wfn.org | AMERICAN BAPTIST NEWS FOR MARCH 27, 1997

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American Baptist News Service_____________________
Office of Communication / American Baptist Churches USA
P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851
Phone: (610)768-2077 / Fax: (610)768-2320 
Richard W. Schramm, Director (E-mail:
RICH_SCHRAMM.PARTI@ECUNET.ORG)

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UPDATE: MARCH 27, 1997
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o  Two American Baptist missionaries and their children
along with a Burmese co-worker were evacuated
March 25 from Vanga, Zaire, to the capital city of
Kinshasa by a Missionary Aviation Fellowship plane.   
International Ministries personnel evacuated were: Ann
Clemmer and children Jasmine, Eli, Joel and Cassie;
Sandy Jo Thompson and children Drew and Naomi; and Teddy
Win of Burma.  Also leaving with them was
Reba Noyes, daughter of Ed and Miriam Noyes, American
Baptist missionaries in Kinshasa, who was visiting
Vanga.  They were transported by personnel and planes of
Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF), a partner
mission organization, along with MAF mothers and children
based at Vanga.  Western Zaire Baptist
Community (CBZO) leaders at Vanga were pleased that the
pullout from Vanga was phased so the doctors
could continue their work at the Evangelical Hospital
there.  Missionaries remaining at Vanga are American
Baptists William Clemmer and Mark Thompson, International
Ministries missionary Pe Myat (George)
Win of Myanmar (Burma), members of the Christian Brothers
mission from Germany and MAF male personnel.
As the rebel group led by Laurent Kabila sweeps from east
to west in its quest to take over the country,
evacuation of the women and children was the first stage
of a strategy developed by missionaries, CBZO leaders  
and the International Ministries Crisis Management Team. 
The team remains in frequent contact with the Zaire
missionaries by telephone and electronic mail.  Prompting
the evacuation were reports received in Vanga of
President Mobutu Sese Seko's soldiers passing through the
nearby city of Kikwit as they fled from rebel forces. 
The soldiers took only food and supplies for their
movement westward, without looting and creating
disturbance
as they have done in the past.  The Vanga American
Baptist missionaries and children are being housed
temporarily on CBZO property in Kinshasa.  Dr. Kitikila,
CBZO president, has asked that Americans pray for a
peaceful resolution and also for the CBZO executive
committee as it meets to discuss the situation.  He has
requested that American Christians ask President Clinton
to do everything within his power to promote peace in
Zaire and to urge Mobutu to avoid confrontation.  "The
Zairian people have a right to live," Kitikila said.

o  Several special events for those in ministry with
young adults will be held before and during the American
Baptist Churches USA Biennial Meeting in Indianapolis,
Ind., June 24-27. 
     The American Baptist Campus Ministers Association
Retreat will be at Fatima Retreat Center,
Indianapolis, from Friday, June 20 through Monday, June
23.  Speaker Michael Cartwright is a professor of
religion at Indiana University.  Call John Gilbert at
(513) 751-5237 by May 15 to register.  
     Serving With Young Adults into the 21st Century will
be held Monday, June 23, from 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
at Southport Baptist Church, Indianapolis.  The speaker,
Tex Sample, is a well-known author and professor of
church and society at Saint Paul School of Theology. 
Workshops and leaders include "Young Adult Ministry in
the Twenty-First Century" (Mark Estrop, minister of
Christian Education and Camping, ABC of the Great Rivers
Region); "Reaching Young Adults in the African American
Congregation" (Brenda Tribett, director of Black
Church Education, American Baptist Educational
Ministries); "Young Adults and Worship" (Ted Gibboney,
minister of music, First Baptist Church, Indianapolis);
"New Technology Impacting Young Adult Ministries" and
"Pitching a Tent Without Bulldozing Tradition, a Baptist
Approach to Change in Growing Congregations" (Pieter
Kiwiet-Pantaleoni, pastor, First Baptist Church,
Kalamazoo, Mich.).  Transportation for the event,
co-sponsored
by Educational Ministries and the Central Sectional Team
of Christian Educators, will be provided from the
Indiana Convention Center.  Cost is $35; to register,
call Charles Armstrong, (330) 683-9314.
     The American Baptist Higher Education Luncheon will
be held from 12:15-2 p.m. Thursday, June
26, at the Indianapolis Athletic Club, Meridian and
Vermont Sts.  Featured speaker is Dr. Sharon Parks,
senior
fellow in leadership and ethics, Harvard University. 
Parks, a nationally-known authority on campus-based
ministries, is the author of The Critical Years and Lives
of Commitment in a Complex World.  Co-sponsoring the
luncheon with the AB Higher Education Team are
Educational Ministries, the Indiana Higher Education
Commission and the American Baptist Campus Ministers
Association.  Registration is $15; call Robert Hornyak,
(513) 922-6241.     
     A Young Adult Family Picnic for singles and young
adult families will be held Thursday, June 26,
from 5-6:30 p.m. at Military Park, New York and West
Sts., Indianapolis.  Live music and activities for
children,
who are welcome to attend with their families, are
planned.  The event is sponsored by the American Baptist
Young Adult Caucus.  Cost is $6.50; pre-registration is
required using the Biennial Meeting meal ticket form.

97U327 
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