Global Mission Grants Cover Four United Methodist Priorities

By Elliott Wright, GBGM
More than $1.8 million in "mission opportunity grants" were approved or confirmed by directors of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries at their annual meeting in Stamford, Connecticut, in mid-October.
In addition, almost $400,000 in new grants was approved for projects in Africa and Armenia related to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).
The mission opportunity grants were for the first time organized around the denomination's current focus areas (priorities): congregational development, leadership development, ministry with the poor, and global health.
Largest of the allocations, a total of $821,037, representing four grants, one under each of the focus areas, subsidizes the modest salaries of mission personnel hired by mission partner organizations around the world. Many of these partners are regional units of the denomination outside the United States. Of these mission stipends, $365,663 are for persons engaged in congregational development, $202,730 for leadership, $86,694 for ministry with the poor, and $65,950 for health ministries.
The sum of $214,000 from special endowed funds was approved professional health education for members of racial and ethnic groups in the United States. A large part of these funds come from the Harry R. Kendall Fund.
Mission opportunity grants were not as numerous as in some former years because of reduced revenues both from contributions and from investments. The financial report approved by directors shows operating revenue receipts for the first eight months of 2009 at $34.9 million, compared to $39.1 million at the same point in 2008.

Community Radio Will 'Amplify Hope'

Community Radio Will 'Amplify Hope'
By Kathy Noble, editor, Interpreter and Interpreter Online

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom He favors!"
The centuries-old proclamation will gain a new channel on Christmas Eve when Radio Methos signs on at 101.6 FM in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Licensed to The United Methodist Church there, the new station will air inspirational and informational programs that will reach people throughout the country.
United Methodists worldwide will echo the angels' message during the station's first week. "Amplify Hope" is the campaign to solicit the short, pre-recorded greetings -- and to raise funds for the station.
United Methodist Communications, the Texas Annual Conference and Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio, are partnering with United Methodists in Cote d'Ivoire to launch Radio Methos and operate it for the first year. Fund raising will help sustain it for the next two to five years. Operations will cost about $200,000 a year.
"Amplify Hope" will also provide solar-powered, hand-crank radios to people who are too poor to buy a conventional radio or who live in rural areas without electricity.
Radio Methos will be community radio, explains the Rev. Larry Hollon, general secretary of United Methodist Communications. It will play "a significant role in bringing life-enhancing content to people who are often not served by other forms of media, because they are too remote or too poor to be a desirable audience for commercial broadcasters."
Messages of peace and reconciliation will be aired during the station's launch and be a vital part of the programming as the country recovers from civil war.
The programming will mix what the Cote d'Ivorians call "confessional radio" with education and information about health issues, agriculture, economic development, pending disasters and other topics.
"Radio can help with many things," said Robert Beugre Mambe, a United Methodist who oversees the country's national elections, to United Methodist News Service's Tim Tanton last year. "It can help people to live in peace, to love God. People who love God will also love their neighbors."
Otofa Hypolithe, lay leader at Nazareth United Methodist Church in Abidjan, told Tanton, "Whenever we preach the word of God to these people, we help them have the spirit of love in their mind, and that is very crucial for the peace process in this country."
As Radio Methos allows people to tell their own stories, "we are partnering with them in empowerment and in personal and community development," says Hollon. "That's why supporting community radio is so urgent and so important."

Mexico Mission Trip: August 2 - 8

Mexico Mission Trip: August 2 - 8, First UMC, 2314 N. Grand Blvd., Pearland, 77581, Lori Saia, 281-485-1466, lsaia@fumcpearland.org. Most work will be construction in Carbonera, a fishing village located on the gulf; and one day working at an orphanage in San Fernando . Both in the State of Tamaulipas . VBS coordinator welcome. Cost: $150 includes meals, lodging and transportation. www.fumcpearland.org.

Disaster Preparedness Seminar: Saturday, August 8,

Disaster Preparedness Seminar: Saturday, August 8, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Wesley UMC, 3810 N Major Dr, Beaumont, 77713, Alan Van Hooser, 409-962-1072, revavanhooser@aolcom. Prepare a church plan for any disruption of regular activities: gunman in the church, fire, burglary and weather related occurrences. Presenter: Jennifer Posten, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston; Recommended by TACCOR; Cost: $100 per church, unlimited attendees; Includes CD, handouts and lunch.

Team Leader Training dates 2009-2010

Here are the confirmed Team Leader Training dates for the rest of 2009 and for spring of 2010. Make sure your team leaders get to one of these if they have not attended in the past couple of years. We will cancel a session if less than 7 sign up. We can add more sessions if we need to. [ View Form ]

Urgent Need for Volunteers to Alaska for Construction of Homes Due to Flooding

I am writing to you of a great opportunity and urgent need to serve in Alaska. As you may know, there was ice flooding of villages along the Yukon River in Alaska and about 40 villages have been hurt.

In particular, there are three villages that are in urgent need for teams near the Alaska/Canadian border. The United Methodist Church along with the Alaska VOAD, FEMA, and the Mennonite Church, Church of Latter Day Saints, Catholic Charities, Samaritan's Purse, CRWRC (Christian Reform World Relief Church), the Lutherans, and the Interior COAD in Fairbanks are making a national effort to help in the recovery. The three villages are Eagle, Canana, and Stevens Village.

Because of the ice, the damage to the villages is unique and the damage looks like a hurricane or tornado went through them instead of flooding. Cars are crushed and so are homes. In Eagle, 24 homes were destroyed. Out of the 24, FEMA and locals have picked 13 that need to be rebuilt from the ground up.

In Canana, there were 30 homes that have been gutted out by the locals but do need interior repair like dry wall and electrical. There are 2 homes there that need be rebuilt from the ground up as well.

I am still awaiting news about the needs in Stevens Village.

Eagle has access to roads but Canena and Stevens Village is accessible via barge or by flying in. Teams can fly into Anchorage or Fairbanks and Holland America is helping the recovery efforts by providing ground transportation from the airport to these villages for volunteers.

IN addition, if serving in Eagle there is a support camp for volunteers to stay in and a school where they can shower. The local community there will be providing meals. In Canana, there is a building available for teams to stay in.

Ideally, we need teams that can come in for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. This is more cost effective than if they just come up for one week. However, because the need is great those teams that can only serve 1 week will not be turned away.

Also, please no youth teams. Only teams with volunteers 18 and older are encouraged to serve here. If this changes, I will let you know.

Please know that they are able to take volunteers as soon as mid-July and the window of opportunity to get these homes built is from now until about Sept. 15th due to the weather change and lack of sun in the winter months. The locals live mostly on what they hunt and gather so they will most likely not be too involved in the construction efforts as they have to prepare for the coming winter season.

Only LOG HOMES are to be built. The villages do not want any other homes built but LOG HOMES. In fact, there is a kit called "Kit Homes" which will be used for the rebuilding process. People with construction experience are needed most. For further info feel free to contact me. Thank you. Blessings,
Heather WilsonUnited Methodist Volunteers In Mission (UMVIM)Western JurisdictionThe

United Methodist Churchumvimwj@hotmail.com - Emailhttp://www.umvimwj.blogspot.com/ - Current Volunteer News & Info11707 Terra Bella St., Lake View Terrace, CA 91342818.333.6730 - Phone

Starvation in Kenya

New York, NY, February 20, 2009--Several weeks ago, Felix was admitted to the Maua Methodist Hospital, in Maua, Kenya, with severe tuberculosis. Felix weighed 20 pounds and was three feet tall. He was nine years old. Missionary Jerri Savuto sat by Felix's bedside, watching him gasp for breath.
"How hungry, alone and desperate he must have always been. I reached out and touched him and smiled at him," said Nurse Savuto. "His eyes looked up and met mine and then his little face broke into a smile. He gained weight and seemed to be doing much better but died four days ago." Jerri Suvuto is one of six United Methodist missionaries serving through Global Ministries in Kenya.

As many as 10 million Kenyans, a majority of them children like Felix, are dying due to pervasive drought and famine. The Kenyan newspaper, The Daily Nation, projected that October 2009 will be the first opportunity for a substantial rainfall. Ms. Savuto worries that many in Kenya will not live to see that next big rain...more>>

Update on Linnet and Hunger

Dear Friends and Family,

“Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.” John 6:35 “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist We saw Linnet this past week and shared a meal with her and Rahab. I wanted to give you an update on what is happening in her life and ask for your prayers. As many of you may remember, Linnet is a 24 year old woman, mother of two boys, who on Thurs. 20 Sep 2007 was brought into the hospital by neighbors. She had been found lying in the bush near her home. At around 3am that morning her husband had come to their home, dragged her out and using a panga (machete) had cut her 25 times. He cut off both hands and her right foot was dangling. He cut her back, legs, chest, face, and had left her for dead. After admission to our hospital, our surgeon was able to save her leg. After many surgeries and physical therapy, she was discharged from the hospital in mid-November 2007 and went home to live with her father and step-mother.

Bill and I visited her at her home near Chuka on 5 Sep 08. Her father had died, her step-mother had left (and since then has died) and Linnet was left with her 20 year old and 10 year old brothers, Boniface and Loyd, on their father’s land. On that visit were again amazed at Linnet’s sweet spirit and perseverance. She was receiving very little care. Boniface can cook for her but traditionally a Meru man cannot bathe a woman. Linnet’s two children were taken I by an orphanage after her father died as she cannot care for them.
We had visited Linnet with Rahab, a woman that was originally from Maua but now lives with her husband in Embu. She returns often to Maua and heard about Linnet, visited her in the hospital, and became her “mother”. Rahab has done so much for Linnet. In Dec 08 she took Linnet to a well known orthopedic hospital in Kenya to see if they could put a plate in her leg as she had broken her right leg while home and it would not heal. That surgery is scheduled for 12 Feb 08, next Thursday. Once her leg is healed and she is able to balance herself, either Rahab or Bill and I will take her to Kikuyu Hospital for prosthetics. Please join us in praying for Linnet’s surgery, rehabilitation and receiving of her prosthetic arms.

About three weeks ago Rahab started a restaurant in Maua . While setting up the new restaurant and hiring staff she heard that Linnet’s husband would be going to trail on 9 Feb 09. She felt it would be good for Linnet to come and be present at the court hearings though no one had contacted Linnet. Thus on Sunday Rahab and Linnet arrived in Maua . When Linnet showed up at the court the Magistrate was very pleased and asked if she would testify. (No charges had been brought against Linnet’s husband and thus he could not be kept in jail any longer.) The Magistrate asked that Rahab and Linnet to get a P3 form at Maua Methodist Hospital so Linnet could testify. A P3 form is filled with medical information regarding the type of injuries received, usually done by the doctor who took care of the patient involved. After some time the P3 was filled out and Rahab and Linnet returned to the court. Rahab told us that Linnet did such a wonderful job in her testimony and that the Magistrate and all that were in the court room were very impressed with her intelligence and ability to talk about such a traumatic event with such clarity. She was calm and able to explain exactly what happened. She did say that her husband had said he was going to kill her and then kill himself. She never knew why he had cut her. She told us that he had never hurt her before that time.

Her husband, who stated he was not guilty, was allowed to question Linnet and ask questions like how did she know it was him who attacked her. Rahab said that his questions did not help his case at all. After the session her husband apologized to Linnet and said he was afraid to tell the truth as he would be in prison so long and the people in the court room were so upset with him. Linnet refused to speak to him since he had lied and then ask such foolish, hurtful questions.
The policeman who had booked Linnet’s husband had traveled from his new post in Rift Valley to testify. He explained that after the neighbors had brought Linnet to the hospital, they had returned to their village and forcibly brought the husband to the Maua Police Station where he has stayed for the last 17 months.
The court will meet again to hear testimony from the clinical officer at Maua Methodist Hospital that cared for Linnet on her day of admission. That has been scheduled for 17 Feb 09.
We remain in awe of Linnet. As she talked about the court case and seeing her husband for the first time in 17 months, she was calm, not at all agitated and literally radiates a peace and inner joy that can only come from a close relationship with God. She again said she had long ago forgiven her husband and would accept anything the court decided. There is no anger, hate or bitterness in this young woman. Instead she radiates a joy and complete acceptance of who she is, what has happened and what will happen.

The last few weeks have been rather devastating. On Thursday 29 Jan a fire started in a Nakumatt, the largest chain of supermarkets in Kenya , and 29 died. It was in an old building in down town Nairobi with only once entrance and exit. On Saturday 31 Jan a fuel tanker overturned near the town of Molo and exploded killing 113 people with 176 survivors 46 of whom were airlifted to Nairobi while 0ver 100 was admitted to the local hospitals. People in the village were told that there was an overturned tanker and the villagers ran to see if they could get some of the fuel to sell and then have money to buy food. (Molo is an extremely poor area of the country).

The number of people who are starving in Kenya seems to increase daily. Our pediatric ward continues to have so many starving, emaciated children admitted. A few weeks ago I met a nine year old boy, Felix. He was admitted with severe TB. At 9 years old he weighs 20 pounds and is about 3 feet in length. He is mentally challenged. As I watched him struggle to breath, I couldn't imagine what his 9 years had been like. How hungry, alone and desperate he must have always been. I reached out and touched him and smiled at him. His eyes looked up and met mine and then his little face broke into a smile. He gained weight and seemed to be doing much better but died 4 days ago. I never took a picture of Felix but recently when I visited the ward I took pictures of two children, Martin and Joseph.

Joseph is 8 years old and weighs about 33 pounds. He is also mentally challenged and like Felix has never walked or talked. Both of them have legs about the size of a broom handle. Joseph was brought by his uncle, who went to visit his sister, who is mentally challenged and found Joseph in such critical condition he brought him to the hospital. He states that all three of his sister’s children are malnourished but none look like Joseph. Joseph is still vomiting after his 3-hourly feeds as he can only tolerate a small amount of nourishment. He also smiled at me but that day I didn’t have the camera. I am amazed these two children would every learn how to smile as I imagine their lives have been so full of sorrow, hunger, pain and loneliness.

Joseph with his uncles hand on his head
Martin is 4 years old. As you can see he is quite tall for 4 years old which means he has received food in the past but now the family has nothing and he was admitted with malaria, pneumonia, severe anemia and starvation. We can help these children recover from their illnesses and even gain weight but then we have to send them home to the same situation. The hospital has started a program to send food home with families of children like this.
Eve is a 30 year old woman who was admitted to our medical ward. Her two sons carried her to the hospital, both of whom are extremely thin. Eve was in excruciating pain and even the slightest touch of her skin caused her to groan loudly. She died before any tests were completed to help with her diagnosis.
Eve shortly after her admission
I have found knowing these four patients helpful in my efforts to lose weight. If you are still dieting after Christmas and like me are never too hungry but love the taste of good food, you might use their pictures to give up a meal daily or every other day and during the time you would normally at you can pray for people who are starving to death and you can send the money you saved to some program in your neighborhood or city, state or count, or around the world that feeds starving people.

A recent Nation (the major Kenyan newspaper) stated that it will be at least October 2009 before Kenya has the possibility of having a good rainy season and a good crop (our next rainy season should be mid-March through May. So many around us will not make it to the end of Feb much less Oct.
I’m not sure if I told you about our rainy season. It was slow in starting but then we had good rain. However, it stopped about 3 weeks too early. Some farmers that live in the hills surrounding Maua had a pretty good crop but most of the people in our area lost all of their maize and beans. They are presently allowing the stunted maize stalks to dry in the field to feed to cows. Their lack of food, of course, makes them unable to pay their hospital bills. Thus these last months have seen the hospital struggling to meet our payroll and expenses.
Bill and I were in Nairobi this last weekend and saw many Maasai herds of cattle walking through the streets headed for the wealthy areas where there is large compounds with green grass. Already their cattle are dying and they are migrating. We need your help. Please pray for us and please remember the hungry everywhere. You may not see them for often they are invisible, but they are there, standing quietly pleading with God to help them. I know God hears them, do you?

In His grip,Jerri & Bill Savuto
savuto@maf.or.ke
Maua Methodist Hospital
Box 63, Maua 60600Igembe, Kenya

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” Mother Teresa"The fact is that this generation -- yours, my generation ... we're the first generation that can look at poverty and disease, look across the ocean to Africa and say with a straight face, we can be the first to end this sort of stupid extreme poverty, where in the world of plenty, a child can die for lack of food in it's belly." Bono 2004

Dear friends of Maua Methodist Hospital ,

You may already know that Stanley and Mary Gitari, he heads Outpatient Dept. of Maua Methodist Hospital and she heads the Nursing staff, are being honored as alumni of the year by Oklahoma City University. They will be receiving the award the end of October but will stay in the US to visit people and churches with whom they have served at Maua .

They will be in Houston beginning November 14, visiting Lakewood UMC, that Sunday morning. They are available to speak for the following weeks until November 28 and possibly Dec. 6 on Sunday mornings at worship, to Sunday school classes, UMW groups, etc. If you are interested in having them speak at your church, I will be arranging their schedule so please contact me. I am unsure about the week following November 28 but will get back to you about that.

They will also need lodging and meals while they are in Houston . If someone in your church would be interested in housing them for several nights, I would greatly appreciate that also.

We are blessed to have this opportunity to introduce these amazing servants of Christ to our congregations and share the work of Maua Methodist Hospital . I hope we can spread this word abundantly.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Blessings,
Noel Denison
713-464-1173

Cell: 832-541-7480

Spirit Key A Re-Entry Program for Ex-Offenders

WE are in need of volunteers in all areas of the ministry. Five are listed here.
Administrative Volunteer, little to part time per week to work on excel or access to record data for Spirit Key clients. call 281-813-0093 or send us an email.

Volunteer; For recording information for the "RJMUMC" as a volunteer set your own time that you can support the Texas Annual Conference and the needs of Restorative Justice Ministry.

Volunteer; To work on newsletters and writing of documents for Spirit Key clients and staff. hours open to fit your schedule.!

Volunteer; Handy men or women to do repairs on Spirit Key buildings.

Volunteer Grant Writers; Join our team of grant writers as we seek out money. 75% of SK gifts are from individuals. We are looking for Corporate and Foundation Partners...more>>>

Savuto - Celebrations, Thanksgiving and Margaret!!

Aristides A.D 125 describing Christians of his time: “They walk in all humility and kindness, and falsehood is not found among them and they love one anther. They despise not the widow, and grieve not the orphan. He that hath distributeth liberally to him that hath not. If they see a stranger, they bring him under their roof, and rejoice over him as if he were their own brother: for they call themselves brethren, but not after the flesh, but after the Spirit of God……..And if there is among them a person that is poor or needy, and they have not an abundance of necessaries, they fast two or three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food.”

Sunday, May 3rd was a very special day for the hospital and the Methodist Church in Kenya. But I will start with Saturday, May 2nd. That evening Presiding Bishop Rev. Dr. Stephen Kanyaru and his wife, Mercy, had dinner with us. What a privilege it was to have them in our home. I have spoken of both of them in the past. Rev. Dr. Kanyaru built the new Methodist Conference Center in Nairobi and did it in one year. Mercy came to Maua for our Alternative Rite of Passage for our young women in December 2008. One thing that makes me so grateful to both of them is the way they work as a team. Mercy Kanyaru is attending all the Synod Meetings with her husband. There are ten Synods (what we would call districts in the UMC) and while they were here they saw anyone who wanted to talk to them. They literally spent every minute they were not in meetings or eating talking to the people who want or need to see them. Mercy is a graduate of the Maua Methodist Hospital School of Nursing and has literally nursed in hospitals all around Kenya. She is very proactive in her work for women and girls. Some of the people that come to see them are women who need Mercy’s support, understanding and wisdom. For someone in Presiding Bishop’s position it is very unusual to bring your wife and work as a team...more>>

: AIDS Orphan's Fun Day, Thanksgiving for Rain and Prosthetics and Needed Prayers

When the races were completed, we gave T-shirts to all the children and youth who ranked in the top ten in their class at school. We were so excited about this as we had over 50 of the children/youth who are doing very well in school and presented 45 T-shirts (some of the children were not present that day). We thought it was especially wonderful for them to be acknowledged and receive an award. The first student to be given a T-shirt was in Form 4, a senior in high school, and had been number one in her class all through school. The first many students called were all girls but after a bit there were several boys. As the children/youth came forward and received a loud ovation from the others there and were given a T-shirt by Mr. Gitari, you could see the joy and pride in their eyes and occasionally in their smiles...more>>

Methodists, Baptists Work Together to Improve Disaster Response

Methodists, Baptists Work Together to Improve Disaster Response
Missions volunteers from three Huntsville area churches will host a collaborative training May 15-17 for Baptist “Yellow Hats” and Methodist “Early Response Teams.”

The training is designed to help faith-based volunteers assist one another’s official disaster response efforts. Additionally, it will better prepare teams for local service, during and after emergencies.

Training will occur Friday, May 15 at Riverside Baptist Church (2359 FM 980 in Riverside– just north of Huntsville) from 6-9 p.m., for Yellow Hat disaster relief training. Saturday, May 16 at Riverside Baptist Church from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be the Yellow Hat “mobile feeding unit” training. Sunday, May 17 at the Senior Center of Walker County (340 Hwy 75N, Huntsville), from approximately 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., will be the Methodist Early Response Team disaster training.

The goal is to create a common pool of volunteers that is larger than any one denomination could muster on its own for when an emergency arises. In order to cover expenses, training will cost $10 per person for both Baptist Yellow Hat trainings and $25 for the Methodist ERT training.

Automatic “pre-approval” and registry of volunteers is not available across denominational structures. Certificates of completion will be provided to all attendees. They will be required to present those credentials to team leaders (of the respective denomination) when a response opportunity arises.

We encourage everyone to join us in these training sessions. Reserve your training spot ASAP.

For more information, contact Rick Carpenter, Wesley Memorial UMC Missions Group chair, at 936-662-7119. Or, contact Claudia Loofs at the Senior Center of Walker County, at 936-295-6151 or 936-662-0435.

ALL GOD'S CREATURES-KATHIE MANN

When I returned home the day after Ike made landfall, it was eerie as trees and telephone poles littered the ground. Roofs and fences left debris eve-rywhere. As I made my way to my neighborhood, every signal light was broken. No cars, no peo-ple, no electricity any-where. Taking a quick look around my house, I didn’t know where to begin. So I put batteries in the radio and listened as though the words would make the nightmare go away. Finding candles and matches, I cleaned out the refrigerator because it seemed the most urgent.

Then nothing...I didn’t know what else to do. I needed time to breathe.
I found my hammock and since it was cooler outside than in, I hung it on my “new” slanting porch and settled in carefully.
Gently swaying back and forth the only sounds were those of birds. No planes, no sirens, no children playing. So I concentrated on the blue jays. They were frantic, flying back and forth screeching from one downed tree to the next. Then the hum-ming birds began zip-ping around the bushes in a desperate attempt for answers to the dam-age. That’s when I re-alized that all of God’s Creatures were scared. But God was there in the darkness and bro-kenness, promising a new dawn tomorrow which would include chain saws, generators, blue tarped roofs and ice in coolers. [ View Parters In Mission Spring News Letter ]

The EMANA Project, Advance #14791T

Saludos!!! Attached is our latest newsletter for March 2009 which we pray you will enjoy. Should you have any difficulties in opening the Adobe file, you can also access it at our website www.emana.org under "Newsletters".


Con cariño, Becky Harrell, Missionary
General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church
Missionary Advance Code #15141Z www.beckyinchile.org
The EMANA Project, Advance #14791T
www.emana.org and visit www.7villages.com/chilemissionumc

Items for mission trip

Jan and were going through the donations closet and we have some items if any of you can use them at your mission sites:

• 23 sewing kits complete with the 3 yards of fabric. If you are going to conduct a sewing ministry let me know and I’ll get these to you or if they would be good as a hostess gift for a pastor’s wife, women who are cooking for the team etc.
  
• Prayer shawls – UMW members have been making prayer shawls for our teams to donate to church ministries where we serve. I have taken several to Africa and it has been a real blessing. Let me know if you need some.
  
• Canvas/cloth shopping bags. Many of our UMW and sewing groups in the Conference have been happily making “eco-friendly” shopping bags. These are really important in many areas we serve to cut down on the amount of plastic bags that end up thrown away. If you need some for your mission site as hostess gifts let me know.

Thanks for all you do! You are making missions work!

Blessings, Kathie L. Mann Director,
Partners In MissionTexas Annual Conference
5215 Main St.Houston, TX 77002
713-521-9383

Summer mission trip to Tomsk, Russia

Dear Friends of Missions,

I need your help in getting word out about the our summer mission trip to Tomsk, Russia. I would love for you to come with us but if you can't please pass information to others. Our summer trip will be July 23 to August 6 in Tomsk.We will work on Tomsk UMC in the morning and early afternoon and then spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with the children from Orphanage 4.Besides working on the church some team members will be getting supplies, buying clothes for some of the graduates and obtaining medical services for some of the children. We need a lot of help and everyone will be needed. Even if you do not do construction - you will be valuable to us. Some of the older children will also be helping on the church.The cost will be around $3200. Transportation alone runs over $2000. If I am able to get some good deals the savings will be passed on to the team.We will spend a night at the Moscow Methodist Seminary on the way in and a night at a hotel on the way out of Moscow.Please let me know as soon as possible as I am already working on tickets.

In Christ,George geobrig@yahoo.com
Houston, TX 77002713-521-9383

Revise the 2009 budget for PIM

The Executive Committee met last week in Conroe to revise the 2009 budget for PIM. Our budget money of $95,000 was removed plus another $50,000 of our carry over account leaving us about $140,000 from the Carry over (which includes Fair Share Goal donations, Admin Fees, Cook book money, T-shirt collections, etc). This is not enough to run the total program so we have to make adjustments. In 2010 with the $95,000 returned to PIM and whatever we have left in the Carry Over Account (hopefully between $25,-30,000 if donations are good), we will have another very lean year.

So the Executive Committee had to make recommendations for spending in 2009. Here are the results of that meeting:

• Each team signed up with a Project Coordinator and working on approved PIM projects will receive up to $1000 for building supplies. If the team does not need this amount it will not be distributed.
• Money will only be sent to Churches after the Project Coordinator has contacted me with the mailing information and team leader’s name. Please plan ahead so the money can get to the teams in time. Money will not be sent to the site except in those cases where accounts have been set up through appropriate channels.
• Teams will be responsible for using their own Project Money first and then the PIM money. Any PIM money left over must be returned to the PIM office.
• Site trips are on hold for 2009. There were two approved site trips which were deemed necessary for team organization this year. John Ridlehuber to Four Corners and the soon to be assigned Project Coordinator for Cote d’ Ivoire. Project Coordinators can request of the Executive Committee a site trip for emergencies only.
• T-shirts are going to be ordered this year because they pay for themselves. A new logo will be designed as the Blue T’s have been used for the past 2-3 years.
• The Missions FORUM is scheduled for Oct. 3 at Lakewood United Methodist Church on Louetta in north Houston. We will follow the same format designed in 2008 for Huntsville using Project Coordinators to discuss and educate the participants on specific mission projects. If you have any questions please call.

Blessings, Kathie L. MannDirector, Partners In MissionTexas Annual Conference 5215 Main St.Houston, TX 77002713-521-9383

Mount Sequoyah - Short-term mission project

A wonderful opportunity for participation in a short-term mission project is available at Mount Sequoyah United Methodist Conference and Retreat Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The South Central Jurisdiction Volunteer Work Week is Mar. 30-Apr. 3. Cost is $93.50 for meals; housing, including linens, is provided free to workers. Much work of all kinds to be done after the severe ice storm of last week. See http://www.mountsequoyah.org/ . Or call Rev. Don White at 281-429-7686.

Mount Sequoyah Update

Mission Trip to Costa Rica 2009 Aug. 2-9

February 3, 2009 "Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." James 2:17
Costa Rica - Summer 2009

St. Peter's Mission Team is taking a look an exciting international mission possibility for this summer - 2009 Possible dates are Aug. 2-9

Destination is Costa Rica - work near the capital city of San Jose on a church our conference has been constructing for the past 2 years.
Projected cost is $1550 - this does not include one day of R&R - understand there are some great possibilities for that day as well.

Work would include VBS and construction on the church.
If you are interested in this trip or hearing more, please contact Sandra Roberson, sroberson@stpeterskaty.org, as soon as possible.

We hope to make a discernment about this trip by the end of February...more>>>