A group of United Methodist volunteers, including several from Michigan, traveled to Peru to bring much-needed health care services to rural communities.

JODY PRATT
Middleville UMC
Michigan VIM/ERT/Connecting Neighbors Trainer

Short-term mission journeys in service to others can deepen our faith and strengthen our bonds as siblings in Christ. So, what does it mean to be God’s hands and feet? It means different things, depending on the purpose of the mission journey and the nature of the experience.

Individuals who completed the Michigan Conference’s Volunteer in Mission or Early Response Training at Saginaw: First UMC on October 26 shared past experiences and discussed ways to be God’s hands and feet. All these experiences highlighted the need to be called to do what is needed as volunteers in mission.

The Michigan Conference has formal mission partnerships with United Methodists in Liberia and Haiti, in addition to smaller teams that work with ongoing projects elsewhere all over the globe. Unfortunately, we only hear about these other projects once we gather somewhere to share and talk, such as a training, mission festival, or specific event.

Since 2012, after Judy Bruin of the Wisconsin Conference and I had a conversation over coffee in Lima, Peru, teams from around the North Central Jurisdiction have been partnering with the people of The Methodist Church of Peru (Iglesia Metodista del Perú) and U.S. missioners from around Michigan and other jurisdictions. Over the years, Peruvian churches have requested teams to help with health care, construction, and Vacation Bible School.

The twelfth mission journey to Peru, “Return to Satipo III,” took place September 1-10, 2024, serving the needs of the people in the Junín Region. We had fourteen volunteers from five states: Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Tennessee. One nurse practitioner was almost 80 (their sixth trip), and our youngest from Missouri was 26 (their second trip).

The upland jungle of Satipo brings its own challenges, including heat and a few bugs. Still, the rewards were many, with team members discovering life-changing experiences and building relationships for years to come.

This mission journey included some “hands-on” time with clients. Massages were offered, and washing and nail clipping with a touch of polish were available upon request. One of the team members shared how the act of washing — the human touch and the softness of the soap — was such a rewarding experience.

There was a space for everyone to share, whether the medical professional was working with a translator to determine the needs of a young mother, fitting bras, playing food bingo in Spanish with children, giving massages to those in pain, or creating bracelets in quiet conversation.

This year, we were asked to share something different for the community. We decided to set aside a special day just for the children in the La Negro area, a place we’d served before. The children played next to the pineapple field, spinning a colored parachute. Small groups shared reading in Spanish and English. And we left our food bingo game for the classroom teacher.

Site churches and hosts generally share a closing celebration (meal, communion), but this year, a clown encouraged us, leading us through a series of games for everyone to participate. What fun we had as the teams worked together to create towers of plastic baskets and relays!

Mission journey participants bring many skills, and the 2024 team was no exception. During our farewell service, team members and local volunteers traced their hands and wrote a message with their names on a banner displayed in the church in Satipo. The banner’s words from scripture — “Nada es imposible para Dios” (“Nothing is impossible with God”) — were surrounded by handprints from our Peruvian church family and VIM team members. What a memorable moment for us all!

United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (VIM) offers over 230 short-term local mission opportunities and international projects. Michigan sites include Cass Community Social Services and Motown Mission in Detroit and God’s Country Community Ministries in Newberry (Upper Peninsula). Click this link to search for projects around the world.

Some mission journeys can also be focused on long-term disaster recovery or provide practical experience for Early Response Teams. Click to learn more about these opportunities. Above all, these experiences offer ways to serve and be part of the body of Christ serving the world.

Announcing 2025-26 Discover … Mission Journey to Peru

District Superintendent Tania Barrios and Bishop Cesar Llanco of the Methodist Church of Peru have invited a mission team from the United States to partner with youth and churches in the Lima / Callao area from December 30, 2025, to January 10, 2026. The dates will allow participants to spend New Year’s Day in Lima before starting intergenerational work on construction, young adult activities, and community health services.

The application will be available by the end of 2024. The journey is open to adults ages 18 to 80 from around the United States. Steve Blake from the Wisconsin Conference and Jody Pratt from the Michigan Conference are excited about this unique intergenerational mission journey, which combines Discover … Mission, Peruvian partners, and U.S. jurisdictional volunteers.

For more information and to request an application, contact Jody Pratt at [email protected]. Some scholarships are available to help with the cost, so please inquire.

Last Updated on November 26, 2024