ERT Training in Colorado; Laity & Clergy Training in Washington; UMCOR & Health Development

Photo: Gary Henderson, executive director of the UMC Global Health Initiative, responds to Bishop Ntambo of North Katanga Conference in the Democratice Republic of the Congo, courtesy UMC/Gary Henderson

* EARLY RESPONSE (ERT) TRAINING IN COLORADO APRIL 25, 2009, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This training is for people who would like to help with disaster relief soon after a disaster, such as a tornado or hurricane strikes. ERT members are self-sufficient, badged volunteers who help with tasks such as debris removal and making homes safe and secure. Training will be held at the Rocky Mountain Conference office in Greenwood Village, CO. To register, contact Betsy Keyack, bkeyack@att.net, 303-346-7057.

* Training Seminar for Laity & Clergy in Pacific Northwest Annual Conference

Over the years of my ministry, district training events have been the most consistently helpful and practical learning experiences available to me. Here in the Inland District, Rocks and Ripples 2009 promises to be such an event. I remember that in seminary, when a certain professor wanted to introduce us to a new idea, he'd say, "I want to drop a pebble in your pond." I spent a lot of happy hours as a kid skipping rocks across various North Central Washington lakes, and that professor's words brought a great picture to mind of rocks touching down on smooth lake waters and sending ripples out in every direction. I believe that this year's Rocks and Ripples will have a similar powerful effect on your leadership in your local church!

This year, in an attempt to bring that impact closer to where you live, we are offering two nearly identical sessions, the first starting at 8:30 a.m. at Simpson UMC in Pullman; the second starting at 2:30 at Spokane Valley UMC. Both sessions will feature our bishop, Grant Hagiya, speaking on "Sparking the Leader Within!" Our new bishop's passion is leadership; he's made a life-long study of the topic and has much to share. In addition, each session offers your choice of two workshops from many options. Whatever leadership role you have in your local church, whatever committee or team you serve on, you will find something of great help to you.

Thank you to those of you who have already made your choices and submitted your registration to the district office. If you are one who is still considering, I invite you to look over the options and sign up today! In order to have a fairly accurate count for the meals, we need your registrations by this Friday, April 17. So contact the district office by phone 509-838-3085, 800-549-1945, or by e-mail inland@pnwumc.org. You may register for your workshop then pay at the door. I’m looking forward to sharing this experience with you.

Dale Cockrum
Inland District Superintendent

* UMCOR & HEALTH DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

A recent meeting of bishops and United Methodist health care leaders in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, has led to major capacity-building efforts throughout the Central Conferences in Africa through the assistance and support of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Bishop Janice Huie, of UMCOR board president and residing bishop of the Texas Annual Conference, chaired the meeting.
Ten of the 12 African Central Conferences were represented at the gathering, which was also attended by representatives from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and the United Nations Foundation, all key partners in The United Methodist Church's Global Health Initiative (GHI). The week-long meeting focused on creating a plan to help African Central Conferences and communities access resources so that their ministries can save more lives. The meeting included dialog and training sessions about ways each conference can build upon and improve existing health ministries; increase their partnerships and sustainability; and decrease dependence on the Church and US donations for health program support.

"This gathering laid the foundation for our ongoing cooperative work with the United Methodist health ministries in Africa," said Sam Dixon, Global Ministries' deputy general secretary for UMCOR and Global Health. "Working together, we can make a real impact on the health of the millions of people United Methodist hospitals and clinics serve, aiming to reduce maternal and child mortality and combat the devastating effect of diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS on African communities."

The meeting, also attended by United Methodist Communications, focused on assisting the conferences to build the capacity of local United Methodist hospitals and clinics, starting with developing health boards to coordinate their efforts. These health boards are the starting point for increasing capacity and effectiveness of the health ministries of each conference. This is especially important because across Africa, United Methodist hospitals and community based health care programs provide services to people and in remote villages where no other entity operates. These hospitals and programs need the consistent support and resources of the Central Conference structure to become more effective and save more lives. The aim of developing African Conference Health Boards is to provide oversight and backing to these critical health care ministries.To support United Methodist hospitals and clinics in their critical ministries of healing and health please give to Hospital Revitalization, UMCOR Advance #982168.

Easter Greetings from Cambodia & the Country of Georgia; Mission News & Early Response Training; Volunteers Needed

Photo: Cambodian mother & daughters, courtesy, battembang.net

EASTER GREETINGS FROM CAMBODIA: by Katherine Parker, missionary

This is a special year when Easter coincides with the three day Khmer New Year festival. It will be quite a celebration. The rains are just starting to bless us with some cooling in the early evenings. In Cambodia we call this time of year when the rains return as the New Year because it marks that the time to begin growing rice is here. Farmers are out harrowing the fields and those with some irrigation are already starting to flood the paddies with the little remaining water in the ponds.Community Health and Agricultural Development (CHAD) just had a major evaluation with our partners from the Methodist Church in Finland. Lots of good feedback!

On my blog, a new story about prison outreach ministry is available. Thanks for reading. Thanks, also, for your continued support through prayers, visits and financial contributions .Happy Khmer New Year! Happy Passover! and Happy Easter!

*EASTER GREETINGS FROM THE COUNTRY OF GEORGIA by Kathy Starostka, Individual Volunteer

Happy Easter. I hope you are all well and that you have a wonderful Easter. The Georgian Orthodox Church goes by the old calendar so Easter will not be celebrated here until April 19. On Friday before Easter, parents will color many many eggs red to represent the blood of Christ. They do it only on good Friday and the children do not help. On Saturday night people go to church and spend the entire night there praying and the priests take turns reading scriptures. On Easter families break the fast of the last week six weeks during which many devout Georgians do not eat any animal products. They finally can eat animal products again so it is a happy time for them. They believe that fasting is a way to bring people closer to God. On the day after Easter people go to the cemetery to bring flowers and to leave food. They bring the colored eggs and two people each hold an egg, click them together and the person who breaks the other person’s egg will have good fortune. No Easter bunny here.

I have been busily setting up an instructional program in one of the small villages for several hundred refugees from the conflict last August. I have made arrangements for three of my students of English to go to the village two times a week and teach Georgian, English, and health and first aid.

April 9 was the day to remember the tragedy of when Russian troops came into Tbilisi about 20 years ago and shot down peaceful young people demonstrating in the streets. Tiko and I went down to that area where demonstrations were taking place yesterday. There were many people but it was totally peaceful. The people want changes in the government or at least they want the president of Georgia to acknowledge their problems and concerns.

My students at the Youth House are preparing songs, plays, and little poems for our end of the school year program. The little kids are doing Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They are memorizing everything in English which is quite an accomplishment for five year olds.

So life goes on in Georgia. We are doing fine, spring is here and we are waiting for strawberries to appear in the market.
Happy Happy Easter.

*EARLY RESPONSE TRAINING (ERT) APRIL 25TH IN COLORADO

EARLY RESPONSE TEAM (ERT) Training - Saturday, April 25, 9:00 - 5:00 pm. This training is for people who would like to help with disaster relief soon after a disaster, such as a tornado or hurricane strikes. ERT members are self-sufficient, badged volunteers who help with tasks such as debris removal and making homes safe and secure. Training will be held at the Rocky Mountain Conference office in Greenwood Village, CO. To register, contact Betsy Keyack, bkeyack@att.net, 303-346-7057.

*VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IN FOR GUATAMALA MEDICAL TEAM

St. Luke's UMC 2009 Guatemala surgical team will be providing surgeries in Guatemala the week of September 11 - 20, 2009. We still need more nurses for this trip. Please contact Mark Ely, marcos@puravida.org if you are a nurse who would like to participate in this amazing trip. Please spread the word to nurses at your church and place of business!

*VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IN NEW MEXICO

McCURDY SCHOOL MISSION TRIP, New Mexico - You are invited to join a team from Salt Lake City on this mission trip, August 9-14. Contact Marilyn and Hugh Douglas, 801-571-4870.

*VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR UTE NATIVE AMERICAN RESERVATION

UTE MOUNTAIN NATIVE AMERICAN RESERVATION, Tawaoc, CO - You are invited to join a team from Salt Lake City on this mission trip, July 6-10. Contact Marilyn and Hugh Douglas, 801-571-4870.

Jamaa Letu Orphanage; Individual Volunteer Training; ERT Training; My Story from Mexico City;UMVIM to the Holy Land; Hurricanes

Photos: Children at Jamaa Letu Orphanage (top), courtesy pnwumc.org; plaza in Mexico City (middle), courtesy travelblog.com; Devastation from a hurricane (middle), courtesy umvim.info; and City of Bethlehem (bottom), courtesy holyland.com.

Online Donations Now Possible for Jamaa Letu Orphanage in Congo It is now possible to make an online donation to the Jamaa Letu Orphanage in the Congo. To make a donation to this special place that receives much support and love from those in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference, simply go to www.pnwumc.org. Individual Volunteer Training for Those in the Western Jurisdiction, June 2009 Interested in becoming an Individual Volunteer? Come to the training event held at the beautiful Aldersgate Retreat Center in Pacific Palisades, CA June 25-28, 2009. For more information about the program and this training contact Landon Taylor at ltaylor@gbgm-umc.org or Nancy Eubanks at nteubanks@gmail.com. ERT (Early Response Team) Training In Rocky Mountain Conference If you feel called to be an ERT or Early Responder volunteer after a disaster then you must receive training. There will be an ERT training in the Rocky Mountain Conference Center in Denver, CO April 25th from 9:00 am to 5 pm. For more information, please contact Betsy Keyack and/or Ann Fort, the Rocky Mountain UMVIM Coordinators, at bkeyack@att.net and annfort8269@comcast.net. If you want to have a training in your annual conference contact Heather Wilson at umvimwj@hotmail.com and Barbara Tripp from UMCOR at barbaratripp@earthlink.net. My Story: The UMVIM/UMCOR Consultation in Mexico City, by Chuck Kriegh, PNW UMVIM Task Force This meeting was very meaningful for me as I really only knew about the VIM from the standpoint of being a Team Leader to the Chihuahua City region of Northern Mexico. I believe the thing that most impressed me was the time we spent in dialog with the other participants. The list of people from South America, Central America, Mexico, Cuba, Caribbean Island and of course the Untied States was very impressive to me. To be able to meet with people doing what I have spent 12 years doing was very rewarding to me. I learned that when when we do things with and in those countries with less resources we don't always do good. Sometimes, we can do great harm even though we have good intentions. As Americans we often have the attitude that we "can fix it" and that we know what is best. But the reality is that the greatest blessing behind UMVIM is not the clinics, churches, hospitals built or the wells dug, or the immunization shots given. These are all important and great. However, what is greater than this is the building of relationships in Christ. My Latin American brothers and sisters told me that what they loved most about the work of the volunteers was the opportunity it gave for all of us to connect, learn about one another from one another, and share what Christ and done in our lives. I also learned that there is an office at Global Ministries that is just dedicated for watching out for the safety of children who are minor volunteers and/or at an UMVIM site. This office is headed by Joanne Reich and she gave a great presenation at the consultation. In addition, I found out about how volunteers can financially support their UMVIM work through The Advance for Christ and His Church. Many of the sites teams serve at are also Advance sites and can receive 100% of your donation. So even if you cannot go on a team you can support their work and ministry through The Advance. Finally, I received information about the Individual Volunteer program which allows an individual to serve for 2 months to 3 years as a volunteer. There are places all around the world that are requesting individuals that often will provide room & board and/or a small stipend for your service. When I was on the plane ride home along with Debra Conklin and Heather Wilson, our minds were full of ideas to make UMVIM an even better and more effective ministry in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the Western Jurisdiction. My heart was full of love for my Latin American brothers and sisters and I am renewed and inspired to continue to the work God has called each of us to do for His honor and glory. UMVIM Team to Serve in the Holy Land The group will depart on December 28, 2009 from Sacramento and return January 13, 2010. Rev. Tana McDonald is leading this tour assisted by Rev. Don Lee, and Rosann Mackey. While in the Holy Land, you will prayerfully participate in strengthening our UMC peace and justice connections. You will live in Bethlehem, at the complex of the Basilica of the Nativity, interact and worship daily with Palestinian Christians and Muslims. Our group will visit Deheisha Refugee Camp, Hebron/Christian Peacemakers, Lutheran Christmas Church/numerous mission projects. We will have a suitcase ministry and deliver much needed children’s medicines/school supplies to HOPE Secondary School. On January 6th you will leave the walls of Bethlehem and move to Jerusalem. In addition to sacred site-seeing we will worship with our Jewish brothers and sisters at the Wailing Wall and meet several Israeli Peace activists and justice partners. Lastly we move on to Jericho and up to the Jordan River to reaffirm our baptism before heading to the Sea of Galilee, Mt. of the Beatitudes, Capernaum and Nazareth. Our lodging will be on the Sea of Galilee at a lovely, peaceful spiritual retreat center. Estimated cost (including lodging, 2 meals daily, [except for one dinner at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem]) is $4000. Applications are available now. Get your passport if you think you would like to join us. Orientation and educational meetings will be held at Sierra Pines UMC on Saturdays: September 26th, October 24th, and November 21st, from 11:00 AM-3:00 PM. Plan to make at least two of the meeting to be eligible to go. Our most important mission work is connectional--meeting Israeli, Palestinian and Muslim peacemakers. If you would like more information on this trip, please contact Rev. Tana revtana@gmail.com Taylorsville/Greenville/Chester UMC, (530) 284-7316, or Rev. Don Lee at revdonlee@gmail.com Sierra Pines UMC(530) 268-6907, or Rosann Mackey at rosann.VIM2009@gmail.com (530) 272-6566. Volunteers Needed for Hurricane Recovery Work If you plan to take an UMVIM team or go yourself, please do not go before contacting the Disaster Response or Storm Recovery Center. They are coordinating all response efforts and will direct you appropriately. Early Response Training is needed ! See your Jurisdictional UMVIM website for upcoming training sessions. ALABAMA-WEST FLORIDA CONFERENCE Ron Baughman, Director of VolunteersTel - Office (251) 340-1985; Cell (251) 591-4443E-mail: rbaughman@awfumc.org Disaster Recovery Ministry6333 Piccadilly Square DriveMobile, AL 36609Website: http://www.awfumc.org FLORIDA CONFERENCELin Arnold-Skrovanek, Storm Center ManagerTel 800-282-8011 Ext 198Fax 863-688-7233E-mail: larnold-skrovanek@flumc.org Louisiana UM Disaster Recovery Ministry 141 North 6th Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802Office (225) 346-5193Fax (225) 346-6974Website: http://www.laumcstormrelief.comE-mail: laumdisastermin@bellsouth.netRev. Yvonne Dayries, Manager of VolunteersE-mail: ydayries@bellsouth.netMerci Center, North CarolinaPhil Platter, Early Response Coordinator Tel 888-440-9167 Mississippi ConferenceBeth Dean, Volunteer Teams Coordinator Tel (866) 435-7091 or 7092 or 7093E-mail: disastercenter@meridianumc.org Missouri: Tornado Disaster Response - Volunteers needed to help with cleanup and repairs Office of Creative Ministries, Tel (573) 474-7155 Donations to UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response Texas Conference - Rita RecoveryWebsite: http://www.umcortexas.com/E-mail: volunteers@umcortexas.comTel (409) 892-0140