Newsletter for International Christian Hospice
February - April 2010

We are joining all believers around the world, this time of year, in remembering and celebrating our Savior’s death and resurrection. We pray that you will join us this Easter season in renewing our faith in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. He is worthy of all praise, He who offers His grace freely to us, the One who would rather die than be separated from us now and for eternity!

International Christian Hospice has all the more reason to press on in our mission because of the living, risen Christ! He is the giver of each day of life and has a plan to give hope and peace even when we do not know how much time we have left to live.

Central America News

We returned to Guatemala in February to spend time with Dr. Sergio at his small mission hospital in Chocola. We learned both happy and sad news. You may recall our ministry time with Dr. Sergio last July. We had the joy of seeing Bayron and his family decide to follow Jesus. In January, Bayron died of liver disease. We rejoice that God granted him 6 more months with his family as a new man in Christ! Together they joined a local church, where the Pastor and staff had received ICH training, and now Luciana and the three boys are being surrounded by them.

We also learned of two other terminal patients with whom we had the opportunity to do hospice ministry and they have gone on to be with the Lord. Please pray for the grieving family of a 57 year old mother and grandmother as well the family of an 18 year old boy who died of Leukemia. Please pray for Dr. Sergio and his staff. They and many believers who live in this community received ICH training to have an ongoing outreach to those who are dying and their families.

It is always a joy to report the blessings and success when a team joins us in ministry. In February we welcomed our team of four people to Honduras for a week of training seminars. We extend our thanks to Don and Sue Smith from Lexington Baptist Church, in S.C. who have become experienced ICH team leaders/trainers and brought with them Linda Lovern, also from LBC, for her first field work. Thank you also to Linda Gill, Hospice RN, from Taylorsville, N.C. who came to work with this team. They presented ICH training for 172 people, including interdenominational church workers, community leaders, medical personnel and business owners. 30 of these people are Pastors serving throughout the large central region of Honduras. Once again it was reinforced to us by these folks how they valued the Christian Hospice teaching we shared. Several Pastors came to us personally to say how difficult they find it to visit and minister to people who are ill and facing death. Now they have counseling skills as well as a better understanding of the stages of death and grief that will help them in their desire to help others.


The remainder of our work in Honduras this spring was spent in preparation for the future. God opened the door for a meeting with Dr. Rodas, a leading pioneer in Palliative Medicine, in the capital city, Tegucigalpa. Dr. Barbra McCune, who directs an Episcopal mission clinic, joined us at this meeting and we all shared a common passion of bringing comfort care to people at the end of their lives. Dr. Rodas has a small day clinic where he sees patients with end stage diseases and then he drives to visit hospice patients in their homes within a 2 hour radius of the city. He is an example of the small segment of the medical community who are beginning to be aware of the huge need for end-of-life care. ICH is pressing on in our goals to encourage and educate the nationals, such as Dr. Rodas. We discussed together the possibility in the future for a Hospice/Palliative care workshop for physicians in Central America. Our meeting with him and Dr. Barbra was closed with a sweet time of prayer in which we all recommitted ourselves to serving together to bring comfort, dignity and hope in Jesus’ name to people who are suffering and dying.

While in Tegucigalpa we had the opportunity to make a home visit with our Volunteer Coordinator, Lourdes Argueta. She and her church have been providing hospice support to our young friend Ever, and his family, whom we have known for 1 ½ years now. It was a blessing to see his smiling face and we could detect the huge effort he made to get into the electric wheelchair ICH had provided. Ron was able to make some adjustments to his electric hospital bed and we delivered some much needed food and medications to his home. The toll of chronic, systemic infection was evident in his very thin, frail
body but Ever testified again to God’s faithfulness on the good days and the bad. Please pray for Ever and his family during his slow decline, and for the ICH ministry that is supporting him. Thank you Lourdes, and our other ICH volunteers, who are at work serving God and their own people through ICH in Honduras.

New Mission Members

We wish to welcome Richard and Babara Banis who have joined ICH as missionaries. We had the honor of working with them in Israel 10 years ago and became friends with a common goal in service for the Lord. When we founded ICH seven years ago they were our first supporters and biggest encouragers. We are thankful to God for opening this door of ministry to them and for the experience and skills they are bringing with them. Rich and Babara have served as full time missionaries for 28 years working in many different countries. They both have strong organizational and management skills, as well as Rich’s accounting experience. They are based in Marshall, N.C. and Rich’s primary responsibility will be to keep the financial books for ICH. We believe that God has sent them to minister with us and look forward to serving with them. They are faith-supported missionaries, and will only receive the donations designated for them through ICH.

Please Read their introduction letter.

BANIS BEACON
Winter 2010



Proverbs 16:9, “The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps”

Dear friends and family,

A new year holds great possibilities. How will God reveal Himself to us? Are we ready at our age to receive from Him new challenges and a new direction? Several years ago our daughter-in-love gave us a beautiful wall hanging that says: “When God closes one door He opens another.” After 28 years with Helps International Ministries, God is closing the door there for us and has opened another door. As we change our direction the Lord has new plans for us.

Seven years ago our friends, Ron and Susan (a hospice nurse) Naish, started a new ministry, International Christian Hospice. We were involved with its inception with suggestions, encouragement and Barbara’s secretarial skills. She was privileged to type the handbook for the seminars that Ron and Susan give. It started slowly, but has since grown to seminars being held in several countries and the U.S. Rich is doing ICH’s accounting and is on the Board of Directors. We feel the Lord calling us to serve Him now through ICH.

The ministry verse of ICH is 2 Cor. 1:3,4, “Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Not only are seminars held, but what a tremendous opportunity to share the Gospel with the dying and their families. In many overseas countries hospice care is unheard of. When someone has a terminal illness they are left alone to die. Ron and Susan teach caregivers how to care for the dying to make the remainder of their lives more comfortable. Many times the dying and their families hear of God’s saving power and accept Him as their personal Savior. For more information about ICH look at their website: http://www.ichospice.org/ or the blog at http://www.ichospiceblogspot.com/.

We will minister with them as much as possible through accounting, any secretarial skills needed and taking trips overseas when possible. We appreciate the prayer and financial support you have given us over the years and would ask that you continue the support and send it to: ICH, 303 Madison Heights Drive, Marshall, NC 28753. For you who have supported us with prayer we ask you to continue to pray for us especially through this transition. If God leads you to support us in this new ministry we will greatly appreciate it. As always your gifts will be tax deductable.

It has been a pleasure serving the Lord with you these last 28 years and look forward to serving the Lord together again with you.

Still available to Him,

Rich and Barbara

Contact them at : 303 Madison Heights Dr. Marshall, N.C.


South Africa News

ICH in South Africa continues with God’s blessings under the direction of LaVerne Busbee. In just a brief update we can tell you that she is continuing to work in several villages with Home Based Care givers, AIDs patients and is also providing ongoing ICH education. Living with the South African villagers since July ‘09 she has demonstrated daily her compassionate hand-on approach. LaVerne is seeing fruit to her labor as several more people have come to faith in Christ through her ministry. She is now praying about how God is leading her in future ministry with ICH. LaVerne is also faith-supported and receives only the donations designated for her from her supporters.

Another Language

Another piece of exciting news is the completion of our Pastor’s training manual in Haitian Creole. A dear friend named Paula, whom we met in Dominican Republic, has been working for several months on this translation between her own ministry work during this time of turmoil following the earthquake in Haiti. Much thanks to her and to the Lord for this fourth language in which ICH will be available.


Praise:
· Central America ministry time this spring
· Pastors and laypeople trained for Christian Hospice work
· New translation of ICH materials into Haitian Creole
· New believers through ICH ministry
· Rich and Barbara Banis new ICH missionaries




Prayer:
· Team preparation for Guatemala and Honduras in July and August
· LaVerne Busbee, South Africa ICH
· Future plans for Hospice/Palliative Care Center in Honduras
· Financial needs for ICH work to continue
· Web site improvement
· Development of business plan and upcoming Board of Director’s meeting


Thank you for your prayers and interest in International Christian Hospice. We are honored to serve God and be an extension of each of you taking hope and comfort in Christ to rest of the world.

Donations to ICH are tax deductible. Send to:

International Christian Hospice
145 Chillingham Rd.
Irmo, S.C. 29063

• International Christian Hospice News Update for January 2010
  Ecuador is an amazingly beautiful country set within the majestic Andes Mountains of South America. It was our privilege to fly to Quito, the capitol, and spend 10 days learning and experiencing some of what God is doing there. Since meeting Sheila Leech, RN in November at the Global Health Mission Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, we were eager to respond to her invitation to visit the two organizations she is working with which provide hospice care in Ecuador.

  HCJB (radio call letters) has been present for nearly 80 years in Ecuador as the hub of Christian radio broadcasts. Not only do they minister with multilingual radio programming stations all over the world but they also have a Medical Mission arm of which Sheila is the International Director. She has served in Ecuador for 30 years and currently organizes and leads medical teams to provide health care globally. Sheila has just returned from doing medical relief work in Haiti. Please pray with us for Sheila and her team of doctors and nurses, both U.S. and Ecuadorians, who are at this time giving medical care in Ghana, Africa in Jesus’ name. We wish to thank her for her hospitality and time spent with us during her brief time back at her base of ministry in Quito between her worldwide travels.
  One of the highlights of our time in Ecuador included Hospice Children’s Day. 30 children, whose families have been served by Hospice and have experienced a death of a loved one this past year, gathered Saturday January 23rd for a day of fun and learning. The Palliative Care/Hospice staff, including medical doctors, nurses, a psychologist, volunteers and chaplains of the Jersey Foundation presented activities, games and crafts designed to address the grief of these children. We all had fun participating and helping the children to express their feelings and each were given opportunities to talk about their loved one who died. Much creativity and love went into their creations of memory boxes and stickpin boards. Several HCJB volunteers, including Sheila, minister with the Jersey Foundation in hospice patient care, support groups and bereavement of adults and children.
  The Jersey Foundation has a Palliative Care/ Hospice program unique to the Quito area. The missionary director, Dr. Nicky Bailhache from Jersey Island of England, invited us to observe several aspects of the ministry she has developed over the past nine years. She, along with Ecuadorian Dr. Ximena Pozo, are both specialists in Palliative Care and provide disease and symptom management for patients who have terminal illnesses. We accompanied Dr. Nicky and Amanda, registered nurse, on home visits one day. We saw the love of God in action as they helped patients and families who are coping with physical, emotional and spiritual problems common near the end of life.
  Later in the week Sheila Leech invited us to the Day Hospice Center which she directs for HCJB. We enjoyed a delightful day with five patients who are terminally ill but still able to gather for crafts, music, Bible study and a meal once a week. We were honored to see this loving, volunteer team laugh with, serve and bring God’s living word into the lives of people who are often the forgotten ones.
  What great learning experiences we had this week observing and working with others who have the common passion for Christ-centered Hospice care around the world. Thank you to the Jersey Foundation Team for their time meeting with us and sharing what they have learned. We remember the words spoken to us by the nurse Amanda after a home visit, “How can someone hear our words if they are suffering and in pain?” Another person once said, “People don’t care about what you know until they know that you care!” Our Savior taught us by example as He ministered to people’s physical needs so their spiritual eyes could be opened. These truths are coming to life through this vibrant, God directed hospice ministry tucked away in the Andes Mountains.
  One afternoon we had the opportunity to take a tram-lift from the city of Quito which is at 9,000 ft. elevation up to 13,400 ft. for breathtaking views. Yes, literally breathtaking! Our cardiovascular and respiratory systems had to adjust to this height where oxygen masks are recommended if one were in an airplane at that altitude. We hiked slowly up to where we could view the snow capped volcano Cotopaxi to the south emerging between layers of clouds and a glistening glacier to the east. Although we wore coats and hats because of the frigid wind, we both got light sunburns on our limited amount of exposed skin. Weather on the equator is so unique that the temperature varies only a few degrees year round.
  We were greatly encouraged and uplifted through the things we learned during this time of ministry. We feel like we were students in school again and we eagerly tried to absorb all we could about hospice serving the people in this culture. God has shown us some exciting new possibilities for International Christian Hospice through all the people we met serving Him in Ecuador. We also learned more about the challenges we face in order to grow International Christian Hospice in the direction He desires.
  We anticipate this year to be one of growth and request that you join us in prayer for the following:
  · Additional board members, particularly a Medical Director
  · Technical assistance with web and media
  · Revised, improved and expanded training materials and modules
  · Follow-up ministry among the existing ICH trained Pastors, Volunteers and Medical Personnel
  · God directed strategy to fulfill the organizational vision and goals
  · Financial partners who have the common passion of reaching people who are nearing death with the comfort, peace and hope only Christ can give
  
  
  
• In February and March we will be returning to Honduras and Guatemala. Pray for us as we travel and also for a Team from Lexington, S.C. who will be joining us there in ministry.
  
  

God bless you for your interest and for any financial gifts that God may lead you to give.
Please make them to: International Christian Hospice Tax deductible receipts available.
145 Chillingham Rd. Irmo, S.C. 29063

International Christian Hospice Newsletter October to December 2009
Christmas blessings to you in honor of our Savior Jesus Christ… Immanuel… God with us!
Thank you, everyone, for your love, support and prayers as we have completed our 6th year of service to God. We desire to give Him the praise for what He has done and for what He has in store for the future!
Would you like to join us in ministry here or abroad this coming year? Help is needed on Mission Teams and in administrative/organizational work. Please contact us by email or phone.
October teturn to Honduras:

Thank you for your prayers for Ron and Don Smith as they experienced a very fruitful and safe time in Honduras. God went before them in preparing the way for several important meetings. Plans were made with our ICH Central American Director, Pastor Francisco Ilias and Central American Director of Volunteers, Lourdes Arguetta, for teams returning to Honduras in 2010. They met with key leaders of many churches, the Evangelical Hospital and Project Aldea Global to continue prayer and dialog about expansion of ICH in Central America. During their time in Honduras the political situation remained uncertain but order is returning. They witnessed that God is empowering the Honduran believers and current government leaders to stand firm against the unconstitutional dictatorship President Zaleya attempted to establish last June. They heard many testimonies of prayer and spiritual revivals occurring in towns and villages throughout the country in spite of the increasingly desperate economical times they are living in. God’s mighty hand is continuing His purpose through His people there and His purpose for ICH bringing hope and peace even in uncertain times. The latest news is of a peaceful election on November 29th and a new President who begins his term in January. Pray for this man and this nation to remain a democratic nation with strong spiritual freedom.

November : - Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, Kentucky
-ICH Team Conference Day in Lexington, S.C.
“Every year it just gets better!” We agree that this Louisville conference week has become a highlight of our year! We were honored to rub shoulders with thousands of people serving Christ through health care ministries from all over the world. ICH was among hundreds of exhibitors and we thank our four ICH team leaders and Sean Steiner from Abby Road Hospice who attended with us and helped to man our booth. God’s presence was felt and He reminded us all as we listened to powerful speakers and fellow missionaries that, " HE IS ALIVE AND ACTIVELY CHANGING LIVES THROUGH THE HANDS OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS AROUND THE WORLD"!

The ICH Team is growing, Praise God! Saturday, November 21, we had a great day of planning, sharing and prayer at Lexington Baptist Church. We thank the twelve people, representing four churches, who gathered with us because they share the same vision for taking the good news of hope in Christ around the world. We are seeing the reality of the dream God gave us for multiplying teams of ICH trainers to be prepared to move through open doors of opportunity. Please continue to pray for these and many more folks to join ICH in short or long-term ministry.
December: Dominican Republic Mission trip Ron and Susan were accompanied by four team members for ten days of ministry. It was a privilege to offer ICH training seminars to over 200 people, in churches, an AIDs treatment clinic and mission training center located in five districts of the Dominican Republic. Many testimonies were given like the woman who stood and told us about her mother’s recent illness and death. She shared with the group that the teaching we gave was just what she had experienced and she wished she had known before what to expect and what to do. One Pastor shared with the group that the ICH information is powerful and necessary for his church members because right now they know many people in their town who are sick and dying. He expressed his desire for more training and issued an invitation to speak to 200 additional Pastors from many denominations. Thank you to our Nazarene friends for opening this huge door where the need is so great. Thanks also to those who are providing medical care to over 3,000 people at the IDEV AIDs Clinic. We pray that our teaching about how to minister to people with life-threatening illnesses and grief will reflect the compassionate heart of God to those they touch daily.
On Sunday we were refreshed and ministered to in a worship service lead by our missionary friend Dr. Francisco Sabado. He and his wife, Dr. Diane, are currently caring for patients in need of palliative and hospice care in the home setting. We will never forget the surprise “Christmas Caroling” we received the evening before we left. We opened our front door when we heard Caribbean style drums, tambourines and percussion instruments wishing us “Felice Navidad”. This group of ten friends from church danced and sang their way into the house and then we served cookies and cokes to complete the celebration. Unfortunately we had to decline the tradition of joining them to move on from home to home singing then gathering more people along the way all night long.
What’s ahead in 2010?

January: Ron and Susan will be traveling to Ecuador to visit with a Hospice Mission currently active in Quito. They hope to learn how hospice is meeting needs and reaching both home care patients and in-patients. Please pray!

February: Ron and Susan will be ministering in Honduras. A team from Lexington Baptist Church will join them to lead a week of Hospice training seminars. Please pray!
Spring Please pray for ministry plans that are pending. We need God’s guidance and discernment as we consider the direction of ICH in two areas: returning for follow-up to countries where current ICH ministry is being done and expanding into new countries from which we are receiving a growing number of invitations. Please pray also for financial resources so that ICH can continue to take the message of hope and comfort in Christ to people who are dying around the world!
As we come to the end of 2009 and look forward to the new beginning in 2010 may God’s Word speak from His heart to yours!
Psalm 119:29-31(NLT) “Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in the heaven. Your faithfulness extends to every generation…your laws remain true to this day, for everything serves your plan. “

Serving Him with you,
Ron and Susan Naish intlchristianhospice@yahoo.com 803-781-0656
Tax deductible Donations received at: ICH 145 Chillingham Rd. Irmo, S.C. 29063

News from ICH missionary to South Africa LaVerne Busbee
LaVerne has written some great news of God’s work in South Africa! Recently two ladies made decisions for Christ because LaVerne is faithfully ministering to the sick and dying. She wrote of the funeral she attended which left several orphaned children. The Pastors sometimes performs 3 funerals a day because of AIDs. Many of the orphaned children come to the Center where she

teaches Bible lessons and offer a midday meal. LaVerne is also giving Hospice training at the Center to volunteers in the Home Based Care. These ladies proudly wear their aprons as they work alongside LaVern visiting and demonstrating Christ’s love in the villages. It is through these home visits and hands-on care that God is opening many more hearts to the Gospel of peace and hope amidst the ever present toll AIDs is taking on the lives of the young and the old. Please pray for LaVern as she ministers with ICH.

Newsletter July-September 2009
International Christian Hospice (ICH)

Dear family and friends,

Thank you for your prayers and understanding about the recent email scam against us. It was distressing to experience someone falsely impersonating us as being stranded in England and needing funds then pirating away our complete contact list. Thankfully we still had access to our old email through Bellsouth so we could alert most of you. Please note this new email address which will now be our primary contact place at intlchristianhospice@yahoo.com. No one is immune to these sorts of “bumps in the road” but God was not surprised nor was His plan thwarted for us and ICH. We are trusting in Him as we press on with the work He has given us of taking hope and comfort in Christ to the world!
July and August What is happening in Honduras and Guatemala?
Proverbs 16:9 “We can make our plans but the Lord determines our steps.” Most of you are aware of the unstable political situation in Honduras since President Zelaya was removed and replaced by Micheletti in early July. Through phone conversations and emails we have stayed in touch with missionary and national friends in Honduras. They all are OK but everyone is feeling the impact of limited travel, decreased supply and higher prices of goods, uncertainty about the future of their democracy and freedom. It was a difficult decision to cancel our travel taking one of our teams to Honduras this summer. We continue to ask for prayer for this country, its’ government, the believers and particularly those who are doing and receiving Christian Hospice care. We thank God for the many ICH trained volunteers, Pastors and leaders who now are continuing the work to bring hope in Christ especially when the circumstances around look grim. Ron with Don Smith, a Team Leader from Lexington, S.C. will be traveling to Honduras in October to encourage our friends and view the situation making plans for our return to Central America in January. Please pray for these dear folks and for God’s direction for ICH ministry in this region.

Our thanks to the 8 members of our Guatemala Team from Biltmore Baptist Church. They joined us in ministry in the Hospital Cristiano Santa Fe about 45 minutes from Matzatenango.
It was an amazing week and we saw God’s hand everywhere we turned. We worked along side Dr. Sergio Castillo and his wife Veronica who serve the poor among their own people offering health care and God’s love. As Dr. Sergio says, “We do not only heal the body but the spirit also, in Jesus’ name.” During our 10 days of ministry there were 8 adults and 200 children who received Christ. Our team offered pre and post-op care for surgical patients, vision screening and fitting of glasses for over 100 people, a fresh coat of paint at another clinic site, VBS daily with over 200 children attending from the surrounding villages, and Christian Hospice training or Pastors, health care workers and

church volunteers. The team had several opportunities to go into homes to visit and minister personally to individual families. One day Dr. Sergio introduced us to Bayron, Lucianna and their 3 sons. Bayron has been one of his patients and now is dying of end stage liver disease at the age of 39. Because of his addiction to alcohol his family has experienced many crisis, loss of job and home, and now Bayron is beyond medical help. His days are spent mostly sleeping, fighting high fevers, some mental confusion and eating very little. Lucianna tends a small store out of the front room of their small rental home to keep them going. They have had problems with their oldest teenaged son rebelling and staying out of the home until late at night. Three team members, Yesinia, Teresa and Terry, joined with us to visit their home one afternoon. Everyone was home and we had a precious time of listening to them talk about their lives and also sharing the good news of hope and peace through Christ.

That day we knelt with Bayron, Lucianna, and the 2 older sons as they decided to follow Jesus. Joy and tears marked a new beginning and Ron encouraged Bayron with a reminder that he now has the opportunity to “finish well” leaving a legacy of faith for his sons rather than hopelessness and failure. The next day we returned for a follow-up visit and heard Bayron and Lucianna testify to the changes they were already experiencing as God was taking their fears, anxiety and anger and replacing it with peace and a harmony they had not experienced in their home before. We also were able to introduce a local Pastor and his wife, who had received ICH training, to them that day and left them visiting together. Recently we received an email from Yesinia, our young Guatemalan seminary student, translator and friend. She had spoken by phone with Lucianna who happily reports although Bayron’s condition remains weak and unchanged he has had no alcohol since he gave his life to Christ. She also says that their son is staying home after school and has a new respect for them that makes them very proud. We stand in awe of God’s transforming power and feel so privileged to carry the message of His redeeming love around the world through the ministry of International Christian Hospice.

What is happening in South Africa?

LaVern Busbee is now living and working in an area of small villages about 4 hours north of Johannesburg. She is spending her time ministering to AIDs families and orphans. Part of her responsibilities include helping with care of children, many who are HIV positive. She assists and provides training to home health workers traveling the region and going into homes providing Christian hospice care. Please pray for LaVerne as she organizes and leads in establishing home-based hospice care and finds opportunities to share Jesus’ love with the dying.

September : Organizational expansion opportunities are in the works!

ICH is in the early stages of sharing the common goal of serving the dying of northern Nicaragua with a mission agency Vision Nicaragua. This organization has worked in Nicaragua for several years developing a 10 acre multifunctional center which provides jobs, medical clinic care and spiritual training. Nearby, in one small village of 500 people, over 50 men are currently dying of renal failure caused by exposure to chemicals used in sugar cane farming. This situation is replicated throughout this region. Last year Vision Nicaragua hosted us as we gave our ICH training seminar and 45 Pastors, church leaders and laypeople from the area attended,

many who are infected or are widowed. The personal stories they shared with us opened our eyes to the reality of life and death they face every day. We asked ourselves how can we more effectively assist these people? As God has led, the leaders of Vision Nicaragua approached us about the possibility of planning and building our first Christian Hospice center which could provide hospice training, clinical outpatient monitoring, family support as well as inpatient care for terminal patients at this center. Please pray along with us for God’s timing and guidance as we consider this ministry opportunity with Vision Nicaragua over the coming months
It was a great time of fellowship and sharing about ICH as we attended Global Impact Celebration at Biltmore Baptist Church. Thank you to all who stopped by our booth and also the Connect Group for your support and welcome. We pray that God will continue to confirm His call in people’s hearts for service, prayer and support of missions around the world.
Prayer needs coming up
October Pray for Ron and Don Smith, team leader from Lexington, S.C. as they travel and work in Honduras.
November Global Medical Missions annual conference in Louisville, Ky. during which we will have a booth in the expo center. Several ICH volunteers will be attending and manning the booth with us. Pray for safety in travel and for the contacts that God has for us to make at the conference with people interested in the ministry.
December Travel and ministry with teams joining us in Dominican Republic. Plans are being made to work with the medical staff at an AIDs clinic and to offer training seminars to a large Pastor’s association. Please pray for the necessary communication, planning and preparations over the next few weeks.

2010

• Pray for God’s leadership in as we consider ministry work in the following countries next year: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Nepal, Ukraine and Moldova.

• Pray that people will join us in short or long term ministry.

• Pray for financial provision for the work God has in store.

• Pray with us that our faithful God will be glorified in all that is done in His name through

International Christian Hospice.
Serving Him with you,

Ron and Susan

Tax deductible donations can be sent to:
International Christian Hospice 145 Chillingham Rd. Irmo, S.C. 29063
Email contact: intlchristianhospice@yahoo.com.

News Letter International Christian Hospice June 2009
(ICH is now a nonprofit organization and donations are tax deductible)
Greetings and blessings to all of you! God has given us an awesome spring! He has been faithful to carry out His plan for our lives and for International Christian Hospice. All we have to do is be obedient and show up. He does the rest!
We would love to introduce you to some of the wonderful people we met in Moldova and Ukraine in April. We had the honor of staying in the home of a lovely, young family in the town of Vinnitsa, Ukraine. The Pochapsky family, Vova, Tanya and their three girls (number 4 is on the way), hosted us and introduced us to Ukrainian life, language, food and culture. Tanya is a wonderful cook! Our favorite dish was Borsht, a savory vegetable soup featuring home grown beets. Beets are a very important and versatile crop of Eastern Europe from which they get all of their sugar (it isn’t red, but light tan granules). From their front yard you can smell the aroma wafting up the hillside from the chocolate factory. We knew immediately that we love this country!
Vova, who speaks fluent Russian, Ukrainian and English, was our translator as he took us to meetings with local believers. Vova’s large extended family, as well as many of the other Christians who survived the Soviet occupation, have a powerful, unwavering faith in God. He shared personal stories of God’s unfailing presence in the face of persecution and hardships that we can only imagine. We were humbled to celebrate our Savior’s resurrection as we worshipped shoulder-to-shoulder with our new friends. Thanks to several native Russian speakers from Columbia, S.C. we arrived with all our training material ready to share. It was a great honor to introduce them to Christian Hospice ministry. The concept of going out into the communities with a ministry of care and comfort in Christ will give them a practical avenue to share the gospel. Having lived through an era of suppression and fear they are ready to learn and exercise their freedom of faith. God’s timing for bringing us here was perfect as always!
Our train travel in Eastern Europe definitely merits a few lines of description. This mode of transportation is the most popular, comfortable and economic. We had two opportunities for adventure as we joined Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans on the Moscow train. Vova waved goodbye from the platform through the billowing smoke as we began our 10 hour trip from Vinnitsa, Ukraine to Chisinau, Moldova. This leg of our travel was in the daytime and we probably annoyed our Russian cabin mates (4 person bunk/bench cabins) leaning over them to watch the beautiful countryside glide by. So far our Russian language skills included “hello, please, thank you and God bless you.” Of course, Ron also utilized the word “Uaz”, in our mostly sign language conversations. Uaz is the name of a classic Russian-made jeep seen mostly on very muddy roads in villages. At one point, to his delight, he even got to examine Vova’s father’s Uaz and sit behind the wheel. 90% of Ukraine is rich black soil, the envy of most surrounding countries. During the past century, Germany and Russia hauled train car loads of soil out of Ukraine. It is considered the “breadbasket of Eastern Europe”. We soaked in the early, spring green of the vast agricultural fields, blossoming fruit trees and flowers. At the border crossing into Moldova, we remained in our cabin. We submitted our passport for examination to the officers who stood in our cabin doorway and after more sign language, nods and smiles we were cleared to continue our journey. One necessary activity during our travel was a trip to the restroom. At the end of the car was the facility including fresh air and a view. Thankfully, handholds are provided to compensate for the rhythmic sway of the train. Upon pushing levers, both sink and toilet drains open and empty onto the tracks passing beneath. We had been puzzled as to why the restroom was locked during the frequent station stops. Mystery solved!
Moldova is a small country between Ukraine and Romania, about the size of Massachusetts. Chisinau is the large , capital city. We had a wonderful week of ministry teaching in the Moldova Bible Seminary. This is the only school in Moldova providing a three year program of Biblical education for Pastors, Educators and church leaders. We considered it an honor to be invited to share a week of Christian Hospice training with the second year students. These dedicated young adults are required to study challenging subjects such as theology, Biblical history and hermeneutics, not in their native Romanian tongue, but all classes are in English. An interesting fact that was shared with us was that Moldova has the highest number of missionaries going out to other former soviet countries. Currently student teams are preparing to go to Kyrgyzstan. The experience of death and grief has no geographic boundary. These students will be equipped with a better understanding of this difficult time and with skills in sharing Christ’s love when people are open to hearing there is hope beyond the grave.
During this week we gave our ICH training also in the evening to other local Christians. God connected us with Rodica Cerbova, a national, who is closely connected to the government medical care system in Moldova. She and her husband, who have planted and pastor a new evangelical church in a village, live to serve their own people. We spent a day with her visiting a local hospital and discussing her connections with influential people. As we prayed together with Rodica, all of us sensed a strong bond of desire to bring Christian Hospice care into the medical system and homes of the people of Moldova. God gave each of us a confidence and excitement for His plan for future partnering together.
Another 14 hour train trip, this time at night, returned us back across the border to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. God blessed us with a great time of meetings with missionaries and nationals in the setting of one of the oldest, classic cities of Europe. Some of the world’s most beautiful art and music come to us from Kiev. We also saw vividly the spiritual darkness and need for hope and peace found only through Christ. All forms of gambling, unrestricted alcohol and prostitution are legal in all of Eastern Europe. God connected us with some very strong believing churches and seminaries where He is raising up nationals with the message of Truth that sets all men free. He has shown us many doors of hospice opportunities and we know He is leading us to return for future ministry.
The months of May and June have been filled with stateside ministry development and team training. Our first Board of Directors meeting was held in Columbia, S.C. and we are praising God for those who are joining us with fresh vision in planning the direction for the future. He has raised up 2 teams who are planning to accompany us to Central America In July and August. In July we will be sending out our first missionary to South Africa, La Verne Busbee. She will be opening up Christian hospice care with AIDs orphans, widows and families in villages north of Johannesburg for her first term of one year.
As you can see we have much to praise God for, much for which to continue to trust Him and much we are believing Him for in the future. Thank you once again for your prayers, your giving and believing with us that International Christian Hospice can bring hope and comfort to the dying around the world!
Praises
*Ukrainian and Moldovan believers now equipped with ICH ministry-Open doors for future
* Teams joining us for ministry in July and August
*First Board of Directors meeting successful
Prayers
*Safe and healthy travel for Ron and Susan for 2 months of international ministry ahead
*Preparation, travel and ministry for teams and people in Guatemala and Honduras
*Political situation in Honduras, national Christians
*Financial, staffing and training development needs of ICH
Serving our Lord with you,
Ron and Susan Naish, Directors
All Donations Are Tax Deductible mailed to our office at:
International Christian Hospice 145 Chillingham Rd. Irmo, S.C. 29063

International Christian Hospice Newsletter
January -March 2009

“…and now, O Lord, give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching Your word…They testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them.” Acts 4:29, 33

Dear Family and Friends,

God has chosen to place all of us in an exciting and crucial time of history! Many people today are tempted to live in doubt, fear and depression over the world’s current financial and political situation. In Acts we read about the first century church which faced a very similar world, if not a worse. We read the response of believers in the above verse which was to pray, asking God for greater boldness and then they powerfully testified. They made a choice, unaffected by finances, society or the current political system. As a result they experienced “God’s great blessing”. Many Christians today are mistakenly looking for security in “health, wealth and prosperity” rather than something much greater that God has in mind. What were the great blessings of God these first century believers experienced? We find the answer as the story unfolds that thousands came to faith in Christ and the first century Church began to spread world-wide. Will we take this challenge despite what we see going on around us to pray for great boldness to testify powerfully the message of hope and resurrection to a dying world? International Christian Hospice chooses to take this challenge! Even in light of the difficulties of our times and the challenges we face in ministry Christ and His love is transforming lives of people who are facing death and families who are grieving. Thank you, family and friends, for your bold prayers on our behalf! We know that you are praying because God is showing us daily His hand at work in ICH. We believe that what is being accomplished through ICH around the world is “God’s great blessing.”

We don’t want you to miss any of the exciting things God has been doing. We will try to condense these three busy months and give you the highlights.

January-Honduras and Stateside

• · Wednesday night ICH training as 10 week series at Lexington Baptist Church, S.C. Thanks to Chuck McCurry, Team Leader, as facilitator and other team members at LBC for teaching.
  

Honduras

• · Meetings to encourage our Honduran ICH workers and plans made for opening work in 4 new locations
  
• · Home ministry with 2 people who were dying and their families
  
• · Meeting with the DeBose who direct Grace Life Ministries and Seminary
  
• · Meetings with the Director of Evangelical Hospital, Dr. Maritinez and also Dr. Aguillar, staff MD. Discussion continues about partnering for a future ICH Care and Training Center in Sequatepeque.
  
• · Looking at potential property and buildings for ICH Care and Training Center which adjoins the hospital property.
  
• · Meeting with Chet Thomas, Director of Aldea Global, a national organization with 600 community health promoters who are being trained in Christian Hospice care.
  
  
• · Met with a new Russian friend, Anya, who is a missionary to Honduras. She is now also helping us with translation work for our upcoming trip to Ukraine.
  
  
• · Traveled approx.1,200 miles in Honduras in our faithful Ford Escape. Preparation for return in August with LBC team.
  
  
  
  February- Dominican Republic and Stateside
  
• · Translation of ICH written materials into Russian began by friends in Columbia, S.C. Special thanks to Irina Ponomarev, Ludmilla Falter, and others.
  
• · Meetings with Drs. Francisco and Diane Sabado in Santo Domingo, DR
  
• · Meeting with staff at Virology Clinic in DR working with over 1,000 people with HIV and AIDS. Plans made for future additional training.
  
• · Team members Dr. Arleen Jennings and Linda Craig, RN joined us in ministry in DR.
  
• · Participated in 2 medical outreach clinics to Haitian refugees.
  
• · Presented 3 ICH training seminars in DR.
  
• · Meeting with Director of Nazarene church of DR for future hospice training.
  
  
  March
  
• · Praise God! We received our official confirmation from the IRS of our non-profit status! This has been a long process begun last March and all donations, written to International Christian Hospice (ICH) are now tax deductible.
  
• · Preparation for ministry trip in April to Ukraine and Moldova. Final work on material preparation and translation.
  
• · Meeting in Knoxville, Tn. with Dr. Martinez and wife Norma who are visiting in the US. Discussion and prayer continues for possible partnership with Evangelical Hospital in Sequatepeque, Honduras.
  
• · Welcome to Lavern Busbee who will be accompanying us to Moldova in April for field training. Lavern will be going to South Africa later this year as an ICH representative working with AIDS orphans and families.
  
• · Planning meeting at Biltmore Baptist Church for team going with us to Guatemala in July.
  
• · Safe arrival of medical equipment via container to Honduras. Thanks to Dr. Mario Fu and Team Co-ordinator Lourdes Arguita for pick up and delivery to Ever, our young paraplegic friend. Ever continues to decline but remains strong in his trust in God. Thanks for your prayers and donations!
  
  
  
  We know that you have been praying because we have seen God’s hand at work in taking the ministry forward. New doors are opening for International Christian Hospice to fulfill our mission. Please continue to pray!
  
  
  
  
  Prayer Needs
  
• · Preparation (for us and those we will minister to), travel and ministry in Ukraine and Moldova in April
  
• · Discernment for growth and answering requests for ICH in many new countries
  
• · Wisdom for God’s timing and plan for partnering with Evangelical Hospital in Honduras for a Care and Training Center
  
• · ICH annual Board meeting in May in Columbia, S.C.
  
• · Financial needs for continued ministry
  
  
  We are honored to serve Christ and to represent you in His name. God has led us in founding International Christian Hospice and walking beside Him in faith for the past 5 years. Please partner with us in prayer and giving so that people around the world will have the opportunity for peace and comfort in Christ as they face eternity.
  
  
  Serving Him together,
  
  Ron and Susan
  
  
  Tax deductible donations can be made to: International Christian Hospice
  145 Chillingham Rd.
  Irmo, S.C. 29063
  
  Contact Information: ronnaish@bellsouth.net
  ichospice@gmail.com
  http://www.ichospice.org/
  http://www.ichospice.blogspot.com/

International Christian Hospice Newsletter December 2008
Report Summary of Ministry for 2008
Projected Ministry Schedule 2009

Christmas Blessings to each of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! We thank Him for this special time of year to celebrate and remember God’s entrance into humanity through a humble birth. Join us in worship of the One who was and is and is to come! It is our honor to humbly serve Jesus by taking International Christian Hospice ministry to the world. Thank you for your prayers and gifts which are the conduit through which God is building His Kingdom around the world.

We flew back to the US in September and began an exciting fall of ministry and fellowship in 4 mission’s conferences and speaking opportunities. Biltmore Baptist Church, our home church in Asheville, NC, hosted us and 40 other missionaries in their annual Global Impact Celebration Weekend. We enjoyed renewing friendships and meeting other people who are in ministry around the globe. A few highlights for us were the International Bazaar, much like a world fair, and the Monday morning debriefing. Common problems such as burnout, feelings of isolation and poor communication were addressed and some helpful solutions offered. Thank you BBC for your loving support and making sure we know you are with us in prayer no matter how far we travel!

Our next Mission’s conference was in October with our dear friends at Lexington Baptist Church, SC. This annual Global Focus Conference gave us some great opportunities to share with Sunday school classes and individuals who stopped by our display booth. We have a special place in our hearts for LBC particularly because of the eleven mission team members who have come with us to Central America to do hospice ministry over the past 2 years. The warm embraces, genuine support and interest we experience every time we are at Lexington blesses and encourages us to keep pressing on. We believe that God arranged contact with other missionaries this weekend to open doors for us to take ICH to Ukraine, Moldova and possibly Turkey in 2009.

Also in October we joined a group of volunteers for training at Abbey Road Hospice in Columbia, SC. Sean Steiner, CEO and Lyn Reagan, MSW offered a great workshop on the compassionate hospice work they offer to anyone in the midlands of SC. We can clearly see Christ’s love and hope being offered through the staff at Abbey Road and are excited about partnering in local volunteer work with them and also about their staff joining us in international ministry. This is another example of the Body of Christ coming together in His plan for Hospice.

The first weekend of November we were invited for the first Global Missions Conference of Greenway Baptist Church in Boone, NC. We thank our new friends Gordon and Lucy Rule for hosting us. It was an enjoyable time of sharing with their church about ICH and learning about their work locally and in El Salvador.

We attended the largest annual Global Medical Missions Conference in the US in Louisville, Ky. the second week of November. We were so encouraged to learn how much God is doing all around the world. We joined with thousands of attendees who gathered twice daily for worship and Bible study. The rest of the day was filled with smaller breakout sessions taught by medical missionaries on many different topics of global health concerns. We noticed two themes that became recurrent as we attended classes: 1) every ministry emphasized holistic care which ministers to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of each person; 2)every ministry was involved in community development through their particular expertise. How exciting to know that we are on the same page with other mission efforts around the world! Whether it was about primary medical care, pure water treatment or AIDS and TB infectious control each ministry desires to involve communities and broaden the focus beyond just meeting physical needs. As one speaker said “If we only fix the body we have really done nothing.” How awesome that God has called us to see people with His compassionate vision. Meeting the physical needs of healing is only temporary. He desires the eternal impact of healing the heart and restored relationship between Himself and each individual. The spiritual healing of each person raises unlimited possibilities for improving community wide health and all living standards. International Christian Hospice gives training for the national Christians in ministering to the whole person meeting them where they are in the terminal process. This training also targets bringing the spiritual leaders and medical community together to accomplish Christ-centered care. We are beginning to see the fruit of this happening in all 7 developing countries in which we have worked. This is all to God’s glory and under His direction. We are the honored ones who get to be a part of His plan for ICH.

In December we have traveled to the Dominican Republic for 10 days of ministry. God has partnered us with Drs. Francisco and Diane Sabado who are missionaries and have been doing hospice care for individuals in their own home for several years. Before we ever met them their dream was to open Christian Hospice centers for training and care. Since we met in November 07 we all have been praying and planning in unity toward this goal. Our time with them this month was encouraging to all as we are seeing the possibilities of a hospice house near their home in Santo Domingo, the capital. A fellow short-term missionary from Asheville, Sharon Kast, FNP, joined us for a week of ministry and travel. We were able to present ICH training in two different locations. We drove west toward the Haitian border to a small town called Tomayo. Pastor Francisco Melo, who pastors a small church there, had spread the word of our coming to do training.






We were delighted to meet with Pastors and church leaders from 34 different evangelical churches in that region. Over 60 people attended our training seminar in a large meeting hall on the town square. The pastors prayed for us at the end of the training which was a wonderful expression of God's Love.Dr. Jose Noa attended also from the local government hospital and expressed a need for his staff to have hospice training. The next day Pastor Francisco arranged a meeting with Pastor Edison who asked us to return and work with his organization in the south of the DR and also in the capital.










We visited Pastor Francisco’s tiny church, Christian Church of the Body of Christ, in a very poor community on the outskirts of Tomayo and prayed for his ministry there. We also traveled that day to another Haitian border town, Jimani, to learn more about a mission project there. Back in the capital, The Sabado’s church pastors Alexi and Omeyra welcomed us and received the Pastor/Volunteer training eagerly. They shared stories of co-workers, family and friends who are dying or grieving. As we spoke God’s message of Hospice in Jesus’ name the people began making plans to start their own outreach. As on each trip God networks us with more of His people. We are looking forward to working with new friends, the Lepleys, who serve as missionaries for the Nazareen Church. Many plans were made for our time of continued ministry in the DR. We are praying for God to raise up those He desires to go with us in February.
We are praying with Drs. Diane and Francisco Sabado about possibly developing this house into Hospice home/training facility in Santo Domingo. This will be the first ICH facility we have the opportunity to open which can meet the needs of people who are dying and have no place to go as well as to provide training and outpatient care.
As 2008 comes to a close we have many praise and prayer items. Please join with us in raising these things before God who is our faithful guide and provider.

Praises in 2008
New organizational incorporation/ non-profit status
5 mission teams joining us to work in 3 Central American countries
400 new Pastors and church leaders trained in Christian Hospice
4 possible locations for ICH training/care centers in C.A. and D.R.
Increased openess of Medical personnel in C.A. and D.R. for Hospice training

Prayer Requests
Guidance in organizational planning for growth in ministry and staff needs
Discernment in developing ICH centers in the countries as God opens opportunities
Encouragement and perseverance of the ICH workers in the 7 countries of our ministry
Finances to support ongoing ministry
More people to join ICH in short or long term ministry

We pray that you and your loved ones have a Blessed Christmas and a joy filled New Year! Thank you again for being a part of what God is doing around the world through International Christian Hospice!

Your friends and co-laborer in His harvest,
Ron and Susan

Tax receipts will be sent for any donations to International Christian Hospice
Mail to either: P.O. Box 1014 Swannanoa, N.C. 28778 or 145 Chillingham Rd. Irmo, S.C. 29063

Report Summary of Ministry 2008

Countries in which we ministered 5
ICH training Seminars (other countries) 26
Total People Trained ( Pastors, Church leaders
Volunteers, Medical staff) 795
People attended Grief Workshops(other countries) 195
Short-term Mission Teams 5
Medical Clinic participated in 5
Pastor Associations presented to (other countries) 4
Mission Conferences(US) 4
Other Speaking opportunities(US) 2
ICH Volunteers partnering with
Abbey Road Hospice(US) 7

(Detail description of monthly ministry activity available if desired)

Projected Ministry Schedule for 2009
(Subject to Spirit lead changes)

January Medical Equipment delivery to Indiana for shipment to Honduras
Ministry in Honduras

12 Week ICH training begins at Lexington Baptist Church

February Ministry in Dominican Republic
Short-term Team to DR

March ICH Board Meeting
Organizational development

April Ministry trip to Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey

May-June Ministry development

July-August Ministry in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua

September-November Mission Conferences
ICH Board Meeting

December Ministry in Dominican Republic