8 Florida United Methodist Review Online

Small church makes big missionary commitment

By Michael Wacht

KISSIMMEE -- Kissimmee's call for help in the wake of killer tornadoes that swept through the area last February was heard all the way to the nation's capitol. A 15-person United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) team from Herndon United Methodist Church in Herndon, VA, answered that call and traveled to Florida to help rebuild homes and lives.

The volunteer team of 11 men and four women spent a week in Kissimmee replacing drywall, installing cabinets, cleaning debris and repairing roofs at six different homes.

In a time when volunteer teams are scarce, the work done by the Herndon missionaries was greatly appreciated.

"I wish they could have spent another couple of weeks," said Lisa Higley, operations manager of the Osceola Interfaith Emergency Coalition Inc., which provided the team with their work assignments. "They could have wrapped up most of the cases we have open," she said, adding that approximately 11 more families need help.

The Herndon church first became involved with UMVIM in January 1993 when they sent a team to Homestead to help with Hurricane Andrew relief efforts. Since then, the church has sent seven teams into the mission field in the United States and abroad, the latest to Kissimmee.

"We're a small church," UMVIM team leader Jeff Nettnin said. "We have maybe 250 [members] on the roles." In the past six years, though, the church has sent more than 50 volunteers to locations from Alaska to Florida.

The Rev. Dr. Ed Garrett, senior pastor of the Herndon church, said this trip cost about $1,500 per person, including transportation, food and materials. He said the missionary effort in his church is growing, even though each team member must pay his own way.

"It's an investment of yourself, and it becomes contagious," he said. "Laity talking to laity, making a witness about their faith, does make a difference."