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Showing posts from December, 2010

Annual Program Report

WorldHope Corps Activities and Outcomes 2010 Summary: During 2010, WorldHope Corps through Mzuzu United Methodist Church in Malawi fed, clothed and supported over 100 orphaned and vulnerable children in Malawi ( Hope Homes ), educated 26 youth who otherwise could not complete High School ( Hope Scholarships ), graduated the first class of 8 and trained a second class of 12 young seamstresses ( Hope Tailoring School ), and put in three more village wells (for a total of 12) providing safe drinking water to over 10,000 people in remote areas.  In addition, we were able to provide emergency food, tarps, tents, supplies, and medical relief for victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Other special projects in Uganda ( Home Medical Clinic ) and Ethiopia (3 Hope Scholarships for orphaned youth) were supported. Orphan Care :  The HopeHome program in Mzuzu, Malawi, began in 2007 by Mzuzu United Methodist Church. In 2008, in addition to providing $1000/month for its operation, WHC raised $1,500

Hope Tailoring School Graduates of 2010

  WorldHope Corps Celebrates the following students in the Second Classs who graduated from the Hope Tailoring School in Mzuzu in 2010: 1.        AGNESS NYIRENDA Agness is married with two children. Her husband is not working. This implies that both the husband and wife have no trusted source of income. The tailoring skills Agnes has acquired will help her to finance the family through some the tailoring business. 2.        HANNAH MAKALA She is a single mother of three children. Some of her children are attending high school education. Hannah has no trusted means of sourcing funds for her children’s school fees. However Hannah is a vibrant woman at the church. The tailoring school skills acquired will help her to plant a tailoring business that will generate income for their single parent family and send the children to school. 3.        VIOLET BANDA The death of violet’s husband left her with pain. She has five children. Hannah is not employed and doesn’t have a reliable sour

First Generation Lambs Club Reunion

Fifteen of us gathered Saturday night at the Lambs Club for a 35 th year reunion of those who helped start the Lamb’s Church in Times Square in the mid to late 1970’s, including: Rev. Paul S. Moore , Founder of the Lamb’s Church of the Nazarene, and his wife, Tamara Dr. Michael J. Christensen , charter member and former associate pastor, and his wife Dr. Rebecca Laird Fr. William (BJ) Webe r, former Associate Pastor and Director of the Lamb’s Residency, and his wife Sheila who lived at the Lamb’s Jim and Dustee Hullinger, who were on staff together and made the Lamb’s their home for over 25 years Effie Canepa , who was the church pianist under 3 pastors, and her husband Peter Shirley Close, who attended the Lamb’s in the late 1970’s while studying, performing  and teaching music and voice Carl "Chappy" Valente , former associate pastor Rev. Bob DiQuatto , lead singer of the Church’s “Manhattan Project” and staff member of the Lamb’s, and his son Jason Rev. Gabriel

Annual Mission Trip to Malawi, Africa

 Annual Mission Trip to Malawi, Africa      May 21-31, 2011 Sponsored by:  WorldHope Corps, Inc. [1] Led by: Dr. Michael J. Christensen, Director of the Shalom Initiative [2] , Drew University Hosted by :  CitiHope Malawi [3] and Mzuzu United Methodist Church DATES:   May 21-31, 2011 (10 days) Travel Plan : Depart Dulles airport (Washington DC) on Saturday, May 21 to Lilongwe via Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); Arrive in Lilongwe, Malawi, on May 22; Return on Tuesday May 31 (actual flight times not yet confirmed). Destination:   Malawi, a small land-locked, developing country of 12 million people bordering Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, is particularly vulnerable to famine and disease, and suffers from extreme poverty and AIDS.  The May Mission Trip team will carry out its mission in and around Mzuzu City in Northern Malawi where WorldHope Corps supports HopeHomes orphan care program, Hope Scholarships for youth, Hope Tailoring School for young women, and Village Well projects in pa

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Fellow Lewis enthusiasts: I watched the new film The Chronciles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader   this week and I give it a thumbs up.  Maybe not up for an Academy Award (well, the theme song "A Place We All Belong" by Carrie Underwood is pretty good!), but certainly worth seeing with family and friends who care about high sea adventure and eternal truths.  Great spiritual themes of temptation, valor, giftedness, calling, deep magic, and sehnsucht. Based on the third volume of C.S. Lewis's widely acclaimed and popular book series, The Chronicles of Narnia , the film is not as good as the book in my view (Aslan's Table is short changed, but the star maiden is beautiful;  Eustance being undragonned happens too fast and lacks profundity, but a movie can't capture everything that the author intended) but the film should absolutely not be missed!   Trailer: http://www.narnia.com/ For those, like me, who like to read Narnian theology and the eso

The C. S. Lewis Bible?

Interested in a C. S. Lewis gift idea for Christmas?   I recommend the C. S. Lewis Bible.  Why?   Because I was one of a dozen Lewis scholars who worked on the volume, and think its very good. Together, we compiled over 600 entries from Lewis commentary and reflections on specific passages of scripture.   We also included excerpts and essays about how Lewis approached the authority of the Bible and the role of revelation. Order here: C. S. Lewis Bible Book Review:  C. S. Lewis for the Holidays More info here:   NRSV feature   And if you're interested in my book on Lewis's literary approach to Scripture, check out C. S. Lewis on Scripture.  Order here:  C. S. Lewis on Scripture

Need to Stay in School in January

This year's Hope Scholarship recipients--orphaned and vulnerable youth who show promise of completing their education in secondary school (high school) in Malawi. These Hope Scholars received the highest marks in school this year.  They are a good investment in the future of Malawi and the world. And here's an urgent appeal for help from their Pastor in Mzuzu which I pass on to you who may be able to help them prepare for a better tomorrow.  Pastor Copeland and I are committed to raise enough funds to keep 26 orphaned and vulnerable youth stay in school next semester in Malawi.  Can you help us meet this need by contributing what you can?  Please let me know if you can help sponsor a kid for secondary school with a $250 Hope Scholarship in 2011? Rev Michael,   I need your help and guidance on how many Hope Scholarships we can plan for next year.  You are the key player in this dream and WHC is the major donor.  My prayer is that there wil

For Your Consideration During Advent

Friends of Malawi: We have all been warmed by fires we did not build, ate food from tables we did not prepare, and benefited from wealth we did not create.  And so we find ways to give back some of what has graciously been given to us (even in a global recession and time of uncertainty).      Many of you supported orphans and vulnerable children and youth this year through WorldHope Corp's HopeHomes program in Mzuzu.  Others of you provided a Hope Scholarship for a kid to stay in school, sponsored a young woman at the Hope Tailoring School , or contributed to our Village Well initiative to supply villagers with clean water in rural northern Malawi. THANK YOU! Together, this year, we fed, clothed and supported over 100 orphaned and vulnerable children in Malawi, educated 26 youth who otherwise could not complete High School, graduated the first class and trained a second class of young seamstresses at Hope Tailoring School , and put in three more village wells (for a to

"Save the World One Young Woman at a Time"

HOPE TAILORING SCHOOL  GRADUATES FIRST CLASS By Rev. Copeland Nkhata, Director The Hope Tailoring School (HTS) focused on economic empowerment of young women who live in the community that supports over 100 orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) through HopeHomes of the Mzuzu United Methodist Church,  is a joint venture of WorldHope Corps and the Mzuzu United Methodist Church, funded by a sustainability grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief UMCOR) and support from Communities of Shalom.  Shalom intern Katrina Walk with Agnes Nyirenda and child The Hope Tailoring School in Mzuzu, Malawi, saw its first class of 10 young women graduate from the program in May 2010, and a second class begin the same month.  Both classes are well on their way to economic sustainability as the tailoring skills they gained will enable them to be more productive citizens of Malawi and better able to care for OVC in their community. The current second class of stu