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Mission News for January 19, 2010

HOOSIER UNITED METHODIST

Mission Opportunities
For Tuesday January 19, 2010
This newsletter is paid for through your annual conference connectional ministries tithe.
Edited by Dan Gangler, director of communication

The Rev. LeKisha Reed, Associate Director of Mission and Advocacy, is available to you in the new Indiana Conference Center and would like to hear what your congregation is doing in mission and advocacy. Submit mission news, information and volunteer opportunities to lekisha.reed@inumc.org or call 317-924-1321. The Indiana Conference Mission and Advocacy area has created a Facebook Fan Page. Check it out here.

PRAYERS OF HAITI

Share your prayers for Haiti on Facebook here.

And at www.10thousanddoors.org.

MORE WAYS TO GIVE TO HAITI RELIEF

VOLUNTEERS AND HEALTH KITS

According to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), there will be a great need for volunteers to help rebuild once the initial crisis is past, but it is not safe or possible for volunteers to go to Haiti at the present. However, UMCOR’s two relief supply warehouses are asking United Methodists to provide health kits and layette kits that will be sent to Haiti. Instructions for assembling and shipping health kits are available on the UMCOR Web site at www.umcor.org.

Here is information for those who would like to take a volunteer team to the Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Illinois to assemble the shipment to Haiti. There is a need for volunteer groups in the months of February and March. Please contact MMDC to make your team’s reservations. Contact: Midwest Mission Distribution Center, 1022 New City Road, P.O. Box 56,Chatham, IL 62629, phone: 217-483-7911, fax 217-483-7981 or online.

KITS

Please be sure all items are new.

Health Kits – Suggested shipping donation $1 per kit to defray costs. 1 hand towel (not finger-tip or kitchen size), 1 wash cloth, 1 comb (regular size, not pocket size, no rat-tail combs, no barber combs; suggestion – Little Goody 2 Pack), 1 fingernail clipper or file (no emery boards), 1 bar of soap (3 oz. or larger in original wrapper), 1 toothbrush (in original single wrapper, no multiple packs), 1 tube of toothpaste (3.5 oz or larger, in original wrapper. Check expiration dates; it must be at least ONE YEAR ahead.), 6 adhesive bandages (*Band-Aids; no pictures or colors, regular size and wrapped in a rubber band). Wrap the items in the hand towel. Items may be placed in a one-gallon plastic zip-closure bag. All new items please. Please make sure all items are correct sizes. If they are not the correct size they are unusable.

Layette Kits – Suggested shipping donation $1 per kit to defray costs. All new items. Many women do not have clothes with which to welcome a newborn into the world. Layette kits provide them with basic supplies. Include: 6 cloth diapers (3-ply birdseye, new), 2 undershirts or onesies, 2 baby washcloths 2 gowns or sleepers, 2 diaper pins, 1 sweater, and 2 receiving blankets (no quilts or knitted). Bundle the items inside one of the blankets and secure it with diaper pins.

DONATIONS

We are grateful that donations continue to come in online. Donors may also contribute by placing a check in the offering plate at any United Methodist church or by mailing it to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Checks should indicate “Advance #418325” in the memo line.

Offerings received in congregations need to be send to their District Centers using the same P.O. Box address used when sending in the conference tithe. Checks sent to the conference office should have “Haiti Emergency” in the memo line. Thank you for your generous contributions,

Remember, 100 percent of gifts go directly to Haiti Earthquake relief efforts. Administrative cost has been paid through the One Great Hour of Sharing special Sunday offering.

FILM AND DISCUSSION

Movie For Haiti: The Road To Fondwa. Learn about Haiti before and after the Earthquake! All money raised will be donated. See the film at the Earth House/Lockerbie Central UMC, 237 N East Street Indianapolis at 7 p.m., Thursday, January 21.

For more Indiana Conference-related information about recovery efforts, early response training, kit assemblage and special offerings to UMCOR for Haiti Emergency, visit www.inumc.org and click on Haiti Emergency in left column.

MISSION AND OUTREACH NEWS

ST. LUKE’S, MILROY VOLUNTEERS BACK FROM HAITI

There is good news to report in the plight of nine Indiana church members who traveled to Haiti for a mission trip. All are safe and have returned home. The eight volunteers were led by Associate Pastor Jamalyn Williamson of St. Luke’s UMC in Indianapolis.

The nine members of St. Luke's and Milroy United Methodist in Rush County were working side by side in the Fondwa region of Haiti where they've worked in the past, when the quake hit. The school where the mission work was to be done collapsed in the quake. Members of the mission group were all inside a home when the earthquake struck. The entire group made it out. But two Haitian housekeepers inside were killed.

TWO UMCOR STAFF MEMBERS DIE IN HOTEL COLLAPSE

NEW YORK (UMNS) – United Methodists throughout the world are saying prayers; donating time, talent and money; and planning relief efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Haitian people even as the church worries about the fate of some of its mission workers in the devastated nation. In the aftermath of the 7.0 magnitude quake Jan. 12, church officials were saddened to hear about the deaths of Sam Dixon, top executive of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, who died at the hotel, and Clinton Rabb, head of Mission Volunteers, who died of fatal injuries in a Florida hospital. James Gulley, an UMCOR consultant, was rescued. See his interview online. For the latest in coverage from the United Methodist News Service, click here.

MEMORIAL SERVICE THIS WEEK FOR UMCOR LEADERS WHO DIED IN HAITI

The Rev. Dr. Sam W. Dixon Jr., deputy general secretary, United Methodist Committee on Relief.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, Jan. 22 at Edenton Street United Methodist Church, 228 West Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC 27603. Condolence can be send to Cindy Dixon & family, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1400, New York, NY 10115.

The Rev. Clinton Rabb, assistant general secretary, Mission Volunteer Department, GBGM.

A memorial service will be held at 12 p.m. noon, Saturday, Jan.23 at the University United Methodist Church, 2409 Guadalupe Street, Austin, TX 78705. Condolence can be send to Suzanne Rabb & family, 142 Amsterdam Avenue, Hawthorne, NY 10532. Please forward all e-mail condolences to Klay Williams, who will be collecting these messages to be used in a forthcoming memorial board.

UNITED METHODIST HAVE RAISED MORE THAN $1 MILLION AS OF JAN. 16

The donations to the United Methodist Committee on Relief will support its efforts to respond to those most in need following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. An estimated 2 million to 3 million people need immediate assistance.

In a statement, Bishop Joel Martinez of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, UMCOR’s parent agency, said he was thankful “for the overwhelming generosity,” but encouraged further gifts. “This is heartening but needs to be multiplied many times over,” he said. “We believe that contributions to UMCOR at worship on Sunday (Jan. 17) will be a powerful testament to the love of United Methodists for those in crisis.”

UMCOR staff was expected to arrive in the Dominican Republic sometime over the weekend. The agency’s emergency response efforts will be coordinated with a variety of partners, including Church World Service, Action by Churches Together, Global Medic, Muslim Aid and the Methodist Church of Haiti. For the full story, click here.

UNITED METHODISTS IN HAITI BEFORE QUAKE HIT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) – It didn’t take an earthquake to bring United Methodists to Haiti. And it will take more than an earthquake to keep them away. Hundreds of United Methodists from across the United States are in Haiti. More have plans to go to the poverty-stricken country as soon as possible on mission teams to work on schools, clinics and homes and to bring medical supplies and food. In a country already suffering from overwhelming poverty and little infrastructure, that kind of help is what Haiti desperately needs in the aftermath of a massive earthquake. Read more.

GERMAN UNITED METHODIST TO LEAD MISSION AGENCY

NEW YORK (UMNS) – A former missionary with strong United Methodist roots in his native Germany and broad ecumenical and international experience is the new chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Thomas Kemper, 53, a layman, was elected Jan. 13 by the board’s executive committee. The first top executive of a United Methodist general agency from outside the United States, he will assume his new duties March 15. Kemper has led the Board of Missions and Internal Church Cooperation of the United Methodist Germany Central Conference since 1998. He also was a missionary in Brazil. Read more.

UNITED METHODIST WOMAN SAVES COLLEAGUES IN HAITI

NEW YORK (UMNS)--The Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince was collapsing around Sarla Chand moments after a massive earthquake struck the Haitian capital. A piece of debris hit Chand on the head, and all the former staff member of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries said she could think of was not to give up. “If I didn’t keep moving, I think I’d be dead,” Chand said Jan. 15 in an interview on “ABC News.” Chand was able to move through the debris to escape the hotel, and her quick action in bringing back help is credited with saving the lives of several colleagues, including three United Methodist mission leaders. Read more.

FORMER HAITIAN CHURCH LEADER SAFE, BUT HOMELESS

TAMPA, Fla. (UMNS) – The Rev. Raphael Dessieu said he is alive, but homeless. Dessieu, the former president of the Methodist Church of Haiti, sent that message in an e-mail on Jan. 13, a day after a 7-magnitude earthquake struck the island nation. “My family and I are alive, sleeping in the street, as home and items are all gone. It is not safe, so please pray,” he wrote. The Rev. Dionne Hammond, associate pastor at East Lake United Methodist Church in Tampa, shared Dessieu’s message with the Florida Annual (regional) Conference communications staff. She visited Dessieu in Haiti in November 2009 on behalf of the Florida Conference. Dessieu has been waiting for a work visa that will allow him to serve as pastor of Faith Community Haitian United Methodist Mission in Tampa. Whitaker appointed Dessieu there in July 2009, but lacking a work visa has stalled his arrival, Hammond reported. Read more.

UNITED METHODIST HELP TYPHOON SURVIVORS

NEW YORK (UMNS) – When typhoons brought flooding to the Philippines last fall, the waters destroyed crops along with homes. That’s why 1,600 farming families will receive packets of seeds through the United Methodist Committee on Relief as part of its long-term recovery effort with Action by Churches Together International. Rice and vegetable seeds – for tomatoes, string beans, eggplant, okra, cucumbers, radishes, carrots – will help provide self-sufficiency. Corn seeds will feed both animals and the growing market for sweet yellow ears. Read more.

FOR THE LATEST IN DISASTER NEWS AND RECOVERY VISIT www.disasternews.net and www.umcor.org.

REGISTRATIONS DUE NOW

EARLY RESPONSE TRAINING IS STILL OPEN IN EVANSVILLE ON JAN. 30

For those who are interested in response volunteer work in Haiti during future months, this training will be a must. Spots are still available. The class will be held at Old North United Methodist Church, 4201 Stringtown Road, Evansville, IN 47711. The time is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If we are snowed out, the make-up date will be Feb. 20. Visit the church Web site (www.oldnorthumc.org) for the required sign-up sheet, under Mission Opportunities. Cost is $25, which will include a light breakfast, lunch, booklet and supplies. Mail the check made payable to Old North United Methodist Church and the signup sheet to Bruce Wright, 4005 Herrmann Road, Evansville, IN 47711; home 812-422-9155; cell 812-598-2289; church 812-423-2483. – Bonnie Albert, UMVIM Coordinator Indiana Conference

DISASTER RESPONSE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

NORTH CENTRAL JURISDICTION - Jan 22-23: TRAIN THE TRAINER class. Barbara Tripp, UMCOR Consultant, will be leading a class on Train-the-Trainer for persons interested in training Early Response Teams (ERTs). This class which is limited to 8-12 participants from the North Central Jurisdiction convenes at 1 p.m., Jan. 22 (Friday) and goes until 5 p.m., Jan 23 (Saturday). Hosted by the Detroit Conference and First UMC Mount Clemens, 57 Southbound Gratiot Avenue, Mount Clemens, MI 48043; ph 586-468-6464.

After completion of this course, an UMCOR evaluator will be asked to be present the first time you conduct a training. This will be the final step in getting UMCOR authorization as an Authorized ERT Trainer.

Cost: $25 per person. Training manual and materials, lunch and snacks will be provided. Reservations must be made through David Lafreniere at the First UMC of Mount Clemens at address listed above.

NEWLY LISTED MISSION OPPORTUNITIES

VOLUNTEERS NEED TO PREPARE IF THEY WANT TO SERVE IN HAITI

Here is a note to Indiana VIMs from Lorna Jost, UMVIM-NCJ Coordinator

You are indeed in the North Central Jurisdiction! Each jurisdictional Coordinator is to keep a list of volunteers so that when we are allowed back in we can have a coordinated effort from our UMC members. Team members will need a valid passport, updated tetanus shot and hepatitis A and B shots.

Teams going into Haiti will have to have team leaders that are trained UMVIM team leaders. The team leader will have to have had some experience in Haiti. Some Early Response Team experience would not hurt also.

Your conference coordinator is Bonnie Albert and she has been copied on this note. She is offering team leader training soon in the Indiana Conference.

When going to Haiti, you pay your own way and may have to bring in all food and supplies. This is dependent on when we are allowed in and the conditions in the area you are placed in. Teenagers would probably be fine but I would suggest that a parent travel with them. What they might see is not going to be pretty.

We will wait for the word from the Methodist Church of Haiti and from UMCOR as to when it is advisable to go in. That will be the juncture when it seems that volunteers can help more than just consuming valuable time and food and other resources needed by the Haitian people. All will endeavor to do good, do no harm and definitely learn to love our God more while on this mission.

We are wanting to work on some spiritual formation resources - so that we are able to better serve the mental/ physical and spiritual issues that will be facing the Haitian people. Every family in Haiti has lost someone... many have lost a lot of relatives, some whole families are gone.

The Haitian people will need us. Thanks for sending in your contact information.

I will also put you on an e-mail list for updates on Haiti.

If you are interested in volunteering for relief projects in Haiti, send you contact information to LeKisha Reed.

FLOOD RECOVERY INFORMATION (UPDATED)

UNITED METHODISTS CONTINUE IN FLOOD RECOVERY EFFORTS STATEWIDE

The floods may seem long gone and out of the news, however, volunteers are still needed to assist residence in northwest, far northwest and in the central parts of Indiana. (updated 6/15/09)

In far northwest Indiana, contact the Lakeshore Area Regional Recovery in Indiana (LARRI). Visit www.larri.info located at the United Way of Porter County at 951 Eastport Centre Drive, Valparaiso, IN 46384; ph 219-447-3583 or toll-free 877-LARRI4U; fax 219-477-5845. Lakeshore Area Regional Recovery in Indiana (LARRI) has been approved as an eligible volunteer location for Disney’s program Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. Effective Jan. 1, volunteers can go to the Disney site and sign up to work at a LARRI location and receive a voucher for a day at a Disney Park (Disneyland® Resort or Walt Disney World® Resort). Click on photo to go to the official Disney site. Watch for program updates. For details, click here. When asked for city online, type in Munster, IN. (updated Jan. 2010).

Across central Indiana. For work team schedules in the Columbus area, contact Angie Huebel at the United Way of Bartholomew County, 1531 13th Street, Columbus, IN 47201, ph 812-314-2344; ahuebel@uwbarthco.org. For other communities, Bonnie Albert, Indiana UMVIM Coordinator; ph 219-464-1447; bonkay@hotmail.com (Updated 12/14/09).

In Northwest Indiana contact Alan H. Welch, director, DANI-Disaster Assistance for NW Indiana, 1021 N 10th Street, Lafayette, IN 47904; ph 765-742-4718; welchah@gmail.com. DANI information is available by visiting http://daniflood.org.

Morgan County (Lannie Stecher, ph 765-318-8344, pastorlannie@yahoo.com) is in need of both skilled and unskilled volunteers to assist with rebuilding and repairing homes damaged by the June 2008 floods. The “500 year flood” impacted over 2,700 households, 48 percent of which fall below the Federal poverty guidelines. Housing in churches can be provided. Go to www.mcltrc.com to register and for more project information. (Updated 10/24/09)

Southern Indiana - Contact Disaster Response Coordinator: The Rev. David Powell, 820 W Mill Street, Danville, IN 46122; ph 317-745-4330; info@danvilleumc.org. Terre Haute and Bartholomew County areas in need of volunteers.

PREVIOUSLY LISTED MISSION OPPORTUNITIES

IND. VOLUNTEER-IN-MISSION COORDINATOR REQUESTS YOUR INFORMATION

Where are you stepping outside the church walls to be in service to others? Do you have plans for a team to serve beyond your community? Would you please send me the team leader’s name and contact information, the date of your mission trip, and the project your team will serve.

– Blessings, Bonnie Albert UMVIM Coordinator Indiana Conference,
ph 219 464-1447 or 219-241-7250 or by e-mail.

FLOOD OF JUSTICE MISSIONS

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Central United Methodist Church in Evansville, Ind., has created a unique and exciting mission opportunity for your senior high youth. Flood of Justice Missions was created to help youth put feet on their faith through tangible acts of love and service. The camp dates will be July 18-24 and we will add July 11-17 as a second camp if our initial camp fills up. Your youth will be working on homes during the day and be involved in dynamic programming in the evening focusing on the theme of being “Rescued.” The cost is $250 per registrant, which will cover all building materials, meals, programming and lodging for the week. You can find out more about this great opportunity at www.floodofjusticemissions.com.

EARN DAYS AT DISNEY PARKS FOR WORK WITH LARRI

MUNSTER, Ind. – LARRI (Lakeshore Area Regional Recovery in Indiana) has been approved as an eligible volunteer location for Disney’s program, Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. Effective Jan. 1, volunteers can now go to the Disney site and sign up to work at a LARRI location and receive a voucher for a day at a Disney Park (Disneyland® Resort or Walt Disney World® Resort). Click on photo to go to the official Disney site. Watch for program updates. For details, click here. When asked for city online, type in Munster, IN.

INDIANAPOLIS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY BUILD PLANNED FOR 2010

Hear about the first ever Central Indiana UMC Build from 2009 and learn how your church can get involved in the 2010 Central Indiana UMC Habitat Build on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at

Castleton UMC, 7160 Shadeland Station, Indianapolis, IN 46256; ph 317-849-2947.

Enter parking lot off of 71st Street and use entrance Door 5. Directions to meeting room will be posted inside. PLEASE RSVP to Stephen Craig at scraig@indyhabitat.org or ph 317-921-2121 ext. 121; cell 317-430-1311.

NOMADS VOLUNTEERS WORK IN RESPONSE TO DISASTER

Jane Waddock, NOMADS representative to UMVIM-NCJ

NOMADS started on a new and exciting program three years ago as we responded to the needs of communities affected by Hurricane Katrina. A Disaster Response Project was established in Moss Point, MS, under the Revolving Team concept. The Revolving Team concept allows NOMADS to work from one week to as many as 12 weeks at a project in contrast to the traditional three-week projects which also continue.

To qualify as a Disaster Response Project, NOMADS must be invited by a United Methodist Church or related agency which is capable of providing a place to park RVs with water and electricity hook-ups plus a way to dispose of sewage. There also must be a qualified agency to provide work assignments, coordinate with NOMADS leaders and provide funding for the project. We often rely on UMCOR partners (usually the local UM Conference Disaster Response agency) for assistance in establishing the project.

During the Spring and Summer of 2009, NOMADS worked at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and completed work assignments in 26 homes. Currently, there are two Disaster Response Projects in effect. Since Oct.5, four homes in Moss Point, Miss., have been restored for area families. The newest Disaster Response project in Galveston, Texas, has seen three homes finished since Oct. 5. We will continue working in Galveston and Moss Point during the Winter and Spring of 2010 where we will provide assistance to more people who want to return to their homes.

To learn more about the NOMADS program and projects visit: http://www.nomadsumc.org.

UPCOMING UM VOLUNTEER IN MISSION TRAINING SESSIONS IN INDIANA

Mar 20, 2010: UMVIM Team Leadership training – Bloomington, Ind. at St. Mark’s UMC, 100 North State Road 46. Contact: Bonnie Albert, Indiana UMVIM Coordinator; ph 219-464-1447; bonkay@hotmail.com. Possible ERT training to be included.

April 10, 2010: UMVIM Team Leadership training – New Life UMC, 3039 W 400 N (US31) near Mexico, Ind. Contact: Bonnie Albert, Indiana UMVIM Coordinator; ph 219-464-1447; bonkay@hotmail.com. Possible ERT training to be included.

OTHER VIM OPPORTUNITIES

Ohio VIM team leaving for D’Iberville Jan. 23

David Tharp of St. Paul’s UMC, Findlay, Ohio, is a Disaster Recovery effort to D’Iberville, Miss. He has led many such teams. The team carpools to the worksite. They leave Jan 23 if anyone is interested in joining them. Contact David at ph 419-422-0246 or dtharp6821@aol.com.

Orphanage #4, Pavlovsk, Russia, June 27-July 11.

Of the100 million orphaned children in the world in 1999, it is estimated that Russia had 637,000 – a 1.5-fold increase since 1989. Figure the math for what it is today. We have a wonderful opportunity for you to join us this summer to help some of the 550 children in Orphanage #4. Besides the work and relationship building, we will do sightseeing in the St. Petersburg area and a weekend in Moscow.

There is an added option to visit Samara on the Volga River, and return to the U.S. July 16, 2010. Those who opt for these extra days will travel via overnight train to Samara. Cost for the 2 week work mission is $3,500 and $4,500 for the extended trip. All expenses are covered, including round trip air fare from Chicago O’Hare airport. Both Co-Leaders have experienced multiple mission trips to Russia. For more information contact Rex Piercy or Glenna Boughton.

REQUESTS FOR DISASTER RECOVERY TEAMS

NORTH DAKOTA – All rebuild is done in Dickinson! Volunteers are needed for Rebuilds in Fargo/Moorhead and the Jamestown areas. Contact: Joan Buchhop, ph 701-775-6151.

WISCONSIN, May 15 – Chain Saw Training Course – Starts 9 a.m. at Pine Lake United Methodist Camp. Limited to 10-15 beginners or experienced cutters with emphasis on safety and working with basic hazards evaluation. Anyone using a chain saw as a volunteer for UMVIM must have certified training! Taught by Nathan Stanford, an Independent Chain Saw Safety Trainer. Course will cover:

  1. Personal protective equipment
  2. Equipment inspection/safe handling of equipment
  3. Chain sharpening
  4. Basic hazard evaluation/storm damage
  5. Tree felling evaluation
  6. Working with trees and branches under spring pressure

Bring helmet, ear, and eye protection. Also bring work boots, gloves, chaps and chain saw if you have them. Dress for the weather. You will receive a wallet card for participating or attending a basic chain saw safety course. Cost: $35 includes lunch. Register by May 7, 2010. Please send your name, address, e-mail address and money (checks made out to VIM Camps) to: Chuck Wedemeyer, 8389 N. Ivy St., Brown Deer, WI 53223, ph 414-354-8285.

ONGOING MISSION PROJECT REMINDERS

For more information about these opportunities, listings of ongoing projects and contact information, please visit http://inumc.org/pages/detail/171.

RELIEF AGENCY DEPOTS NEED SUPPLIES
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IN NORTH DAKOTA FOR FLOOD RECOVERY
  • If you can help, please contact Joan Buchhop at LDRvolunteer@lssnd.org or the Volunteer Hotline at 800-366-9841.
STUDENTS IN SIERRA LEONE NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE
  • For only $75 you can provide a work/study grant for a youth in the Ganta school.
  • Visit www.operationclassroom.org and click on Donate
  • Or you can send a check to Operation Classroom.
  • For more information, contact Operation Classroom, Inc., PO Box 246, Colfax, IN 46035; ph 765-436-2805.
HURRICANE RECOVERY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IN LOUISIANA
  • You can register your team by going to www.laumcstormrelief.com and clicking on Louisiana Disaster Response.
  • There are five locations: New Orleans, Lake Charles, Grand River, Slidell and Houma.
  • Contact the LA Conference of the UMC Disaster Response, 141 North 6th Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802; ph 225-346-5193; fax 225-346-6974; laumdisastermin@bellsouth.net
  • Web site: www.laumcstormrelief.com
  • Contact person: The Rev. Yvonne Dayries, Volunteer Coordinator, ydayries@ladrm.org

MISSION OPPORTUNITIES REMINDERS

For more information about these opportunities, listings of ongoing projects and contact information, please visit http://inumc.org/pages/detail/172.

OPERATION CLASSROOM LIST VIM TEAMS FOR 2010
  • Sierra Leone
    • February 6-20 – Team leaders to be selected.
    • April 10-14 – Don and Marilyn Griffith, team leaders
  • Liberia
    • April – New Georgia school construction
    • July 11 to 27 – Team leader to be selected
    • July 25 to Aug. 10 – Teaching seminar
  • Other VIM teams being planned
    • To Sierra Leone
      • April to Women’s Training Center at Kissy
      • May to University of Indianapolis
      • Summer: Kay Hess, team leader
    • To Liberia
      • Fall – Team Leader and project to be selected
  • For more information, visit www.operationclassroom.org.
SAINT LUCIA UNITED METHODISTS SEEK VIM TEAM FOR 2010
  • Leaders are currently writing up the project.
  • If interested, contact C. Stilson Cato at juditha_c@hotmail.com.
CAMEROON INITIATIVE CONSULTATION - EARLY 2010
  • Hosted in Florida. Dates have not been set yet. For more information, contact Rev. Patrick Friday in the GBGM office; pfriday@gbgm-umc.org.
IOWA TEAM MEDICAL TEAM SEEKS VOLUNTEERS FOR HAITI TRIP
  • Feb 25-Mar 8
  • For information or to sign up for the team, contact Terry Dewald, 3812 Eisenhower Avenue, Ames, IA 50010; ph 515-231-1914; tdewald.rn@gmail.com
MINNESOTA OPERATION CLASSROOM ANNOUNCES TRIPS TO AFRICA
  • Sierra Leone, Kabala, March 10-25, to begin constructing a new school building. Team leader: Lyndy Zabel, ph 952-829-7179.
  • Liberia, Camphor Mission, Feb 25-Mar 15, 2010, work on the guest house. Team leader: Linda Koelman, ph 612-598-7743.
MISSION TRIP TO EL SALVADOR
RUSSIA INITIATIVE CONSULTATION XV
CONSTRUCTION VOLUNTEERS NEED TO CONSTRUCT NEW HOUSES
  • Work Camp Schedule for S.O.W.E.R. 2010 (Sharing Our Witness – Enriching Relationships)
    • Week 1 May 16 – 22 Frame shell
    • Week 2 May 23 – 29 Roofing, interior walls, exterior doors, windows, siding
    • Week 3 July 11 – 17 Install insulation and drywall, finish siding and soffit
    • Week 4 July 18 – 24 Finish drywall & paint, install porch railing
    • Week 5 August 8 – 14 Finish interior trim, install underlayment, and flooring
    • Week 6 August 15 – 21 Install interior doors, trim, and kitchen cabinets
  • To learn more or to join one of these camps contact Ralph & Carolyn Brandon, SOWER VIM Team Leaders. 231 McMillen Dr., Newark, Oh 43055, ph 740-344-5581, SOWER@wocumc.org
VOLUNTEER IN MISSION TRIP PLANNED TO AFRICA UNIVERSITY
  • May 20-June 8, 2010
  • Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe, Africa
  • Cost of the trip: $3800
  • For more information, contact Rev. Anyike at 317-925-1997 or Ruth Ellen Stone at ruthellen1@juno.com.
ELGINS TO LEAD TEACH UM TEAM TO MANAGUA, NICARAGUA
  • teachUM teams to Managua, Nicaragua
  • June 14-23, 2010
  • For more information, e-mail rrelgin@comcast.net