JAMAICA - TEAMS AND TEAM MEMBERS NEEDED

A recent team from the NC Conference worked at the Content Gap Methodist Church in Jamaica. This team was lead by Rev Butch Huffman. The roof of this church was torn off during a hurricane in 2007. The team worked on the school attached to the church. They painted, installed windows, doors, floor tile, and built a table in the kitchen. All of this is now being used by the church's pre-school program. Following teams will replace the roof to the church. Once the church is ready for worship, teams will construct a medical clinic over the school.

Content Gap is a priority project of the NC Conference. Workteams are scheduled for this summer and need members. If you would like to join one of these teams, contact Butch at butchhuffman@netzero.com. If you would like to send a team from your church or district, Butch can provide you with necessary information and will be glad to schedule your group.

A Great Workteam Destination - Nicaragua

I recently returned from a visit with the Nicaraguan Methodist Church and thought that many of you might want to consider it as the destination for a future workteam. I attended the General Conference Meeting of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Nicaragua (IGLEMEN) and was very impressed with all that I saw and heard. These churches are very dedicated to ministering to both the physical and spiritual needs of the people in their churches and in their communities. IGLEMEN presently has 14 churches and 823 members. Six of these congregations are mission churches. They were planted by one of the 8 official churches and are in the process of becoming full-fledged members of IGLEMEN. Two of them do not yet have a minister. Several of these congregations do not have buildings and/or parsonages. They meet in homes.
Each of these 14 congregations, whether or not they have a church building and whether or not they have a minister, provide a great deal of outreach to the communities they serve. Each has a feeding program for the children in their neighborhoods. They feed about 1200 kids a day, 3-5 days a week. Several churches also have preschool programs, after school programs, music programs, and sports programs. All have a quarterly medical clinic. One is trying to open a community pharmacy, but has had trouble raising funds/medicines. These churches believe strongly in ministering to children. They believe that we are called by Christ to minister to the poor and to the children. They believe that by ministering to the children’s physical needs they will be given the opportunity to also minister to their spiritual needs. They believe that by ministering to the children they are also reaching their parents. They are doing amazing things with their limited resources.
IGLEMEN has several building projects and each needs help. The Nicaraguan Methodist Churches received only 10 building teams last year. They need more in 2009 and 2010. Please don’t have concerns about traveling to Nicaragua. While a very poor country (often ranked lower even than Haiti) it is a safe place to visit. Lonely Planet’s Guidebook states that Nicaragua is the safest country in Central America.
While the main purpose of my journey to Nicaragua was to attend the General Conference meeting, I was also making plans for a workteam in late fall. I looked at several food/lodging/transportation options in the Managua area and found it to be an economical location for a workteam. Lodging options varied from $10 per person/per day staying in a convenient group facility (individual rooms for 2-4, each with bath and shower) to staying in a nice hotel that charged about $20-$25 per person/per day in double rooms with a/c, hot water, TV, and internet access. Food options ranged from about $10 per day/per person in a group facility to $20 per day/per person eating in restaurants. Transportation would be about $900 per week for a large van and driver. Teams could also rent a 15 passenger van through Budget for something in the $8-900 range. Project costs would be in the $2000-$3000 range. Airfares from RDU to Managua are presently $505 and have been that way for the last month or two. All of these costs are subject to change and teams to destinations other than Managua might find different costs.
The Nicaraguan church recently hired a full-time coordinator for UMVIM teams. His name is Larry Hurtado and he can be reached at iglemenvim@yahoo.com. He speaks English and Spanish. Teams should be coordinated through Larry. He is also responsible for making all lodging, food, and transportation arrangements. Please don't hold me to the costs I listed above. Exact figures can be obtained from Larry. Talk to him about the options I have suggested and about others that he might prefer. I will be taking a team to work with IGLEMEN in November or December. As I learn more about taking a team there, I will be glad to share that info with anyone contemplating a team to Nicaragua. If you’d be interested in joining me on that team, drop me a note at jbenson23@embarqmail.com.

BY THE WAY -- If you are looking for an advance special to give to, the one that supports the Nicaraguan church's feeding programs is # 14854A. Any gifts to that Advance Special would be put to great use.

It has been a long time

Wow!! It has sure been a long time since I have posted anything to this blog. The hardest part of keeping it up is getting information from those of you who have been on workteams. I got a little discouraged from not receiving any trip reports or pictures. I promise to get over that and to be better in the future. I've been on a few recent trips that I will report on soon. Thank you for reading....... AND PLEASE SEND SOME PICTURES AND TRIP REPORTS TO NCVIM@EMBARQMAIL.COM.