Rio Colorado Technical Agricultural High School Shipping Container
Project
Hello, my name is Rod Beck. I am the Missions Chairperson of
Good Shepherd UMC which is the home church of John and Suzanne
Funk and their two sons. John and Suzanne are currently serving
their second year as missionaries for the Global Board of Missions.
They serve as administrators of the Rio Colorado Technical Agricultural
High School in Bolivia. Please click to visit their website.
The Funk family is shown here with Bishop Willimon and Reverend
Friday.
The school was opened in 1984 with 26 students and now has
grown to nearly 200 children in 7th to 12th grade. In an area
where only 1 in 100 men and 1 in 200 women have a high school
diploma this school brings the word of God to the indigenous
people and offers them an education that can lift them up out
of poverty. With 700 acres of land, some cleared and some rainforest
there is a strong commitment to teaching local students how to
become successful farmers. There are also opportunities for them
in Science and Math as over 70% of the graduates go on to University.
During the Funk’s first year at Rio Colorado they have
been helped by numerous short term mission teams and the continued
financial support and prayers of many churches across the United
States. Our church is planning a short term team on which there
are vacancies to visit Rio Colorado in mid-July returning before
August 1st. Recently two rather large gifts have created the
need for them to send a shipping container from the states to
Rio Colorado . The Funks asked me to lead the efforts of sending
the following gifts and many others to their school. First UMC
of Decatur, Alabama has donated a large John Deere tractor to
their efforts. This tractor will be used for planting, harvesting
and clearing of more land to help the school become financially
self sufficient, one of the Global Board of Mission’s long
term goals for the school.
Actual 1985 John Deere 2040 Tractor to be sent to Rio Colorado
Orion UMC of Orion, Illinois then committed to buying a John
Deere Gator TS for the school. This will become and invaluable
tool in the daily operations on their campus.
John Deere Gator TS 4x2 to be sent to Rio Colorado
Peter Hudy,
GBM missionary who was the school administrator for the past
6 years, and I will be sending various supplies
to support the science lab at the High School. Other donated
items include but are not limited to a generator, computers,
replacement parts for the tractor and gator and many other items.
Tentatively, we would like to send the container in mid to
late May from a donated warehouse in Arley, Alabama. The projected
cost of sending this shipping container to Rio Colorado is nearly
$10,000.00 most of which is still needed to make this a reality.
As the Missions Chairperson at Good Shepherd UMC, shipping coordinator
and long time friend of the Funks I graciously ask your congregation
to consider funding this project to support the efforts at Rio
Colorado , Bolivia. Please send any donations to the First United
Methodist Church of Decatur. I have included the address below.
If you have further questions regarding this project, any items
that you may wish to send on this container to support Rio Colorado
or interest in joining our mission team in July please feel free
to contact me. I thank you for your time and consideration.
In His Service,
Rod Beck rodbeck@knology.net
(256)665-0663
Send Financial Support Here:
*Please indicate that these funds
are to be applied to the Bolivian Tractor Container fund.
First
United Methodist Church
Attention: Cindy McColluch
805 Canal Street N.E.
Decatur, AL 35601
|
