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| Beyond the Walls - 2008 Mission Trips |
 "Where will God lead you?"
[View Video]
There are still a few openings on most of our mission teams! Each trip is unique in the ministry it offers and the people we will serve. Please read more detailed information regarding each individual trip by clicking on the links within the calendar below and contacting the team leader if you have specific questions.
Please note that financial limitations should not prevent you from serving on a mission team as there are scholarship resources available. Also note that no youth under 18 may serve on a team unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.
If you would like to join a team and have contacted the individual team leader to determine availability, please print and complete the Mission Team Application Form and send with the specified deposit amount to
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Tami Mclaughlin
Director of Beyond the Walls at SUMC
1795 Old Peachtree Road
Duluth, GA 30097
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drop off in any of the church drop boxes located around the SUMC campus.
Go...... Beyond the Walls...... in 2008!!!
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If you cannot participate on a team but would like to donate items in support of the teams and the locations we are serving, please donate the following:
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children’s Bibles
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children’s vitamins
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kitchen utensils and bowls
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children’s socks and underwear
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craft beads
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toothbrushes and toothpastes
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lollipops
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stickers
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Please drop off items in the wooden crates outside the worship center.
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Recap of our 2007 trips...
| Pass Christian, Mississippi - Hurricane Restoration |
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"The area around Pass Christian Mississippi, just west of Gulfport, sustained catastrophic damage from hurricane Katrina. Not quite two and a half years later, the area is still struggling to recover. We are planning two trips this year to Pass Christian, working with the Restoration Point Foundation to help restore or rebuild homes for families who lost nearly everything in the hurricane. These are families who were raised there, who do not want to leave, but do not have the financial resources to rebuild on their own. Please plan to join us, as we help to rebuild not only homes, but hope, through sharing the love of Jesus Christ with those so have suffered through so much.
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| Villa Catalina, Nicaragua - Amigos for Christ |
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Once again, SUMC is partnering with our good friends, Amigos for Christ, in Villa Catalina where we have been involved over the past several years. Our team this year will be continuing construction on a secondary school, providing Vacation Bible School to the children of Villa Catalina, and making new friends in Las Hamacus, the village next door to Villa Catalina.
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| Pueblo Pintado, New Mexico - Navajo Indian Reservation |
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Pueblo Pintado is a Navajo Indian Reservation located about 175 miles northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This will be our second mission trip to this area, and we are excited about all the opportunities to grow Sugarloaf's relationship with the wonderful Navajo people by bringing the love of Christ to their doorstep and showing, through our words and our actions what Christ's unconditional love is all about. We are planning to do light construction, vacation Bible school, sports camp, community nights, as well as outreach to the senior community, and small group Bible studies for the adults. There is also a lot of clean-up/touch-up work to be done around the school. Last year we were able to meet so many wonderful children and adults who have such open and loving hearts and are yearning to know more about God.
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| Smolensk Region of Russia - Orphanage |
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Roughly 1 ½ million children live in orphanages in Russia and the numbers are increasing by the thousands each year. Most of these children are there because they have been abandoned by their parents because they are unable to care for their children due to the high level of poverty, alcoholism, drug use and abuse. These children are frequently forgotten and abandoned. Please plan to join us as we share the love of Jesus and the hope for a different life with the children and the teachers at an orphanage in Russia. We will be spending our days with the children doing Vacation Bible School, crafts and playing with the children. We will also have the opportunity to spend time with some of the teachers and their families in their homes some evenings. There is also the possibility of construction work around the church. |
| Chavies, Kentucky - Appalachian Service Project (ASP) |
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The goal of ASP is "warmer, safer, drier" and as in the past, we will be helping the people of Appalachia with general maintenance and repair of their property. If you have gone on an ASP trip before you know what an incredible experience it is. If you are considering going for the first time and want to serve the Lord, you will be blessed! No experience is needed, just a willing heart and a positive attitude.
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Beyond the Walls - 2007 Mission Trips
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 View Video
We have just concluded our 2007 Mission Trip Season, and the 100 plus people who served on our teams traveled well beyond the walls of our church.
Our teams served in Pass Christian, MS (hurricane restoration), Mozambique, Africa (constructing an AIDS facility), Pueblo Pintado, NM (Vacation Bible School for Navajo children), and Chavies, KY (Appalachian Service Project).
We are thankful we have a congregation who has supported our trips in a variety of ways prior to our departures (our BLASt children alone have raised money to purchase over 30 book bags for the Navajo children). We are also thankful to all of those who supported us in prayer!
Pass Christian, Mississippi - June 6 -10, 2007
Our team went to Pass Christian, MS, and worked with the Restoration Point Foundation on our continued Hurricane Clean-up efforts.
View Photos!
Below is an testimonial from Donna Collins on our trip to Pass Christian...
It’s hard to put into words what we found when we arrived in Mississippi. It is nearly two years after Katrina and my thoughts were that we would be helping to wrap up the rebuilding efforts however that was not the case. I quickly found that rebuilding will be going on for quite sometime. I don’t think anyone can even begin to know the damage that this one storm did to this community… except those who lived through it. I feel so blessed to have been a small part of helping these individuals rebuild their homes and their lives. Hearing the stories of each one we met and what they went through and are still going through just made my heart ache for each of them. They are very proud people and very grateful for all the help. God was good to each of us…although the weather was hot and humid and the work hard we all did what was needed and God saw to it that we accomplished his mission. ...read more...
Below is an excerpt from a letter sent to SUMC from Jim Sullenger, Executive Director of Restoration Point Foundation...
This morning before the dawn breaks in Pass Christian, Mississippi, I am writing about the breaking news that Restoration Point has moved another family in their home. This news is not the kind that will shake the world and captivate the hearts of most people, but those of us who believe in the healing power of Jesus can feel the ground shake and our hearts rejoice. ...read more...
Mozambique, Africa - June 9 - 21, 2007
12 individuals travelled to a small fishing village on the Indian Ocean called Chicuque. Mission work included medical, building an AIDS facility, and VBS for local children.
Below is an excerpt from Bruce Wood’s journal during our trip to Africa...
Today, Mike (Gill) and I worked together at the hospital worksite in Chicuque, Mozambique, side by side, all day long! Encouraging one another as Greg (Martin) outlined in this day's devotional - 1 Thessalonians 5:11: "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing". Mike and I moved sand from the sifted sand pile to the concrete mixer behind the hospital clinic supply warehouse. Then we moved large rocks to the foundations being dug by the local workers. It was very hard work. The stones were very heavy. Mike and I talked to each other and to the local workers all day, encouraging each other to persevere - to "press on". It was very rewarding to us as we grew closer to these local people even having to suffer through our language barriers. In laughter, there are no language barriers! And we laughed most of the day! ...read more...
Pueblo Pintado, New Mexico - July 14 - 21, 2007
A team traveled with members of Duluth United Methodist Church to this Navajo Indian Reservation outside of Cuba, NM. Mission work included VBS, a sports camp, construction, and community events.
Appalachia Service Project (ASP) is a Christian ministry that renovates and restores the homes of people in need in Central Appalachia. This ministry is an annual fall tradition for SUMC! As in the past, we will be helping the people of Appalachia with general maintenance and repair of the property. The goal is "warmer, safer, drier!"
ASP 2007
Chavies, Kentucky
"It is always a blessing to give to those who cannot repay the favor. The moment that I saw the photos from the ASP 2006 trip projected in our new sanctuary during Sunday service last year, I felt a desire to be a part of this outreach. When the invitation rolled around for this year, my wife Karen encouraged me to go, knowing how much I wanted to participate.
Among the unexpected blessings were the great fellowship with so many Christian men and women of a common mind. I was able to get to know many of our SUMC members on a more personal basis during the drive up, the wholesome and tasty meals in the cafeteria, on the job site and in the fellowship areas at the ASP headquarters. We swapped stories, laughed together, sang while some played guitar, prayed together, enjoyed several excellent discipleship messages, enjoyed a simple game of skill involving a string and a metal ring on the front porch and ended our stay with Eric and Lori serving Communion on the back porch, Sunday morning after he delivered an anointed teaching on serving..." click here to read more...
Interested in serving on a mission trip?
Read about the experiences of SUMC members in Nicaragua in 2006.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/03/2006
Read Article Online
Watch Audio Slideshow
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