From July 3-13, 2018 eight Volunteers in Mission from Heaters UMC (Wesleyan District) served in the very remote (and very hot!) village of Nueva Covadonga, Guatemala. The team worked on the same construction project as they did in 2017, working alongside locals to reinforce columns on the south side of the village community building in order to support the roof of the structure (in 2017 the columns on the north side of the building were reinforced). In addition to the construction job, according to Dean Cole, team leader, the team also “led VBS for the kids, and had the awesome privilege of visiting several families in their homes. Thanks be to God!”
“I celebrate the Heaters VIM team and their pastor, Dean Cole, for having the courage and faith to get up out of their Sunday morning pews and go out to make a difference in the lives of others,” said Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball. “VIM teams make a difference and in the process of doing ministry and mission with others, not only are the lives of others changed for the good, the team members themselves end up being transformed by the love of God in Christ.”
Bishop Steiner Ball reminds West Virginia United Methodists that there are going to be hundreds of VIM teams needed in the Florida and North and South Carolina areas in the wake of Hurricanes Florence and Michael. “I would encourage every congregation and/or cooperative parish to give thought and prayer to forming a VIM team and traveling to one of these U.S. areas to help in the recovery process,” she said. “As we know, the disaster recovery efforts will take years and the needs will extend far after these disasters disappear from the news headlines. It is our time to ‘pay it forward’ as many teams from these areas came to help us with our flood recovery over the past several years.
If your church is interested in forming a VIM team or needs help doing so, please contact our VIM coordinator, Rev. David Stilgenbauer, at 304-645-5570 or email revdaves@yahoo.com. Click here to view photos from the Heaters VIM trip on our WVUMC Flickr page.