LEAMIS, the non-denominational group with which I take my foreign mission trips (Were you aware that I was taking a trip this week? I know I’ve kept pretty quiet about it), and Mountain T.O.P., the United Methodist-affiliated missions group which works in the Cumberland Mountains and which I serve as a board member, are planning a joint project: a relief trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Aug. 10-24. Bob Willems and Frank Schroer, who are well known to participants in both programs, will lead the trip. Click the link for more details.

There’s no formal link between the two organizations, but they have a lot of friends and participants in common — like me, for example. Gail Drake, the co-founder of LEAMIS, is the daughter of Mountain T.O.P.’s now-retired founder, George Bass, and Gail ran Mountain T.O.P.’s adult ministry for a number of years, which is how I met her.