Missions

Third Annual Mission Trip

Plans are underway for the FUMC third annual Katrina Hurricane Relief mission trip, August 24 through 30. We will be staying in Waveland, Mississippi and working in Hancock County.

Why Are We Going? In Hancock County, 70% of the homes were severely damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. By the numbers, 10,900 homes were destroyed; 3,600 homes suffered major damage; 1,800 homes suffered minor damage. 230 people died in Mississippi (1,300 died overall). FEMA received over 500,000 registrations just in Mississippi. There are still 100,000 Mississippians living in FEMA trailers. The United Methodist facility from which we will receive our work assignments describes The Focus as follows: “Our focus going forward is three-fold: complete the construction of our mission camps, raise more funds forcontinued efforts, and find ways to continue the amazing response of volunteers from around the country.”

The Goals: “Restore persons who lack resources to safe, permanent homes as soon as possible. Be attentive to and, where possible, address spiritual, emotional, and other needs of these persons. Affirm, encourage, and offer support to local churches in the recovery effort. Organize and deploy volunteers to maximize recovery to extend beyond what congregations can accomplish on their own. Partner with other organizations where possible to enhance efforts. Tell the story; keep people abreast of the amazing work being done by local churches and United Methodist volunteers.” The overall goal - “get the family back into a safe, sanitary, and secure home.”

The Priorities: Single parents with minor children in the home; large families where usual financial aid will not be enough; disabled persons; elderly persons. It’s not too late to sign up if you’re interested in joining us. If you can’t join us but want to help out, we would certainly appreciate your prayers for the planning and execution of our trip and any financial assistance you might feel led to contribute for our travel and lodging. We appreciate the support our church continues to provide to the team for this ongoing, important mission. Contact Danielle Brown, 623-1956 or daniellehbrown@bellsouth.net.

Mosaic Mission

It is exciting to know that God meets us where we are in life. Five college-aged students were able to experience God’s presence through a mission trip to the Paintsville/Prestonsburg area. Our primary task was to work on the roofs of houses, that were in various levels of need. It was exciting to see the progress made despite the 90 - 95 degree heat. Be proud of these adults, they worked hard. Not only did they get to roof houses, they were able to share Jesus’ love with the people who owned these houses. If you have a minute seek out Autumn Maynard, Quinten Maynard, David Anderson, Kristy Portwood or Ashley McGee and ask how the trip was and what was done. There are many stories that could be told.

This trip would not have been possible without your prayers and support. In two months, Mosaic was able to raise about $2,500 which covered the cost of the mission trip and Ichthus Festival. Thank you for your generosity and thank you to Mosaic for their hard work that helped them earn the money. God is good!

Youth Appalachia Mission trip

In June, middle and high school students from Emerge traveled to Eastern Kentucky to work with Christian Appalachian Project on our summer mission trip. We thought we would be serving elderly families but instead were assigned by CAP to work with their housing projects. Our group split up into three teams to work on different homes. One team had the "privilege" of scraping six layers of shingles off of a roof. Another team restored a living room for a family with two children. The third team not only re-shingled a house, but also replaced the vinyl siding.

One thing the three teams had in common was that the light of Jesus was shared through our words and deeds. I do not say this lightly: FUMC, you were well represented by our youth in Eastern Kentucky. Our students made me proud, over and over again. I overheard students sharing their faith with the families. I saw our students share the love of Jesus through words, gifts and hugs. And one of our students had the blessing of teaching someone how to pray. So again, we thank all of you that supported our mission trip with your prayers and gifts!

One of the highlights of the mission trip was serving with a band from Los Angeles named Destination Seven. The band members led worship at our camp each evening and worked with us throughout the week. And so it was an awesome privilege to turn around and see them play at Ichthus!

Gulf Coast Mission Trip Report

In mid-March, Gene, Beth, Ben and Jonathan Kleppinger, Courtney Tennill and Amanda Wheeler, spent our Spring Break in Mobile, Alabama, helping to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. We all worked on different stages in the layout, framing and roofing of five houses in the Cedar Point neighborhood. Other teams on the same project that week came from Illinois and Alabama. We stayed a few miles from the project at Christ United Methodist Church, which routinely offers lodging and kitchen privileges to work teams. We had a very successful mission trip and we thank our church for supporting us with your prayers and finances!

Gene Kleppinger

Summer Mission Trip

Benjamin Kleppinger has been accepted by Mission Discovery for summer of 2008. During June and July he will be helping to lead house-building and Vacation Bible School in Mexico, South Dakota and Guatemala. His expenses at these sites are covered by Mission Discovery, but he will need extra funds for his travel. You can read more about his journey of mission work at http://benkeppinger.blogspot.com

Please remember him in your prayers! To support him financially through FUMC, note "Ben Kleppinger" on the memo line of your contribution.