Winter 2026 Missions Newsletter
My name is Jacci Wicks-Eckstein, the Missions Coordinator, and Pastoral Intern at Calgary First Church of the Nazarene! You may know that I care about missions, but more than that, I have been called by God to be a long-term missionary. This is my second newsletter, so if you missed the first one, I invite you to go back to find it in our November Weekly Church email!
In this Newsletter, I will be answering these 4 questions:
- Did you know we have an Adult project fundraiser?
- Who are our Featured Missionaries?
- How can I be praying for missions?
- How can I be involved?
Did you know we have an Adult Project Fundraiser?
One thing that our district does which is unique is that every year we have one Children’s project and one Adult project! Our Children’s project often gets plenty of attention throughout the year and at Camp Harmattan’s family camp, but we also have an Adult project!
In the capital city of Mongolia, Ulan Bator, it is uncommon to have programs available to people in lower income areas outside of the city centre. Recently, a property has been purchased by the Church of the Nazarene on the city outskirts, to use as a training and activity centre in an effort to cultivate the compassionate spirit of Jesus. They will be offering programs such as English classes, music, art presentations, gardening classes, Bible studies, worship services and more to the families with lower income. It will also have some of the only running water in the area! This fundraiser will enable the people involved to continue to connect with neighbours and provide opportunities for discipleship.
On February 8th, First Naz will be putting on a Bake Sale which will be our main fundraiser for this project! I would love to have your participation in this fundraising event! We will need people to bring baked goods, as well as purchasing them! We have a fundraising goal of $1500, which our children’s project has easily surpassed each year! Do you think we can help them out?!
Featured Missionaries
In the November newsletter, two missionary couples were highlighted, and in the next newsletter I will include updates of their previous prayer requests.
NEW!
Just in the last month, there has been an update about this program at the global level; Our highlighted missionaries will now be assigned to each district for TWO YEARS instead of one year!
On January 1st, we received a new featured missionary couple which we will be Caring for and Connecting with until the end of 2027! Their names are Jadilson and Cilene Souza and they live in Columbia!
Barb and Anthony Manswell continue to be a highlighted missionary couple for us because they are from our district! Barb grew in Alberta’s very own High River, and they both attended Canadian Nazarene College in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Jadilson and Cilene Souza - Columbia
Jadilson and Cilene were both born in Brazil but have moved to Columbia. Combined, they have been Psychologists, Social workers, Pastors, and Coordinator of the Compassion Ministries Sponsorship Program.
They have four adult children, and 1 granddaughter!
Anthony and Barbara Manswell - Trinidad and Tobago
Anthony and Barbara both work at the Caribbean Nazarene College, and have been there for 23 years this January! They are also passionate about helping couples develop and maintain healthy relationships. They have “Manswell’s Marriage Ministry” where they live out this passion.
They have four adult children and one granddaughter!
How can I be praying for missions?
- Pray that God would protect them, as there is a lot of political unrest right now. There are problems with the military, and they have seen car bombs go off in their area!
- Pray that they are able to stay effective in their ministry as they navigate this sensitive situation in their area!
- Pray for Jadilson has he oversees the other churches in their district and supports as they have their own political challenges - One example being Venezuela
- Pray for their connection with their children, as they are all still living in Brazil.
- Pray for grace and peace as they lead!
- Pray for wisdom as they give counsel to many couples
- Pray for Caribbean Nazarene College as they have an upcoming conference in January
- Pray that God would work to draw individuals into deeper relationship with Him and that provided training will help them to be more effective in their various ministries
- For their daughter, Kavanah and her husband Stephan, that God will continue to provide for them as they work with a para-church organization in Japan so they can continue to bless others
- For their youngest son as he searches for a job in engineering, and that his green card will be approved quickly, as his wife and daughter are in Illinois
- Pray for the rest of the sent Missionaries. For the resources and effectiveness of their ministries, for the safety and health of their families, and for God’s will to be done through them
- Pray for political unrest, that God's will would be done. Pray for peace for all of His people
- Pray for areas that have encountered natural disasters
- for restoration of cities, and peace for families who have lost someone to a natural disaster
How can I be involved?
- Bake sale for the Adult project
- Prayer event
- Giving a testimony to the congregation on a Sunday morning
- Whether you would help plan, gathering people, helping promote, or even just set up! Email jacci.wicks-eckstein@firstnaz.ca
Our church also has a partnership with the Mustard Seed. Through this, on the fourth Sunday of every month, a team cooks and serves people who are facing homelessness and other big challenges.
Subscribe to “NMI Central” by clicking here. This is a weekly email that sends information about a country and their prayer needs.
Follow Canada West District NMI Facebook by clicking here!
Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns about Missions in our church or otherwise!
Send all messages to jacci.wicks-eckstein@firstnaz.ca