Jennifer Moore is a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church serving as a Christian educator with The United Methodist Church in the Republic of North Macedonia. She was commissioned in May 2016. The United Methodist Church in Macedonia officially began in 1922. Their community of 11 congregations is a testament to perseverance through harsh economic times, wars and religious oppression. After the fall of socialism in the 1990s and Macedonia gaining its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 came increased religious freedom and a desire to expand the church. As a missionary of Global Ministries, Jennifer walks alongside congregations to help them develop ministry resources, train new leaders and reach their surrounding communities for Christ. Jennifer grew up in the Church of the Nazarene and was always active in her church. “I accepted Jesus into my heart as my Savior at a very young age,” she recounts, “and I did my best to obey him. When I was 15, I went to a youth conference called the Festival of Life. As a result of the messages I heard there, I decided to dedicate my life to God and give him full control over my present and my future.” Drawn by God to mission work after participating in a short-term mission journey in college, Jennifer has prepared for a life of cross-cultural Christian service through her educational, volunteer and vocational endeavors. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia; a Master of Arts in intercultural studies from the Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, and a master’s in teaching English to speakers of other languages from Azusa Pacific University, in Azusa, California. She taught English classes to recent immigrants in the U.S. for two years; worked as an elementary schoolteacher in Virginia and Missouri for four years; spent four years teaching university students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with English Language Institute/China; and partnered with a church-planting team in Cambodia for two years before moving to North Macedonia in 2016. Jennifer mainly works with the Commission for Working with Children and Youth in the Macedonian district. The commission aims to bring the gospel to every child, teenager and young adult in the district by providing training, resources and spiritual support for the leaders of children’s, teen and young adult groups, as well as organizing districtwide events. Jennifer strives to model and establish good practices for running the commission and investing in the other members as they all work to serve the children, teens and young adults in their district. Jennifer shares, “While serving in Cambodia, I became conscious of the ways cultural beliefs and societal systems play a role in societal ills, and that the church is the main way God has for combating these systems to bring his kingdom on earth. I decided I wanted to invest the rest of my life [in] building up the church and empowering leaders to bring God’s kingdom to their communities.”

John Nday is a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church serving as agricultural coordinator at Cambine Mission in the South Mozambique Annual Conference. His wife, Florence Kaying, is also a missionary there. He was commissioned in May 2016. Cambine Mission is sometimes described as a “mixture of awe and ashes.” Ravaged by civil war, the facility is rising from the ashes and now has more than 2,000 students enrolled in its several schools. It also has a hospital/clinic, a theological seminary, and an orphanage. The Cambine property was the gift of a tribal chief to Methodists looking for a mission site in 1890. The chief made just one stipulation in the form of a question: “Do you come in peace?” The mission has land used for crops and animal husbandry to feed the students and orphans. Crops include pineapples, cassava, maize, and many vegetables; animals raised include pigs, chickens, ducks, goats, rabbits and cows. John oversees this work. John is from Kamina in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he is a member of the Paroisse Ville United Methodist Church. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture and natural resources from Africa University, the United Methodist-related institution in Zimbabwe. He also holds a certificate in sustainable agriculture from the Asian Rural Institute, a Global Ministries mission partner in Japan. He has worked professionally in food security programs, including those of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). From July 2011 to July 2012 he managed the mosquito nets distribution of Imagine No Malaria in Kamina City and its surroundings. The nets project was a joint effort of UMCOR, the North Katanga Annual Conference, the Kamina (public) Health Zone, and the Global Fund. John was born into the household of a poor pastor and was separated from his family from age 12, because there was no school in the place to which his father was appointed. He remained in Kalemie. Lonely and insecure, he found comfort in the love of God and his church and determined to give value tohis life. After secondary school, he made his way to Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe with little prospect of being able to afford to enroll. He eventually qualified for a scholarship and also received assistance from a family in the United States. His good fortune at Africa University strengthened him in faith and the realization “that God exists and acts through people.” Back in North Katanga, he found work as manager of a church-related farm that provided food to an orphanage. He also engaged in water and sanitation projects. In this work he gained experience that equipped him for his placement at Cambine. John understands his mission call as that of improving “the living conditions of the people who are suffering.” Loving and supporting such persons he sees as the “true worship” of God. He wants to promote more love in the world. John and Florence have three children, James, Yan, and John.