Mission Team Member: DonnaCC

Donna is not quite sure what she wants to be when she grows up, so until then she is currently working as an elementary school secretary. She loves this job so much that the 26 years at the same school have just flown by. She loves children which is evident by her commitment to her job and as a Sunday School teacher at CCUMC for over 30 years. The love she has for her Lord and children has lead her to be a member of CCUMC's mission team to Uganda. She and her husband, Peter will be embarking on this life changing journey together armed with her love of children and his love of using his "handy man"skills.

While away on the mission trip she will miss Yogi, her Shiba Inu, working out at Curves and tap dancing with her sister.

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MissionTeam Member: BurtY

Having only retired in 1998 from his professional career of 36 years as an elementary school teacher and principal in Oakland, Burt continues to follow his call to lay ministry to “Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay in Love with God”. This Wesleyan-based tradition has served and continues to serve as his personal motto.

Adding to his already active faith journey with his local church CCUMC of over fifty years, he was recently elected to serve as CA/NV Annual Conference Co-Lay Leader for the 2008-2012 quadrennium. As the first ever Asian-American to hold such a position, he works closely in partnership with the bishop and his cabinet and represents the interests of the laity of over 350 churches.

In addition to spending quality time as a husband, a father and a grandfather of Emma and Linus, he sings bass in New Dimension Chorus, the Fremont/Hayward Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society bringing barbershop harmony to appreciative audiences, young and old. He also serves as a volunteer Hayward Area Recreation District van driver for seniors on Bay Area trips. He serves alongside with his wife, Jane in the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter, Alameda County as co-lead for mass care, sheltering and feeding.

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Introducing Mission Team Member: ValeneW

Valene is a first grade teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District. She is a product of the Berkeley public schools herself, and very proud of it. Valene and Dustin got married in July 2007 and are currently living in Hayward. She loves reading good books while hiding under her warm bed covers, eating food from all over the world, and watching God's beautiful creation of rainbows and sunsets. This will be Valene's first missions trip, which she is very excited for. She will be helping with photography/videography on this trip. Also, Valene and Dustin are in charge of luggage, making sure that everything goes and comes back properly.

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Introducing Mission Team Member: BenW

This will be Ben's second trip to Kumi - his first was during a honeymoon trip to Uganda that included a surprise wedding welcome from YCVM (he actually carried the wedding cake back on the 5 hour return bus trip to Kampala). When he isn't collecting computers and musical instruments for Aeri's annual mission trips ... well, he's collecting computers and musical instruments for churches in the Bay Area. He manages to feed himself by designing chips for Cisco, and if he isn't playing golf, pool, or riding his bike, he's probably hanging out at CCUMC or with his in-laws (crazy, eh?).

During the 2 week stay in Kumi, Ben will be in charge of the video camera. Since he has had some previous interaction with the people of YCVM, he doesn't mind being behind the viewfinder to capture the goings-on. Unfortunately, the Internet capabilities in Kumi won't be adequate for sharing video, so Ben will send communications via email for posting to KumiKonnect during the trip. Be sure to check back for new info while the team is in Kumi!

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Introducing Mission Team Member: BeckyW

Becky has always wanted to do a mission trip since her college days at UC Berkeley, and now, some 40 years later, the Holy Spirit has issued the call for her to go to Uganda with the CCUMC Mission Team. I guess if it's one thing she's noted for, it's patience! She's been able to develop that skill and others as she devoted 35 years of her life to teaching elementary school in the Oakland Unified School District, which she has thought of as a different type of “mission” call in the inner city.

Since being newly retired in January, 2009, Becky has been praying about where God might be leading her to serve, with the additional gift of TIME. She is volunteering to teach newcomers at Lincoln School, serves on the Wa Sung Community Service Club Board as Director of Educational Grants, is Chairperson of the Lincoln Environmental Education and Arts Fund ( where she gets to go on Science Camps with the 5th graders), and is active at CCUMC in the Sunday School, the prayer and hiking fellowships, the Green Team, as LaySpeaker and chair of the Missions work area.

A former “Sweet Adeline”, Becky loves music (she recently bought a ukelele!), art, hiking,quilting, travel, and hula, which she takes with her daughter Jessica. And of course, life wouldn't be complete without her loving family, husband Al, sons Ben and Jamie, daughter Jessica, daughter-in-law Aeri, and doggies Kayla and Kahlua.

As she prepares for the trip to Uganda, Becky carries the words of this favorite hymn: “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.”

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Introducing Mission Team Member: Aeri L.

Come, Thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy praise

That wonderful opening line from Charles Wesley's hymn is an oft repeated prayer/praise with which Aeri begins her daily life. Her various places of calling include music director and adjunct faculty at the Pacific School of Religion, worship coordinator and Uganda mission team leader at Chinese Community UMC, piano teacher, annual guest lecturer in music at the Reformed Theological College in Kampala, Uganda, godmother to Zachary and Alina, and wife to Ben, among others. And, no wonder that she often ends her days with the second stanza of that hymn: O, to grace, how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!

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