By By Laura Courson, Staff Writer
The First United Methodist Church of Atmore is helping the less fortunate through mission work.
This summer 28 members of the congregation will be traveling to Manderville, Jamaica. They will arrive in Montego Bay on July 22 and proceed to the Hanbury Home, an orphanage that houses 80 children, ages infant to 18 years old.
Hanbury Home is a ministry of the Salvation Army located in a mountainous region of Jamaica, Manderville.
The volunteers will be laying tile and painting in the kitchen and dormitory areas while sharing the word of God with the children through Bible study.
Susan Smith, the missions chairman, is excited about the opportunities the mission trip will open for the church body. "The involvement of church members, as well as that of the youth, will make a big difference in the church body," said Smith.
The mission to Hanbury Home will be the first mission work that the First United Methodist Church has done outside of the United States, this makes the trip all the more exciting for those involved.
Among those going on the trip are Mayor Howard Shell and his wife, Nannette.
The opportunity to help the children is most important to Shell and his wife.
Mayor Shell and his wife are not the only prominent Atmorians going on the Jamaica trip.
Veterinarian Dr. Tommy Moore, his wife Laurie and daughter Shelby will also be going on the trip.
Jim Johnson, of Johnson Ford, and Danny Coley, of Coley Heating and Air, are making the trip a family experience by traveling with their entire families.
The "Jamaican Experience" will prove to be rewarding for all those involved, but especially for the youth. The youngest person going on the trip is Kim Harvell who is 13.
The First United Methodist Church is very excited about this trip and they could use your help.
In the next couple of months the church will be having fund raisers to earn money for lodging, transportation, and building materials.
June 1, there will be a Youth Car Wash at the church.
June 24-25, the church will be sponsoring an "Evening at Gerlach's," there is a limit of 25 couples per night and reservations will be made solely through ticket purchase.
July 10, there will be a Spaghetti Super at the church starting at 6:00.
The First United Methodist Church encourages the people of Atmore to take advantage of these opportunities while helping them earn money for their mission trip.