HURRICANE IRENE UPDATE & NEEDS

HURRICANE IRENE UPDATE & NEEDS

From UMVIM Southeast Jurisdiction:
Hurricane Irene Updates:

North Carolina: Right now, they are only requesting ERTs from the North Carolina Conference. To download the ERT packet, please click here. For all updates check their conference website.

Virginia: Currently, we do not have any updates from Virginia- however, please be in prayer and check their website for any updates. We will send out an update later in the week when we know something.

Northeastern Jurisdiction of UMVIM: For updates and how you can help, please check out the UMVIM, NEJ website or email Greg Forrester.

Bahamas: Our office received updates from Abe McIntyre and Cameron King with the following requests- please check out their blog to help!

From Abe: "Many of you have already donated Home Depot e-Gift Cards (Recipient Email: MethodistHabitat@gmail.com) which are wonderful! You can also Donate Funds on-line. We will use these desperately needed funds to efficiently purchase and ship immediately needed materials to families that have to secure their roofs as well as purchase fuel for our airplanes that will be delivering the supplies!"

From Cameron: "IMMEDIATE NEEDS:
We need FXE (Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport) based volunteers to shop for, donate and deliver supplies to FXE airport.Email here to volunteer for this role for this role. Funds to purchase supplies locally at FXE is the best way for us to move goods this weekend. Please Donate Now!

SUPPLIES NEEDED
Tarps for roofs + rope
5 gal buckets (clean, preferrably)
Food (no prep: fruit cups, poptops, etc.)
Candles + matches
Flashlights + batteries
Generators with extension cords/outlets
Linens and Towels
Roofing nails, felt, shingles, tools

If you are willing to provide supplies from your home town and need a plane to pick them up,EMAIL us your list, the weight and volume, your airport, your time table so we can coordinate a plane to pick them up.

Alternatively you can ship supplies to:Bahamas Habitat c/o Banyan FBOT Hangar 115360 NW 20th TerraceFort Lauderdale, FL 33309"

Other Updates: We have heard from our partners in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Haiti--they were not really hurt from the hurricane but thank you all for your prayers and continued support.

Again, please remain in prayer with the people of the areas affected. Our office will send another update as we learn of new information. Thanks!

NICARAGUA CONNECTION; UPCOMING TRAININGS IN WJ; HURRICANE IRENE; WEBSITE FOR YOUTH VOLUNTEER SITES

Hurricane Irene heading towards mainland USA.

NICARAGUA CONNECTION

7 pm April 12 - noon the 14th, 2012 at Seashore United Methodist Assembly in Mississippi.
Gathering of Partners and those interested in partnering with the work of the Nicaraguan Methodist Church

Lodging and meals available at the Assembly
More information soon
For more information contact:
Rev. David Newton
wesleydn@bellsouth.net
228-875-8900

UPCOMING ERT AND UMVIM TEAM LEADER TRAININGS IN WESTERN JURISDICTION

1. PACIFIC NORTHWEST: Team Leader trainings, Sept. 9th in Tri-Cities area and October 15th in the Seattle area. For more information please contact Ronda Cordill at r_cordill@hotmail.com.

2. CAL-NEVADA: 2 ERT (Early Responder) Trainings and 1 UMVIM Team Leader training in fall 2011. For more specific information please contact Phil Bandy at philb@calnevumc.org.

3. YELLOWSTONE: Team Leader Training Sept. 13th. For more info. please contact Debbie Irby at dirby@stpauls-helena.org.

4. DESERT SOUTHWEST: Team Leader training on October 22nd. For more info please contact Kent Heltne at kheltne@cox.net.

HURRICANE IRENE & NEWS FROM UMCOR & MISSION VOLUNTEERS

Below is a letter from Rev. Thomas Hazelwood, Assistant General Secretary for UMCOR Disaster Response, U.S., Caribbean, Latin America:

"Greetings, friends.
As you prepare for Hurricane Irene, a few reminders::
SECURE PERSONAL, CONFERENCE AND CHURCH PROPERTY
RELIEF SUPPLIES: For relief supplies, please contact/coordinate directly with Kathy Kraiza, Director of Sager-Brown. You will want to know type of supplies and estimated number needed; delivery location that has sufficient space for storage; contact person for coordinating delivery; and a distribution plan. If you are designating someone else to coordinate supplies, please make sure this person knows to tell Kathy that they are the designee on behalf of the Conference Disaster Response Coordinator.
Kathy's contact information is: Kathy Kraiza ( director@sagerbrown.org)

EARLY RESPONSE TEAMS: While Early Response Teams are self-sufficient, they do not self-deploy - coordination is still necessary. Please allow the Conference time to make assessments and determine their need. If Early Response Teams are needed outside of the affected Conference, the Conference personnel will notify Paulette West or Greg Forester. Look for information from Paulette or Greg.
Contact information is:
Paulette West (paulette_west@umvim.org))
Greg Forrester (UMVIMNEJ@twcny.rr.com)

CONFERENCE COMMUNICATIONS: Review your Conference plan with key leadership. Get the word out to would-be volunteers about how and when we respond. Consider pre-planning for communications with Conference personnel, clergy and others as to the process for reporting personal safety and damage assessments. Contact clergy in advance of the storm who are located in areas that are most vulnerable to the effects of Irene - be sure they know who to contact after the disaster to check in and report damage. If you have an emergency communications plan, consider if it should be activated, and when. Talk with your Conference communications person to see if you can pre-plan for messaging via the Conference web-site. Communicate in advance of the storm, and post-disaster, with your State VOAD.

READINESS AND RELIEF MINISTRIES: In advance of the storm, and afterwards when safe, check on vulnerable persons associated with your congregations and communities. Consider whether churches on a planned evacuation route can safely serve as hospitality centers for those passing through. Consider what your Conference recommendations are for sheltering. If a church will serve as a shelter, typically it should have an agreement (pre-disaster) with the American Red Cross chapter. When feasible, work in coordination with other voluntary agencies and/or emergency management for relief efforts.

SELF-CARE: Please secure your safety and that of your family first. If evacuation is advised, please comply and relay the same message to congregants. If your family or church is affected, you may need to pass your responsibilities for Conference disaster coordination to someone else so you can meet the needs of those for whom you are directly responsible. Hopefully this is part of your Conference plan. If long term recovery ministries become necessary, you will be needed to provide leadership for an extended period. Pace yourself; ask for help; designate whenever possible.

TRAINING VOLUNTEERS: After a significant disaster, it is not unusual that people want to volunteer and are eager for training. Consider what the response might be and what trainings might best be scheduled. Be ready to train volunteers to serve in a Conference call-center if needed. Think about other "just in time" trainings, such as Care Team and I&R. Interest in Connecting Neighbors for church readiness. UMCOR's training menu and training request form may be found on line.

NEWS FROM MISSION VOLUNTEERS AND UMVIM SITES RE: HURRICANE IRENE FROM THE SOUTHEAST JURISDICTION UMVIM OFFICE

-The Dominican Republic- We have heard from our friends Damon and Kim Bland, Individual Volunteers who have served since June 2009. They are well and only report minimal damage.

-The Bahamas- We have also spoken with our friends at Bahamas Methodist Habitat in Eleuthera-- Below was pulled from their blog:
"Camp Symontte: Everyone is safe.
KP, Vonnia, Ojay, Pauline, Pastor White and roughly 40 others at Camp taking shelter. Minor damage, some shingles from the dorms off.

A quarter of the upstairs BMH office blown off on the west side, even the plywood.
6:00am was really bad. Right now it's kind of calm but the second part is coming pretty soon.

ZNS (National news) stated that Acklins and Crooked Islands have 90% destruction.
Cat Island got a direct hit but no reports from them yet. Eleuthera also received a direct hit but "not too bad". We will know a lot more later this afternoon once we are able to go out into the community."

**To check out their blog with current updates, click here.

WEBSITE FOR YOUTH VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

UMVIM is working with UMYouth Missions to combine our listings of Youth Volunteer Opportunities. If you are interested in seeing what UMVIM sites are open to Youth please visit http://umyouthmissions.org. Please also check out http://twitter.com/umyouthmissions.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR TEAM TO CHILE AND COSTA RICA

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR TEAM TO CHILE

First United Methodist of Tuscaloosa, Alabama is going to Puerto Montt, Chile to build a church and conduct a Bible School. There are spaces available on the team for November 4-13, 2011. For more information contact Dorothy Raymond at rraymond1887@charter.net

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR TEAM TO COSTA RICA

Costa Rica - February 18-25, 2012Northridge UMC in Northridge, CA and Tabernacle UMC in Fredericksburg, VA are sending a team to La Bonita de Changuena in Costa Rica. We will be adding a parsonage to the first Protestant church (Methodist) in this mountain community. The church and Sunday school building were completed last year and they consistently have 40 or more people coming to worship. For background information on Costa Rica Mission Projects go to http://www.costaricamissionprojects.com/For information on joining our team, contact Mike Easterly at measterly@socal.rr.com.

US-2 FROM CAL-PAC TO BE COMMISSIONED

CAL-PAC US-2 MISSIONARIES TO BE COMMISSED

It is a privilege to announce that Rachel Michelle deBos from the California Pacific Annual Conference will serve as a US-2 missionary at the South Florida Urban Ministry (she is the daughter of Rev. William DeBos, pastor at Upland UMC.) In addition, Stephanie Kimec from the Virginia Annual Conference will come to Cal-Pac to serve as a US-2 missionary with the Conference Immigration Task Force and Echo Park Shalom Ministry. Both will be commissioned on August 18 at 11am ET. Anyone can join online for a live webcast of the celebratory worship via www.gbgm-umc.org/live.

US-2 missionaries serve in ministries of justice in the US for two-year terms and mission interns serve half of a three-year term outside the US and half in their home country. Click HERE for information about the Global Ministries young adult missionary program and the August 18 commissioning. Please be in prayer with these 26 young people as they answer God's call to sacred mission.

HONDURAS SUMMIT; TEAMS NEEDING VOLUNTEERS

HONDURAS SUMMIT IN OCTOBER

2010 Honduras Summit, from Bob Schultz:
It is less than two months until the 2011 Honduras Summit (October 12 through 15); Click here for the tentative schedule of activities. Click here for the Registration Form.

It is important to make your room reservation at the Jamison Inn in the near future as the Honduras Summit block price is only good until September 9th; and while you are making that reservation please send in your Summit registration so we will have a better idea of how many participants for which to plan meals and space. Also if you wish to have 'Home Hospitality' let us know so we can make those arrangements.

TEAMS NEEDING VOLUNTEERS

Haiti Opening, from Jamie Gibson, South Georgia Conference. 3 open spots to serve on a team to Haiti October 23-31. Total cost of trip is $2100. For more information, email Jamie at: jamie720@aol.com


Haiti Openings for 5 teams:
Below is the only information we have--for more information, contact the Team Leader listed.

September 12-19, Tom Lank, Rocky Mountain Conference, tom.lank@gmail.com

October 5-13, Laraine Waughtal, Central TX Conference, revlaraine@yahoo.com

October 8-15, Greg Reis, W. Ohio Conference, greis07@sbcglobal.net

December 3-10, Andrew Jones, N.Texas Conference, andrewmilamjones@hotmail.com

December 5-13, Jeff Jones, N. Illinois Conference
jeffjones312@gmail.com

UMCOR WEST URGENT APPEAL

UMCOR WEST URGENT APPEAL

To: The Annual Conferences of the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church

From: Rev. Brian Diggs, Director of UMCOR West Office and Depot, Salt Lake City, Utah

On May 31, UMCOR West Office and Depot celebrated its second anniversary. During these two years, groups from all over the United States have come to the depot to volunteer for a week at a time to build disaster relief kits. The kits are then sent all over the world to the most vulnerable populations. This spring and summer, UMCOR West has welcomed record numbers of volunteers, our facility will be filled to capacity until the middle of November. In short, this new ministry here, in the Western Jurisdiction of the UMC, is booming beyond expectation.

With this increase in volunteerism comes a unique problem; namely, our supplies for building UMCOR disaster relief kits are quickly disappearing. It should be noted that all of our supplies come from the generosity of ordinary United Methodists in churches across the country. These supplies are collected at local churches and sent to us at UMCOR West. Congregation members may also give to Advance # 901440, which allows both UMCOR West Office and Depot and UMCOR Sager Brown to buy in bulk.

Please consider helping UMCOR West further our efforts by sending completed kits and partial kits to us at UMCOR WEST, 1479 South 700 West, Salt Lake City, UT, 84104 or, by supporting our purchasing of supplies by using the Advance #901440 at advancinghope.org. Currently, we are in need of School Kits, Health Kits, and Layette Kits. Thanks in advance for your generosity!

Note: If you are interested in scheduling an UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers In Mission Team) to serve at UMCOR Depot West, contact your UMVIM Annual Conference Coordinator.

MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED; SPACE OPEN FOR TEAM TO CUBA; ERT SHARE THE NEWS - CAL-PAC & FACEBOOK VIDEO;

MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

1) FATHER DYER UMC in Breckenridge, CO will be sending a medical team to San Juan la Laguna this Novemeber 4-12. Needed are a dentist, dental assistant, and nurse. Please contact Theresa Ashton at 970-485-2194 if interested.

2) March 15-30, Vietnam Medical Mission!
I have confirmation that our Volunteers in Mission medical mission to Vietnam is on track. The dates will be between March 15 - 30, depending on flights. The cost will be around $3500, depending on the price of flights and the number of Team members.

Ut and Karen will be our in country missionaries getting everything organized. As soon as they have more details on where we will be working I will pass that along. We need medical as well as non-medical Team members who are willing to give freely of their time and talents to the poor villagers with limited access to basic health care.

MD's, NP's, PT's, EMT's, PA's, nurses, and chiropractors can be very beneficial to this mission. Please let me know if you are interested or if you have any other questions. I hope to here from you soon. Sincerely,Beverly DinnelTeam Leader for VIM Louisiana dinnels@bellsouth.net
985-320-2393

SPACE OPEN FOR TEAM TO CUBA

NEEDED: VIM MISSIONERS TO CUBA
The next VIM mission to Cuba needs more team members. The 10 day mission will be October 17-27, 2011. The cost is $2,200 for food, lodging and transportation. You must have a current passport with an expiration date over 6 months from the mission date. The Methodist Church in Cuba has asked our team to work on a church building in the town of Baquanas in Holguin, Cuba (on the eastern side of the island).

The team will work with church members on general construction and improvements of the church building. If God is calling you to be a part of a mission that will make a difference in your life and in the lives of others, then call Dr. Mark Martin (318)290-1179 or e-mail at drmrmartin@yahoo.com, to sign up for the Cuba VIM team in October. Six additional team members are still needed. The absolute deadline is August 15th.

Contact: Dr. Mark R. Martin, Associate Pastor
Pineville First United Methodist Church
2550 Monroe Hwy., Pineville, LA 71360
(318)640-1050

CAL-PAC CONFERENCE NOW HAS TRAINED EARLY RESPONDERS (ERT)

Cal-Pac had two ERT classes and now has 45 trained folks to respond as Early Responders! The classes were held at Glendale First UMC in Glendale, CA and another was held at Murrieta UMC in Murrieta, CA. The response was overwhelming with both classes reaching the maximum limit. As such, more ERT classes will be scheduled. If you are interested in getting ERT training in your annual conference please contact your UMVIM Conference Coordinator and Heather Wilson at umvimwj@hotmail.com.

This video on Facebook featuring UMCOR consultant, Barbara Tripp, explains some of what UMCOR-trained Early Response Teams (ERTs) do after a disaster.
Are you among the thousands of people certified by UMCOR to be an ERT? If so, share your video story on UMCOR’s Facebook page.
Support this important aspect of UMCOR’s work by giving to US Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670.