International Brethren attend Annual Conference.

A number of Brethren from other countries attended the 300th Anniversary Conference in Richmond.

Official guests of the Church of the Brethren General Board from sister denominations included Cristian Aquino Encarnacion, a pastor from the Dominican Republic; Filibus Gwama, president of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN-- the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), and Jinatu Wamdeo, EYN general secretary; and Ludovic St. Fleur, coordinator of the mission in Haiti, and pastor of Eglise des Freres Haitiens in Miami and the Orlando (Fla.) Haitian Fellowship.

Several mission coordinators and mission staff of the Church of the Brethren attended as well: David Whitten, mission coordinator for Nigeria, and his wife, Judith Whitten; Irvin and Nancy Heishman, mission coordinators for the Dominican Republic; Marcos and Suely Inhauser, mission coordinators for Brazil, and their children and grandfather.

Also at the Conference was a group of EYN members representing the Brethren Evangelism Support Trust (BEST), an organization of Nigerian business leaders who work to impact communities for Christ through their local churches. The group's visit to the United States and the Conference is sponsored by Atlantic Northeast District, and Virlina District churches also will help host them during their time in Virginia. Paul Steiner, Monroe Good, and Earl Ziegler are helping coordinate the group during their time in the US.

The BEST group included 32 Nigerians. They were guests of the Brethren World Missions breakfast on July 15, where the speaker was David Garnuwa, BEST president.

Source: 7/16/2008