Help keep a mission focus before the congregation this summer. NC Conference missionaries Devorah Umipig-Julian (Japan) and Mary Zigbuo (Liberia) will be in NC this summer to share their stories, including the ways folks in the pews participate in God’s work around the world. Devorah (Debbie) Umpig-Julian and her husband Ronald Julian, both UMC Global Missionaries, will be in the NC Conference July 14 through July 20, 2015. Mary Zigbuo will be in the NC Conference during the month of August 2015. Both Debbie and Mary are available and eager to visit with any interested church group. Schedule the date of your choice by contacting Rev. Bill Haddock at revbillh@nccumc.org or 910-262-3821.
Devorah Umipig-Julian (Debbie) serves the UMC as a social worker for the Christian Coalition for Refugees and Migrant Workers in Tokyo, Japan, providing crisis intervention to refugee applicants and migrant families, visiting police and immigration detention centers and hospitals, and establishing work relations with a variety of governmental and nongovernmental agencies and churches. Additionally, Debbie organizes and conducts home Bible studies and prayer meetings, teaches English conversation to refugee families, and provides ministries to children, youth, women, and married couples in her local church. Please consider welcoming Debbie to your church this July 14-20th, to hear more about the blessings and challenges of serving as a missionary in Japan.
Mary Zigbuo was one of three UMC missionaries to return to Liberia in November 2014, at the height of the Ebola crisis. Along with missionaries Priscilla Jaiah and Helen Roberts-Evans, Mary helped distribute food and supplies to families adversely affected by Ebola and related shortages of food, water, and other basic necessities. Mary helped establish essential communication links between local communities, various health care providers, and the Liberia Annual Conference (UMC). The Liberia Annual Conference was able to take the lead in communicating accurate facts about Ebola, how it is spread, prevention, and effective actions to help eradicate the virus. Mary is especially eager to thank local churches for their efforts in providing the food and medical supplies the NC Conference shipped to Liberia and to tell the story of how the UMC worked through Liberian Methodists on the ground to save lives. (See related article about NC Conference shipment to Liberia.) If you helped with the Ebola crisis relief effort in any way, consider having Mary come and thank your group personally during the month of August 2015.
To schedule a visit by either of these missionaries, please contact Rev. Bill Haddock at your earliest convenience: revbillh@nccumc.org or # 910-262-3831.