Kentucky WMU is in our third year of partnership with Korea WMU. As a part of our partnership, we have also been praying for requests from missionary personnel in Korea, one of the PacRim countries. A summit for the purpose of learning more about the PacRim and how to be involved in praying and/or going will be held November 5-7 in Olive Branch, Mississippi. Olive Branch is about 10 miles south of Memphis.
Kentucky WMU has been asked to help promote this conference to encourage greater involvement in the PacRim. This conference is open to everyone with an interest in reaching the PacRim with the gospel. The conference is an opportunity to learn about the work God is doing among people in this region. The PacRim is home to each of the world's major religions including Shinto, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism, and Secularism.
The summit is designed to equip participants for strategic involvement among the people of the PacRim. More than 40 field personnel will share a fresh perspective of God at work among the peoples of the PacRim and help participants explore ways to be at work in the region. For more information go to
www.takeit2therim.info.
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posted by: Joy Bolton on October 8th, 2008
Through the Eliza Broadus Offering, Kentucky WMU partners with the KBC Evangelism Department each year to provide training in how to witness to persons of other faiths. This conference is offered twice each year in different parts of the state. It is designed to help participants understand world religions and how to share a witness with persons who practice these faiths.
The next
Understanding Other Beliefs Conference will be Tuesday, October , 6:30 p.m. at Beacon Hill Baptist Church in Somerset. Workshops about Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Occult will be offered.
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posted by: Joy Bolton on October 1st, 2008
Lee and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary a few months early by participating in a WMU conference and ministry cruise in Hawaii. We both took vacation to make this trip and felt that it would be not only a memorable anniversary celebration, but also a time of spiritual renewal that we needed. Most folks snickered when we talked about the ministry side of this trip. Certainly Hawaii is beautiful and all that the postcard pictures show. But there is another side to Hawaii not seen by most tourists.
We arrived in Hawaii late on September 17 and were greeted by Shirley Matsumura, a member of the Hawaii WMU leadership team. We had a day to roam Wakiki, and then the WMU conference began on Thursday evening. We dressed in African outfits for the opening international banquet and enjoyed meeting folks from around the country who had made their way to Hawaii for this conference. We enjoyed Bible study led by Randy Sprinkle and wonderful missionary speakers.
After the conference concluded on Saturday, we toured ministry sites in Honolulu, including the Hawaii Baptist Academy. We learned some of the history of Baptist work in Hawaii and began to realize the commitment level required to serve on an island. After boarding the Pride of America, we had a team meeting and learned more about the adventure we were about to begin.
The cruise left port on Saturday evening. We arrived on Maui on Saturday morning. We attended Lahaina Baptist Church and were welcomed warmly by the congregation. After lunch our group participated in ministry with the homeless, while the other group visited with residents at a recovery center for people dealing with addictions. We were struck by the paradox of being homeless in what many would call paradise. Beautiful beaches and scenery surround the residents, yet there are significant needs.
We also met the Christian Women's Job Corps director and heard the testimony of a daughter whose mother was changed through the CWJC ministry.
On the Big Island (Hawaii), we visited an army retreat facility where Hawaii Baptists are able to hold youth camp. After seeing the volcanoes, we also visited Kaumana Baptist Church in Hilo and learned about Baptist Campus ministry there. Our second day on the Big island was spent in Kailua-Kona where we visited the Cornerstone Christian Fellowship and helped them distribute flyers for an upcoming movie night.
On Thursday we arrived in Nawilili, Kauai and traveded to Waimea Canyon, "the Grand Canyon of Hawaii." Though much smaller than the Grand Canyon on the mainland, it was nevertheless quite a view. After lunch there, we traveled to visit the Waimea Baptist Church and learned about their Crisis Pregnancy ministry.
Throughout the cruise, all of us carried tracts and looked for opportunities to witness. One opportunity came as we interacted with a young lady whose role on the ship was to be the "Hawaiian Ambassador" and provide information about each island and other cultural experiences. When a family crisis came druing the trip, we became aware of it and began to pray for her and the family. She appreciated the concern of strangers for her cousin who experienced a medical emergency.
One pastor told us that their greatest challenge in getting volunteers is that no one seems to believe that Hawaii is a mission field. Because so many go for the tourism, the missions needs are difficult to convey. Plenty of folks teased us about going on a "mission trip," and certainly this was not a typical trip. But it accomplished what leaders of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention wanted - for a group of Baptists from the mainland to see their state, see the needs, pray, and take time to interact with people there.
Please pray for Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. Geographically it is a large area, not easy to work in, with huge diversity in culture and settings. We are grateful to have gone on the trip, and to be reminded that people can really be homeless in "paradise."
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posted by: Joy Bolton on September 30th, 2008
A new year for the Eliza Broadus Offering began on September 1. Even as we celebrate the great response to the 2007-08 offering, missions needs in Kentucky continue on. As we have watched the devastation from this year's hurricanes, including wind damage right here in Kentucky, remember that EBO provides funds for Disaster Relief. This money helps our teams be ready to go when needed.
Ministries to the homeless, high impact church planting, Harrell Riley's work with Job Corps students, and the work of the Moore Activity Center in northern Kentucky are featured in our materials this year. The packet includes a listing of Kentucky missionaries and their contact information. You are encouraged to contact a Kentucky missionary to learn more about their ministry and how you can be involved. All of the materials are also posted on our web site:
www.kywmu.org/statemissions.
If you have not ordered Eliza Broadus Offering envelopes and prayer guides for state missions, it is not too late. The materials are undated and may be used any time. The DVD and teaching guides will help you bring Kentucky missions alive to all ages in your church.
We track the number of orders that we receive for missions materials each year. We hope to exceed the amount of material sent last year. Do you have yours? If not, call
1-866-489-3534 today!!!
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posted by: Joy Bolton on September 16th, 2008
A website for all women, but especially targeted for young adults, is
www.mymissionfulfilled.com. Here you will find monthly articles clustered around My Journey, My World, and My Life. The site includes Bible studies, prayer resources, media reviews, missions opportunities, and articles of interest to women.
Erin Thomas, a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky, is a writer for myMISSIONfulfilled. Here is the opening paragraph of her article "Thinking Outside the Red Velvet Box."
"Get out your boxing gloves, girls, because we're in a knock-down-drag-out with a tricky enemy: materialism. Sneaking its way into our minds and hearts, whispering to us that we need more things, materialism will eventually make its way into our actions if we're not on guard against it. And taking a blow from materialism could be a truly costly experience - literally." . Click
here to read the rest of her article and insights as to how we can all use God's provisions wisely.
Pass on information about this website to women in your church. One way to do this is to visit the myMISSIONfulfilled homepage and print just that page. Share copies with women in your church as an encouragement to them to become readers. This website is one way we can reach out to younger women and encourage them on their missions journey.
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posted by: Joy Bolton on September 9th, 2008