Blog

Today is day 3 of tour.  We all had to leave Tallassee to head off to Pascagoula, MS.  The bus ride wasn't too long but not the shortest ever.  When we stopped at the mall for lunch, a good number of us rented and raced animal scooters around the halls. 

March 29th.

Yesterday we sang at the 8 and 10am services at the First United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, AL.  It was an early morning after having a performance the previous night.  The church was huge with a lot of cool glasswork.  We sang four songs each service and then packed up.

We then arrived at the First UMC in Tallassee, AL with about 20 minutes until the concert started. We had to all change quick and review where we were seating.  We put on a great show & added in a skit to our performance.  

Wow! It has been an amazing tour so far! It has only been one day and so much has happened! After an early start yesterday and a long bus ride full of snacks, movies, sleeping, and laughs, it was good to be able to get off the bus and stretch our legs in Murfreesboro, TN.

March 22-  The Chapel Choir performed their pre-tour concert at Lemont First United Methodist Church.   Great job everyone!   Great way to start the 2015 "We Believe" Tour!

It was great to have Bishop Sally Dyck with us last Sunday! Her sermon truly uplifted us, as she encouraged us to "lift up our eyes" to the big picture of how God is calling us to live in the midst of today's circumstances.

The whole weekend was filled with special moments of being the Church together. As I walked through the church building Saturday morning, it was almost like hearing a symphony of inviting sounds -

I was away for a couple of days this week, at an educational event. Both days were filled with meaningful teaching, enlivening conversations with pastors and church leaders, scripture reading, music and laughter during meals together.

Tour Schedule:

March 28: Murfreesboro , TN

March 29: Tallassee , AL

March 30: Pascagoula , MS

March 31: Pensacola, FL

April 2: Tuscaloosa, AL

April 3: Paducah, KY

April 4: Arrive at Church

Tomorrow morning, 50 plus people will be gathering in the Fellowship Hall for a breakfast to honor and thank those who volunteer to help with worship services - from the parking lot welcoming team, to greeters, ushers, scripture readers, sound board crew members - and the list goes on.

Lent begins next week on Wednesday, February 18. Youth Director Rev. Howie Snyder, members of the Connection Choir and Onward Bound students will be leading a creative Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary.

This Sunday's worship theme serves as a bridge from the season of Epiphany to the start of Lent. Our scripture story, Mark 9:2-9, is often called The Transfiguration, a time when some of Jesus' followers realized they suddenly saw him in a new, and fuller, way and were being prepared to listen to him more deeply.

We had one of those unexpectedly "special" Sundays last weekend, on February 1 - not something designated on the denominational calendar, but definitely decreed by our  Saturday night snowstorm, predicted to turn into our Sunday afternoon near-blizzard.

Of course, many of our congregation were homebound that day, with snow-filled driveways and blocked neighborhood streets.

This Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday and we are part of a culture that associates certain rituals with that day -- notably eating! Chicken wings and pizza are consumed in heavy quantities by individuals and at gatherings -- in fact, Super Bowl Sunday is now second only to Thanksgiving in the amount of food consumed in one day.

Happy New Year!

We hope 2015 is off to a good start for you!

For us, 2014 was a whirl of productivity - and fun. Here's a quick review of what the mission, with support from donors and volunteers, did last year:

• Provided first aid training for local church and community leaders, and gave free, stocked first aid kits;
• Painted the interiors and exteriors of two churches and the interior of a third;
• Provided leadership training for church leaders;
• Seven greenhouses in production - four annual harvests help improve nutrition for poor, rural students who also work in the greenhouses. Schools sell produce to help cover operating costs.
• The cuy (guinea pig) farm sold about 200 cuys, generating about 10.000 Bolivianos, or about $1,500 USD, to help sustain the Sub District. In this area that's a LOT of money. Even more importantly, it teaches and reinforces the notion that INVESTMENT + WORK = INCOME;
• To help make high-protein quinoa accessible again for poor families (price has tripled due to developed nations' demand for the super food), in 2013 the mission gave a kilo of certified quinoa seeds to 120 families who pledged to save 10% of their new seed heads for replanting in 2014, and give 10% to their local churches to help cover the cost of human services they provide for the poor. Families could eat or sell the remaining 80%. Some families sold their new seed heads for planting, meaning that beyond boosting their own protein intake, they also shared the wealth with their extended family, friends and neighbors.
• With donor support, the mission built a church kitchen and community latrine in the village of Chani. By sharing a common wall and water and drainage system, the mission, the congregation, and the community conserved costs.
• A team of adult volunteers from the Northern Illinois Conference brought well over 1,000 pairs of used prescription glasses and new or used readers. In July an NIC youth team distributed the lenses at four community fairs. We matched glasses to an estimated 300 people. Ahhh: the joy of watching someone see the world clearly for the first time in years, maybe decades! We came to call it the Hallelujah Moment.
• The mission and a lot of volunteer workers installed new windows in Iglesia Nueva Esperanza (New Hope Church) in Huacuyo Valley.
• In August, we opened Pan America, a bakery and pizzeria, whose proceeds help support the mission's projects. Our 60- to 70-hour work weeks are tiring but rewarding and delightful. We meet people from all over the world, and continue to marvel at how kind, generous, and good-hearted most people are. Volunteers from the U.S., Uruguay, France and Germany are working with us both at the shop and various construction sites. We'd originally hoped they'd cover for us while we visited the U.S. for Christmas through the end of January. Alas, document problems and money problems obviated our international travel plans. (The recent election of a new Bolivian bishop meant the outgoing one could no longer release our funds to us; the incoming bishop couldn't do so until the second week of January.) Though again postponing a trip home was a big disappointment to us, it seemed impractical to travel to the States for just two or three weeks. In May and June we will attend a stateside training program, and will have some time to see friends and family then. Meanwhile, our January volunteer coverage allows us a chance to enjoy a little free time.
• We and a crowd of volunteers recently trenched for and began pouring concrete for the foundation of a new church in Santa Ana.