The Bolivia Mission Initiative
Has declared that the month of May 2012 will be known as
MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE MONTH
During this month, please Make a Joyful Noise as often as possible and help us to
CHANGE THE WORLD
For the people of the Methodist Church of Bolivia Central District (Cochabamba and Cotani)
How can we Make A Joyful Noise?
It only takes a few simple steps:
• Designate one or more weeks (or the entire month) as your congregation’s JOYFUL NOISE time and advertise the event to
everyone.
• Get some large metal pots and label them saying “Please make a Joyful Noise and Change the World for disadvantaged
people in Bolivia” and “Drop Your Loose Change Here”.
• Let people know that the Joyful Noise of the coins dropping in the pots is the laughter of Bolivian children. (Also let them
know that currency and check are welcome—the immediate noise they make dropping into the pot is more muted, but the
children’s laughter is just as real.)
• Display these pots around the church and/or circulate them through the congregation during worship immediately after your
regular offering. (Letting your children and youth pass the pots is a great way to get them involved in this mission.)
• Send a check for the total collected, payable to Susquehanna Conference and designated for Conference Advance # 63654-
Bolivia Mission Initiative, to Bob & Ginny Stevenson, Bolivia Mission Coordinators, 714 Ash Court, Lebanon, PA 17042 or to
the Susquehanna Conference Treasurer. Unless indicated otherwise with your submission, funds will be split where needed
most between the School Supplies and Mustard Seed programs described below.
How will this Change the World?
For the Children
• Funds are used to purchase school supplies for children in Methodist Church daycare, Sunday-
School and after-school mentoring programs.
10 years ago, poor Cochabamba families considered themselves fortunate to have a “family pencil”—one writing instrument shared by all the children striving to learn to write, as well as their parent(s). When the first Encounter with Christ Volunteers in Mission team arrived in 2002 and led a VBS, Ginny Stevenson put a white paper and crayon in front of a young girl. The girl simply stared, having no idea what to do with these items, until Ginny marked a spot on the paper. What followed was the dawning of whole new world for this girl, who spent hours happily filling the paper with “pictures” only she could produce. Each of the 15 Encounter VIM teams going to Bolivia since 2002 collected from congregations here at home and carried with it school supplies and other materials for use by Cochabamba’s children. However, this year the airlines are charging a fee of $70 for each suitcase of these items the team might carry to Bolivia. Faced with this excessive cost,
the Team will not collect school supplies here at home but is requesting contributions of funds that can be used to purchase these important items in Bolivia.
For all the People of the Central District
• Funds are used for the Encounter with Christ Mustard Seed Program, to start or expand self-help programs that will improve
the economic and social situation for members of Methodist Churches and surrounding communities.
Funding for this program has grown from about $600 in 2002 to approximately $4,000 in recent years. Recently funds
were used to:
- Support three indigenous young adults from Cochabamba Methodist Churches studying at seminary in Argentina.
- Purchase of playground and nursery equipment for daycare programs at two of the Churches.
- Support the evangelism, children’s and women’s programs in the newly organized and rapidly growing Luz de Vida
(Light of Life) congregation.
Programs to be supported in 2011 will be determined during the VIM Team’s trip (June 21 – July 7) and depend upon
Central District needs and fund raised.
For more information about this program or other aspects of the Bolivia Mission Initiative, please contact Bob & Ginny Stevenson at
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or (717) 279-7213.
THANK YOU FOR
MAKING A JOYFUL NOISE
AND
CHANGING THE WORLD
FOR THE PEOPLE OF BOLIVIA
Dear Friends,
The Bolivia Mission needs your help in getting the 2012 VIM Team finalized. While we would love to have each of you come back for another trip to reach out to our Bolivian family, we know that will not happen (and we would have to charter a large jet for the trip is all 147 previous Bolivia VIM's were to join 2012 team along with some first-timers). However, high fuel prices and other economic factors have drastically affected the commercial airline market, resulting in fewer flights and therefore fewer seats available as well as increased fares and fees. Given this, we are operating in an unusually restrictive time frame for finalizing our team under the group-travel contract with the airline--a balancing act needed to ensure enough seats are available for the group at the discounted group fare while avoiding the forfeiture of our deposit if we don't use all the spaces set aside for us. Although the Team is not scheduled to leave for Cochabamba until June 21, we have a deadline coming up in less than two weeks, at which time we need to tell the airline how many seats to continue to set aside for us. Right now we: don't have enough firm registrations to qualify for the group rate, but have enough people "discerning" whether they will make the trip that, if they were all to join us, we would need to try to get more seats set aside very quickly.
On top of this, we are short on the number of "rookies" joining the team--those very important people who will strengthen the Bolivia Mission and help carry it into the future. We are working diligently on recruitment, and have even reached outside the two sponsoring conferences. However, If we are not able to determine by March 18 that we have applications or firm commitments to join the team from six more New York and Susquehanna people, we probably will have to cancel this-year's trip. Faced with this we are asking you to please take the following actions in support of this special Mission:
1. If you are feeling a call to return to Bolivia, but are still "discerning" whether this is the year, please enlist as many people as possible (including us) to pray with you on this so that if God's answer is "Go" you can let us know on a timely basis.
2. If you know anyone (previous Bolivia VIM or neophyte) who may be interested in joining the team, approach them now about the possibility and proceed with them as in number 1 above if they feel the call.
3. Consider your ability to support someone else who wants to join the team but faces financially difficulties and provide help as your situation permits.
• If you know the interested person, provide direct financial support and/or assist them in fundraising.
• If you don't know someone who wants to go, consider a financial contribution to the Bolivia Mission Scholarship Funds, which have become depleted in the past few years. You can do this by sending us a check payable to "UM Foundation" (for New York Conference) or to "Susquehanna Conference, UMC", or by sending us a pledge and letting us advise you when the need for your payment arises.
Most importantly, please pray for the success of the VIM Team and the Mission.
The PDF below contains the application form for the 2012 VIM Team and the related Mission Policy Agreement. Thanks for all you do in support of this Mission,
Love,
Chris Freeman, 2012 Bolivia VIM Team Co-Leader/Registrar for the New York Annual Conference,
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(please cc:
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)
Ginny Stevenson, 2012 Bolivia VIM Team Co-Leader/Registrar for the Susquehanna Annual Conference,
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(please cc:
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)
Application & Mission Policy Agreement - PDF
The Bolivia Mission Initiative of the Susquehanna Conference is partnering with its counterpart in the New York Conference to form a United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Team to work with our brothers and sisters of the Bolivia Methodist Church Central District. You are invited to be part of this exciting opportunity to spread God’s love.
Encounter with Christ in Bolivia - Cochabamba, Bolivia
Date: Thursday, June 21 – Saturday July 7, 2012
Cost: $2,500
Total cost includes: Airfare to/from Bolivia, visa, in-country transport, room & board, other mission activities.
It does NOT include: Passport cost, inoculations, transport between home & departure airport, personal costs
Deposit Required: $250 - (The deposit holds your place and is refundable until March 30, 2012)
Contact: Ginny Stevenson, Bolivia Mission (717) 279-7213 /
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or
Bob Stevenson, (717) 279-7213 /
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Bolivia Mission Initiative, June 23 through July 9, 2011 Wrap-up
If you have any questions please contact:
Bob Stevenson
E-mail:
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Representing the New York, Susquehanna and Blatimore-Washington Conferences.
Wrap-Up Report from the June/July 2011 VIM Team
Sunday, August 14
The 2011 Bolivia VIM Team has been back for for five weeks, and we’d like to wrap up our reporting for this year by sharing some thoughts of various team members about two questions:
What was my most memorable experience from the trip?