Haiti Mission Trip Commissioning - Lancaster First UMC

[Members of our Global Missions Team and Pastor Robert commissioning Judy Hug (kneeling) today in worship for her Haiti mission trip.]

Today, we commissioned Judy Hug who will be serving on a mission trip in Haiti this Friday through January 17. She will be going with a mission team from Indian Run UMC located in Dublin, Ohio.  They are being commissioned today at their church as well.

Judy last visited Haiti in1968, as an eighth-grader. Her father who was a doctor helped to start Grace Children’s Hospital in Port au Prince, Haiti.

They will stay at Les Cayes on the southwest coast of the island traveling daily to the small village of Pelerin. In Pelerin, they are planning to help with the building of their new concrete block church around their existing wooden structure. In addition to the construction tasks, they will also be providing Christian activities for the children of the area.

Praying for Our West Ohio Russia Mission Trip (January 1 - 9)

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Our church is praying for Dee Stickley-Miner & the West Ohio mission team to Samara, Russia (Jan. 1 - 9.) They will be giving over 150 Christmas cards to the orphanage which were made by our Sunday School children!  Dee joined us for our December 11 focus on Russia as part of our "Christmas Around the World" Advent worship services.

To read daily posts on their trip, follow their mission trip blog.  The video below is Dee helping out with an art class during the trip this week. 

Pray with me: "Sending and equipping God, surround Dee Stickley-Miner and our West Ohio Volunteers Mission Team as they strengthen our partnership with our United Methodist brothers and sisters in Samara, Russia during this first week of January. Thank you for the joy they are experiencing in these initial days of their trip. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."

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Celebrating a 2nd Christmas this Year!

Our church, First UMC will be celebrating a 2nd Christmas this year.  We will be praying for our West Ohio Conference mission's team as they prepare to leave for Samara, Russia (January 1-9.)  They will be spending time at a United Methodist orphanage.  Since Russia celebrates Christmas on January 7th, through our prayers, we can celebrate a 2nd Christmas with the team!

Dee Stickley-Miner who is leading this mission trip offered greetings to our church during our "Christmas Around the World" Advent sermon series on Sunday, December 11th as we focused on our mission partnership with Russia.  Some of our children presented Dee with Christmas cards that our Sunday School classes had made for the team to take with them for their trip. The cards will be given to children at an orphanage in Samara, Russia.

Thankfully, Dee has a web blog which will offer highlights of each day of the mission trip.  I will be posting her daily web blog here on Nikos to help us to continue to pray for her, the team, and our partner United Methodist Church in Russia.

As they say in Russia, S Rozhdestvom! 

Merry Christmas!
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Bahamas Mission Trip - Day #7 (Saturday, February 5)

Here are the highlights from each day of our Lancaster, Ohio First United Methodist Church Bahamas mission trip to the island of Eleuthera January 30 - February 5, 2011. We partnered with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat mission outreach ministry during the week.

Saturday:

Today was our travel day back home. We flew out of the southern small airport on the island to Nassau and then to DC and finally to Columbus.

During the week, we worked very hard and surpassed the expectations of the Bahamas Methodist Habitat staff. This made us feel really good that we had made a difference for a family of seven who needed to have a home following a fire that destroyed their previous home. We bonded as a group and grew in our faith as a result of our week together.

One of the highlights of our week from a scenery standpoint (in addition to the beaches!) was when we went to the famous Glass Window Bridge. This is a one lane bridge (concrete, not glass) with only 100 feet separating the crashing waves of the Atlantic ocean on the east side and the still Caribbean Sea on the west side. It is known as the most narrow land mass in the world.

Tim, one of our work team members said to me, "Robert, I see a future sermon illustration with this site. Sometimes our faith and life can feel turbulent like the Atlantic side and other times it can feel peaceful like the Caribbean side."

So don't be surprised if I use this image in a future illustration. The picture above is the Atlantic side of the bridge. Enjoy the video which includes both the Atlantic and the Caribbean sides.

Bahamas Mission Trip - Day #6 (Friday, February 4)

Here are the highlights from each day of our Lancaster, Ohio First United Methodist Church Bahamas mission trip to the island of Eleuthera January 30 - February 5, 2011. We partnered with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat mission outreach ministry during the week.

Friday:
We did some sight-seeing. Went to Preacher's Cave where Puritans shipwrecked on northern part of island and named the island after the Greek word for freedom. The cave had a natural pulpit where I offered devotions for the group. We spent some time at a nearby beach.

From there, we drove to center of island and visited Governor's Harbor. The highlight of the trip was when we visited the two homes that our group worked on last year. The ladies of the two homes were so appreciative that we stopped by. It was a tearful moment as I watched this reunion. I was so proud of our church to know what a difference last year's team made in the lives of these two older women.

We joined another group visiting from Florida. They were there to prepare for their churches to send mission teams later in the year. It's amazing how people who have never met can be make instant friendships through our faith in Jesus Christ.

In the afternoon, we saw where the movie, "Why Did We Get Married To" with Tyler Perry was made at Club Med beach. We got to see where singer Lenny Kravitz lives. Evidently, actor Robert De Niro who likes to vacation here was nowhere in sight. :)

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The beach was beautiful. We spent a couple of hours swimming, snorkeling, and walking the beach. All of the beaches were beautiful but this one was the best.

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Here's one of the beaches we got to enjoy following our work week.

Bahamas Mission Trip - Day #5 (Thursday, February 3)

Here are the highlights from each day of our Lancaster, Ohio First United Methodist Church Bahamas mission trip to the island of Eleuthera January 30 - February 5, 2011. We partnered with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat mission outreach ministry during the week.

Finished work at house. Doors installed and more drywall completed. At end of workday, we had a circle prayer of blessing with someone from the family who will be living in the house.

Went to Navy Beach on Atlantic Ocean side. Beautiful pink sand beach! I rode the waves for about an hour.

Garnett "Smokey" Thompson - Presentation

Grew up in James Cistern.
Island was poor. Only farming/fishing. Farmed corn, bananas, sugar cane. At 16, started masonry.

US military and space program brought business to the island. Astronauts landed near island from first moon landing.

Today's fishing industry is lucrative.

Eleuthera became independent in 1973.

Bahamas Mission Trip - Day #4 (Wednesday, February 2)

Here are the highlights from each day of our Lancaster, Ohio First United Methodist Church Bahamas mission trip to the island of Eleuthera January 30 - February 5, 2011. We partnered with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat mission outreach ministry during the week.

Day #4 - Wednesday, February 2

Worked at the house and got a lot done - more drywall and door work.

After work, we went to a really nice beach along the Caribbean Sea. I snorkeled for the first time and it was amazing to see such beauty in the water. It was also another incredible sunset.

During the evening, we provided crafts for the Wesley Methodist Church's mid-week children's program. At the end, the children and youth sang for us. The youth rapped a song that they created with the lyrics:

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, can't you see, every word you speak hypnotizes me."

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Bahamas Mission Trip - Day #3 (Tuesday, February 1)

Here are the highlights from each day of our Lancaster, Ohio First United Methodist Church Bahamas mission trip to the island of Eleuthera January 30 - February 5, 2011. We partnered with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat mission outreach ministry during the week.

Day #3 - Tuesday, February 1

More of the same work at the house. Our team eats our packed lunch just outside of a primary school. The children join us everyday because this is their lunch time as well. They wear school uniforms, dresses for the girls and dress shirts/pants and ties for the boys. They love to sing to us and ask us to share our favorite songs for them to sing. They mostly sing familiar Christian songs but they also like Justin Bieber! Lunch has become a time to enjoy talking to the children and letting them entertain us. Our time with them often included dancing in the gazebo shelter as they sang and brightened our day.

In the evening, we went to the Wesley Methodist Church bible study. The pastor talked about spiritual gifts and at the end we had the most incredible pineapple cake and lemonade. Walked to a nearby beach along the Caribbean Sea and saw a beautiful clear sky filled with bright stars.

Bahamas Mission Trip - Day #2 (Monday, January 31)

Here are the highlights from each day of our Lancaster, Ohio First United Methodist Church Bahamas mission trip to the island of Eleuthera January 30 - February 5, 2011. We partnered with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat mission outreach ministry during the week.

Day #2 - Monday, January 31

Helped rebuild a house for a family of 7 whose house had burnt down from an electrical fire.

Drywall and installing new windows and doors.

Went to Rainbow Beach on Caribbean Sea side of island. Saw a beautiful sunset.

Heard a presentation on the ministry of Methodist Habitat and the Methodist Church in the Caribbean.

Bahamas Methodist Habitat:

Est. 1992 after Hurricane Andrew.

Methodists in Bahamas come from English Methodists and are not directly connected with the world-wide United Methodist Church.

Started own conference. Wanted to be more congregational focused.

From hurricane relief, went to sub-standard housing relief work.

Camp Symonette Mission and Retreat Center:

Hosts Methodist youth summer camps for conference.

They like to use Mother Teresa's quote - "Come and See." When we "come and see" we are able to see the pain and brokenness and to make a difference in the lives of others through Jesus Christ.

The video shows some of the window work our team did during the first two days.

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Bahamas Mission Trip - Day #1 (Sunday, January 30)

Here are the highlights from each day of our Lancaster, Ohio First United Methodist Church Bahamas mission trip to the island of Eleuthera January 30 - February 5, 2011. We partnered with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat mission outreach ministry during the week.

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(Day #1) Sunday, January 30

We left a wintry mix day in Ohio at 3 A.M. to drive to Columbus to make our 5:30 A.M. flight to the Bahamas. Landed in Nassau and spent a couple of hours in the bright mid 70's sun. Took a short plane ride to the island of Eleuthera where we met our mission host team.

From northern part of island where we landed, they drove us about an hour to our mission camp site. Along the way, we stopped at Glass Window Bridge, the most narrow land mass in the world with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the west. What a beautiful view!

After dinner which included their famous Conch(pronounced "conk") shell fish, we were told about our mission for the week - to help rebuild a house that had been destroyed by a fire for a seven member family.

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Just because there's pink sand doesn't mean you can't pray!

Our church is sponsoring a ten member mission team through the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (VIM) to help improve the living conditions of the people in Eleuthera, Bahamas. This is the second year in a row our church has sent a mission team to this beautiful area of the world.

A friend of mine jokingly said, "It's going to be hard to pray for this mission team since they will be in the Bahamas during the cold of winter." And I responded, "Just because there's pink sand where the mission work is being held doesn't mean you can't pray for us."

When I was on the plane heading for a mission trip in 2009, I sat next to a teenager who was part of a different group going to serve in Guatemala as well. I asked her if this was her first mission trip and she said, "Oh no. I go every year." When I asked her where she went last year she said, "To the Bahamas for a mission trip." I couldn't help but laugh because that pink sand/blue water image immediately came to mind. And she said, "There is so much poverty on that island and we were able to help a lot of people."

The mission team to the Bahamas will be working with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat just as they did last year. So let's pray for the Bahamas mission team, pink sand and all.

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Worship in Guatemala '09

Some of our mission team members attended a non-denominational worship and a Catholic mass in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala (July 14-21.) I attended the non-denominational church and there were probably 150 to 200 people in attendance.

The pastor's sermon was on seven points about our salvation in Jesus Christ. Several of their hymns were familiar to us, although the singing was in Spanish. Val, our mission trip coordinator, translated the spoken parts of the service for us.

We were greeted warmly by the congregation, the worship leaders, and by the pastor. I was invited by the pastor to bring greetings to the congregation on behalf of our mission team with Val translating for me. Here's basically what I shared:

• That we were a United Methodist mission team from the US here to help put in a water pipe line for the community of Pachatulul.
• I thanked the community of San Lucas Toliman and their congregation for welcoming us to their country and community.
• I shared that the mission of our church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and we were trying to live out our mission by helping with this project.
• I thanked the pastor for his message and for how they are sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in their community.

Before we left on the last day, the pastor and his wife came to our hotel and offered a prayer of blessing upon our team. That was pretty special. A picture of the pastor preaching during worship is included with this post.

Our Wonderful Mission Trip Guide - Guatemala '09

Luis Alvarado, a US citizen who has a passion for the people and culture of Latin America, served as our July 14 - 21 Guatemala mission team guide.

Luis speaks Spanish fluently and was able to answer almost every question we threw at him, causing me to wonder how much prize money he would win if he became a contestant on Jeopardy!

Thanks to Luis, the people on our team who became ill were able to receive help at a local clinic and receive the medicine we needed. He also worked side by side with us each day in the hot sun as we dug the trench for the water line.

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View from Work Site - Guatemala '09

Every day, our 14 member mission team had a view of the surrounding volcanoes and mountains during our work on the 270 meter water project for the small community of Pachitulul, which you can begin to see immediately to the left.

The large and beautiful Lake Atitlan is located behind me as I took this picture. We had a spectacular view of one of the most beautiful lakes in the world as well as these beautiful mountains and volcanoes. Interestling enough, we were working during their rainy season but it didn't rain until our last day of the trip. We were fortunate to have been their during a two week dry time of the rainy season!

In the midst of tremendous poverty, signs of God's beautiful creation were all around us and especially in the faces of the people we met.

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New Friends - Guatemala Mission Trip '09

Our Guatemala mission team ended up meeting several new people during our July 14 - 21 trip. One of the best ways to get to know people who speak a totally different language is by working side by side on a project together.

In the course of digging a trench for the water pipe project, I got to know two young men from the community who will be benefiting from the new well. Their names are Fausto and Gabino (see picture above.)

Since it became obvious to the three of us that I didn't know much Spanish and they knew little English, Gabino pulled out a note pad and asked me the English equivalant for various words. He gave me a copy of that list which I now carry in my wallet to remind me of our new friendship.

I think they were both impressed that as a padre, I could swing a pic axe fairly well!

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As a token of our new friendship, I gave them two of our mission trip t-shirts on the last day of our trip.

Pachitulul & Streams of Living Water

A community of fifteen to twenty people will be able to have water in their community thanks to the recent Faith Community/Common Cup mission trip to Guatemala (July 14 - 21.)

Our task was to complete the 2nd phase of a 3 phase water project which included digging a 270 meter long trench, laying the pipe, covering up the trench, and erecting an electric pole. The trench line went through some rocky soil, through a corn field, and up a sharp incline to the top of a hill where the well is located. (See picture above of part of our team at work.)

We used pic axes, shovels, and hoes to dig the trench under the hot sun. Folks from the community helped our fourteen member team.

In addition to the water project, our team also helped at the nearby two room school that doesn't have electricity and distributed clothing and toys to the children. More about those projects in future posts.

Guatemala Mission Trip News

Fourteen people representing Xenia: Faith Community United Methodist and our Common Cup shared ministries are participating in the Guatemala mission trip.

The purpose of the trip is to share the love of Jesus Christ with the people of San Lucas Toliman and Pachitulul, a small town in the central highlands by helping with a water project that will make life a little easier in that community.

The town is about five thousand feet above sea level on the eastern shores of Lake Atitlan. Situated at the base of two volcanoes (Atitlan and Toliman) the economy of the town depends on coffee production. We have been selling Guatemalan coffee the past several weeks at church which will be used to provide additional support during the trip.

In addition to coffee, they also have a busy local market that provides avocados, pears, maize, tomatoes and other vegetables.

San Lucas Toliman has a population of 12,000 with another 12,000 in the surrounding villages. According to a European Union supervised study in 2002,

• 76% live in poverty and 33% live in extreme poverty.
• 57% are less than 20 years old but only 3% are over 60 years old.
• 47.8% (ages 15 to 60) are illiterate.

78% of the children attend elementary school, though maybe only for a year or two.

The Guatemalan mission trip is one of four mission trips Xenia: Faith Community is participating in this summer which includes approximately 60 people from our church and Common Cup shared ministries.

Look for pictures and highlights from the trip to be posted at a later date.