Accountants Can Be Missionaries Too

The administrative team at Harvesters International Ministries (HIM) has expanded to four with the addition of veteran board member J. Lucarelli, who stepped out on faith to become full-time as the Lord provides his support.

“I am excited to be able to combine my education and experience in business and missions in my new role at Harvesters,” J. said.

He will continue to serve as the board’s treasurer. He’s also responsible for the development of the quarterly Harvesters Newsletter as well as website design.

When J. accepted the invitation to serve on the board in 1999, he was a recent college graduate with a degree in Accounting and Economics. He has functioned in the business world either as a CPA or chief financial officer since that time, but also added a master’s degree in Intercultural Studies from CIU to his credentials. He studied and worked in 10 European countries as both a student and a member of the staff of the International Business Institute, where he was a program coordinator.

He will receive his master’s in Business Administration in December.

Twelve years ago, he became the youngest man to ever serve on the Board of Directors of Harvesters. Today, he’s a seasoned traveler who has led survey and mission teams to five different countries where Harvesters has ministry partners. He also lived for five months with one of our ministry partners in Kenya where it was typical for him to work one day helping to resolve tribal conflicts and the next day work at establishing a new level of financial accountability for the ministry.

J. already has a close working relationship with Ed Hirshman, Sandi Roach, and Jonathan Lancaster. The Harvesters board, unanimous in its support of J., views this move as “raising the bar” as it relates to the ministry’s accountability and credibility.

As with all of the administrative team, J. will depend on God’s people providing his support. Staff members are not paid from funds designated for pastoral support or ministry projects.

J. put his decision in God’s hands. “I can’t think of a greater privilege or opportunity. Not to say that there won’t be challenges. To think otherwise would be naïve,” he said.

“We have great ministry partners, J. stated, “and I look forward to working with everyone in a greater way to not only tell their story but to working with them to further the kingdom of God. We have a great deal to offer, as well as a great deal to learn.”

Said Ed Hirshman, director of Harvesters, “I thank the Lord for where He has had us, where He has us and excited as to where He may be taking us.”

Ambassadors of Hope – Kenya Medical Team

kenyamedical2011The annual Kenya medical team was a great success in so many different ways. The team of ten from Michigan and North Carolina served with local pastors, evangelists and others to share the Gospel and give medicine to treat more than 2,600 people.

Based at Chepturu in East Pokot, the team would load up their daily supply of medicine and head out each morning to a location that had been chosen by pastor Job and his evangelism team in advance.

The team quickly gelled with each other and came prepared to work. Their willing spirits combined with their compassion, patience, and desire to help the people and each other was truly remarkable. Everyone, including the interpreters and drivers, went above and beyond the call of duty so that the group, all of us working together, could help as many people as possible.

I stood off to the side one day and took in a picture of what the church is supposed to be as people, black and white, who spoke different languages come together to show the love and compassion of Christ to the people of Pokot. It was a special time that will remind me of what is possible when we work together as the Church.

People like Kapon in Chemoikut, a mother of three. Kapon stood to give testimony that her youngest child, who was less than a year old, had been sick for some time. The area lacked any medical facilities and she did not have the money for transportation or for treatment of what ended up being a very treatable ailment. Kapon was so thankful when she received word that the medical team would be conducting clinics near her home. Despite a sleepless night, she was at the clinic site with her three children and was the first to stand to give thanks to God for our coming.

When I got home I came across Isaiah 58, which resonated with me as both an encapsulation of what the team did and as a reminder to me of a greater purpose and goal for my own life.

“… you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail” Isaiah 58:9-11.

Thank you to each of the team members and the people that made it possible to be part of the team. The impact of you being there and how God used you might never be known to you. The medicine that you administered will pale in comparison to the indelible mark you made through your sacrifice and compassionate spirits.