The Rev. H. Alejandro Alfaro Santiz is an Global Missionary of The United Methodist Church, serving as pastor, chaplain, and lay pastoral/VIM teams coordinator with the Argentine Evangelical Methodist Church. An ordained elder of the Iowa Annual Conference, Alejandro earned degrees in Cultural Anthropology (BA) and Development focused on empowering communities (MA) from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, in Guatemala City, Guatemala. He earned a Masters of Divinity with a concentration in United Methodist studies from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. The Argentine Evangelical Methodist Church has nearly 100 congregation throughout the country. The church has a great need for ordained pastors and new vocations. Ministries led by laity are essential. Another urgent need is to reestablish the promotion of VIM group visits and relationships with the annual conferences in the United States. The church, in its XXVII General Assembly, strategically defined working for the integral growth of all faith communities. This effort requires enhancing lay pastoral leadership in an exercise of recognition and providing tools for the exercise of pastoral and other ministries in service of the life and mission of the church. In this regard, having a missionary in the territory is fundamental to accompany the life and mission of the church. In his missionary role, Alejandro will serve as pastor of the Mendoza congregation and conduct mission activities in the Patron Santiago neighborhood in coordination with the lay pastoral team. He will also serve as chaplain at Albert Schweitzer School, collaborate closely with the VIM work coordinator in contact with local churches and pastors, develop a team of lay missionaries to serve strategically in surrounding communities, and develop and advance the missionary strategy. “Mission is needed,” Alejandro asserts, “because God’s dreams for the world (God’s kin-dom) are still not fully realized. People still need to know that their lives matter and have value. They need to be reminded that they are made in the image of God. Whether that means mission as supporting access to clean water, housing, food, an income to have a decent living, or sharing Jesus’ teachings, we can always keep walking alongside people to help them become everything that God has created them to be.” Alejandro and his spouse, Maria Van Der Maaten, are the parents of two children.

Leah Swineford is a Global Missionary of The United Methodist Church, serving as teacher for Deaf and hard of hearing schoolchildren at Nyadire Mission Center in Zimbabwe. A layperson, Leah earned a diploma/certificate at the Deaf Ministries Training Center. She is a member of Bakerstown United Methodist Church, Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, related to the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference. Leah is excited about using her education and gifts at Nyadire Mission Center, where about 30 elementary-level students require sign language to communicate. Most are aged 5 to 11 years, but some may be older due to starting their education later, the lack of a specialist teacher or school, or, in some cases, learning difficulties. In her new role, Leah will teach children to read and write using sign language and other related materials, empower learners through training in psychosocial and vocational skills such as tailoring and information technology, and advise and assist school administrators on all issues concerning these vulnerable learners. She also will train local community members to use sign language, both those who are Deaf or hard of hearing and those who can hear; report to parents, mission station leaders, funding partners and all relevant authorities regarding students’ academic progress; and counsel and provide career guidance to learners before they attain high school or tertiary education. Mission, Leah believes, “is a command given to all who follow Jesus. We are called to make disciples; to share his gospel in our home, in neighboring areas and in all the world. It may look different for different people, but as long as there are people who have never heard the name of Jesus, there is still a need for missions.”