Cookies, boat races among 131 missions activities offered at national WMU in June

Cookies, boat races among 131 missions activities offered at national WMU in June

By Grace Thornton
The Alabama Baptist

When missions heroine Lottie Moon was serving in China, she often baked cookies for the children in her village. Her little tea cakes won them over — and earned her an invitation to go and meet their mothers so she could share Jesus with them.

It’s a time-honored tradition — missions and hospitality. It’s still going on today and you’re invited to keep it going.

And yes, cookies are involved. 

This June national Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) would like for you to join them in Birmingham for their annual missions celebration, held June 9 at the Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, and June 10 at the national WMU office just down the street.

The Sunday gathering, which starts at 3 p.m., will feature missionary speakers such as Nik Ripken, who has written extensively on the persecuted church around the world. The Monday gathering, which starts at 9 a.m., will include 131 missions-related activities in honor of WMU’s 131st anniversary.

One of those events will be baking Lottie Moon’s cookies. Others will include:

  • Activities to introduce you to different countries and cultures, like an opportunity to learn the traditional African game mancala and eat Greek food. You can also interact with disaster relief units, women’s ministries and refugee outreach.
  • Games and talks to help you learn more about missions history and offer you creative ideas for missions education in the future.
  • A refugee simulation which will provide a personal glimpse into what it’s like to leave everything you know behind.
  • A Narnia-like experience for children where they can crawl through a wardrobe into a reading nook, where volunteers will be posted all day to read books to them. Adults can also discover more about the book publishing process from Iron Stream Media, WMU’s publishing partner. 
  • The Rain Gutter Regata, where you can race your vessel in the sailboat equivalent of the pinewood derby.
  • Art and craft experiences like crafting t-shirt jump ropes and signing a tile in a mosaic of the world.
  • The opportunity to prepare etchings of bricks on the newly laid Walk of Faith and pray over the legacy of WMU’s missions heroes past and present.

Sandy Wisdom-Martin, national WMU executive director, said this is just the beginning — there’s so much to dive into and she would love for everyone to take part.

“Join the celebration as you learn how God is moving and working in remarkable ways around the globe,” she said. “Since your story intersects with God’s story this is your story too. Immerse yourself in this missions experience as you pursue God on a deeper level.”

30-day devotional

The celebration will also include the release of the new 30-day devotional “On the Journey” written by Wisdom-Martin and Linda Cooper, national WMU president.

To register for sessions and lunch, visit wmu.com and click on the “register today” banner.

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Acteens to celebrate 50 years

Once an Acteen, always an Acteen — that’s what WMU believes anyway.

So they’re inviting Acteens past and present to gather for a dinner June 7 to celebrate 50 years of the missions education group for teen girls.

The event, called Acteens for Life, will occur at national WMU headquarters in Birmingham at 6 p.m. 

Visit wmu.com/acteensforlife for more information or to register.