Photo taken by Jon David Schein, August 2011

Fourteen years ago a group of twelve from Jasper, Alabama traveled to Limon, Honduras to serve as short-term mission volunteers. Each year following that trip, the team grew exponentially. Eventually the first team broke into many teams. The group incorporated into Alabama Honduran Medical Education Network (AHMEN), serving under the auspices of UMVIM. This year thirteen teams served. They are estimating over 15 teams will be serving in 2012.
 
Each team has a general medical component, as that is the basic tenant from which they operate. However, their reach has expanded to eye care, dental services, sewing and woodworking schools, a refuge home for at-risk teenage girls, many feeding kitchens for orphans and widows, a program to supply shoes to children, the creation of fifteen libraries, the construction of schools and community centers, veterinarian services, and most recently clean-water efforts through bio-sand filtration systems.
 
AHMEN is now collaborating with Servants in Faith and Technology (SIFAT) on an initiative to train community health agents in issues of empowerment, environment and economy. Dr. Byron Morales is directing over fifty community agents who have committed to three years of quarterly workshops. Examples of the types of workshops include: vision testing, clean water and the prevention of parasites, importance of checking blood pressure and maintaining good health practices, and safety of children. Here is a video of Byron leading the “Welcome” with three different community agents offering a greeting in Spanish, Garifuna and Moskitia languages. Casey Farrington offered the greeting in English.
For more information about this specific ministry, please email Michael Franklin.
 
In August I was given the opportunity to serve on an AHMEN team and I immediately recruited my brother to join me on this journey. Entering into this commitment was extremely nerve-racking because neither he nor I have a background with medicine. However, AHMEN is fortunate to have one of the best salesmen I have ever met as their biggest cheerleader: retired doctor, Tom Camp.
 
Tom was on the first team to Limon and has since traveled to Honduras at least three times a year. In a recent conversation, Tom noted, “I go ’cause I like it…no…I go ’cause I love it.” He was gifted with the ability to persuade in love, to encourage, to pass on confidence to everyone he encounters. Multiple times on our trip, Tom would note that he didn’t put this team of volunteers together but that “God formed this team.” The teams begin, continue and end with prayer.
 

Photo of Casey Farrington taken by Jon David Schein, August 2011

The United Methodist Church has several missionaries serving in Honduras:
 
David and Cynthia Ceballos are serving as missionaries with the General Board of Global Ministries in charge of the UMC Mission Initiative in Honduras. David said, “My call to mission came through participation in several Volunteer-in-Mission trips…I came to the realization that I could be most effective in cross-cultural ministry. I also came to the conviction that I would rather utilize my grace gifts where there is not an abundance of Christian resources.”
 
Ronald Davidson is serving as a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries as the coordinator for volunteers in mission through the UMC Mission Initiative. “Arrangements for housing, transportation and food are made prior to teams’ arrival. We do all this to help to fulfill the motto, ‘Christian Love in Action,’ of the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission.”
 
 
Videos from my trip in August:
 
Welcome in Four Languages
 
Dr. Camp telling the story of the caverns over the river
 
Marlene\'s Joy
 
Singing in Honduras
 
Sunset Ride to Reista
 
 
If you are interested in missions in Honduras, please email our office!

In picture above: Sudanese and Holston United Methodists bless the bore hole at Kirikwa I UMC site, funded by United Methodists from Holston Conference. In this photo: Diantha Hodges, Kirikwa Subchief Johannes Wata, Kirikwa I UMC Pastor Moses, Rev. Phyllis Hankins, Former Sudan District Superintendent Boo Hankins, Pastor Isaac Sebit

Please help us share the vision and please pray with us for this ministry.

Every single day children are going hungry. Every single day parents are losing jobs and they are unable to find new ones due to the economic crisis. At Rice and Beans Ministries, we are passionate about serving these children and their families while empowering the local churches to get involved as well.

Last year in December, we were able to feed over 2000 families. Our goal this year is to collect enough resources to help 10,000 families in Costa Rica , El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua  with food for a week during the month of December.

We have churches from several denominations in these countries that have committed to help us reach the desperate and needy. In El Salvador, we will be working with the Salvadorian Mission Projects and the Iglesia Metodista. In Nicaragua, we will be working with the Iglesia Metodista. In Honduras, we will be working with Alan Martinez and Brian Mejia with Non-denominational Christian Churches.  In Costa Rica, we will be working with many different churches as our presence there is full time.

Every family will receive a personal visit to their home and they will have the opportunity to pray with our teams. The food bags consist of: 5 lbs of rice, 5 lbs of dry beans, 2 lbs of corn meal and a bag of milk that will make 2 gallons. The cost of each of these food bags is $10.00 each.

Why December? Most children are out of school in December and in most of the families that we are working with , during the year the only meal the younger children receive is at school.

We hope that if we can help them with a week’s worth of food that might be enough to sustain them until school resumes.

What can you do?

We need teams, individuals and families to help us distribute food bags in December.

Cost: Due to the high cost of airfare during this time, we are going to charge 350.00 plus 75 at the end of the week for exit tax and transportation plus the airfare.

We are trying to collect these funds by December 1st if possible but we will accept them all the way up to Christmas.

I will have information packets for interested churches by October 1st for this ministry.

We are also collecting resources for school uniforms for the new year.

Cost: $80.00 for the uniform and a few school supplies.

We have the opportunity help 1000 plus children with uniforms in Costa Rica alone

On Christmas Day, we are going to feed the Families in Loma de Sol , Buenos Aires ,Costa Rica. The families live in homes of mostly plastic and wood slate. We are going to cook the meal and take it to the families as well as small gifts for the children.

There are approximately 92 families and each family has 4 to 12 children plus grandparents in each home. This is an area that has 2 small wood frame make shift churches started because of Rice and Beans Ministries. We need volunteers for this day as well.

If you can, bring your family to help give a little for Christ in December or if you cannot make it to Costa Rica, please help get your church involved to support these families during this time of need.

UPDATE:

We have had a great response from people wanting to serve!

We have openings for 15 people December 3^rd-10th to help us deliver food.

We also have 6 spots left to help serve meals on Christmas day and deliver food bags during the week.

Blessings,

Fred Curry

www.riceandbeansministries.com

Due to the continued critical need, volunteers, regardless of previous disaster experience or length of availability are needed in Eastern North Carolina and will be deployed as soon as possible as per the following guidelines.

Volunteers with no previous training or related experience training can be utilized under the following guidelines:

·         First, volunteers should be “Disaster Sensitive.”

·         The Team Leader must have received UMCOR-approved Early Response Training.  Expired credentials will be accepted

·         Team Members or Individuals need not possess any previous ERT training

Anyone wishing to serve as a volunteer, regardless of experience or location, is asked to register with the North Carolina Conference Disaster Response Call Center.  Team Leaders are asked to register for their respective team.

TO REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER:

Choose one of the following:

1.       Visit www.nccumvim.org and register your availability to serve as an individual or as a team.

2.       Contact the NC Disaster Response Call Center directly at (888) 440-9167 or via email at disasterresponse@nccumc.org.

You will be asked to provide the appropriate contact and supplemental information to allow the staff to match your skills with the requests for help in the most efficient manner possible.

Bahamas: Our office received updates from Abe McIntyre and Cameron King with the following requests- please check out their blog to help!

From Abe: “Many of you have already donated Home Depot e-Gift Cards
(Recipient Email: MethodistHabitat@gmail.com) which are wonderful!
You can also Donate Funds on-line. We will use these desperately needed funds to efficiently purchase and ship immediately needed materials to families that have to secure their roofs as well as purchase fuel for our airplanes that will be delivering the supplies!”
 
Northeastern Jurisdiction of UMVIM: For updates for the Northeastern United states, please check out their website: http://www.gbgm-umc.org/umvim-nej/

 
The North Alabama Conference is working fervently to set up case management with the homeowners within each district. As soon as needs are assessed and code ordinances are released, our site coordinators and our volunteer coordinator will begin to assign volunteer teams in each disaster area. Please be patient as we work with FEMA, our local governments and our local homeowners. WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP IN NORTH ALABAMA! Email us at alumcvolunteer@gmail.com or call us toll-free at 855-862-8657 to let us know how you would like to assist us and serve North Alabama for the long haul.
 
In the interim while case management is being supplied, many of our disaster response warehouses have emptied and need to be refilled as they are still supplying needs on a weekly basis. We are currently accepting the following supplies: diapers, baby wipes, cleaning supplies, brooms and mops, paper towels, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, insect repellent, batteries, and NEW underwear and socks (especially in plus sizes). Please note: no clothing and no water donations are needed. To coordinate a supply drop-off, please contact Emily Nelms at enelms@northalabamaumc.org or 205.226.7980.
 
The North Alabama Conference Disaster Recovery Team has added a Facebook and Twitter account for Disaster Recovery updates. Add them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/umcnadrecovery and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/umcnadrecovery.
 
For more information, please check out our website at http://www.northalabamaumc.org.

Click for information on Insurance and Registration