Regional Divisions

Maryland Division

Orphan Grain Train Needs YOU

The Orphan Grain Train, Maryland Branch has been quite busy with recent shipments of clothes, medical supplies (including over 1,000 crutches!), canes, sanitary kits, wheelchairs and bedding to Cameroon, Nicaragua and most recently, Kyrgyzstan.  Even with these shipments, though, we are running out of room.  We have graciously been given a plot of land in Millersville, Maryland, and are actively raising funds for the creation of a warehouse to store supplies in between shipments. If you are able to make a donation in support of this effort, you can donate online via our secure Online Giving Page. Under Gift Information select Where Most Needed. Go to the comment section at the bottom of the page and type in Maryland Branch Warehouse. Checks can be mailed to the address below with Maryland Warehouse in the memo line. 

The Orphan Grain Train, Maryland Branch, is currently collecting clothing, medical supplies and sanitary supplies for our next shipment to Haiti.  If you have donations for the Orphan Grain Train Maryland Branch, please contact Elfie Eberle at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Ron Phipps at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Thank you for you support and helping send Relief for Human Need Worldwide!

Maryland Branch mailing address:
Orphan Grain Train Maryland Branch
c/o St. Paul Lutheran Church
31 Roscoe Rowe Blvd.
Annapolis, MD 21146
(410) 544-1621

Maryland Branch Helps New York Flood Victims

On a chilly early afternoon of Monday, November 28, a loaded cargo van arrived at Zion Lutheran Church in Owego, New York at the request of Pastor Aaron Schian. The town was devastated when the rain from tropical storm Lee began falling September 6 and poured 11 inches over the next two days.  The Susquehanna River rose from 17 feet to 38 feet between 6 a.m. September 7 and 6 a.m. September 8. Then the gauge that measures the surge broke, but the river kept rising. "It was like a horizontal Niagara Falls," said a Salvation Army worker.  "It was fast, it was high and it was loud."

One resident said, "Everybody's life is on the lawn."  The mayor said that 90 percent of the homes on the north side of the Susquehanna River took in water.  Some will have to be leveled and many more will take months to repair.

Seeking to help his community, Pastor Schian contacted Elfie Eberle, chair of the Orphan Grain Train, Maryland Branch.  Housed at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Annapolis, Orphan Grain Train is a nearly all-volunteer, humanitarian, Christian organization that shares material resources with people who are in need, wherever they are.  The pastor said he had a particular need for blankets and quilts.  He noted that "there are still around 1,000 people without power and that means, of course, without heat.  The blankets and quilts will be such a great gift to the people here in Owego."

Elfie immediately put the word out and in a matter of a few short weeks, the ladies of Annapolis Evangelical Lutheran Church, along with the ladies of St. Paul's made 67 bright and beautiful quilts!  Supplemented by donations from many other churches, some as far away as Salisbury, Maryland and Hampton and Williamsburg, Virginia, a total of 300 quilts and blankets were loaded in the van along with 30 mercy kits (a bath towel and wash cloth wrapped around hygiene supplies, such as toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, etc.) 
The quilts and blankets arrived just in time.  The supply at Zion Lutheran Church had dwindled to just a few.
Special thanks to all of those who helped.

Kyrgyzstan Feature:

Kyrgyzstan is a former Soviet Republic about the size of Nebraska with a population of 6 million people.  It is 95% mountainous and actually looks very similar to Switzerland.  When the Russians left in 1991, they closed all their munitions and textile factories and the collective farm system collapsed.  That left the country with an unemployment rate of 80%.  This coupled with the shaky democracy and the corruption have left many of the nation’s citizens hopeless. 

 
The Lutheran mission is a beacon of light in a very dark place.  The gospel, the good news, brings hope where there is none.  Orphan Grain Train ships containers of clothing, school supplies, medical supplies and equipment.  300 shunts have been supplied to the Ministry of Health which means that 300 lives have been saved.  Each year, 50 societies are chosen out of the hundreds that apply and receive monthly allotments of hygiene supplies, clothing, linens and school supplies.  We support 7 orphanages, 10 groups of seniors who craft items to sell for their support, 14 churches and bring help to hundreds of individuals in and out of the church. 


 
Here is a quote from a letter from a Kyrgyz mother:  “Thank you so much for the warm boots you have supplied Sasha.  He now can go to school and go out and play.  God bless you.“



 










Cameroon Feature:

OGT sent a container to Cameroon during November 2010, but guess what?  The container did not come back.  Instead, it was purchased by Lutheran Hour Ministries to be kept there and used as a place for a newly established sewing school.  Once windows and doors were cut into the container, the 40 sewing machines, fabrics and sewing supplies were put in place to start the school.  Aimed at women who been sexually abused, this school will offer new opportunities to learn skills that these women would not have had access to otherwise.

In addition to sewing supplies and medical supplies, clothing and brand new school supplies filled the container.  This was the first time OGT has shipped to Cameroon.
Pastor Sam, Lutheran Hour Ministries director for Cameroon, tells us that this first shipment from OGT will open the door for opportunities to share the Gospel.

Here are some pictures of the items sent to the Hospital in Ngaoundere. These pictures were taken by the authorities of the Hospital upon reception of the medical supplies in Ngaoundere, a town situated about 900 kms away from Douala where the container was received and 600 kms away from Yaounde.







Nicaragua Feature

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in our hemisphere.  This country has suffered for decades from corrupt governments and devastating natural disasters, including hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and the aftermath of mud slides.  The MD DIVISION mission is located in Chinendega, which has an unemployment rate of 70%. 
For ten days, earlier this year, a group of dedicated OGT volunteers from the Maryland Branch flew to Nicaragua and helped sort the shipment into the local warehouse, while other volunteers took certain supplies, such as IV holders and other sterile medical supplies immediately to the hospital.  Among other activities, volunteers took a tour of the area hospital and prison; as well as taught kids necessary hygiene routines like brushing teeth and a couple hosted a mini Vacation Bible school.

The containers that were shipped to Nicaragua included medical equipment and supplies, fabric and sewing machines to support the sewing school, clothing, linens, school supplies, school desks and dental equipment.  Through the generous hearts of so many, the Maryland Branch was able to send this shipment to support area schools, churches, hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes that so desperately need this support. 
We still need your help. If you are able to donate any of the above items, please email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 

Ricardo, Director of Lutheran Hour Ministries in Nicaragua sent some pictures that were taken recently in Matagalpa city. These photos are of a LHM Bible course graduation of about 70 kids. Each graduate received a certificate of conclusion and a small toy. The toys were sent by Orphan Grain Train in the last container.

Children graduating from Bible course


Children with their diplomas

Each child received a toy.

More Nicaragua Photos


Feeding The Children



One of the 14 churches we supply with clothing, toys, baptismal fonts, altars.



One of the 14 Christian schools we support with supplies and equipment.
You too can support a child for one year in one of these schools with $90. 



A child with one of our wheelchairs which gave her mobility.
Many people come for the life giving crutches, canes, and walkers we ship. 

Orphan Grain Train Aiding Haiti

Also, Orphan Grain Train, Maryland Division, is planning to ship a 40-foot container to Haiti soon.  In addition to medical supplies and other materials, we need clothing sorted and packed from churches.  If you are able to help, please contact Elfie Eberle at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Ron Phipps at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Thank you for you support and helping send Relief for Human Need Worldwide! Cash donations of any amount will help the survivors in that beleaguered country. Checks may be sent to Orphan Grain Train, PO Box 1466, Norfolk, NE 68702-1466.  Please write “Haiti” on the memo.