Grace in Mission

Liberia Mission Trip - Grace Team as Teachers

In addition to the A+ program, the team shared information/education on HIV/Aids, Conflict resolution and Family Planning. 

Imagine a classroom with woven palm panel walls, no overhead light, and dirt covered concrete floors. 

Imagine students so eager to learn they all want to sit at the front of the class. 

Imagine both teachers and students speaking English, but with differing accents and making listening by both parties key to understanding.

Imagine students role playing out the reality of their lives, negotiating and knowing that decisions they make could easily be life and death in the world of HIV/Aids.

Imagine students sharing about the reality of growing up in war and trying to cope with what they have lived through and how to be positive productive members of their community.

Imagine a young women asking what will happen to her child, if the child has HIV and  answering compassionately, but truthful.

Imagine sharing information about our body’s systems and the students understand and you must dispel myths of a campus teacher.

Imagine students that stay for more than hour after class ends to copy poster information completely on their own, as they want to know more, learn more.

Imagine students greeting the team with beautiful music.

Imagine a classroom where children of the students nurse or play outside while class is being held.

Imagine the best “recess” anyone could witness; youth proudly wearing their new uniforms, sharing their soccer skills.

Imagine 40-50 students in one class.

Imagine shouting HELLO to get the attention of students and they reply hello and immediately going on with presenting information,

Imagine the opportunity that Grace UMC of Olathe has provided to team members to share and grow in their faith through out the World.

 

JUST imagine the possibilities that lay ahead for each of these students as they continue to learn skills at BFC and CESPRO under the guidance of Frido Kinkolenge and his staff,

JUST imagine.

Contributed by Cindy Hahn

Liberia Mission Trip School Visits

The United Methodist Church is known as a champion for children and the poor.  Education is a hallmark of many a United Methodist mission.  True to this calling, The Liberian United Methodist Church sponsors several schools in and around Monrovia, the capital city.  The Grace mission team was able to tour four of these schools. 

Imagine a classroom lit by a single bulb, blackboards so overused that chalk is almost unreadable, no library, no playground equipment, and a cafeteria consisting of tables set up under an open air thatched canopy.   The John Lewis Morris Memorial School serves approximately 1,000 students in pre-kindergarten through grade twelve in a poor neighborhood near Monrovia.  Of the one hundred twenty-six seniors in the class of 2011, one hundred six passed the national exit exam, earning their diplomas, and eligibility to sit for college entrance exams this fall.  The school also provides after school hours classes two days a week for neighborhood children who cannot afford the school fees.

After bidding JL Morris Memorial farewell, we traveled to the JJ Roberts School in Monrovia.  Arriving, we were struck by the brilliant yellows and blues of the campus.  Classrooms were bright, desks in generally good repair, blackboards, while still overused, were readable, a library was well-stocked, and plans for a computer lab were underway.  Under the guidance of Principal Samuel K. Sagbeth, JJ Roberts has risen to be the premier UM-sponsored school in Monrovia.  Similar to JL Morris, JJ Roberts serves approximately 1,000 students, pre-kindergarten through grade twelve.  90% of the students graduate and 95% of the graduates go on to college.  Students at JJ Roberts are expected to do international travel and benefit from a unique relationship, forged by Principal Sagbeth, with the United States Embassy.  US Embassy personnel come to the school weekly to teach conventional English pronunciation, American culture, and provide resources to the school.  Like the JL Morris school, the JJ Roberts staff provide afterschool classes three days a week for area children who cannot afford to enroll.

The third school we visited was the College of West Africa on the campus of the United Methodist University of Monrovia.  This was the premier high school of the United Methodist church until 1995, when JJ Roberts opened its high school department.  The College of West Africa now has an enrollment of approximately 460 students.  The class of 2011 graduated one hundred seventeen seniors.

Hope School for the Deaf is United Methodist-sponsored and led by Rev. David Worlobah.  After the government-run school was destroyed in the war, Bishop Innis challenged Rev. Worlobah in 2008 to do something to educate the deaf students.  Housed in a room about the size of a two car garage, fifty-two students from pre-kindergarten through young adulthood attend academic classes in the mornings.  In the afternoons, approximately eleven students stay for vocational training, which currently consists of shoe-making.  While the school has practically no resources—no books, few desks, one shoe-making machine; they have great dreams—dreams for a library, dreams for computer-based instruction, dreams for sewing machines, and, of course, they have lots of  hope for the future of Liberia and Hope School for the Deaf.

Contributed by Robin Olson

A+ Curriculum for Liberia

The idea for using computer-based literacy curriculum arose from seeing it work at our Mission Center, Center of Grace, for high school completion.  Since Liberia’s schools were inactive during the war due to the violence overwhelming the population, there is a generation of children who missed their chance at education – many of whom were forced to fight in a horribly inhumane war.  Frido’s programs are helping approximately 250 children at a time to reclaim a future by learning a trade.  There is some literacy training, but classes are large and geared for the whole, not the individual student.  A+ Curriculum is a natural fit so that many can learn at a time and at a pace they set.

God provided the funding of over $28,000 through Grace members and Grace Extravaganza plus the help of our friends at Step-Up Diploma Program at Center of Grace.  The curriculum was taken to Liberia on two small flash drives as well as loaded onto two new laptop servers purchased for this purpose.  God provided the team members who could do the technical work as well in Aaron Norton and David Love.  Thanks to their work and computers donated by Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services and sent in the container that arrived in 2010, plus four other refurbished computers from Dr. Nevin Waters, Frido’s dream is being fulfilled.  As he quickly learned how to work the program and saw the possibilities it presented, he began to plan how to implement the education.  First his teachers will all be asked to complete the 1-8 grades of reading, vocabulary, language arts and math; the students will be next.  The future is opening up to these young people because of Grace UMC.

Contributed by Lois Waters

 

Grace's Alternative Gift Fair 2009

Grace's Alternative Gift Fair brought good news this year. At a time when giving is down and many charities are suffering, our generosity actually brought in more funds than ever before! Over $12,000! Our  gifts supported a variety of needs in the world, from our own backyard to our brothers and sisters around the globe.

From UMCOR coffee and chocolate supporting small farmers in Latin America to urban farmers in Kansas City growing food in neighborhoods where grocery stores have disappeared, through Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture. From goats to support families in Haiti to local agencies such as Spofford, SAFEHOME and Society of St. Andrew. 

Locally, we gave to support our Community Dinner, our Love Fund, which provides rent and utility assistance for our neighbors in need. We provided bilingual Bibles and Sunday School supplies for our Hispanic Ministries  and summer sack lunches for children in Olathe.

World-wide, we provided support to Give Ye Them To Eat, the development project of our missionaries in South Central Mexico. Ten Thousand Villages brought beautiful handicrafts from around the world. We also enjoyed our  guests, Shirley and Joe Edgerton, who just returned from serving for 2 years in Haiti. They brought hand carved angels from the island and told wonderful stories of their work. We gave gifts to provide 28  goats and additional funds for education scholarships in Haiti. And for our new friends in Liberia, we provided gifts to plant 675 rubber  trees to provide sustainable income to Camphor Mission school, and over $2,000 in education scholarships.

On behalf of the many people that will be raised up by your gifts, many thanks for choosing to give in the spirit of the real meaning of Christmas!

Community Dinner

 

I would like to take this time to inform all the members of Grace United Methodist Church
of our community dinner.  If it would not have been for Nanette telling us about the community dinner I would not have taken the time to go and see what it was all about......

It has been rewarding for me to serve the people of our community through our community dinner program at Grace United Methodist Church.
 Since my starting at that time we grew from about 30 people to last Wednesday we served 180 people. Several people from our church has volunteered their time to help prepare and serve their community and found it rewarding...If you would be interested in volunteering we would love to have you.....If interested call Ron Vochatzer at 768-6905 or on his cell at 963-0010 and give it a try, you'll be glad you did.......God willing, see you there....

 

Ron Vochatzer

Grace Team travels to Liberia

A team of 13 traveled to Liberia on July 19 and returned home on August 5.  The team consisted of persons from three United Methodist Churches, led by Rev. Dr. Ken Lutgen of Blue Ridge Boulevard UMC in Raytown, MO.  The five persons from Grace UMC were Rev. Nanette Roberts, Cindy Hahn, Kyle Reynolds, Patty Baker and Lois Waters.

The team led workshops for young adults in three locations:  Kakata City, about an hour outside of Monrovia in a program for street girls; in Buchanan to Brighter Future Children Rescue Center to a co-ed group who are ex-combatants and most are homeless; and to Camphor Mission, a United Methodist boarding school and home of a project to work with girls who are trying to escape a tribal lifestyle.

Three teachers in the group led teacher training workshops, while the two pastors in the group led training for District Superintendents.  Other workshops led by the rest of the team were on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, family planning and sex education, self-sustainability, and conflict management.

The reality of what war can do to a country and its citizens was very evident in the students.  Education was suspended for 15 years while the country was in the midst of brutal conflict; infrastructures and families were destroyed.  The students the team worked with were between the ages of 15 and 22 and were learning to read and write.  Most could write their names but few were capable of fluent writing.  They were bright and anxious to learn but had few resources.  Classrooms had chalk boards and desks that seated three to a bench with a board for a desk top.  All notes were copied from the chalk board onto notebook paper.  The school at Camphor Mission had textbooks but they were kept in the school library.

As Grace UMC begins to work toward having a Peace Academy, beginning with 7 year old children, the impact of seeing what a war can do to a society is crucial.  Humankind cannot be kept down, but the reality of life is that it will take a generation to rebuild what formerly was successful and produced a good life for most citizens.  There is currently 85% unemployment, half the population was killed over the span of the war, and few are over the age of 25.  There is no electricity or water system, however the remains of both are evident.

As is usual with Mission Teams, we returned with determination to help as we are able, to assist the church to build a new future.  The force of Jesus Christ was apparent in the programs being produced, the worship attended and the work of UM missionary, Frido Kinkolenge, a former Missioner of Hope from the Congo.  There is hope because of Christ and Christians all over the world.  Hope in a hopeless place is a miracle to behold.  We are grateful to God for letting us see it and the opportunity to participate in building a future for those in Liberia.

Lois Waters
Grace team member

2008 at Center of Grace

United Community Services is doing a survey for the Johnson County human services agencies. They asked me to get the numbers of people that we served at the Center of Grace last year, in certain categories. I wanted to share these with you. 

We helped 26 households with rent and utilities, 126 households with boxes of food, and 2680 households through our clothes closet. When I added it up the number of families that we helped just with through these three programs was 2832. Isn't that amazing and that does not include community dinners, health screenings, ESl or Step Up. WOW. We certainly touch a lot of lives in Jesus' name.

contributed by Pastor Sylvia Romero

Alternative Gift Fair a Success

The 4^th annual Grace UMC alternative gift fair was held at the Ridgeview campus the Sunday morning after Thanksgiving.  More than $10,000 was raised for organizations located here and around the world.  Organizations which benefited include: 10,000 Villages; Heifer Project International; Give Ye Them To Eat, Mexico; Spofford House, Kansas City; Methodist Missions in La Gonave, Haiti; Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture; and Grace UMC’s own projects: Summer Sack Lunch program, Hispanic Ministries, and the Love Fund, which provides emergency rent and utility assistance to families in Olathe.  Fair Trade coffee and chocolate were also sold, with sales for these products totaling $685.

 

            It is estimated that 150 to 200 persons or families participated in this year’s alternative gift fair.  The Missions Commission would like to say Thanks to one and all for your prayers, presence, gifts, service and stewardship for this important annual event!

 

Contributed by Lisa Rohrbaugh

Flu Shots at Center of Grace!

A donation of flu vaccine was made available to Center of Grace by Olathe Medical Center to give free to those who hadn't yet received the vaccine.  The volunteer nurses, translators and clerks who regularly do Health Screenings on Wednesday evening, signed up to help and people responded in droves.

 

Penny Chura gave about 100 vaccinations on Tuesday morning, December 9, 2008, with help from Monica Gutierrez and Lois Waters.  People from English classes at the Center, Step-Up diploma program, and others passing through the building, formed lines and were excited to have the opportunity.

 

Wednesday evening, December 10, nurses Stephanie Buss, Lisa Pope and Diane Diedrich lined people up in a meeting room at Center of Grace while Elizabeth Canabal and Kim Noeth took names and organized the crowd for the vaccinations.  While it seemed like organized chaos, over 100 more people received vaccinations against influenza.  Nurse Lisa Pope said, "I told my family all I did was swab, stick, swab, stick continuously for over an hour.  It was great."

 

While all this was happening in a meeting room, adjacent in Fellowship Hall, over 150 people were being fed by Community Dinners.  Center of Grace is not only a 'happening place,' it is a safe haven and blessing for hundreds of people. 

 

Another round of vaccinations may be coming up in the future, pending publicity and organization.  We'll keep you posted!

Contributed by Lois Waters

Round-Up for Hunger - 2008

The Bishop's Round-Up for Hunger drive at Grace was successful another year! 

 

Missions Commission combined the donations of money for food given between the Kansas East Conference Round-Up for Hunger and food grants for food pantries in our area.  Sunday School classes and individuals contributed layettes, health kits and school kits with a few odds and ends of diapers and baby items for good measure.  The contributions taken to Round-Up were as follows:

 

Food Brought to round-up                         $1150
Food Distributed locally                              1780
Layettes  (11)                                            $330        

Disposable Diapers  (1)                                $20     
Health Kits   (16)                                       $320    

School Kits   (15)                                        $225    

Cash for scholarships in Mexico,

Haiti, and food grants in Kansas                $1000

Total                                                        $4825

 

Many youth from throughout the Conference spent the night in Lawrence to learn about hunger issues, and generally have fun at a lock-in.  Two youth from Grace attended.  The morning of Round-Up, November 15, 2008, they gathered at the Fairgrounds in Lawrence and as the cars, trucks and pick-ups lined up to contribute their churches' donations, the youth and sponsors unloaded each one as they passed through the barns, only taking minutes to do the job.  Goods were divided between United Methodist agencies who had sent trucks to pick up the boxes to take home and distribute to the people who need them most. 

 

Communion is especially meaningful as the Bishop blesses the communion elements and the donations brought to help the poor.  The youth sing and help with communion along with the persons who have brought donations.

 

Final count of donations from all the 300+ churches in the Conference is not available yet as of this writing, but will be greater than $250,000.  Thank you to all who have helped by giving to the poor.