International Activities at the Wesley Foundation at the University of Illinois

In This Issue International Coffeehouse meets every Friday 4-6pm Amish Community Field Trip This Friday. Sign Up now! Labor Day Canoe Trip Wesley Food Pantry is this Thursday (and Wed). Volunteers needed.

International Coffeehouse EVERY Friday Come join us this Friday and every Friday (even when some of our group is off on a field trip) for this informal time of conversation, food and snacks. 4pm - 6pm. It's fun and free.! Quick Links Wesley Foundation Wesley Church Graduate Student Activities Int Coffeehouse Online Sign Ups Join our Mailing List! Field Trip to Amish Community this Friday We will be going into the Arcola Illinois area (about 45min drive) to visit the Amish communityThey are a Christian denomination (community) that has chosen to live a a traditional lifestyle. They are best known for their simple living, plain dress and resistance to the many modern conveniences including telephones, electricity and cars. We will meet in the Wesley Foundation parking lot at 12:30 and "car pool" (share rides) to Arcola. We will visit an Amish Home, Dairy Farm and Woodworking shop. Cost is $20 (to cover gas and enterance fees). We should be back by 5:30 pm. Please sign up onlineat our blog by Noon on August 20th. http://intcoffeehouse.blogspot.com/ Labor Day Canoe Trip - Sept 7th Labor Day Monday Sept 7th 8:00 am -6:00 pm We will be meeting at the Wesley Foundation Monday morning at 8:00 am for an hour and a half car ride to Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. Students from the Purdue Wesley Foundation will meet us there as we venture down the Sugar Creek, past beautiful sandstone walls. We will provide a picnic lunch half way through the trip. There is an optional hike at the end of the day. We should be home by 6 pm. $20 will cover all of your expenses. Clothing to get wet Shoes to get wet Clothing to change into if you get wet Shoes to change into after they get wet Towel Suntan lotion (or share) Snack to share (ie bag of chips or soda) Sign Up by scrolling down to the form. Or email rkirby@wesleyui.org by Sept. 2nd by noon if you plan on joining us. Food Pantry this Thursday Each month our Wesley Foundation serves over 1000 persons in need a week's worth of groceries. This is a huge undertaking as we convert our foundation into a food pantry (grocery store) each third Thursday of the month. We need to unload a semi's worth of food, set up tables open boxes and direct traffic. At the end of the evening we need to tear it all down and clean up. You do not need to speak English to help as much of it is "manual labor." This is a great way to see another side of America. Food Pantry volunteers are needed for many jobs throughout the month, but especially the days and hours leading up to, and through, distribution on the evening of the 3rd Thursday of the month. All Thursday volunteers must have attended one training session before working during distribution on . Training for persons who want to help on Thursday and have not yet gone through training will be Wed at 7:00pm. Training lasts a little over an hour. Some of the times you can volunteer include (you do not need to work the full time slot): Wed. Aug 19th 12:30-3:00 pm Truck Unloading, 18 persons each hour Wed. Aug 19th 6:30 - 9:00 pm Food Set Up, 20 persons each hour Thurs. Aug 20th 4:00 - 9:00 pm Food Distribution 35+ persons each hour Thurs. Aug 20th 8:00 - 10:00 pm Cleanup 18 persons each hour If you have questions or would like to sign up online for a volunteer time slot please contact Candice at pantryvol@wesleyui.org We welcome you, your ideas, and your cultures as equals as we journey down this path of life together. Programs for Internationals offered through the Wesley Foundation are designed to offer hospitality (a generous and warm reception of guests), to experience cultural exchange and to assist internationals in various ways (like learning English, understanding American culture, answering questions, or for our bible studies, understanding Christianity). You do not need to be a Christian to attend any of our programs nor do we judge our success on how many Christians we "make." We believe that we are all strengthened by our mutual exchanges of ideas and cultures. While we are willing to share our stories of faith, we are also excited to hear your stories of faith. Our success is based on the hospitality we have offered, the friendships we have made and the assistance we have provided. We do not believe that one church (even ours) has the only right understanding of Christianity or faith. We will not speak ill of other churches but would be willing to discuss differences that we may hold with other churches in our area and address any concerns you may have.