Destination: TANZANIA!
United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) Team
July 2011
As part of the Global Board of Global Ministries, UMVIM enables the participation of Methodists throughout the world in global mission volunteer programs so that affirming, empowering and trusting relationships would be established. The UMVIM motto is “Christian Love in Action” and is taken from 1 John 3:18, in which Christians are asked to love “not in word or speech, but in truth and action”. Living our faith is at the very heart of our Christian calling.
The tasks on a UMVIM trip are what we do with our abilities. Our team going to Tanzania in July 2011 will be primarily humanitarian in nature. Our hosts from Joy in the Harvest Ministries, Lowell and Claudia Wertz, are UM missionaries from the US who have been in Africa 20+ years, and have graciously invited us to participate with them in their daily activities. During the trip, some of these tasks will be feeding the hungry, visiting with those in the Destitute Camp, and even visiting a UM refugee camp on the Burundi/Tanzania border. (The Destitute Camp consists of those with disabilities which keep them on the fringe of society--missing limbs, blindness, HIV/AIDS, etc.) We may also sew, provide supplies, repair and/or construct. Task and purpose are closely related, and both are to be accomplished in ways that lift up Jesus Christ and those we serve.
There is always a little free time built into the many activities, and the team will be able to experience Tanzanian worship on Sundays with Pastor Levi Nyasinde. We will visit Gombe Stream National Park, a fragile strip of chimpanzee habitat on the northern shore of Lake Tananyika. The area was made famous by the pioneering work of Jane Goodall, who in 1960 founded a behavioral research program that now stands as the longest-running study of its kind in the world. We will conclude our trip with a two-day stay in Mikumi National Park on the northern border of Africa’s largest game reserve--the Selous.
It is our prayer that Church of the Cross will choose to walk together with this UMVIM team, offering encouragement and prayer support. Just as all Kairos and Emmaus teams are girded in prayer, so too will be our work in Tanzania. Closer to our departure, we may also ask your participation in donating supplies for our missionary hosts.
We pray that as we are moved into a different culture and experience the reality of life in Africa, that we will begin to live our lives with greater sensitivity, understanding and compassion. We pray that our lives will be energized, and in turn, the Church of the Cross.
Please check the Reporter and Mission bulletin board (across from Room 11) in the months to come for updates and information regarding the VIM trip. Ask us questions!
In His Service,
Jane Wise, Team Leader &
Pastor John Whitaker
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A number of people from our church were at the Guitars & Saxes smooth jazz concert on August 14th at the Fraze. We heard David Wells open the evening with an hour of smooth jazz trumpeting. He is an extraordinary player. He performed several gospel and contemporary Christian songs. It was obvious that David’s heart is all about Christ. Following the concert, David introduced himself to Pastor John and several others from our church.
