| Everyday Lutherans Working in Mission and Ministry Overseas
From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org Everyday Lutherans Working in Mission and Ministry Overseas From <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>
Date Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:41:02 -0600
Title: Everyday Lutherans Working in Mission and Ministry Overseas ELCA NEWS SERVICE December 12, 2007 Everyday Lutherans Working in Mission and Ministry Overseas 07-204-MRC CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Brian E. Konkol does not see himself as "too special or anything like that" as a young pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) serving overseas. But he believes that God is capable of doing some "pretty amazing things through some pretty ordinary people." "Don't allow the doubts of others to prevent you from following God's calling to service," said Konkol, who is serving in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana as a long-term missionary of the ELCA.
Market experts wary but eager
You make your best investments at the worst times, and there's certainly lots of indiscriminate panic right now," said Jeffrey Bronchick, chief investment officer at Reed Conner & Birdwell in Los Angeles. "The worse you feel in your stomach, the more you should be looking for stocks to buy."
Many investors are feeling pretty bad at the moment. Stock markets around the globe have been almost in free fall since Jan. 1 as the housing meltdown and the sub-prime lending crisis have pushed the U.S. economy to the brink of recession.
How tough has it been? Despite having just notched their first weekly gains of the year, the Dow Jones industrials are down 8% in 2008, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index is off 9.4%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite has plunged 12.3%; even investor favorites of recent years such as Google Inc.
Lenders cold to the idea of forgiving debt
A mortgage broker has an idea for reducing foreclosures: Encourage lenders to forgive debt. So far, the notion hasn't gained traction. Jeff Lazerson, founder and president of the online brokerage Mortgage Grader, believes that some foreclosures could be prevented if delinquent borrowers could refinance their loans, but with some of the debt forgiven. This type of transaction, called a short refinance or short refi, is rare. Lazerson wants to set up a streamlined system to make short refis more common. Greatly simplified, this is how a short refinance works: You owe $200,000 on a house that you bought at the top of the market. Since then, house values in your neighborhood have fallen by 20 percent, and your house is now worth $160,000. The rate on your subprime adjustable-rate mortgage has gone up, and you can't afford the higher payments.
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