Happy New Year from CIM
CIM Canada has always been committed to cross-cultural missions. As the Executive Director, I get the honor to continually see how the Lord is working cross-culturally around the world. As the Great Commission charges us in Matthew 28, we are called to go and make disciples of all nations, with which we have continually been committed to in the West African countries of Ghana and Togo over the last decade. Even the new opportunities to minister to the Roma people group over the last three years has been a reflection of the urgent needs of people around the world to hear the gospel. We are thankful to be used by the Lord in these countries, and hope and desire to empower the local churches there to be self-sufficient in reaching out to their own and beyond.
As we begin this decade, I would like to reflect on the ministries of CIM Canada in 2019.
Altogether, there were 4 short-term mission teams that traveled to Ghana, Togo, and Ukraine. Even though it was a slow year of teams travelling to Ghana, the one team from Australia who went grew in their walks with the Lord, as they saw how great and power is our God. They had the opportunity to work with the local pastors and share the gospel in nearby villages. As it was the first time traveling to Africa for several the team members, the team was challenged to leave the comfort zone of their own church and was able to see God work on a global scale. In the end, many of the team members shared their interest to return to Ghana and/or other mission fields, while others had a confirmation of their calling into ministry and/or missions.
For the local church in Ghana, it has been a year of transition.
The Evangelical Church of Ghana (ECG) gained a new general overseer in January of 2019, transitioning from Rev. Daniel Gbande to Rev. KK Maxwell Liwangol. This was initially met with some complication, as the ceremony was postponed several times due to Rev. KK’s health; however, by God’s grace, I was able to attend the ceremony, representing CIM Canada and encouraging the local church. There are also 9 local church planters and 19 village school teachers that CIM Canada continues to support financially. These church planters share the gospel in the remote areas of northern Ghana, while the village school teachers teach the children school basics including the Bible.
This past year in Togo, Pastor Matthieu Ayena spent investing his time training church planters, as well as leading two short-term mission teams. It has also been a tough year for the local church. The local Togo Church (Eglise de la Grace en Christ), suffered the loss of one of their pastors, Jean Desire, who we at CIM Canada partner with. He was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in March, and members of the church are still grieving over their loss.
As for the Roma ministry, 2019 was an exciting year. In April, Mr. Tomson Chan, who serves as a board of director for CIM, his wife, Lisa, and I traveled to Ukraine to meet with our ministry partners, House of Mercy. We had the opportunity to encourage and train the local Roma leaders. We also traveled to Serbia to explore future ministry opportunities. In June, we had our first non-staff 6-member team from Burnaby Pacific Grace from the Greater Vancouver area. This team traveled to Ukraine to visit the Roma communities in the Uzhhorod area, as well as to run a Roma youth camp. It was truly a very uplifting experience for everyone involved. Currently, we are financially supporting 7 Roma pastors in Ukraine.
In terms of the financial status of CIM Canada, 2019 was not in an optimal financial state. The number of donors had dropped, resulting in an overall financial decrease. Even so, we continue to strive forward and pray that the Lord will provide us with new donors to partner with us as we support the various ministries He has called us to in the year ahead. As well, we send our sincere gratitude to our present donors for their contributions, without whom we would not be able to fulfill the calling to which He has given CIM Canada. If you feel led to donate to CIM Canada financially, please click the button below:
Looking ahead to 2020, we are excited to see what this year will bring. Firstly, we are excited to be sending Ms. Janice Wong to Ghana as our full-time International Worker. Over the years and through multiple short-term trips to Ghana, she has sensed the Lord’s calling to be in West Africa long-term. She will be working closely with ECG, following-up on outstanding projects, as well as planning the upcoming short-term mission teams. Please pray with us as we send her off this coming year.
We are also currently planning short-term trips in June to Eastern Europe, as well as to West Africa in July and August. More trips may be planned depending on interest. If you would like more information, please do not hesitate to email us.
Sincerly,
Rev. Isaac Quan
