Zacheus Chacha is an international Global Mission Fellow with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, engaged in a two-year term of service. The Global Mission Fellows program takes young adults ages 20-30 out of their home environments and places them in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice. Global Mission Fellows become active parts of their new local communities. They connect the church in mission across cultural and geographical boundaries. They grow in personal and social holiness and become strong young leaders working to build just communities in a peaceful world. Zacheus is involved at First United Methodist Church, Moheto, as praise and worship leader and pianist and serves as secretary and youth president for the Kenya/Ethiopia Annual Conference. A member of First UMC since 2000, he has worked in various areas in the congregation, gaining spiritual nourishment and development. “I have grown through reading the Bible, attending prayer sessions and engaging in teachings concerning the word of God,” Mwita said. After earning a certificate in higher education teaching at Msomi Teachers Training College, Migori County, Zacheus taught at Father Antony Pagani Primary School and at International Vision Academy, both in Nairobi. “I was a member and secretary of Msomi Media and Journalism in college,” Mwita said. “We published the school magazine and produced news on every assembly day.” As a Global Mission Fellow, he hopes to use his journalism skills to write and publish information about programs in his placement area. Zacheus feels called to serve children and young people. “I would like to reach out to youth of different categories, denominations, races and countries,” he noted. “I would like to share my experience on what I have encountered in my profession as a teacher.” He has gained rich experience, along with a greater understanding and appreciation for children of diverse backgrounds. “Most of the children have different stories to tell,” Zacheus said. “Some stories are touching to an extent you may wish to continue listening.” The students sometimes share glimpses into their home lives. “One time,” he recalled, “a child came complaining of her parents who were in disagreement. The child would come to school late without finishing the home assignment, and this raised an alarm among the teachers.” The staff contacted the child’s parents, talked to them and began addressing the situation. One of Zacheus’ aspirations is to advise, nurture and encourage youth to become responsible adults.

Kristina Esther Gaid De Jesus is an international Global Mission Fellow with the General Board of Global Ministries. Kristina is a member of the North Carolina Conference. Growing up, she was actively involved with her local churches, attended Annual Conference as a lay delegate, and represented the NCCUMC Youth in the Conference Youth Committee. When she was in high school, she learned about the Global Mission Fellows at Annual Conference, and after discernment, believed that it would “best prepare [her] to both start working in the educational system and continue leading in the United Methodist Church.” Kristina earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2024. During her undergraduate education, she majored in Human Development and Family Science, minored in Education, and affiliated with the Pre-Master of Arts in Teaching program. She volunteered for the Boys and Girls Club’s after-school program, and interned at a local elementary school. Kristina was a member of the UNC Ballroom Dance Team, Southeast Asian Student Association, and Wesley Campus Ministry. Outside of school, she was a part-time childcare worker at a local church. She is a Board of Directors member and the Young People representative for the National Association of Filipino-American United Methodists. Kristina described her personal spiritual growth as a process that started with her father, a United Methodist pastor, and her mother, a stay-at-home parent and substitute teacher. She had a weak relationship with God throughout her childhood, until her faith was tested during her first year in college. She recalled, “I slowly depended on and trusted in God more, and eventually joined the UNC Wesley Campus Ministry during my sophomore year.” Kristina continued, “Reflecting upon my past as a United Methodist ‘preacher’s kid,’ and present as a graduating college student, I’ve always been establishing connections while being on the move. In the process, I learned that God transcends beyond buildings and borders, and works in us through other people.” She remembered her father saying, “We’re being shaped by the places we go to.”, and would add: “…and places are being shaped by the people we meet there.” “I feel called to do more than just sit and listen to my father’s sermons, by going out into the world and being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.”