FUTURE TEAMS & INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTEER NEWS

Photo: Children in Mexico, courtesy umcor.org.

FUTURE TEAMS

Individual Volunteer to Hope School – Bethlehem, Palestine: March through June, Yvonne Turner of Grass Valley - Sierra Pines UMC will be serving as a teacher at the Hope School in Bethlehem.

Medical Team to Guatemala: March 6 - 16
Roland Nyegaard leads a large team of medical professionals to Guatemala. He will serve with Gay Goss, Richard Anderson, Jon Chan, Marianne Hallum, Lynn Hansen, Patricia Logan, Seang Seng of Modesto - First UMC, Nancy Fisher of Centenary UMC, James Hoyt of Calvary Chapel, Shari Lowe of Raiseda - 7th Day Adventist, Julia Parish of San Francisco - St. Mary the Virgin, Cynthia Barton of Ripon Grace, Kelly Brown, Jim Brown, Elizabeth Dixon, William Dixon, Susan Hoyt, Elise Palitz, John Pfeffer, Carol Shakespeare, Jennifer Zimmerman and William WIlson.

Hurricane Recovery Team to Dulac, Louisiana: March 13 - 19
Darlene Luster picks up the leadership torch from Richard Drath and leads a team back to Dulac, Louisiana. She will serve with Nancy Wong, David Roundtree, Sue Roberts, Jay Earl, Marilyn Hewitt, Elizabeth Morse, Katy Simon, Jim Roberts, Becky Earl, Jeff Spalin and Katie Salo of Reno - First UMC, Michael Clymer, Richard Schendel, Georgia Clymer, Susan Doctor, Patrick Leamy, Mary Law, Nicole Schober, Brenton King and Joyce Garcia of Reno - St. Paul's UMC, Kathy Fraker of Fallon - Epworth UMC, Sherri Rice and Patty Bengtsor.

Los Gatos UMC / International Team to Colonet, Mexico: March 20 - 26
Pete Taylor leads a Los Gatos UMC Team back to Colonet to continue their partnership there. He will serve with Marna Taylor, Nicholas Taylor, Eric Hardt, Alex Hardt, Karen Sanders, Alex Noe, Ray Owen, Michael Baldwin, Andrew Neish, Brian Stansbury and Maurice VanGalder of Los Gatos UMC.

Multi-Church / Hurricane Recovery Team to Slidell, Louisiana: March 27 – April 3
Joe Hoffman leads teams of volunteers from four congregations. Jerry Adams, Warren Adams, Debbie Dillon-Adams, Sally Flores, Aeredin Harris, Cameron Hobbs, Haley Hobbs, Shannon James, Barbie Swain, Carl Swain and Kristen Swain of the Pioneer UMC and the Auburn Community Parish (made up of Dutch Flat UMC, Colfax UMC and Placer Hills Community UMCs).

TEAM LEADER TRAINING; FUTURE TEAMS; HELPFUL WEBSITES; UMCOR IN THE PHILIPPINES

Photo: Volunteers hand out food in Philippines. Read more about work there below....Photo courtesy, umcor.org.

* TEAM LEADER TRAINING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST CONFERENCE

The UMVIM Leadership Team will be conducting two Volunteer In Mission Team Leader Trainings on December 5, 2009 at First UMC of Olympia. Topics to be discussed will be the UM Connection, insurance, safe sanctuary requirements and background checks.1) TEAM LEADER TRAINING for National/International Mission10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.Fees: $20 for the manual

2) TEAM LEADER TRAINING for Conference Projects10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.Fees: none First UMC of Olympia1224 Legion Way SEOlympia, WA 98501-1655(360) 943-2661 If you are interested in registering for either class,e-mail Ronda Cordill, r_cordill@hotmail.comor call (509) 235-5466.

* FUTURE TEAMS TO GUATAMALA, ANGOLA, LOUISINA, SIERRA LEONE, KENYA, CAMBODIA & HELPFUL WEBSITES FOR VOLUNTEERS

1) Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana - Summer, 2010 (1 week trips during June 6 - July 25) - ongoing reconstruction of homes devastated by hurricanes. Registration deadline March 15, 2010. Cost is $225 per participant, which includes lodging, meals, construction materials and evening activities. Contact Laurie Byland, 225-383-4777, X235; laurie.byland@firstmethodist.org, www.thebluetarp.com.

2) Angola, October 2010, MALARIA NET DISTRIBUTION - a fund of $120,000 was collected for the "Nothing But Nets" program in honor of our previous Bishop, Warner Brown. We are beginning to recruit a team of 8-10 people for the distribution of these malaria nets in Angola. The distribution plan will be coordinated by UMCOR in Angola. We would like to have a representative group of health care workers, pastors and lay persons. Contact Burl Kreps, angoadvo@msn.com, 719-637-0258, 719-337-3066(cell).

3) Guatemala, March 19-28, 2010. Serve with the indigenous Mayan people in the mountains of Guatemala. Build adobe homes for widows, construct chicken coops, play with children, visit the John Wesley School. Contact Laura Richards, corichards@aol.com, St. Luke's UMC, Highlands Ranch, CO.4) UMVIM team leader training, Saturday, December 12, 9 am to Noon, St. Luke's UMC, 8817 S. Broadway, Highlands Ranch, CO. Please contact Betsy Keyack, bkeyack@att.net to register. Team leader training also offered on request.

5) Please see the following web sites for more information about UMVIM:

a) www.umvim.info - contains listings of all the UMVIM projects in the USA and around the world as well as information about long term opportunities for individual volunteers.

b) www.umvimwj.blogspot.com - has information about volunteer needs in the western US and teams you can join.

c) www.rmcvim.org - has information about Rocky Mountain Conference teams you can join, going to Guatemala (2010), Sierra Leone (2010), Kenya (2010 and 2011), Cambodia (2011), and India (2011).

d) www.umvim4health.blogspot.com - this is a great web site for health care volunteer opportunities.

* UMCOR WORK IN PHILIPPINES CONTINUES

Philippines continues to comb through remote areas to provide relief supplies to those in need following the devastating Typhoon Ketsana and Parma, which struck the country in September and October.

It took UMCOR Philippines staff and volunteers six hours on a boat to travel to one affected area to assess damages. In one area, on the coastal area of Talim Island, most of the homes and structures were completely destroyed. Three United Methodist churches were damaged and two of the churches remain under water. UMCOR Philippines is working with district leadership to respond to the needs of the church and affected communities.

In addition, about 1,500 food items have been purchased and repackaged by local churches and volunteers assisting UMCOR Philippines. Trained by UMCOR and student council members of the Angono Rizal System University, volunteers prepare water purifiers daily to include in the distribution to displaced families, as health and sanitation is a major concern.

Support the ongoing relief efforts in the Philippines with your gifts to Philippines Emergency, UMCOR Advance #240235.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES IN LOUISIANA AND WASHINGTON STATE

Photo: Part of Camp Indianola in Washington State, courtesy www.campindianola.org. Read below to see how you can volunteer here.

* VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IN LOUISIANA

Volunteers! The Grandriver Station of Louisiana Disaster Response is very much in need of volunteer teams to fill its calendar. Teams are presently rebuilding homes damaged by the last two hurricanes. What a great way not only to be in mission, but to "practice" for your upcoming LAVIM endeavors! AND, there will be folks in your church area that will have an interest in disaster work here in the conference that might never consider international or out of state mission. Get more folks involved in mission! Build your church's ministry and enthusiasm! Build the Kingdom of God! Do the Gospel!

Contact Michelle at the phone, e-mail and address below. You can also register your team by going to http://www.la-umc.org/ and clicking on Louisiana Disaster Response.
Tell Michelle I sent you!
Larry Norman
Director, LAVIM

Michelle L. Hadden
Administrative Assistant/Volunteer Coordinator
LA UM Disaster Response-Grand River Station
Located at Grand River United Methodist Church
30825 Hwy. 75
Plaquemine, LA 70764
225-659-7450
grandriverstation@brcoxmail.com

*VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY IN WASHINGTON STATE AT INDIANOLA CAMP

Volunteer Opportunities: 2009 Inter-tribal Canoe JourneyThe PNW Conference will welcome First Nations and Native American elders and Canoe families to Indianola Camp and Retreat Center on August 3-7 for the 2009 Inter-tribal Canoe Journey. Though this event is not open to the public, there are many volunteer opportunities for those who would like support the event and offer relationship to the Suquamish Tribe, who will host.

If you are interested in applying to help, go to the Canoe Journey website at www.tribaljourneys2009.com, and click on Volunteers