Bethel United Methodist Church in Wildwood
Making disciples of Jesus * Leaving no one behind * Inviting you for the journey
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Bethel United Methodist Church in Wildwood Making disciples of Jesus * Leaving no one behind * Inviting you for the journey
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“Mozambique Initiative” coordinator The key to what has made the Mozambique Initiative successful is... relationship! There are 170 churches and 24 districts in Mozambique who are in covenant with more than 300 churches, groups and individuals in Missouri. Both sides consider the other to be their partner. The matchmaker who helps put those partnerships together is Carol Kreamer of Eureka, Missouri. Carol Kreamer is the person that helped to make the match between Bethel UMC of Wildwood and Chongoene UMC of Mozambique! Just eight years ago, Kreamer was the coordinator of mission and stewardship at Webster Hills UMC. Her employer and pastor, the Rev Kenneth Lutgen Jr., approached her about becoming the coordinator of the Mozambique Initiative. She agreed, not fully realizing that she was becoming a missionary. Through the years, the relationship between the United Methodist Church in Missouri and Mozambique has grown, and become much more personal. Since the initiative began, about 250 United Methodists have traveled from Missouri to Mozambique, and about 50 have traveled from Mozambique to Missouri. She stated “Everything used to go through me, but because so many people have been there now, there are dozens of relationships in which people are communicating directly with their covenant partners”. Funding for Kreamer’s salary comes entirely from Missouri. Covenant partnerships with churches are $990 a year, $90 of which supports Kreamer’s position. Carol has now been to Mozambique eight times, and scheduled to return October/November when the Council of Bishops meets in Mozambique for the 2006 annual conference. She sees changes every time she goes back. There seem to be more children in school. Work on the main highway in the country has been completed. Trash pickup in the city is still inadequate, but when she first went there, it was non-existent. Electricity may be a little more widespread, but not by a noticeable amount. The Living Water Society continues the amazing work of cleaning dirty wells and drilling new wells for providing clean safe water for the people of Mozambique. All these changes happen because of the Missouri covenant partners! “When a Missouri Church first gets a covenant partner, often one of the first things they ask is if their partner has Internet access. In most cases that is still a long way off, because the rural villages don’t have electricity to run computers”. Ezequiel Nhantumbo keeps communication flowing. He lives in Maputo; translates letters via e-mail from and to Missouri. He then delivers all sorts of information that he receives to the covenant churches in Mozambique. The covenant relationships are the key to the effectiveness of the Mozambique Initiative. “Everything else that happens is because of the covenants,” Carol said. “If this was project based, things would have stopped when the project was finished. Because it is based on relationships, it keeps going!.” As Published in “Bridges” - Resource profile of: Carol Kreamer |
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