The Gibson Corners United Methodist Church will be holding their 9th annual Spaghetti Dinner to benefit their school building project in Ecuador.
All proceeds from the Dinner will go to the Mission Project.
The dinner will be held at the Countryside Community Center, Sheldon Guiles Boulevard, in Owego on Saturday, April 2nd from 4:30 to 7:30.
The Ecuador Out of the Box mission project began in 2000.
Pastor Gary Bryden challenged the congregation to do something their chrch was really too small to attempt.
The 50 member congregation, led by Crystal Woodburn, sent a team to Ecuador with the church’s youth group thinking they would work on a construction project for an orphanage.
On arrival, they were led to a school construction project initiated by the Assemblies of God church.
They began digging the foundation for a five story building in the heart of a large city in an earthquake zone, by hand.
The Owego United Methodist Church has been back for nine of the last ten years.
They have raised money through their annual spaghetti dinner, parking at the air show, and deposits refunded from collected bottles and cans.
They were joined over the years by many people from different churches and different denominations all over the country.
Last year, the school opened with 52 children.
This year there are 300 and those who have toured the building from Ecuador say it is the most beautiful school in the area.
Construction is just finishing on the second story and there are plans to make an auditorium on the third at which point construction will be halted for now.
This year the team is donating their traveling money along with the funds from our spaghetti dinner to the construction fund.
They are also beginning a sponsorship program for children whose families are unable to cover the $30 per month tuition.
The families will be donating 10 dollars and the sponsorships will be 20 dollars per month.
