August 2015 - I have just returned from Quessua Angola where I led a small mission team on an incredible journey. It was for me, perhaps the most wonderful mission trip I have ever been a part of. I have been involved in Quessua, Angola since January 2010. I have been asked why Angola? The answer is, because that is where God has called me. I have watched young men from the Quessua Internato boarding home/orphanage, grow into young men. They have gone to universities to become lawyers, psychologist, doctors, engineers and teachers. These, were young men who grew up in the midst of a civil war and suffered great loss. Many people would not have had much hope for them to even survive. These young men took a terrible past and used that past to build a platform to reach their goals. They are strong, they are courageous and they are smart. They are full of not only hope, but also of promise. They chose not to be victims, and not to just survive. They chose to succeed...against all odds. I am so very proud of them.My team traveled to small villages where we visited schools made of mud. We listened as the children eagerly shared their lessons with us. Parents peered in through little windows proudly observing our delighted reaction. We played games, sang and laughed together and left school supplies for the teachers and a pencil and an eraser for each child.If you have never heard the voices of young African men singing, you have really missed something special. We gathered by the church at night to listen and to dance with them. We had a wonderful day with many United Methodist Women from the Northern District. We shared bread making and flower arranging and they taught us how to make native foods. ...even Fungi. I have great respect for the talented women of Africa and hold them in high esteem.

Greetings, Tomorrow, October 2, I will be leading a team to a small community in Angola, Africa. We have been preparing and were anxious to continue with a construction project that would provide housing for many boys and young men. Yesterday, a severe wind storm hit the area ripping the roof off the school and severely damaging the orphanage we have been working on. We were going to put the final touches on the building and taking new sheets for the beds the boys have built using their welding skills. My team will leave tomorrow to provide whatever assistance we can in the wake of a heartbreaking disaster in a little community called Quessua. Thankfully, everyone is OK. "We are not in control, we are workers in the field!"

I returned home from Quessua, Angola shortly before Thanksgiving. I did the usual things to prepare for my family gathering. Pumpkins and gourds were placed and a Fall wreath hung on the door. Store shelves overflowed with everything imaginable. My home was filled with an inviting aroma as I prepared our meal, and all the while, images of Angola continued to fill my head...empty shelves in their grocery store and mud homes with only a threadbare mattress, 400 hungry children who gathered and waited for a piece of bread and juice. Receiving the bread, they looked to us with piercing eyes filled with gratitude…for bread.I remembered the villages. Throngs of people gathered seeking medical care. They were sick and malnourished. A storm wildly blew dirt over all of us and the rains came…but the people of the village and those who had traveled far, stood there, waiting for the care they had come to receive…We could not leave.! All of the medicines we brought were dispensed, and yet, we needed so much more. Team members took the critical to a hospital to be treated. Babies and children were clothed to protect them from the cold. Tiny twins whose mother was very ill were fed. Many suffered from the ravages of Malaria, Typhoid Fever, etc.. We diagnosed, treated and lives were saved. We celebrated Christmas on Dec.25, “The greatest gift ever given to our world”. We share His love by giving gifts to one another.Today, I want to thank each of you who played a part in this mission. I am grateful for your gift of support that made it possible for us to go, to purchase medications, to purchase food and seeds to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Today, I am reminded of Matthew 25. "...As you did to one of the least of these, you did it to me.” Thank you for your encouragement, prayers, contributions, loving hearts and for the opportunity to carry your message of love to the beautiful people of Angola.. Heartfelt appreciation,Sandi Goodman

Angola experienced the brutality of war for nearly 30 years (1975-2002). The war had ended when I was asked to go to Quessua for the East Angola/Florida Partnership. I had served in migrant labor camps, impoverished Appalachian Mountains, Honduras, Costa Rica and in the areas surrounding Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I was experienced as a short term missionary...but this trip would be different. I eagerly jumped at the opportunity to go, hoping to hear God's call for where I would serve next. Traveling the long road from the airport in Luanda to Quessua, we saw little mud huts blanketing the hillsides. . Remnants of war were obvious as we passed destroyed buildings, but even more, was the unspoken damage revealed in faces of the people...the children wearing the deepest scars. And, my heart ached! I laughed in the daytime as we played and worked with the children by our sides. At night, I cried. How can we possibly make a difference? How can we help? I have been asked that question repeatedly as I prepared to return to Angola with teams. Now, I have the answer. Together, we can make a difference! The East Angola/Florida Partnership of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church is made up of many people with hearts to serve and care for our brothers and sisters around the world. We can send small groups at a time to continue building relationships with the people of Quessua and also working with them in rebuilding their church, hospital, schools, homes and lives. One team can't do it all, but as an old African Proverb states, "If we want to go far, we go together". Teams from around our state continue to complete the projects started by others...and then another team goes...and another as we join hands with the Angolan Community and form lasting relationships. We go to serve...but it is those of us who go and those who send who receive the greatest joy.

Every 60 seconds a child in Africa dies of Malaria.Every 60 seconds you have a chance to save a life!

I have always had a love of art. I have three art instruction books "Giggles and Hugs, 1, 2 and 3" that are published by Susan Scheewe Publications, Inc. in Portland, Oregon. My work is licensed with the gift industry for decorative purposes (greeting cards, quilt designs, candles,cookie tins, etc.) and has been published in several painting magazines. I have taught at painting conventions across the country and from a small cottage studio in the grove behind my home. The proceeds from my artwork have been used to provide micro loans for women's businesses and to transport medical supplies to small hospitals and clinics near Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa.

Serving and providing medical care for children and families in a large pediatric practice under outstanding and gifted Pediatricians.