March-April Issue     bnf is a Compassion Ministry of WMU     March 15, 2023

Executive Committee Retreat

Your BNF Executive Committee (EC) met the first weekend of March in Madison, Mississippi to plan and coordinate efforts to move the organization forward. The committee had a wonderful time worshipping, working, and fellowshipping together. EC retreat is always and important time, not only because of the work that is accomplished, but it is a time when a sense of unity and team is established. Outcomes from the EC work during the retreat include:

• Committees will now be called ‘teams’. The EC agreed that each team member of a specific team has a vital role and that the team members work together as a team to accomplish the goals and objectives of that team.

• Strategic Planning. The EC members have set goals and objectives to meet those goals in the coming year. Below are the goals of each team. Contact the team leaders if interested in the objectives to meet those goals.

Mission Team: Provide mission opportunities and resources for the members of the organization.

Prayer Team: Enrich member’s spiritual development in Christ through prayer experiences and emphasizes.

Membership Team: Maintain and expand membership and fellowship activities for the organization.

Communication Team: Maintain an effective information sharing process between the EC and members and stakeholders of the organization. 

Education Team: Maintain and increase the educational opportunities for the organization.

Nomination Team: Identify qualified candidates for EC positions and identify and notify team leaders of potential team members. 

Resource Team: Develop effective financial resource streams for support of BNF purposes and objective.

• Bylaws and policy review. The EC looked closely at the bylaws and made suggestions for needed updates. Charlotte Rock, president-elect and membership team lead, has established a bylaws committee who will be looking at the suggestions and other needed changes. These updates will be presented to the members in late summer for consideration.

• The pilot project voted on by the membership at the 2022 Summit is going well. The Missions & Prayer Committee will be split into two teams. The Student Liaison Committee will be dissolved and student liaison activities will be absorbed by the Membership Team. The bylaws committee will provide updates in bylaws and policies.

• 2023 Summit Planning. The EC had the pleasure of visiting First Baptist Jackson, MS, the site of our BNF Summit the first weekend in November. Other preliminary plans for the summit were discussed, especially the 40^th birthday celebration of BNF. The EC is excited about the summit this fall.

EC team leaders and their contact information is listed below. Please feel free to contact them with any questions or comments and if you are interested in joining their team. 

President:              Deborah Bolian      dhb41155@aol.com

Membership: Charolette Rock CSMRock6812@gmail.com

-Student Liaison:  Claudia Hayes        claudia4bnf@gmail.com    

Communication:      Benita Decker         bldecker58@gmail.com     

Education:             Barbara Goodman   bgoodman503@live.com

Mission:                 CharlotteWyckoff    charlottedunnwyckoff@gmail.com

Prayer:                  Donna Rodgers       drodgers54@gmail.com

Nomination:          Lisa Vesser             lvesser@tnwesleyan.edu

Resource:            Debby Akerman      debakerman@aol.com

Exec. Director:        Marilyn Graves        bnfexec@gmail.com

Part of International Mission Board missionary and nurse practitioner Rachel’s ministry in a rural area of Southeast Asia is educating elementary school girls on their health. These girls are often forced by their families to drop out of school by the sixth grade in order to provide income.

She and her IMB colleague Anna, missionary and public health specialist, know they have a short time to interact with these girls before they enter the workforce at 12 years old. The pair sees how the care they offer leads to conversations about the girls’ God-given value and worth.

The apparent lack of value placed on a girl’s life and education is a prevalent problem, according to Anna and Rachel. Boys are generally allowed to continue their education for longer. While health education is only one facet of what Anna and Rachel do, Rachel is most passionate about this work. Her first day on the job, she wasn’t sure what to say to the girls. Rachel said she loves helping the girls to understand they have worth in God’s eyes.

In the rural area of Southeast Asia where Anna and Rachel serve, one needn’t look far to find other pressing and untreated problems. Health issues abound from a lack of education about hygiene to diseases such as diabetes and issues like hypertension.

Anna and Rachel see these pressing physical, emotional and spiritual needs as an avenue for ministry. They find open doors to deliver the gospel through a community health outreach based in rural primary schools.

The two medical missionaries, alongside their team of national believers, have built relationships with the government, allowing them to enter schools, teach basic hygiene and supply hygiene needs.

This most often takes the form of a program — equipped with catchy tunes and hand motions — teaching kids in the schools how to correctly brush their teeth and wash their hands. Often, they’ll supply proper handwashing stations, and sometimes, they’ll facilitate building suitable bathrooms to help with poor sanitation.

They’ve even started building mini-libraries for the schools, encouraging the kids to fall in love with reading. They’ve partnered with a Christian book publisher in the country. The books provided are compelling stories, to the untrained eye. To those who know the Scripture, though, they’re adapted from God’s Word.

These programs also opened doors for them to distribute gospel materials, such as Creation-to-Christ books, coinciding with their annual Christmas presentation. While government restrictions prohibit openly sharing the gospel in large groups, they have found many ways to share it in more intimate settings.

They build relationships with teachers, and through those friendships they can enter teachers’ homes and conduct routine checkups on their family. The medical duo said there is no better way to “pass time” while taking blood pressure, listening to a heart or lungs, or doing a finger stick to monitor blood sugar than to share the gospel.

Despite the abundance of physical and emotional issues in the area, the only issue with lasting consequence is that of lostness. And it abounds. Animism rules the day in this Southeast Asian country. Every other religion that has a grip on the area is influenced by it, including the other prevalent religion, Buddhism.

But, as the missionaries and national believers help push back the darkness, they believe health strategies can be vital to the missionary task. “We never want to do the healing without the preaching,” Anna said.

Last names omitted for security reasons.

Photo above article: Girls in a Southeast Asian elementary school are taught about their health and their God-given value.

Photo in middle of article: IMB missionaries Anna and Rachel and their team of national believers are grateful for the time they get to teach girls about their value before they enter the workforce to help their families. Both are IMB Photos

Source:https://www.imb.org/2022/08/30/teaching-kids-hygiene-god-given-worth/

The Marjorie Grober Special Projects Fund was initiated in 1995 to assist BNF nurses with projects locally and globally. Named for retired missionary to Brazil and former Arkansas WMU President and BNF President Elect, Marjorie Grober, some of the fund can be used this year to support the post BNF Summit medical clinic in Jackson, Mississippi.

Each year 20-30 Summit attendees stay on to serve underserved neighborhoods with their medical knowledge and skills. All who come experience the love of Jesus and hear how they can know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Spiritual seeds that are planted will be nurtured by the local church hosting the clinic.

Invite your small groups, friends, and colleagues to join you in giving. When you give to the Marjorie Grober Special Projects Fund you give a “Gift that Keeps on Giving”.

You can give to the Grober Fund by clicking the link below or by selecting ‘support’ on the Baptist Nursing Fellowship website.  

Come and celebrate bnf's 40th birthday! You are encouraged to make your hotel reservations now to ensure you have a room and to get the best price in these turbulent economic times. Below are a list of hotels and current prices.

Home2 Suites by Hilton Jackson Pearl

435 Riverwind Dr, Pearl, MS 39208•

(601) 566-1055- Internet price lists $116 King/ 2 Queens

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/janpeht-home2-suites-jackson-pearl/

Hampton Inn Jackson/Pearl-International Airport

1234 Phillips Ln, Pearl, MS 39208•

(601) 932-7676- Internet price lists $108 King/2 Queens

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/janplhx-hampton-jackson-pearl-international-airport/

Courtyard by Marriott Jackson Airport/Pearl

415 Riverwind Dr, Pearl, MS 39208•

(601) 914-4888- Internet price lists $118 King/2 Queens

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/janap-courtyard-jackson-airport-pearl/overview/?scid=f2ae0541-1279-4f24-b197-a979c79310b0

La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Jackson Airport

501 S Pearson Rd, Pearl, MS 39208

(601) 664-0065- Internet price lists $80 King/2 Queens

https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/laquinta

Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Jackson Airport

407 Riverwind Dr, Pearl, MS 39208•

(601) 936-3434- Internet price lists $113 King/2 Queens

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/janfa-fairfield-inn-and-suites-jackson-airport/overview/?scid=f2ae0541-1279-4f24-b197-a979c79310b0

March 15 – September 15

Invite people to join bnf and win prizes

1^st Prize – free membership 2024

2^nd Prize – bnf portfolio

3^rd Prize- wood nativity set made in Argentina

Prizes awarded to those recruiting the most new members. Qualifying new members include persons who have never been a member of national bnf or

someone who has not been a member in the last 3 years. Once the person joins and pays dues, you receive credit.

March - April Health Awareness

10 Facts You Need to Know About Colon Cancer

Fact #1:  Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer related deaths in men and women in the U.S. The CDC and the American Cancer Society estimate that more than 50,000 Americans die from colon cancer each year.

Fact #2:  Colon cancer may be inherited. People with a family history of colon cancer have two to five times more risk of having colon cancer.

Fact #3: Colon Cancer affects both men and women of all ethnicities.

Fact #4:  People with colorectal cancer may feel completely healthy. There may be subtle signs and symptoms if a person has colon cancer including fatigue, weakness, weight loss, abdominal pain, and rectal bleeding. However, many people have no symptoms at all, especially during the early stages. That is why screening for colon cancer is extremely important!

Fact #5:  Colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer. 

Fact #6:  Colonoscopy is the most effective colorectal cancer screening test. While there are several types of colorectal screening and detection tests: stool testing, radiological imaging and flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy is the only test in which the entire colon can be visualized and pre-cancerous polyps removed.

Fact #7:  All average risk people should have a screening colonoscopy as early as age 45.

Fact #8:  Colorectal screening saves lives. The 5-year survival rate after detection and treatment of early stage colon cancer can be as high as 90%.

Fact #9: Many Americans are not being screened for colon cancer when they should, despite the life-saving benefits.

Fact #10: Adopting healthy habits may help lower your colorectal cancer risk. Eat a healthy diet that includes vegetables, fruits and whole grain fiber and is low in fats. Avoid tobacco and heavy alcohol use. Regular physical activity and maintaining a normal body weight are also beneficial.

April is Stress Awareness month. We experience stress in many different ways. A small amount of stress is not always a bad thing, but too much of it can have a detrimental impact on our physical and emotional health. Finding a healthy balance and effective ways to manage stress are key.

Some strategies to reduce stress include:

•  Spend time in prayer
• Spend time outdoors
• Write in a gratitude journal
• Engage in physical activity
• Eat a healthy diet
• Get adequate sleep
• Participate in an enjoyable hobby or activity