NCVIM WORKTEAMS

JAMAICA - TEAMS AND TEAM MEMBERS NEEDED

2009-03-04T03:53:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-02T06:23:00.000-08:00

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.

St James UMC Greenville in Guatemala

2008-02-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

St James UMC has sent an adult mission team to Guatemala each summer since 2004. The first four trips were primarily medical mission trips. On our trip in July 2007 we held a clinic in an old dilapidated building that had mildew problems, no electricity, nor any security for the storage of items like pharmaceuticals. We decided to bring a team in January 2008 to refurbish this clinic. In addition we have a doctor who has gone on each trip and he went again to perform 10 gynological surguries in a hospital in an adjacent village. We also had a few people to lead a bible school and have time with children.

St James UMC also sent money in the fall to purchase metal doors and window security that was installed by a local man. We had to scrub down the walls with clorox. Then we painted the clinic both inside and out. We also had an electrician who was able to wire the building so that all the outlets are now hot. We also built a few shelves.

The building is owned by the village of Xojola, which is located about an hours drive northeast of Mazatenango. They will now be able to use the building. Pharmaceuticals will be stored in the secure area and we plan to have our July team hold a medical clinic in the building. On the last day of our trip the leader of the village came to our group and thanked us and said the village would now be proud of this building and will make good use of it.

Our group was excited to be able to serve the Lord with our hands through the painting, the surgeries, and the helping of the children with bible study and fellowship. The trip was meaninful to both the Guatemalan people and the St James team members. The local people were appreciative that we came from so far away to help them. They gave us Christian love with their smiles and gratitude. Many of our team members plan to go back this summer on the next team.

If you would like to visit the website of the missionairies, Jim and Dianne Thompson, who hosted us, visit http://www.bocacostamm.org/.

Good Translation Site

2008-01-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

I recently found what seems to be a good site for translating things from one language to another. I have been testing it a little from English to Spanish and it does a reasonably good job. Try it out and let me know what you think about it. Contact me at NCVIM@embarqmail.com.
The site is www.babelfish.altavista.com.

Have you heard about Kiva?

2007-12-26T05:32:00.000-08:00

Kiva.org allows individuals to make $25 loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world (microfinance). By doing so, individuals like you provide affordable working capital for the poor (money to buy a sewing machine, livestock, etc.), empowering them to earn their way out of poverty. It's a new, direct and sustainable way for people like us to fight global poverty and to make a difference in the would. Please check out the site: http://kiva.org/ for more information. Thanks for reading!

Rocky Mount District Medical Mission

2007-12-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

Led by Rev David Haley from Winstead UMC in Wilson, a team of two doctors, three nurses, and two laymen spent six days (Oct 11-16) in El Salvador serving the Lord. Working with a doctor from the Methodist Clinic in Ahuachapan, three local pasotors, and two translators, they treated 365-375 patients in clinics that were held at Methodist churches in San Salvador, Ahuachapan, and Coatepeque. They worshipped at a new Methodist mission church in Coatepeque with the 15 adults and 20 children who make up this new congregation. They came home knowing that they had helped many persons and that they had also advanced the work of the church in the three poor communities they had served.

Have you ever thought about learning Spanish? Or about improving your Spanish?

2007-12-02T04:59:00.000-08:00

The best place to learn Spanish is probably Guatemala. Guatemala pioneered the one-on-one method of teaching Spanish. The many Spanish schools there have honed that method into an almost foolproof way to learn the language. It is now called "The Total Immersion Program" and combines the one-on-one study, living and eating with a Guatemalan family, and daily after school activities that provide opportunity to practice newly acquired language skills. And Guatemala is a safe place to visit. The days of war are long past.

There are lots of Spanish schools in Guatemala. Teaching Spanish to foriegners (people from all over the world, not just the US, study Spanish in Guatemala) is one of their major industries. The two main centers of these schools are Antigua and Quetzaltenango (also called Xela). Every school teaches in the same basic manner by attempting to immerse the student in the Spanish language and the Guatemalan culture. Spanish lessons are given for 4 to 5 hours Monday through Friday with the one-on-one method. One teacher for one student. The student sits at a small table across from the teacher. There will be several similar pairs of teacher/student in the room, courtyard, or building. The teachers are trained to teach Spanish as a second language much as people in the US are trained to teach English as a second language. Some teachers are better than others and some schools do a better job of employing good teachers. All have pretty much the same basic method of teaching Spanish and tailor it to the particular student. Some schools, such as CSA in Antigua, have much more formal teaching plans than other schools.

In addition to Spanish lessons the schools arrange homestays for the students. The student lives and eats 3 meals a day with a Guatemalan family. The family speaks only Spanish and encourages the student to use the Spanish he or she is learning. They provide a great opportunity for practice. The student has a modest private room and a shared bath that has hot water. Sometimes private baths are provided, but at a higher cost. Food is generally good and families are usually fun to live with. They try to make students a part of their family. Normally several students are housed with each family. Each has a private room and meals are taken together. Most schools give Spanish lessons in the mornings and provide cultural activities in the afternoons. These activities include such things as visits to local attractions, trips to the markets, lectures on current events, movies, dance lessons, and cooking lessons. All of this is included in the weekly cost of about $150.

The abundance of Spanish schools in Guatemala can make choosing the right one for you a daunting task. Here are a few suggestions to help you make that choice. First, decide whether to study in Antigua or Xela. There are pluses and minuses to each. Antigua is closer and more accessible to the airport. School staff will meet you there and take you directly to your homestay. It is about a 30-45 ride. Antigua is a smaller town and is easy to get around. It is a major tourist destination with lots of good hotels, restaurants, night spots, and shopping. It is very easy to be distracted from studies while there and it is easy to find other English speakers. The weather is mild. There are many, many good schools in Antigua. I highly recommend La Union (http://www.launion.edu.gt/) and I highly recommend requesting accomodations in one of the villages nearby to Antigua where is less chance to speak English. There are only a few protestant churches in Antigua and no Methodist churches.

Xela (pronounced shay-la) is much less touristy and is a much bigger city. There is a lot to do there, but things are harder to find. There a less English speakers, but all of the schools are full of students who speak English. It is hard to escape. Xela schools are a little less expensive than those in Antigua and provide a standard 5 hours of daily Spanish instruction compared to 4 in Antigua. It is cooler in Xela because of the altitude. It is cold during November to March, especialy at at night. There are several protestant churches in Xela. The Methodist Church has its headquarters there. Xela is further from the airport (5 hours by bus) and normally requires an overnight stay in Guatemala City upon arrival. Xela schools can arrange this for you. They will have someone meet you at the airport, take you to a hotel or guesthouse, take you to the bus station in the morning, and make sure you are on the bus to Xela. Getting to Xela is a little adventurous, but very doable. Visit http://www.xelapages.com/ to find lots of information about Xela.

My favorite school in Xela (probably my favorite in Guatemala) is Sakribal (http://www.sakribal.com/). It is one of the few schools in Guatemala that places only one student per family. This greatly helps the learning process. The director, Olga Moscova, is one of the few females in the country to head a language school. She does a very good job of it. I was very impressed by her teachers and her homestay families.

If you have any questions or want help in going to Guatemala to study Spanish, send an email to ncvim@embarqmail.com and I will help in any way that I can. If you are thinking of studying Spanish in Guatemala, go ahead and do it. You will enjoy it very much.

Ahuachapan, El Salvador November 2007

2007-11-26T06:57:00.000-08:00

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.