Around the world: On a hot day in Chile, church opens doors

The morning sun lights the cross in the steeple of a new church building in Santiago, Chile. A capacity crowd of 366 people attended the inaugural service for the 5,700-square-foot facility recently — despite the 90-degree heat, said missionary Jeff Hatcher. Chilean church members organized the special service. A couple baptized one week before the dedication provided the catering. The church also sponsored an afternoon concert in a nearby plaza, featuring Voces, a Spanish-language a cappella group from the United States. The Saturn Road church, Garland, Texas, supports the work. The church’s Web site is www.idcp.cl.

ARGENTINA

BUENOS AIRES

TheVilla Urquiza church has merged with the Parque Centenario congregation, saidmissionary Glen Henton. The two churches hosted their first joint servicerecently with 118 people in attendance.

“Aftermany months of planning, prayer and fasting, our hearts were rejoicing that Godhad brought us to this point,” Henton said. Church leaders are looking for apermanent meeting facility and forming new ministries “by appointing people toserve in the capacities for which the Lord has prepared them,” he said.

TheEstes church, Henderson, Tenn., supports Henton and his wife, Kathy.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

SANTIAGO

Thiscity, the second largest in the Dominican Republic, is home to a new, seven-member mission teamassociated with Continent of Great Cities, a ministry based in Abilene, Texas.

Teammembers are Cristian and Ana Cruz and Omar Rodriguez, all native Dominicans,and Dimas and Sandra Lopez and Jose and Sara Alverez, all of Nicaragua. Theteam trained at Baxter Institute, a church-supported school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Thegroup originally planned to work in Venezuela, but the governmentdenied them visas, said Calvin Henry, who works with Continent of Great Cities.The team has rented a building and will host its first worship service May 21.

ESTONIA

TALLINN

Morethan 40 youths from three congregations experienced “The Adventure of the Sea,”a recent youth rally sponsored by the Asunduse church in Tallinn, said missionaries Mike and DebbieBanks. Games, ice skating and lessons on Jesus calming the storm were part ofthe weekend.

GERMANY

GEMUENDEN

Fifty-sixpeople from 10 countries participated in the recent Advanced Bible Study Seriesin Gemuenden, north of Frankfurt, said series coordinator Paul Brazle, anevangelist in Belgium.The four-day lectures included guest speakers Curt Niccum, Oklahoma; TonyCoffey, Ireland; Max Dauner, France; and Bill Wilson, Germany.

“Thisyear, we were gratified with the most positive comments to date about theprogram,” Brazle said.

GREECE

THESSALONIKI

Nearly2,000 years after the apostle Paul wrote letters to Christians in this ancientcity, a small church of Christ is struggling to survive, said Dino Tzanetos,missionary in Athens.Church members are looking for a full-time worker for Thessaloniki.

“Inthe meantime we stay in touch by phone with the few remaining brethren in Thessaloniki,” Tzanetossaid, “encouraging them to stay faithful and meet together.”

MALAYSIA

SUBANGJAYA

Chocolatelayered cheesecake and char siew bao (barbecued pork inside a bun) were on themenu for an April 1 cooking demonstration sponsored by members of the SubangJaya church.

Churchmembers invited participants from area congregations, including the Kuala Lumpur church, toimprove their culinary skills at the two-hour event.

ST.MARTIN

Afterthree months in jail, minister Emmanuel Charles was released. Charles, of theFrench-speaking Marigot church on this Caribbeanisland, was being investigated for “immigration trafficking.” His sister hadbeen brought to St. Martin from Haiti“by a group that apparently used fraudulent paperwork,” said Bren White, anelder of the Frederick, Md., church and overseer of Operation FrenchWorld, a ministry that sends mission teams to French-speaking countries.Charles knew nothing of the alleged fraudulent practices, White said.

Churchmembers Bud Morrill, Claytus Wilson, Marlon Lawrie and Charlie Brown organizedprayers and support for Charles and his family during Charles’ incarceration,White said.

SENEGAL

DAKAR

Sevenchurch members from Europe traveled to this West African country on a surveytrip recently, said Dakarminister Arnold Dzah. The trip coincided with the opening of the Dakar Schoolof Religious Studies, which has six students. Dzah, David Dzakpasu and CraigYoung, a missionary from Marseilles, France, spokeat the school’s dedication ceremony. Max Dauner, minister in Marseilles, conducted classes at the school,Dzah said.

Theteam also visited the city of Joaland distributed gospel tracts. Dzah said he hopes to establish a church theresoon.

SOUTH KOREA

SEOUL

Jerryand Mary Alice Cantrell spend their weekends visiting small churches throughoutSouth Korea.Jerry Cantrell teaches Bible classes at the Sunset International BibleInstitute campus in Seoul.Recently, Jerry Cantrell spoke at churches in Han Mee, Gyongju and Kyong JuSeobu. Missionary Paul Whitehead also assists several of these congregations.

VANUATU

PORTVILA

“IsVanuatua Christian Country?” Missionary Eric Brandell was asked the question on aweekly radio program in this South Pacific nation. Brandell, who is part of afive-member team in Vanuatu,was invited to speak on The Talkback Show recently after the show’s host heardhim speaking during the team’s “Preaching in the Park” series.

“Thisproved to be a great opportunity as many people were introduced to Christ’schurch through this effort,” the missionary said. The Columbine church, Littleton, Colo.,supports the work.