2010 Year-End Letter

(Below is a communication that was mailed at the beginning of 2011 to supporters of YCVM)

January 31, 2011

Dear Friends of YCVM,

Looking back at the year 2010, the Mission Team at Chinese Community United Methodist Church is filled with awe, gratitude, and amazement at the blessings and miracles we have witnessed. We wish to share with you both the tremendous progress made in Kumi, Uganda, and the eager hopes that carry us forward into 2011.
Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to fully support 11 orphans in 2010. This includes providing for their school tuition, uniforms, school supplies, room and board, and counseling. All the students are healthy and faring well.
The YCVM Praise Band and Ministry Team continue to do outreach to villages, towns, schools, and prisons, sharing the Good News of the Gospel through word and song. One of the most inspiring events was the establishment of a worshiping congregation at the Displaced Persons Camp in Katakwi, Uganda. While the residents there experience many hardships in a camp with few resources, they now know the message of love and hope which God brings to them. Please continue to pray for them and the many new converts who have been brought to the faith through YCVM.
For those of you who attended our Benefit Dinner in April, you’ll be excited to read the enclosed letter from “Plumb-Bob” (aka Donna Chan Chu, one of the 2009 Missioners). Through this first major fundraiser, we were able to send $40,000 towards the building of the school in Kumi. Within a few months, construction raised the brick shell of the entire school and completed the roof… the speed of their construction seemed miraculous! You can see photos of the progress at the website: www.ycvm.org
The Dream goes on as our little church in Oakland Chinatown pursues the goal of completing the school and getting it to the stage where classes can be held. Plans are in the works to hold the second fundraiser dinner and to invite our partners in YCVM to play a major role in helping us. As always, we give thanks to each and every one of you, our supporters, who have so faithfully donated time, money, and prayers to this ministry. We couldn’t do it without you.
We invite you to continue your participation in 2011 in whatever ways the Spirit leads you. Enclosed is a brochure outlining how you can sponsor an orphan or contribute to the work of YCVM and the school construction project. We will also keep you posted on the upcoming fundraiser events for 2011: a sponsorship concert in March and the Benefit Dinner tentatively set for August.
We hope that this letter has shared with you our heartfelt joy at being in partnership with you for the betterment of the children of Kumi, and ultimately for the empowerment of the Ugandan people. Together we can “Touch the heavens and change the Earth”.

Blessings and Peace,

Becky Wong , Worship Chair Pastor Emily Lin The CCUMC Mission Team