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Missions Accomplished

Palm Sunday. The 2008 CitiHope Mission Team has accomplished their respective missions in Malawi (March 4-14), summarized below:



Sarah Harrington(front left), an ambassador for the Center for the Church and Global AIDS, assisted Don in reporting on the HopeHome project her organization is funding, visited prisoners, volunteered at orphan care centers, and filmed and documented the PACCT program and the mission trip activities for a future video presentation. Sarah also agreed to find new sponsors for some of the children and youth in the Mzuzu UMC who need nutritional supplements and educational scholarships at part of the HopeHome project.


Donald Messer, Professor Practical Theology at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, and Director of the Center for the Church and Global AIDS, saw and evaluated the HopeHome project funded by the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund; participated in and presented an HIV/AIDS session on the “Alphabet of Life” to pastoral leaders attending the PACCT event, and preached on Sunday in Mzuzu United Methodist Church—a church comprised mostly of orphans and vulnerable children and their guardians.


Robert Robinson, a pastoral counselor working with at-risk children and adolescents, presented an introduction to pastoral counseling at the PACCT event, visited prisoners, volunteered at community Orphan Care centers, and sponsored a single mother and her children who needed a dry and safe place to live.


Chappy Valente, a businessman from North Carolina, sponsored a new village well, assisted Tackson with shopping and cooking for the team, visited prisoners and volunteered at orphan care centers.


Robert Brumberg, Mission Outreach Manager for Hopegivers International, witnessed first-hand the needs of the children his organization is sponsoring, visited two HopeHomes and interviewed the orphans and guardians his ministry has funded, broke ground and dedicated with prayer a new village well project in Euthini for which he found a sponsor.


Stacy Radmore, a Deacon at Oxford Second Presbyterian Church in New Jersey, was invited to participate in the Presbyterian Church service on “Deaconess Sunday” in which the women led the worship. As a leader in the Presbyterian Women's Fellowship, she engaged in the work and fund-raising efforts of the Presbyterian Women’s Guild of the Livingstonia Synod of Malawi. Stacy also visited prisoners and volunteered at orphan care centers where she delivered needed school supplies, knitting yarn and needles, and other CitiHope donations.


Michael Christensen, Director of the Shalom Initiative at Drew University and project director for CitiHope’s PACCT program, served as group leader for the mission team, coordinated the Village Well community development project, documented the installation of the village well in Zowe, hosted and co-facilitated the fourth PACCT program event, preached in Mzuzu UMC, and held an information meeting with UMC leadership for a new Shalom site in northern Malawi.

With the mission accomplished, its time for each member of the team to reflect on the trip and post a ministry experience on the blogsite.
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