April 20 - May 3, 2008
Cover Story

REPORT FROM VIETNAM by Todd Erlandson (click on photos for larger images)

From February 25th to March 9th of this year, I traveled with the Good Samaritan Medical Mission to the country of Vietnam.  The GSMM was started by Dr. Vien Doan of Riverside CA, and has been conducting medical missions to Vietnam since 2000. I arrived in Hanoi after a 15 hour trip, with a short layover in Taipei, I spent a n amazing few days exploring the Old Quarter of Hanoi, Halong Bay, and the ancient coastal city of Hoi An.

Vietnam inundated me with sites, sounds and smells. The markets are bustling and filled with all varieties of colorful and aromatic fruits, vegetables and goods. The streets are busy with bicycles, motorcycles and pedicabs, all jostling for position in a seemingly chaotic flow from one place to another. I found the people welcoming and open, the food fresh and healthy, the weather surprisingly mild (although I hear it is much warmer in July!) The countryside is flat and wet, wide open and covered with green rice paddies. Hand labor and oxen are still the primary mode of farming. Hotels and restaurants were pleasant by western standards, and surprisingly inexpensive. I never saw a Starbucks Coffee or McDonalds anywhere I visited.

After my short visit in the North, I flew to Da Nang and took a car North to meet our mission team.
Arriving in Hue, which is located just in the center of the country, North to South, just below the old de-militarized zone, I joined a team of 25 emergency medical doctors, nurses and technicians. Their mission was to teach emergency medical practice to doctors at the Hue Medical College. They had brought gifts of EMT equipment, and team members set up a series of translated lectures and practical seminars to demonstrate their use.

While the team was teaching, I spent my time exploring the hospitals and clinics of Hue, observing and documenting local medical practice and techniques. I met a group of doctors and volunteers with Vets with a Mission, all of them veterans who had served in Vietnam during the war returning to help their former allies and enemies. They shared their experiences in working with the people and in building 17 small clinics throughout Vietnam.

Mid-week I flew with Dr. Doan to the city of Nha Trang, a resort town on a beautiful bay roughly 200 miles North of Saigon. This is the location that the Good Samaritans are planning to build an outpatient clinic to serve the people of Vietnam on a year-round basis. The clinic will provide family medicine services, outpatient specialty care and surgery and dental services. It will be staffed by American doctors on a rotating basis and locally hired medical staff, and will be run solely by the Good Samaritan Medical Ministry. While in Nha Trang Dr. Doan and I met with the local hospital and medical school, local architects and builders, and the local Christian church, where the Good Samaritans currently support a small mission clinic. We looked at potential building sites, and met with the Communist Peoples Committee of Nha Trang, explaining our project and asking for their support. The Committee gave us their approval to move to the next step, requesting a more detailed business plan and preliminary building layout so they can help us find an appropriate site, which would be leased from the city at a charity rate.

From Nha Trang, we flew to Saigon, now Ho Chi Min City, to meet up with the team for a day of sightseeing and shared stories before our long trip back to the states. 

I’d like to thank the congregation and particularly the Missions Council for sponsoring my involvement in this mission. There is much work ahead of us on the clinic project, but with God’s help we will succeed.

Dr. Doan will return to Vietnam this summer, as he does every summer, with another team of up to 100 doctors and volunteers, to run clinics in hard to reach areas of Vietnam. They will work one week in the northern hill country near the border with China, and another week in the Central Highlands outside of Nha Trang. The team will travel into the countryside each day, with 3 buses and a truck full of supplies, and set up temporary clinics serving up to 120 people per day, providing such services as general medicine, outpatient surgery and dental work.

Dr. Doan is always looking for committed medical and non-medical help as well as financial support for Good Samaritan missions. The youth of this church are currently in discussion about being a part of the July 2009 mission, but anyone who is interested in joining a mission or finding out more about the organization can visit their website at gsmedicalministry.org, or look for me in church! Photos by Todd. This last picture is Todd with Dr. Doan.

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EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
Saturday, April 19, 9 am - 12 noon
Numerous organizations will be represented including: Heal the Bay, Tree People, Interfaith Power & Light, Edison, Sierra Club, California Native Plant Society and the City of Santa Monica. There will be an abundance of environmental resources, plus crafts and storytelling. We will also be screening portions of the new documentary entitled “Renewal.” All are invited to this free event. If you stop by, you’ll receive a complimentary earth-friendly gift!

TWELVE THINGS YOU CAN DO
There are many little things you can do at home that will make a big impact on the environment. Here are twelve things that everyone CAN do that will not only help the Earth – but will also save money!
1.) Clean and replace air filters. Check your air filters on your ventilation system every month. If you clean them regularly, you won’t have to replace them as often.
2.) Turn off your computers. Plug your computers, printers, monitors, etc. into a power strip – and turn the whole system off when you aren’t using them – at night, while away at work.
3.) Recycle everything you can! You benefit either directly or when local taxes are kept lower by reduced disposal costs.
4.) Use a water filter and a refillable water bottle. Americans spend millions of dollars a year on bottled water, which adds to the amount of plastic containers thrown away every day. By purchasing a refillable water bottle and using filtered water, you can greatly reduce waste and save money.
5.) If it isn’t dirty, don’t wash it. Wear certain articles of clothing a second time if they are not dirty. You’ll reduce the amount of laundry you need to do, which cuts down on water usage, and the use of chemicals in your laundry detergent. Also – always wash clothes in only cold or warm water.
6.) Reduce water waste. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, shaving, and when “making bubbles” while washing your hands.
7.) Carpool, ride a bike, walk. Carpool whenever you can. When you don’t have far to go, try walking or riding a bike. You’ll help save energy, lessen the amount of air pollution, and you’ll keep healthy and fit, too!
8.) Turn off your vampire power. Vampire power: not Dracula, but the home electronics we leave on standby: TV, printer, cell phone chargers, DC re-chargers and converters – they cost you and the country almost $100 million worth of WASTED electricity each year.
9.) Say ‘NO’ to plastic bags. Bring your own canvas shopping bags with you when you go to the supermarket.
10.) Use rechargeable batteries. Disposable batteries are expensive and wasteful.
11.) Steer away from disposable cups. Hide the throw-away cups, and teach people to use their washable coffee mugs. Set a good example – bring your own mug to Coffee Hour on Sunday!
12.) Unleash the power of the pen. Write to your legislators about issues that affect the environment and our health. They do listen!

YOUTH SUNDAY 2008
Sunday, April 20 @ Both Services
All are invited to come worship with and be inspired by the great youth members of our congregation. They have worked hard on the services which will reflect their love of God’s Creation and explore what and who has influenced their lives. This is an annual highlight at FUMC, don’t miss Youth Sunday 2008!

FREE CPR/DIFIBRILLATOR CLASS
Saturday, April 26 @ 10 am
AmeriCorps will be offering a FREE CPR class to anyone who’s interested on April 26, from 10 am - 4 pm in Simkins Hall. Lunch will be provided! Please contact the church office to reserve your spot.

APRIL BOOK STUDY
Sunday, April 27 @ 12 noon
Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew by Bart Ehrman will be the book under discussion led by Mary and Dick Crawford in the Fireside Room with a potluck lunch at 12 noon. The book is for sale now in the church library. All are invited!

FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS
Applications Now Available!
Methodist Foundation Scholarship applications are now available in the church office. All students entering college or university programs in the fall are invited to apply for the financial support which will be awarded on Scholarship Sunday, June 29. The due date for applications to be returned to the church office is May 18!

 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SERVE?
The Guidance and Outreach Committee would like to invite you to become an FUMC Welcome Ambassador team member. The time commitment is four Sundays a year for 25 minutes before church and 15 minutes after church. The task description is to staff the table in front of the main entrance to the sanctuary by welcoming worshippers to church and answering questions from our visitors. If you are interested in this vital ministry, please contact Carol Reich (310) 393-1759. Thank you so much in advance for your interest in being a Welcome Ambassador.

 

L.A. GALAXY'S FAITH & FAMILY NIGHT
Like soccer? We’ve done baseball. We’ve done basketball. Now, for the first time ever, it’s time to join as a United Methodist family and watch some soccer by the L. A. Galaxy! Our local MLS Soccer team is hosting “Faith and Family Night” on June 7 at 7:30 pm at the Home Depot Center in Carson. The Galaxy will be playing the Colorado Rapids. With the winning combo of Beckham and Donovan, we are sure to see some very exciting soccer! Tickets are $28. If you would like to be part of the group going from FUMC, please send your check made out to “Cal-Pac Conference” for the full amount covering the number of tickets you want BY MAY 14! Please contact Nikki Edwards (njedwards@usagb.net) for more information.

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In just a few days, I will leave for the General Conference of the UMC 2008, “A Future with Hope,” April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. As one of the five clergy delegates elected from our Annual Conference, I cherish your prayerful support. To save money, GC will be two days shorter this time with the same amount of legislation coming before us. Days will be longer, nights shorter—and I pray that fatigue and stress do not make our work even more difficult.

With United Methodist membership shrinking in the United States and growing in Africa and the Philippines, the makeup of General Conference delegates will reflect those trends. Central conferences (those in annual conferences outside the United States) will have 278 delegates, 100 more than in 2004. For the first time, the largest delegation comes from Nigeria.

The Council of Bishops and others have shaped a new church-wide agenda with the overarching purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The agenda includes four areas of focus: developing Christian leaders for the church and the world; creating “new places for new generations” by starting new churches and renewing existing ones; engaging in ministry with the poor; and fighting the killer diseases of poverty such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. I pray that this will help focus our work and keep in proportion the amount of time spent debating issues of human sexuality and other matters on which we disagree. My prayer is that we agree to disagree—and move forward with the work and mission of the church!

We have been guided by a Task Force on “holy conferencing” that has written suggestions and guidelines for ways of listening, speaking and deliberating that might prove helpful as we discuss matters upon which we deeply disagree.

Still, you will no doubt read of a few of the more controversial matters in the press. Please remember that a great deal more time will be spent in worship and in learning about all the amazing work of the UMC here and around the world. We will hear from our bishops, from William Gates, Sr. on the Nothing But Nets campaign to eradicate malaria, from President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the President of Liberia who is a Methodist and the first woman elected to lead an African nation, and others. And we will be striving to shape the priorities, structures and budget of our beloved church to best meet the challenges of our time.

You can read all about GC at www.GC2008.umc.org.

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THANK YOU CHURCH FAMILY
To those of you who so beautifully celebrated my 101st birthday with cards, flowers, phone calls, visits and other ways, I wish to thank you for your kindness. I shall always remember you with deep love and gratitude. -Libbie Ranslem
After the printed Sentinel was mailed we learned of Libbie's death on Thursday. Her memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 3 at 3 pm in the Sanctuary. We give thanks for her life and life everlasting.

GOODBYE IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
Phyllis Johnson, our marvelous and faithful Head Usher for the 10:30 am service each week, has informed us that she, husband Toby Tobbler and their two boys will be moving to Seattle where Toby will be taking on a new job and where they will enjoy a house with a yard (which the boys are excited about). They’ll be leaving in June - so be sure to get your personal goodbyes in between now and then. We will miss you all dearly and wish you God Speed on life’s continued journey!

WE NOW PRONOUNCE YOU...
The news continues in our Ushering family as Robin Smith, our dedicated Usher and daughter of our Music Director and Soprano soloist Jim & Barbara Smith, was married to John Ramsdell on Saturday, April 12, in Riverside. May the marriage be blessed and may you enjoy many happy years together. Congratulations!

PRAYER QUILT THANKS
From Janice Phillips: The day that I was meeting with my doctor, I wrapped the prayer quilt around me and laid down for a few minutes. I felt prayer murmurs. This is the first time in 5 months that I’ve gotten good news. I told the Dr. that she has been the Grim Reaper for so long, and, now I feel like she has become the Angel of Mercy.

From Kim Crawford for Megan: Thank you all so much for the beautiful prayer quilt for Megan. It is so special to all of us to know that so many people are praying for her recovery.

From Stephen Stephens for LaDonna Arledge: I would like to thank you for the beautiful, comforting prayer quilt you made for LaDonna. Her lovely quilt is on her bed. Keep up the good work and let’s hope all of our prayers are answered.

From Dorothy Williams regarding Jed Reitler: Everything went well, and they send their thanks for all the support their friends have provided. He took his prayer quilt to the hospital, so “our prayers would be there” tangibly with him.

HELLO FROM SABBATICAL
Thank you for your support through Alternative Christmas gifts. The ministry of InnerChange is doing well during my sabbatical. Teammates and volunteers have risen to the occasion. And I am enjoying my studies. I completed a “Mission Theology” class, and am now taking “Christian Mission and a Global Culture of Violence.” -Paul Smith

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