SPRING 2015 Christian Veterinarian The Journal of Christian Veterinary Mission SERVING HIS KINGDOM WITH LOVE AND INTEGRITY Learning Through Love: The Gumuz Project PAGE 04 Chasing the Sunset, and Finding the Son PAGE 14 Contents Spring 2015 In this issue of the Christian Veterinarian, we’re saying thank you for your prayers and generosity by reporting back on what your support is doing and how you’re helping transform lives for Christ through veterinary medicine. Whether it’s in your workplace, home, community or even serving overseas, we’re all missionaries for Christ. Standing Together in Ministry Page 03 | Perspective STANDING TOGETHER IN MINISTRY Page 04 | Long-term Missions LEARNING THROUGH LOVE: THE GUMUZ PROJECT Page 10 | Affilliates PARTNERING IN THE GOSPEL Page 14 | Professionals CHASING THE SUNSET, AND FINDING THE SON By Dr. Kit Flowers, CVM President When the values of integrity and accountabi lit y are mentioned, our default is to consider financial matters. Rightfully so. CVM has a commitment to excellence in financial accountability and integrity. However, some years ago as we were working on the CVM vision, mission, and values, an additional outcome from our discussion was a commitment to have integrity and accountability in our heart to hear God’s voice through His word and the leading of the Holy Spirit. We continue to seek this level of accountability in the work of CVM. We do not report this type of accountability in a graph, rather we pray that you see His kingdom fruit in the testimonies of transformed lives as reported through our communications. We must be passionate in our pursuit of listening for and obeying His voice and the leading of the Holy Spirit. We seek His peace as the confirmation of being on track. President Dr. Kit Flowers [email protected] • 206.546.7226 Fundraising & Communications Director Jonathan Steck [email protected] • 206.289.7368 Program & Latin America Regional Director Dr. Brad Frye [email protected] • 206.546.7248 Short-Term Missions Coordinator Tracy Rubstello [email protected] • 206.546.7344 Training & Asia Regional Director Dr. Karen Stoufer [email protected] • 206.546.7308 U.S. Ministry Coordinator Krista Forseth [email protected] • 206.289.7811 Africa Regional Director Dr. Fred Van Gorkom [email protected] • 206.289.7953 Director Emeritus Dr. Leroy Dorminy [email protected] • 229.468.7898 © Christian Veterinary Mission 2014. All rights reserved. 2 Christian Veterinarian | Spring 2015 Our theme this year is abounding love based on Philippians 1:9-10 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.” Do we live with integrity and accountability in how we love others? We are challenged by His word and His Spirit as we continue to reflect on these verses within the CVM team and we pray that He is speaking to you as well. We serve, seeking to be accountable ourselves and encouraging others to be accountable to what He is asking them in the way of serving in missions, or in workplace ministry. I pray that He will speak to your heart to love others more and more and together we can be people of integrity and accountability to His kingdom purposes. Dr. Kit Flowers CVM President Pray Pray that our Father will protect our long-term field staff as they serve communities around the world. Abounding Love | cvmusa.org Pray for wisdom as vets, vet students and techs seek out their calling for the year ahead. Pray that the Lord will provide a bountiful harvest so that we can continue serve the veterinary family well. 3 Learning through Love: The Gumuz Education Project By Dr. Cherie Igielski and Jonathan Steck Celebrating its twelfth anniversary this year, the Gumuz Education Project in Ethiopia has seen many changes. Yet the focus on discipleship and evangelism has never been stronger. Today, the project is providing literacy and health education to more than 500 children and adults, including preschoolers, all lives that are waiting to be touched by Christ. The Holy Spirit is working in this land –Christian veterinarians bearing witness to regular baptisms and evangelism to neighboring villages through preaching, personal witness and service. The Story So Far There was once a time when Ethiopian agencies had little interest in the Gumuz 4 people, who were thought to be so impoverished that educating them seemed like a waste of time. Ethiopia has one of the poorest literacy rates in the world and while there are schools, the poorest of the poor don’t have access to these learning centers. In the Gesses region, international missionaries have had a presence for 12 years. During this time a non-formal education program was created for both adults and children. As the children’s program grew and gathered momentum, two elementary schools were built and were recently handed over to be used by the government. Each year the government has added a new grade to the school and today, Gumuz students in Gesses are able to attend grades one through five. Christian Veterinarian | Spring 2015 If students desire a higher education, they have to make a 4-hour trip into town. narians like Cherie Igielski are going into villages where the love of God is not proclaimed or known. As the Holy Spirit changes hearts, people are feeling empowered to think beyond the borders of their villages. “Education has been a wonderful vehicle for the Gospel,” Cherie explains. “It has given men, women, and children the opportunity to hear about the saving work of Christ without having to enter a church building, which can be quite intimidating for these people.” The Gumuz language has only been scripted and formally prepared within the last 5 years. While this language uses a Latin script, rather than the Amharic Fidel that is used country-wide, children are struggling to read and learn in their mother tongue. So with funds provided through the Christian Veterinary Mission Endowment Fund, materials were prepared to train facilitators in the Gumuz language to teach the children and adults how to read in their native language. The Gospel Message Learning is achieved through stories, pictures, songs, games, health lessons, and math problems. Any time a facilitator delivers a lesson, students participate in prayer and worship; many times throughout the lesson there is also Bible storying, which is an incredibly powerful way to share the Gospel when written language is a barrier to learning. The Gumuz people love to hear stories making it an effective way for people to learn, build relationships, and share the Good News. Thanks to the support provided by faithful CVM supporters and donors, veteriAbounding Love | cvmusa.org Christ’s Love Expressed The Holy Spirit is working miracles in this land, giving people bold hearts to share the Gospel beyond the borders of their villages. Armed with a renewed confidence in Christ, they are beginning to question stereotypes and set goals that will facilitate a brighter future. One of the biggest challenges the project has had over recent years is helping families to understand that girls (and women) can benefit from going to school. That an education is not solely reserved for the males. Women of all ages have been proactively encouraged to enter the school programs but the cultural transition is difficult, with the villages regularly discouraging the idea and telling our facilitators that the role of women is to work, not learn. Yet through much prayer, God is softening hearts. “Six women from our church entered into the elementary school program this year! This is the first time we’ve ever seen this occur”, Cherie joyfully shares. 5 “It is our hope and prayer that God will continue to work among the Gumuz here, winning hearts to Christ, and changing the ideas that the older generations are desperate to hold onto. As a veterinarian serving overseas, I am honored and blessed to be a part of this profession and to be sent by Christian Veterinary Mission in order that I may share my love for Christ with others.” “In time, it is my hope that I may share more of my veterinary knowledge with the different villages. Instead of us, the missionaries, determining what will be good for the people to learn, we want them to feel empowered and to start thinking about how they want to improve their own lives. It can be difficult to look at circumstances and situations, especially as a trained veterinarian, and stifle the desire to go in and change everything. However, this is not the example Jesus gave us and it is not something that is sustainable within a people group.” We want them to feel empowered and to start thinking about how they want to improve their own lives. In some of the poorest and most challenging parts of the world, God is using veterinary medicine as a bridge to share the Gospel. And as friends and supporters of this mission, we encourage you to remember servants like Cherie, and pray that their veterinary knowledge will be used to minister to groups like the Gumuz through service, prayer and Christ’s abounding love. The Endowment Fund By Jonathan Steck, CVM Fundraising & Communications Director Christian Veterinary Mission’s Endowment Fund (CVMEF) started with the purpose to provide for meaningful programs that could not be funded by the regular budgeting process. The long term vision of the people who established the CVMEF was simple—to position CVM to take advantage of the opportunities to glorify God through veterinary medicine. With God’s grace, the fund was seen as a way to fulfill that purpose. Twenty-seven years later, the Lord has blessed the faithful gifts made to the Endowment Fund, but much work is still to be done. If you would like to support programs like the Gumuz Project and see Jesus’ name glorified through the profession of veterinary medicine, please request an Endowment and Planned Giving Pack by contacting CVM President, Dr. Kit Flowers at [email protected]. We thank God for you. Dr. Cherie Igielski Cherie is a 2008 graduate from the University of Minnesota with a DVM/ MPH. One year into practice, she started praying about a long-term opportunity and discovered there was a great need in Gess6 es, Ethiopia. Through much thought, prayer, and a one month vision trip to Gesses, Cherie found God leading her to Ethiopia to work among the Gumuz people. Cherie have been seconded to an organization know as SIM (Serving in Mission) and works alongside a family from Canada to serve the Gumuz. Website | cvmusa.org/Igielski Christian Veterinarian | Spring 2015 Abounding Love | cvmusa.org 7 SHORTCOURSE August 26-29 Join us for our annual conference for veterinary professionals and their spouses as we grow together, build relationships, worship, and are challenged in our profession. NEW THIS YEAR! Sharing Your Faith Learn how to share your faith through your veterinary practice or on a short-term trip. Anything from how do you start the conversation, to how can anything of significance be shared in under 15 minutes, and more! Good Soil Evangelism Two day presentation on practical evangelism and discipleship for veterinarians using the materials of “Good Soil Evangelism”, a program of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelization. Long-term Missions Spend time with experienced long-term vet field staff and explore what it means to combine veterinary medicine with long-term missions. Let us challenge, empower and facilitate your response to God’s call in your life. Register Starting May 1st! cvmusa.org/Shortcourse August 26 August 27 August 28 Wednesday Thursday Friday Introductory Session Starts @ 1pm Worship & Keynote All-Day Seminars Starts @ 9am Worship & Speakers Worship & Speakers LOCATION Housing and meals are provided at Heartland Presbyterian conference center, just outside Kansas City, Missouri. Questions? Email [email protected] hanced ministry. When we share our lives and mission with believers in other countries, we encourage one another in times of hardship. We also know we have others praying for us and walking with us. Partnering in the Gospel By Dr. Gina Wintermantel Partnership is a central pillar of CVM’s mission, values and vision. Within the various ministries we engage in through CVM, we partner with different people and groups such as missionaries, other mission organizations, veterinarians in the U.S. and Canada, and international affiliated veterinary groups. So who are our international affiliates? CVM affiliates are international groups of Christian veterinarians who share the common value of Christ-centeredness and a veterinary focus, and have agreed to partner together to share the love of Christ through veterinary medicine. To give some perspective, we currently have affiliate groups in 9 countries, and we are praying that God will show us how we can serve Him together. When I use the word partnership, I am speaking of biblical partnership. Paul’s 10 letter to the Philippians gives us great insight into what partnership should look like, the benefits of partnership, and how partnership can improve the effectiveness of the church in reaching the unreached. But that’s not all! Partnership allows us to do more together than we can alone. As a practical example, let’s take the development of a short term mission trip in a new location. By partnering with an affiliate veterinary group in another country, we are able to learn from their experience. Our partners can let us know the best season to hold a veterinary clinic, the easiest and safest roads to travel on, who to connect with in the community, and language and culture tips that can make the difference between being welcomed and being asked not to come back. Partnership with our affiliates also blesses their work. When our partners bring in a veterinary team to serve, or veterinarians with specialized skills, it helps build trust and respect in the community for the affiliate veterinarians. This improves their When we yield to the Holy Spirit and approach partnership with the attitude of Christ, there will be many good results. relationships with the community being served, and can result in on-going ministry opportunities for our affiliates. Mutuality and reciprocity are essential elements to developing a biblical partnership. I have been blessed by international brothers and sisters in Christ serving me and modeling the behavior of Christ. The idea of putting others first is counter-cultural to what the world tells us. The world When we share our lives and mission with believers in other countries, we encourage one another in times of hardship. In Philippians, Paul mentions several characteristics that demonstrate biblical partnership. We read about joy in the work together, encouragement, humility, suffering, sharing of resources, mutuality, reciprocity, accountability, and enChristian Veterinarian | Spring 2015 Abounding Love | cvmusa.org 11 tells us to put ourselves first. When our affiliates gather together and share in ministry, we are a tangible, visible example of what the church of Christ should look like. One day, every nation under God will be worshipping together at the throne. Through shared ministry with our affiliates, we have the opportunity to experience a little of that here on earth, and know that others will also witness our groups working together. As they watch, if we love and forgive as Christ taught us, we will be the pleasing aroma of Christ (2 Cor 2:15). May they know that we are His disciples because of our love for one another (John 13:34-35) Partnership will always have its challenges until we are all made into new creations in Christ! Partnership is all about relationship, and within relationships there will always be the potential for conflicts and differing opinions and ideas. However, when we yield to the Holy Spirit and approach partner- ship with the attitude of Christ, there will be many good results. As we share in ministry together, the Lord will open doors to opportunities to be a blessing to one another and to the communities in which we minister. As our relationships deepen, we will empower one another and build sustainable ministry. As Affiliates work together side by side, Jesus will reveal our strengths and weaknesses, so that we can encourage one another and help one another find the best uses of our abilities to glorify the Lord and strengthen His church. As we live life and minister through veterinary medicine together, we pray that God will use us to visibly transform lives and communities for His glory. If the Lord is moving your heart, then we would like to help you use your gifts and passions for His glory. You are welcome to email me for any of the above opportunities, or to add one of your own! Email | [email protected] Get Involved! Would you like to become involved in affiliate ministry? Here are a few suggestions to get you started: • If you know an international veterinarian who desires to share the love of Christ through veterinary medicine, please let CVM know. We sometimes have requests from the same country and are 12 able to connect people. • Connect with and encourage an affiliate veterinarian in the location that you currently travel to for short-term mission trips. • Host an international veterinarian for a visit to your practice. • Pray for our affiliates. Christian Veterinarian | Spring 2015 Animal Loveline Give a gift in memory of a client’s or friend’s beloved pet. The grieving owner receives a beautiful sympathy card, acknowledging their loss and announcing your gift. Comfort those who are grieving with the knowledge that their loss will allow veterinarians to help others in need. Send a card now at cvmusa.org/Loveline but I quickly realized that I wasn’t alone on this journey. I had an overnight layover at the Bangkok airport where I was to be met by Peter, a long-time CVM missionary. The airport was quite large and I found myself walking with a mass of people down a long staircase where at the final step I had the choice to go left or right. There were people everywhere and somehow I had to find Peter, only I didn’t know what he looked like! Chasing the Sunset, and Finding the Son I looked into the crowd and boldly asked a friendly face whether he was named Peter. I was relieved when he answered, “Yes”. By Jonathan Steck and Dr. Bill Rishel When a friend extended an invitation to Bill Rishel for his attendance at a prayer breakfast he had no idea what a life changing experience it would be. Somewhere amidst the food and the fellowship, God revealed a calling that two decades later would see Bill influencing every part of Christian Veterinary Mission–from faceto-face interactions with long-term field staff to mentoring veterinary students at Real Life Real Impact events. We spoke with Bill about this remarkable journey and asked him to share how his service with Christian Veterinary Mission has influenced his professional career. His testimony and response was a beautiful glimpse as to how God can provide when we respond to His call and step out in faith. “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love 14 | Missions and faithfulness.” (Ps. 115:1) NIV “Back in the late 90’s, a friend of mine had invited me to attend a prayer breakfast at the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association (VMA) meeting. It was at this meeting where I heard about Christian Veterinary Mission and how veterinary medicine could be used a bridge to share the Gospel. I was driving home alone when I heard God’s voice. It was as if someone was sitting in the car beside me, and the message was clear—I want you to do something about that mission talk you heard. Now we all get wild ideas from time to time but this one didn’t go away. It sat with me and the call became stronger and stronger. Fast forward a little and I am chasing the sunset across the Pacific on my way to Nepal. I wondered how I got to this point, Christian Veterinarian | Spring 2015 veterinarians who had put their professional careers on hold to answer God’s call to serve. Over the next few weeks I witnessed servanthood like I’d never seen before as these people poured themselves out to the community. But despite their example, I was still afraid. I found myself praying about everything—is the water safe, will the food make me sick, will the lights come on, why are the roads so dangerous! But it was amidst the struggle that I learned to rely on God and soon accepted that even in a foreign land, He was at work everywhere. When I returned back to the United States, I felt His presence like never before. But it was amidst the struggle that I learned to rely on my God and soon accepted that even in a foreign land, He was at work everywhere. On my first day back in the clinic, a client pointed at a picture of me on an elephant and asked me where I had been. I’d always been so busy, so committed to building my practice that the even my clients now wondered how I found the time to travel. But it wasn’t just one client asking, it was many. So the telling of the story started. On the way back to the airport the following morning, Peter told me more about missions with Christian Veterinary Mission and how the profession and faith can intersect. As my plane flew over the mountains surrounding the Kathmandu valley, I pondered Peter’s words. Outside my window I could see the huts and make out the busyness of village life. At that moment I realized I was going on mission and there was no turning back. In the six weeks after getting home from Nepal, I talked to 14 groups, a number of churches, 4-H clubs, Saddle Clubs, and various service organizations. I simply couldn’t stop telling the story of what God was doing through our profession. On landing I met with three CVM missionary families–all faithful Christian Abounding Love | cvmusa.org I’m pleased to say that the short-term trips have continued and my clients still get curious about where I’m going and eagerly await the stories on my return. In fact if I don’t go, they begin to wonder why! My journeys with Christian Veterinary Mission have started lots of good conversa15 “Now wherever we go He uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Good News like a sweet perfume.” 2 Corinthians 2:14b MISSION STATEMENT To serve the Lord and glorify Him using the gifts He has given our employees to research, develop, manufacture, and market products that improve the quality of life for people and their pets. Proud Sponsor of CVM Since 2005! nutramaxlabs.com 1-888-886-7442 16 010.1122.01 Christian Veterinarian | Spring 2015 tions and more than once a tech has to gently nudge me to hurry up. the Loveline letter and tearfully told me how much that meant to her. Despite the adventures, I understood that God was preparing me to help others. So I volunteered to participate in CVM Shortcourse, a training event that sought to encourage and inform veterinarians considering missionary work. God made it clear that other veterinary staff at my clinic needed to attend and while finances presented a problem, God always provided. One tech that attended was so inspired that they’ve since been on 6 short-term Native American mission trips! Another professional that attended has taken two trips to Bolivia, one with his family, and yet another colleague pursued the work place ministry training at CVM Shortcourse, returning home and writing the mission statement for our clinic. A very good friend once asked me why I travel when there is so much to be done in our hometown. I told him that God has given me the opportunity and through every experience He is showing me what it means to love thy neighbor. Nothing has influenced my workplace ministry more than my short-term trips with Christian Veterinary Mission. Christian Veterinary Mission provides so many opportunities for professional veterinarians to serve. Our clinic has extensively used the Animal Loveline program and that in itself has been a great resource for sharing our faith at the most difficult time for clients. One particular client saw me in the local grocery store years after we had put her pet down. She pulled out Abounding Love | cvmusa.org I retired last summer, but the calling does not end. All my experiences with Christian Veterinary Mission have given me connections with other professional area vets and we have now started an Omaha Area Christian Veterinary Fellowship (CVF) group that meets monthly. One associate DVM we mentored has even left to start their own Christian based practice. I mentor young people in the grade school and Junior High, using the opportunity to tell my stories. And the opportunities continue to pour in—I have spoken about veterinary missions at colleges, our local library, and at a local vet tech program showing technicians how they can serve in a mission setting. In short, nothing has influenced my workplace ministry more than my short-term trips with Christian Veterinary Mission. So if you are considering going on a short term trip, or are interested in learning more about how to share Christ’s love at your clinic, please get in touch with the folks at Christian Veterinary Mission. They would love to pray with you and seek God’s calling for your life through veterinary medicine. The story will continue to be told because it’s God’s story through me. I’m just privileged to be a small player in it all. 17 CVM’s mission is to challenge, empower and facilitate veterinary professionals to serve others by living out their Christian faith. What We Do Our purpose as an organization is to walk alongside Christians in the veterinary community whose desire is to bring glory to God through the use of their professional skills. It is our honor and privilege to pray with, talk with, encourage, equip, mentor and provide resources and opportunities for men and women to follow God’s call in their life, whether serving in their own community or cross-culturally. Animals are a bridge to relationship. Whether at a clinic in urban America or, the countryside of Mongolia, a veterinary school in Bolivia or the Cherokee Nation, relationships are formed over the care of an animal. Trust is built, hearts are shared, and a seed is planted for the Kingdom of Christ. Connect With Us Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps facebook.com/christianveterinarymission @cvmusa The Christian Veterinarian journal is a quarterly publication. If you wish to unsubscribe, please send an email to [email protected] or call (206) 546-7238. We suggest an annual donation of $40/year for United States mailing address, $60/year for Canada and Mexico residents, and $100/year for International residents to support CVM and cover mailing and publication costs. You may also request to receive the journal electronically. 18 Christian Veterinarian | Spring 2015 Abounding Love | cvmusa.org 19 Christian Veterinary Mission 19303 Fremont Avenue N., MS 50 Seattle, WA 98133 Part of the CRISTA Ministries Family Asia Dr. Mary and Richard Ballenger, Mongolia Dr. Gerald and Frances Mitchum, Mongolia V.E.T. Net Team, Mongolia Dr. Peter and Mary, Thailand Ms. Melissa White, CVT, India Africa Drs. Trent and Tabitha Cox, Ethiopia Dr. Cherie Igielski, Ethiopia Dr. Troy and Rebekah Sammons, Kenya Dr. Julie and Steve Henderson, Mozambique Dr. Margaret Thompson, Tanzania Ms. Emily Arndt, CVT, Uganda Dr. Daniel and Rachel Graham, Uganda Dr. Val & Waffle Lomilo, Uganda Staff Raising Deputation Non Profit Org. US Postage PAID Seattle, WA Permit No. 3092 Long-term Service Candidates Drs. Bill and Angie, Asia Dr. Ann MacCormac and Shawn Fischer, Ghana Dr. Rebecca Quam, South Africa Dr. Lena and Patrick Wensel, Tanzania Dr. Shad and Amy Wilkerson, Senegal Dr. Justin and Helen Woolsey, Mongolia Central & South Americas Dr. Kim and David Carney, Bolivia Dr. Bill and Heidi Janecke, Bolivia Dr. Coalson Lacey, Bolivia VetRed, Bolivia Ms. Rhoda Beutler, Haiti Dr. Kelly Crowdis, Haiti Mrs. Jan Flanagan, Haiti Dr. Jeff and Bethany Bracht, Nicaragua Dr. Rick and Mary Ervin, Nicaragua Ministry Around the World Associates Dr. Wendell & Jann Cantrell, USA Dr. Roy and Nancy Coolman, USA Dr. Rachel and Helmfried Dietsch, Thailand Drs. Jonathan and Leanna Dohanich, Haiti Dr. Tim and Cathi Emery, South Africa Dr. Mary and Jack McDonald, Uganda Dr. Allen and Ann Pederson, Honduras Dr. Tom and Diane Schiefer, Latin America Dr. Karen Smirmaul, Asia Dr. Andrew & Chris Spence, Mongolia Drs. Tim and Paula Ulrich, S. Africa Dr. Don and Marilyn Wilson, Bolivia CANADA Dr. Ed and Anne Neufeld Dr. Susan Sowa USA Dr. Lauren and Jon Charles Dr. Melissa and Maurice Cheeks Dr. Kit and Jan Flowers Dr. Brad and Angela Frye Dr. Glenn and Kathy Gaines Dr. Heather and Leon Heisey Drs. Monty and Shelley Dr. Barry and Colette Schwenk Dr. Karen and Ron Stoufer Dr. Denise and Roy Thagard Drs. Fred & Vicki Van Gorkom Dr. Emiko and Joshua Van Wie Dr. Susan and Court Dr. Gina and Steven Wintermantel
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