Cameron Men on a Mission

After a week of early morning breakfasts and prayer services in the sanctuary of the Cameron Church of the Nazarene, men from several of Cameron's congregations have begun a new outreach called Cameron Men on a Mission.

The idea came after Ken Swindler shared his plans to donate 5 acres to bring the Dream Catchers Equine Assisted Programs to Cameron. Dream Catchers, a 501.c.3 not-for-profit corporation, "is committed to serving riders with disabilities and youth at risk, providing life skills development" through the use of specially trained horses and instructors. Among those helped through this program are people with ADD, Down Syndrome, Autism, Brain Injury, or Behavioral, Emotional, or Learning challenges.

Cameron Men on a Mission (CMM) allows men in local congregations to pool their volunteer passion, skills, and experience into short-term missions that make a positive, lasting change in the community. In their first mission, CMM will construct barns and fences during April. Teams of ten (consisting of professional, semi-skilled, and novice helpers) will serve on a Saturday to raise the first barn and other teams will work on fences.

CMM projects are open to men and youth from any or no church background but they will be planned and organized by men working from some shared Christian values. Missions will usually take the form of short-term initiatives that require large numbers of volunteers to accomplish someting extraordinary in one day. Events are organized well in advance to increase effectiveness and promote a great experience for all participants.

Not every volunteer will be asked to swing hammers or operate construction equipment. At every mission there will also be teams that work on meals and snacks, first aid and safety, and other forms of support. A journalism team will be on hand to take pictures, conduct interviews and record the experience for celebrations after missions are accomplished.

Cameron Men on a Mission will also provide another opportunity for men to do something both fun and constructive with sons, nephews, grandsons, and new neighbors. CMM can also be a way for men of different backgrounds to enjoy serving the community together without having to make a long-term commitment to an organization. Participants can elect to serve only one day or in just one mission but they can also join in future work as often or as seldom as fits their schedules.

A planning team with representatives of congregations in Cameron will meet for breakfast at the First Christian Church, 4th and Pine, in Cameron on Saturday, April 12, at 7:00 am. At that time organization for the first mission will begin and leaders will be identified to take CMM forward.

Already eleven men have turned in their one-page profile indicating their contact information and areas of experience and skill.

To join them, request the Cameron Men on a Mission form from your local church pastor or from: Bill Rose-Heim, br_h@nwareacc.org

Block Safety Development Initiative

Say, some of us are giving serious thought to an intiative to develop block shelters in existing homes. I have a 3 page proposal to share with anyon interested and can send that as a pdf file attached to an email.

Imagine that you are at home. The siren goes off, announcing a serious emergency. If you are so fortunate to have one, you head for your basement. If not, where do you go?

Now, quick, of the three households in front of you, three behind you, three to the left of you and three to the right, how many can you name who are safely sheltered?

You now understand a serious gap in our emergency preparedness. And you also see an opportunity not only to improve public safety but to start rebuilding declining neighborhoods and sense of community.

The proposal will be sumitted in current or modified form to the Cameron City council soon.

Water Needs

Several of us met last week at the Prudential Snook offices to review the outcomes and learnings from the unsuccessful campaign for a water pipeline to St. Joseph and completion of the main in the south end of Cameron and construction of a new water storage tower there.

Many believe that the last minute negative phone campaign may have swayed some voters. Some point out that we need to meet with the more vocal opponents and give them opportunity to show (with equally well-researched scientific information) why constructing a much more expensive reservoir is a better approach.

Ultimately, it is up to the Cameron City Council to decide what steps to take next. The consensus of those in attendance was that all of us are in this effort to positively and cost-effectively address the still pressing need for a dependable, alternative source of water for this community.

What ideas do you have?
Bill R-H

Welcome!

Welcome to a new way for us to challenge, inspire, and encourage one another.

New to blogging? No problem.

You may comment on anything you see on this site and your comments will be visible to any viewer (but not your personal contact information). Click on the word "Comment" under any post and enter your coments.

We agree to only a few rules:

1. Post nothing that is likely to invite a charge of libel
2. Post only that which will challenge, inspire, or encourage visitors
3. Focus on anything that will make Cameron an even better city

That's it.

Grammatical correctness and punctuation are optional and there will be no grading of posts or comments. (Sit on your hands, English teachers, and be content to work with the willing or the captive, please.)

Let's get started!