ew world Outlook THE MISSION MAGAZINE OF THE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 , NEW WORLD OUTI.OOK Old Traditions Become New Again " Bible Women, deaconesses, settlement houses, ministries with immi­ Publisher R. Randy Day grant populations-this issue is full of mission institutions that have Editor helped people over 100 years of mission history. Some of the images that Christie R. House the institutions bring to mind are almost iconic in nature: the black-dad deaconess, a single woman who lived with other women in deacone Art Director Designer Frank DeGregorie Hal Sadler homes, working with children, teaching, and leading Sunday school classes-the Protestant equivalent of the Catholic nun, in many ways. Production Manager Brenda L. Carr Today, the deaconess movement, after near extinction, has evolved Editorial Assistan t/Periodicals into a dynamic movement among Protestant women. Though some of Patricia Y. Bradley their roles are the same--many deaconesses still work with children, Editorial Office teach, and lead Sunday school-deaconesses today may be single, mar­ Christie R. House ried, mothers, and grandmothers. They also perform many different 475 Ri verside Drive, Room 1476 AU New York, NY 10115 kinds of services inside and outside of the church, serving as editors, 212/ 870-3765 translators, counselors, nurses, mission coordinators, and much more. E-mail: [email protected] Likewise, Bible Women may draw upon images etched in history: Website: http:/ / gbgm-umc.org/ nwo/ indigenous women taught by white women to read the Advertising/Promotio n Bible and evangelize within their communities. Today, women gather 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1472 New York, NY 10115 together to learn from each other and to study topics such as primary 212 / 870-3784 community-based health care, sound nutrition, women in the Bible, and literacy. They still spread the Word and the love of God to women Published bimonthly by the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist of their own community and to other communities nearby. Church. (ISSN-0043-8812) Many of today's United Methodist mission institutions in the Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and United States were founded about 100 years ago as settlement houses additional mailing offi ces. Copyright © 2005 by the General Boa rd of Global Ministries of The and centers to help immigrant communities climb out of desperate United Methodist Church. No part of New World poverty and integrate into American society. Some of them still work Outlook may be reproduced in any form w ithout written permission from the Editor. with immigrant communities in new and different ways. Others have Printed in the U.S. A. changed over time, meeting the needs of new populations as their New World Outlook editori als and un igned arti­ neighborhoods grow and change. · cles refl ec t the views of the editors and signed We celebrate the anniversaries of two missions, the United Mission articles the views of authors onl y. to Nepal (50 years) and the Methodist Church of Lower Myanmar (125 Unsolicited manuscripts w ill be acknowledged only if used. Otherwise, th e editors ca nnot be years). So much has changed in both these missions since they were responsible for returning them. founded. The United Mission to Nepal was fourided by white DIRECT ALL SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES Protestant medical who always envisioned that their mis­ AND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO: Magazines with a Mission, P.O. Box 395, Congers, New York sion would one day be handed over entirely to the Nepalese people, 10920-0395. Send old address label if possible. and that goal is close to being met. In lower Myanmar, the church All ow at least 30 days' noti ce. Or ca ll 1-877- 881-2385 (toll-free). E-mail: NewWorldOutlook founded in Burma by early Methodist missionaries is now self- up­ @gbgm-umc.org. ported and run entirely by the Myanmar Methodists. POSTMASTER: Send address changes directly to We also look at the last phase of an amazing project started b Magazines with a Mission, PO. Box 395, Congers, New York 10920-0395. Subscriptions in the United UMCOR in Senegal three decades ago. The land in the Gambia region States and Possessions: One year $19.95. Single was deforested desert, dry and barren; but today, thanks to an copi es $5.00. Two years, $34.95. All fo reign coun­ tries: one year, $31.95. Church Subscription Pro­ UMCOR project managed in close partnership with a local Senegalese gram: 5 or more one-yea r subscriptions fo r $15 each. agency, the region grows 80 percent of Senegal's banana crop, and Free Cover photo: by Pa ul Jeffrey. A child picks United Methodist funding and support is no longer required. through a mound of garbage searching fo r items of value at the "officially closed" Smokey Mountain dump si te in Manila, Philippines. The Christie R. House dump remains a resource for people whose only [I To Give to the Advance: means of income is selling the items they retrieve. For United Methodists: Make out the check to your local church and write the Advance name and code number on the Photo credits: See page 7. check. Give your gift to your church treasurer so that your local church and annual conference con receive Advance cred­ it. Outside UM channels: Make the check payable to "Advance GCFA" with the project name and code number on the check . Send the check to Advance GCFA, P.O. Box 9068, GPO, New York, NY l 0087-9068. To contribute with a credit cord, coll l-888-252-6174. All Advance projects ore also eligible for Supplementary Gifts through United Methodist Women 's givi ng channels. Supplementary Gifts ore given through the UMW treasurer. The Women 's Division will honor the designation.

2 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 New Series Vol. LXVI, No. 1; Whole Seri es Vo l. XCV, No. 5 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005

Reinventing Mission Ministry

38 (\

1. 4 A Forest in the Desert 42 by Cassandra Heller 125th Anniversary of the Methodist Church 8 in Lower Myanmar The Gospel on Smokey Mountain: story and photos A United Methodist Congregation in Ministry by George W Gish, Jr. story and photos by Paul Jeffrey 12 An Open Spirit of Sharing on a Dusty Road: DEPARTMENTS Bible Women in the 21st Century le by Mary Beth Coudal 2 eJ Old Traditions Become New Again 16 by Ch ristie R. House The Modem Deaconess h1 Answering God's Call to Mission ·e! 7 . Mission Memo lk by Cassandra Heller rl i'I 20 45 Fifty Years in God's Hands Bulletin Inserts on Mission !ll by Norma Kehrberg 24 National Mission Institutions: n Changing Needs, Changing Ministries fe by Wendy Whiteside S· 28 Servants in Faith and Technology story and photos by John Fleming 32 Reinventing the Role of Volunteers by J.P. McGuire, Lorna Jost, Fred Koenig, David McCoy, and Kurt Kaiser 36 In and Out of the Box in Alaska: Girdwood Chapel United Methodist Church story and photos by Beryl Goldberg 38 Fair Trade Chocolate: CONACADO and the UMCOR Coffee Program 12 by Christie R. House

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 mis exe 198 gro be I Cai "ha ble inSJ it i Ou

eff< gm anc as Wo magine water rising from The Senegal Project was born and Cooperation in Africa) was die desert ground, trees scent­ after a five-year drought in the established in 1977, and the United ins ing the dry air, sand turning 1970s that spread from the Sahara Methodist Committee on Relief the into fresh earth, producing Desert southward to the western (UMCOR) stepped up to offer its abundant crops-created region of Senegal. During the support to aid the people of the caU out of a land previously drought, a million head of cattle region. Over the last 30 years, the gal struggling with starvation and and about 200,000 people perished two organizations turned a barren the death. Now imagine that from thirst and famine in Senegal desert into acres of productive mo Christians and Muslims worked alone. The drought added further farmland, which provided much of pla side by side to pump water into suffering to a population already the income necessary to advance plo encumbered by illiteracy, health the region out of starvation and the desert, grow trees, and culti­ • pre into the modern marketplace. vate crops. This small miracle and water problems, high rates of abi happened in Africa, in a place unemployment, and a lack of The aid that OFADEC and school programs. UMCOR provided did not stop called the Gambia region of west­ the ern Senegal-home of the Senegal In response to the drought, there. They decided to take an me Project. OFADEC (Office for Development integrated approach to a variety of

4 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 problems in the Gambia region. OFADEC used the income earned from the crops to restructure more than 20 villages. Now more than 1500 families have access to clinics, Green banana crops flourish in northern Senegal on land that was once desert. The cost schools, farming education, and of crop irrigation is supported by the sale of produce from village women's individual fruit agricultural skills training. and vegetable gardens. From their gardens' proceeds, the women also collectively pay for community schools and clinics. Phase I: The Beginning The dream of turning the desert vation, reclaiming a total of seven up an irrigation training program, into a place of life and abundance villages. Local villagers, encour­ which included teaching the use was Jean Carbonare's, founding aged by the proc~ss, joined the and maintenance of agricultural director of OFADEC. Supported by program enthusiastically. Know­ machinery. Education in environ­ UMCOR, Carbonare implemented ing the feasibility of banana pro­ ment protection was also a key the first program (Phase I) in duction and the potential for component of the program. Mama­ the northern Tambacounda region income generation from banana dou Ndiaye, General Director of in two villages: Wassadou and crops in the region, the local vil­ OFADEC, stated, "OFADEC chose Bantantinty. lagers decided that bananas would an integrated approach to solving At first, some experts believed provide the income they needed to problems, taking into account sev­ Carbonare' s project would fail. reverse poverty. eral dimensions of the program, The US State Department agrono­ OFADEC and UMCOR imple­ including food production, educa­ mists had told Harry Haines, chief mented a project that would not tion, health, environment, and executive officer of UMCOR (1966- only focus on income from agricul­ skills training." The program's 1986), that Carbonare's dream of tural production but also help set integrated approach provided key growing food in the desert would up health clinics, hire teachers, and components that helped farmers be difficult, if not impossible. "But start job-training courses. become independent of outside Carbonare," wrote Harry Haines, Ten years after Carbonare's funding. . "had a conviction that the impossi­ vision, 444 acres of working banana By 1986, 1493 farmers (includ­ ble could be achieved if one crop land produced bananas for ing 716 women) were producing inspired enough people to believe Senegal's urban areas. United 2611 tons of bananas per year, 30 it and then do it." (New World Methodist Rev. Deane Williams, percent of Senegal's banana con­ Outlook, Jan.-Feb. 1999, p. 23) who has visited the program very sumption. Rev. Williams recalled With the tremendous relief two years for the past 12, recalls the that during his 2004 visit to Dakar, efforts sponsored by various reaction to the first shipment of Senegal, near the banana farms, governments, the United Nations, banana crops to urban areas: "The village women kept their own gar­ and ecumenical agencies such high point of the trtp was the festi­ den plots of vegetables and fruits. as Church World Service and the val to celebrate the banana harvest. Gardens were designed to improve World Council of Churches, a Most of the crops had been shipped the daily rations of families and )w diesel-fuel water pump was to the market. Dancing, costumes, also to provide extra income from Jnite installed in a 200-meter well near and hearty foods were served to the sales at the local market. The large Reli the Gambia River. visitors and the community. The growing area was divided so that [er i By March 1985, in a small village success of the project was evident in each family could grow enough Jf th called Mafre in northern Senegal, the well-being of the community." extra food to pay for irrigation s, th gallons of water were pumped into water and garden supplies. Each 1arre the desert earth. In only four Phase II: A New Life family could also contribute to tChl' months, village people were able to The second phase of the program, funds for community improve­ tch plant seedlings, plow farming now supported by Development ments such as schools, clinics, and 1an plots, and begin herdsmen-training and Peace (an international devel­ wells that produced water for an programs to enhance the villagers' opment agency of the Canadian home use. ability to raise animals. ), encouraged peo­ Because of improved conditions an In 1985, 314 families enrolled in ple to work independently. in the community, more people sto the program and 2500 acres of for­ In order to ensure the independ­ were able to work, and the annual e a mer desert land were under culti- ence of local farmers, OFADEC set income per household increased 1ty

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 5 from $200 to $600. To battle illitera­ Currently, eight working supports schools that teach local cy, 10 schools were built. New schools provide up to eight years residents how to become commu­ health centers helped reduce mal­ of education. "Education was not nity nurses. They can now take nutrition in the region from 47 known when we arrived in the care of their own community fa!l1 percent to 1.5 percent, and 1075 area; there were no schools at all," health needs rather than relying The children received immunizations Ndiaye stated. "But we built on outside sources. (UM for the first time. schools, sent kids to school, and The Senegal Project turned the (HR In July of 1991, the entire man­ started literacy training for Gambia region around from food agement of the project was trans­ adults." In addition to basic educa­ importing 100 percent of bananas bine ferred to the local farmers. tion, agricultural techniques and consumed to producing 80 percent · caus Independent of any organizational marketing management classes of Senegal's banana crop. Because Adv aid, the local participants formed a were added to training programs dreamers from UMCOR and Nig( group they called the "Federation for farmers. OFADEC kept their faith in the al er of Farmers." A year later, the feder­ Because of the training pro­ project over the past 30 years, the ation independently reached a grams and independent federa­ lives of 1500 families are better and Eartl yearly production of 4000 tons of tion, the Gambia region of Senegal 20 villages are stronger. The !n fE bananas per year. has become prosperous. "At the Senegal Project has saved thou­ em The diesel fuel pump had end of 1999, we withdrew from the sands of people from starvation ass is turned a small garden into produc­ project," Ndiaye stated, "and the and will enable the Senegalese Chi! tive crop land capable of compet­ Federation of Farmers conducts people to forge a better way of life UM( ing with other large markets. "The the program. They are increasing for generations to come. Inter little project we visited in 1985 had the surface they cultivate and their just a few farmers," said Rev. production and revenues." Hun Williams, "but now there are many Ndaiye sees continued improve­ Cassandra Heller is a New World Hun towns with small villages nearby." ment in health and education Outlook intern and a student at and revenues. The Senegal Project Boston University studying English Unit1 Phase Ill: Independence and Philosophy. last] alorn Finally in 2001, 1111 acres were For more information on OFADEC, contact: actively cultivated for banana COffi] production, at first covering 45 Office for Development and Cooperation in Africa thes' percent of Senegal's banana con­ Mamadou Ndiaye out sumption. Today, the project sup­ General Director chur1 plies more than 80 percent of Email: [email protected] Y1 Senegal's banana consumption. Hun Today, local residents take Hun responsibility for implementing State their own projects. Each week, shipr community councils convene to 800-E discuss major projects. They assign http:, residents who volunteer their time also i and resources to complete the proj­ Reso1 ects that are needed. In this way, to VG community leaders organize peo­ Volur ple to work together, ensuring that the desert does not return to its Darlj previous state of 30 years ago. Groll! "Our return trip in 2004 was an Darfu opportunity to see the desert "caut bloom," Rev. Williams wrote. execu "Tilled land covered many hun­ Abuj; dreds of acres of vegetables, Ferdo bananas, rice, and millet, and other cons a crops were abundant." Senegalese women package grain s produ ced in the once desert-like Gambia region . sanita perso

6 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 a WC

:a] U· ke ty Famine in Niger expects the Darfur project will be long-term. To con­ lg The United Methodist Committee on Relief tribute to UMCOR's work in Sudan, give to Advance (UMCOR) has partnered with Swiss Interchurch Aid #184385, Sudan Emergency. ne (HEKS) to provide seeds, cattle fodder, and staple m foods in the southern region of Niger. Drought com­ Urgent Response in Zimbabwe as bined with the worst locust invasion in 15 years has President Mugabe of Zimbabwe has instituted a gov­ nt caused an acute humanitarian crisis in the region. ernment program of mass evictions and demolition se Advance #101250, Aq Africa Drought and Famine, of settlements deemed illegal. The estimated number td Niger, will help church agencies to provide addition­ of people left homeless by the government's effort to le al emergency assistance. clear "illegal" vending sites and homes is about 1.5 1e million. The displaced people are living in inade­ td Earthquake Recovery in Chile quate shelter and lack clothirig, food, water, sanita­ le In response to a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in north­ tion, and health care. u­ ern Chile last June, UMCOR sent relief funds to General feeding programs, supplementary feed­ m assist the United Methodist Church of Northern ing for children, blankets, tents, sanitation, and ;e Chile, which is providing aid. To help with psychological and social support will be provided fe UMCOR's recovery efforts, give to Advance #982450, through a coordinated response by faith-based agen­ International Disaster Response. cies in Zimbabwe at 12 sites. Advance #199456, Zimbabwe Emergency. Hurricane Dennis Recovery d Hurricane Dennis took 38 lives in Cuba and Haiti Vellore Tour ~t and left many uninsured homes damaged in the The USA Board of the Vellore Christian Medical ;h United States. UMCOR released emergency funds College announces its 2006 India Tour, February last June to assist Haiti's recovery. In the Cayes area 4-19. The tour includes Delhi, the Taj Mahal, historic alone, at least 200 homes were damaged, 30 were and cultural sites in South India, and a visit to the completely destroyed, and 700 livestock were lost in Vellore College. For more information, e-mail: the storm. In Cuba, the 150-mph winds nearly wiped [email protected],or call 1-800-875-6370. out entire communities and several Methodist churches and home churches were destroyed. DEATHS Mary 0. Rice, retired missionary with Your gifts to UMCOR Advance #982523, more than 15 years of service in Chiria and Pakistan, Hurricanes 2005 Global, will help those affected by died on June 7, 2005 .. .Mildred Bellamy, a retired Hurricane Dennis in the Caribbean and the United Church and Community Worker with more than 28 States. Flood buckets are needed. For assembly and years of service in the United States, died June 12, shipping instructions, call UMCOR Sager-Brown: 1- 2005 ... Edna Zech, a retired missionary with 25 years 800-814-8765, or visit the UMCOR website at of service in Puerto Rico and other parts of Latin http:/ /gbgm-umc.org/umcor/print/kits/. You may America, died on July 10, 2005 ... Eugene M. Westley, also give a financial donation to UMCOR's Material retired missionary with 17 years of service in Nigeria Resource Ministry, Advance #901440. If you would like and Red Bird Mission, died July 12, 2005. to volunteer to help in hurricane recovery, call the Volunteer Hotline toll-free at 1-800-918-3100. Photo Credits: 4-6-Fred Rowles, B. Dunlap-Berg/UMCom • 4 (top in et)­ ). Harry Haines/UMCOR • 8-12, 15-Paul Jeffrey • 13-Tammi Mott/CWS • 14-Mary Beth Coudal • 16-Mike DuBose/UMNews • 17-18-Courtesy Darfur Peace Step Evokes "Cautious Optimism" Deaconess Program Office/GBGM • 20-K. Kirjavainen • 21 (lower right)­ Norma Kehrberg • 21 (top), 22-23-United Mission to Nepal Archives • Ground rules to resolve three years of conflict in 24-Nelson Navar ro • 21 (inset)-Courtesy Gum Moon Residence • 25- Darfur, Sudan's troubled we~tem region, have drawn Courtesy Crossroads Urban Center • 26-27-Courtesy lnterServ • 27 (top)­ Courtesy Wesley Community Center, Phoenix • 28-31- john Fleming • 32- "cautious optimism" from United Methodist mission 33-Courtesy Lorna Jost, North Central jurisdiction UMVlM • 34-Fred executives. The ground rules were announced July 6 in Koenig • 35 (top)-Courtesy members of the Ca r Care Ministry, McEachern UMC • Courtesy Western Juri diction UMVTM • 36-37-Beryl Goldberg • Abuja, Nigeria. UMCOR opened operations in Al 38-39-Courtesy Equal Exchange • 42-44-George W. Gish, Jr. • 45 (left)­ Ferdous earlier this year, where aid workers have been ProLiteracy World wide • 45 (right)-Courtesy Atlantic Street Center • 46 constructing a reception center, family shelters, and (left)-Courtesy Ca rmen McFadyen • 46 (right)-Ri chard Lord . sanitation facilities at a 200,000-resident displaced person camp. UMCOR's head, the Rev. Paul Dirdak, rfl Seep. 2 for Advance Giving.

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 7 THE GOSPEL ON SMOKEY MOUNTAIN A United Methodist Congregation in Ministry

story and photos by Paul Jeffrey Janet Sapio's husband comes home Smokey Mountain United Meth­ about 4:00 A.M., having worked odist Church, where she's a mem­ through the night plucking recy­ ber. Although she works in the clable materials out of the garbage dumps, she has dreams. dump by flashlight. Sapio quickly fixes a simple breakfast for her A History of Struggle children and walks to the dump It was once a small village by the where, as the sun rises and the first sea, the houses of fishing families garbage trucks of the morning connected by wooden walkways, a begin to rumble in with their loads place for children to gather mus­ of rotting waste, she takes her turn sels, oysters, and starfish from coaxing scraps of copper, plastic, Manila Bay. Then 50 years ago the and broken glass from the rubble. burgeoning city of Manila started She keeps at it all day, often dumping its garbage there, the jostling with other scavengers to fishers became dump scavengers, gain access to a new load of and the bay turned into a poisoned garbage. A scar on her arm testifies lagoon. to the sharpness of the hooks they By the 1970s, the site became wield in pursuit of profit. About the.city's primary dump site and a 5:00 P.M., she sells her harvest for magnet for peasants fleeing pover­ about $2, a bit more if some of her ty and war in the countryside. If children have come along to help, the new migrants could find work and then walks wearily home. It's nowhere else in Manila, they could her husband's turn once again. always launch themselves into the Sapio, 32, has been working in mounting pile of garbage to tease the dump since she was 10 years out scraps of metal or glass that old. She first labored on the infa­ they could sell for cash. They built mous Smokey Mountain, but after their homes-using materials they it was closed a decade ago, she rescued from the dump-beside moved to a new dump a mile the dump, and even on top of it. away, where Manila's refuse inex­ Occasionally the mountain of trash orably pushes back the sea. would collapse on their houses, or She would like to find another the smoldering fire would ignite way to make a living. dozens of shanties at a time. Their "Although it's all I know, I real­ lives were so intertwined with the ly don't like it here," she said. dump that they became indistin­ "Maybe I could get hired as a street guishable from the garbage, dis­ sweeper. That's a regular job that posable people generated by an pays 280 pesos [about $5] a day. increasingly consumerist society. Top : People gather at the entrance of the United But I didn't make it past grade By the early 1980 , what some­ Meth odist Leam ing Center. One of Smokey Moun­ school, and I don't know how to one had dubbed "Smokey t11 i11 's /!CW five-story housing ullits can be seen behind the ccll ter. Above: The children of Smokey Mountain read very well." Mountain" had become an interna­ '1 Ip recycle 111 ateri11ls takell f ro 111 the dump near Sapio has added to her already tional embarrassment for the !v1 11111 l11 . long day a literacy clas at the regime of President Ferdinand

N EW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2005

Marcos, whose wife A Better Future e1 Imelda was busy col­ The Smokey Moun­ lecting thousands of tain United Meth­ pairs of shoes in the odist Church was sl Malacai\.ang Palace. organized in 1985. ( ( In 1982, Marcos For the last two ordered the reloca­ decades, it has acc­ c ti on of the often ompanied the peo­ }: barefoot scavengers. ple of the dump as ti Smokey Mountain, they've struggled to he decreed, would survive with digni­ s become a seaside ty at the edges of h golf course or a park modern Philippine I) for the middle class. Smokey Mountain dump site still remains a reso urce for children and their society. cl Bulldozers demol­ fami lies who tease items of value out of the mound of garbage. The congregation 0 ished the houses of currently holds SJ the poor as soldiers stood guard. housing project alongside the weekly worship and Bible study The new housing site-some 25 dump. classes in a small room underneath n miles south of Manila- had gov­ In 1995, the dump was closed, several of the new apartment L ernment-built latrines, yet no though a new site was opened just buildings. The church also spon­ water, no electricity, and no a mile away. The residents were sors a kindergarten program; 39 SI employment. Within weeks, the moved into temporary housing children were enrolled last year, ti scavenger families began to return (three-story pavilions) and the and this year the congregation is d to the old dump site, refusing to dump itself was reduced some­ planning to expand by adding a b die quietly of hunger in an out-of­ what in size. It nonetheless nursery program. [ sight neighborhood. As the remains, not a golf course, but an According to the pastor of the II People's Power movement gained actual smoking mountain of old congregation, Noel Masinba, n momentum, eventually over­ garbage that towers over the sur­ working with children has given T throwing Marcos, the scavengers, rounding neighborhoods. the congregation an open door to w ith encouragement from the The government housing working with parents, including Catholic Church, organized and authority began construction of offering skills-training and literacy ti pressured the government to let five-story apartment buildings. programs. p them stay and develop the dump Corruption and bureaucratic delay Concerned about what would \\ ite into a viable community. Their took their toll, but residents were happen w ith children from the a: struggle p aid off. In 1988, finally able to move into the new kindergarten as they moved up President Corazon Aquino ordered structures in 2004. Several families through the grades of public n a feasibility study for a low-cost received grants from the United school, the congregation decided ~ Methodist Committee on Relief to to sponsor more than 30 scholar­ sl help put tile floors over the rough ships for children of the communi­ le A child recycles a plastic bottle. cement of their new homes. ty, funded by ·an Advance Special. n The "temporary" housing they Sun Sook Kim, a United ti moved out of is not unoccupied, Methodist missionary in Manila 0 however. Some families couldn't said: "People here want to get an meet the minimum $8 a month education as a way of building a 0 mortgage payments on the new better future, but they have a hard F apartments, or afford the monthly time earning enough to buy the payments fo r water and electricity. rice and fish they need to survive. I< So they remain in the primitive And although education is sup­ d temporary shelters, which are free, posedly free through high school, , e and they have been joined by new in reality, there are costs for school SI residents who've migrated from supplies, uniforms, and trans­ T other parts of the city. portation. When a family has sev- s fi n

WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2005 Support for the Smokey Mountain Proiect can be given through the Advance to Smokey Mountain Community Development, Advance # 11830N. [I See p. 2. er Future era! children, those costs become nokey Mo over ea contract worker, one of impos ible to pay." fnited M millions of Filipinos who have The cholarship program a ist made the Philippin s the third Church stud nts through college if they zed in largest r cipient of fa mily remit­ 1 continu tudying. tances in the world . Le last She said: "When we lived in the !S, it has Overcoming Stigma temporary housing, it was chaos lied the Helen Demesa received help all and I couldn't study well. Now the durn th way through nur ing school. that we've moved into the perma­ ~ truggle Now 32, Demesa grew up in nent housing, it's better, but there ~with di Smokey Mountain . Her parents are still a lot of drug addicts :he edge had moved to the d ump site short­ around, and it's still noisy. I want n Philip ly b fore her birth because no one to go somewhere else and earn a charged them rent to set up a shack sal ary in dollars, but come back on top of the waste heap . Demesa here to the Philippines for my spent her afternoons scavenging vacations." Noel Mas inba , th e pas tor of Smokey with her grandmother, giving the Whether they go away or Mo 11 ntain United Meth odist Church, l undem money she earned to her mother. remain on Smokey Mountain, the stands on the garbage d11111p on Smokey · apart . Later, when she went fi rst to mid­ struggle of the

EW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 11 (

Bible Women in the 21st Cen·tury by Mary Beth Coudal

ore than 100 years ago, dren. The Bible Women translated missionaries. Even more today Bible Women (identified languages and interpreted cultural than in the past, the women are Mwithout names in the mis­ contexts for the missionaries. determining their own paths and I ~· sion record) trudged over unpaved Today, Bible Women again walk leading the way to Christian part- ll paths for days to be with women to side by side with missionaries and nership and witness. V whom the male missionaries could their mission-minded supporters \I not . The women carried in the United States. They are local Bible Women Training h Bibles, journeying beside women women carrying Bibles along In an online article, "The Story of c missionaries. dusty paths, going to places the the Bible Women," Ruth Prudente, c Mission-minded women in the men and entrenched church a consultant for the Bible Women's d United States supported these groups will not go. Their mission program and a former Women's a Bible Women pilgrims because is simple-to educate the women Division staff member, wrote: "The they believed in their mission-to to read, share Bible stories with model of pioneering female mis­ "ri evangelize and provide education them, and teach skills. As volun­ sionaries training women to tl and health care to women and chil- teers, they travel alone or with become Bible Women to bring the Good News to the poor, sick, and "We b lieve that the thousands teach, especially in a multifa ith hungry i till a relevant model for already trained have trained thou­ community where Christianity is a today. The local issue might b sands more. The good work just minority, where systems, policies, different, but indigenou women keeps multiplying in ways we and structures are restrictive and were till the ones to identify the cannot even begin to assess." unfriendly. The program uses issues and work collaboratively to Since its reemergence in 2000, processes to encourage the women develop the spiritual and know­ the Bible Women training has to know who they are and learn to ledge base to addres them-and taken place in India, the express their silenced voices-in to do the primary outreach work." Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, the end, knowing that they are a Dr. Glory Dharmaraj, Women' Samoa, Fiji, olomon Islands, very important part of creation Division staff, has . prepared the Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Laos, in God 's image. The program Northern India, Vi~ tn a m , and East teaches them traditional spirituali­ and West . ty through new ways of medita­ tion, reading the Bible, and getting Sharing Faith and Hope inspiration and strength from the One missionary who attended the Scriptures, especially from the Bible Women 's program in women of the Bible." Cambodia was Karimi Gitobu. Dr. Dharmaraj says that the According to her online mission­ sharing is based on reciprocity, not ary biography, on the journey on domination. "It is a sharing home she chatted with Nern Saran. from South to South, and we have Gitobu said: "She sat next to me on much to learn." the bus as we traveled from the p rovince where. we had spent five Beating Illiteracy in Angola days attending the Bible Women In Angola, a country in which 70 Training. She said that this verse percent of the women are illiterate, [Jeremiah 33:12 "Thus says the Bible Women are about to take to August, a literacy student in Angola, Lord of hosts: In this place that is writes on a blackboard as the Pro Literacy waste, without human beings or training instructor looks on . animals, and in all its towns there shall again be pasture for shep­ Bible Study curriculum for about a herds resting their flocks."] had dozen trainings in India, Laos, given her a lot of hope and encour­ Malaysia, the Philippines, and agement as she and other women soon in countries of Africa. She strive to restore their country. The sees the Bible Women's program as women showed s their simple a way to be open to mission in a way of life in a world that is total­ spirit of exchange among women ly different from the kind of com­ ~ tod who share their deep Christian fort zone we live in. They showed nen a faith. A spirit of openness is mov­ us how they embrace each day ths ing and reigniting this historic with a positive attitude." an pa Women's Division program. Two women on a long bus ride In Malaysia, thousands of home sharing faith and hope is an women have received training from apt image for the Bible Women's hundreds of Bible Women in litera­ program. Regional missionary )tory cy, small business development, Emma Cantor, who has led many udent community-based health care, Bible Women's programs, said: domestic violence, substance abuse, "The program teaches women to and peacemaking. Karen Prudente, love themselves and feel indeed whom many see as the person that they are God's children. Being responsible for the reinvigoration of God's children is sometimes a Delfina , a literacy student in Angola, talks the Bible Women's program, aid: difficult concept to experience and to a gro up about health issues. are returning home from neighbor­ Angolan women pastors spon­ ing South African countries, like sored by CWS who visited church the Democratic Republic of Congo, workers in the United States to Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, raise awareness about the need for and Zambia. The Bible Women literacy training in Angola. While plan to greet the returning in New York, the women met with refugees, especially the women staff of the Women's Division and and children-always the groups the General Board of Global most victimized in times of war. Ministries. The Bible Women want to share Karen Prudente, executive of strategies for peacemaking, learned the Women's Division, introduced in partnerships with church women the two Angolan pastors to the in Africa through the Angolan Bible Women's program. Prudente Council of Christian Churches saw the Bible Women's program as (CICA) and ProLiteracy Training a way to strengthen the Depart­ amento da Mulher (the Women's Department) of CICA. At the same time, the Angolan church's effort to spread literacy could result in increased voter participation and peacebuilding in the coming elec­ tion year.

An Increase in Literacy Classes Tammi Mott, an executive of Church World Service, said, "For the Bible Women program, Karen [Prudente] saw the direct link in building the capacity of the organi­ zation, CICA, instead of building a separate literacy program .... The unity of literacy on a national level will strengthen all denominations." Top: Indigenous Bible Women in India teach other women how to read. Above: The connection began in March The Revs. Deolinda Teca (left) and Josephina Sandembn (ce nter) with CWS 2005, when ProLiteracy trainers executive Tammi Mott in New York . facilitated a workshop in Angola. The Bible Women's program has the streets, teaching literacy and (formerly called Laubuch Literacy), worked with ProLiteracy since sharing Bible studies. T ey want to and financially supported by 2000, when the division revitalized make sure that Angolan women Church World Service (CWS) and the Bible Women's Program. have the opportunity not only to the Women's Division of the Originally, CWS and CICA staff read and grow spiritually but also General Board of Global Ministries. planned 34 literacy classes in towns to exert their rights as citizens and "How can we make the elec­ and churches throughout Angola. vote in next year's elections. tions peaceful?" said the Rev. However, with the eagerness of par­ In 2006, Angola will hold its Deolinda Dorcas Teca, Director of ticipants who attended the March first elections since 1992, when the Department of Justice, Evan­ meeting, the church groups will elections sparked more bloodshed gelism, Reconciliation and Coop­ offer 70 classes, five of which will be in an ongoing civil war. Since the eration (DJERC) of CICA. "It offered through Methodist connec­ war began in 1975 until its end in means helping to see voting is a tions, such as the Methodist Church 2002, it is estimated that more than right and everybody can partici­ in Angola and the Women's Depart - 1.5 million people were killed and pate for social change." ment of the Methodist Church. 4 million became refugees. The Revs. Teca and Josephina In 2006, the Women's Division, Since the 2002 peace agreement, Sandemba, from the Evangelical through the Bible Women's pro­ many of the displaced Angolans Congregational Church, were fwo gram, plans to sponsor 20 addi-

14 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 ' • • • ~ ' • • ..'.....:...... f . • • • • • ... ,_ ,.. ... • ... " ' • ,.,

tional literacy trainings for women A FLOWER BLOSSOMS WITH MEANING: in Angola, trusting that the peace­ THE FAMA METHOD fu l elections, to which the women will have contributed, will in turn by Mary Beth Caudal stabilize the cow1try and end the nen met November 2000, on the third day of the first training fo r the Bible history of violence against women Division Women's program, Koren Prudente, Women's Division staff, feared her and children. · of Glo The Bible Women program is dream of reviving the program had foiled . After all , the several dozen funded by the undesignated gifts participants at the Malaysian Theological Center in were not executive of United Methodist Women in the opening up to one another. No one was talking . The women from the \ introdu United States and from endow­ United States were becoming uncomfortable with the silence. istors to ments set up many years ago. Dr. Glory Dharmaraj, staff of the Women' Division, and Koren's :un. Prud mother, Ruth Prudente, former staff, had traveled from the United States 's progra to share literacy techniques learned from Proliterocy in Syracuse, New the Dep Mary Beth Cauda l is the staff writer York . They were worried. (Later, Dharmoroj acknowledged that we must the Worn for Communications at the General learn to be comfortable in silence, that often silence is a cultural norm .) .Atthes Board of Global Ministries. turch's ef In the room where the women gathered, Dhormaroj looked up in exas- Wd resul peration. She noticed the beautiful banner the women had pointed to mark the event. Then she lit on the idea of using the images from the banner as a "code" in the Proliterocy training technique. A code is a symbol that may appear as a simple line drawing, photo, word, or article. The group looks at the code and d iscusses ques­ tions about jt in large or small groups. The facilitator does not interject, judge, or critique but asks questions and elicits group responses. This questioning method is called FAMA, on acronym for "Facts, Associations, Meaning, and Action." It refers to the kinds of questi ons that a facilitator asks. Facts-What do you see here? What else do you see? Associations-How does this make you feel? Hove you ever had expe­ riences with this? Meaning-Why do you think this is important? What do you think this means? Action-What con you do with this? What con we do together? The Bible Women's training program has used many of Proliterocy's train­ ing manuals, for example, Women and Health. (Proliterocy is the largest nonprofit literacy organization in the world.) In addition, the Women's Division has provided funding to have Proliterocy training manuals trans­ lated into many additional languages, including Tamil. The Bible Women's program has also drown from the FAMA tech­ nique to parse meaning from the stori es of women in the Bi ble. Questions that arise from the stories of biblical women incl ude: What do you see in the story of the women who traveled with Jesus? Con you associate with the story? What does it mean? What action con we take together from this story? The women, free to determine their own meaning and action, become energized about the possible courses of action. The stories of women in the time of Jesus are platforms upon which to jump into deeper Christion discussion and social engagement. ;i's Divis, Jmen's In Angola, women return to th eir de­ stroyed villages after years of civil war. or 20 a

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 15 The Modern Deaconess COi gr: Tr: DE Answering God's nil er of ic _all to Mission str ffi( by Cassandra Heller cy, M 1 serve neither for gratitude nor ance may have changed over time, called by God to work. Current Cc reward, but fro111 gra titude and love; deaconesses still work toward the ministries include, but are not limit­ be 111y reward is that 1 may serve. same goals of social justice that ed to, issues related to pri ons, co: were part of the deaconess move­ environment, refugees, immigra­ sh Deaconess Motto ment in The United Methodist tion, health care, education, home­ Ar Church tradition that began more lessness, women and children, M The life of a deaconess is an than 100 years ago. youth and families, enior adults, an wer to God's call to Christian Today, deaconesses continue to peace with justice, the working es service under the authority of The advocate for social justice and, poor, and a wide variety of church m1 United Methodist Church. according to Becky Dodson Louter, and community mini trie . m Like the first deaconesses in Executive Secretary of the The modern deacones bring thi 1888, modern deaconesses trace Deaconess Program Office, have her faith and her theological in their roots back to Phoebe, the "brought the ministry into their knowledge to people who would woman whom Paul describes as a vocations while living a balanced not otherwise be expo ed to the "helper of many." (Romans 16:1) life." You'll find deaconesses in church. "Their daily task of erv­ Although their outward appear- various professions, where they feel ing and empowering i , for d a-

16 EW WORLD OUTLOOK EPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 cones e , a visible symbol of the went through a transition during link between the church and the World War II. Even after World War world." (Theology of Miss ion, p. 2 II, the deaconess movement failed [the Deaconess Statement of to allow women to marry and con­ Mission]) They have continued the tinue in the deaconess relationship. mission of their predecessors: to be At th sam e time, American society workers for Christ in society. insisted that only marriage and family could fulfill a woman's psy­ The Beginning chological and emotional needs. I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a This became a stumbling block for deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so women who wanted to lead a bal­ that you may welcome her in the Lord anced life with a family and were as is fitting for the saints ... for she called by God to ministry in rela­ has been a benefactor of many and of tionship with the church. myself as well. Romans 16:1-2 Women Activists Th e early deaconess movement of In 1885, Lucy Rider Meyer, seeing the United Methodist tradition was the unmet social needs of her day built on a strong heritage of activism and responding to the requests of and social renewal in denominational young women yvho wanted to be work and in partnership with secular in service, founded the Chicago organizations. Training School, the first training (From: The Tlieologi; of Mission, school for deaconesses. The first the Deaconess Statement of Mission.) three women who became dea­ conesses in the Methodist tradition The deaconesses upheld civil and graduated from the Chicago human rights, even when doing so Training School. The Office of went against tradition. Beginning in Deaconess was officially recog­ 1945, the Office of Deaconess decid­ nized in the Methodist Episcopal ed to remodel the program to keep Church by the General Conference up with the times. According to of 1888. Dr. James Thoburn, a mis­ Mary Dougherty's book, My Calling sionary to India at the time, was a to Fulfill: Deaconesses in The United strong advocate for the deaconess Methodist Church, a policy devel­ movement. As part of his advoca­ oped that would · tegrate the all cy, he brought the preface of the African-American Central Jurisdic­ Mission Committee to the General tion into the jurisdictional Deacon­ Conference, which stated, "We ess Association. The arrangement nt believe that God is in the [dea­ contradicted contemporary segre­ it- coness] movement, and the church gationist beliefs in the Methodist lS, should recognize this fact." (As Church at large. It took years to a­ Top: Deaconess Fra n Lynch (back row, Among the Methodists by Elizabeth finalize. In 1963, the Methodist e- 2nd from left) with members of lier min­ Meredith Lee, p . 36) Church's Commission on Deacon­ istry at Willow Un ited Methodist Church n, In 1939, when the three branch­ ess Work decided to incorporate in Will ow, Alaska. Center: Deaco 11 ess es of the Methodist Church deaconesses into "overlapping Fran Lynch serves the Alaskan Native American villages, Anvik and Grayling, merged, 1026 deaconesses served associations." accessible only by plane. Bottom: Jeanne in a wide variety of ministries with Also discussed in 1945 was the Cha ney is co mmissioned as a deaconess of those who were marginalized and role of the married deaconess. It The United Methodist Ch urch. )S in settings such as settlement hous­ took more than a decade to change d es, hospitals, clinics, orphanages, the sentiment against married p. 16: During mission outreach at a camp d for tsunami-displaced people in Bnteilik, and homes for immigrant women. deaconesses. In 1958, married Indonesia, Deaco ness Kyung Zn Yim , le There were many challenges women were finally accepted as Women's Division President, shares n digi­ 1- ahead . The deaconess movement deaconesses. tal photo with children and young people. 1-

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 17 Deaconesses, according to Becky ferred deaconess work to the new of mission" (as part of the General coness Dodson Louter, continue the tradi­ National Division of the Board of Board of Global Ministries), to ing nt tion of being on "the cutting edge of Missions. With the union in 1968, serve where they are most needed, only 6 ministry" and continue to be the deaconesses of the Evangelical and to serve with the support of the wmo1 activists in The United Methodist United Brethren Church and the church. (The Deaconess in The United Ant Church. Where Christian service Methodist Church made up what Methodist Church: Presentation to the more 1 was concerned, they accepted no is now the Office of Deaconess in Committee to Study the Ministry of the the ne limitations, defying the idea of a The United Methodist Church. Council of , 1993.) oppor purely domestic role for women. As In 1988, a study authorized by comp! a politically and socially active the General Board of Global The Modern Deaconess men ts organized community, deaconesses Ministries stated that "the role of I have received more from those I have able It proved women could help trans­ deaconesses is an essential and served with than I could ever give. candic for on form society outside the home. vital part of the mission through Becky Louter, Executive Secretary "Although the deaconesses the General Board of Global of the Deaconess Program Office Th have no idea of becoming a 'femi­ Ministries of The United Meth­ ent s nist' movement," Betty Friedan odist Church." Following the completion of "The backg wrote in her 1963 bestseller, The Initiatives mandated by General Study of The Ministry in The logica Feminine Mystique, "they are great­ Conference afforded new opportu­ United Methodist Church," which streni ly concerned about the status of nities for deaconesses to serve on lasted for a quarter of a century, comn women around the world." The the frontiers of mission, such as the the Office of Deaconess was reaf­ "TogE deaconess role allowed women to National Plan for Hispanic firmed by the Church and in 1996 comn lead successful and influential Ministries, Shalom Zones, HIV I extensive efforts to renew the ual c lives in many fields of endeavor. AIDS ministries, substance abuse Office of Deaconess began. The work Other ways that the deaconess and related violence, ministries deaconess community wondered if what movement has influenced or helped with the homeless, and prison min­ the office would be closed, since at boun shape ministry in the church includ­ istry / prison reform. that time only 66 deaconesses were serva ed the development of what is now To continue to adapt to the new serving under active appointments each known as the US-2 program, which challenges of these frontiers, dea­ in the program, Tl originally prepared young women conesses were given the opportu­ · The church's recognition of mad1 for mission work in the United nity to hone their technical skills the Office of Deaconess helped the worn States (and today includes young for the contemporary world, to community to grow. Currently, deac men as well.) In reaching beyond continue to be on the "cutting edge there are 126 actively serving dea- toget The United Methodist Church to phys connect with the deaconate around side the globe, deaconesses also became din a involved early on with DIAKONIA, of [ the World Federation of Diaconal (NA Associations and Diaconal Comm­ one unities, which served further to e-m< "energize deaconesses in The spor United Methodist Church." (Dough­ ti om erty, My Calling to Fulfill, p. 255) as p Cale The Road to the Future Uni· Deaconesses are professionally trained dea1 persons who have been led by the serv Holy Spirit to devote their lives to Christlike service under the authority fore of the Church. to t The Book of Discipline, 2004,

18 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 ~ra] conesses, 117 retired, and a grow­ to ing number in training. In 2000, Steps to Becoming a Deaconess ed, only 67 women were serving and the 40 mor were in training. or Home Missioner 'fed Another factor that has attract d • The applicant completes and returns the Personnel Information Form the more women to the community is (Standard application form for all mission personnel through the the the newly established educational General Board of · Global Ministries. See GBGM website opportunity that enable women to http://gbgm-umc.org/who_we_are/ mp/documents .cfm) complete the core study require­ • The Personnel Information Form is sent to the Deaconess and Home ments. In 2001, deaconesses were Missioner Program Office for review and distribution to the we able to take intensive courses as a Conference Committee on Mission Personnel for recommendation. candidate group in various subjects A letter is sent to the applicant regarding the action of the Personnel lT)' for one or two weeks at a time. Services staff team . lee The women come from differ­ • Upon the recommendation of the Personnel Services staff team, the ent socioeconomic and cultural applicant receives a staff interview and a psychological evaluation. A he backgrounds, even different theo­ letter regarding the final action of the Personnel Services staff team he logical philosophies. "The greatest following the interview and psychological examination is sent to the ch strength is the diversity of our applicant. -:j, community," commented Louter. • If approved, the applicant moves to the candidate stage and begins ~­ "Together we form a supportive or completes Core Studies. Upon completion or near completion of ~6 community in which the individ­ Core Studies, the candidate participates in orientation/preparation le ual can feel less isolated in the training as scheduled by the Deaconess Program Office. le work that she does. But no matter • Arrangements are made for the approval of the candidate's appoint­ il what our differences, we are ment to a full-time ministry (at least 21 hours or more per week) in a at bound together by our calling to a church-related or helping profession . re servant ministry where we treat • The candidate is commissioned by the General Board of Global ts each other with love and respect." Ministries as a deaconess (lay woman) or home missioner (lay man) . The deaconess community is The approved appointment is made official by the of the annu­ Jf made .up of a diverse group of al conference in which the deaconess or home missioner will serve. 1e women. Unlike the early days of Deaconesses and home missioners under episcopal appointment must y, deaconesses, when they lived hold local church membership in the annual conference in which they l· together in deaconess homes, no serve; they are lay members of the annual conference with full voice physical community now exists out­ and vote. side the biennial convocation coor­ dinated by the National Association For more information, contact: of Deaconesses and Missionaries Deaconess Becky Dodson louter (NADAM). However, they support Deaconess Program Office one another through the Internet, 475 Riverside Dr., Rm. 320 e-mail messages, newsletters, corre­ New York, NY 10115 spondence, telephone calls, jurisdic­ Telephone: 212-870-3850 tional and local gatherings, as well Email: [email protected] as prayer suggested by the Prayer Calendar, a guide to praying for The 2006 Prayer Calendar is available through the United Methodist United Methodist missionaries, Service Center, stock #3655, $9.50. deaconesses, and mission personnel serving around the globe. Deaconesses have served as a force of kindness, strength, and aid continue to be faithful workers of Cassandra Heller is a New World to those in need. They have built The United Methodist Church. Outlook intern and studen t at Boston bridges for people on a national "Deaconesses don't serve to people University, studying English and and global scale and every day but with people," said Lauter. Philosophy.

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2005 19 the On March 4, 1954, in response to cal 1 an invitation from the Methodist Ord Mission of India, eight interde­ 5Uf1 nominational and international eas) missions united to work in Nepal. Fif r Differences in nationalities and sior theologies were left at the border. enll In its first 50 years, the United bee, Mission to Nepal (UMN) grew to Clu -Years 39 missions from 17 countries. In I • the 1990s, on any given day, over the 2000 Nepali staff were employed stu1 In or associated with the UMN in its ing four hospitals, eight companies, mo and 47 projects in 14 areas of the nee country. Six nights a week, 8000 Bet women walked along mountain bot 0 paths for home-based functional in '. literacy classes, 2000 patients were seen each day in hospital out­ Wa patient departments, and the expa­ Tut triate missionaries and their fami­ in r lies increased to over 400. Most of the work was established in isolat­ wn ed mountain areas where there by Norma Kehrberg were no roads and where develop­ hin ment came slowly to the formerly Ka' forbidden country. Walking and Inc living without electricity and run­ tio: ning water were still the norm in thE the remote regions. These incon­ veniences did not concern the wi Nepali or missionary staff, who Ch wanted to make a difference in the tn\ lives of the people. op The opening of Christian mis­ th( sion where Hinduism was the pro­ tected religion presented unique wl opportunities for faith sharing. mi Christian missionaries were allow­ W1 ed to work within a profession but na not as full-time Bible teachers or tri preachers. They did work full-time esl in sharing their faith. Ea Birds of the Himalayas Al Nepal, today a landlocked country be of 27 million people, is nestled K< among the Himalayas. bit With its wall of Himalayan In snows on the north and its malar­ ht ia-infested border on the outh, Married women and girls walked along mountain paths in Nepal to attend literacy classes. Nepal was not an inviting place in

20 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 ~ to the first half of the 20th century. Circumstances of geography and politi­ dist cal rule made life difficult. Ther were neither schools nor medical care. •de­ Ordinary people, close to 95 percent of the 13 million population in 1954, nal survived at subsistence level. Too many children died. Surviving was not )al. easy and life expectancy was less than 40 years. ind Nepalis who crossed the border into India came in contact with mis­

~ r . sion workers, who, learning of the conditions of the people, yearned to led enter Nepal to work among its people. That goal seemed impossible to because, until the early 1950s, Nepal was closed to foreigners and ln Christian missionaries were not permitted. 1er In the late 1940s, Dr. Bob Fleming, ornithologist and mission teacher of ·ed the Methodist Church in India, requested permission to enter Nepal to it study the birds. Permission was granted, and Bob and his team, includ­ es, ing Dr. Carl Taylor of the Presbyterian Church in India, spent three he months in October 1949 trekking in the mountains and treating medical 00 needs. In December 1951, on a second expedition, Bob was joined by m Bethel, his wife, and Carl Friedericks, another Presbyterian missionary, 1al both medical doctors. For six weeks, the physicians held medical clinics re in Tansen, in western Nepal, and treated more than 1500 patients. ti­ a­ Walking in a United Way u­ The villagers and officials they met entreated them to begin medical work Jf in Nepal. Upon their return to India, Bob Fleming, on behalf of his mission, t­ wrote a letter to government officials in Kathmandu. :e Eighteen months later, a letter from the government of Nepal granted )- him permission to start a hospital in Tansen and women's clinics in y Kathmandu. The opening was given to Fleming's Methodist mission in d India, but they knew that the response could not be theirs alone. An invita­ I­ tion was quickly extended to the Christian mission groups working along n the bor<:ier to join the work in a united way. Faith mission groups expressed concern about how they could work with large denominational mission boards. The United Presbyterian Church stated it would not join at all if other mission groups were not involved. All were convinced that the only way to enter the newly opened country where Hinduism was protected was to enter together in the unity of Jesus Christ. • A third group was composed of Nepali Christians domiciled in India who felt called to "open the doors of Nepal" to the gospel. Soon after the mission started, they moved to Nepal to start the church. Their vision was to establish a church unencumbered by external influences, denomi­ nations, or missions. The Nepali Christians invited and encouraged expa­ triate missionaries to join in worship. The missionaries did not attempt to establish a separate mission church.

Early Work of the Mission As soon as Dr. Bethel Fleming arrived in Kathmandu in early 1954, she began medical work. Within two years, Shanta Bhawan, an old palace in Kathmandu, was converted into a hospital. Ballrooms became wards; sta­ Top: Patients too sick to walk to the first bles, the out-patient department; and staff lived in the servants' quarters. clinics and hospital in Kathmandu were In June 1954, Dr. Carl Friedericks and his family arrived in Tansen to tran sported to the hospital cradled in a hammock "ambulance." Above: Women's build a medical team and hospital. He started by training local Nepalis. awareness-raising classes were a part of Before 1950, only elite Ranas could attend school. Jonathan Lindell, an th e history of the developmen t of the American Lutheran, arrived with a passion for children's education. United Mission to Nepal.

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 21 ThfOI Within two generations, the infant mortality rate decreased from over 200 ele death per thousand live births to 30-35 deaths in areas where the pro- el c gram operated. k lik1 Over the years, God often called the mission workers to initiate new uld b approaches in unknown and unexplored areas. Some change came as a Nep< resul~ o~ external ci~cumstances such as government policies. Though dis- ars h< appointing at the time, the changes allowed for even more effective and d U expansive ways of working with and serving the people of Nepal. uld t

The Indigenous Church in Nepal to th1 In 1956, to share the gospel was difficult because it was against the law to change one's religion. Punishment was jail, and expulsion from family and often the community was common. Dr. Bethel Fleming examin es a patient. Missionaries deepened their faith as a result of witnessing the courage and depth of commitment of those who became followers of Jesus Christ. olve : After 70 visits to government They participated in the dynamic growth of the church from an estimat­ offices, the Gorkha project started as an education project, but med­ ed ~O~ baptized Nepali Christians in 1970 to over 1 million baptized Chnshans by 2003. The church grew exponentially after the establish­ ical and development needs could ment of democracy in 1990, when religious laws were less restrictive. not be ignored. A small dispensary Th~ no~terference policy of UMN, the government, and early opened in 1963, followed by a farm Nepah Chnshan leaders was providential. The church developed indige­ project, and in 1969 the dispensary nously, often consulting with missionary brothers and sisters, but never was replaced with Amp Pipal dependent on their advice or resources. Hospital. It operated as a mission As the 1990s ended, some pastors with ties to religious groups in the hospital until 2001. West began to identify themselves with specific groups, often nondenomi­ asi-g Odd Hofton, a Lutheran mis­ national church groups. Some began to claim denominational affiliation. giste1 sionary from Norway, responded dOI to a call to build Tansen Hospital. Leadership Development While trekking along the Tinau UMN-trained Nepali headmasters and teachers in the schools associated River to the border for supplies, he with UMN. Directors of the various companies were Nepali after their ini­ envisioned harnessing the fast­ tial development stage. In the health sector, schools for nursing started flowing Himalayan rivers for almost immediately, and many of the early graduates received scholar­ hydropower based on tunneling ships for graduate and post-graduate training. By the third decade of UMN techniques used in Norway. work, the schools of nursing and the heads of the hospital departments Permission was granted to devel­ were increasingly led by Nepalis. By the end of 2000, all project leadership op a technical school to train positions were held by Nepalis except for some in the hospitals. Nepalis and to develop small-scale industries. The agreement includ­ ed building a hydropower plant in Features of 50 Years of UMN Butwal. UMN's industrial work led to the establishment of six pri­ 1. All work was under specific agreements with the government of vate companies with public offer­ Nepal and its functional ministries. ings to shareholders. Four of the 2. The initial letter from the government stated that the UMN should companies continue to operate in develop leadership of the Nepali people as a component in all work. 2005 under Nepali leadership and 3. UMN did not own property. management. 4. Official separation of UMN and the indigenous church was main­ Each sector of UMN work tained at the request of the early Christian leaders, allowing the evolved over 50 years. Clinics church to grow under indigenous leadership. became community health pro­ 5. By design, UMN was an interdenominational and international mis­ un grams where the most fragile in sion group united to work in Nepal. mili society, mothers and their children, 6. The united way of working became a model for other mission organ­ co were assisted. The programs used izations in A sia, Afghanistan , and Mongolia. local resources to provide solu­ tions and made a difference.

22 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMB ER/ OCTOBER 2005 rom over Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the UMN Board discussed the here the future leadership of the mission. The positions of executive, finance, and per­ sonnel directors were held by expatriate missionaries. What would UMN look like in the 21st century? Some senior staff in UMN envisioned that it 'initiate would become a registered organization in Nepal staffed and led by Nepalis. se came Nepal is predominantly Hindu and the majority of UMN staff over the Though years ha not been Christian; therefore, the skilled Nepali staff q·ualified to effective lead UMN and its programs were mostly non-Christian. What ~epal. would this do to the concept of "Christian" mission?

Into the 21st Century .st the la1 By the mid-1990s, the Board of UMN adopted a vision to work intentionally from f toward a time when all leadership of UMN would be in the hands of Bob Fleming with a Nepalese bird. Nepalis. This meant gradually divesting control over directly managed pro­ grams, but changes in the government of Nepal in 2001 made it necessary to UMN continues to be administered evolve rapidly. Thus, the 50th year of UMN marked the start of a new way in Kathmandu by a core staff with of working. UMN would no longer implement work through its staff of support services to seven program Nepalis and missionaries. areas such as food security, women The government encouraged UMN to register in a country other than strictive. and children, and peace and con­ Nepal. Then UMN, under a new agreement and like other external charities, flict resolution. A General and e could provide support resources to Nepali nongovernment organizations Assembly meeting biennially is the 1ped ind (NGOs). Even before registration of UMN in the United Kingdom in 2005, forum for associate mission organi­ ;, but ne many of the former programs of UMN registered as independent NGOs. zations to give general direction to The most difficult transition to manage continues to be. the two remaining the new UMN and to elect the 13- oups in UMN hospitals. (Patan Hospital, the successor to Shanta Bhawan, was a member board of directors that 1ondeno quasi-government entity from 1983.) In 2005, it is expected that the first meets every six months. ffiliatio registered Christian NGO in Nepal will take over leadership for Tansen UMN in the 21st century looks and Okhaldhunga Hospitals. much different than it did in the 20th century. However, in the past, ; a soci whenever change occurred, new 'er their Political Situation in Nepal opportunities arose for work in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ. It is In February 1996, villagers in western Nepal presented 36 demands to the the prayer of all those close to democratically elected government, requesting attention lo needs of margin­ Nepal, its people, and the church alized people as well as a change in governance. The political leaders in that this will continue, particularly Kathmandu ignored the demands and continued the political infighting that at this time of unrest in Nepal. (See has resulted in 12 changes in government over the past 15 years. The insur­ sidebar at left.) It is also our prayer that the progress made in the lives gents, called Maoists (no ties to China), increased threats and began acts of of people during the past 50 years extortion, kidnapping, and militia recruiting . will not be lost during this time of When King Birendra of Nepal and his family were killed in a massacre ment political instability. in 2001 , his brother King Gyanendra took a more direct approach, using the Nepali army lo put down the insurgency. With increased arms on both Note: The title of this article comes from the shoul l sides, over 11,000 Nepalis have now been killed in the nine-year insur­ 50th anniversary celebration of UMN in a/l wor Kathmandu. gency. Despite two ceasefires, fighting continues. King Gyanendra suspend­ ed the elected government in 2002 and on February 1, 2005, called a state 15 mo1 of emergency resulting in the arrests of politicians, journalists, activists, and Norma Kehrberg, a former Associate General Secretary of the United ing ~ students. Negotiations have failed thus far. Vast areas of rural Nepal are Methodist Committee on Relief, has under Maoist control and no place is safe. All agree that a al mi been associated with Nepal for more military solution with not work, but there is no viable plan to bring the than 30 years. She worked with UMN conffict to an end. education programs as a missionary of or go Norma Kehrberg GBGM.

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 23 NATIONAL MISSION INSTITUTIONS Changing

. ~ng~ng Min1str1es

by Wendy Whiteside

~~• rom the 1880s to the Gum Moon present, the ministry of The San Francisco Bay area was a our national mission powder keg of social unrest and institutions has kept racial bias in the rnid-1800s. People evolving to meet the from around the world were drawn needs of the communi­ to California during the "gold rush" ty and those who are at the mar­ years looking for wealth or at least a gins of society. job. The Chinese were no exception The beginning of each institu­ (Immigration : The Joumey of America, tion grew out of an identifiable Thinkquest.org). The resulting clash human need and the ability of con­ of cultures erupted in violence and cerned Christians to respond. The segregation in the 1870s. The intersection of these two realities is response of the Woman's Mission­ the place where mission happens. ary Society on the Pacific Coast It is very hard to imagine any of resulted in the establishment of the our institutions beginning without Chinese Home, now known as the leadership of Methodist Gum Moon Residence (Expressions women. Virtually all our national of Faith, Betty Letzig). mission institutions were formed Gum Moon Residence Hall is from the vision and energy of still serving the Asian immigrant women from one of the predecessor community today, more than 125 organizations of United Methodist years later. Originally, the primary Women (UMW). Today, the residents were young, single Women's Division (the administra­ Chinese women working or study­ tive body of UMW) owns much of ing in San Francisco who needed a the land and buildings used by the safe place to live and transition national mission institutions. into a new life and culture. Today, No one could have predicted the average resident has changed the amazing changes and new only slightly. She is in her mid-thir­ directions these mission institu­ ties, working and studying, or in tions would take 10, 20, and even transition. Approximately 25 per­ 120 years later. cent of the residents are battered

24 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 spouses who seek refuge from address the root causes of poverty abusive situations. and injustice. The difference between 1870 and The first program Crossroads today is the commwuty outreach developed in 1966 was a youth program. Opportwl.ities for cross­ drop-in center. A free school was cultural experiences, self-improve­ attempted. These programs lasted ment, and leadershlp development four or five years, but the two drug are now open to all members of rehabilitation centers that started the commwi.ity. Programs include in the late 1960s are still function­ English classes, citizenshlp classes, a ing today as the Cornerstone parent-chlld development program, Counseling Center and Odyssey summer school and after-school House, respectively. These centers tutorial programs for 'elementary are just two of the many programs school children, and more. developed by Crossroads that have spun off to become vibrant, For more information on independent organizations. Other the history and current spin-offs have been the Wasatch programs of Gum Moon, Community Garden; Utahans go to hHp:// www. Against Hunger; Disabled Rights gbgm-umc. org/awrc. Action Committee; and Justice, Economic Dignity, and Indepen­ Crossroads Urban Center dence (JEDI) for Women. Crossroads Urban Center celebrates Crossroads provides direct its 40th anniversqry in 2006. services, with the busiest food However, it was originally estab­ pantry in the state, and a free / low­ lished in 1881 as the Eliza Given cost thrift store. It also works on Davis Deaconess Home. This build­ the root causes of hunger and ing was the home base of dea­ poverty, including community conesses who traveled the state of organizing and advocacy for peo­ Utah ministering to miners or ple with disabilities and people of reaching out to the people in the Salt color. As a commwi.ity resource Lake City area. In 1937, the nam~ center, it provides a safe place for was changed to Davis-Esther Hall people to gather and talk about the and it became a boarding house for issues they face. up to 14 young women living and Crossroads has a broad base of working in Salt Lake City. In 1965, support in the Salt Lake City area. Davis-Esther Hall closed. The Church of Latter Day Saints Recognizing that the needs of the community had changed, the board overseeing the property, all Methodist women, gathered to decide how to use the property. Crossroads Urban Center was ded­ icated in February 1966. The name was chosen to describe the location (Salt Lake City is often referred to as the crossroads of the West) and the purpose was to reach out to the Left to right: Crossroad's Anti-Hunger youth and young adults of urban Action Committee Board Co-Chair, Darla Salt Lake City. In the early 1970s, Ball; member Laine Gardinier; Project Crossroads made two important Director Bill Tibbits; member Ursula Hernandez (front in sweatshirt); Congress­ commitments that still guide its man Jim Math eson (in red tie); member work today: to be ecumenical in David Hughes; community organizer, Bill nature and approach, and to Ger11111ndso11 .

EW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2005 25 (Mormon) is the largest faith group citizenship classes and other direct houses that left town many in the state. There are fewer than services to immigrant families. decades ago are planning to return two dozen United Methodist Over the years, the programs to St. Joe. With them will come a churches in the state of Utah. and the name have changed, but new population with different Christian denominations and other the two questions that guided the needs, and the community will faith groups have developed a women to create Wesley House need help finding a way to high level of ecumenical coopera­ continue to guide the work of embrace this diversity. tion to have a missional presence InterServ in the St. Joseph area. InterServ has taken the lead in and impact in their state. InterServ has a reputation as bringing the faith community Presbyterians, Lutherans, Episco­ being a leader in identifying and together to prepare for anticipated palians, Catholics, and other building a response to critical changes. The resulting dialogues Christian denominations, Baha'i community issues. InterServ estab­ have given rise to the possible members, the Jewish community, lished one of the first elder-nutri­ development of an immigration and many unchurched people lay tion programs in the state. Today, center. claim to Crossroads and provide it Mobile Meals is the largest in the InterServ's preparation includes with financial, volunteer, and area, serving over 74,000 meals to repurposing one of its buildings to prayerful support. homebound seniors each year. house the coordinator, social ser­ At a recent press conference at Recognizing the need for chil­ vices, and immigration service pro­ the Crossroads Urban Center, the dren and youth to have a safe place grams. With the help of the United Rocky Mountain United Methodist for activities, InterServ developed Methodist Committee on Relief bishop, Warner Brown, joined the the summer "Playground." This (UMCOR) and the Justice For Our area Episcopal and Catholic bish­ program has grown to include Neighbors program, InterServ has ops as they spoke against the fed­ after-school activities throughout been able to hire an immigration eral budget cuts that threatened the year. The most popular of these worker certified to represent fami­ programs and assistance being activities is weightlifting. Two lies in immigration courts. provided to the most vulnerable­ boys from this program have qual­ The board and staff of InterServ the people served by Crossroads. ified to represent the United States continue to hold the questions of in the Olympics, one in 1992 and the founders in their hearts and For more information on the other in 1996. minds as they approach 100 years the history and current of service with their community. programs of Crossroads Urban Center, go to www.crossroads·u·c.org

InterServ Although best known for being the home of the "Pony Express," St. Joseph, Missouri, rivaled Kansas City as a destination for cattle drives in the early 1900s. Stock­ yards were booming and needed employees, so St. Joe (as it is affec­ tionately known by its residents) became a destination for immi­ grants seeking employment and a home for their families. A group of women from the Methodist Episcopal Church saw the needs of this new population and asked, "How do we welcome the stranger? How do we help peo­ ple participate fully in society?" Katie Hudson holds n plaque awarded for her perfo rman ce in an InterServ weightlifting Their answer was the 1909 open­ exhibition at the 2004 USA Olympic Trials for Weightlifting. With her is her mother Kathy ing of Wesley House, which offered Hudson .

26 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 town m . a for more information on !Ung tor e is a fa vorite memory of alumni. the history and current wee was the catalyst for com­ l Will com programs of lnterServ, go to ith di ffe r munity development in the 1960s www.inter·serv.org and 1970s. Neighborhood associa­ llnunity "' tions were organized and seminars a way Wesley Community Center {. and workshops on personal The city of Phoenix was founded growth, leadership, and communi­ n the lead in 1868, 40 years before Arizona ty building strengthened the resi­ commun became a state. Mexicans were dents. The center continued to 1 r anticipat welcomed into Arizona and specif­ grow to meet the needs of the com­ 1g dialo ically the Phoenix area as migrant munity (approximately 20,000 ~h e po i workers. Over time, some pur­ individuals), adding an adminis­ unmigra ti chased land and became perma­ tration and multipurpose building nent residents and US citizens, in 1979 and a gymnasium in 1987. A lot in the Latino section of Phoenix, while others continued to follow Two significant changes in the Arizo na, is vacant after the house that stood on it was demolished to make way for sea onal agricultural work. community during the late 1970s the Phoenix Airport expansion . In 1950, the local unit of the and early 1980s required wee to predece sor organization of United adjust its programming. People Methodist Women saw a need for migrating to the Phoenix area activity and education for the came to live permanently in the to senior women. migrant children. The women United States-to find a way out of The next challenge for WCC is developed a summer school. The poverty for their families. another airport expansion. By program was such a success that the The second change was the con­ 2014, the residents of Nuestro community asked the UMW to struction of Interstate 10 through Barrio will be relocated, moving continue. Thus began the Wesley downtown Phoenix, right through voluntarily to better accommoda­ of Inter Community Center (WCC) in the heart of the barrio, followed by tions. wee is doing strategic plan­ iuestions downtown Phoenix. the expansion of the airport. This ning to be a community center hearts a The first WCC building was resulted in the relocation of without a community, aiming to !h 100 ye dedicated in 1953. The program­ approximately 7000 to 8000 people serve a widely dispersed, highly mmunity matic emphasis was children, with to another part of Phoenix. The air­ vulnerable population. after-school programs and classes port ran out of money for its in cooking, sewing, music, folk expansion, sparing Nuestro Barrio. for more information on the dancing, woodw orking, even wee presently serves the last history and current programs of rollerskating. wee was one of the remaining part of the Latino neigh­ Wesley Community Center few facilities in the Latino neigh­ borhood from the 1950s, and even in Phoenix, go to borhood of Nuestro Barrio that this community • continues to www.wesleycenterphx.org wa surrounded by cement so change rapidly. Ten years ago, the neighborhood children could wee served a mixed group of Where Mission Happens rollerskate around the building for which about 50 percent was It is a tribute to the staff and boards hours, day after day. Rollerskating undocumented. Economic changes of these institutions that they have have resulted in fewer homes and changed and grown with the com­ A member of lnterServ's weightlifting more rental property, many with­ munities they serve. It is the respon­ tea111 demons tra tes disciplin e toward out floors or running water. The sibility of concerned Christians to be clientele is now nearly 90 percent the embodiment of Christ in every undocumented. comer of the world. The center's focus on children Today, national mission institu­ and youth remains strong, with an tions continue to be places where emphasis on keeping kids in mission happens. school. wee also does a brisk business in emergency food and clothing. A health center was Wendy Whites ide is the Assistant opened to serve low-income, unin­ General Secreta ry fo r Communica­ sured individuals, and classes in tions at the General Board of Global sewing and gardening are offered Ministries. ----- NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2005 27 Servants in

Faith and are about 60 other ~:h~f ;~;~~ communities in east Alabama, the vicinity, all of where cell­ which benefit I phone signals Technology from the work of and radio stations SIFAT. fade, next to Mad story and photos by John Fleming Paredes, known Indian Creek stands as "Benho," is the headquarters of SIFAT's main coor­ SIFAT. dinator in Bolivia Informally, SIFAT and stays quite stands for Servants in Faith and the developing world how to intro­ busy furthering the organization's 1 Technology. The Southern Institute duce such technology into their work there. He is also the director of for Appropriate Technology is its home countries. a hospital, a boarding home, and the formal name. Both names are accu­ "This technology I am familiar town's school. For the Bolivian rate. An organization that sweats to with," said the 65-year-old authorities, says Tom Corson, the spread the word of God, SIFAT is Paredes, "but a lot of other tech­ executive director of SIFAT, Benho is also deeply dedicated to creating nology I had never seen before I a force to be reckoned with. "Benho ' sustainable development in some of came to SIFAT. I bring what I know used to be a Trotskyite," said the most impoverished areas of the here, and other people from differ­ Corson. "That Marxist background world. ent parts of the world learn from it gives him the knowledge of com­ What SIFAT tries to accomplish and take it back to where they live. munity power. He knows how to is as old as mission work itself. And Then I learn from them and take badger the local government into there are as many organizations what I learn back to Bolivia." making improvements. He can stir dedicated to sustainable develop­ His community is a place called people up and make things hap­ ment out there as there are kudzu Qusimpuco, about a day's drive on pen." vines in rural Alabama. What is a bad road from La Paz. About Indeed, armed with knowledge unusual is SIFAT's focus on simple 125 families live there, but there about solar and wind power, cour­ appropriate technologies and work tesy of SIFAT' s Alabama operati on, with foreign nationals in develop­ Paredes returned to Qusimpuco a ing and implementing those tech­ few years ago to set up a wind­ nologies in a worldwide bid to and solar-powered generator at improve the lives of millions. the local hospital. Then, after it was up and running, he went to Sharing Technology the municipality and basically You can see SIFAT's philosophy in shamed them into action, accord­ action down by the creek banks ing to Corson. where Benjamin Paredes, a commu­ "Benho took a group of people to nity organizer from the highlands of the municipal leaders who were Bolivia, is showing off a grist mill he about six hours away," said Corson. recently built. It is something famil­ "He told them they hadn't done iar to the high Andes but unknown SIFAT provides structured child- care anything for his community, that to other parts of the world. So it's activities for parents participating in self­ the people had started solving their his job to teach scores of others from help programs in Quito, Ecuador. own problems. Before you know it

28 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 they had a commitment to run a power line into the area, and recent­ ly the government has helped expand the school and other con­ struction. Qusimpuco is no longer being ignored."

Simple Solutions Downstream from Paredes' grist 1bout60ot mill is SIFAT's "Global Village," a munities laboratory set up to try to solve ricinity, some real-life problems. People :h ben from all over the world come to . the wor learn in an environment that reflects T. rural life in Latin America, the Himalayan highlands, the lowlands "Benho," of Asia, village life in West Africa, f's mainc and the slums of the Caribbean. or in Bo ' Houses on stilts, thatched huts, stays q stone houses, and a shantytown are rganizati cattered around a patch of north­ he directo east Alabama red clay. ome,and The village is also used by he Boli SIFAT to give a glimpse of the Corson, developing world to school chil­ ~AT, Benh dren. On any given day, one can ~~ th . II find a cluster of kids attending

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2005 29 meet the need without it looking like: 'Hey, look what we are doing for you."' Self-help is a notion echoed by other members of his family and everyone at SIFAT. Kathy Bryson said, "At SIFAT, we believe deeply in people's potential to change their plight, to join together and address basic human need." SIFAT's effectiveness is largely e due to the Corsons' collective r1 drive as well as their understand- ing of the subtleties abroad. In South America, that means know- d ing not only the politics but also the culture, including the labyrinth of government bureaucracy. Tom Corson sometimes sounds like a professor of Latin American studies, displaying a far better understand- e ing of the lay of the land than many American Embassy officials. It is also interesting to consider SIFAT's awareness of the amazing rise of the indigenous movement in the Andes and the growing power c of women there. That kind of h "power to the people" shift can make most North Americans uneasy. But SIFAT is taking advan­ r Two girls attend a child-care program in Ecuador. tage of it by working with the women's movement · and integrat­ where. When you spread that four. They know the tough life. ing development projects into the knowledge around, says Tom Formed in 1979, today SIFAT, Andean Indian concept of minga, Corson, and add it to the specializa­ with 58 employees abroad, works roughly translated as "sharing the tion that SIFAT can supply, then you all over the world but has some burden." If the community needs a can more often than not whip trou­ especially effective and sustainable new water system, for example, and blesome technological problems. programs in the Andes. In a place the government ignores the prob­ called Atucucho, for example, in lem, then everyone in town works Sharing the Burden: Self-Help one of Quito's (Ecuador) impover­ together to dig the trenches and lay In addition to Tom Corson, his sis­ ished neighborhoods, Tom Corson the pipe. ter Kathy Bryson, and sister-in-law recently took a minute from his Tom Corson can also be Sherrill Corson, the Alabama oper­ logistics planning for a mission scathing in his criticism of poorly ation employs nine full-time peo­ team's work to explain SIFAT's thought-out mission projects and ple. The founders (and parents of philosophy and its commitment to ill-conceived adventures. His deep Tom and Kathy), Sarah and Ken sustainability. "Development work understanding of the ingrained Corson, are retired but still heavily is hard; mission work is hard," he challenges to improving lives in engaged in the operation. All of the said. "People often ask if they can the developing world is light-years Corsons are veterans of years of give money to help these people. ahead of that of a lot of well-inten­ e· mission work in Latin America, Yes we can always use money, but tioned development organizations. including an assignment in we are not trying to be sugar dad­ Some drop into a village for a day Bolivia's Alto Beni in the 1970s, dies here, we're trying to promote to treat parasites among the chil­ 0 where infant mortality was one in self-help. You have to find a way to dren and never return, while the B

30 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 t it lookif parasites do. 'e are doi SIFAT also employs a number of engineers and often calls on special­ 1 echoed ists from places such as nearby family a Auburn Univer ity, with its world­ .thy Brys class engineering department, to ieve dee overcome problems. to chan Walking through the SIFAT gether a campus, you are likely to find a ~ed." workshop on the use of solar ovens, a group clustered around Pared s' grist mill, or a few people admiring a deep-water well made up of no more than a bicycle rim and a nylon rope.

Purifying Water at Low Cost Simplicity recently paid off in a major way when Kathy Bryson tanstu ' took a team to Southern India in nderst the wake of the tsunami to run as thanm many workshops as possible on als. how to set up and run portable o consi water-purification systems. Benho examines a grist mill used for grinding grains, such as corn, and whea t. e amaz One system, invented by a 1vemen SIFAT partner named Duvon have a scarcity of resources and you Liberia. After finishing_up a work­ ing po McGuire-the son of missionaries need clean, safe water very quickly. shop on grinding grain, they take a kind who himself almost died as a child These simple methods can save a lot moment to talk about how SIFAT shift from drinking contaminated water of lives, not just during disasters, makes a difference in their war­ uneric in Ecuador-consists of a car bat­ but all the time." She passionately torn Nimba County in Liberia. ng adv tery, wire, a solar panel, table salt, points out that some 30,000 kids die "Because of the problems in with and a few other items. It can puri­ each day around the world from Liberia, you can't imagine how dif­ fy enough drinking water for preventable diseases. ficult life can be there," said Arthur 10,000 people per day. Back in the Global Village, Miamen. "The work that SIFAT Another system is made up of Yolanda Concepcion is tidying up does can give our people hope." only a couple of two-liter soda bot­ the lowland Asian village, com­ Ester Mi.amen nodded in agree­ tles that use ultraviolet rays to kill plete with a bamboo hut on stilts. ment, then added: "These people deadly bacteria. She's been with SIFAT a long time help us a lot. But you know what McGuire's device can be con­ now, having gone through the they mostly do is help us to help vn WO structed for just a few hundred organization's 10-week program a ourselves, and that is the key." !Sand dollars and shows great promise few years ago. for saving people from deadly dis­ "SIFAT is effective," she said, "not John Fleming has worked as a journalist eases, not only in the wake of dis­ only because it is so good at the in Africa for five years and has traveled asters, but in the long run. The technology aspect but also because to Latin America more than a dozen soda-bottle method costs virtually it fosters leadership. People come times to work in and write about the nothing and requires only that here and they learn and then go region. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia. people put the bottles out in the back home and implement what sun for a designated period of time they have learned. That often eases rJ Seep. 2. and separate out any sediment them into a leadership role. That before drinking. can make a big difference in peo­ The Southern Institute for "A lot of the time, you hear peo­ ple's lives." Appropriate Technology If there is anyone at SIFAT who !or a ple say, 'just boil the water, that'll (SIFAT) can be supported with understands the importance of the c do the trick,'" said Kathy Bryson. gifts to Advance #982812. that, it is the Miamens from rhile "But that's not so easy when you

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 31 Reinventing the Role of Volunteers Volunteer ministry has always been vital to the life and work of the church. The act of volunteering presents a concrete way to express God's love and at the same time extend God 's love to others. Today, the traditional volunteer ministries-indi­ viduals and small gro ups that help children, adults, and seniors in community ministries, work teams that build houses or chu rch buildings, medical or technical perso nnel who lend their professional skills in times of need- are still very impor­ tnn t ways to serve in the name of Christ. In addition, volunteers are developing new kinds of ministries that break through the old ideas of what volu nteers ca n do . The stories below represent a snapshot of some innovative volunteer ministries.

Can You "Justify" the Cost? by J.P. McGuire

bout 10 years ago, I was presented with a mission A opportunity that seemed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. I was asked to bring a UMVIM team to the South African township of Umlazi to build a Methodist Church. I thought everyone would be excited for us, but the words of one individual at my church burst my bubble. "Why should we spend so much money to send a small team of individuals all the way to South Africa when we could send the same amount of money and tell the people there to use it o hire the work out?" Children gain self-esteem from self-sufficiency skills taught by inission volunteers. I gave all the "right" answers: • UMVIM isn't about the "con­ seen, firsthand, better answers to that marked the dividing line I 1 struction of buildings" but rather his question. between the Inkarta and the ANC the building of relationships. Two factors that made this par­ political parties that were fighting. j ticular opportunity unique were: Factor 2 meant that the team 1 • How do you promote the "con­ I r nectionalism" of our church by 1) The Umlazi township had a would have to stay in a separate merely sending a check? population of 100,000, but the community at night. Each day, we • If we start a campaign to raise Methodist church would be only would make the 18-mile journey the money equal to the cost of this the second Christian church ever into the all-black, poverty stricken, team going to South Africa, do you built there (the first, a Catholic and turmoil-ridden township of think we would raise it? (We both Church, was a year old. 2) The Umlazi; and each night we would knew we wouldn't.) location of the Folweni Methodist return to the all-white, upper­ In the years that followed, I have Church in Umlazi was on the road middle-class, "safe" suburb of

32 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 Amanzimtoti ("Toti"). The VIM director in South Africa, Richard Hey Mon! ["Hey there"] ol Bo art, tated that it was hi de ir for us to stay with Methodist by Lorna Jost familie in Toti becau e he knew we would talk with them about ~r UMVIM trip in May 2005 was designed to explore how to ·esents aco11c mtroduce th teachUM program of the North Central Juri diction 11~; why we do UMVIM work. The feer mi11istr1·e into Methodist-related schools in Jamaica. A lot of work was also 11 d1 Methodist Church in South Africa 0 that build h ,5O' did not have a history of volun­ accomplished on the Eccleston Methodist hurch, which suffer d exten­ .-are still ven por teering; he hoped the families sive roof and water damage from Hurricane Ivan last fall. 'es that break . The Rev. Michael Graham, of Brownstown, Jamaica, invited our group 1u g would listen to us. vo/1111teer 1111' r1·11 Our team built the Folweni of 16 volunteers to sand and varnish the church and conduct ome Church- digging the footings, sewing and beading classes at the nearby Methodist-related school for pouring the foundation, building all girls~ grades four to ix . Armed with andpaper, anders, and paintbrush­ the walls, and setting the windows. e_s, eight people from our group and nine p op le from the local congrega­ W did not have time to put the roof tion worked together to refinish the fine woodwork. This project was a on. When we left, we assumed that wonderful example of cooperation between the local congr ga tion and some other UMVIM team would the mission team. eventually come to South Africa to Meanwhile, working with five donated sewing machines, scads of complete the building. However, ~ate~ial , and ewing and beading upplies, the rest of the team spent what the VIM director had hoped time rn the Eccleston and Aboukir primary schools teaching sewing to would happen did happen. The Toti fourth, fifth, and sixth graders and making sure that at least one of the church folks went to Umlazi and local teacher could take over sewing instruction when the t am left. The finished the church. Today, the VIM students each sewed a book bag, and some even went on to make skirts, program is alive and going strong shorts, and pants. The boys, in particular, creatively used pinks and throughout South Africa. That bright colors, adding ribbons, rickrack, and pockets! It was great to s e would not have happened had we the proud smiles on the faces of the students. Nearly 100 . bag and 10 merely sent a check. more advanced projects were completed. Today, just 10 years later, there A guest speaker and former school principal, Mr. Clark spoke to us are 25 Methodist churches in one evening about the educational system in Jamaica. As team leader, I Umlazi! I visited one that had been spent one morning at the Ben onton Primary School (where we had "built by the youth" (construct d worked previously) seeking information on pecific needs. We will devel­ by the local community, aged 25 to op a plan for the teachUM c0mmitte of the North Central Juri diction to 35, through their own fundraising consider in the fall of 2005, and, we hope, an announcement of a teach UM efforts) wi th a membership of 300. I visited another church dedicated a year ago that now has a member­ ship of 800. The spirit of the Umlazi people ignited the desire to have a Methodist church in their commu­ nity, and the team of nine volun­ e dividi teer from the United Stat s built rta and t the church. The presence of that 1at were f church promoted the phenomenal 1t that growth that has created about 25 ;ay in a Methodist churches in 10 years. A iht. Each imple check could never have 1s-rnile accomplished what the labor of poverty f volunteers was able to do. en town J o ni ht w Juld /. P. McGuire is the UMVIM coordinator g per· J-white, f for the California/Nevada Conference. 0 North Central Jurisdiction UMVIM team 111 e111bers. )f e " sub '

EW WORLD OUTLOOK EPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 33

O O • • • • O .. ' • .; • . :.~ • ' • . ,,.,, ,...... : • • ~1.t . : J.i .. . l' • • • 1 ...... 1.tt.• ~ ..··,~- i:• ... , • .. .. , , ~· ' • .. .. - M · "''' team to Jamaica in March 2006 will be forthcoming! Individual tutors are needed in every subject, including arts, drama, computers, and health instruction, but especially reading. Some teachers would be welcomed as guest instructors, especially before the comprehensive exams in the spring. We also tested the waters for bringing in teams to conduct Christian sports camps. There are some interesting possibilities for soccer, bas­ ketball, and volleyball!

Lorna Jost is the UMVIM coordinator for the North Central Jurisdiction . Students at the Methodist-related Eccleston Basic School in Aboukir, Jamaica.

were scheduled to leave, the dis­ Cape Girardeau trict superintendent was driving Fred Koenig the van they were to take and had by an accident. He and his wife were bruised, but there were no broken t is not unusual for Volunteers­ bones. The van, however, was a In-Mission trips to connect total loss. United Methodist churches in I Without the van, the volunteers the United States with churches in had to cut back their number from Mexico. In April 2005, a group of 12 to 6. They took De Hoyos's pick­ volunteers made the 24-hour drive up· from Piedras Negras into San between Missouri and Piedras Antonio, Texas, and then bor­ Negras to help Latinos who a~e rowed a Ford Expedition from a facing challenging times. Only t.h1s brother-in-law of volunteer Juan time, the volunteers were going Luis Rodriguez Frias. northbound. When they arrived at Jesus es el Pastor Sergio De Hoyos Rivas Camino in Cape Girardeau, they has worked with many Volunteers went to work on the second floor In Mission from Missouri in of the church. They removed car­ Piedras Negras, Mexico. He and pet, installed new doors, patc~ed several other church members felt walls, and put up trim. They paint­ called to return the favor, extend­ ed the whole area. ing their ministry to the ~ni~ed On Wednesday night, the group States with a Volunteer-In-M1ss1on led worship at the church, which trip modeled after the Missouri included special music and several trips to Mexico. skits. At the conclusion of the serv­ Barbara Stone, VIM coordinator ice, the volunteers thanked the for the Missouri Conference, said congregation for their hospitality. the group fully comprehended t~e "We came here with one purpose: spirit of mission trips. "They paid to serve. But instead, you have for the trip and even brought $1000 served us," said Rodriguez Frias. for the project," she said. "Sergio Arturo Elias, from Mexico, at Jesus es el wanted to be sure he was doing Camino chu rch in Cape Girardeau, everything right." Fred Koenig is the editor of Missouri Missouri. Twenty-six hours before they Conference Publications.

34 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 McEachern Care Ministry (CCM) meets in a horse barn on church property United once a month to perform repairs and routine preventive mainte­ Methodist nance for people in the congrega­ tion and surrounding community. Members of the Car Care Ministry repair a Church Car car-a necessity for its owner in Powder About six to eight cars receive Springs, Georgia, where public tra nsporta­ Care Ministry repairs each month. The initial tar­ tion is unavailable. get groups were senior citizens by David McCoy and single parents in the congrega­ did not have. CCM repaired her tion. Customers now include car for less than $200. Customers m any outside the. church walls are asked to pay for parts if they who are referred to the CCM by can, but when they can't, the cost n many parts of the country the local Family Mission group. A of parts is covered by the ministry. where mass transit is not yet second group of "mechanic mis­ In addition to repairs, cars have I a ailable, automobile owner­ sionaries" now utilizes the facility been donated to CCM and given to ship is not a luxury, it's a necessity. on a second Sa turday each month. people who need them. At John N. McEachern Memorial One Saturday last year, a ve, the UMC in Powder Springs, Georgia, woman arrived with very bad David McCoy, an aircraft technician ras driv a mission-minded group of people brake problems on her car. She had in Powder Springs, Georgia, is a mem­ ke and are trying to help those in need received an estimate of $400 to ber of John N. McEachern Memorial with car repair expenses. The Car $500 for her repairs-money she UMC.

Tales of a fo r operating (amputating), no care UMVIM teams. I've dug light save fo r the small stream of freshwater wells to · get clean Nonmedical sunlight through the tiny window, drinking water to people so that a stash of boxes in the corner with they won' t need treatment fo r Person basic dressings and instruments. worms and other diseases. I've Serving with a How did they sterilize them? The swabbed arms with alcohol prep instruments were placed in a metal pads in the "vaccination as embly Medical Team or bucket, covered with alcohol, and line" where we inoculated 200 kids set on fire. When the alcohol in two hours. I've rocked a small "What's an burned off, the instruments were electrician doing deemed safe to use•again! In one corner of the dimly lit on th is health-care room, I spotted an intriguing piece f) II of equipment: an autoclave, used tearn anywayct fo r sterilizing medical instruments. It had been donated but broke the gr by Ku rt Kaiser when it arrived and no one had :h, w repaired it. I spent the afternoon .dsev dismantling the autoclave, clean­ A new friend in the DR Congo. thes y fi rst medical-team ing tiny parts, and restoring it to iked experience was in (then) working condition. >Spita Russian boy to sleep in the orphan­ Zaire in 1994, when we I saw tears in the eyes of the purp M age he calls home. Should nonrned­ entered a refugee camp filled with local doctor as I gave it back to him OU h ical people join medical teams? amputees from the war. The med­ to sterilize his instruments. What z Fria Of course! ir:a l needs were tremendous. The skill he has, what dedication to his tate of the limited supplies and people. I was glad to assist in one Miss available equipment generated small way. Kurt Kaiser, an electrical contractor, thoughts of the American Civil Since that day in 1994, I have and his wife Jan are the UMVIM Coor­ War: a one-room cement structure volunteered on numerous health- dinators for the Western Jurisdiction.

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 35

, - , , • .. , t • ~ .:.• • ·' • •"; •• •,_ > ; ;;._,~1~ . : 1 . -~. "··~'• .. :.~ ..·<",;•re.- ,::; • .:., ..... •·.-·, ...... )>,,, .i.~ 1 r,-•• ,.. Girdwood Chnpel Un ited Methodist Church 11 enr th e Alyeska ski resort in Girdwood, Alnskn.

IN AND OUT OF THE BOX IN ALASKA: GIRDWOOD CHAPEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH story and photos by Beryl Goldberg

astor Jim Doepken is Ski-Resort Church tioned." At the time of this writing, an out-of-the-box Girdwood Chapel UMC is one of the town of Girdwood has just one minister because, as those interesting places. A growing church-Girdwood Chapel. he says, "I have to community about 35 miles south be." While Alaska is of Anchorage, Girdwood is a spec­ B~yond Chapel Walls part of the continental tacular location surrounded by the Pastor Jim Doepken is reaching out United States, a lot separates it Chugach National Forest, the with a number of programs to from the lower 48 states. While northernmost temperate rainforest attract new "chapelites," as he calls native traditions run deep in much in the world. Girdwood is perched them. There's Bi~le and Brew, of Alaska, it is a nontraditional at the base of a mountain with a Work and Wieners, and the more place with special challenges large ski resort as its main land­ typical Blessing of the Animals. caused by its environment, history, mark. A thousand new homes, "I'm expanding the flock and also the people who live there, and the many of them weekend homes, going out to meet people who may people who are just passing will be built in the coming years. never come to church. I'm bringing through. Alaska has the second­ Much of Girdwood revolves the presence of Christ to the com­ highest percentage of church non­ around skiing. Because the slopes munity." With Bible and Brew, affiliation in the United States, and open at 10:30 A.M. on Sundays, Pastor Jim is "going where the that number is even higher in church always has competition for people are." Starting in December Girdwood, where only about 15 people's time and energy. It has a 2004, one day a week "I go to a cof­ percent of the population attends young population with a major fee shop in the morning and a bar church. "hippie" influence and a lot of at night and have a Bible study Other factors designate Alaska transient residents. Nearby moun­ with whoever's interested in talk­ as a United Methodist Missionary tains and streams provide many ing. There are people I've never Conference. The cost of ministry is opportunities for outdoor activi­ seen before and people I know high. Only 2600 United Methodists ties. There is a lot of light in the from the community." gather for worship on any given summer and darkness in the win­ Work and Wieners is a weekly Sunday morning across the whole ter. And, as Pastor Jim says, "Many gathering every Wednesday for the state. And several of those in their quest to be as open as people in the community to help Methodists are gathering in remote, possible to all beliefs would rather build the church. It's a way for or at least interesting, places. not have the name of Jesus men- people to put in some "sweat equi-

36 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 ty" (to u e the Habitat Pastor Doepken for Humanity phra e) . grew up in a few differ­ In one sense, accord­ ent places in the lower ing to Pastor Doepken, 48: Massachusetts, New th "box" that ministry York, and Indiana. In occurs in and out of i 1990, he was a Volun­ the chapel building teer in Mission in itself. It's a 31-foot dia­ Nome. "I was strug­ mond-shaped building gling with the call to with a portable rest­ minis try and wanted to room outside. Part of get away from it all . the community for 40 Nome looked like it years, it has been the was away from it all. I si te of many services fell in love with the and programs. But state and wanted to L since the town and come back and be with Members of the Work nnd Wieners project build a church that will hold church have grown, a n growing membership. the Alaskan people. I r larger facility is need­ was first in Kenai for ed. New property was purchased, marriages and funerals. "I've pro­ three years as pastor of the United and work teams have been lined vided care when someone is killed Methodist Church of the ew up for 2005 and 2006. Funds are on the highway or in Alaska's icy Covenant, and then I was asked to being raised through the Advance waters, where death comes quick­ come to Girdwood in 2001." Special Program (#931007) with ly." He is president of the Lions The chapel at Gird wood sta rted the hope of reaching $250,000 over Club and chaplain to the Fire in 1951 with a circuit pastor and no of this wri ;, the next three to four years. Department. His spouse, Julie, full-time preacher, with about 15 to od has just 1 rJsee p. 2. works in the local school and 20 people in attendance. In 1996, a Chapel. teaches Sunday school. full-time pastor, Chuck Frost, Ministry Within the Walls arrived from Mississippi. In May Is Meanwhile, ministry continues. 2003, the small church was moved is reachin Fourteen youth participated in a to its present site. It's a young con­ program J World Vision "30-Hour Famine gregation: sometimes on Sundays, '.es," as he s Program." The children, aged 11 to 50 percent of those in attendance le and B 1, 15, spent the night in the chapel are under 10 years old. and the e talking about hunger relief, Pastor Doepken said : "Gird­ the singing, and playing games. Pastor wood Chapel is a fun place to wor­ flock and J Jim challenged the youth to raise ship. A ye,u ago, we had a guest oplewho $720 for hunger relief. After they preacher who preached a sermon i. I'm brin raised a grand total of $1100, he with dogs as the main illustration. t to the shaved his head in honor of their At the end of his sermon, he le and B 11 accomplishment. howled for effect. What he didn't 1g where e The annual Blessing of the count on was everyone howling , in Dece ·r Animals is a popular event in a back. It was a holy howl. Well, we I ."Igo to community where residents say, don't howl regularly at worship, ling and r "if there are 2000 people, there are but we do have fun with commun­ ion every week, and every worship 2 Bible s Y 4000 dogs." This past year, 30 ani­ :ested in mals were blessed, including ham­ ends with a shout. After singing ·r 'On Eagles Wings' in a circle, I say 1Je ]'ve ster , fish, rabbits, cats, a bird, and ople I a chicken, although "the chicken 'And all God's people said ... ' and /I did not want hands lai d on." everyone shouts back 'AMEN."' sisaw .l' Because Pastor Doepken is the 1esday fo e only full-time resident pastor in Beryl Goldberg is a freelance photogra­ UJlity to P Gird wood, many pastoral roles fall pher and writer based in New York 1r Pnstor Jim Doepken City. 's a wa . to him: counseling and performing 1 ~"swea t •

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 37 Cacao pods must be painstakingly individually harvested. Machine harvest would damage the chupon (productive branches) and pre­ vent the tree from producing more pods.

l: he west coast of Today, chocolate made from Most of the commercial choco­ Africa produces the cocoa butter and cocoa powder is late available in US stores is made largest cacao exports, tied up in a complex web of global from a mixture of beans from sev­ the United States dependencies. The cacao trees eral different countries. In general, buys the largest grow only in hot, humid climates it is not possible for retailers or amount of raw cocoa close to the equator, including Cote consumers to know where the products, and the Swiss and d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Nigeria, cacao beans come from or who Austrians consume the largest Ghana, Dominican Republic, Ecu­ picked them. amounts of chocolate per capita, ador, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, but chocolate has its roots in Latin and Malaysia. These countries sell The Darker Side of Chocolate America. The ancient Aztec and low-grade and minimally proces­ All cacao production is not the Mayan cultures discovered the sed cocoa products, with the first same. Some of the farms in west ' value of the cacao beans, using steps of processing (separation Africa, particularly in Cote them to produce a drink they from the pods, drying the beans) d'Ivoire, the world's top producer called xocoatl. Chocolate was the completed on plantations or small of cocoa, use child labor. Worse food of the gods, used in religious farms. The major chocolate pro­ still, accusations of child slave ceremonies honoring the god ducers in Europe and the United labor in the harvesting and pro­ Quetzalcoatl, and chocolate con­ States refine the cocoa, making cessing of the cacao beans have sumption was reserved for the many different kinds of cocoa and surfaced in recent years (Trade ruling elite. chocolate products. Environment Database Case Studies,

38 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 #664, by Samlanchith Chanth­ Cocoa Sector of West Africa in fairly traded and whose harvesting avong, 2002). Boys between the August of 2002, reports that the and production do not exploit ages of 12 and 16, many of them growth of small-scale farmers in children. Although the Fair Trade from neighboring Mali or Burkina the cocoa industrie of West Africa market for coffee is better known, Faso, are lured into the industry by i a good first step toward econom­ a nascent Fair Trade chocolate profe sional traffickers who sell ic stability. However, the income movement is gaining momentum. them to farmers in Cote d'Ivoire. generated by the small farms Fair Trade chocolate products that Save the Children in Canada esti­ needs to be balanced with proven have met the standards of certifica­ mates that a many as 15,000 chil­ methods of sustainable rural tion bear the Fair Trade trademark dren work as slave labor on some development. Local and national symbol on their wrappers. of Cote d'lvoire's 600,000 cacao governments need to work with Equal Exchange, a worker­ farms. Living in deplorable condi­ the cocoa industry- to ensure that owned cooperative specializing in tion , the children are underfed, the revenue from cocoa is suffi­ Fair Trade products, based in forced to work long hours, and cient for real human development, Massachusetts, has instituted locked up at night to prevent particularly for the children work­ interfaith Fair Trade coffee pro­ escape. If they are caught trying to ing on the farms. Investment in grams with a number of US escape, they are often severely education for the children would denominations, including Luth­ beaten. greatly improve their development eran, Church of the Brethren, Slavery is illegal according to and increase their chances of forg­ Quaker, Mennonite, United Cote d 'Ivoire' s constitution . If ing better lives for themselves as Church of Christ, Presbyterian, caught, the farm owners may be they become adults. Ultimately, and United Methodist churches. jailed and fined to pay the children cocoa farmers and their communi­ The United Methodist Committee for their labor. In addition, the chil­ ties need to earn more from the on Relief (UMCOR) Coffee dren are sent back to their homes. cocoa they export if the cycle of Program is open to any United Exploitation continues because the poverty and underdevelopment is Methodist Church. Recently, fairly abuse is hidden and enforcement to be broken. traded baking cocoa, . hot cocoa nearly nonexistent. Large compa­ mix, and three kinds of chocolate nies that buy cocoa do not send Chocolate Alternatives bars became available through the representatives to visit the many It is possible to purchase chocolate UMCOR program. rural farms that grow the cacao and cocoa products that have been The difference between the •hes) and beans in remote areas. Cote d'Ivoire farmers questioned Workers remove beans, or seeds, fro 11 1cacao pods. The beans are used to produ ce cocoa and about child labor insist that the chil­ chocolate. cial ch dren are salaried, that their parents es is were not paid to send them, and from that dire economic conditions at In gen home have driven older children to etailer the cacao farms. Mo t of the labor­ vhere ers on the plantations work as paid 1 or 1 ' day workers, but their wages are so low that their families cannot break the cycle of poverty. Salaried chil­ colate dren working in cocoa production ; not ' often do not attend school, earn sub­ sistence wages, and do not work or live close to home. Farmers have been forced to cut costs and increase efforts to find cheap labor because cocoa has been a weak commodity in the world market in recent years. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, which pub­ lished the report Child Labor in the world-market cocoa industry, ing Equal Exchange are paid at a product. In the past, 100 percent of where cocoa is bought "blind" minimum $1950 per metric ton of the cocoa had to be sold as low­ through importers and brokers, organic cocoa, more if the world grade product because the farmers and Fair Trade certified cocoa, is market price spikes higher. The had no means to ferment the that in order to meet Fair Trade market price, which fluctuates, beans. Today, 30 percent of the standards, fair-trade cocoa har- recently dropped as low as $640 per product is being fermented on the metric ton. farms, producing a more desirable, This year, the farms in Cote higher-grade cocoa product. d'Ivoire and Ghana have experi­ enced drought and a low-yield Supporting the Small-Scale season. Prices may rise because of Farmers decreased supply, but farmers will Fernandez wants to raise awareness have fewer beans to sell. among interfaith consumers that cocoa production often creates a Fair Trade in the Dominican "belt of misery" for people in rural Republic areas. "A bar of chocolate often The Fair Trade cocoa for Equal represents a lot of sweat and abuse Exchange is supplied by two pro­ for people all over the world," said ducers in Peru and one in the Fernandez. "Many people live with- Dominican Republic. In the Domin­ out access to basic services. Doing ican Republic, the Confederacion without becomes a way of life." Nacional de Cacaocultores Domin­ UMCOR has supported the icanos (CONACADO) is an umbrel­ CONACADO farmers in a number la cooperative for 9000 small-scale of ways. The UMCOR Coffee cacao growers. The farms are divid­ Program introduces consumers to ed into nine regional districts, Equal Exchange's products, which forming about 400 small base­ allows Equal Exchange to buy associations. Founded m 1988, more cocoa. CONACADO has developed a . In addition, UMCOR provided niche specialty in the production of a $10,000 grant to CONACADO high-quality and organic cocoa. It is after the Dominican Republic was now the leading producer of organ­ hit by Hurricane Jeanne in ic chocolate worldwide. September 2004. About 1600 of the Abel Fernandez, the export farmers were affected. Equal manager for CONACADO, says Exchange helped raise an addi­ Ca cao tree farm s in the Dominican that 10 percent of the crop is now tional $12,000 from other sources. Republic were downed by Hu rricane Jeanne sold as Fair Trade cocoa. CONA­ CONACADO is using· the grants in September 2004. UMCOR granted CONACADO $10,000 to help farmers CADO would like to sell more, to buy food to distribute to the repair their crop da mage. because of the higher price on the farmers so that they can remain on FairTrade market, but at this point their farms to repair the damage to vesting and processing must be there are too few Fair Trade buyers. their crops. Otherwise, they would la monitored by independent, non­ When cocoa is sold to Equal have to leave their farms and work profit certifying organizations. In Exchange, the higher price allows for other cacao producers in order order to sell to Fair Trade buyers, CONACADO to set aside a percent­ to feed their families. CO ACA­ h the cocoa cooperatives must adhere age of the proceeds for community DO estimates that it will take the 1 n to the International Labor Organi­ development projects. Last year, farms three to four year to recov­ zation Conventions on child labor 1200 tons were sold to the Fair er the crops lost in the hurricane. u and forced labor. In addition, Fair Trade market. Representatives of Trade cocoa is bought directly from the co-ops themselves decided The Power of Chocolate democratically controlled coopera­ how the community development Recent studies have sugge ted that tives of small-scale farmers. Farm­ money would be spent. dark chocolate may have a number ers receive a fair share of the profits The Fair Trade profits also of health benefits. It contain antio - and have a say in how common allowed the small-scale farmers to idants called phenols that help funds are spent. The co-ops supply- invest in further refining their prevent cholesterol from cau ing

40 NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2005 1 Producers that benefit from the sale of Equal Exchange cocoa and chocolate

0 percent I old as '°' the farrne • CONACADO (National Confederation of Dominican Cocoa Producers), a cooperative with 9000 small­ l / 4 ~ rrn e nt t scale farmers, of the cacao growers in the country. :ent of t • CACVRA (Cooperative Agraria Cafetelera del Valle Rio Apurimac) and El Quinacho, two cooperatives nted on t of 1500 small-scale coffee and cacao growers in southern Peru. ·e desirab duct. • Four cooperatives of mall-scale sugar-cane fa rmers, three in Paraguay (the Montilla, Arroyense, and Manuvfra cooperatives) and one in Costa Rica (the Asoprodulce co-op in Jaris). Scale • The Organic Valley Cooperative of Family Farms, 600+ organic farmers across 18 US states who produce their own brand of organic dairy products, soy milk, meat, eggs and orange juice. Equal Exchange uses the co-op's orgaruc dried milk powder in the hot cocoa mix and milk chocolate bars. • La Siembra, a worker-owned cooperative dedicated to Fair Trade, based in Ottawa, Canada. La Siembra coordinates ingredient sourcing and production of various cocoa and sugar products. • UMCOR receives a percentage of all sales through th UMCOR Coffee Program, designated for sustain­ able agriculture projects.

lelive wi ices. Do· of life." Where can I get ~ orted t Fair Trade chocolate? nanurnb ~ R Coff Retail: Check in natural-food stores and lsumers select supermarkets. look for the Fair 1cts, whi Trade label. re to b Online: Yau can order from the Equal Exchange retail store by going to http://www.equalexchange.com. UMCOR Coffee Program: Ordering by the case at wholesale prices is easy, just go to the Interfaith Orders section of the Equal Exchange website, or call directly to set up a church account l-774-776-7366. Order by phone and receive shipments within 10 Equal Exchange co-op member Rodney North with cacao farm er Luis Diaz Aylas, a mem­ days. Some congregations open up the ber of the CACVRA cooperative in Peru. ordering process to individuals and families when they place the monthly order for Fair plaque build-up in the arteries. The supplies, and treatments to Trade coffee for fellowship hour. ~eywo saturated fat found in cocoa butter rural communities that have no and wo is made up in part of stearic acid, clinics; Fair Trade chocolate bars make a great :sin or which does not raise the bad choles­ • build and staff a permanent fundraiser! :o AC terol level in the blood. Chocolate, new medical clinic; Ut ake t 1 even dark chocolate, has far less caf­ • send children in rural commu­ feine than coffee. nities to school by providing the such as avocados and oranges; But what other powers can shoes, uniforms, and school • build wells to bring clean, chocolate have? The CONACADO supplies that they need; potable water to villages. farmers have leveraged the pro­ • build new schools; ceeds from the fairly traded choco­ • provide small nurseries to help That's powerful chocolate! late to: small-scale cocoa producers • provide a mobile medical clin­ diversify and grow more nutri­ Christie R. House is the editor of N w ic- bringing doctors, medical tional foods for their families, World Outlook.

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SE PTEMBER / OCTOBER 2005 -U 5th Anniversary of the Methodist Churc •1n Lower Myanma story and photos by George W. Gish, Jr.

A Change of Plans he Rev. Zothan Mawia, Bishop of the As guests began to arrive, there was concern Methodist Church in Lower over the sudden change in government and Myanmar, visited with Japanese the house arrest of the Prime Minister, who church leaders in April 2004 on his had been scheduled to give greetings to the way to attend the United Methodist assembly. Because of some unfortunate General Conference in May. He internal circumstances relating to a long­ issued an open invitation for participation in the standing conflict in the church, one small 125th Anniversary Thanksgiving Celebration of faction requested that the government with­ mission work in Burma founded by the draw its permission to hold the public Methodist Episcopal Church. The Japan Biblical observances as scheduled. Notice of the Theological Seminary responded by sending retraction came as final preparations were Professor Suzuki Shuhei, who is in charge of its being made the day before the celebration international exchange program, and me to repre­ was to begin. sent the United Church of Christ in Japan (KYO­ Needless to say, those who had put in DAN) as a United Methodist Mission Volunteer. so many hours, days, and weeks in prepa­ ration were stunned, especially the youth who had prepared a choir of more than 125 voices along with special music and liturgical dance per­ formances. With guests alread y arriving, Bishop Mawia made the decision to change the program from the originally scheduled spe­ cial events to an expo ure bus tour that would include Methodist churches and related work in the Yangon area and the next major city to the north, Bagu. This decision was well-received. It enabled the overseas guests to observe firsthand the work of local churches and see the new Methodist , Jr. Theological School campus in the Yangon suburbs in its embryonic stage. It was also a chance to see some of the countryside, the con­ trast between the Chinese ethnic churches and the local Burmese congregations, and the difficult cir­ cumstances of the Indian and minority indigenous groups. Of equal significance was the chance for local members to inter­ act with the overseas participants and share in many aspects of the program that would not have been possible in the original plans. Church members prepare for tire 125tlr Anniversary celebration at the Methodist English Church in Yangon. The Celebration There were more than 100 guests from overseas, with the largest morning, guests broke up into rehearse for the celebration. The groups from Korea, Malaysia, small groups to attend many of the preaching and worship were all Singapore, and the United States. surrounding chu ches, where filled with joy and hope, reflecting One or two representatives from some of them spoke from the pul­ the theme of Zechariah 4:6, "'Not Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan pit. Following the worship servic­ by might, nor by power, but by my represented northeast Asia. The es, everyone shar d a fellowship spirit' says the Lord of hosts." This President of the World Methodist meal with the lac 1 congregations. was the same text often used by Dr. Council, His Eminence Dr. Sunday Since it was Sunday, the govern­ James M. Thoburn, the American Mbang, along with Bishop Roy ment gave permission to hold reg­ Methodist missionary from Cal­ Sano from the United Methodist ular Christian services inside the cutta, India, who, in 1879, was Council of Bishops, gave powerful church. So in the afternoon, every­ instrumental in opening Methodist messages that were both moving one gathered at the large mission work in Rangoon, Burma, and challenging. The morning Methodist English Church in and subsequently in Singapore, after the celebrations, the two bish­ downtown Yangon for a special Malaysia, and the Philippines. ops met with the small dissenting performance by the 125-voice On Sunday evening, a faction still occupying the old youth choir, along wi th other Friendship Banquet took place at headquarters in a gesture of recon­ music and dance by the local the Grand Plaza Park Royal Hotel. ciliation that had the support of all church youth. John Ang, who con­ Recognition was given to represen­ the participants. ducted the choir, had made several tatives of the many overseas dele­ Sunday, October 24, was the cli­ trips from Singapore at his own gations as well a leaders of th max of the celebrations. In the expense to coach the singers and ecumenical partner churches and

NEW WORLD OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2005 43 organizations in Myanmar. There wa a deep ' Cn e of mutual lo e and ren w d ommitm nt to their ontinued hristian witness and solidarity in the face of obstacles and adversities. Among tho e shar­ ing in the closing event were three representatives from the eneral Board of Global Ministries who had arrived on th final day of the cere­ monies after flying directly from their board meeting. Words of appreciation and encouragement came from Youngsook Kang, Deputy General ecretary for Mission Contexts and Relation­ ships; Edith leaves, Deputy General Secretary for Mission Personnel; and R becca Asedillo, Worshipers prny at the Methodist English Church's anniversary celebration . Mission Contex ts and Relationships Executive Secretary for Asia/ Pacific. All thre sp nt the following had the opportunity to hear Bishop odist church in Upper Myanmar. two days in onsultation with Mawia share some of the recent Headquartered in Mandalay, it Myanmar Methodist leaders, com­ highlights of the church as well as was the center of the former mis­ bined with exposure trips to various its vision for the coming years. sion work of the British Methodist church projects, including the new Although the church is headquar­ Church. Its membership is now seminary campus. tered in Yangon, it has some work close to 15,000 with a constituency in the northern parts of the coun­ of about 28,000. Common Roots, Common Goals try, especially among Chinese . Both churches are part of the As a missionary who comes out of communities in the Lashio area, as larger Protestant ecumenical family the Methodist mis ionary tradi­ well as new work among some of represented by the Myanmar tion, I was gratified to see the pres­ the tribal groups in the mountain­ Council of Churches, which ent-day cooperation of Methodist ous ar as. One exciting develop­ includes the dominant Baptist and lay and clergy members from the ment is among the Wa tribal com­ Anglican churches. All of them face churches in south and southeast munity, where more than 500 new the same challenges of meeting the Asia who shar d many the same members have joined in the past needs of diverse ethnic groups as historical roots. Today, the Korean two ears, following the pioneer well as reaching the majority Methodist Church is ending sev­ work of a recent seminary gradu­ Burmese Buddhist population with eral missionaries and providing a ate from the Wa ethnic group. Over a message of hope in the midst of significant portion of the support 100 were baptized at Christmas in political and' economic hardships of the Methodist churches in 2003, and a similar number on the and uncertainties. It is hoped that Lower Myanmar, having just following Easter. d1llrches in Japan as well as those recently purchased the land for Th challenge of serving the with Methodist roots in other parts the new seminary near Yangon. need of youth and children in this of the world will find new and Churches in Singapore and new ar a is a major concern. The meaningful ways of relating to the Malaysia are also providing major new program of theological educa­ mall and struggling Methodist support for church programs and tion in Yangon will train leaders Church of Lower Myanmar. the training of present and future for the future development of leaders of the Methodist church in church work among many diver e Lower Myanmar, which at present and n •edy groups in Myanmar. George W. Gish, Jr. , is a retired has about 3000 members, with a Anoth er area of hope is the GBGM rnissionary who continues to constituency of around 5000. recent movement toward closer work as a Mission Vo lunteer with the During our days together, we cooperation with a sister Meth- KYODAN in Japan .

NEW WORLD 0 TLOOK SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 -rL1"l The United Methodist Church in Mission

~ Bible Women Spread the Atlantic Street Family Center Guides Single 2: Word Throughout Asia Father and His Daughter to Positive Growth 1: ] Kelly Martini is the com 11 11111icntions executive for the Women's Division Sidney L. Carter is a volunteer at the Atlantic Street Center in 3- of the General Board of Global Ministries. Seattle, Wa shington . ~-~ t:: 't Erlincy Rodriguez, a pastor, deaconess, and Bible Woman, travels to I first learned of /\tlantic Street Center in 1998 when I became - ~ ~::; five rural communities in Davao, Philippines, to instruct rural . c~ involved in a custody dispute concerning my daughter LaToya, who ;: ::::-, women on health issues. She also conducts three-day seminars on was then seven years old. I was living in Holly Park-now known as ~-§ :-... ::: HIV I AIDS in Western Visayas. Rodriguez says, "I belong where I am ~ NewHolly-and having great difficulty navigating the state systems. .: c:. .._, As part of their instruction, they receive HIV I AIDS prevention edu­ trips and educational outings. Now she is an honor student, a mem­ u; ~ § . ~ -C cation and are taught to use indigenous plants as medicines and in ber of Team ALIVE, the youth leadership group, and a member of the ;:J soaps that they make to sell. 0 ~~ Sweet Mahogany Drill Team. 0 ~~ _.J ..<::> ::: In Malaysia, their work has already reached more than 3000 peo­ Atlantic Street Center gave us a community, and gave me the help P::: c:. -2 0 ::::. ""<::; ~ ~ ~ ~ -c:. >< ~ "- !::: 0- Women in the Tonda district of Manila , Sidney L. Cnrter nnd his daughter LaToya hnve ~~ :;:: Cc Philippines, learn to read as a result of · _ Jilli improved their lives t/1rough the services of a ca r- ~ .::: Bible Women training sessions . ~ ing community-center stnff. ~~ ::::-,·;:: !:: l:l.. i:::: -::;..

n:t - -~ -~ 0 c.. '!:; =-"' §~S-gc~ ~~ - -~~~ ~ -~-~-~ ~ a~ s~~ ._ ~ ~ ~ ...... ~ bO Ci.. .o 3: "tn ~ -£ 0- 0 0 \ -~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - ~ -~ 0 :::::: ~ ;>. -~ ~ .s ~ ~ 5 :g -P V, u•• "- "<: .._. ~ ..,.. °' Why Go to the Democratic Republic of Congo? I Am Glad that God Is with Them Carmen Mcfadyen is a retired registered nu rse who lives with her husba nd Tiffany Yang wrote about her experience traveling with her mother, Kady on Wh idey Island in Washington Sta te. She has served with Un ited Herr-Yang, to tra in Bible Women from Laos in Thailand . After the train ­ Methodist Volun teers-in-Mission teams in the Democratic Republic of ing, they traveled to Laos , Kady's native land. Congo . On our trip with a Bible Women's trainers' group to Laos and After my first Volunteers-In-Mission visit to Congo in May 2002, I Thailand, my sister Jessica and I crossed the Mekong River to Laos decided to return. I was fortunate to be chosen to participate as a reg­ with our mother and other trainers from Wisconsin. istered nurse in a United Methodist Volunteers-In-Mission trip to The Saturday before Easter, we traveled along dirt roads to two Congo. The original mission was to provide medical care to refugees Hmong villages. The roads were steep and bumpy. Along the way, we from war-torn Congo and in villages where medical care was nonex­ stopped at the new United Methodist community in Lao Kang village istent. to distribute school supplies to the children and their teacher. The chil­ A woman too weak to walk on her own was diagnosed with ter­ dren's faces lit up with smiles as they were handed the supplies. tT1 :E minal breast cancer. All we had to give her was Tylenol fo r her pain On Easter Sunday, we went to a church in Vientiane, a major city in :E because we had no controlled substances or prescription drugs avail­ Laos located on the Mekong River. The "church" was in the pastor's 0 ;;;o able. I thought of treatments and medications available for this dis­ house. Jessica and I worked with the children during the service, help­ r 0 ease in other countries, and I realized that this woman would die in ing them make prayer booklets and bead necklaces and showing them 0 c excruciating pain. how to make origami figures. Afterwards, we stayed for the youth --l r Another patient, a 15-year-old girl, came fo r treatment of tubercu­ ga thering to worship and pray fo r people. Even though some of the 8 losis on her face. Throughout her treatment, the girl never com­ fa milies we met were more fo rtunate than others, they all had one ~ plained. In the United States, she would have had better opportuni­ thing in common- they had God in their hearts. tT1 -0 ties for treatment and cosmetic surgery. God bless all the fa milies and individuals that we visited in Laos, ~ In hospitals in Congo, patients must bring their basic supplies, watch over them as they serve, and give them hope-especially the ~ co except for mattresses. There are no linens, no food unless it is brought children. tT1 ...... _;;;; by the family, no medicine unless the family can afford it, and no 0 () nurses except for a minute or tw o a day. However, there is beauty in the country, in the tropical flowers, the dco tT1 sunsets, and the people, Al N who have unbelievable faith 0 &: and hope for a better future. The suffering, faith, and beauty are why I returned. There are many ways to help our brothers and sisters aroup.d the world. This way is my choice.

Congolese patients wait outside a clinic to receive medical care. Unlike many children in the United States who do household chores for an allowance, Hmong children in Laos work to help the family survive......

Prayer Calendar Look for the 2006 Prayer Calendar in October 2005. This unique re source not only gives you a central place to track your busy schedule, it also encour­ ages you to slow down to have a quiet moment with God. The Prayer Calendar also makes a thoughtful gift to a special friend at Christmas. The Prayer Calendar offers daily scripture readings to guide your meditation, lifts up the individuals who are giving their lives to mis­ sion service on their birthdays, and promotes the prayerful support of mission projects at home and abroad. MAKE You can order the Prayer Calendar and other valuable resources 006 from the Service Center. 'EAR OF HOPE History of 's 13-month wall calendar, Harvest !, highlights the United Methodist Mission Series m ee on Relief's work around the world. DID YOU KNOW that The turn each page you will en counter United Methodist Church is is that sow seeds of mercy and the coalescence of four 11 sion, and reap a harvest of hope in predecessor denominations? !d. DID YOU KNOW that the $10 you will receive the Ha rvest of very first woman to be alendar and a free CD conta ining a ordained in any Protestant m er screensaver us ing the calendar's church in the United States was ordained in Indiana in 1 866? DID h 1ges, a slideshow presentation, and YOU KNOW that the Evangelical United Brethren Church (a predeces­ lie inserts to print and share with othe rs. sor denomination) was the first denomination to join the new World Council of Church s when it was organized in ·19437 1e ~ reat gift of hope this Christmas and These interest ing facts are just a sampling of the rich history ar vith your loved ones the me ssage of of missi on in The United Methodist Church, told in seven volumes d' vork in the world throu gh important in the History of Mission series , which covers 1 75 years and five Jg ns that feed the hungry, he al the continents. k, 1d show compassion to the hurting. The five volumes already available are The Missionary Spirit, "Fi ve Dollars and Myself, " "On the Journey Home, " Initiatives for Mission, and Christian Mission in the Third Millennium. The last two volumes in the series, Mirror and Beacon, andFrom Missions to Mission, will be available by Christmas. You can order the entire History of Mission series or individual volumes.

Order from the Service Center. Please mail order with check payable to: SERVICE CENTER • GENERAL BOARD OF GLOBAL MINISTRIES • 7820 READING RD CALL ER NO 1800 • CINCINNATI OH 45222-1800 Costs for shipping and handling for sale Items: $25 or less, add $5.35; $25.01-$60, add $6.65; $60.01 -$100, add $8.05; over $100, add 8.5%

fow l limited quantity available. For billed or credit card orders: WEBSITE: www.scorders.org • E-MAIL: scorders@g bgm-umc.org • CALL TO LL-FR EE: 1 1- 554-8583 x202, or visit the GBGM E-Store 1-800-305-9857 • FAX ORDERS: 1-513-761-3722 11 3t http://gbgm-umc.org/e-store . A $2.00 charge will be added for billing. In the 30 seconds it take to read this sentence and the next, another child som where in Africa will die of hunger. This is a death that could be prevented. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is working on ways to stop hunger.

Join us in a miracle during this harvest. Your gift can provide seed , teach agricultural techniques that work even in drought, and off r tools of mpowerment to communitie of od' children around th world. Advance #982920, World Hunger and Poverty

United Methodist Committee on R < MULTIPLYING HOPE 47 5 Riverside Drive, Room 330 •