Looking for a great destination for a workteam?
A team sent by Swansboro UMC - Swansboro, Mt Sylvan UMC - Durham, Littleton UMC - Littleton, and Fair Haven UMC - Rodanthe found that working with the Evangelical Methodist Churches of El Salvador in their Methodist Habitat program was that great destination. The team (Eddie and Stephanie O'neal, Rev Jessie Larkins, Carolyn Amdahl, Robert Midgette, Richard Sherman, and John Benson), working for a week in Ahuachapan, El Salvador with about 20 members of three Salvadoran Methodist Churches, built a home for a widow and her 4 children. The family had been praying for a new home. They were living in a house built of tree limbs covered with thin plastic sheeting (like garbage bags are made of) that had a dirt floor, no electricity, no water (except the rain water that constantly ran through during the long rainy season), a dirt floor, one bed of all five, and no bathroom facilities. They did not have the economic resources needed to qualify for a home from Habitat for Humanity. The Methodist Habitat program was created by the Salvadoran Methodist churches after working with Habitat for Humanity and realizing that there were many families needing homes who could not pay even the small monthly payments required by Habitat. The Methodist homes are provided at no cost. The family must only agree to not sell the house for a period of ten years. 
The homes built by the Methodists are small, simple cinder block structures, with concrete floors, metal roofs, glass windows, and metal doors. Their average cost is $3500 and they can be built in a little over one week. Construction leaders and volunteers come from the local Methodist churches and from UMVIM workteams. Mid-day meals are provided on the worksites by the local churches and the family receiving the home. 
The workteam stayed in a modest local motel and traveled to and from the worksite in a van. Breakfast and dinner were eaten at the motel and prepared by the motel staff. The food was wonderful! Cost to the team for room, board, and all in-country transportation was $35 per person per day.
The team visited the nearby Methodist Clinic, delivered 1200 pairs of reading glasses to the clinic, gave a gift of 34 Spanish language Methodist hymnals (Mil Voces Para Celebrar) to the church, and worshipped at the Eternal Rock Methodist Church. Recreation time was spent visiting nearby tourist areas and markets.
Anyone wanting further information on workteam opportunities in El Salvador can contact John Benson at jbenson23@embarqmail.com.
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