PreVision Partnership's mission is, "To Glorify God by Teaching the Church to Reach the World."  We desire to encourage young leaders, especially those from overseas preparing for ministry while in the USA. Many go on to positions of influence in churches and ministries around the world. They come to the USA as the cream of the crop yet when they arrive they face unique challenges---learning a new language, a new culture, and a new curriculum---while separated from family and friends. Financial hardship for these students can be extreme due to lack of church support, exchange rate fluctuations, poor home economies, etc. External support is vital for these young leaders to take the Gospel to the next generation in their homeland.

For all these reasons, four times each year, PreVision Partnership gives a $500 Scholarship Awards to International Students at Moody Bible Institute.  The recipients so far are listed below.

 

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"If it had not been for scholarships, awards, and committed American believers who supported me in my call to ministry I would never have made it!"  Dr. Peter Grant

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Repeat awardee Emelissa Mejia (Winter 2017) (see below)

 

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Kayla Dutton, Greece & USA (Winter 2016)

Growing up as a missionary kid and pastor’s kid in Athens, Greece for 16 years, I lived and worked in a multinational setting with people from every social and economic class. My dad pastored an international church, ministering to people from over 40 nationalities. My two younger siblings and I immersed ourselves in our parent’s ministry from a young age and always had a heart for many different cultures. This culturally rich experience equipped me with a broad perspective of the world around me. I always loved listening to people’s stories and testimonies; something quite unique stood out about each person I came into contact with.

 

I decided to follow Christ at a very young age. My faith grew with time as I began understanding the implications of my decision. My relationship with Jesus became quite personal and real to me in my teen years as I realized that I had to take responsibility for what I believed.

 

My family moved to the USA in my senior year of high school. As I looked ahead to college, I knew I wanted to gain a solid Biblical foundation. Moody Bible Institute offered just that. So I applied and, by God’s grace, I got in! I graduated in May 2016 in Communications. Moody has been an incredible training ground! The friendships I have made here and lessons I have learned are absolutely invaluable. Moody has been a formational time of life for me and will always have a special place in my heart.

 

My passion is telling stories through visual media. With a heart full of adventure, I strive to creatively document the world around me and make ideas come to life.This past fall, I took nearly two weeks off school and traveled to Greece to document the refugee crisis on the island of Lesvos. From that trip, I produced a mini-documentary on the journey of refugees.* This is the type of work I am passionate about. I want to use my skills in the field of photography and video storytelling to equip missionaries, organizations, non-profits and NGOs around the world.

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Okumu Yudah Tadeo, Uganda (Winter 2016)

I was born on 27^th March 1984, in a family of staunch Catholics, who were complete peasants. I started primary school in 1990. In 1991 I was enrolled on a sponsorship program by Compassion International, in partnership with Butema Baptist Church, Eastern Uganda, my childhood local church.

 

I received Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior on 22^nd August 1996. It was after several years of hearing the Gospel being preached at my local church during Sunday school classes and church services. On this particular day, I had visited a neighborhood Church in my village for a trans-night prayer event. The LORD stirred my heart to surrender to His Lordship and acknowledging my need for a Savior. Having heard and believed in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, I confessed with my mouth unto salvation.

 

In 2004-2007, I was the Student President at Butema Baptist Child Development Center, a Compassion International program, leading about 280 children and youths. In October 2010, I graduated from Compassion’s program with four years training in Leadership skills. While on the Leadership development program, I met Harriet, my wife, who was in the same program. We got married on 18^th  December 2010, at Kampala Baptist Church (where I serve on the Missions’ team and fellowship when we are in Kampala). God has blessed our marriage with two children Jezreel and Jael.

 

In January 2011, it became very clear to me that God was calling me to ministry. While I was reflecting on all that I had gone through---the status of my family, the poverty in communities and the country, the wickedness and ungodliness that was rampant in our country---the Lord Spoke to me clearly and inspirationally through Esther 4:13-17. God was calling me to live a selfless life and be part of the change and restoration in my community, in Uganda, in Africa and the world. I shared with my wife and amazingly she already had a burden for the young girls and youths who are struggling with life. God confirmed my call in August 2011, when I led my mother to Christ! Since then, Harriet and I have been involved in several ministries in Uganda, setting children in Uganda and Africa free from the bondage of spiritual, physical and relational poverty.

 

In 2015, God opened a door for me to come to one of the best ministry training and Bible school in the world, Moody Bible Institute. I am a Pastoral Studies major, BA/MA program. I am very excited about this opportunity to be trained. My desire is to obey the LORD and take this excellent training back home to Uganda to build up and strengthen the Church. My vision is to go back to Africa as soon I finish my studies, to lead a church, do church planting, train pastors and leaders, and help children and youths out of poverty through holistic transformation. We will establish a model Christian community in Uganda, with ministry training center, foster homes for orphans, Christian school, medical center, agricultural farm, vocational center, Christian library, publishing house, media training facility and a radio network program.

 

God brought me to Chicago to study at Moody Bible Institute ahead of my family in Fall 2015. It has been very difficult to live apart and yet there are still more 4 years to go; I will graduate in May 2020. We are a young family we need to grow together. Harriet and I are praying that God will provide us the required funds to enable us be together during the remainder of my time at Moody. I am hoping to work on campus but friends and well-wishers have asked how they can make a donation to help me and my family in this process. If you wish to help with the costs of my education or the costs of getting my family here while I study, you can:

1. Donate through GoFundMe. A friend set up an account at www.gofundme.com/theokumufamily  
2. Donate directly to Moody Bible Institute in my name, Yudah Tadeo Okumu (ID# 4153361).
   1. The online payment option is at  https://portal.moody.edu/prt_mainpage.aspx?id=134337 
   2. Or make a check payable to Moody Bible Institute and send to:
      Moody Bible Institute, Department # 1018, PO Box 6500, Chicago, IL 60680
      (with Student name: Yudah Tadeo Okumu, ID# 4153361 on the check).

 

I would also like to thank Dr. Peter Grant and the friends and supporters of Prevision Partnership for your generosity. In particular, I want to thank you for the vision to empower and to come alongside students like me on this training curve. Thank you for pouring out your hearts and investing resources in what we are becoming. Thank you for encouraging our faith in pursuing God’s calling upon our lives. I am very grateful for your prayers and financial support. May God bless you and may God bless PreVision Partnership. Your investment in Harriet and me is a direct investment in ministry in Africa, with benefits in this time and the time to come.

 

To God be the glory!

Yudah Tadeo Okumu

 

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Emelissa Mejia, Honduras (Fall 2015)

My name is Emelissa Mejia and I’m from La Ceiba, Honduras. I am a junior at Moody Bible Institute studying for a BA in Evangelism and Discipleship.

By God’s grace, I was raised in a Christian home where both of my parents instilled in me from a very young age the message of the gospel. I have an older sister, Lillie and a younger brother, Rigo. My parents, throughout my life have served the church. As a result of growing up in a Christian home and attending a wonderful church, I surrendered my life to the Lord at the age of 14. I felt the Lord’s leading to serve Him in the mission field. In 2009, my parents were led by the Lord to go to the USA. We moved, as a family to a small town called Columbus in Texas and have continued to serve there in a Hispanic community.

After graduating high school, I attended San Jacinto College in Pasadena, TX where I concluded my studies in the Paramedic program. Growing up, I translated for medical brigades, so I had always dreamt of serving people by helping them with their health issues. After I concluded the program my aunt told me about Moody and encouraged me to apply. I applied and got accepted! YAY!

Being at Moody has definitely been one of the best experiences of my life! There have been several challenges in the past three years but God has definitely been more than faithful. He has provided a wonderful community around me and an education of a lifetime. Moody has really become my second home. This year, I took on the role of being a Resident Assistant for the women in Smith Hall floor five. This has really taught me about myself and trusting in the Lord for guidance and reliance.

After I graduate from Moody, my desire is to continue to equip myself by seeking a nursing degree. This will enable me to serve in medical missions. I hope to be able to work in the medical field by teaching preventative care in places where there are no hospitals. I would also love to be a form of support for the local church, or even get involved in church planting. God has definitely given me a burden for Honduras but I am also open to go wherever He leads.

I want to thank you the supporters of PreVision Partnership for this award. I am humbled to be the recipient of such a generous gift. I pray that the Lord will bless you and this wonderful ministry.

With gratitude,
Emelissa Mejia

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Ed & Luisette Kraal, Curacao (Fall 2015)

Born on the Island of Curacao, Dutch Caribbean, Ed was called by God to repent of his sins in 1995. As a single father of his daughter Jadee, he lived life to please the Lord from that they on. In 2005 Ed was called to full time ministry and left jobs, homes and a big ministry behind to go back to college to study the Bible. In 2010 Ed graduated with a diploma in ministry from the Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio. In 2012 Ed graduated from Moody Bible Institute and is currently finishing a Masters degree in Intercultural Studies at the Moody Theological Seminary. Ed loves sports, reading and most of all the Word of God. He loves to spend time with people talking about the Lord. His most favorite ministries are prayer and one-on-one discipleship. More at www.savedtoserveministries.com.

Luisette was also born on the island of Curacao, Dutch Caribbean. She has always had a great love for books. She studied in the Netherlands and became an RN nurse and later got a Masters in Nurse Management. She went back to the island to work and got saved in the beginning of the 90's. Luisette was a young widow with an adopted son. Soon God used her love for books and she started writing. Luisette was a manager in a daycare facility for disabled people when the Lord called their family to service. Luisette graduated in 2010 with a bachelors from Baptist University of the Americas and in 2014 with a Masters of Intercultural Studies at Moody Theological Seminary. She is a writer and speaker. You can see more about her on her website www.luisettekraal.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Luisette-Kraal/1508425689435305.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LKraal.

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Fei She, China (Spring 2015)

My name is Fei She. I am 23 years old. I was born in a Christian family at the border of China and North Korea.

When I was little, my family moved a lot due to my parents’ ministry’s need. Eventually we settled on the east coast in a small city called Weihai, which is also the closest city to South Korea. My father is a pastor, serving in a government church in central part of China. My mother also serves the Lord in a smaller church back in my hometown.

Growing up I had a lot struggles. Because we had to move from one place to another quite often, I hardly had any friends outside my family. Because of their choice of “career,” my parents had to experience financial struggles every once a while. Due to many different opinions toward ministry and the financial pressure along with other issues, my parents finally divorced in the year of 2006. And that was when the real struggle came in my life. My father went to serve in a different city. I chose to stay with my mother. In order to support the family, my mother started doing small businesses. While my father was away and mother busy with her business, I hung out with some people that I was not supposed to make friends with. I was taught to drink and smoke. I stole money from my mother and lied to her.

In the year of 2008, a huge wave of economic crisis hit China, and my mother’s business started falling apart. Later that year my mother’s health was consumed by her busy life style and mental pressure, which eventually caused a major health breakdown. While she was on her death bed, I was out in the bar smoking with my “friends.” The Lord was merciful, and I am still thankful today that my mother did not die back then when I was the perfect example for a prodigal son.

In 2009, under the influence of my mother, I finally came to my conscience. I started praying and reading the Bible again. I quit the gang and started working really hard on academics. By the grace of God, I became one of the top students in my region. I was expected to enroll at the best college in China. However, God really had a sense of humor. After my Gaokao (similar to SAT, but only happens once a year and is more intense and harder) grade came out, not even one college wanted me. Not because my grade was bad, it was actually pretty good. Not even the second-class schools wanted me. It did not make sense to me. I am not exaggerating, for a Chinese student, it means your previous 12-year education and hard work is in vain. I remember I was complaining a lot. Eventually I fell into depression.

It was around that time I met my mentor, Dr. Bates, in my father’s city. Dr. Bates would lead me to prayer and worship. And I gradually learned to submit and obey. Two months later, an American pastor challenged me to think about enrolling a Bible school and being a pastor in the future. Back then it was impossible for me. Having seen all the hardship and bitterness that my parents had to deal with, I had made my mind up long ago that I would never serve full-time. However I went back to pray. And through prayer, I understood that this was what God wanted me to do. That was why He shut every door which would possibly open for me in China. During the process of applying Moody and getting my visa, many miracles happened. It was crystal clear that I was doing God’s will.

While growing up, I was not good at anything. I was not musical or athletic. But I would always feel empowered to preach, and I had done it many times before I came to the States. And I love to care for people. God has given me a soft heart. Now I know that these gifts were give to me by God and my past brokenness was also part of His plan for my future ministry.

Now I am a junior, Pastor Ministry major, BA/MA program at Moody Bible Institute. I am also serving at a Chinese church as the assistant pastor. I get to teach Sunday school every week and preach every month. My plan for the next ten years is to pursue further education after Moody. I want to be an expert in Biblical Greek. Because in Chinese Christian circle, we do not have many Greek scholars who are able to train other fellow Chinese believers. I also want to be a pastor in a church context. My heart is for my people. I want to have an organization or an agency which has the church as its base to train and send Chinese church leaders or whoever have a heart for China.

In His Name, 
Fei She

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Moize Milor, Haiti (Spring 2015)

Hi, my name is Moize J. Milor, often known as “Moses” in English, “Moshe” in Hebrew, “Móusés” in Greek, and “Musa” in Swahili among Moody students. I was born in the Capital of Haiti (Port-au-Prince) in 1989, but I was raised in Pignon, which is a town in the northern department. I am the only child in my family, and I grew up with many cousins, uncles, aunts and my dear neighbors whom I deeply loved in the community of Behou which is located outside of the town.

I had more privileges than many children in Haiti during my generation. My Mom is illiterate, but she was born with intelligence, she understood that education was a necessary tool for the future of her son. She stayed in the Capital and worked as a housemaid with her cousins to take care of me. She sent me to the best Primary and High school in the town. We were all Catholics, but after my Mom request to attend a Protestant church, I heard the Gospel preached and I became a believer of Jesus Christ. In addition to this, my family are getting saved and He called and appointed me for the purpose of His kingdom in Haiti. Eight months after the devastating earthquake, God opened door for me to attend the oldest and best Bible College in Haiti and the rest of the Caribbean. After two years there, I got accepted to Moody Bible Institute. I am now a junior in Pastoral Studies.

It has been my dream to train and equip well in Pastoral Studies so that I can better serve local churches in Haiti in the future. Both these Bible Colleges are the perfect fit for me spiritually and academically for that dream, and I know I would be able to contribute so much to the Kingdom of God in Haiti and anywhere else with good Biblical training that I have been receiving.

I am for Haiti, I love my Haitian brothers and sisters, and I care so much for them. I am so happy for people like you who support my education so that I can better serve them....my dream (is) to not leave Haiti the way I found it.

In Him,
Moize J. Milor

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Ayanda Kumalo, Zimbabwe (Fall 2014)

Hi, my name is Ayanda Khumalo, affectionately known as "TK". I was born in the beautiful city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1986, being the third born out of four children, and third boy. I have 2 older twin brothers and 1 younger sister, who are scattered across Zimbabwe and the UK respectively. Both my parents are in the mining industry in Zimbabwe in exploration and human resources. I grew up in the British system of education, attending schools such as Midlands Christian School, for primary education and Falcon College for secondary education, also being a Christian leader and college worship band leader. While still at Falcon, I had the privilege of representing Zimbabwe in basketball at U18 and U20 level, and also the Zimbabwe Schools Rugby XV 2004. After graduating from high school I then went on to represent Zimbabwe at the U19 2005 Junior Rugby Championship in Durban, South Africa.

I then went into music ministry at the Bulawayo Baptist Church, were I had the privilege of being the Music Pastor and Worship Deacon. Also serving as a youth leader and also sitting on the church executive helping formulate policies and direction for the church. I also had the privilege of sitting on the Sandra Jones Centre board (a home for orphans and abandoned babies and children in crisis; see www.sandrajonescentre.org), for 12 months advising on a more creative arts direction. I also had the privilege of working with Youth for Christ Zimbabwe as a worship director, and also training and discipling worship leader in the church and city. I also write and record songs for the church, while also travelling extensively across USA, Southern Africa and Europe speaking on musical worship in the church and also leading musical worship. I've had experiences and privileges of leading at Prayer Conferences, opening for Hillsong and Darlene Zschech to name a few.

I'm now at Moody studying music, being a vocal major and looking to graduate with a BA in Music, graduating in 2017. It has been a blessing being at moody, growing musically and spiritually and learning more about my character and personality. I also have the privilege of discipling other musical worship leaders on campus and doing music ministry into the student and faculty/staff body. This has happened on a number of occasions through normal chapels, Presidents chapels, Alumni Association chapels, International Student Fellowship chapels as well as Missions Conference 2013 and this year's edition, being the main worship leader with the support of The Foreigners Band and also music director for the whole conference. I am in the process of working on a worship CD project called My People, and hopefully will release something in the next couple of months. I've also had the privilege of doing ministry through the Moody Men Collegiate Choir, singing at many events and also touring to many different places in USA, as well as travelling this past March, 2014 to India to help celebrate the Indian Evangelical Missions 50th anniversary. There is talk of the choir touring Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Botswana in 2016, as I help plan and coordinate hose efforts.

My plans after I graduate are to keep travelling globally leading musical worship and keep writing and recording songs for the church. I would like to work from Zimbabwe, Europe and USA, as bases to go into Europe, Africa and the Americas. I would like to be music pastor in a church if that was possible and grow with that church as well as impart whatever the Lord lays on my heart pastorally and musically into them, as well as have a support structure. I will continue to work my church in Zimbabwe, pouring resources into their ministry and what the Lord has called them to.

In closing, I would like to offer my heartfelt gratitude to the supporters of PreVision Partnership for this award; it is humbling and an honour to receive it.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and shine His face on you.
Ayanda Khumalo

Official Website: www.restoring4him.org. Interview on YouTube click here.

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Joy Wei Na, China (Fall 2014)

I come from China, Beijing. I am the only child in my family. My parents (my mom and my stepfather) are Christians too. They are eager to serve Lord and are faithfully involved in music and evangelical ministries in church. Before attending Moody, I was involved in fulltime ministry for four years in Beijing's Shouwang Church. I used to serve as the Worship director, as well as the leader of the Alpha Course in my local church.

I have been a major in Intercultural Ministry and minor in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) for the last two years in Moody undergraduate school. Now I am pursuing a Master Degree of Intercultural Studies in Moody Theological Seminary and plan to graduate in the summer of 2016. After I graduate, I will go back to China to do mission mobilization in Chinese churches in order to encourage Chinese Christians to take part in the Great Commission.

It is my great privilege to be selected as the recipient of PreVision Partnership's Moody International Students Award. Because of this award, I am able to concentrate on my studies. The financial generosity of PreVision Partnership's supporters has allowed me to be one step closer to my future ministry. I hope one day I will be able to help other students to achieve their goals just as you have helped me.

Thank you.
Wei Na

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Kesmy St. Louis, Haiti (Spring 2014)

My name is Kesmy! Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I was born in LaGrange, Haiti. I have 11 brothers and sisters with one father and mother. I’m the sixth child of twelve. My father fished and farmed to feed us but often we went to bed hungry. We never had clean water to bathe in. We weren’t a Christian family and I was raised with voodoo which is true worshiping of the devil.

At age 11, I began having seizures. At age 12, I had a seizure and fell into a cooking fire while nobody was around. I was severely burned. My Dad went to a witch doctor to see what was wrong with me and the witch doctor told him so many lies. Instead of becoming better I got much worse. My burns were infected and my arms were so badly burned I could feel my fingers start to rot away. My Dad had to sell his cow and pig to get me to a hospital. Three days later I had to take a five hour boat ride to receive medical help. By then the infection was terribly severe. The doctors were afraid to touch me. My mother stayed with me crying the whole time. Finally a doctor told her if I was to live they had to cut off both of my arms. The doctor amputated them. In hospitals in Haiti, the family must supply the food, bedding, and medicine, so it was very hard for my parents. For 6 months I just lay there without any type of therapy. Those days were the hardest days of my life. I was in so much pain. Every night for me to sleep I had to get a shot or I couldn’t go to sleep because the pain was so bad. I couldn’t even eat, not just because of the pain, but my parents didn’t have enough money for food and all of the medicine. I was 12 when I first encountered Christ as the savior. It was during this time of depression and hopelessness that the gospel was presented to me while I was in the hospital. I had never had anybody present the gospel to me before that time. The three evangelists who presented the gospel to me were not trained in any way for proper evangelization. However, as they saw my pain and loss, they realized the only story they could share that related to me was the story of Job, and God used this story to bring me into His family. I accepted Christ because I thought that He would give me my arms back just as He returned Job's possessions.

I began to pray with anticipation for new arms, but months went by and still having no arms, I started to doubt God and my salvation. One of my sisters who received Christ during my time in the hospital told me, “God does not promise when your arms will grow again, if it is in this life or the next, but one thing is for sure, He promises you His salvation now and in the time to come.” I recommitted my life to Christ again by trusting completely He knows best. While I was still in the hospital for total of six months, I read the whole book of Job and all four gospels. My faith began to grow stronger and my spiritual eyes began to open and recognize God’s control over my life even before I encountered Him.

After those six months, American missionaries would bring me food and prayed for me. Sometime later, Ann Hume, who had heard about me, came to see me. I couldn’t imagine how a stranger could feel such great compassion for me. She helped me by taking me to the United States for therapy and better treatment. I knew my angel had arrived. Most importantly, this was the time I would begin my deep spiritual journey with my Creator King. It was also a challenge in many ways building new relationships with different people and everything else is different, but the people were so nice. I started attending a Lutheran church and got baptized there. Over this process I had developed a strong desire for reading the Bible for myself especially the four gospels. Ann introduced me to the idea of writing with my mouth and helped me so much. After six months I returned to Haiti , Ann putted me in an American School there. Upon my return back to Haiti I committed my life more deeply to the Lord and started attending Eglize Evangelique in La Grange. As I look back I realized that God was not absent in my life. He wasn’t just merely involved in preparing my life to open the eyes of my family but also the town where I am from. When family and friends lost hope for my life, God showed up and proved to us all that my life was never in anybody else's control, but His. By God’s grace my family members are believers.

I am a senior year here at Moody Bible Institute (Spring 2014)! I am so excited to graduate with a BA in Pastoral Studies with an emphasis in Theology in May 17, 2014. I have had a great experience at Moody and really love the environment and the student body here. I would do it again if I could. What is unique about MBI are the opportunities to grow and all the ministry opportunities it offers for the advancement of kingdom. My freshman and sophomore year I had the opportunity to join the Moody men’s choir. It was such a great blessing to me personally and the opportunity to share the gospel with others. I can only say I am very blessed to be at Moody. I always have been passionate about Christian education, and want to be a lifelong student of Christ. I have always wanted to have another level of higher education, because I know two things God has given me are my brain and my head. I am now looking ahead to graduate school at Wheaton College. If the money does not come for this year, I am hoping to get involved in the ministry for a year, but really I would rather be in school while in the ministry if possible. The answer is in the Lord’s hands.

In the future, I want to teach and train leaders in the Church in biblical theology. I see myself as a pastor and a teacher as it relates to ministries. I want to pastor a church and start a teaching program for lay ministers with the hope that it will become a recognized school. My overall goal is to see ministers who are trained Biblically and children who have a basic Christian education. I want to develop my leadership ability to bring unity to the Evangelical church in Haiti. I am a learner and I want to learn from the godly ministers who have gone before me. I want to grow in my ability to communicate biblical truth. My goal is to have theological understanding of Christian ministry to better serve the church of Jesus.

I share my story with the supporters of PreVision Partnership because they have blessed me with a scholarship of $500 dollars and I want them to them know the kind of work their money has been used for. I want to thank you all so much for the donation and the work you are doing in the lives of others like me.

God bless you! All the glory be to God.
Kesmy St. Louis

P.S. If you would like me to speak at your church or want to know more about me, contact me at langrange4christ@gmail.com

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