BORDER TO BORDER MISSION

 Our Volunteer in Mission team has spent four week-ends in Agua Prieta, Mexico helping the Church of the Good Shepherd build three class rooms for Sunday School.
     The Good Shephard is a Methodist Church of the Northern Conference of Mexico.  Our last work project was December of last year. 
      The city of Agua Prieta  is the fastest growing city in Mexico and is located just across the border from Douglas, AZ.  The population is about 150,000.    
The incredible part of this project is that the pastor and his wife, even with the problems of renovating their church building and constructing a new sanctuary, have undertaken a mission to what they call the Colonia.
    The Colonia is the poorest area of the city. Streets there are not paved, there is no electricity, no sewers nor running water.  
    Our Desert Southwest Conference has purchased two pieces of property in the Colonia for the establish-ment of a new church, the develop of a medical clinic and to provide social services. Some eight adults were baptized at Easter.  They have some 100 children in a program at the Colonia.  
   The Church of the Good Shepherd needs volunteers to help build the new sanctuary. The old sanctuary was torn down, and new class rooms were built in the back. more information

Support for Missionaries

      Central UMC partially supports two missionary couples: Terry and Muriel Henderson are from our Church and are missionaries serving in Pueblo, Mexico.  Beside a church community they have a program of helping village people become independent with modern agricultural methods and annimal husbandry.  The name of their program is

"Give Ye Them to Eat."

      Central UMC also partially supports the salary of Tim and Yuko  (Juji) Boyle in Tsukuba, Japan.  Tim also grew up at Central.  Their work is mainly with a student center which they established and direct near the international University of Tsukuba just north of Tokyo.

Ethiopian Orphanage

      A group of Ethiopian immigrants have joined our church.  They are members but they have a separate worship service in the Amharic language.  Their children attend our Sunday School and English worship.  The Pastor, Surafel Gebresadik, is assigned to our church as a missionary by our Board of Global Ministries in New York. 
      Pastor Surafel began a program for orphans in Ethiopia.  Because of Aids epidemic and civil war there are hundreds of orphans in that country. The orphan program is called "Hope for the Hopeless." There are some 60 children being cared for with love. Some of the children have Aids which has caused us to give them separate housing.  We are seeking people to take on an Ethiopian child for $20 contribution a month.  Some classes or groups have taken the support of a child.  By making a commitment to this program you will receive a picture of the child you support. 

      For imformation about local mission projects, click on
Local Outreach.