United Methodist missionary Teca Greathouse (center) plays with children in the Natal indigenous community near Autazes, Brazil. Greathouse was helping lead a volunteer medical team along the Amazon River. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Clockwise from upper left: Marco Antonio Aguila Rodriguez recalls his experiences on "The Beast," an informal network of freight trains that immigrants used to traverse Mexico on the way to the U.S. He is living temporarily at the Movimiento Juventud 2000 shelter for migrants in Tijuana, Mexico. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS. Louisiana Area Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey anoints the Rev. David Niu of the California-Nevada Conference during a reaffirmation of baptism service at Facing the Future 2018, an event for clergy in cross-racial/cross-cultural appointments hosted by the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race in Newark, N.J. Photo by Joey Butler, UMNS. Migrants from El Salvador describe their month-long journey to reach Mexico’s northern border. They are staying at the Hosanna Refugio Para Mujeres, in Mexicali. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS. Josephin Trabitzsch from Germany joins in singing during worship at the United Methodist Global Young People’s Convocation in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo by Eveline Chikwanah. Scott Mills plays the 2,500-pipe organ at First United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS.
United Methodist pastor Alan Ashworth guides an 8-foot section of a 6-inch by 6-inch signpost for placement along the Appalachian Trail near Burkes Garden, Va. The post, which Ashworth rigged with a wheel under one end and nicknamed the "Titanic," will hold a trail sign marking the boundary of a national wilderness area in the Jefferson National Forrest. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Clockwise from upper left: The Rev. Alan Ashworth (left) and Joe Thompson remove limbs from a fallen tree across the Appalachian Trail near Bastian, Va. The Rev. Alan Ashworth (center) prays with volunteers Greg Floyd (left) and Herrn Northcutt as they finish up a free hiker feed for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers near Ceres, Va. The volunteers are from Highland Valley United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark. Storm clouds swirl behind Pine Grove United Methodist Church in Bastian, Va., one of two churches pastored by the Rev. Alan Ashworth. The Rev. Alan Ashworth hugs Kolden Harman before worship at New Hope Union United Methodist Church in Bastian, Va. At right is pianist Karen Umbarger. Photos by Mike DuBose,
The Rev. Alan Ashworth (right) shares a laugh with Appalachian Trail thru-hiker "Flame" at a free hiker feed sponsored by New Hope Union United Methodist Church near Bastian, Va. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Jecssie Santiago (right) of the Florida Conference plays with children during the weekly recreational activities and games offered at the United Methodist Quessua Mission in Angola. Photo by the Rev. Gustavo Vasquez, UMNS.
Native American scholar Henrietta Mann (left) and leaders of The United Methodist Church’s Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, the Revs. Donna Pewo (center) and David Wilson, conduct a prayer ceremony for immigrant children held at the Casa Padre detention facility in Brownsville, Texas. The three prayed in a grassy median outside the facility, a former Walmart. It is the largest shelter in the U.S. for minors caught crossing the border illegally. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Sailor Flavio Coelho Torres (left) secures a hand line for United Methodist medical volunteers coming off the John Wesley medical boat to serve in the Natal indigenous village near Autazes, Brazil. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
An indigenous fisherman catches piranha from a wooden canoe along a tributary of the Amazon River in the Jacaré indigenous community near Autazes, Brazil. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Boat pilot Izaias de Molvaol displays the teeth of a piranha caught from onboard the John Wesley medical boat on the Amazon River near Autazes, Brazil. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Clockwise from upper left:
United Methodist missionary Emily Everett (left) reacts to a baby jacaré caiman displayed by boat pilot Izaias de Molvaol at a floating home on the Amazon River near Autazes, Brazil. A rainbow forms over a home in the Natal indigenous community near Autazes, Brazil. The banks of the Amazon River, blurred by a time exposure, slide by the John Wesley medical boat near Manaus, Brazil. Under the watchful eye of Dr. Bruce McIntosh (rear), Brazilian medical student Gabrielly Soares examines Oliveira Cordeleiro, 2, aboard the John Wesley medical boat in the Jacaré indigenous community near Autazes, Brazil. United Methodist missionary Emily Everett (right) is helping translate Portuguese to English while Cordeleiro's mother, Naiamara dos Santos, comforts her daughter. The prow of a motorized canoe from the John Wesley medical boat eases into a group of Victoria Lilies on a tributary of the Amazon River in the Jacaré indigenous community near Autazes, Brazil. The lilies were named for the newly ascended Queen Victoria of England in 1837. Dr. Beatriz de Souza Birchal makes a house call to look in on Olovinto in Murutinga, Brazil. Olovinto, 80, is blind and was not able to walk to the nearby community center where volunteers from the Methodist Church in Brazil and the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church were conducting a free medical clinic. The Rev. Armando Rodriguez Jr. (left) prays with Dr. Dimas Hidalgo (center) and Nelcilone Broga in the dental clinic onboard the John Wesley medical boat that was docked at an indigenous community in Murutinga, Brazil. Hidalgo reconstructed one of Broga's front teeth. Photos by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Children at the United Methodist Quessua Mission in Anglola play with toy glasses donated by volunteers from the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church. Photo by the Rev. Gustavo Vasquez, UMNS.
The congregation of Finnsnes United Methodist Church in Finnsnes, Norway, joins passengers from the Hurtigruten commercial ferry in lighting candles in memory of loved ones to celebrate All Saints’ Day. Photo by Lise Løvland for UMNS.
The children's choir from the Korean Church of Atlanta United Methodist Church sings “Let There Be Peace on Earth” at Grace United Methodist Church in Atlanta during the Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
A cross with candles calls for justice and peace at a prayer vigil led by Rev. Francis Fajardo at Wesleyan University-Philippines for slain mayor, Ferdinand Bote. Bote, mayor of the General Tinio in Nueva Ecija province, was gunned down by a motorcycle-riding suspect in nearby Cabanatuan City. Photo courtesy of Clarafe Gonzales & Sergio Arevalo.
Top row, from left: A U.S. Border Patrol agent escorts two young men who were caught entering the U.S. illegally by crossing the Rio Grande near McAllen, Texas. The Revs. Joel Hortiales (center, in blue blazer) and David Farley (to Hortiales' right) join parishioners of the Border Church in Tijuana, Mexico, as they lift their arms skyward beneath the fence that marks the border with the U.S. The Rev. John Fanestil, A United Methodist pastor, is visible through the steel mesh of the U.S. - Mexico border fence as he helps lead a cross-border service of Holy Communion from Friendship Park near San Diego on the U.S. side. Middle row, from left: Jose Antonio Marchas Novela recounts the threats of violence that caused him to flee Mexico with his wife, Irlanda Lizbeth Jimenez Rodriguez, and their 1-year-old son, Jose Antonio. The family took shelter at the Christ United Methodist Ministry Center in San Diego while seeking asylum. The Rev. Bill Jenkins gives the sermon during worship at Exodus United Methodist Church In San Diego while holding his foster son Harry, who is from Haiti. Oliver (right) and his 8-year-old son Anthony rest at a shelter for recent immigrants at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle in McAllen, Texas. They fled their native Honduras in fear of gang violence and asked that their real names not be used. Bottom row, from left:
Coyotes who were caught smuggling people across the Rio Grande into the U.S. sit in the back of a Border Patrol paddy wagon near McAllen, Texas. The Rev. Robert Lopez (left) visits with a group from El Salvador and Guatemala who were caught entering the U.S. illegally by crossing the Rio Grande near McAllen, Texas. Lopez, who was riding with the border patrol to learn about its work, is superintendent of The United Methodist Church's El Valle and Coastal Bend Districts in the Rio Texas Conference. Photos by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
U.S. Border Patrol agents pour water over the head of a fellow agent who became overheated while searching a sugar cane field for a group of people who had entered the United States illegally after crossing the Rio Grande near McAllen, Texas. The high temperature for the day was 100 degrees. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Clergywomen from Mozambique lift Bishop Joaquina F. Nhanala in her chair during a celebration of her service to The United Methodist Church at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Photo by Eveline Chikwanah.
Women and children gather water at a watering point in the Irambo District of Bukavu, Congo. A cholera epidemic was declared in the South Kivu Province in August and continues today. Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolonga, UMNS.
Dr. Barbara Williams (left) tries to examine the ears of a young patient during a volunteer medical clinic in the Natal indigenous community near Autazes, Brazil. Williams was part of a volunteer team from the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church of Brazil. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
United Methodist missionary Tawanda Chandiwana (left), is greeted by fellow Global Mission Fellow, Russell Rusike, at the airport in Harare, Zimbabwe. Chandiwana spent 56 days in a detention center in the Philippines on charges related to his immigration status. Photo by Taurai Emmanuel Maforo, UMNS.
Judicial Council alternate Warren Plowden (right) questions the Rev. Keith Boyette during an oral hearing in Evanston, Ill. The United Methodist Judicial Council, the denomination’s top court, heard arguments regarding a request from the Council of Bishops for a ruling on whether United Methodist organizations, clergy or lay members can submit petitions for the special General Conference in 2019. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS.
Families with children wait to be seen by doctors during a free clinic in Murutinga, Brazil. The John Wesley medical boat carried a volunteer team from the Methodist Church in Brazil and the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church to indigenous communities along the Amazon River and its tributaries. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Residents of the Shapure community near Nyanga, Zimbabwe, try out a new footbridge over the Nyan’ombe River that was donated by United Methodists from Norway. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe.
Thomas Kemper of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries visits with Luciane Charles from Haiti at Christ Ministry Center In San Diego. The church has been helping waves of immigrants since 2011 when it was reborn as an immigration center. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
United Methodist Bishop Jane Allen Middleton (holding microphone) speaks during a protest outside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices in Washington calling for an end to a now-former U.S. immigration policy of separating children from their parents if the parents are caught entering the U.S. illegally. Photo by Erik Alsgaard, Baltimore-Washington Conference.
Student Louise Travis helps screen the vision of John Togba at Ganta Hospital in Liberia. Photo by E Julu Swen, UMNS.
Africa University students celebrate their graduation from the United Methodist-related school in Mutare, Zimbabwe. This year’s graduating class had students from 21 African countries. Photo by the Africa University Department of Information and Public Affairs.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent arrests Matt Leber, one of the organizers of a multi-faith march calling for migrant justice, at the border fence between the U.S. and Mexico in San Diego. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Clockwise from top left:
U.S. Border Patrol agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security advance toward United Methodists leaders and organizers of a march calling for migrant justice as they kneel on the beach at the fence between the U.S. and Mexico in San Diego. Faith leaders and supporters of immigrant rights march for migrant justice at Border Field State Park in San Diego. United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño (right) and Rabbi Brant Rosen help lead a multi-faith march in support of justice for migrants at Border Field State Park In San Diego. People peer through a section of the U.S. - Mexico border fence decorated with a message of love in two languages during a Posada celebration at El Faro Park in Tijuana, Mexico. On the 25th anniversary of La Posada Without Borders, Friendship Park was closed on the U.S. side while hundreds gathered freely on the Mexico side. Photos by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Above and below: Children pray during a Christmas party at the Door of Hope Salvation Army shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. Migrant children who are staying with their mothers at the shelter joined with kids from the neighborhood and volunteers from the Methodist Church of Mexico in the celebration. Photos by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Parishioners study the Bible during worship at New Jerusalem United Methodist Church in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Children take part in a three-legged race, part of the weekly recreational activities and games offered at the United Methodist Quessua Mission in Angola. Photo by the Rev. Gustavo Vasquez, UMNS.
The driver of a truck bearing supplies for displaced persons in Congo stands in water as he tries to navigate the vehicle over a rough, wooden bridge. United Methodists in Congo have helped distribute food and other assistance in secrecy out of fear that Mai-Mai Malika rebels would take the goods. Photo by Judith Osongo Yanga, UMNS.
Sepi Lokotui dances during the Sunday service of the Tongan United Methodist Church in West Valley City, Utah, where the youth in high school and junior high worship actively through music and dance. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS.
Students wearing Mardi Gras costumes listen to their teacher at the United Methodist Anyama School in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Edward Shanyurai, 80, holds the United Methodist hymnal during outdoor worship in Muzarabani, Zimbabwe. Photo by Taurai Emmanuel Maforo, UMNS.
The Rev. Donald E. Messer (kneeling), Centennial, Colo., meets some of the 60 Rwandan women who received sheep from the Center for Health and Hope. The sheep were purchased by individuals in the U.S. as Christmas gifts in honor of their family and friends. Photo courtesy of Donald E. Messer.
Friends walk arm in arm through Murutinga, Brazil, after visiting a medical clinic offered by the Methodist Church of Brazil and the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church. The team was based on the John Wesley medical boat and traveled the Amazon and its tributaries to provide care in indigenous communities. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Credits:
Mike DuBose, Kathleen Barry, Gustavo Vasquez, Joey Butler, Marius Bonfeu, Lise Løvland, Clarafe Gonzales & Sergio Arevalo, Eveline Chikwanah, Philippe Kituka Lolonga, Taurai Emmanuel Maforo, E Julu Swen, Kudzai Chingwe, Erik Alsgaard, Phileas Jusu, Judith Osongo Yanga, Donald E. Messer,