Each year Faith United supports and allocates funds for the following Global Ministry Partners:
2020
UMCOR
Liberia Mission Team?
(List and sentence on each)
Camphor Mission - Liberia
2018 - Faith United's Fourth Year in Liberia
July 5-16, 2018:
Michael Farmer, Amanda Mills,
Kaitlyn Schmucker, and Eli Costello
Feb 2-18, 2013:
Sue Bell, Teresa Purses, Cara Stultz Costello
Jan/Feb 2012:
Steve Stultz Costello and Maribeth Wilmer
Summer 2011:
Nancy King
Four young people from Faith United have felt called to go to Liberia with the East Ohio Conference team this year July 5-16. The team gives thanks for all the prayers and support from the congregation, Endowment team, East Ohio Conference Foundation, friends and family. The team needed to raise a total of $12,000 plus the costs of vaccinations, Visa application and other miscellaneous costs. Faith United Endowment contributed $5,000, the East Ohio Foundation contributed $3,000, Faith Congregation designated gifts came to $2,000+ and the members of the team raised or contributed the remaining $2,000. Praise God!
Below, read about each of our 2018 Missionaries (and previous year’s missionaries) and why they felt called to go. Consider whether you are sensing a call to go sometime in the future. The East Ohio Conference of the UMC usually sends at least one team to Liberia every year. At the bottom of this page are pictures and links for more information. Watch for an announcement about a time of sharing (probably in September) when the 2018 team will share about their experience. If you feel called to support future teams financially, you may write a check to Faith United and put “Liberia Mission Fund” in the memo, or you can make an electronic contribution by clicking Online Giving and select “Liberia Mission Fund” from the “Select a Fund” options.
Why go to Liberia?
2018 Missionary – Michael said...
Greetings brothers and sisters at Faith United. My name is Michael Farmer and I’m excited for the opportunity to travel to Liberia this summer and thankful for the support from the church! When my wife, Lauren (Vaughn) and I moved to the Canton area, she encouraged me to attend her home church of Faith United. Little did I know at the time, that my journey with Faith would forever change my life. I enjoyed being a part of the 20/20 team and in the choirs. As a teacher, I was able to be involved in the summer time in VBS and Created By God. However, it was the summer of 2016 when I was invited to preach at all three services when Pastors Cara and Steve were attending his sister’s funeral. This opportunity really got me thinking about going into ministry. It is because of the leadership at Faith, and the encouragement of the congregation that I have accepted God’s call on my life to enter into ministry. I currently am a full time seminary student at Methodist Theological School in Ohio and I am a licensed local pastor serving at Bolton UMC and Vine Street UMC in Alliance, OH.
As a teenager I developed a heart for missions and outreach through attending youth mission trips. When the opportunity to go to Liberia was presented to me, I thought it sounded like a wonderful way to be immersed in a different culture and to help in whatever ways I can while I am over there. However, I have 2 young daughters under the age of 5 so I was not sure if Lauren would go with this idea of me being gone for almost 2 weeks. Fortunately, she said it would be ok (and she’s excited because she and the girls are going to the beach with my family during this time too.) I am super excited for this opportunity and the many ways that this might influence my ministry going forward. I’m thankful for the continued prayers and support from Faith United. If you should feel called to support this trip financially, I encourage you to make a donation through the church. Every gift makes a difference and is greatly appreciated.
2018 Missionary – Amanda said...
Hello, I’m Amanda Mills. I’ve been welcomed into Faith United and began attending on Easter of 2015. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to participate with VBS, Camp Read-a-Lot, Sunday school and several small groups. Faith United has provided me and my fiancé, Kevin, with a new place we can call home and can begin growing a family because we know we’ve been accepted for who we are.
As I sat to write down my reason for traveling to Liberia on this mission trip, I searched for my specific reason for making this decision. After a while, however, I realized that there really was no decision. The plan was already made for me. My job was to listen to the calling that I felt in my heart. It has been the same process for me when I traveled to both Haiti and Nepal – an opportunity presented itself to me, I instantly accepted the chance, and then afterwards I began to plan. In my professional career as a school psychologist I am required to make 100 decisions a day which can seriously affect the lives of both students and their families. I enjoy going on mission trips because it is the exact opposite… I get to have the benefit of still helping people without the stress of wondering if I had made the right decisions.
When I approached Pastor Cara a few months back, I asked her if she knew of anyone interested in a distant mission trip. With the amount of damage our world has seen this past year, including Puerto Rico and California, I could feel the call and I knew it meant it was time for me to go on another adventure. These kinds of trips remind me that God is not American. He is world-wide. I feel that people tend to get used to living in their own box, in their own tiny slice of the world, and lose perspective on the larger picture. Traveling to other countries allows me to gain understanding of different cultures and help me to break down any preconceived notions I may have had. It also resets my own perspective.
I remember when I was younger I learned about Prevenient Grace; a divine grace that precedes human decision. I would like to thank Faith United for helping to further me along on my own personal path to receiving this awesome grace.
Hello all. My name is Kaitlyn Schmucker and I am 24 years old. I am a member of Faith United and have attended since June 2012. I currently work at a natural gas company and am working towards my Master’s Degree in Counseling and Human Development where I am specializing in both Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling. There are a number of reasons I feel called to participate in this summer’s mission trip to Liberia. I love that the UMC provides opportunity for people to engage in mission around the globe. First, I have a huge passion for building meaningful relationships with others, particularly children, and for spreading the love and hope of Jesus around the world. As well as this, I love to travel and experience the world and particularly enjoy opportunities where I am able to meet people who are different from myself. There is something so special about experiencing another culture and coming together in community to make a positive change in our world. I have been a follower of Jesus since I was a young child and I have dreamed of going on mission trips where I can both transform my own faith and also bring others to the Lord.
In May 2014, I had the opportunity to travel to Uganda on a service learning trip. What inspired me the most was that the people I got to know seemed to so deeply appreciate and value their lives. To me, they had every right to be broken inside because of the conditions they were living in and the health issues and poverty they experienced. Instead, most of the people had a more spirited, thankful, and giving heart than I could have ever imagined. This previous trip to Africa has transformed my heart and led me to want to continue helping others, building relationships, and having more of these incredibly beautiful experiences. I look forward to meeting the incredible people in Liberia, serving with other young adults from our congregation and the East Ohio Conference, learning about the Liberian culture and people, sharing my gifts and talents, and most importantly, being able to strengthen my relationship with Jesus Christ while Serving God and others in Liberia.
2018 Missionary – Eli said...
When I was a kid, I had a piggy bank just like most kids. My parents thought it was dumb to have to break it every time you wanted your money out of it, so they got me one with a lid you could unscrew at the bottom. This piggy bank even had four different slots for money. One was for saving, one for spending, one for giving, and I can’t remember what the last one was. I didn’t like spending a lot of money, so my piggy bank progressively got more and more full of money. Every time I got money for anything, like Christmas, birthdays, even when I got spending money, I’d put it in that piggy bank. One day, when I was about seven years old, my dad told me about this horrible disease in Africa called malaria that was super deadly and spread by mosquitoes but could be easily prevented by putting mosquito nets over your bed at night, so the mosquito couldn’t get in and give you the disease. The problem was, people didn’t have enough money to buy these mosquito nets. I thought about what my dad told me, and I was inspired. A few minutes later, I came downstairs with my piggy bank and we emptied the whole thing out and sent it off to help buy mosquito nets for children who couldn’t afford them. With my money, I donated over 200 nets to those who needed them.
Over the next couple years, both my parents went on mission trips to Liberia, a struggling nation in Africa that had recently been ripped apart by a civil war. I’ve always wanted to follow them in their mission, but I wasn’t old enough. When I found out that 15 was the minimum age to go this year, I was elated to continue the work of my parents and help in any way I could to the people there. Because of the support of my church, and the East Ohio conference, the total expense of the trip is $3,000. This covers airfare, food, lodging, ground transportation, and mission construction supplies for 11 days. The trip is July 5-16. $1,000 was already contributed by my church. $1,000 is needed by May 14 and $1,000 is needed by July 1.
I’m writing to you and others to raise these funds. I’m asking people to pray for me and the mission team and to consider a financial gift. In these ways, I hope for you and others to share in this life changing experience and important mission. Every gift matters, no matter the amount. Thank you for your support.
2013 Missionary – Sue said...
We have heard about the people there, their country, and the struggles they have endured. The conference 3Cs awareness brought Liberia to my attention and I feel a need to connect with the people at Camphor Mission and hear their stories and let them know that we care about them. I am most excited about meeting the people, seeing the country, and tasting their food. Please pray for safe travel, good health, and a willingness to go out of my comfort zone to understand the needs of the people of Liberia.
2013 Missionary – Cara said...
A missionary is one who is observant of how God is at work and then goes far and wide to tell that story. The ways in which I have been privileged to witness God at work through other missionary endeavors has shaped the way I live and move and have my being. I am excited to be a witness to God at work among the Liberian people. I have heard it said that the Spirit of God is stirring up a revival on the continent of Africa. I expect not only to minister but to be ministered to. And then, when I return to North Canton I can share that revival spirit with the body of Christ at Faith and the greater Canton area. In this way all God’s children come to the same table having shared the same spiritual food in the name of the sustainer, Jesus. Please pray that we will have eyes to see and ears to hear, mouths to tell and hearts that are open.
2013 Missionary – Teresa said...
After I faced a challenging life experience and had an amazing answer to my prayers – being healed – I felt that I needed to do two things: find a way to show God’s love to others through Christian care and get out of my comfort zone and take a true faith journey. Liberia is a chance for me to do both! I am excited to meet our brothers and sisters at the Camphor Mission Station and to have the opportunity to continue to nurture the strong relationships that have been developed over the years by other Faith United volunteers. We truly appreciate all the volunteers who helped sew kits or donated items and funds to support some of the great needs at Camphor Mission. Please pray: that our travels are safe, the connections are smooth and we all stay well; that our desire to serve meets the true needs of the people; that we may develop strong relationships with all we meet; that all fear of the new and the unknown be overcome by the power of the promises of God’s word. But most of all, please pray that our team may show the love of Christ every day in all we do!
- How else can we be praying for this mission?
- For clean water for all Liberians
- For education to be accessible
- For roads to be passable
- For government leadership
- For restoration of families still broken from civil war
Stay tuned in by visiting:
http://www.eocumc.com/missions/umvim.html
Or follow the Mission by visiting:
https://www.facebook.com/CamphorMissionStation/
http://www.rosemarkafrica.blogspot.com
Located in West Africa, Liberia is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Cote d’Ivoire. A civil war broke out in Liberia in 1989 that lasted until 1996 and resumed again from 1999 until 2003. The reasons for the war were years of oppression and injustice and then a hunger for power, resources and wealth. The civil war has left Liberia with many problems - lack of infrastructure, instability in economy, lack of trust in people, broken spirits and an interruption in education and dreams.
Liberia has been at peace since 2005 with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in leadership. She is a member of First UMC in downtown Monrovia. The United Methodist Church continues to be a strong implementing agency within the country of Liberia.
The East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church started the 3Cs Mission Project – Churches, Clinics and Classrooms, in an effort to minister to the whole person, body, mind and spirit. In Liberia, the UMC Camphor Mission Station is doing just that. It is a United Methodist Mission in the Liberia Annual Conference in West Africa. It is a school; a clinic; an agricultural program and a church. Camphor Mission is a place where United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) Teams and Individual Volunteers can come to share their gifts and talents. It is a place where you can learn hospitality, Liberian rural life, encounter Jesus, and make friends with amazing people. Camphor Mission, in partnership with other United Methodist Churches around the world, is addressing the needs in rural Liberia for Christian spirituality, education, health, clean water, and agriculture.