Gyeongju, South Korea––Methodist men in Korea agreed to participate in a World Methodist effort to fund and establish a Stop Hunger Now warehouse to benefit hungry people in North Korea and other regions in Asia.

Larry Malone, president of the World Fellowship of Methodist and Uniting Church Men, is spearheading the effort to get Wesleyan men around the world to fund and deliver 13-ounce plastic packages of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and 21 vitamins and minerals for hungry people. After boiling in water for 10 minutes, the contents provide six meals at 25 cents a serving.

Malone, a staff executive for the General Commission on United Methodist Men, told 2,000 men attending a Jan. 21-22 lay servant leadership winter conference in Gyeongju about the international effort.

Following Malone’s address, Elder Choong-soo An, an officer of the Asian unit of the world fellowship, announced that the 30-member executive committee will work to establish a South Korea dehydrated food warehouse facility in 2011. The proposed Stop Hunger Now facility will serve the greater Asia region.

The executive committee of the men’s affiliate of the World Methodist Council agreed to support the Raleigh-based Stop Hunger Now organization during a September meeting in Santiago, Chile.

A feeble effort

Malone says he made a feeble effort to begin his speech in Korean.

“I began my speech with the greeting “Choo yesu christo iru-muroh moonan dream-needah” (Greetings in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ),” said Malone. “The audience gave a hearty roar for a feeble attempt.”

The speech was co-presented and interpreted by Elder Yooeui Sohn, an Atlanta-based  member of the United Methodist Council on Korean American Ministries.

“Thank you for your impressive and graceful speech at the Korea Methodist Conference at Gyeongju,” wrote Elder An in an e-mail following the event.

“The next steps will involve detailed planning, funding, and possibly a summer visit of Korean leaders for a hands-on experience in a food packaging in Atlanta,” said Malone.

Visit www.stophungernow.org for additional information.