Volunteer Opportunities

New Indiana Advance – Homes For Haitians – needs teams to help make this reality

In cooperation with the Methodist Church of Haiti, Homes for Haitians has been asked to build 10 homes in the Mellier area just west of Carrefour. Volunteers in Mission have three months in which to build the other eight houses beginning in Feb. and March 2012. Homes for Haitians need eight teams consisting of three to five volunteers. The cost would be a plane ticket and housing. Ahlfeld is working on the housing, but would figure a 6-to-10-day stay, depending upon the volunteer’s availability. The housing and meals should not be more than $50 per day. Plane fares are in the $650 to $800 range. For more information on the HOMES FOR HAITIANS Program, please contact Doug Ahlfeld at djahlfeld@gmail.com or call 260-693-9380.

New Indiana Advance - Homes For Haitians – needs teams to help make this reality

In cooperation with the Methodist Church of Haiti, we have been asked to build 10 homes in the Mellier area just west of Carrefour. Two homes will be built during Nov. and early Dec. Doug will be leaving Thanksgiving night for Miami and then to PAP on the 25th through the 27th. We need teams to help with the slab and finishing the home. This is very light work with no heavy lifting. It is mainly supervision, painting, light electrical and maybe some plumbing. Volunteers in Mission have three months in which to build the other eight houses, most likely in Feb. and March, 2012. We need teams of 3 to 5 volunteers. The cost would be plane ticket and housing. Doug Ahlfeld is working on the housing, but would figure a 6-to-10-day stay, depending upon ones availability. The housing should not be more than $50 per day including food. Plane fares are in the $650 to $800 range. For more information on the Homes For Haitians Program, contact Doug Ahlfeld (djahlfeld@gmail.com) or call 260-693-9380.

El Salvador

Fort Wayne Habitat for Humanity has schedule two mission trips to El Salvador. Registration for the first week only is open and if there is sufficient response, the second week, Feb. 18-25, will open up. Both trips will begin and end on a Saturday. The cost is $1,970. This includes airfare, daily R & B, team transportation, required costs, required contingency fee, a nominal amount for the meal(s) and transportation away from the hotel or build site, and one T-shirt per person and an overnight in Atlanta. As we are leaving earlier than what we have done in the past, all fees have to be paid by Dec. 15. Contact Perry Shull, 5516 Dartmouth Dr., Fort Wayne IN 46825.

Men and chainsaws needed at Pine Creek Camp near Lafayette

Pine Creek Camp (near Lafayette, IN) is looking for volunteers with chainsaws that would be willing to provide some clearing assistance. The date is April 21, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lunch and beverages will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Trey Clayton at 765-385-2260 or tclayton@impact2818.com.

Pine Creek Camp is one of the seven camp sites that comprise Impact 2818, the outdoor ministry of the Indiana Conference United Methodist Church.

Looking for a mission trip this summer?

Why not Minot, North Dakota in the Dakotas Conference of The United Methodist Church? More than 4,000 homes were flooded, many filled to the rafters with water that stood for weeks. Can you imagine how overwhelming the flood repair work must be to an individual or family? Imagine trying to do the repair work on your house, perhaps a couple of hours each evening or maybe on the weekends. And while you are trying to repair your home (which you probably are not able to live in), you continue working at your job, caring for your family and/or spouse or parents. You continue to attend your children's school, community and church activities. And we think we are overwhelmed or discouraged? The strength and courage of the people in Minot is a real testimony to their faith. And yet in the middle of their courage and resilience, the people of Minot need our help. Recovery from the flood will take years. There will be more information on this summer’s work mission trip that is still in the early planning stages that coming out in the next several weeks. Please be in prayer concerning this mission trip and ask God what he wants you to do. For more information, contact the Dearborn Hills UMC Mission Team leader Harry Lyness at hlyness@aol.com.

Nurses needed this summer for Camp REYOAD at Epworth Forest in North Webster

Epworth Forest Conference Center, (North Webster, IN) is looking for nurses to volunteer at Camp REYOAD by being Medical Support Staff during the week of camp this summer, June 10-15, 2012. Camp REYOAD is a unique camp experience for over 100 adults with physical and mental disabilities. For more information about volunteering, please contact Ryan Gernand at (574) 834.2212 or rgernand@impact2818.com.

Epworth Forest Conference Center is one of the seven camp sites that comprise Impact 2818, the outdoor ministry of the Indiana Conference United Methodist Church.

Johnson Country Cluster to sponsor mission work camp to Guatemala this summer

The Johnson County United Methodist Cluster of Churches will sponsor a Mission Work Camp to Mission Guatemala in July-August to assist at the Mission led by Indiana Pastor Tom Heaton. The team will depart from Indianapolis Saturday July 28 and return Saturday Aug. 4. The cost per person is $1,850, which is inclusive of travel, hotels and meals. An application and $150 deposit should be received by March 30. The team will be staying in “American-style” hotels. The work to be done includes: construction work on building food distribution facility and a school at the mission station. Other volunteers will be able to be involved with other ministries of hospital visitation, children’s ministry and food distribution. It is not necessary to be a skilled construction worker to participate in this trip. The trip will be administered by “Bridges of Hope International,” an Indiana-based organization and is very experienced in mission travel to Central America. Payments should be made by local church checks to “Bridges of Hope International” to our registrar, the Rev. Joe Bottorf. A $150 deposit is due by March 30 to reserve a place for the mission trip. Anyone 13 and older may apply to go on this trip. The team will be led by the Rev. Brad Miller, Lead Pastor of Honey Creek UMC in Greenwood, will direct the trip. He has experience leading international mission trips. A valid passport is required for this trip. To apply, contact the Rev. Brad Miller for an application for the Mission Guatemala Work Camp by calling 317-445-8211 or by e-mail at brad.miller@inumc.org. The application deadline is March 30 and a $150 deposit will be required with it.

Cluster in Northeast District invites volunteers for a Costa Rica Mission Trip

The 10 Companions Cluster in the Northeast District invites Volunteers-in-Mission to join them for a Costa Rica Mission Trip from July 28 through Aug. 4, 2012. The cost of the trip will be approximately $1,459 per volunteer (The cost will vary somewhat depending on airfare and number of participants.) The Team Leader is the Rev. Shalimar Holderly. The team will be working with Costa Rica Mission Projects and UMVIM missionaries Wil and Yolanda Bailey in the Zona Sur, building churches and/or parsonages. For more information about the mission and ministry of Costa Rica Mission Projects, go to www.costaricamissionprojects.com. For more information about the mission trip, contact the Rev. Shalimar Holderly at 260-747-3459 or holderlysw@yahoo.com. Trip application and a $200 deposit are due by Wednesday, Feb. 29.

Colfax, Iowa needs volunteers to help with flood clean-up

It has been quite the summer. Hundreds of volunteers, rain, rain and more rain, and of course, more flooding. We are still in need of volunteers to help in Colfax, especially during the week. If you have a crew that would be available to help in the Colfax area, please call Pastor Cindy Finn at First UMC in Colfax at 515-674-3782. Pastor Cindy will be able to help guide teams to those folks who still need our help. Please leave a message on the church answering machine if no one is available to take your call and Cindy will back to you as soon as she is able. They can house about 20 persons at UMC.