Meet a Missionary Monday!

Daniel Moran hails from the great Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Though now in Texas, his heart will forever bleed Steelers' black and gold. He's often seen running around church with his wife, Lynette. If you haven't met her, he says to check out Proverbs 31 to learn more about her. Together, they work with UMC Marriage Encounter, and are currently working to complete their writings to be presenting couples on Marriage Encounter weekends. (If you haven't been encountered and are interested in how to make your good marriage better, talk to Dan or Lynette.)

Dan enjoys long strolls down the windy paths of Wimberley, along with other outdoors activities like camping. He's kept a journal from a young age and continues to write when he finds the time. Since adulthood has set in and time often disappears without notice, Dan has become an avid photojournalist. You can usually catch him with his camera in his pocket-- just in case the lighting is just right.

While attending Boston University for his graduate degree in Theology, he stumbled across the Texas girl who would become his wife... and take him halfway across the country into the land of cowboy boots. (He hopes to one day own one of those Texas-sized belt buckles.) While in Boston, as well as in Pennsylvania and here in Texas, Dan has worked predominately with adolescents from a variety of settings. He served as director for a summer meals/camp program in South Boston and has worked in shelters for abused and neglected children for the last three years. Eighteen months of that was with Lynette as house parents of an emergency shelter.

As most of the mission work Dan has participated in has been local, he's looking forward to building relationships with those in a high-need and unfamiliar area-- Haiti. People are one of Dan's favorite things-- interacting with them comes natural, as does his helping spirit. He looks forward to sharing some of his experiences with you upon our return!

Biblical Favorites: "The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper."

Why Travel? Why not just give?

A common question concerning mission work is, "Why not just send the money? Why waste money on traveling that could otherwise go to supplies or other good use?" This is certainly a valid concern. Only when an organization works with care and concern of their finances can they make the most efficient impact-- you know, the most bang for their buck!

The trip cost does include airfare from Austin to Port-au-Prince, but to see that as only airfare does not accurately account for what that money is doing-- airfare does not only get missionaries from point A to point B. It gets them face-to-face to build relationships and share in the experience of love from our community to theirs (and vice versa!)

Perhaps Joseph, the Haitian translator on Margery and Tom's last trip, said it best: "I am grateful because it is hard to live in Haiti, even before the earthquake. It is hard to walk the streets and see the people hungry and searching for something to eat; to see children playing in trash, and water running down the road from the houses. It is hard to live in a place that you love, but that breaks your heart and makes your spirit sink. ... And then there was the earthquake, and everything became much worse. When we watch television we see pictures of other places in the world, and it is easy to believe that Haiti is forgotten. Or that maybe God has made Haiti the world’s trashcan and it’s people don’t matter. I know that isn’t true, but sometimes it is easy to think that. 

"I know that Jesus came for all people, for me and for you; that God loves all people, me and you, and everybody in the world. But it is easy to be discouraged by what you see around you. Sometimes you have to work hard to hold on to hope and to live what your faith tells you. I am thankful for your team and others because by coming you remind us that we matter. When you work with us and talk with us and worship with us, you are saying that it is true – Christ’s love is for EVERYONE." (translated paraphrase)

Thank you for helping us to share Christ's love.

What to Expect...

While we do not yet know what our Haiti mission work site will be, we can share some of the possibilities. Previous work has been completed on a children's home, numerous schools and medical clinics, churches and communities.

Work can range from the rebuilding of walls to the removal of debris, roof-mending and wall-painting to landscaping and plumbing. More details of what UMVIM has completed through December 2010 can be found at: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/media/volunteerdocs/haitiworksiteupdate.pdf

Perhaps most important though are those things not found within the piles of lumber and debris, but within the heart. Each work site utilizes both UMVIM volunteers and Haitian workers. With each trip, more relationships are built and joy is shared among this truly trying situation. Each time we show up, we not only help to build walls but also relationships in hope and in Christ.

Haiti Mission Trip Finalized!

We are excited to announce a total of ten will make the journey to Haiti this May! The group includes: Team Leader Margery Marshall, Marcus McMullin, Gayla McNeill, Jorge Herrera, Rev. Sarah Currie, Rhodes Hinman, Cathy Cunningham, Daniel Moran, Lynette Moran and Tom Rioux (from Westlake UMC).

Margery and Tom traveled last year to Haiti for mission work, and most of the group has experienced the rigor and excitement of missions before. 

Our mission site and details have yet to be determined, but we will fly in to Port-au-Prince on May 12 and fly out on May 19. We will build on the backs of hard work completed by those in the Haitian community and other United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM). 

Please check back often as we update the site regularly with more information leading up to our trip and updates throughout the trip, internet access pending.

For more details on mission opportunities in Haiti, visit www.umvimhaiti.org.