Read the current World Outreach News Here
Nine World Outreach Mission Trips (Biloxi, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Montana, Arizona, Brazil, North Carolina Mountains, Lithuania and Haiti) and one great stay-at-home opportunity (Kenya Orphanage Project) to get involved in the World Outreach of Myers Park United Methodist Church. Call or e-mail Jami Smith at jsmith@mpumc.org or 704-295-4827 for registration forms or more information.
Costa Rica Mission Trip
Registration is now open for one of our most popular and well-established annual mission opportunities. Since 2005, we have sent teams to participate in the rebuilding of a Methodist camp near Rio Claro, Costa Rica, 37 miles from the Panamanian border. The trip is a chance to engage in hands-on construction of the camp while working alongside Costa Rican Methodists and enjoying the natural beauty of the country. Contact Jami Smith at jsmith@mpumc.org or (704) 295-4827 to register or obtain more information.
2008 Red Feather Mission Trips
The MPUMC World Outreach Team is recruiting volunteers to participate in exciting building team opportunities on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona and the Northern Cheyenne Reservation at Busby Montana. The projects will be hosted by our partner, the Red Feather Development Group of Bozeman, Montana. Red Feather, a non-profit organization that works to provide affordable housing to impoverished Native Americans, will be building a straw bale home for a Native American family and needs our help to complete the task. Cost TBA Contact Mike Jones MJones3244@aol.com, Jami Smith jsmith@mpumc.org or Steve James steve@mpumc.org for more information or to register. Check out http://www.redfeather.org/
2008 Brazil Mission Trip
Our church is sponsoring a mission trip to the Instituto Central de Povo (People's Central Institute) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2008. Volunteers will stay on the grounds of this Methodist institute, which has served inner-city residents of Rio for over 100 years. Hands-on activities will include improving the existing facilities to house after-school and vocational programs for community residents. Dates July 3-14, 2008 Cost of the trip is approximately $1,500. Contact Lynsley Smith at 704-301-4413 -lynsley1@yahoo.com, Jami Smith jsmith@mpumc.org or Steve James steve@mpumc.org for more information.
Mission to the North Carolina Mountains
Spend a week helping our fellow North Carolina citizens! MPUMC is joining in a new mission opportunity July 2008, with Hinton Rural Life Center in the Southern Appalachian Mountains in Hayesville, NC (about 4 hours from Charlotte, southwest of Asheville). The Hinton Center is a Methodist organization supported by MPUMC which provides work teams to repair homes in the surrounding area. The work includes repairing porches, painting homes, fixing leaky roofs, building ramps, replacing rotten floors, and other similar home repairs that greatly improving living conditions. No experience required! Arrival is on Sunday, work days are Monday through Thursday with departure Friday. Teams are housed at the campus of the Hinton Center, either in a lodge or cabin setting. We drive to the work site in our own cars. Meals are provided at the center. When the day is done, enjoy devotionals and worship in the beautiful North Carolina mountains. Open to all ages! You must provid your own transportations. Cost is $395. Dates July 27 - August 2, 2008 For more information or to sign up, please contact Troyann Dougherty at tdougherty@carolina.rr.com Jami Smith jsmith@mpumc.org or Steve James steve@mpumc.org. Information on Hinton is available at www.hintoncenter.org .
2008 Lithuania Mission Trip
The Baltic country of Lithuania won independence from Russia in 1990, but the country continues to rebuild and reqroup after years of Soviet rule. Join a team of MPUMC volunteers on a mission trip to Lithuania September 4-14. Volunteers will stay in the city of Siaulia and live with Lithuanian family hosts while working on a new Methodist church – including the building, the grounds, the décor and community work. The trip also includes a visit to historic Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and two nights in Copenhagen, Denmark. If you are interested in being a part of this exciting experience, please contact Jami Smith jsmith@mpumc.org/704-295-4827, John Kramer kramer66@mindspring.com, or Lucy Thompson lucythompson@carolina.rr.com
Haiti Medical Mission Team
Myers Park United Methodist Church is sponsoring a medical mission team to Bayonnais, Haiti October 4-12, 2008. OFCB Ministries is a church, school and soon to be medical clinic serving this rural community of 80,000 people in a place where malnutrition and easily treatable diseases take lives every day. 1400 students come to this mission outpost every day hoping to build a better future. Our medical mission team will help make sure they and many others can survive to see that hopeful future become a reality. Cost is $800.00 per person. Physicians,pharmacists, nurses, technicians and other medical professionals are all needed. French speaking translators are very welcome as well. Myers Park United Methodist Church is helping OFCB build a permanent clinic to open in 2010. Building teams will be sent in future years to assist in the construction process. Contact Jami Smith jsmith@mpumc.org or Steve James steve@mpumc.org for more information or registration forms.
Stay-at-Home and Get Involved with a Kenyan Orphan
Each Sunday, many MPUMC families share an experience with children in Kenya - we worship in a place named Jubilee. The Jubilee Children's Center in Nairobi, Kenya was established in 2001 with a grant from MPUMC's Jubilee Foundation (the namesake of our Jubilee Hall).
The spread of AIDS combined with tribal warfare have orphaned more than 1.2 million children in Kenya, many of whom are forced to beg and sleep on Nairobi's rough streets in order to survive. These children's future is bleak - they have been traumatized by their parent's deaths and left destitute, uneducated and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Many have been forced into prostitution or gangs in order to survive. But thanks to the Jubilee Children's Center, 95 of these children have found a safe haven.
To date, MPUMC has provided $75,000 in capital funds to help build classrooms, dormitories and other facilities at the Jubilee Children's Center. But the need for help far exceeds what we have been able to give. Now individuals and families in our congregation have the opportunity to help get more children off the streets and into the orphanage.
Jubilee would like to offer a safe haven to additional children, but it costs approximately $500 to feed, house and educate a child each year. By sponsoring a child, you can help provide a future for one of these beautiful children. Full sponsorships ($500) are available or you may provide a partial sponsorship for $250. Contributions may be made monthly or even weekly. In return for your contribution, you'll receive a picture of the child that you are sponsoring and periodic updates on his/her progress.
There are 19 children who don't have sponsors yet. Please help to make a difference in the life of a child! For additional information, contact Barbara Cribbs at dbmjl@aol.com or 704.552.7174, Jami Smith jsmith@mpumc.org or Steve James steve@mpumc.org.
Mission Teams to Build Playground in Biloxi
Two ten-member teams from Myers Park United Methodist Church will be working in Biloxi, MS February 9-16 and 16-23 to complete the construction of the Moore Community House child-care center. The Center has been closed since Katrina but is almost ready to reopen. The final piece will be the construction of the playground, which Myers Park United Methodist Church has agreed to fund and build. Volunteers can participate for three days up to a week at a time during the effort. Contact Jami Smith jsmith@mpumc.org or Steve James steve@mpumc.org for more information.
Guatemala Mission Trip
In support of a Western North Carolina Conference project, MPUMC will send members for the second year to construct the Mission of Confon Poxot Church, near Chi Chi Castenango, Guatemala. This is an exciting opportunity to help the growing Methodist church in Guatemala, while getting to know the people of the congregation and gaining an understanding of the challenges and severe poverty facing the country of Guatemala. Contact Jami Smith jsmith@mpumc.org or Steve James steve@mpumc.org for more information.
Our Missionaries
MPUMC sponsors missionaries through the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
Other Projects
MPUMC sponsors agencies such as the Western North Carolina Ministry for the Deaf (North Carolina), Lakota Children's Ministry (South Dakota), CurAmericas (US, Mexico, Central and South America), and HELP (South Africa),
Disaster Relief
MPUMC has joined forces with Charlotte churches Providence UMC, Mouzon UMC and Sharon UMC to form the Southeast Charlotte Emergency Response Disaster Relief Team. This team can be mobilized to meet disaster needs following events such as floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. Members are trained to meet initial needs immediately following clearance by federal and local authorities. Contact Steve James steve@mpumc.org or Jami Smith jsmith@mpumc.org for more information.
Leadership
World Outreach Ministry Team is led by Bruce Bailey. Staff coordinator is Rev. Steve James steve@mpumc.org.
