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One in Mission

by | Mar 29, 2016 | Volunteers in Mission

By Mike Eyer

One of the Desert Southwest Conference United Methodist Volunteers in Mission goals for 2016 is to develop a list of “open enrollment” mission trips available to all DSC parishioners. Congregations and leaders are organizing mission teams to various locations to do lots of fulfilling and interesting work. Let us know about it. This way we can help you share the mission opportunity and success news. If you are a mission trip organizer or are feeling called to participate in a mission trip, let us know!

The shared mission concept has been growing, with new “open enrollment” trip promotions. Gene Hill from Flagstaff Federated Community Church coordinated a group which worked for a week on February 8-12 at the UMCOR West Depot in Salt Lake City. John and Jennifer Roberts from Dove of the Desert UMC in Glendale have invited participation in their third trip to Nicaragua on October 22-29, 2016. Contact Dove of the Desert UMC for more information.

1Mission.org has proven to be a great collaboration resource for building mission projects between multiple churches. North Scottsdale UMC has used this site. Recently, Gary Larson (Mission Chair at Sierra Vista UMC), Stephanie Noelle Denny (Mission Committee member from FUMC Phoenix), and Mike Eyer (Mission Chair at Spirit of Hope UMC in Peoria) took a group to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico on February 25-28 to participate in a 3-day house build. Greg Poling from St. Marks UMC in Tucson led a group to 1Mission in November last year too. Another 1Mission 3-day house build is in the works for the fall. Some advantages of a 1Mission 3 day build are:

  • Proximity – the 1Mission BaseCamp is 55 miles from Lukeville, Arizona, a 4 hour drive from Tucson or from Phoenix.
  • Brevity – 1Mission builds are scheduled over weekends, so it is possible to do a build without taking much time off of work.
  • Cost – the international mission trip fee of $250 pays for the building materials and includes full use of the 1Mission Base Camp facilities.
  • Fulfillment – handing the keys to home owners on Sunday afternoon is a definite highlight, as is the Saturday night Family Fiesta.
  • Housing – 1Mission has an amazing base camp complete with dormitories for men and women, camping areas, RV hookups, showers, dining area, common area, and even a swimming pool.
  • Nourishment – all three days participants eat Mexican food provided by former home recipients.
  • Inclusiveness – there is no age restriction to volunteer. Families are invited and children get to work.

Building partnerships between our churches is a great way to ensure ministry success. Check out some of the recent mission photos on Facebook. For more information about collaboration or to share your mission trip news, contact me at clnmwe@gmail.com or (623) 810-5600.

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Author: DSC

The Desert Southwest Conference is a diverse and loving organization with open doors to a variety of people and partners in ministry. Celebrating our connection and diversity, we offer various resources. Content on this site includes information from other organizations that may not reflect the official policies or Social Principles of The United Methodist Church or the Desert Southwest Conference.

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