Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 Volunteers in Mission workers had the day off and took a bus to the city of Marigot, on the French side of St. Marten. Marigot is filled with many small shops as well as as restaurants, ice cream parlors and a fish market. VIM worker, Jim Gryc, commented that the French side of the island has the best bakeries on the island. Over 75 pounds of school supplies were transferred to the Philipsburg Methodist Preschool in the Methodist courtyard. Rev. Moreland Williams was grateful for the supplies and said that they will be divided between the preschool and 2 other Methodist schools in Philipsburg. Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 Pastor Brisset stopped by the Belvedere Methodist Church site and talked with Rev. Dennis Glad. Rev. Brisset said that he was the one who did the paperwork for the church. He was very pleased with the progress of the church and in jest, he invited us back for the dedication in a few months! Several Belveder church members were busy again today painting the inside of the church with the VIM workers. Also, a friend of Sue Jungman, one of the VIM workers, stopped to help paint. Lea Kuper is from Council Bluffs, Iowa, and was on a cruise which stopped for the day at St. Maarten. Ms. Kuper brought her grubby clothes with her in anticipation of helping the team paint. Lunch included chicken soup and salt fish with plantains. Dinner included talapia, port chops, soursop, rice, salad and carrot cake. Jim gave the project update for today by stating that things are really looking good. He stated that all the inside of the church is nearly double coated with primer. They are planning one coat of primer on the outside. The cross in the balcony is “moving along and the outside steps are progressing in the back of the church. Daniel Hurley, a farmer from Brownsville, MN, is one of the VIM workers. He will be leaving St. Maarten on Saturday in order to return home. He intended to be here only one week due to his commitments back home. Dan stated that he has worked on both local and global mission teams since 2002 and has gone on them every year since then. Over the course of his many mission trips, he has done sheet rocking, demolition work, concrete, painting, etc.. Upon reflecting on these mission trips, Dan stated, “Ive learned to listen to the folks we help. Its made the mission trips much more meaningful. I feel I belong here. I belong in mission.” Friday, Jan. 31, 2014 Today, as the VIM workers arrived at the building site, the two construction workers from Blue Color Construction had put in 4 windows in the balcony and several in the sanctuary. The VIM workers commented that the windows have made a huge difference in its looking like a church! Blue Color workers have also been working on the glass block crosses in both the front and the back of the church. Jan Duscher, “J.D., “ from Windom, MN, is a VIM worker who took an early retirement from teaching years ago. When asked how she became interested in mission trips, she stated that she was a representative to annual conference and saw a brochure regarding VIMs in the Bahamas with Dennis and Barb Glad. She signed up! J.D. Stated that she wanted to meet new people and experience other cultures and added, “The spiritual aspect of each mission trip is wonderful. I find a lot of spiritual growth in our devotions every night.” Phyllis Kerr, a retired microbiologist, and Don Kerr, a retired YMCA executive, live in Woodland, MN, and are life-long Methodists/United Methodists. They stated that this is their 5th mission trip with the Glads. They have done early-disaster relief – the Katrina hurricane, Grand Forks flood, and others in Iowa and Mn.. “We signed up because weve never been to St. Maarten. This mission trip is phenomenal! It really reminds me of UMCOR disaster relief. Rev. Gordon Orde, a retired UMC clergy from Northfield, MN, was introduced to mission trips through O.C. Ministries, which works with churches, clinics and classrooms. He likes the consistency and the organizational skills of Dennis and Barb Glad. This is the 5th VIM trip he has been on with them. Rev. Orde stated that this project is very appealing because there is a lot of participation by the Belvedere Church members themselves. His hope for participating in VIM trips has been to infuse in his congregations a sense of mission. “I want them to come alive through my mission experiences so that perhaps they will want to go on mission trips too.” That has actually happened. Jim Gryc, is a retired cook who lives in Faribault, MN. He knows a good pastry when he sees one and he saw many on the French side of St. Marten with their extraordinary bakeries! Jim has been on 4 mission trips with the Glads. Before that, Jim and his wife Lynn led teams to Jamaica through O.C. Ministries. “When Lynn came back from a mission trip, she was pumped up! This was in the mid-1990s. My first VIM trip was in 1996. My biggest thrill is to get new people involved and to experience a different world from what theyre used to.” Jims theory is that half of those who go on a VIM trip go again. Of them, half go a 3rd time. Then, theyre hooked! Edward Chapman, a retired information technology worker whose home is in New Brighton, MN, has been on 15 VIM trips with the Glads. Interestingly, in addition to this mission trip to St. Maarten, his first mission trip in 1998 was also to St. Maarten! This mission trip is definitely meeting his expectations. “Missions are very necessary. I always thought that going on a mission trip was a neat thing to do. Theres too much of a difference between the haves and the have nots. Each side can send a message to the other that were all the same basically. Thomas MacLeod, Minneapolis, MN, a retired information technology worker, stated that he has gone on mission trips to Belize, Costa Rica, Granada and now St. Maarten with the Glads. “Its a cultural experience with other Americans – safety in numbers, I guess. This trip is more physical than the other VIM trips, but Im enjoying it.” Dinner on Friday evening consisted of ox tail stew, spicey chicken, mixed vegetables, fried potatoes, saffron rice, salad and marble cake. Recap of Friday, Jan. 31, 14 by Jim Hvistendahl: The inside of the church (with the exception of the bathrooms) is finished with 2 primer coats and the final coat of paint. Most of the outside has a primer coat on it. The final coat will be cream color and the columns will be white. Things are going well. Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014 The VIM workers had the day off today and 22 went on a catamaran trip from 9 – 3 p.m. Swimming and snorkeling were the hi-lites of the excursion. Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014 The VIM workers attended church in the Belvedere community center with the Belvedere Methodist congregation from 7 – 9 a.m.. Many words of thanks and appreciation were given by Rev. Moreland Williams to the VIM workers. Two gifts were presented by Rev. Dennis and Barb Glad to the church: • A framed “Hymn of Promise” overlayed with a hand-beaded UMC cross and flame made by VIM worker Mona Lane of Gold Canyan, AZ. Beautiful! • A white crocheted communion cloth made by a friend of Mona. The VIM workers clapped and sang “Hes Got the Whole World in His Hands” to the delighted congregation. Brunch was served the VIM workers at the community center. Donevan, a musician at Philipsburg Methodist Church and a taxi driver, took groups of 6 for two tours of the St. Maarten island at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.. Donevan has lived all of his life on the island and has dual citizenship on both the French and Dutch sides. He knows St. Maarten very well and was an excellent tour guide. He offered free tours to the VIM workers in appreciation for the work that is being done in Belvedere. Some of the group will be taking a tour on Wednesday. Sorry I cant seem to get the pictures to load.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Feb 2014 02:02:22 +0000
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