Bits & Bytes for Bagley Backers-January 2011

Bits & Bytes for Bagley Backers January 2012

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Visitors! Bob, Brenda, and Mary Beth at Adventure Golf One of the privileges of our position and location is that we have the honor of hosting many of our missionaries as they pass through Johannesburg to and from their places of service. This past month we have had more than the normal flow of visitors. They have included: Sue Allport, Australian volunteer missionary to Mozambique, along with her daughter and granddaughter stayed with us overnight before heading to Mozambique for the Christmas holidays. Our youngest daughter, Mary Beth Bagley, visited with us over her Christmas break from Southern Wesleyan University where she has one year to go before graduating with a degree in elementary education. Zach, Lyndy, and Isaac Szmara, new missionaries to Mozambique spent Christmas with us. They have had a rough adjustment to life and ministry in Nampula and will be returning to the U.S. soon for a period of recovery and recuperation. Zambian missionaries, Mike and Cindy Helvie, spent about a week with us while they worked on mission books with Jerry Manwaring and had additional time to recover from repeated infections of malaria. Orai and Linda Lehman, veteran missionaries from Mozambique dropped by for a couple of days for a visit and consultations. Dorcas and Matthias Croft had a brief overnight stay with us on their way back to Swaziland after a seven-month stint on home ministry. It was obvious they were both anxious to get "home". The Christmas season is often a lonely time for missionaries. But, thanks to the guests who passed through our home this past month, our lives were enriched as we celebrated the birth of Christ with members of our missionary family. A New District is Launched in Southern Africa Rev. Doctor Galela, Southern Africa Regional Superintendent at the recent Regional Youth Camp At the recent Regional Board of Administration meeting, the Wesleyan Church of Southern Africa launched a new Pioneer District, to be known as the Northern Free State and Lesotho District. This comes as an outgrowth and expansion from the Kimberly and Greater Mangaung District. Inclusion of Lesotho in the District is an expression of the vision of the church because we have not planted any churches there yet. However, the church has begun the process of laying the groundwoirk for a launch into western Lesotho. Panama Conferences Coming Right Up At the end of this month two conferences will take place in Panama City, Panama with major significance for the work of Global Partners in Africa. The International Conference of the Wesleyan Church meets January 27-29, for the first time outside of North America. Representatives from the Wesleyan Church all across the world will spend time in fellowship together and discussing matters of significance for the global church. African leaders in Panama for the ICWC will stay on for two additional days, January 30-31, for an African Leaders' Summit. The leaders will make presentations and be discussing issues of critical importance for the African church: "The Challenge of the Harvest"; "The Challenge of Financial Sustainability"; "The Challenge of NonBiblical Theologies"; and "The Challenge of Ministry Training". Praise Points 1. Mike & Cindy Helvie have returned to Zambia much improved in health and with their strength recovered. 2. The Southern Africa Regional Youth Camp saw an enrollment of over 300 campers and was marked by God's working in the lives of the young people. 3. With much travel over the Christmas period, God has again given our missionary family safety in their travels. 4. Dr. Alfred Kalembo, Zambian National Superintendent was the speaker at the Council of Churches retreat in Zambia. 5. Praise God for the new preaching point in Cold Water, Sierra Leone established through the Jesus Film Ministry. Prayer Requests 1. Ask for God to help Zach & Lyndy Szmara as they spend time at home to recoup. 2. Pray that God will help Rev. Doctor Galela as he visits Zimbabwe and tries to encourage the church there. 3. Pray that visas will be granted to the ICWC delegates who have not yet received them. 4. Ask for God to watch over all of the delegates as they travel to Panama from across the globe. 5. Ask God to give the conference members wisdom as they debate and make decisions for the future of the Wesleyan Church worldwide. 6. Ask God to help African leaders to clearly identify the positive steps forward they need to take as they face the challenges of seeing the work in Africa continue to advance. 7. Pray that God will reward the leaders in Southern Africa with an abundant harvest as they begin work in Lesotho. Support Report As we write this newsletter, our support for the month is down from usual - perhaps due to the holiday season. But, for the financial year our support is still positive thanks to the generous and faithful giving of those who stand behind us. May God richly bless you for your faithfulness. Online donations or monthly commitments can be made online by clicking here.

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Bits & Bytes for Bagley Backers-November 2011

	Bits & Bytes for Bagley Backers November 2011
MOZAMBIQUE CELEBRATES FOUR YEARS OF GROWTH Church leaders from across Mozambique gathered at the Bible College in Xai Xai October 27 - 30 for their quadrennial national conference. It was both a time of celebrating the unprecedented growth of the past four years as well as a time of gaining new vision as the church turned its attention to Tete Province (the only province in the country without a Wesleyan presence) and to regions beyond its borders. In his report, National Superintendent, Rev. Graca Nhathelo (in the photo to the right) reported that the church had grown from 4,950 members in 2003, to 10,632 members in 2007, to 15,084 members in 2010. In the past four years 49 new pastors were ordained to help meet the needs of the growing church. Click here to see a slideshow of the national conference. ORAI LEHMAN GIVES HIS FINAL REPORT TO THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE Rev. Orai D. Lehman is a third-generation missionary whose grandfather is responsible for the founding of the work in Mozambique. His grandfather and father focused on evangelistic ministry to Mozambican mine workers who were working in South Africa gold mines and made regular visits to Mozambique to visit the churches started by the miners when they returned home. Following missionary service in Swaziland, Orai and Linda were sent to South Africa to continue the work among the Mozambican miners. This ministry gave vital support to the Wesleyan Church in Mozambique during the 19-year civil war which ravaged the country. In 1994 a peace accord was signed, and Orai and Linda responded to an invitation from church leaders to come assist them in theological education for pastors. The Bible College in Xai Xai, which the Lehmans helped establish, has now graduated over 100 workers for the harvest in it's first decade of operation. Anticipating their retirement from missionary service at the end of 2013, Orai presented his final report to the Mozambique National Conference. Delegates responded with deep appreciation and love for the Lehmans and their years of effective service to the Mozambique church. As an expression of appreciation the Nampula District presented the Lehmans with a map of Africa constructed from sea shells (see photo above). MOZAMBICAN MISSIONARY VISION EXPANDS The vision of the Mozambique church in the past decade has been to see the Wesleyan Church established in every province of their nation. To that end they have commissioned four recent Bible College graduates to serve as "internal" missionaries who have traveled to new areas, learned a new language, and proceeded to oversee the planting of new churches. (In the photo on the left Rev. Nhathelo introduces their missionaries to the conference - from the left: Pastor Zito Alfoi, serving in Niassa Province; Rev. Alberto Adamuge, serving in Cabo Delgado Province; and Rev. Abel Nove and Rev. Alberto Chicana, serving in Nampula Province.) With just one province to go in their vision, the church's vision is expanding to reach to places beyond the borders of Mozambique. This year two new congregations have been started just north of the border in Tanzania. Possibilities are opening as well in the neighboring country of Malawi. In order to give direction to this growing vision, the national conference elected Rev. Mohammed Said to serve as its first National Director of Missions. KANYAMA GOSPEL CRUSADE PRODUCES FRUIT This past month the Pilgrim Wesleyan Church of Zambia sponsored a Gospel Crusade in the Kanyama township on the edge of the capital city of Lusaka. National Superintendent, Dr. Alfred Kalembo reported as follows: Over 100 people who made decisions to accept Christ as their Savior during our Crusade effort. I mobilized three Pilgrim Wesleyan Churches for the crusade that are on the western side of the great north road in Lusaka. They are: Kanyama, Kanyama East, and John Laing. As you can see from the photo, we could not have everybody sit in church at Kanyama Church last Sunday. We had more than 30 outside who had no where to sit in church. The other churches (Kanyama East and John Laing) reported an increase in attendance last Sunday. Please join us in thanking God for the new believers and pray that we will faithfully disciple them to spiritual maturity. PRAISE POINTS Praise God for the continued growth of the Mozambique church and for their increasing vision for regions beyond. Praise God for lives transformed in Zambia in the recent Gospel Crusade. We have received notice from the South African authorities that our residence permit has been approved. Thank God for this answer to prayer. Thank God for the faithful prayer and financial supporters whose faithfulness enables our missionaries to serve across Africa. PRAYER REQUESTS Please pray for God's wisdom and strength for Rev. Graca Nhathelo and the newly elected officers and board members as they assume their responsibilities. Pray for the Lord's unmistakable presence at the Ghana District Conference to held in Accra, November 25-27. Pray that God will increase their vision to reach the lost throughout their country and beyond. Please pray for God's help as we teach new pastors in Ghana, November 15-24. Brenda will be teaching New Testament Survey and Bob will be teaching Basic Beliefs. The Wesleyan Church in Nigeria has planned for an evangelistic outreach November 20-27. Pray for God's protection for them as they seek to proclaim the gospel in an increasingly violent and hostile environment. Dr. Alfred Kalembo, Rev. Sitali Kakungu, and Rev. Fred Cromer travel to Uganda at the end of this month to conduct pastoral training seminars and to guide this young church in its development. Pray that their visit will be productive and effective. SUPPORT REPORT We continue to marvel at the way God provides the support we need to enable us to serve here in Africa. Faith promise commitments are still less than targeted, but the actual support coming in is adequate to meet our needs. Thank you to all of you who continue to be faithful and generous in your support. Donations or monthly commitments can be made online here. FORWARD TO A FRIEND You can help us by forwarding "Bits & Bytes" to friends who will be interested in the work of Global Partners in Africa. Just click on the link below. Friends who receive the email will also be given an opportunity to sign up to receive it in the future. Forward this message to a friend
PRINTABLE VERSION An easy to print version of this email can be found here. Thank you for sharing a print version with others. Bob & Brenda Bagley rbagley112@gmail.com www.gpafrica.org

Bits & Bytes for Bagley Backers-April 2011

Bits & Bytes for Bagley Backers April 2011

SHE'S TOO FAT FOR ME "You can have her. I don't want her. She's too fat for me!" So sang the missionary men at Global Partners' Africa Area Missionary Retreat this month to missionary Jesse Van Horn at a celebration of his engagement to fellow missionary Selinda Ingalls. Not too be outdone, the missionary women responded with a lively version of "Oh Jesse, Oh Jesse, Oh Jesse, Oh" (You're not handsome, it's true, but when I look at you, it's just . . . ) Along with the good-natured humor in preparation for their upcoming wedding (May 28th) the missionary family presented them with gifts and words of wisdom (and some not so wise) all accompanied by strains of violin music provided by Jerry Manwaring. Another highlight of the retreat was welcoming new missionaries to Africa: Zach, Lyndy, & Isaac Szmara heading to Mozambique who arrived in Africa the day before the retreat began; Lisa Karr, GoNet missionary who has been serving at Bingham Academy in Ethiopia; and Kristen Hodges, intern from Bethany Bible College who has been serving at Jembo, Zambia. We also welcomed Bethany Morse back to Africa to a new appointment in Sierra Leone after an extended study leave. From the left: Mike & Cindy Helvie, Jesse Van Horn, Dan & Joan Jones, Lisa Karr, Bethany Morse, Fred & Carol Cromer, Selinda Ingalls, Bob & Brenda Bagley, Dorcas Croft, Jerry & Jody Manwaring, Jason, Rachel, & Jocelyn Helm, Orai & Linda Lehman, Phil & Lucille Nettleton, H. C. Wilson, Zach & Lyndy Szmara Many of the missionaries reported that a major highlight of this year's retreat was that we were privileged to have Global Partners' General Director, Dr. H. C. Wilson with us to minister in the services as well as to bring us up-to-date with what has been happening in the home office. (See photo at end of letter.) VISAS DENIED Although we were looking forward to being in Ghana for Easter to join the church there in their celebration of their 20th anniversary, we found out this week that it's not going to be possible. When we went to apply for visas we were told that because we were classified as visitors in South Africa rather than residents, they were unable to issues visas for our trip. Though disappointed that we won't be there, we are praying that God will meet with His church in a very special way. And we will make plans to celebrate the risen Lord with His people here in South Africa. AFRICA AREA PRAYER CALENDAR A prayer calendar for the Africa Area for April - June, 2011 is available online here. Please feel free to print it out and distribute it among those who would be interested in praying daily for the work of Global Partners in Africa. PRAISE POINTS Praise God for a very positive Africa Area Missionary Retreat. Praise God for the safe arrival of Zach, Lyndy, and Isaac Szmara to begin their first term of missionary service in Mozambique. Praise God for His help as Gauteng District Superintendent Victor Nylungu (South Africa) worked with officials to finally resolve some property ownership disputes. PRAYER REQUESTS Pray for Zach & Lyndy Szmara as they face the inevitable adjustment challenges and begin digging into language study. Please pray for Fred Cromer as he goes to Zambia in early May to confer with National Superintendent Dr Alfred Kalembo about critical ministry issues. Pray for God's blessing on the Wesleyan Standard Church of Ghana as they gather Easter weekend and celebrate the 20th anniversary of the work. Please pray for us as we go to Swaziland the first two weeks of May as Bob teaches a church administration course at Emmanuel Wesleyan Bible College. Pray that God will make us a blessing to the students, staff, missionaries, and church people while we are with them SUPPORT REPORT We are very grateful to those who have continued to provide the financial support that enables us to remain serving on the field. Although our monthly commitments still only stand at 74% of the amount we need to meet our budget, so far additional giving has been sufficient to make up the difference. Thank you so much for standing behind us. Donations or monthly commitments can be made online here. FORWARD TO A FRIEND You can help us by forwarding "Bits & Bytes" to friends who will be interested in the work of Global Partners in Africa. Just click on the link below. Friends who receive the email will also be given an opportunity to sign up to receive it in the future. Forward this message to a friend

PRINTABLE VERSION An easy to print version of this email can be found here. Thank you for sharing a print version with others. Bob & Brenda Bagley rbagley112@gmail.com

“It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!” And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. “Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!” (Dr. Suess, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, New York: Random House, 1957.) Dr. Suess has long been one of my favorite authors and sources of wisdom. He was on target with his observation (through the person of the Grinch) that Christmas means more than ribbons, tags, boxes, and bags. However, Christmas means not just "a little bit more," but it means a whole lot more. Christmas means that God has not given up on mankind, but instead sent His Son to restore us into a right relationship with Himself. Christmas means that in a world filled with all kinds of darkness, a light has come to shine that will never be extinguished. Christmas means that the All-Mighty Creator God fully knows and can empathize with members of the lowly human race. Christmas means that God came to dwell among men, assuring us that we need never walk alone. Christmas means that we can have hope in the most hopeless circumstances and peace in the greatest turmoil. Christmas means I am boundlessly loved by the eternal God as demonstrated by His gift of what is most precious to Him - His only Son. . . . Christmas means so much more! Year-end Reflections As we approach the end of a very unusual year for us we are filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God for His goodness to us this past year. We are grateful for His call and the opportunity to serve the church in Africa in these days of unprecedented harvest. We are grateful for His provision for us materially in a year when we have not received a paycheck. We are grateful for His hand of blessing on our children as they (especially the girls) have gone through major transitions in their lives. We are grateful for the opportunity to restablish old friendships and create new ones as we have visited churches from Iowa to South Carolina to Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and many points in between. We are grateful for individuals and churches who have committed to support us through prayer and finance as we return to Africa. God is good! Prayer Requests 1. The Wesleyan Church of Liberia will be holding its national conference this coming weekend. Please pray for Africa Area Administrator, Jerry Manwaring, as he travels to Liberia and gives leadership to the conference. Pray too for Rev. Peter Kollie, who will be appointed as the new District Superintendent at the conference. Please pray for the church leaders and delegates as they wrestle with significant issues affecting the future of the church that God will give them both wisdom and a spirit of unity. 2. The Southern Africa Region of the Wesleyan Church holds its quadrennial regional conference December 13-15. Please pray for General Superintendent, Dr. Tom Armiger, as he chairs the conference and for Bob as he goes to assist. Pray that God will help the church to deal wisely with issues and strategies as they seek to follow God's direction for the coming four years. Pray too that they will elect godly and discerning leaders to give leadership. 3. Because we had hoped to have our support raised by December, we had not planned on or scheduled for visiting churches during January - March. Please pray that God will help us to fill our schedule with opportunities to speak to churches and that people will be responsive to the challenge to become part of what God is doing in Africa. Praise Points Thank you for praying. God has been answering in marvelous ways. 1. The national church conference in Ghana was outstanding. Highlights include the reelection of Joe Ocran as national superintendent, ordination of Rev. Kwame Frempong, and reports of impressive church growth over the past two years. In that time membership has grown from 2,365 to 4,268 (over 80% growth!). A Jesus Film team was established in Ghana in February of this year, and since then the film has been shown 78 times to over 25,000 people resulting in the planting of 9 churches and 5 preaching points. 2. God has provided us with comfortable housing in Central, SC for the next few months while we continue to work on building our support team. This puts us in the same town as our daughters, Tracy and Mary Beth, as well as close to Brenda's parents and siblings. May the love, joy, hope, and peace that accompany the birth of Christ be yours today. Bob & Brenda Bagley

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