Volunteers Needed to Serve in Cuba; New UMCOR Depot in Salt Lake City; & UMCOR/UMVIM Gathering in Mexico City

Photos: Rev. Willie Berman at UMCOR/UMVIM Gathering in Mexico City (top) & Rev. Brian Diggs new head of UMCOR Depot in Salt Lake City, UT (bottom).

CALLED TO SERVE IN CUBA? UMVIM TRIP: SPEND YOUR 4TH OF JULY HELPING OTHERS!

Team of 12 from all over the USA will work on the Methodist Seminary in Havana, Cuba. 3 spaces remain! Trip is scheduled for July 2-13, 2009. Cost is approximately $2100 plus cost of trip to Miami. Deadline for Visa Application and deposit of $300 is due April 15. For additional information, contact Rev. Vicki Walker at vwalker@hydeparkumc.org or (813) 253-5388 and your UMVIM Conference Coordinator.

UMCOR NOW ALSO LOCATED IN THE WESTERN JURISDICTION

Most United Methodists have heard of Sager Brown. Sager Brown is the UMCOR depot in Baldwin, LA. Whenever you and/or your church puts together health kits, layette kits, school kits, Flood Bucket/Clean-Up kits, etc. they get sent to Sager Brown. This is where they are held until they are shipped out all over the country and the world as needed.

Now, UMCOR has a new depot in the Western Jurisdiction located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is headed by Rev. Brian Diggs (pictured above, second photo from the top) and will serve in expanding UMCOR's kit ministry.

Want to go and volunteer? The Western Jurisdiction Office is ready to put volunteers to work painting and cleaning as they prepare the 25,000 square foot warehouse for business. Those interested in volunteering can contact Rev. Diggs by phone or email. Phone: 801-973-7250Phone/Fax: 801-973-7290Email: WestDepot@UMCOR.org

Latin American, Caribbean and US Churches Explore New Ways of Being in Mission Together
by UMCOR

More than 100 Methodist leaders from Latin America, Caribbean and the United States gathered in Mexico City, March 24-27, to strengthen relationships through sending and receiving volunteers and when responding to local disasters. The four-day gathering, brought together by Global Ministries' Mission Contexts and Relationships, was marked by honest dialog across borders and cultures to strengthen understanding and partnership when engaging in mission together.

"We need to extend our hands to each other," said Rev. Juan de Dios Peña, from El Salvador regarding the need for Latin American and Caribbean countries to be senders as well as receivers of volunteer missionaries. Rev. De Dios acknowledged the economic challenges faced by many Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean (CIEMAL) and Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA) churches and also gave examples of how these have been overcome in his own and other countries in the region..
Sharing of models for volunteer sending and disaster response within the United States was part of the consultation that was led by United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Ways to adapt these models for the various cultural contexts were invited.

"United we can achieve much more," said Bishop Moisés Valderrama Gómez of Mexico, and president of CIEMAL. "We can do what God wants to do through our hands not just as volunteers working in Latin America, but all of us as part of the same church."
The idea for the consultation was born out of a pre-General Conference meeting in Panama when the need to develop volunteer coordinators and leaders within Latin American was raised.
Bishop Valderrama was one of the driving forces behind the consultation, "This is not the result of one individual," said Bishop Valderama of the consultation. "God is calling all of us together."
The meeting brought together volunteer coordinators and bishops from the entire region to explore new ways of doing mission. "This is especially important because Latin America suffers many disasters," said Joyce Torres Placa, general secretary of CIEMAL regarding the disaster response training that was led by UMCOR and Mission Volunteers and resourced by Mission Contexts and Relationships.

In addition to the goal of building the capacity of Latin American and Caribbean churches to respond to disaster was providing assistance for them to send as well as receive volunteer teams, "This event is bringing us together and I trust our future work together will produce good fruits-to not only receive volunteers, but to send them as well," commented Bishop Valderrama.

Prayer Requests, Study Team Home from Sudan, World Malaria Day, & Disaster Response Volunteers Needed

United Methodist Mission group safely out of South Sudan
By GBGM Administration

A 19-member mission travel group is safely back in the United States after civil strife in Yei, Sudan broke out, disrupting their study tour.

The group spent most of a week inside a hotel because of what Sudanese news said was violence resulting from dissension within the armed forces over salary payments. The border between Sudan and Uganda was closed for a few days.

No one in the United Methodist group was injured; reports were unclear on whether any civilian or military personnel were killed or injured. High government officials came to quell the disturbances.

The group left Sudan on March 21, returning first to Kampala, Uganda, and on to New York on March 24. The trip relates to a forthcoming United Methodist mission study on Sudan and is sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries.


*Disaster Response Teams
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The UMVIM (Volunteers in Missions) program is accepting teams to assist with the clean up and continue the long term recovery of 2007 while needs are being assessed from the 2009 flood.

If you or your church is interested in sending a team, please contact Ronda Cordill UMVIM Annual Conference Coordinator (509-235-5466/509-993-6753 or r_cordill@hotmail.com) or Jim Truitt (253-630-1268 or jftruitt@comcast.net).



*To Lunch or Not to Lunch? By United Methodist Communications Nashville, TN
The people of The United Methodist Church are marking the lead up to April 25, World Malaria Day, with a renewed call to members and friends to support Nothing But Nets, a grassroots anti-malaria effort which allows anyone, for $10, to send a lifesaving bed net to a family in Africa. Bed nets protect children and their families from the bites of malaria-infected mosquitoes.

"Malaria is a crisis that is threatening many of God's children across the globe," said Bishop Thomas Bickerton, referring to malaria's rank as Africa's leading killer of children under age five. "Insecticide-treated mosquito nets are the most scientifically proven way to stop its spread."

Bickerton, chairperson of The United Methodist Church's Global Health Initiative, joins with the people of The United Methodist Church in urging everyone to forego a lunch out, and to direct that $10 savings toward the purchase of a bed net.
"We're asking people to 'skip a lunch, send a net, save a life,'" said Bickerton. Dubbed "To Lunch or Not to Lunch?" the campaign highlights how $10, the cost of lunch, is all that it takes to provide a potentially lifesaving bed net to an African family. A $10 donation at www.umcnothingbutnets.org covers the cost of the bed net, its distribution, and education on its use.

New downloadable resources are available at www.umcnothingbutnets.org for churches to use for World Malaria Day 2009, including a bulletin cover, door hanger, web banner, poster and postcard.



*Prayer Requests From California-Nevada United Methodist Volunteers in Mission,
“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16 - NIV

As important it is for us to be the hands and feet of Christ it is also important for us to share our service experiences with others. God calls us all in different ways and your testimony might be the exact words someone has been waiting to hear.

San-Jose - Wesley UMC team to Mexico: March 23 – April 7
Jackie Kawashima will be leading another construction/connectional team to Mexico to continue that strong partnership. The list of volunteer names was not available at the time of printing.

Care – A – Vaners construction team works at Round Valley UMC: March 29 – April 3
Rod and Gloria Castor head up a group of volunteers who go into mission, living out of their RVs while working on projects throughout California-Nevada Conference. They will be working on some plumbing at the parsonage in Round Valley and other minor repair and “sprucing up” tasks. The list of volunteer names was not available at the time of printing.

Multi-Church Team to Slidell, Louisiana: April 4 – 11
Joe Hoffman of Dutch Flat UMC will be leading a team of 10 to Slidell, Louisiana to work with their sister churches, First UMC of Slidell and Hartzell – Mt. Zion UMC. This is a continued partnership from their April 2007 trip from which many friendships were started. They plan to do construction work at the church sites and at homes in the local community that need their assistance during their stay. Joe will be joined by Elizabeth Murphy, Brenton Sanders and Katie Sanders of Colfax - Colfax UMC as well as Jerry Adams, Warren Adams, Debbie Dillon-Adams, Karen Kesler, Michael Kesler and Anna Schmidt of Auburn - Pioneer UMC.

Livermore – Asbury UMC Team to Slidell, Louisiana: April 4 – 11
Roger Everett of Livermore - Asbury UMC will also be leading a construction team of 10 volunteers to Slidell, LA in early April to do hurricane recovery work. He will be joined by Dick Crawford, Sharmyn Crawford, Ruth Coffing, Bob Hoffman, Art Molvik, Larry Suter, Anton West, Alec Willis and Philip Woolworth of Livermore - Asbury UMC

Care – A – Vaners construction team works at East Salinas Family Center: April 26 – May 1
Rod and Gloria Castor and other Care-A-Vaners will be serving in Salinas, California at the East Salinas Family Center. The list of volunteer names was not available at the time of printing.

Please post this Prayer Request in your home, office, church or car…anywhere that you’ll be reminded to offer prayers of support and for the safety for these United Methodist Volunteers in Mission.

Eddie Frutchey
Administrative Asst. Volunteers in Mission
California-Nevada UM Conference
eddief@calnevumc.org