Serving At: The Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, Belize Honduras District Home Country: Philippines Rev. Warren V. Alfeche is?a Global Missionary with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. He is a circuit pastor, trainer and mentor with The Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, Belize Honduras District.? Studying public administration in college, Warren dreamed of a political career. However, he admitted, “I ended up miserable and searching for the true meaning and purpose of my life.” After graduating college, Warren met?Rev. Dr. Arnaldo Estrella, the dean of Bishop Han Theological Seminary in Malaybalay, Phillipines. Estrella offered him a three-year scholarship to pursue a Master of Divinity degree.? “I courageously accepted the offer,” he said. “I began to affirm the purpose and calling of God to become his disciple and follow the direction to become a pastor. During my seminary years, God equipped me to be ready to be part of his greater mission to transform the world.”? Warren applied to become a pastor in the East Mindanao Philippines Annual Conference in 2014. He was assigned to a local church in Compostela and mission churches in Butuan City, of the CARAGA region.? “Doing God's mission is not just saying ‘yes,’ but giving your entire self for the sake of others,” Warren asserted. “It’s not about my agenda. It’s about God's agenda. Because of this experience, I started to contemplate [working] on a cross-cultural mission to be part of the larger mission of God.” Warren is a former Global Mission Fellow.?“To revitalize and connect the church in mission, to reach out to the marginalized and to address the systemic issues that affect lives continue to resonate in my heart and in my calling as a pastor,” he said. “I realize that God is still calling me to do mission outside of my context and offer the graces and gifts that I have for the expansion of God’s kingdom in the world.? “It excites me to think that I will be engaging again in a new culture, new context and new community – and getting ready to do mission from everywhere to everywhere.” Warren credited attorney and church member Byron Milstead for nurturing his perspective of mission. “When I was assigned to this church in 2023, Byron became the outreach chairperson and started to engage outside the church’s geographical area,” he said. Together, they conducted medical and dental missions in Indigenous communities, provided food for patient assistants in hospitals, distributed school supplies to children and developed a prison ministry program.? Family shapes Warren’s life. “My wife and our three children play a vital role in my life as a pastor and as a missionary,” he said. “The gifts and graces of my wife as a public teacher helps me a lot in doing mission, particularly in children's ministry and education.” His co-pastor, Rev. Gilvren Decal, also influenced his decision to apply for missionary service. Decal also serves as a Global Missionary with The United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, in Tanzania as a church planter and developer.

The Rev. Natallia Manyeza is a United Methodist missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries serving as a lecturer at the United Methodist University. She is based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Rev. Manyeza has spent her career investing in those around her. She has a broad scope of experience in academia, serving in administration, counseling and teaching. She built on these skills during her years as a teacher, pastor and chaplain. She has spent time in Sierra Leone getting to know the culture and the needs of the community as her husband is serving in mission there. She is particularly passionate about human rights issues. She welcomes the opportunity to journey with adult students as they pursue more just societies. Sierra Leone is a developing country with a post-conflict population of more than 7.8 million. The need for social and formal training in peace and reconciliation is becoming a major issue for dialogue and development. Key concerns are the disregard for human rights and abuse of power. Rev. Manyeza will serve as lecturer at the School of Theology, focusing on Human Rights and Good Governance, as well as Gender in Development Studies. She will guide the evolution of policies and disciplines for the university within those key areas Born in Wedza, Zimbabwe, Rev. Manyeza and her family went to a Roman Catholic church. As a young adult, she began to question her family’s involvement in “traditional” beliefs and activities. In 1989, Rev. Manyeza accepted Christ and was baptized. “For the first time,” she said, “I bought a Bible and began to attend church services regularly.” She participated in Bible study and prayer group sessions. “My faith,” she said, “started growing from that time.” Ten years later, Rev. Manyeza felt called to pastoral ministry. At first, she resisted, but the Holy Spirit persisted. Today, she nurtures her relationship with Christ by “reading and meditating on the Word of God, engaging in prayer and fasting, and attending prayer meetings and church services. I serve Him through ministering to others, by preaching and teaching the Word and by doing pastoral work. I now trust my God and have developed a total dependency on him,” she said. She traces her call to missionary service to her childhood. As an 8-year-old, Rev. Manyeza was inspired by Roman Catholic missionary nuns who provided medication, food, clothing and toys to the less-privileged in her community. “Their support,” she said, “changed the lives of many, particularly the children. These nuns serving people unrelated to them ignited in me a desire and passion to serve other people. The desire was strengthened when I had contact with yet another group of nuns and priests who built and supported St Paul’s Musami Mission center where I did my teaching practice at the age of 20. “I was further exposed to the great works of missionaries,” Rev. Manyeza continued, “when my family moved to work at Old Mutare United Methodist Church Mission Center which was started and developed by missionaries. I also witnessed missionaries teaching at Africa University. Closer to home, my husband became a missionary with Global Ministries in 2008. Together, with his partners, he changed the face of Old Mutare Hospital and the quality of health care provided.” Rev. Manyeza earned a Certificate in Education from Belvedere Technical Teachers College, Harare, Zimbabwe (1990); and three degrees from Africa University, Mutare: Bachelor of Arts with education (1999), Bachelor of Divinity (2008) and Master of Peace and Governance (2018). Her home conference is Zimbabwe East Annual Conference. She was ordained in 2011 at Old Mutare United Methodist Mission Center in Mutare Zimbabwe, related to the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference. Prior to her present assignment, Rev. Manyeza taught in Zimbabwe government and United Methodist high schools (1986-2003) and served as a pastor and chaplain (2004-05) and (2012-15), at Old Mutare United Methodist Mission Center and as a United Methodist pastor in charge at Penhalonga Circuit of The United Methodist Church (2009-11) and Odzi Circuit of The United Methodist Church (2016) Rev. Manyeza and her husband, Paul Tendai, are the parents of Rutendo Ennert (Manyeza) Chatsama; Tenda Paul Manyeza; Tapiwanashe Moreblessing Manyeza; and Nyashadzashe Brighton Manyeza. Paul Tendai has served as a missionary with Global Ministries since 2008.