Mission: The Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Committee of the East Greenwich United Methodist Church is dedicated to improving the lives of those less fortunate while fostering the ideals of community service as a worthwhile endeavor among our high school age youth and adults.
Method: Each spring during the school's February break the VIM team travels by van to John's Island South Carolina, a barrier island near Charleston. Our work team consists of around fifty high school youth and adults who give up their vacation time in service to others. In coordination with the local office of Rural Mission, the teams work on a variety of worthwhile projects for the economically disadvantaged residents. These projects include roofing, construction of wheelchair ramps, home renovation, painting, plumbing, and others. The teams sleep on the floor of a local Headstart Mission. We worship and celebrate God with the locals who are very appreciative of our efforts. The teams bring and/or purchase all the supplies needed for the entire week. This includes all the construction materials, food, tools, enthusiasm and love. It costs approximately $13,000 each year to finance the trip. Our primary source of these funds is our annual holiday auction. The auction is open to the public and is an evening of food, fun, and fellowship. Due to the generosity of many local businesses and private individuals who donate auction items or cash donations, we have been able to continue this tradition for the past 16 years. During this time we have touched the lives of hundreds of people. We thank all our sponsors; you continue to be a true blessing.
VIM TRIP 2009
Photo Album
Rural Missions Story 2009
VIM TRIP 2008
The 2008 VIM trip started back in the fall with the auction. We thank the congregation again for the support of this event. It is only because of the generosity of the donors and the buyers that we can begin to plan a mission trip. To summarize the trip in this short article will not do it justice, but it will give you a glimpse into the awesome week that was shared by 22 youth and 16 adults.
Our week really began with worship on Sunday morning at St. James Church on John’s Island. The congregation welcomed us so warmly, and we were all inspired and moved by the enthusiasm of the choir and the preacher. The message centered around working together, accepting help, knowing when to take a break, and recognizing that God is in the “restoration” business, which seemed to fit so closely with our mission of helping families in John’s Island. We were already taking a break from our regular routines. We were starting to work and grow together as a team. And we were ready to do some “restoration” in a physical way for the families that we worked for, as well as some spiritual restoration for ourselves.
Monday morning brought rainy weather, but by early afternoon the skies cleared and work began on the homes. We met and worked for Mr. & Mrs. Hunter, Ms. Grant, Mr. & Mrs. LeGrass, Mrs. Bligen, and The Rural Mission House (Skip & Maryanne). By Thursday afternoon, our work teams had painted everything in sight that needed painting, replaced one entire roof, replaced 12 windows and added trim and blinds and an air conditioner, painted porches and soffits, replaced a front door and storm door, replaced another screen door, built a screen door, reinforced floors, repaired screens, built steps and landings on the outside of two houses, replaced two more windows, power-washed and painted an entire house, replaced a single jalousie window with three individual windows, repaired the valley sections of a roof, painted a living room, and split and delivered fire wood to four homeowners. Awesome!!!
The work that the teams did was extremely important to the homeowners, and it gave everyone a great sense of satisfaction. In the evening, Chuck Sauer helped us to put that physical work into a spiritual perspective. He guided us through a “word-of-the-day” as we focused on Journey, Expectation, Spirituality, Understanding, and Sacrifice. Each day we had a different understanding of the work that we were doing in John’s Island. And on the final morning, as we gathered on the dock, Chuck tied all of those words into a beautiful prayer. He also acknowledged the seniors, who would be leaving the dock for the last time, and the memories of the previous years that would go with them. Our seniors on the trip this year were Sam Harris, Melissa Lorenzo, Jon Ordog, Meredith Thurston and Lindsay Van Brocklin. They served as our team leaders throughout the week, and did an awesome job.
So all in all, it was a fantastic week. We are grateful for safe travels and for the prayers that were with us throughout the week. We thank everyone who helped with the trip in any way. It really is a team, and there are many players. The trip’s success hinges on those team players, and those of us who experienced the week in John’s Island sincerely thank everyone for being a part of the team.
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The 2008 VIM Team – Amy Black, Ted Black, Kal Buchovecky, Chelsea Convry, Don Derrick, Ben Gardell, Beth Gardell, Jillian Gardell, Molly Harris, Sam Harris, Elsa Hunziker, John Isaac, Liz Jones, Lynne Kasyan, Lindsay Korsen, Melissa Lorenzo, Joe McGinn, Joyce McGinn, Jon Ordog, Sid Ordog, Ashley Parker, Charlie Phillips, Carrie Poulson, Mark Poulson, Layson Rapoza, Marshall Ross, Chuck Sauer, Pam Savageau, Megan Soule, Mike Swartz, Shannon Swartz, Dean Thurston, Meredith Thurston, Susan Thurston, Lindsay Van Brocklin, Wheeler Van Brocklin, Scott Vaudreuil, Kim Wertz, Susan Wilson