United Methodist Youth Invited to Mission Trips
United Methodist young people will have opportunities, beginning
in 2006, to participate in mission trips to Zimbabwe, the Philippines,
Alaska, Costa Rica and Chile.
The National Association of United Methodist Scouters and
the
Office of Civic Youth Serving Agencies/Scouting of the
General Commission on United Methodist Men will sponsor "The
Colours of the Church Mission Adventure Series." These special
mission adventures are for youth connected with Boy Scouts of America,
Girl Scouts of the USA, Camp Fire USA and 4-H.
The purpose of the trips is to provide youth with opportunities
to grow in their faith and understanding of different ltures.
Two mission trips in summer 2006.
The Reverend Dr. Art Collins will lead a mission adventure to
Africa University in Zimbabwe. A clergy member of South Indiana
Annual
Conference, Collins has served as Conference Scouting Coordinator.
In 2001, he served as the adviser for the "Trip of the Millennium," taking
youth from south Indiana to Tanzania to train future leaders
of United Methodist Scouts and Guides. He has also served as
head chaplain for the 1997 National Boy Scout Jamboree in Virginia,
and on the faculty at Philmont Training Center, a Boy Scout facility
in New Mexico.
The second mission opportunity in the summer of 2006 will be to
the Philippines. The Reverend Noah Panlilioa, a clergy member of
the Northern Illinois Conference, will lead the trip. Panlilioa
was born and raised in Manila, Philippines before migrating to
the United States. He is an expert in Philippine culture, history,
language and religion. He is also a big supporter of scouting ministries
having served as head chaplain at the 2001 National Boy Scout Jamboree
in Virginia. He is excited about sharing his homeland with scouting
youth. Noah is an experienced mission leader and has led volunteers
in mission on several trips to the Philippines where both lay and
clergy, adults and youth have participated in mission projects
and skills training.
Two trips in summer 2007
During the summer of 2007 Charlotte Barker will lead the third
mission opportunity to Alaska. Barker has an extensive background
in scouting ministries particularly Girl Scouts of the USA
where she has served as a volunteer for 35 years. She also has
been
director of the American Indian Education Foundation with the
National Relief Charities. Barker is also a longtime supporter
of youth ministry in the United Methodist Church. Currently
residing in South Carolina, she has served the church at the local,
district
conference and jurisdictional levels. Charlotte has been a
mission tea m leader leading youth to Brazil and also leading Girl
Scout
trips to Alaska.
Also during the summer of 2007, Mr. Gil Hanke will lead a mission
trip to Costa Rica. He has taken 15 "Partners in Mission" trips
to Haiti, one trip to Siberia and five trips to Costa Rica. His
primary focus during these trips has been to provide assistance
and training for children with hearing impairments and other disabilities
that affect communication and swallowing. Gil has worked closely with the United Methodist Church and Rotary
to make these trips successful. He has also served as a volunteer
on a United Methodist local, district, conference, and national
levels. He has served as president of the Texas Conference United
Methodist Men and is immediate past president of the National Association
of Conference Presidents.
One trip in 2008
During the winter of 2008, Mr. Bob Chase will lead our last mission
adventure to Chile. Bob will be teaming up with the Upper Room
to provide another mission opportunity for young people. He
is a former member of the Virginia Conference Board of Laity and
a former Conference Scouting Coordinator. He has participated
in two Volunteer-in-Mission trips to the Dominican Republic.
Currently, Bob is the president of the National Association
of
United Methodist Scouters and is also a member of the General
Commission on United Methodist Men.
The leaders for these Colours of the Church Mission Adventures
are experienced youth leaders and well acquainted with the mission
areas.
The Colours of the Church poster and mission application form
are posted on the web at umcscouting.org. The Colours of Church
program is coordinated by Dr. Karen Heim Baugh. If more information,
contact her at umcscoutmission at aol dot com
Rick Hunt
Boy Scout Troop and Venture Crew 62, Sunrise UMC
UMC Rocky Mountain Conference Scouting Coordinator
E-mail: rmcumcscouting at yahoo dot com
Troop Home Page: http://www.troop-62.com
Church Home Page: http://www.sunriseumc.com
UMC Scouting Home Page: http://www.umcscouting.org
More information and color flyers are available on the rmcumc.org
web site:
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