The balance will be met by the church itself and other partnerships. For several years in the small university town of Freiberg outside Dresden, the 30 members of the United Methodist church have worshipped in a room rented from the Seventh Day Adventists. Through its own initiative, the congregation raised enough money to buy a small parcel of land in the center of town. They're hoping that town people will stop in and be ministered to. The Volunteers in Mission program is a GBGM-supported program through which volunteers share time, talents, and money to participate in mission and to work in partnership with United Methodists in countries around the world.
All volunteers stay in the homes of church members in Germany.
In addition to their demolition tasks, the Freiberg volunteers will spend some time sightseeing and visiting churches in Dresden and Plauen. The side trip to Plauen will have special meaning for 14 persons on the team who are members of Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since 1980, the Cincinnati church has provided small amounts of money to work in partnership with the Plauen United Methodist Church. The two churches have engaged in several occasions of combined worship. Initially Ms. Gildemeister despaired of assembling a team for the trip to Freiberg, Plauen, and Dresden.