What is VIM?
UMVIM stands for "United Methodist Volunteers in Mission."
- VIM provides a constructive response to disasters and hardships.
- Short term volunteer teams are sent out to do construction and spiritual formation projects for people and places in need
- Teams do some of God's hard work, reaching out as the hands and eyes of Christ.
- Is a spiritual journey for the volunteers - even on construction sites, regardless of skill levels.
- Accomplishes tasks that might not otherwise get done. When others move on, VIM keeps working.
- Provides real-life experience in the stewardship of life, love and resources.
- Gives Hope to the hopeless and a chance to develope relationships with those who we go to help. Opportunites are formed and new programs and dreams fulfilled for a better life.
2009 Destination!
Volunteers in Mission Team to Serve in Kenya
On May 16, 2009, five members of Metropolitan will depart for Kenya, Africa.
Our VIM team will be in Kenya for two weeks working at Nakuru United Methodist Church helping to build a boarding school. The school is a life-line for over 300 children who would not otherwise be able to have either an education or a safe and secure place to live. This boarding school is the first of its kind in the United Methodist Church in Kenya.
Construction assistance is needed for the classroom buildings, dormitories and miscellaneous structures. Our team also will have the opportunity to teach, play with, and care for the children.
VIM participants are required to pay their own travel, lodging, and personal expenses.
VIM team members include Beverly Fleming, Karen Howard, Geoff Jacobi, Randy Oberdick, and Hayley Vause.
“This will be my 6th VIM trip and my second visit to Africa. I remember with a mixture of joy and sadness, our VIM trip to Zimbabwe. Africa has always had a very special place in my prayers, ever since my youth when I first heart about missionary efforts there. Turns out that the county is even more beautiful than I had thought and fraught with many more problems today. I look forward to teaching math to the students and sharing this beautiful county with my fellow missioners.” -Beverly Fleming
“The opportunity to travel to Kenya with VIM was presented to me in a New Member class last fall, and I knew instantly I wanted to be a part of that experience. I am thrilled to be representing MMUMC overseas, and feel so blessed to have found a Church and Congregation like ours. We will be assisting at an orphanage, and touching the lives of many little children, as I am sure they will touch ours. Thank you to all who have supported our VIM Team, and I can only ask for continued support and prayers on our journey.” -Hayley Vause
“As in Palestine and Nicaragua, much of the focus of this trip is on the children. Spending time with the kids, especially the orphans, will hopefully be as rewarding for them as it will be for us. Nakuru is a world away, but there is already a strong UMC presence, including a newly built Methodist school. I hope we can contribute to that effort and also demonstrate that Americans, and in particular Methodists, are able to put material pursuits aside and just “be” with others.” -Geoff Jacobi
“I am excited about going to Kenya, Africa as this will be my fourth VIM trip. I look forward to meeting people from another culture and working with the children at the United Methodist Camp and Boarding School in Nakuru, north of Nairobi, Kenya. In addition, it will be an awesome experience for me to see African wildlife.” -Karen Howard
The VIM team returns home on May 29. Please keep the team in your thoughts and prayers. They will share reflections from their trip later in the year.
Planning for the 2010 VIM trip will begin in early fall. Those interested should contact VIM program chair, Anne P. Brown at annepbrown@hotmail.com.
Yours in Christ, Anne Brown
Previous Mission Teams
August 2007 - Costa Rica
Our Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team will be volunteering at the United Methodist Camp in Villa Briceno, Costa Rica, which is located near the Panamanian border near Golfito, C.R. We will be working with a full-time builder and three construction assistants to rebuild—out of steel and concrete—cabins that were originally built out of wood. In addition to construction, our team will attend worship services on Tuesdays and Thursdays and volunteer at the local elementary school across the street. Read more about the trip and meet the team members!
May 2007 - Pass Christian, Mississippi
Our Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team returned to Pass Christian, Mississippi to work on homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Read the blog!
June 2006 - Holy Land
In the summer of 2006, a team of us travelled to The Holy Land for mission. Meet the team who travelled to the Holy Land
Read Blog
July 2006 - Mississippi
Also in the Summer of 2006, a team led by Dr. Frank Trotter travelled to Mississippi to work in Pass Christian. Read Blog
Letter of thanks from Mississippi Governor | read |
2005 - Rosebud Sioux Reservation
The Rosebud Sioux Reservation is located in south central South Dakota and borders the Pine Ridge Reservation on its northwest corner and the state of Nebraska border to the It is home to the people of the Rosebud, Crow Creek, Lower Brule and Spirit Lake Nation Reservations.
2004 Zimbabwe
Led by Ann Michel, the eleven person team wrote a journal of their experiences at Africa University, the Old Mutare Orphanage, and more. read
2003 - Russia
Overview of our mission experience in a Russia orphanage. more
