On April 23rd and April 30th we'll be collecting items for the Holston Conference Hands-On Mission project. The items below will be part of food buckets sent to the Ishe Anesu Mission School in Zimbabwe. We'll do a collection of the rest of the items in May. Here is what's needed. 2 pound bags of dried beans 2 pound bags of white rice Cans of Spam Please bring items to the collection bin at the Porte Cochere (covered drop off, upper level) from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm on the 23rd and 30th. Here is more about the Ishe Anesu Project from the Holston Conference: Ishe Anesu Project is located within the Hilltop United Methodist Church premises in Sakubva, Mutare, Zimbabwe. For years, Maria Sabino Humbane, its Director, had a vision to start this project but had no idea how to go about it and let alone the means. It was not until 1997 during her training as missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia that her mission began to take shape. She expressed her wish to work with underprivileged children in Africa and asked the GBGM to assign her to a community service for her missionary work. Thus, during her training at the Mission Resource Center in Atlanta, Maria found a place where she could work her project out as her internship with a group of children. Upon completion of her missionary training, Maria returned to Zimbabwe. After discussing her vision with Bishop Christopher Jokomo, then bishop of the Zimbabwe Annual Conference, Maria was assigned to the Sakubva community to start her project. With the help of the Hilltop UMC, Maria identified 15 underprivileged children to start her project. Ishe Anesu is an after-school project. Maria designed the project and defined its primary objective as follows: to provide education to the underprivileged children/orphans and the poorest of the poor. In order to achieve this objective, the project pays school fees and buys school uniforms, books and stationery for the children. Wearing school uniform is required. In addition to paying school fees and buying uniforms, the project offers Christian education and values, social and family ethics and recreation. The project provides 2 meals a day. Minor injuries and illnesses requiring first-aid treatment are taken care of at the Project. The Project pays for doctor appointments and treatment of the children. Occasionally, the children enjoy extracurricular activities such as visits to the museums, animal game preserves, airport, food factories and other sightseeing areas.