Shana Harrison works in Santiago, Chile, as the director of Crescendo, a workshop for developmentally disabled adults. She has also opened a group home for some of her workshop participants. Through the workshop, adults are given the opportunity to participate in art therapy, dance and other skills that enhance their quality of life. Crescendo strives to help these adults integrate into society by giving them opportunities to interact with local church groups and organizations. The group home was established in 2004 as an outgrowth of the workshop. It provides a home for adults whose families are unable to care for them. For more information, visit www.crescendo.cl.
Meredith Whitaker is our missionary at Cookson Hills Center in Kansas, Okla. The Center reaches out to Native American people. Ongoing programs include such things as a thrift store, food pantry, craft co-op, home repair, counseling, emergency assistance for housing and employment, children, youth, adult education programs, and a Health Information Center. The Center also provides an opportunity for families to plant gardens by providing seeds and assistance with planting.
It is a project of the United Methodist Church. It is the only mission program that is a joint effort of the Oklahoma Conference, the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, the United Methodist Women, and the General Board of Global Ministries. All of the above groups are the means of financial support of the program provided by the Center. www.cooksonhillcenter.com
Phyllis Crouse lives and serves at Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Ky. She is the Librarian at Red Bird School. She says, “I try to teach them library skills and the joy of books and reading.” Prior to her work as the librarian she taught first, third, fourth and fifth grades at the school Redbird Mission and Clinic, located in the Appalachian region of Kentucky, was started in 1921 to meet the needs of the people in this isolated, distressed area. The mission offers support in the areas of education, health and wellness, community outreach, economic opportunity and community housing improvement. The needs in this rugged, mountainous terrain are critical to combat chronic poverty, lack of jobs and poor housing. A school, medical and dental clinic and a craft marketing program are a few of the opportunities offered to the people of the region served by the Redbird Mission. For more information, visit www.rbmission.org
A Global Mission Partner is an indigenous missionary filling a position that we help to assist by sending salary support. Currently our GMP is a pediatrician serving at Chicuque Hospital in Mozambique.
