Category: Stay Connected

Nsama Mwila (nee) Kaoma came in my life thirty-three years ago. Of these, 28 years have been spent together as husband and wife. We met in Grace Communion International (then WCG) in April 1987. Nsama served the Lord until she died on July 12, 2020.

God gifted, equipped and prepared Nsama for many roles she did in her life. Her warm and friendly smiles made it possible to attract people and make friends. Coupled with pioneering traits and administrative abilities Nsama contributed to my pastoral office as Office Administrator. Although she was not ordained as an elder, Nsama functioned as a minister in wonderful ways. The impact of these endowments resulted in visionary, servant, gracious and loving leadership.

Nsama’s giftedness and passion in ministry moved her to serve in several areas: as a Children’s Ministry Teacher, Youth Camp Ministry Coordinator, Camp Office Administrator, Women’s Ministry Coordinator, Church Board Member (GCI-Zambia), Pastors’ Wives Coordinator, Maid Servants Coordinator, Couples Fellowship Facilitator, Marriage Counselor, Region Office Administrator (Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), GCI-Zambia Office Administrator, Africa Missions Office Administrator, Ambassador College of Christian Ministry (ACCM) Facilitator and Teacher, and Africa Superintendent Office Administrator. She ably filled the role of a great assistant.

In the communities where she lived, she served as a founding member of Mothers with Infants Support Talks (MIST), Village Banking Secretary, Silverest Community Development Team Secretary, Young Women Empowerment Group, and Women’s Financial, Self-Development, and Empowerment Teams. Nsama passionately believed in making a difference in people’s lives and that she could work within her identified circles of influence. She invested in people’s lives through education by paying school fees and generous donations to needy and vulnerable people.

To empower people with skills, Nsama established a school to teach various life skills to help graduates to stand on their own. She would say, “No one can take away your skill. You are the only person who can waste your skill.”

All in all, Nsama lived a fun-filled, responsible and engaging life to the glory of God. A few days before she passed on, she and I talked to our children about death. Nsama spoke to each child and blessed them. As a family, we prayed together and I anointed her before we slept.

My family and I look forward to seeing Nsama in the Kingdom of God.

Kalengule Kaoma, Superintendent, GCI Africa

 

Over the last two months, my wife and I have been keeping in contact with our members in Latin America to provide support to various countries there. The stay-at-home orders in many Latin American countries are affecting the population harshly. As you can imagine, folks generally struggle for the everyday necessities, and amid Covid-19, the struggles have multiplied. My home congregation in Sun Valley, CA, along with our Santa Fe Springs congregation, has been supporting and encouraging members in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru, including providing basic necessities for hundreds of families.

We have partnered with our local congregations in El Salvador, Honduras, and Piura, Peru. They have engaged the Love Avenue with tangible acts of love and have joined Jesus in bringing hope to many. Our Piura congregation that is pastored by Ruth Nieves has fully embraced the Love Avenue and is engaging their community missionally. She understands the opportunity that has been presented to her church and they are stepping out in faith.

The letter below is a report that she sent me from their engagement in their community.

Heber Ticas
Superintendent of Latin America &
National Coordinator for Church Multiplication

 

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Greetings and thanks from our GCI Piura congregation, Peru.

I am writing to inform you that we have finished the mission that was entrusted to us and that it has been a beautiful privilege to serve the Lord Jesus. We are very grateful to be able to participate with him in his work, bringing hope to many families who are in great need.

We give glory to our God who through you and the encouragement and support from our sister churches in Southern California allowed us to provide 30 food baskets to various families in our community. We have been able to see closely what God is doing. He has made our congregation walk down the love avenue listening to the different testimonies of people who were surprised because they did not have anything to eat and suddenly help appeared.

The Lord Jesus showed us the sad conditions that many people are living through in this pandemic. He also allowed us to prepare 25 dinners for people who spend the whole day outside the hospital near our community and who sleep on the street waiting for results of their relatives who are battling Covid-19.

I would like to share with you all the details of this precious journey, which has been for the glory and honor of our God, but I know there is no time, and I end by telling you that all this is just the beginning of great things. Through your support, more hearts locally have been moved to want to support and join in the work of God. We have wept with those who weep, and we will not remain with our arms crossed, as we have witnessed so much need and thirst for God.

Everything is in the hands of God and we thank him because he answered our prayers. Initially, we did not know how to help with the poverty and need that has been intensified by the pandemic. We are now able to supply this need for a roof and protection against the cold. We even have members who, due to the pandemic, have taken refuge in our tents and become chefs to those in need in the community.

Best regards,
Ruth Nieves

 

Robert McKinney is saddened to announce the death of his father, Joseph McKinney, who died on Saturday, June 20. He was 78 years old and had the blessing of being baptized by his son, Robert in 1997.

Mr. McKinney is survived by his wife Mildred, eight children, fifteen grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 11 in Freeport, Bahamas.

Expressions of sympathy may be forwarded to Robert McKinney at robert.mckinney@gci.org or sent to Robert McKinney, P.O. Box N-3934, Nassau, Bahamas.

Join us for Virtual GCIgnite—An event to connect young adults (18-30) in our denomination through a time of welcome and worship, and develop leadership through content and breakout sessions focused on spiritual formation and practice.

For more information and to register, click the images below for pdfs of the flyer and brochure.

Please pray for the Rakestraw family. Jonathan’s mom Reta Rakestraw died unexpectedly on Wednesday, June 24. Jonathan pastors Grace Family Fellowship, the GCI congregation in Tallahassee, Florida, of which his mother was a founding member until her death, having come into the church in 1971. She was well-loved by all who knew her and treated everyone like her family.

Your prayers for Jonathan’s father John, as well as Jonathan, Carolyn and their three adult children Matthew, Charlotte, and Andrew, and his sisters Debra and Amy and their families are much appreciated.

Cards may be sent to:

Jonathan & Carolyn Rakestraw
3946 Elysian Ct
Tallahassee, FL 32311-0705

Our congregation is now participating in a drive-in service each Sunday. What a joy to be physically present with one another in God’s presence. Join us in praying for gospel fruit and good weather as we find ways to safely worship together.

I am transmitting the message over an FM station. Each attendee can either tune their car radio into the station, listen over the loudspeaker or both.

Worship music is played and the lyrics are printed on the handouts along with announcements and offering choices (including an offering box as you exit).

We have done this for five Sundays now. It is extremely popular for our members and we are getting a few curious attendees as they see us do this week after week.

Grant Forsyth
In His Grace Community Church
Kenockee, MI

 

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my loving wife of 54 years, Barbara Ruth Hogberg, which occurred on April 21, 2020, in Sachse, Texas. She was 79 years of age, and had been living in a nearby memory care facility, having suffered many months from Alzheimer’s disease.

Because of coronavirus restrictions, only immediate family members were present at her funeral at Sachse Cemetery, at which longtime family friend and GCI minister, Thomas Pickett, officiated. Barbara and I had attended Mr. Pickett’s New Hope Christian fellowship congregation for a number of years.

Barbara was born in Fort Worth, Texas, but grew up in Houston. After graduating from Bellaire High school, she attended what is now Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, graduating in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics, with a minor in art. Barbara had exceptional sewing and homemaking skills and had an excellent eye for paintings and fine decorations that later beautified all our homes.

In 1964 she moved to Pasadena, California, in order to attend classes at Ambassador College, the educational arm of the Worldwide Church of God (she, her mother, maternal grandparents and several other family members had become members of the church). There we got to know each other. I was the director of the News Bureau in the church’s editorial department and Barbara became the office secretary in the fall of 1965. Our relationship blossomed and we were married on January 23, 1966. Two sons, Neal and Derek, rather quickly entered our lives in December 1966 and July 1968.

After the children grew up sufficiently, Barbara worked for a while as a much-in-demand substitute teacher in the Pasadena area. Then the two of us began to undertake numerous, often international, trips together, usually in conjunction with my editorial, and later, ministerial responsibilities. Barbara loved international travel, visiting over fifty countries and territories. She also enjoyed fellowshipping with the ministry and members in far-off lands. Our travels continued even after we settled down in Texas in 2007 to be with family.

Barbara was known and loved by many friends and members in Southern California, Texas, and around the world, who have testified in cards and emails to her warmth, effervescent personality, generosity and ability to light up a room whenever she entered.

In addition to our two sons, Barbara is survived by Neal’s wife Denise, and our three grandchildren – Chloe, age 17, Brett, 15, and Grant, 9, and her favorite aunt who also lives in Sachse, Maisie Wheat, age 92, the last living member of the original Dallas congregation. Barbara is greatly missed by all of us.

Gene Hogberg, Retired Elder

 

Cards may be sent to:

Gene Hogberg
7619 Forest Ridge Trail
Sachse, TX 75048

 

 

Please email update@gci.org with news, updates, and prayer requests from your local congregation or community to include in the GCI Update. The more we work together, the healthier a church we’ll be.

These two first met at the age of 5, while attending church festivals in their home nation, the Philippines. After becoming friends, they kept in touch remotely and were able to see each other at GCI camps and functions over the years where they remained close friends. In the last 3 years, they both moved to the USA separately and were able to reconnect, sparking a relationship earlier this year. Reuel works for GCI at the Home Office, and Lucellie is completing her Master of Music Therapy Equivalency program in Texas. They were engaged Thursday, June 18th in Charlotte, NC. They plan to announce a wedding date in the near future.

Save the Dates!

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