MIRACLE OFFERING FOR GLOBAL HEALTH

Yes, this month we are supporting the Miracle Offering for Global Health.  Bishop Trimble has challenged all United Methodist Churches in the conference (state of Indiana) to take a special offering to support two of his favorite projects.

One is Imagine No Malaria.  This is an initiative of the United Methodist Church to eradicate malaria and save millions of lives in the tropically regions of the world.   What prompted the creation of this program was the reality that 1 child died every 30 seconds of malaria.  Since 2011 United Methodists donated nearly $75 million dollars thus have underwritten lots of research, delivered bed nets (with the help of UM infrastructure and the NBA connection with the "nets", and provided medication to millions of people.  The most recent statistics (2015) suggest that the number of deaths is now about 1 person every 2 minutes. (I can't wait to see what that number will be in 2017.)     WE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN LIVES. 

Some of you may remember when one of our church members came back from Sierra Leone and was quite ill.   After testing it was discovered he had malaria.   Tim put a face on this horrific disease for all of us.   

The second project is the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund.  Our Bishop chairs the board of this ministry so it has a special significance for him.   We have come so far with research and treatment of those who have contacted HIV/AIDS virus here in the US.  The same is not true internationally.  The funds are used to get the medications to places where without our help, they would not have access to the life saving treatment.   

 

Did you know that Indiana (South Bend) has an Aids ministry and has been active since the early 1980's?   It is the only such program supported by the connectional church in the US.  This ministry has been there for the victims and families of HIV/AIDS in northern Indiana continuously since its inception.   The focus of the ministry has changed over time but the mission has remained the same.  

 

So Bishop Trimble challenged every person to donate at least $10 toward the 2017 Miracle Offering for Global Health.   If all 1,120 churches participate, we will surely provide over $1,000,000 for these life saving programs.  

Some things to remember:

• In 2015 1 person died every 2 minutes from malaria and most of those are children under 5 and pregnant women.  
• In 2015 292,000 children died in Africa of Malaria before the age of 5.
• In 2015 there were 900 children per day infected with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• In 2015 there were about 36.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS.
• By 1951 Malaria had been eradicated from the US with an all out effort to get standing water to drain and new drainage systems in place.   Today the only malaria cases in the US come from those who visit countries with malaria. 

Thanks for your generosity.  

 

Monthly Focus for May

The May Mission Focus is Hilltop Neighborhood.   A great place for volunteers to spend some of their extra time... located at 460 S. College Avenue.     

• Breakfast Club every Monday morning is a special place for children in the neighborhood.   Children come to Hilltop for breakfast and a Barb Punter story.   An awesome time for volunteers.   Some of our volunteers have been there for at least 14 years. Requirements for serving... be an early riser on Mondays and expect to some really great kids who are learning about God's love. 
• Walt's Place Too -  Volunteers are needed here for after school tutoring.   What an opportunity to make a difference through mentoring.   
• Other opportunities for volunteering are given in the link provided. 
• Our own Sue Clemens can hook you up with some computer classes held each Monday evening.   This is part of the Hilltop's Adult Education program. 
• Child Care.. we have one of our church members who volunteers to rock children.  A great place for those who love the little ones.   

Thanks for supporting the ministry in the Hilltop Neighborhood with your mission offering this month.  

What a great response for "covering needs" at UBL!

Thanks everyone for supporting the April Mission Focus...$1,182 was given to "covering needs" of the students at UBL.  
We are pleased that new curtains are hanging in the dorm.  Over the remainder of  2017 we will learn about how all of the funds were used to assist these amazing students. 
  

Prayers for Ecuador

In the fall of 2015 Gene and Bonnie traveled to Ecuador to attend the wedding of their 2005 exchange student.  While there they were blessed with a tour of "Methodist" country outside Quito (the capital city) provided by Sara Flores and her husband.   One of the needs expressed by the church leadership was to find ways to connect with churches in the United States and encourage them to come and visit this new area of Methodism in a country that is predominately Catholic.  This past December 10 people from around our Jurisdiction went to Ecuador to do just that... meet and greet these new Methodist people in the mountains around Quito.  

 

Those who went to Ecuador in 2016-2017 (over Christmas Vacation)  encouraged people who are connected to the church in Ecuador to be prayer and they would do the same for a church in the US.  Bonnie Albert is the contact person for Valparaiso 1st and has sent a prayer request  for Valparaiso 1st congregation as we move through multiple staff changes in the months ahead and to pray for our new pastor who will be with us in July.  

I have just received this quarter's prayer from the Missionary in Ecuador.   Thanks for reading this prayer for the Church in Ecuador.   (They have about 23 small congregations ministering to people who are rich in their faith and are thankful for whatever needs are met each and every day.)  

 

^{The church in Ecuador asked us to pray:  
For world peace and for the stability and peaceful transition of the Government in Ecuador.
Pray that God bless the families of pastors and the congregations they serve in Ecuador and in the USA with spiritual strength.  We ask for prayer especially for pastoral couples.
For the children of the pastoral families, their education and their daily welfare, for the economy and for their studies.
For the material stability of pastor’s families, for the daily sustenance and work of the pastors and all the heads of household in the congregations.}

^{Special health situations of the families of pastors in Ecuador and the USA.}

^{Pray for the wife of pastor Daniel Garrido who is battling serious melanoma.
Pray for Pastor Fabiola and her husband who will have a baby in late June.}

^{God blesses us thru your spiritual support.   
Sara Flores, Missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries}

The needs at UBL continue to grow...

The CURTAIN for CERTAIN project is moving right along.   They just trust that we are supporting it with our April Mission donation.   As the last post reported  Nancy was busy sewing curtains for a blue room.   I think she has returned home with some of the rooms not completed so do you think Margie is going to take over the sewing machine like she does at Sager Brown?   We'll see. 

 

But in recent conversations with Margie, the curtains are but one thing that needs attention at the school.   As you can imagine, Margie is in the middle of all the excitement and further more, she sees things that need attention.   I share this to say, every penny we collect through the Mission Offering for April will go toward student care while they study at the University.   You would really have to be in her shoes to understand fully.   People come from all over Latin America to study and usually come with very little in their pocket.   They can live on a "shoe string" and if an emergency comes up, it is the difficult/nearly impossible for them to recover.  

 

We want you to know that some of the funds you give to the curtain project will not only be used for covering the windows... but it will be used for "covering the needs" of the students who are a bit short.   In the past we have assisted with medicines, travel back to their country, scholarships, and some of the little things that just make their experience at UBL at bit better.   These students never ask for a thing but are grateful for everything that comes their way.   Margie's part is she sees needs, hears about needs in her daily activities and becomes aware of the serious needs of the students.   Thanks for your contributions.   We'll find a time to share the stories she has when she arrives home next month.  

Curtains for Certain - Mission Focus for April

Dorm room/sewing room.   Notice the nice blue walls that were painted
recently from the paint we bought. 

 

Volunteer Nancy Collins, quite a fabulous and diligent seamstress is making as many of the curtains she can within the next month.  She and her husband are volunteers at UBL and their time will be up in May.  With our church's financial help, we are hopeful that EVERY SINGLE ROOM in the student residence will be looking as beautiful as you can see in the picture with the new curtains hung in this window.

  

 

 

I hope this picture will help you visualize the project, and with it comes my happy and profound gratitude to each of you and ALL of my Valparaiso Church family who are supportive of this CURTAINS FOR CERTAIN project.

By the way, the lovely NEW blue paint on the walls of this room in the picture is some of that paint provided by our Valparaiso FUMC in the donations given in 2015 (I believe that was the year).  Much love to you all.  God is good, all the time.  Margie

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT for the Mission Focus in April.   Just write Curtains for Certain on your check.  

News from "Lousia" and Gordon Graner

"Louisa" is getting the new kids connected with name tags before our VBS

begins.  Our suitcase were filled with all sorts of activities we used with

two groups of VBS students each day. 

        Ardell Graner (our missionary) goes by the name of Louisa in Dominican Republic.  When she was assigned there after serving 20 years in Bolivia, she determined those she met really struggled with her name.   Ardell was just too difficult so she changed her name to Louisa.

       Ardell and her husband Gordon were at our church in October 2014 and then we had a team go to Dominican Republic in 2015.   Our hope is to return one day and be with them churches near Samana.   We loved the people there and were so warmly greeted

So the van for 10 held 20.  How many do you see on
this motorcycle? 

       You can read about their ministry and the people they serve by clicking here.  You'll love the story about riding from the interior of Dominican Republic to the peninsula in the north where we served in a transport built for 10 but took 20 people.  

       

 

Our team in Monte Rojo, Dominican Republic June 2015 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In February our missionaries received funds for their ministries... Ardell's is called Lost and Found Children of Dominican Republic and Clara's (in Cambodia) is called Street Children Ministry.   Our church has sent $421 to each of these projects from the February  Mission Offering.  The United Methodist Women sent $1,000 to each of them at the end of the year.   It is so important for the churches who support these missionaries to also support their projects.  Without these funds, they have little to work with for ministry and programming.  THANKS FOR YOUR GENEROSITY.