value for the first time in their lives.

I was able to visit the Taj Mahal, which was the most beautiful building I have ever seen. However, it wasn’t as special an experi-ence to me as flying “kite-runner” kites with slum children. The people of India, and especially those at Truthseekers, embraced me as one of their own, as I joyfully embraced the low-caste people as my own, and we all recognized our brotherhood and sister-hood in the family of God’s Kingdom.

By Kevin Portwood

From Aug. 3-13, I traveled to New Delhi, India, with nine other students from The Wesley Foundation of Austin to serve with a group named Truthseekers (truthseekersinternational.org). Truthseekers is an organization whose pur-pose is to free India’s caste-bound people by showing them the love of Christ. Truthseekers ministers to people of the lowest castes, including untouch-ables. These groups are prejudiced against, and physically and mentally

abused by those of higher castes. Our group was in-vited into four different

low-caste communities, where we all preached, with a translator, Jesus Christ being the answer to freeing India from Hindu caste system. I washed a lot of feet, and there I saw hundreds of people find

By Michelle Anderson

I recently started a new job as the general staffing and recruitment manager at Mercy Ships. My first assignment was to go the Africa Mercy, a hospital ship that serves West Af-rica. On Aug. 13, I left with the rest of the recruiting

team and went to Benin, a small country on Africa’s coast and one of the world’s poorest.

At first, I wondered who in their right mind would give up their home and salaried job to live among the poorest. After spending just a few days with the

crew on the Africa Mercy I wondered why more peo-ple don’t give up the luxu-ries of life to become the hands and feet of Jesus and serve those who have nothing. Every day the crew of the Africa Mercy has a greater purpose than

(Continued on page 2)

Kevin washes feet in India

Mission to India

Working in Africa

HEARTS AND HANDS V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 8 O C T O B E R 2 0 0 9

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Christmas market

2

Coats for Kids 3

Menders mission trip

3

Fight the flu 3

UMCOR Depot trip

3

St. Paul volunteers

4

F I N D O U T M O R E

• For more in-formation about any-thing you see in this news-letter, visit the Missions pages on Marvin’s web site (www.mumc family.org/ministry/missions).

A N E W S L E T T E R

A B O U T M I S S I O N S

A T M A R V I N

U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T

C H U R C H

P A G E 2

Drop a new or gently-

used coat by any area

dry cleaner displaying

the Coats for Kids

poster, or bring them

to the Welcome

Center.

Coats for Kids

Africa (continued)

Come to the Russia Christmas Market at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, in Pirtle Hall.

You can buy hand-carved treasures from Russia, including nativities, an-gels, matruskas (nesting

dolls) and Santas.

Prices start at just $15.

Proceeds from the Christmas market sale will benefit the Russia Children’s Hope Fund.

just themselves; they are making a difference in

the lives of people who would have never ex-pected any help at all.

While Mercy Ships is a hospital ship that brings hope and healing to thousands of people every year, there are many non-medical volun-teers onboard. Without them, the ship couldn’t operate and while they

During the month of Oc-tober, drop a new or gently-used winter coat by any area dry cleaners displaying the Coats for

Kids poster or bring them to the Marvin Wel-come Center.

Help a child stay warm this winter through Coats for Kids, an annual project sponsored by PATH.

Michelle Anderson in front of

the Africa Mercy

hospital ship.

H E A R T S A N D H A N D S

are not in performing life-changing surgery they are still serving the poor by enabling the medical professionals to do their job by running every as-pect of the ship.

It was a great first week of work and I feel well equipped to find the best volunteers to serve the world’s forgotten poor.

Christmas market

This is a sample of the items available at the market.

Marvin Menders head to Lott P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 8

The Marvin Menders will have a weekend work trip

Oct. 15-18.

Volunteers will travel to Lott (30 minutes south of Waco) to paint and

remodel First United Meth-odist Church.

This project was referred to us by Rev. Thomas Q. Rob-bins who is the pastor of nearby Marlin UMC (and the father of our own pastor John Robbins)!

If you would like more infor-mation about this opportu-nity to serve, contact Melissa Brigman in the Missions of-fice.

work in the 48,000-square-foot warehouse receiving, sorting, packing and shipping supplies for disaster relief.

Please keep the team in your prayers!

A mission team from Marvin will head to the UMCOR (United Methodist Commit-tee on Relief) Depot located in Baldwin, Louisiana, on Sunday, Oct. 25. The team will be gone for six days.

During that time they will

week days.

The program is in its third year and has grown tremen-dously.

Proceeds from the Flu Shot Program are used to provide health care for those in need in our community.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Mary Berry (mberry@bethesdaclinic.org or 903.596.8353).

Bethesda Health Clinic is in desperate need of nurses or paramedics who can volun-teer in our Flu Shots Pro-gram.

During October and No-vember the Flu Shots Pro-gram provides flu shots in the workplace on

Fight the flu

UMCOR trip

We need

medical

professionals

to give flu

shots through

Bethesda.

Bill and Jerri Savuto, Marvin-sponsored missionaries, spoke to the Missions Team in September about their ministry in Africa.

The January Menders mission trip to Galveston

DIRECT OR OF MISS IONS:

MELISSA BRIGMAN MBRIGM AN@ MARVINUMC.CO M

903.592.7396

Bits and pieces World Communion offering

On the first Sunday of October, Christians around the world join to take Com-munion.

Our communion offering will be used for the Crusade Scholarship Program and Ethnic Minority Scholarship and Training Program. Both programs help deserving students receive the training they need to enter Christian ministry.

Thank you for your generous donation to help others.

On-going missions collections in the Welcome Center

HOTEL SIZE TOILETRIES (soap, shampoo) for the St. Paul Children’s Foundation

EYEGLASSES for the Lions Club to use in mission work

HEARING AIDS for use in medical ministries in Haiti

We’re on the Web! www.mumcfamily.

com/ministry/ missions

Anne Pattullo, Vida Wooten, SPCF Executive Director Saleen Hearon, Ann Miller and Suzanne Myers gave tours of the St. Paul Children’s Foundation for an open house event celebrating the medical and dental clinics.

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