Recipients of the Oleari Scholarship Fund
By Tim Stafford
 A few years ago a long-term member of our church, Tom Oleari, died unexpectedly. Tom was not a rich guy, but he left most of the proceeds from the sale of his house to the church, designating half of it for missions and the other half for the music department. (Tom sang in the choir.)
Our Missions leadership decided to invest most of the money and create a scholarship fund so that Tom’s gift could yield continued missions related-dividends. After two years of building interest, we gave our first scholarship awards. Our mission partners and associates were asked to nominate people, and we received nine applications from all over the world. Because our mission partners nominated these folks, we knew they genuinely needed financial help and that they are people of great character and ministry potential.
A committee consisting of -- myself, Dale Flowers, Jim Bankson, Lesley Van Dordrecht and Bob Gardner--read the applications. I think we all agreed we would gladly have given grants to all of them, but we determined there was enough money to fund five. They are:
Rita Yousef Chebly, a wife and mother of two, lives in Kuwait. She has a BA in business administration with a very strong calling to minister to women through small groups, one-on-one, and in prison. She is studying theology online at Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, (an Arab-language school in Lebanon), in order to deepen her understanding of the Bible. (ABTS was Perry and Karen Shaw's school before they retired to Australia.)
Rénovat Bigiruhiriwe (Bigi) is a medical doctor in Mozambique, who trained under our mission partner Brian Meyers and is instrumental in maintaining the "Pay it Forward" program Brian started to disciple medical students. Bigi wants to study at a Bible institute in Mozambique so that he has a solid background to work with these students.
Ige Oluseyi David (Ige) lives in Gambia, a mostly-Muslim country in west Africa. Ige and his family (a wife and four children) are missionaries from Nigeria to Gambia. Ige is working on his master’s degree in World Arts at Dallas International University (which trains Bible translators in association with Wycliffe and where our partners, Chumley and Connie Eckerle serve). Ige wants to foster indigenous music and art in worship, which is a very important way to communicate the gospel where society remains partly pre-literate.
Carlos Esteban Cuervo from Colombia is finishing a master's degree in philosophy, science and religion from the University of Edinburgh and is currently studying in Argentina for a PhD in Philosophical Foundations of Natural and Cognitive Sciences. Carlos is a leading trainer for Campus Crusade in Colombia and according to our mission partner Elizabeth Sendek, Carlos’ “ministry reaches out beyond Colombia to Latin America and the Caribbean [helping leaders] in the faith to integrate all of life in light of the gospel and to work in their professional fields from a holistic Christian worldview."
Sana Sunia from Santa Rosa works with our mission partner Jeff Johnson in Young Life, and is a leader in his church, the First Samoan Congregational Church of Santa Rosa. He graduated from CSU Sacramento in sociology, and now seeks a BA in theology from Theos Seminary (an online school). This scholarship will enable him to pursue his sense of call to full-time ministry.
It's wonderful to be a conduit from the faith and generosity of Tom Oleari to these remarkable, self-sacrificing servants of God. Please rejoice with us! and Thank God.
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Have you ever wanted to ring a handbell? Are you interested in joining the handbell choir? Come check out the bells and talk to some ringers on Sunday Aug. 29 on the lawn during the coffee hour (after each service). Hope to see you there. If you are unable to stop by on those days or have questions, contact any one of us:
encourages thoughtful inquiry into the tenets of Christian faith. Topics we are covering include the importance of Scripture, the doctrine of the Trinity, and the person and work of Jesus Christ. 
