Come experience life on the Bayou Teche through presentations, site visits, music, dance, and cuisine! Learn about the various cultures in the area and the contributions and influence of the Acadians (Cajuns), Native Americans, Creoles and the African Americans in Louisiana. The event will include visits to the oldest rice mill in the United States as well as the Governor’s plantation home, a Cajun restaurant with music and dancing. You will also travel to Avery Island - one of the five salt dome islands which rises above the gulf coast and is home to the Tabasco industry.

Primetimers will experience the work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and its commitment to “provide immediate relief of acute human need and to respond to suffering of persons in the world caused by natural, ecological, and civil disasters or political turmoil.” You will also learn about the history of the Sager Brown site, which opened after the Civil War in 1867 as a school and orphanage for African American children. Take a tour of and work in the UMCOR Depot where material resources are processed for worldwide relief and national disaster response.

Participants will have the opportunity to serve in mission on the UMCOR Sager Brown campus in outreach ministries to local residents, selecting from activities such as: making kits in the depot, sewing school bags, housing rehabilitation, distributing food to seniors, cooking meals, or assisting in a classroom at a local school.

EVENT CODE: 7SBD

EVENT LOCATION:
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
Sager-Brown, Baldwin, Louisiana

EVENT DATE: October 23 - 29, 2005

COST PER PERSON:
$450.00 [includes housing, food, local transport for events, program and accident insurance]. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from the event.

ROOMS:
Double occupancy rooms with shared baths only. Facility is handicap accessible and provides housing for handicapped participants upon request. Delicious meals are served in the large dining facility. Large and very beautiful campus located on the Bayou Teche, has level ground and is wheelchair accessible.

MEALS:
The first meal is dinner on Sunday, October 23 and the last meal of the event is breakfast on Saturday, October 29.

TRANSPORTATION:
For those traveling by air, please use the Lafayette, Louisiana Airport or the second choice would be the New Orleans airport. Car rentals are available at both airports. Transportation to the Sager-Brown campus can be arranged ahead of time by contacting UMCOR Sager-Brown at (337) 923-6238 ext. 204. Participants are responsible for the planning of such transportation as well as the cost. (In Oct. 2004, pick up at New Orleans airport was $200 each way.) For participants who are driving, directions will be given as you register.

REGISTRATION:
The registration deadline for this event is: September 10, 2005.
Please send completed registration and $150 deposit to:
Primetimers, Mission Volunteers, General Board of Global Ministries
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 330, New York, NY 10115

REGISTRATION LIMIT: 25 participants

EVENT CONTACT:
Pat Howard, UMCOR Sager Brown
Telephone: 337-923-6238
Email: phoward@sagerbrown.org

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Primetimers
A Mission Volunteers Program of the General Board of Global Ministries
The United Methodist Church
toll free: (877) 882-4724
E-mail: primetimers@gbgm-umc.org

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