August 2023: Introducing a New Generation to SIFATEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. Written by Matthew Ivey, Student Minister, Brandon FUMC, Brandon, Miss. I first came to SIFAT around 2004 as a middle school student and fell in love. I attended multiple retreats as a student, and I even helped serve on support staff for summer camp when I was older. If you would have told that 15-year-old kid that he would end up in ministry and serve as a student pastor, he would have laughed at you! Here we are years later, and I have had the opportunity to take my students on a trip to SIFAT!  Matthew (front left) came to SIFAT as a student, and now he is bringing his youth group to Learn & Serve! July 2023: Our SIFAT Family is a Blessing on this WorldEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. Written by Marie Lanier Narváez, Promotions and Marketing Coordinator  caption I just returned from spending three weeks in Ecuador with two mission teams serving in Machachi, south of Quito. During my trip, I met new friends and reconnected with others I had not seen in months or even years. Though our teams were small in number, they were mighty in love, compassion and energy! One night during devotions with Carrollton (Ga.) FUMC, team members shared about how they had previously been involved with SIFAT. Britt, the team leader, had led mission teams to Ecuador, but he had also brought youth groups to participate in Learn & Serve retreats on our campus in Alabama. Angie served on campus work teams with her college ministry, and she also traveled to Ecuador as part of a study abroad team in 2019. Cole and Caroline attended Worship on the Water whenever they visited their grandparents at Lake Wedowee. As I listened, it was as though our summers at SIFAT were all in one room – international mission teams, Learn & Serve and WOW! June 2023: May Field Study Returns to SIFAT CampusEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. Written by Kathy Bryson, International Training Director, and Kaitlyn Glenn, Learn & Serve Program Assistant We recently completed our May Field Study, “World Hunger and Malnutrition: Practical Skills to Make a Difference.” This training equips participants to serve in their communities and empower citizens through public health and community development. Students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham earned college credit when they joined us for 10 days of training. Prior to the UAB students’ arrival, international community leaders finished a week of training. Many UAB participants commented that the May Field Study was not only a valuable experience, but it was enlightening about the issues that so many people face around the world and the ways we can help.  SIFAT co-founder Ken Corson (center left) and SIFAT trainer Bayron Morales lead a class during our May Field Study, which was comprised of 48 participants representing 14 countries. Worship on the Water 2023Worship on the Water at Lake Wedowee this summer …Our summer will officially kick off with the first weekend of WOW at Lake Wedowee! Please help us spread the word about our nondenominational worship services that will be held throughout the summer from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend at 9 a.m. under the pines at Lakeside Marina. Come by boat, come by car, come as you are!
 Each Sunday during the summer, we invite different speakers and musicians to lead our nondenominational, casual service on Lake Wedowee! In Memory of our Dearly Loved Brother
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