REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER IN HAITI

REGISTER ON THE NATIONAL UMVIM/UMCOR DATABASE TO VOLUNTEER IN HAITI

If you want to volunteer to Haiti please register at www.umrespond.org/haiti. You will be sent to a website that is an UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) website that is just for Haiti. Part of this website has a link for you to register to be a future volunteer to Haiti. It will ask you for you name, contact info, and your skills.

If you have already contacted Heather Wilson, UMVIM Jurisdictional Coordinator for the Western Jurisdiction, Mission Volunteers is asking that also put your name in this national registry. Thank you so much.

If you have any further questions please contact Heather Wilson at umvimwj@hotmail.com.

10 STEPS TO HAITI - WHAT TO DO NOW TO GET READY TO SERVE; UMCOR IN HAITI; CALIFORNIA-PACIFIC MISSION FESTIVAL

10 STEPS TO HAITI - WHAT TO DO NOW TO PREPARE TO SERVE IN HAITI BY PHIL BANDY

The events in Haiti have swept into our hearts and stirred up that need in us to do something. I have some thoughts to share with you about what "do something" might be. Many of you have contacted me already about going to Haiti – and until we are ready for volunteer teams, please consider the following:

10 Steps to Haiti

1. First, continue to give financially to UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. You can give online at this link.

2. Second, share with your friends and neighbors the value that a donation to UMCOR represents. 100% of every dollar donated goes directly to Haiti recovery. Money is flowing to Haiti now and the needs for funds will only grow over time – so ask them to donate to UMCOR and continue to give regularly in the future. Form a task force in your community to grow this effort and keep it going.

3. Third, educate yourself about the unique role of UMCOR, an organization that is already on the ground, assisting in relief efforts and saving lives. Read more here: United Methodist Giving Tops $1 Million for Haiti. Continue to follow the news from our Conference and other UMC websites and share the actions of our Church with your congregation, family, friends, and community. Visit www.umc.org/haiti for all of the most up-to-date national and conference-wide news, blogs, and video and audio stories from within the United Methodist Church. In addition, customizable print ads, web graphics, and other resources are available there for downloading. Get the latest news on UMVIM's response to the situation in Haiti at www.umvimwj.blogspot.com and our own Conference website.

4. Fourth, work with your church to provide an immediate outlet for hands-on volunteering and for recruiting people for future UMVIM teams to Haiti. Encourage your church to make UMCOR health kits. The tens of thousands of kits which were on hand will all be gone this week – and we must develop a steady stream of materials to keep the kits coming. All materials from our Conference should be sent to the UMCOR West Office and Depot, 1479 South 700 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84104-1605. You will find instructions for completing health and layette kits at this link. (Even though the reference is to Sager Brown, the instructions apply to the UMCOR West depot in Salt Lake City, as well.) Recruit people outside your church to join your effort. NOTE: We need someone in our Conference to serve as a hub for collecting items from other churches – someone to receive kits and materials which we will transport to Salt Lake City in massive truckloads.

5. Take an UMVIM trip to the UMCOR depot in Salt Lake City, specifically so you can scope out the facility and prepare yourselves to lead your own UMVIM team back to the depot in the near future. (Consider these future teams to the depot as UMVIM training for your church and community, laying the groundwork to prepare them for future trips to Haiti.)

6. Sixth, commit to leading or joining a team to Haiti in the months and years ahead. The recovery effort in Haiti will take years. Annual Conferences soon will begin to work on long-term recovery plans to provide guidance as to how this response will unfold. Watch for future communications about this. Get your name on the list for future teams by contacting Heather Wilson, UMVIM Western Jurisdiction Coordinator at umvimwj@hotmail.com, who is working with the UMVIM Annual Conference Coordinators and to stay informed about plans. Watch for an announcement soon about a web link that will enable you to register on line.

7. Seventh, prepare yourselves physically and financially for the task ahead. If you have not completed an UMVIM trip in the last year (and haven't filled out the new forms), get yourself updated as a volunteer using the new process and the new forms. Once you complete the new process, by the way, you will never have to fill out the forms again. So go on that diet you planned to start anyway, and stick to your exercise program (you have one, right?). Develop a travel and expense funding plan for yourself (donors and savings) for the next two years. Save your vacation time and make arrangements at work for your absence. Develop a local support team to help sustain you in this effort.

8. Eighth, prepare yourselves spiritually for the task ahead. Discuss this matter with your pastor and with God. Pray – the need for prayer continues! Pray for the Haitians who are injured and who have lost loved ones, pray for the rescuers, and pray for those who are working behind the scenes to coordinate the massive relief and recovery effort.

9. Ninth, recruit, train, and prepare your teams technically for the mission ahead. Get yourself into UMVIM team leader training if you have not had the class in the last two years. Refresh and upgrade your ability to manage the people, tasks, and ministry of this undertaking. Check on our UMVIM website for an UMVIM Team Leader training event near you. Enroll in one or more of the UMCOR training classes on March 26, 27, & 28 (2010). These training classes include: Emergency Response/Care Team, Basic Disaster Overview, Care for Children in Disaster, Case Management, and certified Chainsaw Training. Begin training your team, have a kick-off meeting, develop funding plans for your team, and organize your church and community to support the team.

10. Tenth, say a special prayer lifting up the families of the UMCOR and UMVIM officials who gave their lives in Haiti: Clint Rabb, Sam Dixon (Top Mission Executive Dies as Result of Earthquake Injuries), and the family of a fellow UMVIM volunteer (Dallas Volunteer Dies From Injuries in Haiti Quake).

God bless you.

Philip Bandy
Director of Volunteers in Mission

UMCOR IN HAITI

UMCOR executives Melissa Crutchfield and Sharad Aggarwal crossed the border from Dominican Republic into Haiti late last week to begin an official assessment of damages in Port-au-Prince, including unreached and underserved communities in outlying areas.

UMCOR is working with the Methodist Church in Haiti to provide immediate relief and conduct ongoing relief and recovery operations that include food distribution, access to clean drinking water, medical assistance, and the rebuilding of homes and schools.“We lost quite a few churches and schools that are important to the Methodist Church,” Rev. Gesner Paul, president of the Methodist Church of Haiti, told United Methodist News Service.

The Methodist Church also is continuing its search for missing church members who still may be trapped under the rubble. The quake killed as many as 200,000 people and left some 1.5 million homeless, according to news reports. Help UMCOR reach those most vulnerable with your gifts to Haiti Emergency, UMCOR Advance # 418325

CALIFORNIA-PACIFIC ANNUAL CONFERENCE MISSION FESTIVAL

SATURDAY, March 13, 2010
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Anaheim First United Methodist Church
1000 S. State College Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92806

THEME: “Food: Mission Possible”
SPIRITUAL INTRODUCTION:
Rev. Mark Ullrickson

Mission Mall? Yes! Displays? Yes!

Focus Presentation will feature programs and agencies from each district that are addressing the issue of food and hunger.

At 11:30 there will be a break to receive communion at EXACTLY the same time the Hawaii District will be doing so.

There is NO REGISTRATION FEE!
Instead, bring at least 7 items of food. Each District Director will be responsible for distributing the donations in their district.
(Hawaii will do their own)
LUNCH will be a “simple” soup meal for a donation, in keeping with the theme. No program after lunch.

NEWS FROM UMCOR DEPOT SALT LAKE CITY; HAITI VOLUNTEER INFO FROM FROM INTERIM HEAD OF GLOBAL MINISTRIES

NEWS FROM BRIAN DIGGS - UMCOR DEPOT SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

Dear Friends,

I am writing on behalf of the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s UMCOR West Office and Depot which has been in operation since June 1, of 2009. We are a ministry that gathers, assembles, and sends disaster relief kits all round the world to the most vulnerable of populations. Along with UMCOR Sager Brown, UMCOR West is the second disaster relief depot. Except for Alaska and Hawaii, every western state has sent a work teams to UMCOR West to participate in our important ministry. You can find out more about our mission by going to UMCOR.org.

This last week has been particularly difficult for all of the UMCOR staff as a result of the earthquake in Haiti. As you may know, the Rev. Sam Dixon who was the head of UMCOR, along with the Rev. Clinton Rabb, head of mission volunteers, were killed in the earthquake. Your prayers for the UMCOR staff, the families of Rev. Dixon and Rev. Rabb, and for the people of Haiti are coveted during this grieving process.

On a more positive note, the people of Utah have responded powerfully to the call to help the people of Haiti. We have been working with hundreds of volunteers to assemble and send aid to the people of Haiti. Our first shipment of around 23,000 health kits will be sent from our warehouse in a few days!

As a result of this tremendous volunteer response, we are now running critically low on our disaster relief materials and we call on you to help. If you would like to help restock our warehouse in preparation for more supplies being sent to Haiti and other destinations you can:

Give financially through the Advance (gbgm-umc.org/Advance/ ) which is a powerful giving program in United Methodist Church. One hundred percent of the money donated goes toward the project you pick. Each mission project is assigned a number. The Advance number for both UMCOR West and UMCOR Sager Brown – our two UMCOR Depots – is #901440.

Consider putting together disaster relief kits at your home church. All of the information to assemble kits can be found at www.umcor.org. If you choose to make kits at your home church we ask that you please focus on two kits, the Health Kit and Layette Kit. They can be sent to UMCOR West, 1479S 700W, Salt Lake City, UT, 84104. .

Thank you so much for your support and faithfulness! It is the work of United Methodists like you that makes a difference in the lives of people around the globe.

Sincerely,

Rev. Brian Diggs, Director UMCOR West Office and Depot

REQUEST FROM BISHOP JOEL MARTINEZ REGARDING HAITI VOLUNTEERS

This is a follow-up to an earlier memo in which I said that the time was not right for sending volunteer teams, or even individual volunteers, into Haiti for post-earthquake service.

I am here repeating that request with renewed emphasis.
We know that the church seeks to respond to the great crisis in Haiti. We are in touch with many persons and groups wanting to reach out in tangible ways to provide relief for suffering people there. We have already received an outpouring of inquiries and offers for volunteers to provide a variety of services.

While we are encouraged by this spirit of support, we strongly advise that teams and others not set out for Haiti at this time. There will be great need for short-term and long-term volunteer mission groups in due course—for
medical care, rebuilding, and responses to many other needs. However, the current state of Haiti is not conducive to the safety and welfare of the volunteers; security is a major concern; infrastructures are shattered. There is little access to water, power, fuel, and even roads.

An UMCOR Team is on the ground, coordinating with relief partners on appropriate courses of action. As you know, the United Nations (representing government) and the Red Cross go into to massive disaster areas first. This is long-established international protocol. Church-related and other relief organizations follow. Objectives of our initial team include the assessment and organization
for the reception of volunteers.

In collaboration with jurisdictional coordinators of UMVIM, we are making a registry of potential individual volunteers and teams. The time for volunteers will come and their assistance will be
crucial.

In the meantime, the best way for congregations and individuals to respond to the Haiti crisis is by supporting the work of UMCOR. Not only are funds needed but also health kits. Please direct persons to http://umcorhaiti.org/.

I will be glad to receive your questions arising from this memo, and I pledge to keep you informed on our relief operations in Haiti.

NEWS FROM UMCOR IN HAITI; HEALTH KITS NEEDED

NEWS FROM UMCOR IN HAITI

Providing Clean WaterUMCOR is providing emergency grants to the Methodist Church in Haiti and GlobalMedic to address the needs of those affected by the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12.

UMCOR is partnering with GlobalMedic to provide clean drinking water, treatment for severe diarrhea, and medical attention to those in need. UMCOR is also supporting GlobalMedic's response through the deployment of paramedics, water technicians, and a doctor to assist those sick or injured.

A hub for water distribution is also being set up to provide 65,000 people daily with clean drinking water. In addition, about 110,000 sachets of PUR water purifiers, five million Aquatab water purification tablets, and 110,000 oral rehydration sachets are being distributed to those who have been forced from their homes as a result of the earthquake.

UMCOR and GlobalMedic are working in partnership with local non-government organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations’ network of relief organizations to coordinate response efforts and give aid to areas not receiving direct assistance.
Bahamas Methodist Habitat Transports UMCOR StaffThanks to mission aircraft transportation services provided by Bahamas Methodist Habitat (BMH), a US-based nonprofit organization, UMCOR staff persons Melissa Crutchfield, international disaster response executive, and Edgar Avitia, a Global Ministries executive, arrived in the Dominican Republic over the weekend when all commercial airlines were sold out. Crutchfield and Avitia are assessing relief needs and coordinating relief distribution efforts with on-the-ground partners.

Bahamas Methodist Habitat is conducting 12 flights per day through its Fly-In & Help Out mission program, transporting much-needed medical supplies into and evacuating people out of Haiti for medical assistance. Through this program, more than 10,000 pounds of emergency medical relief supplies have already been delivered to Haiti.

Over three million people are in dire need of assistance in Haiti. Please support UMCOR in its response with your gifts to Haiti Emergency, UMCOR Advance # 418325.

HEALTH KITS NEEDED

Material resources at both of UMCOR’s relief supply depots are in short supply due to the overwhelming response to the Haiti earthquake. The depots are also continuing to respond to other countries’ needs as they respond to Haiti. Your support is needed to help UMCOR’s relief supply depots shelve a reserve of relief supplies in preparation for future disaster needs.

“The plan is to keep the health kits going into Haiti, not store them,” said Kathy Kraiza, UMCOR Sager Brown director.

Sager Brown (LA) and UMCOR West, (Salt Lake City, Utah) are working closely with conference/jurisdiction-owned warehouses, such as Midwest Mission Distribution Center (IL), Mission Response Center (Western NC), MERCI (NC), Mission Central (Central PA), Eastbrook Mission Barn (Western PA), and staging areas in several conferences to ready shipments to Haiti. Those assembling health kits and other relief supplies for Haiti are instructed to ship kits to their nearest warehouse facility.

Volunteers are welcome to assist in assembling health kits at either of the depots. Those interested in volunteering at UMCOR West in Salt Lake City, please contact Director Brian Diggs at 801-973-7250, or email WestDepot@umcor.org. To volunteer at Sager Brown, please call 1-800-814-8765. Please also give generously to Material Resources, UMCOR Advance #901440. Giving to this Advance project enables Sager Brown to purchase relief supply contents

NEWS ON MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR SAM DIXON & CLINT RABB

NEWS ON MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR SAM DIXON & CLINT RABB

Arrangements have been made for services for both Sam Dixon and Clint Rabb with the following details:

Rev. Dr. Samual W. Dixon Jr.A service of memorial will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, January 22nd at Edenton Street United Methodist Church, 228 West Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC 27603-1714.Please send any cards or messages of condolence to Cindy Dixon and family, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1400, New York, NY 10115.

Rev. Clinton RabbA funeral service will be held at 12:00 p.m., Saturday, January 23rd at the University United Methodist Church, 2409 Guadalupe Street, Austin, TX 78705.Please send any cards or messages of condolence to Suzanne Rabb and family, 142 Amsterdam Avenue, Hawthorne, NY 10532.

Please forward all email condolences to Klay Williams kswilliams@gbgm-umc.org, who will be collecting these messages to be used in a forthcoming memorial board.

REV. CLINT RABB DIES FROM INJURIES SUSTAINED FROM HAITI EARTHQUAKE

Photo: Rev. Clint Rabb

DIRECTOR OF MISSION VOLUNTEERS, REV. CLINT RABB, DIES FROM INJURIES SUSTATINED IN HAITI EARTHQUAKE

From the New York’s Lower Hudson Valleyhttp://www.lohud.com/article/20100117/NEWS02/1170402/Hawthorne-pastor-dies-in-Florida-from-earthquake-injuries

January 17, 2010 Hawthorne, NY - After spending 55 hours trapped under earthquake rubble in Haiti, the Rev. Clinton Rabb of Hawthorne died from injuries Sunday in a Florida hospital. He was 60. The father of eight had just entered the the Hotel Montana when the magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

Several of his children were at his home in Hawthorne Sunday saying their father had passion for serving not only the United Methodist Church but also his family. "He was very giving and always on the move," his step-son Daniel Payne said. "He was always looking at fixing problems. He always was willing to do whatever he could to support my mom and our family." Rabb was a leader in the church's mission volunteer program.

He spent more than two days trapped under the rubble of the Hotel Montana before he was found Thursday along with two colleagues. One of those colleagues, the Rev. Samuel W. Dixon, Jr., also died in the quake. The United Methodist Church said the second colleague, the Rev. James Gulley, is back at his home in Denver, Colo.. The three men were in Haiti for a meeting of aid organizations to coordinate relief and development efforts for the year.

Rabb was found in the hotel's rubble and transported to North Broward Medical Center in Florida for traumatic injuries. Payne said his mother, the Rev. Suzanne Rabb, and his brother Andrew were among the family members with Rabb in the hospital before he died. "He had a respirator and he could not speak because his body was paralyzed with sedation medicine,"Payne said. "My mom said to him 'Clinton, we're all here and we love you.' He was able to open his eyes bigger and acknowledge her. As she talked to him, he had tears in his eyes and she knew he was crying."

Rabb was a native Texan and moved to Hawthorne with his wife in 2007. He had been a clergyman for almost 36 years with extensive mission work in Africa, Asia and Europe. He had been with Global Ministries, the United Methodist Church's global mission group, since 1996. "He had the belief that not just his work was critical and important, but also the ability to make a difference" Payne said. "If he thought he could make a difference somewhere, he was all for it."

One of his other sons Matthew said Rabb was an avid musician, often playing jazz and blues tunes on the piano. "He loved coming home and play on the piano for hours," he said. "He'd sing in a Louis Armstrong type of voice singing jazz tunes."

Rabb was also a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan that was ecstatic about the team's efforts this season. This year marked the team's first playoff entry since 1996 but today their season came to an end after losing to the Minnesota Vikings earlier today.#

SAM DIXON DIES BEFORE HE COULD BE RESCUED FROM RUBBLE OF DESTROYED HOTEL IN HAITI

SAM DIXON, UMCOR EXEC, DIES AS A RESULT OF HAITI EARTHQUAKE

New York, NY, Jan. 16, 2010 - The Rev. Dr. Sam Dixon, head of the humanitarian relief agency of The United Methodist Church, died before he could be rescued from the rubble of a hotel destroyed by the earthquake which hit Haiti on January 12.

The executive officer of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) was part of a group of mission and relief specialists trapped by the collapse of the Hotel Montana. Other persons in the group of five, including two more from the General Board of Global Ministries, were rescued and were back in the U.S. by the morning of January 16. The group was pinned down for more than 55 hours.

Dixon was reportedly alive in the hotel ruins on the morning of January 15. Confirmation of his death before rescue was conveyed to Global Ministries through several sources, including eyewitnesses from a Methodist guest house in Port-au-Prince, where Dixon and his colleagues had been staying. Frequent press reports throughout the day on January 15 asserting his safety were incorrect.

He and the Rev. Clint Rabb, head of the United Methodist Office of Mission Volunteers, and the Rev. James Gulley, a former missionary and now consultant to UMCOR, were at the hotel for meetings with representatives of other organizations, making plans to improve medical services in Haiti.

"Sam Dixon was a tireless servant of the church of Jesus Christ on behalf of all of us," said Bishop Joel N. Martinez, interim general secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries. "His death is an incalculable loss to Global Ministries, UMCOR, and our worldwide ministry of relief to God's most vulnerable children. Our directors and staff extend their condolences to Sam's wife, Cindy, their children, and their wider circle of friends and colleagues."

Bishop Janice Huie of Texas, president of UMCOR, said that Dixon "was an extremely gifted minister of the Gospel. He lived his life following the commandments of Jesus to feed the hungry, care for the sick, and love the least of these - all over the world. Jesus is holding him dear, and we are in prayer for his family."

Dixon was a native of North Carolina where he served for 24 years as a pastor. He moved to the General Board of Global Ministries in 1998 to serve as director of field operations of the non-governmental agency (NGO) section of UMCOR. He then became head of the United Methodist Development Fund and moved up to head the unit on Evangelization and Church Growth. Dixon was tapped to head UMCOR in 2007.

He was officially a deputy general secretary of Global Ministries assigned to UMCOR, where he oversaw programs of emergency relief, long-term disaster recovery, economic development, health services, and peace-building.

Dixon was educated at the University of North Carolina and the Chicago Theological Seminary. He was a member of the North Carolina Annual (regional) Conference of his church. He and his wife have four children and two grandchildren. He is also survived by his mother and three sisters.

Additional details, a profile, and tribute to Dixon will be forthcoming.

JIM GULLY, SAM DIXON, & CLINT RABB OF UMCOR FOUND ALIVE IN RUBBLE OF DESTROYED HOTEL IN HAITI

Photos: Sam Dixon, Clint Rabb, & Jim Gulley

UMCOR/GBGM STAFF FOUND ALIVE AFTER 55 HOURS IN RUBBLE

Reports from Haiti indicated that three staff members of the General Boardof Global Ministries have been found and are alive after 55 hours in therubble of the Hotel Montana in Haiti. Sam Dixon, head of the UnitedMethodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Clint Rabb, leader of the missionvolunteer office, and James Gulley, an UMCOR consultant were among a groupof persons found on the evening of January 14.

They were in Haiti to extendhealth ministries when the earthquake struck on January 12. We understand that Dixon and Rabb both sustained injuries and were beingtaken at midnight to the hospital. We thank all who joined with us in prayer. Further bulletins will be issuedas information become available. The people of Haiti continue to suffer in the wake of the strong earthquake.The work of relief and rehabilitation will take many months. Please join us in that effort.

HAITI NEWS UPDATE

HAITI NEWS UPDATE

UMVIM, WJ continues to hear reports of devastation in the Port-au-Prince area. At this time, the Haitian government has indicated that it will be mid-March before UMVIM teams will be able to enter. While the desire to offer immediate help is universal among Christians, please know that waiting is the most faithful witness we can offer at this time.

Those who desire to offer volunteer support should contact Heather Wilson at umvimwj@Hotmail.com. As the Western Jurisdictional UMVIM Coordinator she is working with the Annual Conference UMVIM Coordinators in collecting information from those who are interested in traveling to Haiti to assist in the recovery effort. When we have more information about scheduling a mission trip to Haiti, we will then contact the people on that list with the details.

In the mean time, there are three ways to help.

First, continue to give to UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. You can give online at this link. UMCOR is already on the ground, assisting in relief efforts and saving lives.

Second, work with your church to complete UMCOR health kits. These kits will be invaluable in the next few months, as UMCOR works to offer healing to many, many people. You can find instructions for completing health kits at this link.

Finally, pray. The relief effort in Haiti will take years, and the need for prayer continues. Pray for the Haitians who are injured and who have lost loved ones, pray for the rescuers, and pray for those who are working behind the scenes to coordinate this massive effort.

We ask, also, that you say a special prayer lifting up the families of the three UMCOR and UMVIM officials missing in Haiti: Clint Rabb, Sam Dixon, and James Gulley. As we work to provide support, our hearts are heavy. You can find more information about this situation at the website for the United Methodist Church.

As always, you can find the latest news on UMVIM's response to the situation in Haiti at umvim.org.

Blessings,
Heather Wilson
UMVIM WJ Coordinator

EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI - WHAT YOU CAN DO

Photo courtesy, haitixchange.com. Man sits amidst rubble.

EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI - WHAT YOU CAN DO

By now, you have probably heard news about yesterday's massive
earthquake in Haiti. UMVIM, WJ (UMVIM Western Jurisdiction) continues to monitor the situation as reports come in.

In times of great disaster, it can be quite difficult to watch from
the sidelines. We have spoken with many people asking how they can
help. During these initial hours and days, there are three ways in
which you can help the people of Haiti.

First, pray for Haiti and for those involved in the rescue efforts.
It is our prayer that God's hand is on those searching for survivors,
and that God's peace is with those who have lost loved ones.

Second, give generously to UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on
Relief. UMCOR is always among the first on the ground in these
situations, and the last to leave. You can donate online at http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/umcor/donate.cfm?code=418325&id=3018760
. 100% of your donation will be used directly for disaster recovery
efforts and humanitarian aid in Haiti. You can give to UMCOR Advance #418325 Haiti Emergency.

Third, begin to make Health Kits to ship to the UMCOR Depot in Salt Lake City, UT or to Sager Brown in Baldwin, LA. The contents of these kits can be found at http://www.umcor.org/.

We are in the process of contacting teams who were scheduled to work
in Haiti in the coming days. Please know that while it will be a
while before Haiti is ready for regular UMVIM teams, UMCOR is already
providing aid to the Haitian people.

Thank you,

UMVIM WJ Office

Heather Wilson

umvimwj@Hotmail.com

818.333.6730

FUTURE TEAMS TO CAMBODIA VOLUNTEERS WANTED; BIRCHWOOD CAMP IN ALASKA NEEDS VOLUNTEERS, CAMP ON THE BOULDER IN MONTANA WELCOMES TEAMS

Photo: Enjoying the beauty of Birchwood Camp in Alaska. If you are interested in volunteering in Alaska see below. Photo courtesy, www.redbrush.us

FUTURE TEAMS TO CAMBODIA

The Louisiana Annual Conference has had a transformational experience with the re-establishment of the Methodist Church in Cambodia. Our teams have gone to support the work in-country and have returned renewed and strengthen in the faith.

Two mission journey's are scheduled from the Louisiana Conference for 2010. Your prayers and support are needed as we continue to support the rebuilding of the church in Cambodia.

2010Medical Mission - February 25 - March 10 - Beverly Dinnel, team leader. dinnels@bellsouth.net Our third year of medical care. We move to the Svay Rieng region and hope to visit ministries in Vietnam. THIS TEAM IS IN NEED OF ONE MORE DOCTOR OR DIAGNOSTICIAN to complete the team. Please contact Beverly immediately if you are interested or can suggest someone. This team uses not only team medical members but works with and trains local medical personnel. Donations for medical supplies and honorariums for local medical personnel are needed. Team meeting, Jan 16 to prepare.

Youth Leadership Camp - May 22-June 3 -- Jack O'Dell, team leader. pastor@thewellumc.com This team will sponsor the second retreat for Cambodian Youth who will become the leaders of the future Methodist Church. Those who participated in this event in 2008, both Cambodians and Americans, speak of this as a significant formational event. Jack has team member slots open. Churches can support the event with gifts of $1000 which scholarship the participation of Cambodian youth. Individual donations are welcome as well.

THE SUCCESS OF THESE 2010 TEAMS IS DEPENDENT UPON ALL OF US WITH A HEART FOR CAMBODIAN MINISTRY.

2011Construction Team - October 20-30 -John Butterfield, team leader. The team will return to work on construction projects as directed by the in-country staff. Work can include water wells, water storage, parsonage and church construction. Team members are needed and donations for supplies.

Pastor's Retreat Team - Sept 29-October 10 - Ann Sutton, Clifton Conrad, leaders. This team will provide a time of spiritual refreshment and recreation for Cambodian pastors. PRAY - for these teams GIVE - your specific donation for a project or to the Cambodian ministry in general can be sent to LAVIM, atten Pat Mauras, 527 North Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70802 GO -

Contact the team leaders or your local VIM Office - to reserve your place in ministry. Our shared ministry in Cambodia has made an indelible mark upon my life of faith. I invite you into this adventure of travel and faith. In Christ, Ann Sutton,Chair, Cambodia Initiative, Louisiana Annual Conference

BIRCHWOOD CAMP IN ALASKA LOOKING FOR SUMMER VOLUNTEERS

Birchwood Camp in Alaska has a great need for groups who wish to do construction/projects around camp. They need several work teams to help complete their new log cabin meeting space on camp.

They began the building last summer—the exterior is mostly completed, it has a roof, etc. They will be finishing the interior this summer (floors, doors/windows, electrical, shingles, putting in wood stove/heating, landscaping, etc) and they need skilled work teams to help complete the project. If you have teams that are looking for a project or destination this summer, please direct them to us!

If you have teams that are interested, please contact Stephen at director@birchwoodcamp.org or at While we may need one team to help counsel Faith Adventure Camp, we have a great need for groups who wish to do construction/projects around camp. We need several work teams to help complete our new log cabin meeting space on camp. We began the building last summer—the exterior is mostly completed, it has a roof, etc. We will be finishing the interior this summer (floors, doors/windows, electrical, shingles, putting in wood stove/heating, landscaping, etc) and we need skilled work teams to help complete the project. If you have teams that are looking for a project or destination this summer, please direct them to us!

If you have teams that are interested, please contact Lori Staats, UMVIM Coord. for Alaska at staatslori@gmail.com or Stephen Sweezey at director@birchwoodcamp.org
or 907.688.2734.

TEAMS NEEDED IN MONTANA AT CAMP ON THE BOULDER

CAMP ON THE BOULDER, Kent Chittenden, 3916 Boulder Rd, PO Box 47, McLeod, MONTANA 59052, Phone#406-932-6314. Email: camp@campontheboulder.org, Website: www.campontheboulder.org. Variety of camp fix-ups. Lodging provided at camp. Small and large groups accepted. Many dates available. Please come help us recover from logging for fire protection, reduce forest fuels by piling branches, rebuild trails hurt from logging, also regular camp work like washing dishes, painting, mowing, patching roofs, picking up rocks, etc. Free time for mini golf, archery, low ropes course, Frisbee golf, craft cabin, camp store, sand volleyball, hiking, fishing, etc. J, S, F, individuals, and RV –all welcome!