Kenya mission teams in 2007

Dear Friends,
The calendar is beginning fill up for Kenya mission teams in 2007. If you are receiving this email it is because you are a past Team Leader/team member and I am offering you first chance to select dates for your mission team. We have several projects this coming year:

1. AIDS Orphan homes in and around the Maua area - Your team can build 1-2 homes a week in the village and get to know the family quite well.
2. Construction projects at the Maua Methodist Hospital - If your team would rather work only at the hospital there are many projects that need finishing. The construction will range from moderate work on older buildings to heavy construction of new buildings. A new Trauma Center is being planned now. Need: plumbers, electricians.
3. Medical projects at the Maua Methodist Hospital - They need I.T person who can help with the hospital information system and software, Bio-med people, and lab tech. Anyone who can help with short courses of 1-2 hours to help upgrade any of the work in the hospital will be considered. Bush Clinics can be arranged with at least 6 months notice and teams will go out to villages near Maua for day clinics with the staff of the hospital. Only 3-4 non-medical people can attend and the team will have to come up with all the financing for transport, meds. etc.
4. Bio-Intensive Farm- Meru - continue to work on the foundations of the houses, extend the goat shed, fence in the compound behind the classrooms, put in a new water system, upgrade electrical systems, renovate the Guest House.
5. Malindi Women's Conference Center - Located on the Indian Ocean just north of Mombasa, the women of the church have been collecting money for years and slowly building a Conference Center here. It will be used by the women of the church for trainings, retreats and conferences. When not in use by the women's group, the Center will be available for any mission groups, missionaries and other groups needing a place to stay. We will be helping with the fencing around the perimeter and with the beginnings of new buildings.
6. EXTREME MISSIONS - Milimanti Research Center is located 2 hours east of Meru and a training center for farmers. Teams will stay at the center while making renovations to the buildings. Located in a dry, but beautiful area, the team will have wonderful people to work with while experiencing real Kenya living.

Please let me know if you are interested in working at any of these projects. Dec - Feb will be your cheapest months for airfare, while June to October are still the most popular. Teams can split their time between the Maua/Meru projects or the Milimanti/Meru projects.
Teams need to leave on a Thursday from the States and arrive in Kenya on Friday night. Saturday is a travel day to your location. Then the team can work up to 1 week at any of the projects or longer if there is no team scheduled the next week.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
God Bless,
Kathie Mann


Director of Partners In Mission
Texas Annual Conference
5215 Main St.
Houston, Texas 77002
713-521-9383
FAX 713-521-3724

HEARTS AND MINDS FOR MISSION

The Global Theological Education Program at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, is offering “Hearts and Minds for Mission: An Intensive Seminar for Lay Mission Volunteers” October 6 th and 7 th, 2006. The seminar will focus on ways that volunteers in mission understand and participate in restoration and healing as expressions of the missionary vocation of the church.

Over the last three decades volunteer short term missionaries have become one of the most important groups in Christian mission, even as mission has become increasingly important to the self-understanding of Christian churches. In this seminar Perkins School of Theology faculty members will lead workshops focusing on missionary spirituality, scriptural guidance for missionaries, and the theology and history of Christian missions.

Workshop leaders will include Dr. Elaine Heath on "Spiritual Healing after Violence and Abuse," and Dr. Robert Hunt on "Making the Gospel Good News for Broken Communities," Dr. Rich Nelson on "Balm in Gilead: OT Repentance and Restoration," Dr. Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner on “Self-Care: Preventing Compassion Fatigue”, Dr. John Holbert on “Mission in the Old Testament” and Dr. Robert Krout on “The Healing Power of Music and Art.” The seminar will begin on a Friday evening and conclude Saturday afternoon. It will be held in Selecman Hall on the SMU campus. Information and Registration forms are found at www.smu.edu/globaltheology.

The Global Theological Education Program makes available resources of Perkins School of Theology for the spiritual and theological enrichment of those preparing for service as volunteers in mission, and arranges for significant cross-cultural immersion experiences for Perkins students preparing to offer leadership in mission as local pastors and church workers. For further information contact Dr. Robert Hunt, Director of Global Theological Education at 214.768.1374 ( globaltheology@smu.edu) or Roberta Cox, Director of Public Affairs at 214.768.2335 (rcox@smu.edu)

Disaster.

As many of you know, on Mon., June 19th, parts of the Houston area were
inundated by more than 12 inches of rain, causing flooding in several
thousand houses. Ordinarily, TACCOR would be able to respond to meet the
need for Flood Buckets and Health Kits for the victims of this flood.
Unfortunately, on that same Monday, the Christian Alliance warehouse in
Pearland, where almost all of our flood buckets and health kits were
stored (along with tons of food and clothing), was burning to the ground.
Nothing in the warehouse was salvageable. Consequently, there is an
immediate need to replace as many of the destroyed flood buckets and
health kits as possible.
Christian Alliance does have some empty flood buckets in a trailer
which we hope to access on Tuesday, June 27th. At that time, the buckets
will be available for distribution. We are asking every church to step
up and help replenish the supply of completed flood buckets and health
kits. Instructions for completing both items can be found at the UMCOR
website (www.umcor.org). For the time being, there is no central
repository in the Houston area for new buckets, so please find a place to
TEMPORARILY store any new supplies until a new warehouse is located. We
will let you know as soon as we know just where the new facility is
located.
Please help us with this urgent need as past events have shown us
that an adequate supply of flood buckets and health kits is a necessity
in our flood-prone area.

ROM Kathie Mann, Dir. PIM, Texas Annual Conference~

EARLY RESPONDER Training will be offered on July 8th for those who
would like to be certified by UMCOR to go into a disaster area to make
homes and churches SAFE, SANITARY and SECURE. Plenty of space is
available!
Classes will be at First UMC in Navasota on July 8th from 9 AM - 1
PM. Cost is $15, which includes a T-shirt, badge & lunch. ADVANCED
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
Additional T-Shirts are available for $7 each.
Contact Mary Ann Hodges, Conference Disaster Response Coordinator
at maryannhodges1@aim.com or 281-379-5091(H) or 281-546-0985 (C) for
additional information and/or a registration form.