One of the strengths of Blue Ridge in its growing ministry in Africa has been the links it has made to missionaries serving Africa.  The work is varied and provides this Church the opportunity to support missions to a very diverse population.  In 2007 a Team from Blue Ridge visited first hand the work of Richard Bosart, Volunteer in Mission coordinator for Methodist Church of Southern Africa and traveled with Carol Kreamer to Mozambique meeting up with Blue Ridge’s partner church and learning of her work as missionary coordinator of the Mozambique Initiative.  Dr. Lutgen was the Conference preacher for the 2008 Session of the Liberian Annual Conference and there was introduced to missionary, Frido Kinkolenge and his ministry.  Frido works with excombatant children in the Monrovian and Buchannan.  Their work is interpreted through the links we have established with them through this web site.  

Richard Bosart Richard went to South Africa 20 years ago as a Volunteer in Mission and so loved the country and people that he became the coordinator to create and operate a Volunteer in Mission Program for the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.  Richard has worked with volunteers from around the world to complete over 60 projects including churches and schools for the mission of the Church.  He hosted the 2007 VIM Team from Blue Ridge and has visited Blue Ridge the past two years when in the States for his missionary leave.  You can learn more about Richard and this ministry through the link to his web site.	Website: http://samvim.blogspot.com/ There are a number of photos on Richard's website of the team from Blue Ridge that he hosted in 2008.
Carol Kreamer Carol is a familiar face at Blue Ridge in that she has served the past decade as the Coordinator for the Mozambique Initiative and traveled with the 2007 Mission Team to Southern Africa.  She facilities the Covenant Church program linking churches in Missouri with sister churches in Mozambique and many other ministries between the Conferences.  To learn more of her ministry and Blue Ridge’s involvement in Mozambique visit the link here to the Initiative web site.	Biography Mozambique Initiative website: http://www.mozambiqueinitiative.org/about.htm
Frido Kinkolenge    Born in the Congo, Frido answered the call to be a missionary by becoming a Missioner of Hope through the General Board of Global Ministries.  He and his wife, Betty were assigned to Liberia and there began a ministry to excombatant children.  Dr. Lutgen was introduced to this ministry on a visit to Liberia in February of 2008.  Frido visited Blue Ridge in May of 2008 and will host the July 2009 Mission Team from Blue Ridge in July of 2009.  To learn more of this ministry, to the children of Liberia visit the link to his missionary web site.	Biography   The following newsletters and flyers have been submitted by Frido so that he may share his work and ministry:   Missionary Newsletter CESPRO (Children Empowered For Sustainability Program) Flyer   Ex-combatant children in Buchanan    Internally Displaced Children   My Daughter's Place Program in Camphor Mission

Carol Kreamer Biography

Carol Kreamer began her service to the Missouri Conference in August 1999 as coordinator of The Mozambique Initiative. In that capacity she supervises staff in Mozambique and together they are the connection for covenant partners between Missouri and Mozambique. Carol is also a resource, serving as requested by Bishop João Somane Machado, and other conferences seeking her assistance in mission and ministry with Mozambique and other partnering initiatives in Africa.

Carol has over twenty years experience in the business world, having moved with her family from New Jersey to Missouri in 1982. She and her husband, Bill, both attained bachelor or arts degrees in business administration with emphasis in marketing from Webster University in St. Louis, MO.

In 1995 Carol served on staff with Webster Hills UMC, first as coordinator of volunteers, then as coordinator of
mission and stewardship, until 1999 when the Conference asked Carol to become the coordinator of The Mozambique Initiative. She is trained as a United Methodist missionary by the General Board of Global Ministries, and has held that position since then.

Carol’s first visit to Mozambique came three days after her employment with the Conference began. She participated in a delegation of 14 persons who departed the U.S. August 1999. For her, as for other participants, it was another life-changing experience.

As coordinator Carol has seen relationships grow from covenant. She administers church-to-church
covenant partnerships between more than 300 churches, groups and individuals in Missouri with the 170 parishes and 23 districts of the UMC in Mozambique. She works under the supervision of The Mozambique Initiative Advisory Committee, and supervises the work of MI representative, Ezequiel Marcos Nhantumbo. Ezequiel is a Mozambican who lives and works for The Initiative in Mozambique. Carol and Ezequiel provide the connection that covenant partners need in order to develop relationships.

Carol provides resources to local churches to develop their covenants, visits covenant partners with programs for “Mozambique Sunday”, and provides assistance to Mozambique Ministry Leaders of covenant partner churches. In addition, she resources mission teams and delegations to Mozambique. She created a “Guide to Short-Term Mission in Mozambique” which, in conjunction with Missouri’s Office of Creative Ministries, has been developed over a 5-year period for every missioner’s use. Carol also assists with many other humanitarian, justice and educational ministries.

Carol has helped over 200 people from Missouri go to Mozambique in mission or to visit their covenant partners. In addition she has helped many people from Mozambique come to Missouri to share their resources in mutual ministry.

Carol’s husband, Bill, is plant manager of US Silica Company in Pacific, MO. He served as a director on the General Board of Global Ministries 1997 through 2004. Carol and Bill live in a rural area just southwest of Eureka, MO. Together they have taught Sr. High Sunday school and Disciple Bible Study, led mission teams to different parts of Mexico and Russia, and started a local “Hands in Mission” program in their local church. She sings on a praise team that leads worship every Sunday when she is not away doing a Mozambique Sunday out of her local church. She and Bill have two grown children, Kristin Lamprecht and Peter Kreamer, and four
grandchildren, Jake, Celia, Paton and Bailey Nicole, who reside in the Webster – Kirkwood suburbs of St. Louis.

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Frido Kinkolenge Biography

A missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Chuch and the EmK Weltmission (United Methodist Church in Germany), Frido N. Kinkolenge is Director of Children’s Ministries in the UMC Liberia Annual Conference and EmK Weltmission Children’s Project Manager in Liberia.

Mr. Kinkolenge’s particular focus is with the Liberia ex-combatant children ministry. This ministry is to help former child soldiers to be reintegrated into the community and to be accepted back into their families. Children and young adults recruited as soldiers were forced to take drugs in order to cope with wreaking the havoc required of them, often inflicting their own families with abuses leading to HIV.

With intensive counseling, life-skills training and love, Frido is helping to reintegrate these young people into the community through education in drug-related and trauma healing workshops. Trainees in the programs learn skills such as soap making, tie and dye, computer literacy, typing, pastry and graphic arts. The programs are to strengthen the new post-war government’s efforts to educate its citizens for a better future.

“These children who have been soldiers, they know the things they’ve done and they worry that they will not be accepted back into society. Many of these children have not known any love. They’ve never had time to grieve. Some cannot read or write but with help they can experience healing, become productive and be convinced to move away from violence.”

Frido was born at the Kintobongo Catholic Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He holds degrees in Psycho-Pedagogy/Language and French Literature (1997), Psycho-Pedagogy/French and African Linguistics (1988) and a Diploma in General Pedagogy (1983). All were awarded in the DRC.

Mr. Kinkolenge came to mission through the GBGM-UMC Missioner of Hope Program when teaching at university and other higher education institutions. He is married and he and wife Betty are the parents of daughter, Josiane.
Frido Kinkolenge is available for Covenant Relationship support in North Carolina Annual Conference .
Make an online donation to: Frido Kinkolenge #15152Z.

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