International Ministries

Travel And Transtions

September 19, 2017 Journal by Nancy James, Stephen James
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        Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
             International Ministries
Be Praised - Mural at The Catholic Worker, Albuquerque,NM

Dear Friends and Family,                                                                                        September 2017

We greet you with much love and gratitude as our year of home assignment draws to a close.  This has been a year of transitions and travel, prayer and reflection, and is now time to move forward.

Given Steve’s back surgery last fall (now fully recovered) some have asked whether we will retire from mission work. We want to let everyone know that we are not retiring or permanently leaving Haiti.

We plan to work on targeted short-term assignments in Haiti as our partners and colleagues request. We are also being led to be flexible and open to opportunities worldwide that would allow us to share our training and experience including Servant Leadership workshops, medical consulting, mentoring health care providers, and facilitating the networking of resources for health care ministries. Several overseas communities have requested our help in these areas. When not serving overseas, we will be based in North Carolina near our children and grandchildren, which is a great blessing to us.

In our lifetime we have called many places “home." While we still enjoy good health we want to be of service for as long as possible, and yes, continue to depend upon the sacrificial generosity of donors. Currently about 80% of our annual support has been raised, 95% is required for us to return to the mission field. With confidence in God’s provision and gratitude for so many blessings, we look forward to the coming year.

“See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)

With gratitude and love,

Steve and Nancy

Friends (L-R) Dazo, Nancy, Lauran and Evelyn at ABC Biennial, Portland, OR

Looking Back 

March/April - Mexico City

Attended Conflict Transformation and Peacemaking for Trainers, 10-day training for trainers led by IM missionaries Dan Buttry, Mylinda Bates and Ray Schellinger.

May - Haiti

Steve led two workshops on Servant Leadership to medical personnel and Community Health Evangelism trainers. We turned over the home we have been living in since 2005 to UCNH (Christian University of North Haiti) that will now be used as volunteer housing. We left some boxes of our belongings to use when we return for special assignments.

June/July - Florida to the West Coast

Undertook a 6-weeks drive west to visit with friends and family who have continued to faithfully support us all these years with their love and prayers. We were able to attend the American Baptist Biennial in Portland, Oregon, then on to Washington, Idaho, and finally Montana where we attend our 50th high school reunion with classmates from Kodaikanal International School in South India. We had a delightful time with friends, old and new.

July and early August - Green Lake, Wisconsin

Attended Conference for Missionaries - We gathered with staff from IM, board members, and missionaries serving around the globe. It was a time of deepening relationships, visioning for the future, relaxation, singing, and learning from each other. We came away energized and inspired by our IM family.

August - Tybee Island, GA

Joined with our children and 8 grandchildren for a weeklong family vacation. It truly was a joyful time living together as one great big family. Everyone chipped in to prepare meals and clean up. We greatly missed our son Andrew, who could not take the time off from work.

September - Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.

Visited and interacted with several church communities, sharing our stories and mission vision. Attended Dismantling Racism conference in Boston.
 

James Family Vacation - Tybee, GA 
Lance Muteyo -Peace Activist/Trainer, with Steve & Nancy

 
Looking Forward

October and November - India

At the request of two mission hospitals we are accompanying IM Global Health Servant, Kristy Engel, to Northeast India to meet, listen to. and share with healthcare leaders. We will lead Servant Leadership workshops and share our experiences in Haiti with the staff.  We have heard about these dedicated hospitals and the people they serve and are eager to get to know the staff and learn how we can be of assistance.

Invitation To Support
 
After a year on "home assignment," we are required to raise 95% of our annual support before returning to the field. Currently the level of support is about 80%.

If you have not given before, or given in the past, we invite you to prayerfully consider doing so now in the form of a regular pledge. If you already give regularly, would you consider increasing that amount? Through your giving you help us “be the presence of Christ” in Haiti and other communities worldwide that are requesting our assistance.

To give click: 

https://internationalministries.org/teams/104-james
 
Contact Information

Holistic Health Ministries in Haiti & the Caribbean
ABC International Ministries/CBF Global Missions
http://www.internationalministries.org/104
http://www.fellowship.info/james
Mobile: 828-284-7818
         (Haiti) 011-509-3-826-4920 (Nancy)
         (Haiti) 011-509-3-774-3207 (Steve)
Email: jamesinhaiti@gmail.com
USA - 75 Lower Browns Creek Road (US)
Burnsville, NC 28714
Haiti - Agape Flights #1369 
100 Airport Avenue
Venice, FL 34285