Just a note of Thanks

This month Marlene and I just want to say a heart felt "Thank You" for all that you mean to us. During this past month we have been continuing our travels in ministry in special assignment and God has been faithful to us. We we experienced a death in the family as Marlene's mother, Mary Ellen Post went home to be with the Lord on Feb. 23. Ned had the privilege of sharing the Eulogy and assisting with the funeral that was held in Florida. Mom Post was ready to go to heaven and she was at peace as she transitioned from this world to Jesus' arms. We know there was a great reunion with family and friends that had gone on before. Marlene has had several losses in her family beginning in March 2013 when her brother Roger died, October 2013 when her father Raymond Post died, April 2014 when her sister Brenda Vincent died. We are so very thankful for all of your prayers, support, flowers, cards, and most of all your caring love that we have experienced through this time.

We are focusing our ministry at WGM Marion, as we continue to work with our missionaries in various capacities of support, counsel and prayer. We are currently planning for future travels in ministry to our WGM fields. We have a very busy June/July as the WGM Celebration will be held at Huntington University, June 25 - 28. We have several training sessions and retreat planning sessions ahead.

Our calendar -

April 12 - Speaking at Village Hope Church in both Parma and Jackson, MI at 9:00AM and 10:30AM.
April 18 - 26 Vacation

So we end this update where we started, "Thank you" for all that you mean to us. Your investment in our ministry through prayer, giving and caring means so much to us. Please let us know how we may minister to you. We always love hearing from you, our Champions.

Ned and Marlene McGrady
WGM Directors of Member Health Pastors/counselors
Box 948
Marion, IN 46953
727-459-2966
www.wgm.org/McGrady

How Do We Care?

One of the things we love about our job is caring for our missionaries. If you followed our blog you would notice that we have traveled a lot around the world making many visits. This month finds us more in the office catching up with missionaries via emails, phone calls and Skype calls. We also are involved in winter training events such as Orientation Camp for 7 new missionaries being sent out to their respective fields of service. We share with them in seminars concerning healthy marriages on the mission field, as well as child safety and protection. We are excited that God continues to call and prepare His servants for international service. This week Marlene will help to process 5 new applicants by doing psychological assessments and assisting them in answering God's call on their lives. We completed a 3 day Renewal with 7 of our returning missionaries as we spent time debrief and hearing their stories of their last term on the field. We have also had opportunity to speak in some local churches. We had a wonderful day at our home church Trinity Wesleyan in Jackson, Michigan on Feb. 8. We are so very thankful for great churches like this that stand with us to make this ministry possible. This Sunday we get to share at our church here in Marion, Lakeview Wesleyan Church during the Sunday School and worship services. We look forward to updating them about our ministry. We will be speaking at Christian Fellowship Center in Jackson, Michigan on March 15. And to these great churches as well as individuals like you, that we want to say "thank you." Thank you for helping us minister to missionaries around the world.

"Stationed locally, Serving Globally"

Ned and Marlene McGrady
World Gospel Mission
Box 948
Marion, IN 46952
765-671-7240

www.wgm.org/McGrady

Also we wanted to give you an update from Jordan's Corner - Many of you have responded with gifts toward his trip to Spain with Indiana Wesleyan University during May term this year. We thank you very much for supporting him in this mission/educational experience. He has reached just over 1/2 of his needed funding for this trip and we appreciate your gifts. Thank you to the many churches and individuals that have given. We thank you from our hearts.

Jordan's Corner - A special update!

Jordan's Journey

This month in our Champion's Corner we are featuring a letter that Jordan has written concerning his upcoming trip to Spain. Many of you have followed him as he ministered with us and now as he is in his Senior year at IWU he will be going on this business/missions trip.

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings! I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with your family and loved ones. As many of you know, I am in my final year at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana, studying Marketing and Spanish. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as a student and loved growing and learning about the field of Business.

Recently, through my university, I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend three weeks in Spain this upcoming May with fifteen fellow students in the business and Spanish programs. We will be traveling around to various businesses throughout Madrid and Barcelona, the largest cities in Spain, while learning about how they operate and run internationally, Our goal is to come along side these businesses and provide ideas, strategic planning, and marketing to help propel them to greater success in the future.

Because of my experience serving with my parents in Costa Rica and Ecuador for three years, I feel that God has uniquely provided me with this opportunity to use my Spanish ability as a translator for the group. I will be able to be the "middle man" between many of the owners, CEO's, and business people who speak Spanish, and translate to English for my classmates and professors. I am so excited about this opportunity to use the abilities that God has blessed me with to turn around and help others in such a tangible way.

Additionally, this trip will count as a business course for my degree and allow me to graduate in December. However, I was told that because this trip is for college credit, it is not tax deductible. Unfortunately, the university tried to find a way around this, but by receiving credit, the government does not allow it to count as a charitable cause for tax purposes.

However, I learned during my years in South America that no matter the classification, God could use anything for His Kingdom. Whether  that is playing soccer with teenagers in Ecuador or translating between business owner's an students in Spain, if God is involved, its missions. So even though our government may not allow it to be classified as a mission trip for tax reasons, I know that God will absolutely use this time to show His love through us to the professional business people we will come across.

Often I am asked what someone can do to help . The simple answer is always to pray. Our team will need prayer for safe travels, positive, encouraging engagement with the Spanish people, and wisdom as we provide business ideas and suggestions to the owners. Additionally any financial support given would be a blessing and greatly appreciated.

I truly feel that God ahs opened up this opportunity for me to help others through my growing knowledge of business and Spanish, and I believe that He will provide everything needed to make this happen through the love and support of people like you.

If you feel led to donate, please send a check to Jordan McGrady 6964 Mary Court, Marion, IN 46953

Additionally there is an option to give on line at gofund.me/mcgradyspaintrip

Thank you all for your support of my Family and myself over the years! God Bless!

Jordan McGrady
517-395-0455
Jordan.mcgrady@myemail.indwes.edu

Christmas Review 2014

2014 Christmas Letter

It’s always interesting to look back at the last year and see a snapshot of how you’ve spent your time and energy. And this year is no exception! We’re grateful for good health and the strength God gives us to accomplish all that we do. So, peek into our lives from this past year and see a quick pic of all He has done through us as well as some of the highs and lows we experienced.

January: We started the year with frigid temps and deep snow, which my brother Gary braved to drive all the way from New York to help us remodel the bathroom for our bedroom…what a blessing. We also held our first Renewal of the year with a great group of missionaries coming “off the field” to head into Home Ministry. We love these special days we get to share with them and hear their hearts.

February: We were once again privileged to have sessions in Orientation Camp (the last step for missionaries heading off to their field of service). We also traveled a good bit to continue raising support.

March: This month brought joy as we watched our beautiful daughter, Jessica, join her life with our new son, Zac Hiser. Friends and family came from far and near to share in this fun and blessed day.

April: As many of you will remember, we were scheduled to leave for Africa on April 1, but the day before my sweet oldest sister, Brenda, started losing the battle she had fought so valiantly against lung cancer. We headed to South Carolina and hung out with her precious family at the hospital until she passed from this life to the next on April 5. To say our hearts were broken would be an understatement. She is so greatly missed by all of us. Just two weeks later we found ourselves able to smile again as Marlene’s niece, Amie (Larry’s daughter) was wed in a beautiful ceremony in Tennessee to her beau, Dave. Marlene’s mom also fractured her hip in April and needed surgery to repair it.

May: We traveled to Nevada to be with the husband of one of our retired missionary couples as he, (Les Madsen) was treated in the hospital for injuries sustained in an accident that took his precious wife, Ruth’s life. Their daughter, Priscilla Kunkle (WGM missionary to the Texas/Mexico Border), was also there and we were grateful we could be there in this time of great tragedy to hang out with them and try to be a support.

June: A visit to Dearborn, MI gave us insight into the ministry our missionaries have had there working with Muslims.
July and August: These two months proved to be some of our busiest yet. We spent July 4-12 in Bolivia to attend a Discipling Nations Conference with our missionaries serving in South America. What a great time to reconnect with them and learn as well. We got back to the States just in time to do another Renewal with a large group of our faithful servants. God always shows up at these and we love it. We also once again got to do a bit of training in CMS and Orientation Camp. Then, off we headed to Colorado so Marlene could be trained in our Child Protection Policies and Procedures. (She used the word grueling to describe it.) Then we headed to Nigeria to debrief two of our precious single missionary ladies who were robbed at gunpoint in their apartment as well as experiencing some physical trauma. What a challenge, but blessing, that we were able to respond to this tragedy and walk with them on part of their journey of recovery. When we returned from that trip, we spent several days out West traveling to visit champion supporters as well as visiting with longtime friends. At our friend Jo’s Band B in the Black hills of South Dakota, we celebrated our 29^th anniversary. What a joy to still be so in love after all of these many years.

September: This brought us to our 3^rd Renewal of the year as well as leading more sessions in Orientation Camp and CMS (Champion Building). We also had the blessing of spending nearly a week at Lake MI in our friend’s cabin, far from internet and cell phone service...ahhh.

October: October 10^th found Marlene finally able to take the licensing exam for Indiana counseling licensure and passing! Apparently being licensed in MI for 10 years and passing the National Counseling Exam years ago was not good enough! J Five days later we headed out for our trip to Kenya, Uganda and Spain. We were overwhelmed by the amazing ministries our hard working missionaries are involved with. To read more about this trip, see our link below. This month also marked my mom needing to start dialysis three days a week for continued kidney failure.

November: We came home from our almost 4 week trip overseas on November 9^th and jumped back into our Stateside ministry. The third week of this month found us at The Member Health in Missions Conference in Angola, IN, learning and networking from and with some of the best in this type of ministry. Thanksgiving was spent in Ohio with Ned’s family and all three of our kids and son-in-law! What a fun time of hanging out, eating, laughing and, of course, watching the Buckeyes beat Michigan!

December: So, that brings us to this special time of year! A time for all to hopefully slow down just a bit and soak up the True meaning of why we celebrate! We started this month with The Gathering at headquarters. Missionaries who are home on Homeland Missionary Assignment as well as retired missionaries and office staff enjoyed several days of sharing together in sessions and meals.

Christmas will look a little different for us this year with Jessi heading to Florida to celebrate with Zac’s family and Josh only having Christmas day off. But, we’ll head to Ohio later that day to prepare to celebrate together with family on Saturday, December 27^th to celebrate Ned’s mom’s 90th birthday and Christmas with our kids! Then, on to Florida to see Marlene’s family and speak along the way.

So, as you can see, we are on the go go go, but so very thankful for those of you who travel this journey with us through thoughts, prayers, encouragement, and even financial giving. Thank you seems so inadequate. We pray you have a blessed Christmas filled with laughter and joyful moments, even those of us who will be doing that with memories of loved ones who have left this earth this year. We love you and thank God for you in our lives.

And, as always, we love to hear from you, too!

Blessings, Ned and Marlene
Rev. Ned and Marlene McGrady
World Gospel Mission
Box 948
Marion, IN 46952
765-671-7240

www.wgm.org/mcgrady for more information or to make a secure online donation.

"Oh the Places you'll go..."

Dr. Seuss said it well when he penned, “Oh the places you’ll go…you’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so…get on your way!” And get on our way, we did on October 15^th! When I (Marlene), was a little girl, I would lay on the lawn at our house in Upstate New York and watch planes fly by, wondering in my little country bumpkin mind what that would be like! Well, let me just say, I wonder no more. We were on a total of 10 flights on this trip, some as long as 9 hours long and we counted 12 different beds we slept in. We went Lots of places, Dr. Seuss, and saw lots of mountains and plains and people galore. Journey with us as we share some of our adventures. (We promise not to make you go through airport security, eat airline food or get your temp checked to make sure you’re not sick with Ebola)! By the way, we were in East Africa, which is a very long way from where the outbreak is!

October 15^th we left our home in Indiana and a total of 32 hours later, we landed in the home of Jon and Vera Steury in Nairobi, Kenya. We slept very well that night, then headed out to our medical work at Tenwek to spend several days. Driving across the beautiful Rift Valley, we began to have a glimpse into how amazing Kenya is.

Ned was able to share that evening to doctors and staff at Tenwek an encouraging message. Tenwek’s motto is “We treat, Jesus heals” and it is certainly lived out every day there. One of our highlights was being able to observe 3 of our missionary doc’s performing surgery. It took Ned back to his hospital days and me to working as an OR nurse in Chillicothe, Ohio. Ned also was able to spend some time with the chaplains and we were blessed to enjoy a tour of the nursing school with Barb Pinkley and meet and pray with the leadership team there. A full tour of the hospital, provided by the very knowledgeable Steve Manchester, gave us insight into the history of Tenwek as well as the exciting growth and changes happening every day there.

In the midst of all of that, we were able to share many meals and teatimes with several of our missionaries serving there, as well as a few others who aren’t with our mission but gave us opportunity to hear their hearts also. On one Sunday there, we were able to attend the African Gospel Church by Tenwek hospital and worship with many of our missionaries as well as our African brothers and sisters.

In Nakuru, we were privileged to spend an afternoon presenting a Renewal time with several of our

Kenyan mission leaders (Kenyans who are now missionaries themselves). As I was writing this blog today, I received a Facebook message from the director’s wife, Josephine. She said, “Thank you so much Marlene for sharing your lives with us the time you were in Kenya. We were indeed renewed. I tried (to share it) recently with two of our missionaries and they were happy. They appreciated it so much and said they need more. One of them said "people have been always concern about what we do and not interested with our personal lives but this renewal made me think twice about my relationship with Christ”. I asked Josephine if I could share that and she responded, “Yes u can, I don’t mind you letting others know what God can do through people!” We are so grateful to be used to try to encourage these dedicated people serving in very challenging situations!

We weren’t all work and no play. We did have a down day where we were able to go on a safari in Nakuru! Wow, Lions and giraffes and Zebras and hippos and, well, you get the idea! What an amazing experience! And, no, we weren’t there to hunt! Just observers of some of God’s awesome creatures!

Our last day in Kenya, we attended church at RVA (Rift Valley Academy), a boarding school that many of our MK’s attend. What a joy to eat lunch with the MK’s there and share some treats with them from our Member Health Team.

Then, it was on to Uganda…are you tired yet? (Believe me when I say that jet leg and an 8 hour time difference can mess with one’s sleep patterns)! Once again, we were blessed to hang out with missionaries and their sweet children. We even got to watch some MK’s play soccer at their school, Heritage (Where Lisa Mayo is principal of the high school). We were just so impressed everywhere we went to see the varied ministries our missionaries are involved in. From Josh and Kelly Hallahan evangelizing and discipling students at Kampala University to Kenneth Hopson’s print shop where the first scripture for two tribes in Uganda was printed. We even got to pray with Pastor Kennedy, the National Pastor over the ministry at the University! And, those were only the ministries we were able to see…there are so many more.

Jump on the plane again, we’re changing continents this time, heading to Spain! Thankfully Nathan Vitatoe met us at the airport in Barcelona and helped us to navigate the train system as we traveled to their home. What a great time we had with this family hanging out with their adorable little girls, walking along the Mediterranean, walking to the local bakery and listening to Nathan and McKenzie’s hearts of their ministry to Muslims from Morocco. We finally arrived back home on Sunday November 9^th, grateful to collapse into our own bed.

Two words would sum up our trip in my mind…blessed and impressed…we feel blessed to see our missionaries in the impressive work they are doing on the front lines. Yes, Dr. Seuss, we went to great places and saw many many great people there.

The McGradys in Ministry - Kenya - Uganda - Spain

October 14, 2014

 

 

 

On Wednesday, Oct. 15, we will be flying from Indianapolis to Kenya, where we will be actively involved in ministry along with our co-workers, Frank and Sharon Martin. We will be ministering for 12 days among our nearly 50 missionaries plus children in their places of work, ministries and homes. Tenwek Hospital is a thriving medical center in the nation of Kenya. This full-service hospital is one of the largest mission hospitals in existence. It will be a real joy to meet the nurses and doctors, both missionary and national, and with our medical background (Marlene as a nurse and Ned as a chaplain), this will be an exciting adventure for us. Many of you would know that Ned served as the Manager of Pastoral Care at Allegiance Health System in Jackson, Michigan for over 10 years, before returning full-time to missionary work. A highlight of this trip will be to round with the Tenwek Hospital Chaplains and see their training program. We will be meeting with each of our missionaries, participating in several seminars on Sabbath Rest, Prayer, and Transition to name a few. We have a very important training session on Member Care with the mission leadership of the African Gospel Church as they begin to develop their Member Care for the Kenyan missionaries serving in other parts of the country. We ask an interest in your prayers as we have these important meetings and are fully engaged in pastoral care, counseling, and ministry. We will also have a chance to visit the baby center and several of WGM's mission stations. (We even get to go on a mini-safari.)

 

On Oct. 26 we will fly from Nairobi to Kampala, Uganda where we will be excited to see the work and ministry of our nearly 30 missionaries plus children serving in various WGM ministries as well as the work of Heritage International School. We will have an opportunity to share in ministry, counseling, and pastoral care among our WGM missionaries serving Christ in this nation. We are asking for your prayers for us as we are introduced to this country and the creative ways in which Christ is being proclaimed in this country.

 

On Oct. 31 we will fly to Barcelona, Spain where we will be met by our WGM Missionaries for a visit to this part of the world. This visit is particularly exciting for us because it was hearing Global Partner's Missionaries Ken and Marilyn Blake that challenged our hearts to return to missionary work in October of 2005. We were serving at our home church, Trinity Wesleyan Church in Jackson, Michigan and were in charge of the mission convention that year. The Blakes were our keynote speakers and we were sitting in a Sunday School class as Ken shared about the work in Spain and it was at that point that our hearts were challenged to go back into missions. God never sent us to Spain, until now, but we are excited to make this visit. Our missionaries are involved in immigrant ministries among Muslims in the country of Spain. Pray for us as we seek to serve, encourage, and minister among the people of this nation.

 

On Nov. 9 we return back to the USA. Many of our prayer team and supporters have expressed concern about the dangers of illness and disease as we travel. We believe that it is safe for us to travel and believe that we are doing what God has called us to do. With that said, we also know that we need your prayers very much. We will be in East Africa which is very far away from the main threat of Ebola virus in West Africa. Please pray for this virus to be controlled and people to be spared from the suffering from this terrible virus.

 

Please pray for traveling favor as we have long flights many connections and much travel ahead by air, as well as on the road and by train. We covet your prayers for God's mercy as we travel these many, many miles.

 

Please pray for each of the sessions, seminars, sermons, etc., that we will have God's direction and wisdom as we seek to be Jesus to our missionaries and to the nationals that we come in contact with.

 

Please pray for Marlene's mother, Mary Post. She was diagnosed with Renal Failure just yesterday and must immediately go on dialysis. It is difficult for us to travel this extensively knowing that family in Florida have to undergo this type of treatment. Pray for our family.

 

Praise note - On Friday, October 10, Marlene passed the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination for Indiana. She will now receive her full licensure in the state of Indiana. The almost 4-year battle has been won. We are so thankful for this and say Glory to God!!

 

Praise note - We are very thankful for each one of you. Our ministry depends on your gifts and your prayers. What we do is not possible with out your partnership with us. We like to think of you as our Champions - you help us win for the things that are eternal. We love and appreciate you each one.

 

May the blessings of our Lord be yours today.

 

Sincerely,

Ned and Marlene McGrady

World Gospel Mission

Directors of Member Health, Missionary Pastor, Counselor

Box 948

Marion, IN 46952

 

To support our ministry go to www.wgm.org/McGrady

 

 

 

 

 



God's Faithfulness

We are mindful of God's faithfulness to us, as we have returned home to Indiana from our vast travel schedule over these past three weeks. We are mindful of the faithfulness of God to answer our prayers and provide for our needs. We are mindful of the faithfulness of God to lead us each step of this journey to give us just what we needed when we needed it each step of the way. We are mindful of the faithfulness of God through using each one of you to be a champion of this ministry. We are mindful, we are grateful, we are thankful.

So many of you let us know that you were praying for us and we want you to know that we felt those prayers as we traveled many miles in the air as well as on the roads. Your prayers were felt as we completed the Child Protection Training Conference in Colorado - much was learned to help World Gospel Mission continue to keep our children protected and safe within the mission and around the world. Your prayers were felt as we traveled from Colorado to Kansas to pick up the electronics and medical supplies that needed to be taken to Nigeria. With each computer, ipad, iPhone, and bottle of medicine that went into the suitcase your prayers were felt. On Aug. 1 we flew from Kansas City Airport to Lagos, Nigeria, arriving safely on Aug. 2, knowing your prayers were with us.

Our WGM missionaries, Shelley Chapman and Jennifer Bennett, have felt your prayers, since the July 17 incident when their living area was broken into by 4 Nigerian men who robbed and threatened their lives at gun point. While injuries were sustained, none were life threatening and we were interested to help them deal with the emotional and spiritual healing that was needed from this traumatic event. From the moment we arrived we felt your prayers. Many of you would know, Ned does not usually wear a Clerical Collar, however our missionaries suggested that it may be helpful for us to pass through the customs with less questions being asked. While he is fully ordained and licensed to wear such an outfit, it never was really his style. But with your prayers the custom's agent asked him the question, "Man of God?" and Ned inadvertently answered "si'" in Spanish. So we think that the Priest from Spain (Ned) got clear passage through the customs. We were mindful that all the medical supplies and electronics were allowed in with out question or concern, God's faithfulness in answer to your prayers.

As our time together progressed we were mindful that God granted us both wisdom to be His hands, His feet and His voice to our missionaries and the leadership of the West African Theological Seminary (WATS)  We spent extensive time together in Crisis Incident Stress Debriefing and assisting with emotional and spiritual counseling for all of the leaders there. Truly we felt the hand of God guiding us each and every day as He gave us just what we needed to do each day and helped us to accomplish His purposes. God's faithfulness amazed us. The area of Lagos that we were in reminded us a lot of Haiti. The conditions were very poor and the people there are living in a very needy situation. The WATS Seminary is reaching out to this area. Dr. Shelley Chapman is a professor at the seminary and on the leadership team there. Jennifer Bennett is a Nurse Practitioner and is providing leadership to the clinic.  Both of these missionaries have answered God's call on their lives and feel that He is directing them to continue in their ministries there. Shelley will be continuing her administrative work and teaching with the seminary as Jennifer works closely with the clinic to meet the needs of the seminary students as well as the outreach for medical care to the needy community in which the seminary is located.

You are aware of the Ebola outbreak that has hit in several of the West African Countries. Jennifer requests prayer as she leads the medical team at the clinic to take all of the necessary precautions to further enhance the sanitary conditions to help stave off the spread of the Ebola Virus. You will notice in the picture above that the seminary already has had the students from the most high risk countries not report to the start of classes which was held on Aug. 6. Nigeria is now in the news with many cases of the Ebola being reported. Pray for Jennifer, her medical team and Shelley and the Seminary leaders that God will protect them and give them much wisdom in dealing with these important health issues. WGM continues to monitor the safety and welfare of all of our missionaries and we know that your prayers make a difference as well as your financial giving. Thank you.

We felt your prayers as we arrived back in Kansas City. We were grateful for God's hand of protection over us and around us as we made this long journey. Our ministry continued as we visited with supporters and friends in the States of Nebraska and South Dakota. In South Dakota we were blessed to stay at our friend and champion, Jo's B&B for a couple of days to rest and celebrate our 29th anniversary! Great times of ministry and connection took place as God lead us along this journey. In Lincoln, Nebraska we met a couple while eating breakfast at a hotel that took an interest in our ministry of doing member care for our missionaries. All along the journey God showed us His faithfulness to us in so many ways. We hen traveled on to Denver for our  flight back to Detroit on Aug. 13. We were greeted at the airport by Ethel, one of our champion supporters and great friends. She took us to her home where we got our car to drive back to Marion, IN.

We certainly felt God's faithfulness and we know that He goes through hard places with you; He delights in you: He holds you; He guides you in your steps; He speaks to you and directs you in your path; He doesn't forget you and carves you on the palm of His hand! Isaiah 49:15 -16.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness,

Ned and Marlene McGrady
Directors of Member Health/Pastors to Missionaries
World Gospel Mission
Box 948
Marion, IN 46953
www.wgm.org/McGrady

ned@straightpaths.org