We will be meeting at the Sauder Heritage Inn, located just north of Archbold, Ohio. Sauder Village, located on the campus of the Inn, is a collection of historic homes and community shops. Contemporary and historic crafts are on display. Historic farming and gardening can be experienced first hand. Native American Indian history and culture from the early 1800's is described as well as the lifestyle of the homesteading pioneers from that same period. The town of Archbold is a thriving community, founded by Mennonites in 1834. This community today boasts a strong rural and industrial base, including the Sauder Woodworking Company. The Oberhaus Enterprise maintains a car museum, and is open M-F or by special arrangement on Saturday. You will find this northwestern Ohio community a very interesting place to visit.

Our speakers are Drs. Mike and Amelia Traylor. Mike and Amelia are bi-vocational ministers from the Cleveland, Ohio area. Mike is a pediatrician and Amelia specializes in Ob/Gyn. They have incorporated into the life of their church medical ministry to the uninsured.

Our topic this year is "Living with the Poor – A Model of Medical Ministry."

1. Missional Approaches in ministry to the poor.

1. Theological support
2. Traditional versus missional focus
3. Examples of missional approaches

1. Culture and context in ministering to underserved communities

1. The role of culture in ministering to underserved communities
2. The unspoken rules of poverty

1. Race as a cultural phenomena

1. Failed Christian and secular approaches toward racial reconciliation
2. Evangelical faith: help or hindrance in racial reconciliation
3. Christian approaches to cultural and racial separation

   A two week study guide will be sent to you by email and will assist you as you prepare to attend this very important FMMF consultation. Please inform me of your email address by responding to

   Timothykratzer@hotmail.com.

   Plan now to attend. Make reservations by calling Sauder Heritage Inn, 419 445 6408 or 800 590 9755. A special group rate has been arranged, $85/ night for two. The Inn provides the amenities of a large hotel with the ambiance of a country inn. An indoor pool, hot tub, game room, and exercise room are all provided. You will enjoy this gathering for both the warmth of the Fellowship as well as the comfortable setting. Getting there is convenient. Archbold is on Ohio 66, just 4 miles south of Interstate 80/90.

   You will need to make your reservations by the 26^th of August to be sure of having a reservation at this rate. Make your reservations now so that we know how to plan for this important gathering.

   Looking Back on Consultation 2007

   As we said our good bys at last year's consultation, I heard words of appreciation for our presenters Bishop Joe James and Rev. David Yardy. Marilyn James blessed us with her ministry of music. Expressions such as "best consultation ever" were offered. Rev. Yardy spoke of the Christian distinctive as being the lifting of the poor. Poverty creates a window of opportunity in which lifting the poor brings us to understand what it means lift of Jesus, and as we lift up the poor we also learn what it means to love ourselves. In a following session Yardy went on to describe the history of India and how the Umri Christian Hospital brought Christ into the history of central India. Bishop James spoke of his relationship with the FM Church of India both as bishop and as an individual who biked across India to raise support for the hospital. His description of looking poverty in the face was gripping.

   Our closing service included Communion and a prayer, "Our Calling to the Poor."

   We confess that we have squandered our wealth on ourselves and

   neglected our calling to the poor and disenfranchised,

   We believe that God's own heart is especially tuned to the poor and

   to those who will open their hands to serve them.

   We confess that we allow our standard of living to be set by our culture of comfort

   and excess, and not the Kingdom's culture of radical generosity.

   We believe, that we can "…be made rich in every way so that (we) can be generous

   on every occasion…"

   We confess that we have tried to fulfill our mission to the poor with meager resources -

   our "leftovers" - and token compassion.

   Based on prototypical miracles like the "feeding of the five thousand" we believe that

   miracles of multiplication and provision for the multitudes occur when God's

   people courageously give away what they themselves need.

   We confess that we have seen holiness mainly in moral terms rather than ministry power.

   We believe that whomever the Holy Spirit fills, receives discernment, wisdom,

   empowerment and resources sufficient to liberate people from physical and

   spiritual poverty, transforming individuals and whole communities.

   News and Views:

   >Bishop James is now superintendant for the Wabash Conference. He was able to visit the church in India this past year.

   >Rev. David Yardy has accepted the position of associate executive director of Free Methodist World Missions. Some of his responsibilities as Asian Area Assistant are being delegated to national leaders.

   >Hope Africa University continues to build and expand. A group met in Spring Arbor prior to the annual CAHO meeting to advise in the development of the Frank Ogden Medical School and School of Nursing.

   >Dan and Dee Ann Snyder have been reappointed by Free Methodist World Missions to return to Haiti, to work at Dessalines Hospital. They are presently building their support base, both for their personal support and their ministry. If interested, email Dan at ddsnyder5@sbcglobal.net.

   >Frank and Carol Ogden arrived back from Burundi in April, in time to be part of the annual CAHO meeting in Spring Arbor, MI. While in Burundi, they worked with the staff at Kibuye Hospital and saw the start of construction of the dormitory for medical students. Funds are needed to complete this project.

   >Ed and Linda Lamoreaux traveled to Burundi in February to see first hand what is happening at Hope Africa University and Kibuye Hospital.

   >Linda Stryker sent an email report to CAHO regarding the present medical work in Eastern Congo. Randy and Alice Matthewson have visited Central Arica recently to report on what is happening at Nundu Hospital and prepare for rebuilding the infrastructure of the hospital.

   >James and Esther Manoharan have informed me that the Yardy English School (YES) in Umri has a new website: http://www.yardyschool.in/. Check it out and keep in mind that the Umri Christian Hospital continues the capital fund campaign to rebuild the infrastructure of the hospital.

   >Dave and Kathy Fryman are back in Indianapolis from an abbreviated stay at Kibogora Hospital in Rwanda. Kathy is receiving treatment for ovarian cancer and requests your prayer support.

   >Bruce and Judy Young are on assignment to Kibogora Hospital.

   >CMDA has surveyed medical students interested in medical missions as to the barriers they face in the pursuit of medical missions. My take on the survey is that there certainly must be medical and dental students who are a part of the Free Methodist Church who need us to nurture their calling to medical missions. We have added several such names to our contact list over the past year.

   Too Much Forgiveness, Too Much Love

   I continue to be informed about the realities of life as I share real life experiences with my grandchildren. It was Father's Day morning. I, my oldest son Ken, and four eager boys were trying our hand at fishing. I had just been introduced to the technique of catfish fishing. Place cat blood bait on a triple hook, add a sinker eighteen inches in from the hook, then cast out and wait. In our two hours of waiting we caught one small sized catfish. I was quite pleased considering that on my previous try a week before we had caught nothing.

   However, I was also a bit frustrated by the impatience of my fishing crew. It seems that I would place the bait, assist with a successful cast, turn my back just a minute to assist another young fisherman, and then turn back to find the line out of the water. I could get everything set up, but the problem came with the waiting. But that was not the only problem. One especially anxious young fisherman would not wait for me to assist with the cast. He thought he had the skills adequate to cast on his own. The results? Tangled fish lines on at least four tries. Needless to say I spent much of my time undoing tangles. My son Ken was quick to observe it was best to cut the line and start over.

   I shared my frustrations with Ken as we packed up to go home and prepare for the Sunday church service. You must know that there are now 12 children, many with emotional and developmental needs, in the Ken and Tara household. So I found myself going on how immature these children were. You could guess Ken's observation. "Dad," he said, "We did our share of messing up when we were kids."

   And then I remembered how many times I had tangled up my own life with ill-advised choices and uninformed decisions. And I could remember the many times I had to come back to my Heavenly Father to ask for forgiveness and plead for assistance to get out of the messes I had put myself into. Unfortunately in the reality of life it is not simply a matter of cutting the line and starting over. It takes time for healing to take place and God's grace to work.

   Early in the presidential primaries I heard a voter lament how much religion had become a part of politics. She said, in protesting religion in politics, "There is too much forgiveness and too much love." I found her comment curious. I know that she was trying to say that she did not want an individual's personal religious views to influence decisions related to public policy. But can we ever have too much forgiveness and too much love? I know that in being a grandparent there is no limit in how much we should forgive and love. Indeed, God has never failed to forgive me, despite all the tangled messes I have gotten into.

   I look forward to seeing you at this year's Consultation where we will learn more about God's love and grace in a tangled, needy world.

   Tim Kratzer, President, FMMF