CONFIRMAND'S MAINE MOOSE MISSION
July 11 - July 21, 2009

Please pray for our group of youthful missionaries as they travel to the United Methodist Economic Mission in Salem Township, Maine.  There they will spend their days working on several projects for area families that will improve their lives.

The purpose of this trip is both spiritual and educational in the deepest and truest sense of those words.  The youth will be learning from staff of the economic ministry about the unique social and economic conditions affecting that region of our country.  They will learn about the fact that a large majority of the manufacturing jobs that once were centered in Western Maine have now been outsourced.  They will see the closed and shuttered wood processing mills that once made this area the "toothpick" capital of the world.

The United Methodist Economic Ministry is trying to address the severe economic needs of the residents in the region.  The youth will learn about issues of economic justice.  They will also learn about the creative process through which the faith community seeks to alleviate human need.

They will tour the Economic Ministry and gain priceless understanding as they learn about the work of the food pantry and the thrift shop maintained by the economic ministry, which have become a lifeline for desperate parents trying to feed and clothe their children.  They will tour the woodworking facility maintained by the economic ministry, where local residents can fashion homemade furniture and other items that can be sold to support their families.

But the main experience of the trip will be working at two locations to improve the homes and the lives of local residents.  At the work site the youth will be trained and supervised by skilled craftsmen and carpenters so that they will be learning basic carpentry skills as well as gaining the satisfaction of making someone else's life a little bit better.  They will interact with the persons and families they are helping and be encouraged to ask questions and learn more about their lives.

Every evening there will be a "de-briefing" and devotional time at which the youth will make entries into their journals, chronicling what they learned and felt that day.  This will be an opportunity for them to express emotions they've had in new ways because they are proud of how they spent their time that day.

Through their generous support at the Service Auction and other fundraising activities over the past two years, the congregation has made this mission experience possible for our youth.

Please keep them in prayer as they prepare for this trip, that God will truly bless them and be a blessing through them in Maine.