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New Stories and News VideosUMCD President’s Report Hi
Everyone! About 40 - 45 people
attended our UMCD conference July 19 -22, 2007 in Orlando, FL. We all had a
wonderful time! We enjoyed Paul Jones sharing devotions, worships and his
testimonials. Paul emphasized that we should be communicating and talking with
God each and every day -- God wants us to talk with Him, He wants us to let Him
know of our needs, and He wants us to ask Him for guidance. We
also held a singing signing songs contest. There were 5 individuals and group
contestants. The songs they signed were magnificent, and enjoyed by all. First
place - $150 winner was Maria Jones of Orlando, FL, second place $120 winners
were 3 members of Christ Church of the Deaf, Lasander Saunders, Charlotte Shears
and Ellsworth Bouyer of Baltimore, MD. Third place $100 winners were tied
between Paul Jones of Orlando, FL and Ishmael Katema of Mutare, Zimbabwe - each
won $50. UMCD
celebrated its 30 years anniversary. UMCD was founded in July 1977 at Trinity
College in Washington, DC. Different people shared the history of UMCD. Thanks
to the Orlando, FL planning group for providing UMCD a 30-year anniversary cake.
During
free time, UMCD attendees visited the Disney Village, did some shopping, and/or
relaxed in the pool at the hotel. Future
UMCD gatherings will be different. We will have at least 4 days of testimonials,
devotions, worship and Bible study. We will begin doing that in 2009 when UMCD
meets near Seoul, Korea. From what I
gathered, it should be an inspirational experience, something we can take back
home to share with others. You won't want to miss it!!! I
heard from some people that flights to Korea would be too expensive. I can
understand that this particular trip will be costly due to airfare, but that is
a POOR reason for NOT going to Korea in 2009. Please don't let expenses of 2009
UMCD Korean trip frighten you. About 75 Koreans and Japanese sacrificed their
money and flew to the U.S. to join us at the 2005 UMCD global gathering in
Baltimore, MD. So, let us plan on going to Korea in 2009! WE CAN DO IT!!! Our
2007 UMCD had a workshop on fund-raising. Rev. Wineva Hankamer gave a
power-point presentation of different fund-raising ideas. This presentation is
now on our UMCD.org website. It gives you a lot of ideas of raising fund to go
to Korea. You CAN raise funds in different ways. So, go to our UMCD.org website
and click on index, then click on "Watch for photos and articles from the
Conference HERE", then click on 'Fun Ways to Fund Raise for Individuals or
Groups". Don't wait for 2009 to plan or start fund raising. Not until 2008.
Start planning now for our 2009 UMCD Global Gathering in Korea!!! The
total cost of the 2009 UMCD conference, which from July 28 - 31 is estimated to
be $200 - $220, including meals and lodging. Our 2009 UMCD Conference will be
held at a retreat center near Seoul, Korea. Yes, the retreat center has
air-conditioning!! Using
the Internet, current roundtrip airfares from the East Coast to Korea is about
$1,700. From the West Coast, current roundtrip airfares to Korea should be
cheaper. That may go up in 2009. This is just to give you an idea how much you
need to raise funds for your trip. You may want to set a goal of raising $2,500
per person. You may either work through a travel agency (UMCD is looking for
one), or you can reserve and buy airline tickets on your own, using the
Internet. Rev.
Joo Kang, our UMCD Vice-President will be helping us and provide us updates on
our 2009 trip to Korea and retreat plans. You
will need a passport. If you don't have one, now would be a good time to get
one. They are good for 10 years for adults and 5 years for children under 16.
Check with your local U.S. Post Office or your local passport office about how
to get a passport. It can take up to 3 - 6 months (or longer) to get a passport.
We
will share more news through our UMCD group serve as well as through our UMCD
newsletters. If you are not on the UMCD group email list, please see below how
to sign up. I
appointed MaryJane Kenyon as our UMCD Newsletter editor.
If you have news concerning your church, past events, coming events,
pictures, etc., please send them to MaryJane at dmj730@comcast.net
for our next UMCD Newsletter. The
deadline is January 31, 2008.
Thanks to Candis Shannon for her willingness and putting together our
last UMCD Newsletter. Also, thanks to MaryJane for preparing and editing our
current UMCD Newsletter. Lastly,
please keep Rev. Tom Hudspeth, our Treasurer in your daily prayers.
He is recovering from Gullain-Barre disease, a form of paralysis on most
of his body. Recovery has been slow.
He needs your prayers each and every day.
Thank you. Blessings
and Peace,
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