|
Home
Chinese Flag Joins Roster of Triennial XII Countries
CHICAGO, IL (June 20, 2007) – For the first time in the history of the Women Ministries Triennial meetings, the Chinese flag will be carried by a woman from this communist country.
The woman, who is referred to only as Susan for security purposes, received her visa this week to travel to the United States for Triennial XII, to be held August 9-12 in Chicago. The North Pacific Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church is sponsoring her trip.
Susan became a believer following several encounters with Covenanters from Oklahoma who were in China on a work-related trip. The same Covenanters opened an English and computer science post-high school training center, and teacher Barbara Johnson befriended Susan.
“I had the privilege of meeting Susan and having dinner when I visited Barbara in 2005,” says Ruth Hill, executive minister of Women Ministries. “We dreamed about her coming to Triennial even then.”
The Women Ministries “Raise the Flag” initiative in all the conferences seeks to secure sponsors for international representatives so they can attend Triennials.
The initiative has faced obstacles this year because visas have proven more difficult to obtain than in the past. Visas for all the candidates from Congo, Mexico and Colombia were denied, Hill says.
The women’s poverty has been the primary reason for the denials, Hill says. U.S. State Department officials were concerned that the women would not return to their home countries, even though they were leaving small children behind.
Lily Yakote, director of the Educate the Girls program in Congo, recently lost her appeal. “We are still waiting for news from leaders in Ecuador and Sudan,” Hill says. “The Sudanese woman is traveling right now to Nairobi, Kenya, to apply for her visa since there is no U.S. Consulate in Sudan.”
Other women who have obtained visas are coming from Germany, Japan, Russia, Czech Republic and Spain. Alternate leaders with visas have been found from Mexico, Congo and Colombia.
More than 1,000 women already have registered for the event. Registrations are still being accepted, Hill notes. To register or to obtain more information, visit Triennial XII.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
|
|
|
