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Mighty Oaks From Little Acorns Grow
From “Four Score and More” column by Hub Foster of York, Nebraska
March 27, 2009, in the York News-Times (by permission from author)
Mighty Oaks From Little Acorns Grow
There is no better example of this adage than the story of the Orphan Grain Train. In the year 1992, the Rev. Ray Wilke, pastor of the Grace Lutheran Church in Norfolk, Nebraska, took a group of volunteers to Latvia and Russia to assist with a church mission. There they witnessed the desperate needs for humanitarian, spiritual and emotional help after the dissolution of the former Soviet Union.
The Latvian people begged Rev. Wilke for assistance and he promised to attempt to do something about their sad plight.
He envisioned a train which could travel through America’s Midwest, gathering carloads of donated grain and when it reached the east coast could be shipped to the starving peoples in eastern Europe. He approached Clayton Andrews, president of Andrews Van Lines of Norfolk, when he returned to the states. Andrews heard the story and never hesitated to assist. He threw his full resources and energy behind the idea. Therefore, the concept of the Orphan Grain Train was born and it really took off far beyond anyone’s expectations. The railroad concept was a bit impractical, but trucks filled the bill nicely. And Andrews owned many. Within a year the Grain Train’s first shipment, a container of clothing and quilts, arrived in Riga, Latvia.
The volunteer idea grew like a prairie wildfire, especially among the Lutherans in the Midwest. In addition to the original Norfolk warehouse and central offices, there have sprung up 17 more regional warehouses. They have delivered in the past 18 years more than 30,000,000 pounds of humanitarian aid to more than 40 countries on five continents. In addition there were more than 300 semi truckloads of hay delivered to drought stricken farmers in 2002-03 and 100 semi loads of supplies to the Gulf Coast in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Orphan Grain Train has become an important force in humanitarian aid and is now recognized internationally. It only serves to emphasize what great things volunteers can accomplish when properly motivated. It’s a hands-on, Christian based, disaster relief organization that collects, packs and ships more than 150 semi-truckloads of clothing, medications, bedding and other basic life-supporting necessities every year around the world. And it continues to grow!
Our Family Involved
I first became acquainted with the Orphan Grain Train through my two sons. Dr. Bill Foster joined OGT following his voluntary seven-year medical missionary service in the Ivory Coast. His expertise in procuring medical supplies served the OGT well, while he recovered from medical problems in Norfolk upon his return to the United States a few years ago.
Bill’s interest in OGT apparently prompted my son Dick to become involved. He has become the local coordinator for OGT through the Emmanuel Lutheran Church, organizing monthly trips to the Norfolk warehouse with carloads of clothing, etc. In fact, only last Tuesday, three carloads of local volunteers spent the day sorting and packing clothes at that site. Their automobiles literally bulged with donated clothing from local people who had extra garments to contribute. The nine volunteers unloaded these donations and then spent about five hours working at various assignments in the warehouse before heading back to York. Tired, but satisfied knowing they had done something worthwhile for those not as fortunate as they.
The Train’s annual report to contributors indicated the scope of this young organization’s influence! They now have warehouses in Napoleon, Ohio; Azaela, Ind.; Lancaster, CA; Culver City, CA; Bottineau, ND; Willington, Del; Los Angeles, CA; Westfield, WI; Sioux City, IA; St. Louis, MO; Rochester, MN; Schenectady NY; St. Paul, MN; and Columbus, Ind.
The list of destinations for their shipments is amazing. During the past 12 months, here are some of the countries served: Belarus, India, Nicaragua, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Dom. Republic, Haiti, Ukraine, Kenya, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Uganda, Sudan, Lithuania, the Philippines, Armenia, South Africa, Latvia and Swaziland.
Here are some of the items donated and shipped during the past year: medications, clothing of all types, shoes, blankets, quilts, Bibles, canned food, toys, chairs, medical supplies, canes, crutches, wheel chairs, bikes, hardware items, furniture, paint, musical instruments, school supplies, hospital equipment. You name it; Orphan Grain Train has probably handled it!
If anyone has articles to donate, call Dick Foster at 402-362-4882. If anyone has funds to contribute to the OGT, the address is Orphan Grain Train, Box 1466, Norfolk, NE 68702-1466.