Blogs

Nakba is the Arabic word for “catastrophe” and refers to 1948 when over 750,000 Palestinians lost their homes and villages with the establishment of the State of Israel. This year marked 65 years that the Palestinians have lived as refugees.   About 2 years ago, Israel passed a law that made it illegal to commemorate this day but how can a people be asked to forget their history?  Learn what it's like this time of the year to live in Jerusalem.

 Volunteers in Mission Coordinator Diane Miller and her team wrap up their trip to Eastern Europe to connect with and learn about the Roma people. 

As Diane Miller and her mission study team conclude their travel to connect with and learn about the Roma people in Eastern Europe, she reflects on the strength of the United Methodist Connection and the graciousness and hospitality of those they have met along the way.

 Preparing to travel to Novi Sad, the second largest city in Serbia, with her mission team focusing on the Roma people,  Diane Miller writes; "As we struggle to understand the Roma “situation,” different in each country, and even in each neighborhood, that “situation” resides within a mix of country boundaries, languages, and recent history.

 Mission Coordinator Diane Miller and her study team celebrated Orthodox Easter at Jakula United Methodist Church in Padina, Serbia, on their trip to connect with and learn about the Roma people. 

 Diane Miller's team stopped in Padina, where they had time to share impressions as they prepare to wrap up their journey of discovery, learning about the Roma people in Eastern Europe and United Methodist ministries among them.

 The van carrying Diane Miller's patient group of travelers in Eastern Europe broke down in Bulgaria, delaying their arrival in Servbia as they continue to connect and learn about the Roma people. 

 Diane Miller, Conference Mission/Volunteers in Mission coordinator, and her team were in Bulgaria on May 1 to connect with Roma communities there. Read what they learned.

 Leading a study group getting to know the Roma people in Eastern Europe, Diane Miller is reminded that in a different culture, it's hard to get more than a surface understanding of complex situations.

Diane Miller, the Western PA Conference Volunteers in Mission coordinator, is leading a mission trip to Eastern Europe to experience the ministries of the church to and with the Roma people.  It will help prepare those who will teach others about the history, needs, and ministries to and with the Roma people.  The Roma, sometimes referred to derogatorily as gypsies, are the study emphasis of the United Methodist Women for the next two years.  

Diane Miller, the Western PA Conference Volunteers in Mission coordinator, is leading a mission trip to Eastern Europe to experience the ministries of the church to and with the Roma people.  It will help prepare those who will teach others about the history, needs, and ministries to and with the Roma people.  The Roma, sometimes referred to derogatorily as gypsies, are the study emphasis of the United Methodist Women for the next two years.  

Diane Miller, the Western PA Conference Volunteers in Mission coordinator, is leading a mission trip to Eastern Europe to experience the ministries of the church to and with the Roma people.  It will help prepare those who will teach others about the history, needs, and ministries to and with the Roma people.  The Roma, sometimes referred to derogatorily as gypsies, are the study emphasis of the United Methodist Women for the next two years. 

Diane Miller, the Western PA Conference Volunteers in Mission coordinator, is leading a mission trip to Eastern Europe to experience the ministries of the church to and with the Roma people.  It will help prepare those who will teach others about the history, needs, and ministries to and with the Roma people.  The Roma, sometimes referred to derogatorily as gypsies, are the study emphasis of the United Methodist Women for the next two years. 

Diane Miller, the Western PA Conference Volunteers in Mission coordinator, is leading a mission trip to Eastern Europe to experience the ministries of the church to and with the Roma people.  It will help prepare those who will teach others about the history, needs, and ministries to and with the Roma people.  The Roma, sometimes referred to derogatorily as gypsies, are the study emphasis of the United Methodist Women for the next two years.

Conference Volunteers in Mission Coordinator Diane Miller is leading a mission study team to learn and work with the Roma people in Eastern Europe.  She's sending back daily reports. The Roma, a displaced people sometimes referred to as gypsies, will be the subject of studies at 2013 Schools of Mission and the Western PA Conference's Mission u in July. 

Diane Miller, the Western PA Conference Volunteers in Mission coordinator is leading a mission trip to Eastern Europe to experience the ministries of the church to and with the Roma people.  It will help prepare those who will teach others about the history, needs, and ministries to and with the Roma people.  The Roma, sometimes referred to derogatorily as gypsies, are the study emphasis of the United Methodist Women for the next two years.

 Conference Missionary Tina Whitehead returned to Jerusalem from Western PA in time for President Obama's visit. As his visit ended, she sent offered her perspective. 

 Tina Whitehead has returned to Jerusalem just in time for President Barack Obama's visit. 

 Brian Bauknight does NOT have the latest iPhone. He's scraping by with the iPhone 4 -- and he's OK with that.  In fact, he's working toward establishing a "theology of enough" in his life.

The last two days of wheelchair distribution in El Salvador were long and difficult.  Debbie Hills prayer on Friday was that God would give her and the whole team strength to get through the next day and be able to work in His Spirit as they ministered to the people they would serve throughout the day. Their over riding goal was to be able to share the love of Christ in word and deed and she knew this was not possible in her own strength, as tired as they all were. God did not disappoint.