-ties to begin turning their dreams into reality.

Along with this exciting opportunity for Christian educa-tion came a long list of challenges, said Maggie.

“At the top of the list has been the challenge of find-ing teachers who either understand how to carry out our goals as a school or are flexible enough to learn how.”

Many students in Ukraine have no

opportunities for Christian education

FALL 2015 • 13

Educational CareAs Maggie wrestled with this challenge, she connected with George and Sarah de Vuyst about Educational Care, a program developed by CRWM for Christian educators.

In August 2015, Maggie invited George, Sarah, and five other representatives from the newly-developing Christian school scene in the Kiev area to have the very first Educa-tional Care training in Ukraine.

“The de Vuysts did a wonder-ful job of communicating what a biblical worldview looks like, and challenged us to understand how to apply and integrate this concept into our schools,” said Maggie.

“It was encouraging for me to see our teachers set goals and write plans for integrating biblical principles into their lessons and interactions with the students and families.”

Many of the goals that the participants shared at the workshop demonstrate the poor reputation that the edu-cation system and teachers have in Ukraine—a reputa-tion for corruption.

“A teacher’s salary is usually only $150 per month,” ex-plained George. “For that reason, many teachers teach in such a way that you have to seek outside tutoring. From kindergarten on up you’d have to bribe your teacher.”

Class BeginsJust one month after this first training session, the first bell rang at New Generation Christian School (NGCS), the school that Maggie now directs and serves as the first-grade teacher.

Already NGCS’s ten kindergarten students, ten first grade students, and all of their parents are beginning to see a restored picture of education in Ukraine.

“My dream for the school is to see it grow to include all 12 grades,” said Maggie, “I dream that some of our students will use their knowl-edge and talents to become leaders in various spheres and bring God-honoring changes to Ukraine.

The Educational Care group plans to have their second meeting in December, where George and Sarah will lead participants in exploring how to incorporate different learning styles into the classroom.

Pray that NGCS and other developing Christian schools in Ukraine will be a blessing to both teachers and students, and that it will help transform the nation for God’s glory.

“The de Vuysts did a wonderful job of communicating what a biblical worldview looks like.”

George de Vuyst, CRWM missionary in Ukraine

Maggie (far right) with students and parents on opening day


UPDATESSeeking Justice in Monte PlataWith support from CRWM, the CRC in the Dominican Republic set up three separate offices in 2013-2014 where people from nearby churches and others in the community can go to get legal assistance and help with completing complex documents.

From January to October 2015, the leaders and volunteers at the office in Monte Plata helped more than 2,000 undocumented im-migrants and Dominican-born people of Haitian descent obtain the documents they needed.

An Unlikely PartnershipBeginning in 2015, a group of police officers and former gang mem-bers have been meeting in Guatemala City with CRWM’s Luis Pellecer. Together they are taking part in mutual learning and slowly breaking down prejudices about one another.

“We used to hate you. We used to fight against you,” said one of the former gang members at the first meeting. “We killed some of you and you killed some of us. But now, by the grace of God we are brothers in Christ.”

A Heart for His Own PeopleMorris Sonni was one of a small number of believers who came to Christ as a result of CRWM’s ministry in Liberia in the 1980s. Recent-ly, Morris connected with CRWM’s ministry in Sierra Leone, where he uses his gifts as part of the staff.

Morris plans to return to Liberia in 2016, where he feels a long-term calling to minister among his own people, the predominantly Muslim Vai.

Romanian Woodworks MinistryCRWM missionaries Steve and Jan Michmerhuizen work alongside a number of partner ministries in Romania that are empowering young people to gain new skills.

One such ministry has been teaching young men carpentry skills while also hosting a time of shared meals and devotions. Because of their limited resources, many of these young men would otherwise have nowhere to work or develop new skills.

CONFIDENTIAL

Donald Branderhorst passed away on October 18, 2015. Don served as a builder in Nigeria from 1967 to 1969. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne, three children, 12 grandchil-dren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

Dr. Joyce (Branderhorst) DeHaan passed away on August 20, 2015. She served as a medical doctor in Nigeria from 1953 to 1956. She is survived by her husband, Ray, five chil-dren, and 13 grandchildren.

Mrs. Jean Persenaire passed away on September 4, 2015. She served with her late husband, Rev. Cornelius (Case) Persenaire in Nigeria from 1956 to 1962, returning to Nige-ria in 1965 to 1971. From 1972 to 1976, after a year of lan-guage study in Costa Rica, they served in Honduras. From 1982 to 1983, they served in Bacolod City, Philippines. She is survived by five children, 13 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Rose Van Zee passed away on September 1, 2015. She and her husband, Larry, served in Nigeria from 1976 to 2008. She is survived by her husband, Larry, two children, and two grandchildren.

Rev. Gerald Nyenhuis passed away on November 1, 2015. Rev. Nyenhuis served with CRWM in Mexico for 32 years, from 1962 until his retirement in 1994. In his retirement, he continued to be active in ministry in Mexico. He was preceded in death by his wife, Arlene. He is survived by his wife, Francisca, his eight children and their families.

HOME SERVICE SCENE IN MEMORIAM

FALL 2015 • 15

In 1919, at age 25, Johanna Veenstra became the CRC’s first international missionary. She served among the Kuteb people in Nigeria for almost 15 years.

Today, the Johanna Veenstra Missionary Support Fund helps to:

• increase the number of available missionary positions• get missionaries to the field quickly when there are

urgent ministry needs• get missionaries to the field when they have a small

support base

To learn more or to donate, visit:www.crwm.org/VeenstraFund

CONFIDENTIAL

CRWM USA1700 28th Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49508-1407800-346-0075

www.crwm.org

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YOUR CHURCH CAN SERVE!

As a service and learning team, your church can assist Dominican congregations and local tradespeople in building small community churches and pastors’ homes. For more information, visit crwm.org/DRTeams

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CRWM's Fall 2015 Among the Nations