Sunday, July 22, 2007

Written on the road:
As we head back to Blue Spring, MO, we are excited to be home but we would also like to still be in Mississippi with our friends from Costa Rica. We enjoyed a great week of work and did many different jobs.

The times we have had were very amazing. You could ask any of us what our favorite part of the trip was and the answers would be varied. We actually did this and the answers are as follows:

Jack—Finally having the Costa Rica Initiative come to be!

Kathy—Our homeowner-Elaine…flooring team

Jo—Getting the opportunity to meet and work with the Costa Ricans.

Olivia—Making amazing new friends from Costa Rica and meeting other amazing people like Elaine.

Grace—The Costa Ricans…period.

Susan—Easy-The Costa Ricans

Christina—Getting to practice Spanish with the patient and loving Costa Ricans. It was so hard to say good-bye but I knew that I would see everyone in a year in Costa Rica.

LeAnn—Going on a tour with Sally and seeing the damage, also the fellowship.

Katie—Getting to see the Costa Ricans again. I love them and can’t wait to see them next year.

Cheri—When Ms. Josephs called us angels for helping her fix up her house.

Brenda—When we got to see the Costa Ricans and meet new people. The last night in Mississippi was the best!

Jamie—The looks on our homeowners’ faces after we completed our jobs. Also seeing the Crossroads at Hwy 49 and 61 was a fulfillment of a dream.

Mike—Talks with Sarah Harris, a 93 and a half year young lady who had lived her entire life in that area. Getting to know team members and 99 games.

Lori—Sharing the love and friendship with the homeowner we worked with all week was very rewarding. Also the appreciation she had for fixing her house made us feel like we were at the place God wanted us to be this week.

Jacob—The variety of people we have met, and worked with has been great. The genuine gratitude and appreciation for the work we did lightened my heart and made me proud of our mission team. Having the ability to share with others is a great blessing and one that I will always remember.

Christine—Talking to Ms. Harris and when my mom was sent back and us younger girls weren’t, she asked what had happened to her “little girls”. I thought it was so sweet that she appreciated our company so much.

Jan—Seeing our friends from Costa Rica again, and visiting with Ms. Sarah Harris, our first homeowner, who has such a strong faith and is so content despite the hardships that she has endured over the years.

As this is being written, we are really excited to get home and see our families. If you have any questions about our trip, please comment on the post or send a message to Christine. I am willing to answer any questions and if I need to I can pass them along to those who would know.

Please remember to look at our photos on our church site: firstumcbs.org under photo albums.

July 20, 2007

Bittersweet –the only word perfect enough to describe today. We finished an amazing week of work on an amazing woman’s house, but also had to say goodbye to some close friends. The Costa Ricans set off today for their trek back to Atlanta for a relaxing day at Six Flags, then back to Costa Rica. It was our first day working without them and it seemed very quiet and somewhat sad. We miss them. A lot. Thank goodness it wasn’t a real goodbye, but more of just a “see ya later”. Although the distance may seem like a barrier, the anticipation of knowing we will see them again next summer makes it better. We’ve had a great week, made some awesome memories as well as new friends, and are bringing back so much more than we started with. Not a doubt in our minds we’d do it again in a heartbeat. We pray for safe travels tomorrow. We’ve had a great week, but we’re more than ready to get a good night’s sleep in our OWN beds…. God Bless!

Love Always,
Katie Adkins and Grace Hunt


Today was definitely the worst day for me. Saying goodbye to the Costa Ricans was very hard and even though it’s not a “real goodbye” it was still extremely difficult. A morning filled with good food, tears, and many camera flashes. All of the Costa Ricans are filled with so much joy and love. They were always laughing, smiling and telling jokes. I never knew someone that doesn’t even speak the same language as me could make me laugh as much as they do. Today working without them was like there was an empty space. The hammerings were no longer covered by their laughs and their natural warmness that they bring to a room was gone. It just wasn’t the same without them. One of the things that I noticed most this week was how the Costa Ricans kept saying, “Thank you” and “Thank you for this opportunity” but they weren’t the only things to gain something. It was a major win-win situation. I learned so much from them. My favorite thing that Linda, one of the Costa Ricans, said all week was, “Somos Uno” which means, “We are one.” It was so true. We grew together as friends and family and I will never forget any of them. Going home will be great, but not as great as all of the knowledge that we will be taking with us. As one of the managers of the camp says, “May you go with peace and the peace of God be with you, may your heads rest lightly on your pillows and your snores be silent. "

Take care,
Olivia Hunt

Photos at www.firstumcbs.org

Thursday – our fourth day of work.

Starting to see signs of project completion which is a great feeling. Our team (Jamie, Mike, Cheri, Christine, Jan, and Richard) finished our second project and started on our third. We won’t finish this one – but will be able to make progress on Friday. The roof crew from New Jersey finished with the tear off and re-shingling of their house. They started work at 6 am to beat the heat.

Tonight is Wil and Yolanda’s fourth wedding anniversary. We bought them two cards – one in Spanish and one in English (Hallmark comes through again). They went out to dinner and a romantic evening away from the dorm….can’t understand why they wouldn’t want to spend it with such a fun bunch.

The New Jersey team is leaving in the morning to fly back home and the Costa Rican contingent is trekking to Atlanta. We will miss both our old friends from San Isidro as well as our new friends from Morristown. A lot of good fellowship in the evening while sitting in the dining hall after devotions…many games, some late night snacking, and visiting with all. The food and hospitality of the people in Van Cleave and surrounding churches is amazing. They fix our food, entertain us, and run a great operation.

Tomorrow is our last work day and we will start the return to home on Saturday. The week has flown by as it does so many times in this type of endeavor. Even two years after Katrina, the damage and amount of people living in FEMA trailers is unbelievable. The leaders have told us the estimate to recover all of the damage will be twelve years. There is still a huge need for volunteers and contributions to the mission cause. I encourage anyone interested in coming to the gulf coast to see if they could stay and work from the base in Camp Hope. It truly is a blessing for anyone fortunate enough to meet and fellowship with this team of dedicated Christians. My hat is off to them and all of the many volunteers who have been to the gulf coast for mission work.

Costa Rica is always on our minds – Jack has set the date for our next trip (from Blue Springs FUMC) for the last week of July 2008. I am so glad to see all of our Costa Rican friends and only wish that the remainder of the team that did not get visas could be here. I hear that Hugo, Fanny, and Lauren are doing a great job of leading the work.

I look forward to being in San Isidro and at the K37 project next July and am so excited to see the progress the teams have made on the camp this year and look forward to helping complete the project. I also heard of another mission opportunity for anyone interested in contributing to a worthy Costa Rican project. Wil told me that they have received the donation of a Ford F250 four wheel drive with an extended cab. This vehicle is currently in the US and the truck and shipping to Costa Rica has been provided by generous donations. However, there is a need to pay taxes to bring the vehicle into Costa Rica. If anyone is interested in contributing to this worthy cause – contact Wil Bailey.

Bless everyone

Richard Hunt

A little History about the Costa Rica Initiative

By: Jack Marker

In 2005 FUMC had a team of older youth and adults participate in the first international mission trip for youth. On that team our host in San Isidro, Costa Rica was a young American missionary. His name was, and still is, Wil Bailey.

He was a very personable person. He visited with Richard Hunt and me about a dream he had. That dream was to take a team of Costa Ricans to the U.S. He explained that for many years the people of Costa Rica, and his group of people in San Isidro in particular had received the benefit of numerous American mission teams. Teams had built pastors’ homes, summer camps, school buildings, etc. Wil wanted to return the love by taking a group of Costa Ricans to the U.S. He, Richard and I discussed some logistics and said we would begin to see what it would take to bring a group to America.

And what do you know. Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. in 2005. In February 2006, Wil and I talked about the next team from FUMC going to Costa Rica. Wil exclaimed that now the opportunity was looking us in the face to bring Costa Ricans to the U.S. – Katrina Recovery and Repair.

On the 2006 trip Richard and Susan Hunt, Wil and I began to make plans.

Now we fast forward to February of this year. FUMC collectively supported the effort of the Costa Rica Initiative. It would be the first time, which we knew of, that a Missouri UMC would sponsor, support and join a mission team from another country for a joint mission project in the U.S.

Wil couldn’t have been more pleased. His dream was coming true.

And here we are on a joint mission project that FUMC can be proud of. Each member of the Costa Rica team is immensely thankful to FUMC for this opportunity that would probable never had happened. One Costa Rica team member cried when she addressed our team last night because she was so appreciative of FUMC’s effort, support and love for another team of missionaries.

And it doesn’t get any better than that!

We have been having trouble loading pictures to our church’s photo album but we will continue trying as much as we can.—Christine

An interview with a member of the Costa Rica team

We interviewed Christian, a member of the Costa Rica team this evening after two days work. In February 2007, the Costa Rica team began making plans to come to the US. They raised money in their congregation and applied for passports and US visas. In April they found out that half of the team were denied visas, but many of those denied still helped with fundraising for the rest of the team. Felipe paid for his and another member’s passport and visa, but both were denied.

Christian has been married for 3 ½ years and has a two year old daughter named Valeria. He is a high school music teacher and plays guitar and signs very well. He also plays drums and piano. He likes popular and contemporary Christian music. In the future he would like to have a musical group and express God’s love through music in different places. We enjoyed Christian’s talents this evening during devotions.

He wanted to come to the US because he thought it would be a very unique experience and opportunity, and has always had a desire to go help others. This was a good chance to help. He has enjoyed meeting new people, including the people from FUMC who gave him the opportunity to come her, and meeting the resident of the home where his team is working. His favorite job was laying the laminate wood floor.

Interview with Local TV Station http://www.wlox.com/global/story.asp?s=6801988

Photo Album http://www.mychurchphotos.com/AlbumPhotos.aspx?id=30048&album=2030138

July 16 - Gulf Coast Mission Trip

Our first day on the job site was composed of about half Spanish-speaking Costa Ricans and half English-speaking Missourians. I was worried at first about communicating. Once we got started into the work, we all understood the gestures, signs and body language of stirring paint, rolling paint on the ceiling, ripping up carpeting, and do you need water? What first began as a halting attempt at basic communication soon became a fun sharing of each other’s language as we practiced different words.

During a lull in the work in the afternoon we stood around chatting and asked, “What is the Spanish word for bathroom?” “How do you tell between the feminine and masculine forms of words?” and “Do you have slang versions of words?” We were surprised to learn that Linda and Christian from Costa Rica were afraid of insulting us by using expressions or phrases incorrectly.

By the end of the day we had all worked together to paint a kitchen ceiling, lay a laminate floor and remove sheet rock. We were beginning new friendships. Even the homeowner, Miss Elaine, joined us both in working and sharing our life stories.

Link to photo album http://www.mychurchphotos.com/AlbumPhotos.aspx?id=30048&album=2030138

Aspire to Inspire Before You Expire

This was a quote found on a church marquee this afternoon as we drove through Gulfport, MS. We have decided that this is the motto for our trip.

We left Saturday morning and drove to Memphis, where we spent the night at St. Lukes UMC. Highlights of the trip included wildlife sightings. After our first pit stop, one vehicle got stuck at a red light behind a livestock trailer containing two calves and an zebra. Yes, a zebra, stripes and all (see photographic proof). Later in the trip there was an alleged sighting of a one humped camel. No proof is available at this time, but we are going to watch for it on our way home next weekend.

We arrived in Vancleave this evening at dinner time. After meeting the UMCOR representatives we enjoyed barbeque at The Shed. The Shed is made of corrugated metal walls and decorated by dumpster art. Everyone who eats there signs their name on the wall or ceiling. We signed our names on the ceiling along with many others, and Jan enjoyed some piano playing time outdoors.

As of this writing we haven’t yet seen the team from Costa Rica, as they went to a Spanish language worship service. We are looking forward to seeing them soon.

All we know about tomorrow is that breakfast is at 7, and we will start working shortly after that. We look forward to receiving our assignments and getting to work.

Christine Harris

Comments from Pastor Steve on the Pope's criticism of Protestants

Comments from Pastor Steve on the Pope's criticism of Protestants

Friends,

The last few days many of you have been aware of the statement released by Pope Benedict XVI indicating that non Roman Catholic groups are not true churches. This has generated a lot of discussion to say the least!

According to the statement the critical point is Apostolic Succession. This is the Roman Catholic belief that there is an unbroken line of Bishops, beginning with Peter, and continuing to the present. In every case a Bishop experienced the laying on of hands by another Bishop who could trace that line back to the beginning. So, one important aspect of Apostolic Succession is the actual physical contact of the laying on of hands.

Where does that leave us as United Methodist Christians? John Wesley was ordained by a Bishop who was in Apostolic Succession. But, Wesley was not himself a Bishop in the Church of England. After the Revolutionary War ended the Methodist Societies in America were growing rapidly. They were not about to submit to church authority in England . Wesley was convinced that the Methodist Societies in American need to be formed as an independent church.

He prayed and struggled with the question of the authority to carry out the act of Ordination. He had been convinced for many years that authentic Apostolic Ministry had nothing to do with who had physically touched another person. It had to do with faithfulness in preaching, teaching and, practicing the Christian faith.

So, in September of 1784 he laid his hands on Dr. Thomas Coke and set him aside as a Superintendent. He also ordained Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey as ministers. They came to America and along with Francis Asbury, who was ordained by them after their arrival, gave leadership to the young growing church.

We believe that while we are not in Apostolic Succession in the strict sense, that ours is an authentic Apostolic ministry, we are a part of the Church!

I hope to see you at Church this weekend.
Steve Campbell

Here is a link to the artical in the Kansas CIty star in which Pastor Steve is quoted.
http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/185177.html

What is the Costa Rica Initiative?

by Jan Harris

First UMC of Blue Springs has sent two work teams to Costa Rica. During the summer of 2005, we helped build the pastor’s home in San Isidro. In 2006, we worked on two buildings at the Methodist camp at Villa Briceno. We had the pleasure of working with a team from Costa Rica and meeting members of the churches there. They are wonderful people with a great love of God.

Wil Bailey, the missionary that we have worked with in Costa Rica, wanted to bring a team from Costa Rica to the US to experience serving others. He worked with Jack Marker, FUMC’s youth mission trip coordinator, to make that happen. First UMC is sponsoring the team from Costa Rica. This Initiative is a first for our church, and for the Missouri Conference.

On Saturday, July 14, we will leave for Mississippi, where we’ll have the opportunity to work once again with some of our friends from Costa Rica. We will meet them at Camp Hope, an UMCOR facility in Vancleave, Mississippi on Sunday evening. We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new friends.

Look for daily posts here while we are in Mississippi.
















2005 Mission Team







2006 Mission Team

Mission Trip to Shiprock, New Mexico

31 Youth and Adults left June 16 for a week of fun and service at the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico.

Join the fun.

ACTS OF RANDOM KINDNESS

ArkALMIGHTY is a good deeds program that matches up the needs in our congregation with the talents and skills of the members of our church. Gathering the needs of our attendees, then, the members of our church can easily search through the needs and find ways they can help.
Maybe there’s a single mom in your midst who doesn’t know how to teach her son to throw a baseball, or an elderly person who needs a ride to the doctor, or a young couple who would love advice on saving for a home. Maybe there’s a college student who could use help moving into her first apartment, or a widow that could use a helping hand washing her windows, or a recently laid-off worker who could use help polishing up his resume. There are countless needs out there that, up until now, have had no way to be met. But now they do, thanks to ArkALMIGHTY.
Can you balance a checkbook? Can you hang a picture frame? Can you throw a spiral? You might not think of these everyday activities as volunteering, but for the people around you who can’t do them, your ability and your willingness to help is exactly what they need. You’d be amazed how a simple act of kindness can change lives.

Doing kind deeds for others isn’t a new phenomenon. Fourteen years ago, Pastor Steve Sjogren inspired thousands of people to engage in random acts of kindness in his ground-breaking book, Conspiracy of Kindness: A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus with Others. The book ignited a flurry of selfless, unexpected acts of kindness intended to help others understand God’s gift of love and grace to all people.

ArkALMIGHTY takes Sjogren’s ideas one step further by actively seeking out people in need and connecting them with those who are willing to help. Inspired by the themes in the upcoming film, Evan Almighty, ArkALMIGHTY seeks to follow God’s call for Christians to always do good - to friends, to neighbors, to family members, to strangers, even to those who don’t like us.
What makes ArkALMIGHTY unique is that it harnesses the power of the internet to effortlessly match needs with the skill sets of everyday people. The impact of ArkALMIGHTY is boundless – first by meeting the needs within the church, it can easily expand its reach into neighborhoods, communities, and beyond.

http://www.arkalmighty.com/index.cfm?fn=register.searchOrgs&orgID=14536