Orphan Grain Train - "Relief for Human Need Worldwide"

Regional Divisions

Central Nebraska July 2010 Newsletter

http://ogt.org/images/uploads/2010-July-Central-Neb-Newsletter.pdf

Wisconsin July 2010 Newsletter

http://ogt.org/images/uploads/2010-07-22_Wis.nwsltr_.vol_.6_issue3_.pdf

Central Nebraska Division Now Open Three Days Per Week

Greetings Everyone,

We are ready to schedule groups to come and work with us. You can call me a (308) 382-9051 (home) or (308) 227-2835 (cell) to schedule. I am asking that the group not be any larger than seven (7). We are limited a little on work space. Any size less than seven is welcome.

Our warehouse hour are:
Mondays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesdays, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Thank you in advance, and blessings to each of you.
Arlene Doremus

The warehouse address (not the mailing address) is 427 N. Shady Bend Rd., Grand Island
Please mail and make donations payable to:
Orphan Grain Train Central Nebraska Division, PO Box 1565, Hastings, NE 68902-1565.

We do not have a phone at the warehouse, so if you have any questions, call Arlene Doremus at (308) 382-9051 or (308) 227-2835. If you need directions or more information on how to find the warehouse, don’t hesitate to call.

Eastern Michigan Regional Division

Please contact Cyndi Major at (989) 624-6008 to volunteer or to make a contribution. An alternate phone number is: (989) 652-2515
Our mailing address is:
Orphan Grain Train Eastern Michigan Division
PO Box 75
Frankenmuth, MI 48734
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Central Nebraska Regional Division

Sun. June 13 - Plum Creek Days—Lexington, Nebraska
Fri. June 18 - LLL Hastings Area - Prospect Park, Hastings - 5:30- 7:00 P.M.
Sat. June 20 - St. Paul’s Lutheran, Shelton, NE - after church
Sun. Aug. 29 - St. Paul Lutheran, Central City, NE - after church
Sun. Oct. 31 - Calvary, Rosemont, NE - after church

For more information or to schedule an Orphan Grain Train fish feed in the Central Nebraska area, please contact Arlene Doremus at (308) 382-9051 or (308) 227-2835

Wisconsin April 2010 Newsletter

http://ogt.org/images/uploads/2010_April_Wisconsin_Newsletter.pdf

Missouri-Illinois Spring 2010

Pastors Heed the Call to Help at Orphan Grain Train in St. Louis
By Gerald Perschbacher

About a dozen Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod pastors from congregations in the St. Louis area descended on the Missouri-Illinois Division center in south St. Louis to express their Christian faith through labor, April 20. Thresa Jacobsmeyer, volunteer coordinator, and the Rev. Eldon Winker, division chair, coordinated the effort. Assisting was Gerald Perschbacher, division board member and staffer for Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Volunteers concentrated on yard work, painting, and the moving of donated items. They received a tour of the facility to show how the former Concordia Seminary structure (built in 1908) was still functioning for the good of the Church more than a century later. While they were involved in the work effort, the pastors also witnessed various agencies that came to the center to receive food and other items for distribution through outreach efforts in various locations in and around St. Louis.

Instead of holding a regular gathering on pastoral matters, the group wanted to exert muscle and do a hands-on service project. Similar projects at the division center have been done by at least one department from the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod International Center and by staff members from the Int’l Lutheran Laymen’s League headquarters (Lutheran Hour Ministries). A local Lutheran high school and other institutions with Lutheran connections also have assisted in past years.

The involvement of each outside organization allows for Orphan Grain Train’s Missouri-Illinois division to tell its story on meeting the needs of people who are precious in the eyes of the Lord.

Interestingly, when the pastors conversed during the painting on April 20, the conversation was about preaching and pastoral matters, so participants maximized their time with a two-fold accomplishment!

The division explained that nearly 40 associations, organizations, and outreach efforts are blessed through Orphan Grain Train efforts locally. The Missouri-Illinois Division also extends its influence through shipments of items overseas and to domestic disasters sites such as those devastated by Katrina.

“Diapers from T-Shirts Project” at Rocky Mountain Division

This will be a wonderful mission project, not only for Haiti, but wherever there is a need. The diapers are bundled four to a pack with two large safety pins per 4-pack. Illustrated directions in Adobe Acrobat format are available by clicking here.

Kansas Division 2009

Orphan Grain Train - with worldwide humanitarian aid and disaster relief supplies
John 14:18 - “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.”

A recent National Convention of the Orphan Grain Train was held at Norfolk, Nebraska with 16 people from Kansas as part of the 345 attendees. Eight speakers, four breakout workshops and a 50-minute opening devotion and 30-minute closing devotion were a part of the convention. Convention speakers told about the tornado recovery efforts in Greensburg, Kansas, the Katrina disaster area, and Hurricane Ike in the Houston gulf coast area. Thank yous were given to Orphan Grain Train for much assistance to these disaster areas. Plan to attend the next Orphan Grain Train convention the weekend of September 17-18, 2010.

In 2008, Orphan Grain Train shipped 147 semi-loads and containers with another 50 smaller units delivering aid. This past August, four overseas shipments went to Armenia, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan and items from the Lutheran Laymen’s League went to Nicaragua, including Bibles, medical equipment and supplies, clothing, bicycles, sewing machine and disinfectants. There were 16 domestic shipments that included backpacks-bedding-blankets and Bibles, clothes -shoes, toys, desks, school supplies household items - stove, microwave and refrigerator.

Since January 1, 2009, the Kansas Division has sent to the national warehouse in Norfolk: 53 hospital beds, 15 walkers, 74 pieces of medical equipment and 67 boxes of medical supplies, six pieces of optometry equipment, 532 pieces of new underwear and socks, 565 lbs of unsorted clothes and blankets, 2,500 boxes of sorted clothes, 815 boxes of new clothes and backpacks. 330 quilts, 200 sleeping bags and small denim lap quilts, 2,500 insulin syringes, 52 arm chair desks and 50 bicycles.

Thank you for your support to help meet shipping costs. The Orphan Grain Train web site is http://www.ogt.org where you can find six articles written about OGT by the Norfolk Daily News. Orphan Grain Train Kansas Division, c/o Bud Heisterman, RR 2 Box L26, Luddell, Kansas 67744-9753 or Orphan Grain Train, PO Box 1466, Norfolk, NE 68702.

Ysleta Lutheran Mission of El Paso, Texas
At the Orphan Grain Train Convention, one of the sectional breakout sessions was a Ysleta Lutheran Mission presentation by Trisha Heimer, the daughter-in-law of Rev. Karl Heimer who was unable to attend this year’s convention because he was conducting a funeral. Trisha thanked Orphan Grain Train for its many loads of humanitarian aid. With six pastors and a vicar they serve 15 communities along the border and into Mexico. One of the neighboring communities they are trying to help is Sparks with 793 households and 2,974 people who were trying to rebuild after a severe flood. This past year the Ysleta Mission received help from 1,600 volunteers. The area they serve has felt the closing of 150 factories along the U.S.-Mexico border. They welcome your prayers, cash donations and volunteers hours that you can provide.

Rocky Mountain Division Summer 2009

Orphan Grain Train Rocky Mountain Division
Warehouse Location: I-76 and Colorado State Highway 385, Julesburg, CO 80737

Warehouse hours are Wednesday and Saturday mornings, 9 to 11 A.M. We close the day before a holiday and on holidays so our volunteers can enjoy the day with their families. Our volunteers have sent ten (semi-load) shipments from the Julesburg warehouse in 2008 and four shipments in the first half of 2009.

So many wonderful miracles have happened to us we thought it would be nice to share them with you:

1. We have a satellite collection point at Epiphany Lutheran Church, Castle Rock, Colorado which is about 20 miles south of Denver. They have been collecting clothing for us since 2003. Ken and Dottie Bockelmann and their volunteers have been doing a wonderful job. We are so thankful for Epiphany Lutheran for allowing us to help the needy. A few years ago, Epiphany congregation also collected the $4,000 needed to purchase our truck.

2. Since Orphan Grain Train is still working at the Katrina relief area, I thought I could share with you two stories. Back in 2005 our Sedgwick County Sheriff received a telex from a sheriff in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, thirty-six hours after the hurricane hit. He was desperately in need of clothing, shoes, diabetic and other medical supplies, disposable diapers and bottled water. Several sheriff’s departments in our area got together and collected the medical supplies, diapers, and water, and loaded it into a National Guard troop truck. Then they drove out to our Orphan Grain Train warehouse, where county inmates loaded the rest of the truck with the needed clothing, covered everything with tarps, and left directly for Hattiesburg. The drivers took turns driving, and arrived within 24 hours of the telex!

A second Katrina miracle. The Sisters from St. Patrick Catholic Church, Sidney, Neb. called us right after Katrina. They knew we were doing relief, and they wanted to know what they could do to help. We asked them to collect hygiene items, and gave them a list of items. They did one better, they contacted the Sidney Public High School to compete with their Catholic School to see who could collect the most items. Three days later we received a phone call from the Sidney HS Principal to come and pick up the items, there were so much, these items were all over the halls and creating a hazard. These items were all taken to St. John’s Lutheran Church in rural Ogallala, Neb. where men, women and children were waiting with gallon Zip-lock bags for assembling. As soon as they were done, Heinz Piehl and John Heidemann drove the completed packets (37 large boxes full) in our Orphan Grain Train truck straight to Norfolk, Neb., where they were loaded on the next semi truck headed to New Orleans!

3. 2007. We needed to move from our previous John Deere warehouse, and nothing in town or anywhere near was suitable. Our board members voted to build. One acre of land was donated to us. Blueprints, title work, appraisal, some of the surveying, some of the actual building, and some town services were donated. Many grants were received, and an interest free loan was given to complete the warehouse. Praise the Lord!

4. Quilts. We receive quilts from over twelve churches in our area. All of these lovingly sewed quilts give comfort to needy people, both in the states during disasters, and overseas.

5. Thrivent Financial Chapters continue to match monies collected during fundraisers, to help us pay for shipments.

6. May 2008. Windsor, Colorado suffered a tornado. An ABC reporter was on scene that afternoon and gave the list of immediately needed items. Windsor is about 150 miles from Julesburg. After receiving permission, early the next morning several men loaded our truck with 248 boxes full of quilts, baby and children’s clothing, jeans, and shoes and drove to the distribution point in Windsor. It was a scene that Heinz Piehl and Paul Kerschner will never forget. The Windsor volunteers were in “awe” that help could come so fast!

7. Box Butte Hospital in Alliance, Neb. continues to donate good medical equipment for missions. When Heinz arrives with our truck, all available employees come out and help, and then donate their own extra clothing.

8. Kathy Most and her crew from St. John’s Lutheran, in rural Ogallala, Neb. continue to collect and pack clothing for us!

9. Our volunteers are the most wonderful, giving people, who come faithfully twice a week to do the Lord’s Mission Work as HE has taught us! Our Board members give of their time and talents consistantly. Brad Brackhan comes whenever needed, Paul Kerschner gets our boxes from Greeley and brings them out to us and comes whenever needed, Ken and Dottie continue to sort and pack, and our Treasurer Kathy Schwartz continues to work for us, after working all day at the bank! Thanks to Dick Dawson and Jan for managing the Julesburg Warehouse. You do a great job. Thanks to all of you!

One final note, we all give thanks for John Heidemann, who gave so much time for a Mission that he loved. He is missed.

Respectfully submitted, Carol Piehl, Secretary
Orphan Grain Train, Rocky Mountain Division
For more information call: (970) 474-4815

Colorado West Division Summer 2009 Report

by Anita Boette

“Orphan Grain Train’s Mission: In loving response to Christ, the Servant, the Orphan Grain Train movement encourages and enables God’s people to share personal and material resources in bringing Christ’s name and character to needy people, both far and near.”

At our June Committee meeting we were blessed to have our new secretary, Janet Gordon, take over the responsibilities of recording the minutes.

Dick Tuers made a presentation to the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League at Ascension Lutheran in Littleton. He was pleased with the turnout and the response. Jill Leary spoke to a group of nurses at St. Joseph Hospital about Orphan Grain Train.

Division Chairman Lou Boette reported that the donations for the support of the Orphanage “Luga” in Russia are continuing to be received. Adopt an Orphanage project director, Rev. John Reehl, thanked us again for our continued support of this project. This orphanage is also a boarding school. In Russia a boarding school is for children that parents are unable to care for. The children go home on the weekends and often did not have a meal that whole time. There are so many children in need and more orphanages need sponsors. Pastor Reehl did mention that Orphanage Grain Train is currently sponsoring 54 orphanages, five prisons and three hospitals. He was very thankful for all the help.

Lou was a delegate at the Lutheran Church—Missouri District Convention held at the Doubletree Hotel in Denver on June 18-20. Orphan Grain Train Colorado West Division had an exhibit table. Anita Boette was there promoting Orphan Grain Train and was pleased with the results. We now have several churches that are open to hearing more about Orphan Grain Train.

Dick Tuers met with the leader of the Rocky Mountain District Disaster Relief Program. Orphan Grain Train International asked regional divisions to consider membership in the state VOAD (Voluntary Organization Active In Disasters). If we belong to this organization Orphan Grain Train Colorado West could almost immediately be of help in time of disaster. If any one wants more information on either disaster organization please call Lou Boette at 303-453-1270 or Dick Tuers at 303-424-1212. Please keep all of this in your prayers.

We have received more quilts from Mt. Olive Lutheran in Aurora. And quilts from Messiah Lutheran in Grand Junction and First English Lutheran in Salida, Colo. are on the way. Just keep them coming! We do have fabric and batting if anyone is interested in making quilts to donate to Orphan Grain Train. Call Ursula Tuers at 303-424-1212.

Orphan Grain Train Colorado West has sent $7,500.00 to Orphan Grain Train International for shipping expenses.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18

Mid Atlantic Division 2010 Activity and Event Schedule

Mid Atlantic Division and Haiti
Through the earth quake in Haiti the Lord has provided us with the opportunity to help those in need. While we are not among the first responders - they are usually local people, police, fire and medical personnel - we will be sending summer clothing and food to Haiti. As we gather sufficient summer clothing and cases of food we will be shipping 40 ft. containers.

First and foremost prayers are needed for the Haitians and the recovery of their nation, and then for guidance for us to do what is right and proper to help them.

Second, we need summer clothing which is CLEAN and in GOOD CONDITION. Soiled, torn, and button-less clothing cannot be sent. Along with the clothing we need volunteers to sort and pack the clothing in apple boxes for shipment to Haiti. Can you and your group gather clothing and apple boxes and then sort and pack by gender? For information call me- Cliff Kraft (610) 420-0380. We welcome all of the summer clothes in whatever way you wish to bring them. Our warehouse is located at 1601 Vandever Ave, Wilmington, DE. Contact Roger Hazzard to assure the warehouse is open, phone (302) 697-9661.

Third, we need food in CASE-LOTS to ship in a container via ship line. It is difficult to load a container with individual cans and bottles. See your local grocer, AM’S CLUB, BJ’s, WALMART, or if you know of a wholesale grocer contact them. Use the Orphan Grain Train name and refer them to our web site http://www.ogt.org . The following food items have been suggested by a missionary in Haiti for their diet:
Nonfat dry milk,
Cooking oil,
Cinnamon,
Tomato products,
Beef sticks,
Canned meats,
Powdered eggs,
Protein,
Rice,
Beans,
Flour,
Spaghetti,
Baking Powder,
Brown sugar,
Yeast.
Rice, beans and flour can be in large bags of 25 pounds etc.

The food will be shipped from our Wilmington warehouse as soon as we have enough to fill a 40 ft. container. Our estimate is that a 40 ft. container will hold about 2,400 cases of food. That is a lot of food, there are a lot of people in Haiti, and there are a lot of people in our area who probably can help. Contact Roger Hazzard (302) 697 9661 to arrange delivery to the warehouse at 1601 Vandever Ave, Wilmington, DE. If you would rather have us purchase the food, send checks payable to “Orphan Grain Train” 89 Line road, Malvern, PA 19355, mark them “Haiti Food,” and we will purchase food here for shipment.
Fourth, In order to get the clothing, food and medical supplies to Haiti we must pay for the shipping. The cost to ship a container to Haiti is between $4,000 and $8,000 per 40 ft. container. Please make checks payable to “Orphan Grain Train” mark them “Haiti” and mail them to 89 Line Road, Malvern, PA 19355.

Other News
We will be conducting our Sixth Annual Live and Silent Auction On Sunday October 10th at the Sheraton Great Valley Hotel in Frazer, PA. The new venue will bring a more intimate ambiance to the auction. As we get nearer the date we will activate our auction web site to tell of the items which will be offered. Save the date. There are some exciting items already dreamed of, and it will help in supporting our outreach to those in Haiti.

We continually need volunteers for various activities. Sorting and packing at the Wilmington warehouse is one of our on going needs. Contact Roger Hazzard for times and dates, phone (302) 697-9661. If you know of someone who does upholstery as a hobby or donates their time, we have two wing back chairs which need to be re-upholstered before we can send them to Ohio. We will supply the material. Contact Cliff Kraft (610) 420-0380.

We are thankful for all of those who have contributed funds and donated their time, clothing, household items and medical supplies. The Lord continues to supply us with our needs.

To God alone be the glory

Warehouse packing times are generally from 9 A.M. to 12 Noon. Other dates for sorting and packing, as well as loading and shipping containers and trucks will be announced.

Contact persons:
Cliff Kraft (610) 420-0380
Roger Hazzard (302) 359-3293

Indiana Spring 2009 Activity Report

The volunteers of the Indiana Division of Orphan Grain Train find themselves serving those in need closer to home these days as they reach out to those severely impacted by the distressed economy.

Eugene Wint, Division chairman, reports that the local unemployment rate has reached 15%—almost double the national average. The automotive manufacturing industry in Indiana has been particularly hard-hit.

“We are receiving more and more requests for all types of items to help families put their lives together,” he said. More than 20 charitable and service organizations that help people in legitimate need make referrals to the Division. Semi-loads of clothing and other items have gone to various locations within 300 miles of the warehouse located in Azalea in southern Indiana.

“We are looking for a source of food to supply local food banks,” said Wint. “The demand for food has doubled in the past six months,” he added.

The Division continues to provide furniture, appliances, kitchenware and various items to those who have repaired and remodeled their homes damaged by the flood in central Indiana last year. Wint explained that the Division has a close working relationship with the Columbus, Ind., office of the Red Cross, which presented the Division with one of 15 plaques given out in grateful appreciation for its service during the June 2008 flood.

As soon as funds allow, the Division will ship a container to Cambodia where Rev. Chuck Groth is serving on the mission field. The container is being sponsored by the Indiana District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod office in Fort Wayne. Several congregations contributed to its contents. Another semi load was recently sent to the Appalachian Mission of the Methodist Church in Beverly, Kentucky.

“God continues to offer us opportunities to serve our fellow man,” Wint concluded. “Our prayer is that He will continue to lead, guide and direct our work to fulfill our mission.”

“If a person having material possessions sees his brother in need, and does not share with him, where is the love of God in him?” (I John 3 v.17).

Iowa West 2009 Activity Report

The Ida Grove, Iowa, warehouse is open on Tuesday mornings from 8 A.M. to 11 A.M. for packing and receiving. The warehouse opens at other times when groups make arrangments for working.

This year’s activities include:

April 21, 2009 Container loaded and shipped to Uzbekistan with used clothing, bedding and medical equipment.

Volunteers at Ida Grove, Iowa, hoist hospital bed into container for Uzbekistan.

Medical equipment finally loaded with only a few cubic feet left at the end of the container. Boxes of clothing and other supplies will fill out the load.

Shipment to Uzbekistan is loaded, and volunteers are ready for lunch.

On March 3, 2009, another shipping container was sent to Latvia filled with used clothing, shoes, wheelchairs and crutches.

Wisconsin Shipments During 2009 and Convention News

Wisconsin Division January 2010 Newsletter (pdf format) (Includes all Wisconsin Division shipments for 2009)
Thank you to everyone who helped bring “Relief for Human Need Worldwide” in 2009!

Wisconsin Division November 2009 Newsletter (pdf format) (Wisconsin Division Convention Issue!)

Colorado West April 2009 Report

By Anita Boette

” ..And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

Orphan Grain Train’s Colorado West Division has been able to ship all of the donations that were sitting in our warehouse for too many months. A hospital bed and a Hoyer lift is finally on the way to Norfolk, Nebraska. It took eleven volunteers and the driver of the Orphan Grain Train truck to load approximately 450 boxes that included some donations that were labeled Madagascar. We received these donations from a member of Messiah Lutheran in Longmont. Medical supplies from a contact in Montrose and some donations from St. Joe’s Exempla cardiology Department in Denver are also finally on the way. The Denver Rescue Mission has accepted the donations of religious material and other books etc. Ursula and Dick Tuers made this contact and will deliver the items to the “Saving Lives Through Jesus Christ” extension of the Rescue Mission. They are located at 6090 Smith Road in Aurora.

Bill Heinicke in Cortez, Colorado is recovering from blood clots in his lungs. Bill and his wife Pat are our Western Slope Representatives. Their quilter group is busy making quilts. Eternal Savior Lutheran Church in Lafayette Co. has been donating quilts to us for a short time now but have almost hit the 100-mark. We are so grateful for these commited women of the Lord. We had quilts from Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Longmont also added to our count. The count in the warehouse is past the 1,000-mark.

We are looking forward to our first Wisconsin Style Fish Feed for 2009 at Mt. Olive Lutheran in Aurora, Colo. on March 22 at noon. Our next Fish Feed will be at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Loveland. This is a Saturday evening date at 5:00 PM at their new facilities.

Garage sales are in the works. We always appreciate all the interest shown to our work and and the many prayers from all of you on our behalf.

Some of our board members are interested in working with the LCMS Lutheran World Relief through the Rocky Mountain Division to set up a local Disaster Relief program. We hope to resurrect the interest. When we make more progress we will let you know.

Dick and Saundra Eichacker have kept the contact with Suzie Belles Near New Shop at 4165 Wadsworth Blvd. This is the shop formerly known as Tessabelles. We will continue receiving the discards of clothing and other various items.

Orphan Grain Train’s Adopt an Orphanage program is still receiving donations to help sponsor “Luga #2 Orphanage” in Russia. May God bless you all for this. Messiah Lutheran in Longmont has enough members that have committed to sponsor an orphanage also. Praise the Lord!

For more information call Lou at (303) 453-1270.

Our motto from John 14:18 reads, “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.”

Maryland Division

Orphan Grain Train Aiding Haiti
Recently, the Orphan Grain Train, in cooperation with LCMS World Relief and Human Care has shipped over 500,000 “Kids Against Hunger” meals to Haiti. 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.

Also, Orphan Grain Train, Maryland Division, is planning to ship a 40-foot container to Haiti as soon as possible! 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!

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

Photos taken when close to 30 folks gathered at the Maryland Division in March 2009 to pack clothes bound for Nicaragua, Kyrgyzstan, and Appalachia in the U.S.

The room resembled a bee hive, but no queen bee!

Box closers John Zindorf, Pastor Hatcher, and Hal Curtis enjoy a light moment.

Here they are celebrating after sorting and packing over 135 boxes of clothes.

California Arizona Nevada February 2009 Report

THANK YOU
The California-Arizona-Nevada Division of Orphan Grain Train wishes to express our appreciation to the congregations and Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) Societies for their wonderful support with the outpouring of gifts for Undie Sunday in February of 2008. This effort primarily occurred throughout the Pacific Southwest District but we also received generous amounts of Undies from the California-Nevada-Hawaii District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). As these undies and socks were packed a total of 230 boxes were tallied. Delivery of 150 boxes to the Orphan Grain Train warehouse at Norfolk, Nebraska was made in April of 2008 to be distributed as needed. Eight boxes were given to Lutheran Border Concerns Ministry and Melissa Salomon, Director of Lutheran Hour Ministries/Mexico, is using the remainder for ministries in Tijuana. Go to http://www.cptlnmexico.wordpress.com to read the story of one woman, 104 years old, who was delighted with a gift of underwear.

UNDIE SUNDAY - 2010
Plans are underway to hold a second district-wide Undie Sunday on February 14. 2010. The PSW District LWML has graciously agreed to assist us in this endeavor again. Donations of new socks and underwear for men, women and children will be gathered. These undies will be sent to an area where the need is greatest.

LWML MISSION GRANT FOR NEW TRUCK
The ladies of the Pacific Southwest District LWML graciously voted to award a $10,000 grant to purchase a new truck for our division at their convention this past June in Las Vegas.
Our previous truck due to its age and upkeep needed to be retired.
A new truck will allow us to pull the 14-foot trailers when necessary to pick up donations from the many wonderful donors of items for ministry and to transport these gifts in kind where needed.
Most of our support is now given to ministries in Tijuana through the office of Lutheran Hour Ministries/Mexico. Melissa Salomon is the Director of LHM/Mexico.

ANOTHER THANK YOU TO ALL THE QUILTING GROUPS
Crown of Life - Sun City West, AZ
Risen Savior - Chandler, AZ
Epiphany - Chandler
First - Culver City
Holy Cross - Cypress

FOR SALE
We have received the donation of a Class A motor home. Our Division is not able to put this gift to good use. It is a 1989 Suncrest, 29-ft. with a Queen Bed. Equipment includes air conditioner, microwave, furnace, side-by-side refrigerator, gas generator, cruise control, luggage rack and ladder, stabilizer jacks, spare tire and carrier, and trailer hitch. It is currently being stored in Lancaster. Please call Steve Rice, (661) 305-0561 or Cliff Shout, (661) 945-4428 for further information.

LOOKING FOR A WAREHOUSE
Our division would like to expand our humanitarian operations but we need a warehouse to do so. Ideally we are looking for space that could be donated in the Southern California area. Please contact Norm Everhart, (909) 986-7005 if you are acquainted with someone who would have this kind of knowledge.

DIVISION OFFICERS
Chairman, Norm Everhart, (909) 986-7005
Vice-Chairman, Laverne Mirly, (626) 358-7291
Secretary, Steve Rice, (661) 305-0561
Treasurer, Cliff Shout, (661) 945-4428
Pastoral Advisor, Rev. Dr. Lee Settgast, (714) 630-3478
Newsletter Editor, Shirley Anderson, (619) 421-5269

IN MEMORIAM
The Lord called home on September 17, 2008 our previous chairman, Don Anderson.

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. John 14:18

YOUR HELP NEEDED
First, thanks to everyone for giving your financial support as well as gifts in kind to Orphan Grain Train whether it is to our Headquarters in Norfolk, Nebraska, or to the California-Arizona-Nevada Division.
Second, to purchase a new truck for our division will require additional funds beyond the wonderful $10,000 grant from the Pacific Southwest Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.
Funds are also needed to pick up and transport donated items where most needed.
If the Lord so moves you, please send your donation made payable to: Orphan Grain Train, Inc.
Send to: 555 Manzanita St, Chula Vista, CA 91911

Name_____________________________________________

Address___________________________________________

City/State/Zip ______________________________________

If you are a Thrivent member please fill out the GivingPlus form and return it with your donation so it may grow:
GivingPlus_Form_2008.pdf
GivingPlus_Instructions_2008.pdf

If you would like to print this report, a Adobe Acrobat .pdf file copy is available here:
2009-02_CalifArizNev_Newsletter.pdf

Spring 2009 Minnesota North Collecting New Socks and Undies

All congregations in the Minnesota North District are invited to collect new socks and undies (men’s, women’s and children’s) for Orphan Grain Train and bring them to the in-gathering at the Minnesota North District Convention, April 27-29, 2009, at Madden’s Resort, Brainerd, Minnesota. These items will be sent to help meet the needs of children in the Texas missions and other countries where new items are allowed. For more information, please call Gene Pasche (Director of Orphan Grain Train Minnesota North Division) at (320) 589-2796.

Missouri-Illinois Winter 2008-2009

Story and photos by Gerald Perschbacher

Dozens of volunteers descended on the Orphan Grain Train Missouri-Illinois Division workcenter on Tuesday, March 3. But it was unlike any other workday. That’s because the volunteers were from the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) World Mission department. More than 50 divided into teams to tackle tasks in the pantry, sort donated clothing and household items, do yard work, work on quilts, and paint. Some participants worked on the premises of Holy Cross Ev. Lutheran Church, which owns the St. Louis property being used by OGT.
Synodical officials labeled it LCMS World Mission Day, permitted by executives to augment the focus and achievements of employees who are mission-minded. Vicki Helling coordinated synodical volunteers.

Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod staff volunteers gathered for a devotion at the start of their work day in Saint Louis.

Sorting clothing was one of many activities for a full day.

Quilt-making was also performed.

Cleaning pews was a courtesy to Holy Cross Lutheran Church which is across the street from Orphan Grain Train’s workcenter.

The exterior of the workcenter and Holy Cross Lutheran Church were raked and groomed.

In other Orphan Grain Train news:

The Rev. David Bueltmann, president of the LCMS Central Illinois District, recently delivered several boxes of quilts made by volunteers. He accomplished the delivery while coming to St. Louis for meetings, thus showing prudent use of time, energy, and resources. These quilts will be earmarked for special uses through Orphan Grain Train as needs arise.

Also in the news:
Thirty-five Global Care Packages were delivered to the Orphan Grain Train Saint Louis work center in February, reports Chuck Koopmann, Lutheran Hour Ministries Ambassador at Zion Lutheran Church in Macon County, Mo.

Koopman wrote: “During my tour I observed ladies sorting, folding, and placing clothing into boxes, a room full of clothing waiting to be sorted, a pallet of clothing market for shipment to Uganda, a store room on the second floor that contained bicycles with balloon tires waiting for shipment to Africa. In another room ladies were sorting and boxing food for distribution to food pantries and a man was checking small appliances to see if they worked prior to distribution to those in need. Praise God for these volunteers. What a wonderful way for these Christians to give thanks to their Lord and to help others.”

Thanks to Orphan Grain Train, Mr. Koopmann returned home with 15 boxes of fresh bread which he presented to the Macon Food Pantry. “I felt so blessed to be the conveyor of your two boxes and even more grateful to have them multiply into fifteen boxes. A wonderful example of how our good and gracious God works. The sharing of your gifts, time and talents was multiplied and returned seven times to others in Macon County,” he told his congregation.

Maryland Region Division Nicaragua Shipment Update

This summer, another 40-foot container was sent to Nicaragua with a variety of materials that, as you can see below, were greatly appreciated by the recipients. In addition to a dental office x-ray machine, sewing machines are already being used for a sewing school which will enable people to not only make clothes—but also sell them.

Children, hungry for education, will use the school supplies with gleeful enjoyment.

Also, several cribs and bassinetts will provide comfortable and secure beds for newborns. In addition, hundreds of boxes of clothes along with crutches, wheelchairs, and canes were welcomed by all.

Minnesota South Fall 2008 Report

The year 2008 has been a busy one with the Minnesota South Division of Orphan Grain Train taking on a project in Sudan, Africa. Our shipping date was moved up about three weeks and we did make the deadline. On June 25 a full container and one about a third-full of the supplies needed for the project were picked up in Truman, Minn. and sent to Norfolk, Neb. where the second container was filled with more items. On Aug. 13 the two containers from MN South Division along with the medical clinic provided by the Missouri-Illinois Division left on their long journey to Sudan, Africa with the first stop in Omaha, Neb. for inspection.

Irrigation piping is prepared for loading into a shipping container.

Volunteers will go over when the containers reach their destination to install the fence and water lines and to re-assemble the farm equipment with the help of the Sudanese people. They will be trained in all phases at the same time.

This project has been a very uplifting experience for all involved. We all felt the presence of God with us as all of the materials were gathered and prepared. I want to thank everyone that was involved in the project in any way from donating items, volunteering their time, financial support, and especially their prayers. Funding is still needed for the project over and above what is raised at our Fish Feeds. Continue to keep this project in your prayers that the containers will arrive at their destination as scheduled and that the volunteers will be kept safe during their stay.

Getting close to full.

Winter 2009 Report

ANOTHER THANK YOU TO ALL THE QUILTING GROUPS
Crown of Life - Sun City West, AZ
Risen Savior - Chandler, AZ
Epiphany - Chandler
First - Culver City
Holy Cross - Cypress

IN MEMORIAM
The Lord called home on September 17, 2008 our previous chairman, Don Anderson.

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. John 14:18

Name_____________________________________________

Address___________________________________________

City/State/Zip ______________________________________

If you are a Thrivent member please fill out the GivingPlus form and return it with your donation so it may grow:
GivingPlus_Form_2008.pdf
GivingPlus_Instructions_2008.pdf

If you would like to print this report, a Adobe Acrobat .pdf file copy is available here:
2009-02_CalifArizNev_Newsletter.pdf

June/July 2008 Report

Submitted by Anita Boette

The familiar passage by now,“I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.” -John 14:18 will never lose the appeal for the volunteers of Orphan Grain Train. Because of this we are going forward with sponsoring the shipment of a container to Bugembe, Uganda. If you read the May update and/or the information passed out at the Peace Lutheran Fish Feed on March 30, 2008, you will have the story behind this Mission. The container shipped will be left on site and used for storage. The volunteers at Peace Lutheran are busy getting prices on items for the Crisis Kits to be sent and Trinity Lutheran volunteers in Cortez, Colo. are doing the same for the Birthing Kits.

GARAGE SALES:
Dorothy Curtis and her family are very busy with accumulating items to sell for a much awaited Garage Sale. There have been weather delays and other events that have kept a sale from going forward. It will happen soon we and we will keep you updated. We pray that the youth will be able to lend a hand.

ADOPT AN ORPHANAGE:
Connie Kuhlman received a letter from Pastor John Reehl with some information about the Luga Orphanage and also some long-awaited photos. The letter states that Pastor Reehl is hoping to visit the orphanage this summer and we will get more clarification of the conditions there. At this time the belief is that this a combination of a boarding school for mentally disadvantaged children and serves as an orphanage for other children. The Russian co-workers are Nicolai and his wife Valentina who have purchased supplies for these children with the funds received from all of the participants of the ADOPT AN ORPHANAGE from Peace Lutheran. Pastor Reehl says thank-you for your support and continued care and sharing with these special children.

LWML-LHM-CONVENTION-UTAH-IDAHO PARK CITY UTAH May 2-4 2008 Attended by Lou and Anita.
The board members from Peace Lutheran were very supportive of this effort to have a display for Orphan Grain Train Colorado West Division. Many people we met were aware of Orphan Grain Train and had been collecting underwear, quilts, etc. and under some circumstances were able to get them to Norfolk. We did get them up to date with the DVD recently received from the OGT Int’l Office in Norfolk. Our main focus was to give them a more visual sense of what we are all about.

They had several servant events and one of them was to assemble Global Care Packages for Lutheran Hour Ministries. These packages are distributed by Orphan Grain Train to countries where needed. The donations received were school supplies and a toy for each bag filled. The bags can be used as a back pack. We were able to transport 110 bags to the warehouse in Thornton, Colo.

FISH FEEDS:
Mt. Calvary-April 13th we served 65.
Bethlehem- May 4th we served 89.
Next one will be July 20th at Mt. Hope in Boulder. Time is approximate at 5:00 p.m.

SUMMER BREAK
Now please keep us in your prayers as we continue the work of this hands on Mission. We cannot mention all of the people that give of their time and money but they know who they are. God does give us all a special gift and asks us to use it. The summer break will give us time to regroup and reflect on what is ahead of us.

Please use the website and take advantage of all the information here. Call Lou at 303-453-1270 if all else fails!

June/July 2008 Report

Submitted by Anita Boette

LWML-LHM-CONVENTION-UTAH-IDAHO PARK CITY UTAH May 2-4 2008
Attended by Lou and Anita.
The board members from Peace Lutheran were very supportive of this effort to have a display for Orphan Grain Train Colorado West Division. Many people we met were aware of Orphan Grain Train and had been collecting underwear, quilts, etc. and under some circumstances were able to get them to Norfolk. We did get them up to date with the DVD recently received from the OGT Int’l Office in Norfolk. Our main focus was to give them a more visual sense of what we are all about.

FISH FEEDS:
Mt. Calvary-April 13th we served 65.
Bethlehem- May 4th we served 89.
Next one will be July 20th at Mt. Hope in Boulder. Time is approximate at 5:00 p.m.

Please use the website and take advantage of all the information here. Call Lou at 303-453-1270 if all else fails!

New Church - Chinandega, Nicaragua

Here is a picture of the beautiful new church Martin Luther in Chinandega, Nicaragua. We will be shipping a rose window for one of the openings in this church in our next container!

How about an Orphan Grain Train “Undie Sunday?”

Destitute people around the world need the very basic necessities. Thousands of children in Nicaragua and Kyrgyzstan helped by Orphan Grain Train, Maryland Division, often do not have good underwear and socks. Often with only the shirt on their backs, it is difficult for them to obtain good clothes, not to mention:

UNDERWEAR!!!

How can you help?

Collect new underwear for Orphan Grain Train Maryland Division to send to needy people! Men’s, women’s, boy’s and girl’s—all sizes are needed. Announce an “Orphan Grain Train ‘Undie Sunday’” and offer a prayer that day for the people who will receive your gifts. Please send your boxes of new underwear to: Elfie Eberle, St. Paul Lutheran Church, 31 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, Maryland, 21401.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Elfie Eberle, Board Chair, at 410-544-1621 or email her at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

May 2008 Report

Submitted by Anita Boette

“I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.” John 14:18

This was again demonstrated by members of Peace Lutheran Church and visitors on March 30th , 2008.

RESULTS from Wisconsin-Style Fish Feed fundraiser:
1. Number served: 165
2. Number of helpers all total was 28! We want to thank our grandson Matt from Strasburg, Colo. that came to help. He was asked by his school to participate in a humanitarian project and he chose Orphan Grain Train.
3. It is hard to put into words the gratitude of the recipients for the participation of so many people.
4. SO A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU! We look forward to seeing all of you and more next year.

ADOPT AN ORPHANAGE
Connie Kuhlman has reported that the commitment checks are coming in at a record pace. Thank you and please keep it up. We are awaiting some photos from the orphanage so keep you eyes on the display board. But don’t hold your breath as it apparently takes time to coordinate this with Pastor John Reehl’s co-worker Nikolai.

UGANDA - BUGEMBE - AIDS ORPHANS EDUCATIONAL TRUST
We provided the attendees at the Wisconsin-Style Fish feed on March 30, with information on the project we are working with called AOET (Aids Orphans Educational Trust). This is a grassroots, nongovernmental, nonprofit organization founded by Sam and Nancy Tushabe. Joan and Dee Zanders of Norfolk, Neb. traveled with friends to Uganda and saw for themselves the work being done. Many children are without homes due to loss of their parents, with the biggest cause being the increase of HIV/AIDS. AOET does not believe in institutionalizing these orphans; instead they prefer to place them in homes that will adopt them. Schools are being built and up to now 13 of the goal of 25 homes are finished. The couples that agree to adopt children live rent-free for four years and are taught skills in parenting along with other needed training. These schools have daily religious education and prayer time. Clinics are also operating. Orphan Grain Train International has sent one container with medical equipment and supplies included.

Colorado West Division of Orphan Grain Train has agreed to fund the shipment of the next container to Bugembe. The container will stay on-site for storage and we will purchase this container. We have been blessed by the support of various donations, fish feeds, garage sales and financial help from the Peace Lutheran Outreach Board.

Part of the project mentioned gives us the opportunity to assemble CRISIS Kits for those that suddenly find themselves in desperate situations. BIRTHING Kits are being assembled in Cortez, Colo. under the leadership of Bill and Pat Heinicke.

Lou attended a quarterly board meeting in Norfolk, Neb. on April 18th and 19th to get more information to pass on to all of you. This project will be funded by proceeds from the fund raisers we have. However if anyone wants more information as to how as an individual or group can help please call Lou at 303-453-1270. Other churches are also being given the chance to participate.

Bill and Pat Heinicke are very eagerly promoting Colorado West Division Orphan Grain Train in the Four Corners area. We have extended to Messiah Lutheran in Grand Junction, Colo. where approximately 100 people were given the word at a Sunday Morning Bible Class. A congregation in Durango may become involved soon as well. The Quilting Group from Trinity Lutheran in Cortez have 60+ quilts for distribution! One hundred hours were put in by these ladies. HOW AMAZING IS THAT? We are also awaiting the arrival of more quilts from Faith Lutheran Church, Johnstown, Colo. along with the ones received just recently. Their adult bible class was able to send a great contribution too. We are thankful that they are getting involved.

Our monthly board meeting was held on April 8th and there are several projects and ideas being considered. Watch for them. More presentations are being planned, banners, fund raisers, etc. I hope to follow up on these next time. Space is limited!! More volunteers are needed. Pray about this. God does love a cheerful giver of time and talents.

May God’s light shine on all of us and may He prompt us to do His work always.

Colorado West Division Committee
Call 303-453-1270 for information

Iowa West 2008 Activity Report

Jan. 17 - 1180 boxes of winter clothing and bedding shipped to Latvia.

March - Clothing and blankets sent to a family of five in Avoca, Iowa who lost their home in a fire.

April 3 - Container of 1,171 boxes of clothing, bedding and shoes sent to Latvia.

April - Container ready for Nigeria with medical supplies, clothing, bedding, two ATV’s, utility wagon, water heaters, showers, tools. Supplies are for Gembu Center for HIV/AIDS advocacy.

December - A 40-ft.-long conatiner was shipped to Kyrgyzstan filled with used clothing. Also, container number 834 arrived at Gembu, Nigeria, for the Orphans and Vulnerable Children program. It contained medical supplies for the clinic, plus clothing, tools and equipment.

And the Lame Shall “Walk”

As shown by the pictures below, Orphan Grain Train’s Leon, Nicaragua warehouse provides a wheel chair to a man who has been bedridden for six years because of an accident. He responded to a radio spot offering assistance to folks who needed help. He thanks God and OGT for his new “carchair!”

Photos courtesy of Ricardo Arguello, LHM-Nicaragua.

March 2008 Report

“I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.” John 14:18

We as Colorado West Division of Orphan Grain Train do want to thank all of the people that have participated in the Adopt an Orphanage Program. The response from this division is very heart warming. The totals as of this writing are 37 families, 4 small groups, and 7 individuals. All of these have been added to a large group of sponsors throughout the 18 divisions of Orphan Grain Train International.

Pastor John Reehl from Grand Island, Nebraska has attempted to “retire” many times from doing mission work in the Baltics. It seems as a lot of retirees he is always being drawn back to doing the Lord’s work. In a recent letter sent to us he shared with all of the divisions and individuals that are a part of this program how important and extremely useful this outreach has become.. It is a fact that the financial support from the “Lutherans in America” to these orphanages has helped in many ways, he wrote. The health of the children has improved greatly from the medicines and vitamins that have been provided to these orphanages. By providing vitamins to one particular orphanage that has mentally-ill children, they can be better treated because of better health and avoid being transferred to different clinics. This avoids the ‘over the cuckoo’s nest’ type of treatment. Keeping them in this safe environment leads to a more normal and humane care outcome.

The whole orphanage program does continue to grow and currently Pastor Reehl along with his wife June are working with others to support 46 orphanages in five countries. Nikolai, one of Pastor’s helpers said that 3,000 children are being helped in Russia alone. There ministry also includes three hospitals and five prisons. Personal items for women are very much appreciated as a result of this effort. Financial support has been very beneficial to our efforts to bring more and more believers into love for our Lord and Savior.

It does remind us of how fortunate we are in this great country of ours. There is a need in so many places not only in those countries far away but right here in this land of plenty. CWD does have a mission to raise funds for these needy places be they not far from Arvada Co. or many miles such as the needs still in the Katrina area, Greensburg, Kansas and the Ysleta Mission in El Paso.

We are beginning to do presentations again and had a successful and inspiring experience at Faith Lutheran in Johnstown, Colo. Pastor Clare Skov shared some of his Adult SS time with us on January 20th, 2008. A DVD highlighting the Katrina Hurricane events and the relief that was instigated by OGT International caught the interest of the class. This was new information to the members and some are now anxious to become a part of the CWD-OGT. We will let you know the progress next month.

In the Quarterly Teleconference held by the Orphan Grain Train International Board of Directors a reference was made to the need in Sudan where 6,000,000 people are displaced and areas are in shambles. There are pockets of Christians there (millions) and many school children are without supplies and desks etc. To hear the kind words that “Jesus Loves You” is now in great demand. Chairman Lou will follow up with Pastor Wilke to see if CWD-OGT can get involved to give aide to the Sudanese people. Our Division does not ship overseas containers directly but did agree to help fund shipments that would leave the Norfolk headquarters to needed countries.

So in closing we can see that the Lord’s work is never done. How well we know as the scheduled Fish Feeds will begin. Please mark you calendars for March 30th at Peace Lutheran. Time is after the 10:30 Service. Come see how it works but most of all enjoy the cooking of “Alaskan Pollock,” better know as poor man’s lobster.

One of our biggest need at this time is quality warehouse space. We are waiting for God to answer that prayer.

May God bless all of you—We do not claim to do everything but we do do something. Serving the Lord is His command to us.

Anita Boette

Warm Boots from Little Children

The mission of Orphan Grain Train touches people of all ages. And often little children can inspire us all! The following is a letter we received.

“Our children, Emily 7 years old, Katie 5 years old and Henry 3 years old, are proud to be able to buy 3 pairs of warm boots for the Orphan Grain Train. The children raised the money by setting up a lemonade stand in our neighborhood. They love wearing boots, no matter what the season and thought it would be great to buy other children boots, too.”

Notice that the sign is advertising “free” lemonade, but the neighbors felt funny without giving them some money. So when the question was asked, “How much for the lemonade?” the oldest would proudly announce, “It’s free, but we are accepting donations.”

The proud mom and dad report that the children can’t wait until school lets out so they can raise more money for Orphan Grain Train.

January 2008 Report

Submitted by Anita Boette

It almost seems like Christmas celebrations and then ringing in the New Year is so routine that now plans that were made and enjoyed are distant events. However, it is our prayer that we do not allow the Christmas Spirit to just be in us for a few days. We pray that all of you as well as the Orphan Train Colorado West Division “gang” will prayerfully and with great joy keep the Christmas Spirit alive not only in our hearts but in our deeds as well. We as humans cannot thank God enough for giving us the best gift of all - His very own Son.

We can show our love to others and give them some hope and joy in their lives. People without hope live a life of sorrow and confusion.
Orphan Grain Train International does offer “Relief for Human Need Worldwide”. One of the programs we offer is “Adopt an Orphanage”.
This gives individuals, families, or for example “Small Groups” a chance to participate.

Our congregation is now sponsoring an orphanage close to Luga, Russia. This orphanage is home to approximately 60 special needs children. At $10.00 a month this is hardly a sacrifice to any of us.
For children in orphanages that are left with little hope and of course are in need of just the everyday necessities it is a miracle because of the help this provides. Pastor John Reehl heads this program. He makes sure all funds are used correctly through an approved person. The great need to help the abandoned children and adults in the poorest rural regions in Russia and other Baltic countries is still there. Pastor Reehl and his wife June have served these countries as spiritual leaders for many years. He said that there are many more orphanages that need to be “adopted”. He will keep us posted. Some of the funds sent will almost for sure be used to purchase Bibles for the children. Connie Kuhlmann can be reached at 303-421-3951. Thank you for a great job well-done for these children. Approximately 29 families, individuals, and established groups are now reaching out.

This orphanage that is for at least the next year our responsibility is about 80 miles southwest of St. Petersburg, Russia. Luga played a pivotal role in World War II by delaying the German advance on Leningrad for over a month. A university and three Institutes of Technical Education are found there. Neighboring cities are linked with rail lines. The population is approximately 40,000. Our prayer is to continue the aid past one year.

Colorado West Division also reached out to blizzard-stricken ranchers in south-eastern Colorado in January of 2007. With the approval of the CWD members $2,000.00 was sent to the aid of the hurting ranchers. Cattle and other livestock were starving and freezing in the harsh conditions created there. These funds were routed through the disaster response office at Orphan Grain Train’s National Headquarters in Norfolk, Neb. to the Colorado’s Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) here in Arvada, Colo. The restricted funds to be used for help to the ranchers only. Lanelle Krueger, a member at Messiah Lutheran in Longmont and a member of CWD spoke with Terry Fankhauser, Executive Vice-President of the CCA earlier this month.
Power was lost for days, reported Fankhauser, and approximately 345,000 head of cattle were at risk. Fortunately no one suffered major injuries and no deaths were reported. It did leave 15,000 head of cattle to perish.

Lanelle learned that the CCA did not have as a part of its mission a disaster response component. “We do now” Fankhauser said, explaining that the CCA, Colorado Farm Bureau and Colorado Livestock Association have together set up a permanent revolving fund for disaster response. The CCA did keep the farmers informed as to where the donations came from. “We are very appreciative of your organization,”
said Fankhauser, adding that such generosity at the time gave the ranchers a “ray of hope” when needed.

So in closing we started the year of 2007 from reaching out to help the blizzard-stricken ranchers in Southeastern Colorado to giving hope and comfort to an orphanage in Luga Russia! Many many miles apart! God is certainly uplifting the CWD in such a way that we can give hope and joy in times of need and utter despair. We can be a witness for the Lord. “Jesus loves you” is the message that must be heard throughout this world not only at Christmas but everyday.

Lou can be reached at 303-453-1270 for any questions.

January 2008 Report

Submitted by Anita Boette

We can show our love to others and give them some hope and joy in their lives. People without hope live a life of sorrow and confusion. Orphan Grain Train International does offer “Relief for Human Need Worldwide”. One of the programs we offer is “Adopt an Orphanage”. This gives individuals, families, or for example “Small Groups” a chance to participate.

Our congregation is now sponsoring an orphanage close to Luga, Russia. This orphanage is home to approximately 60 special needs children. At $10.00 a month this is hardly a sacrifice to any of us. For children in orphanages that are left with little hope and of course are in need of just the everyday necessities it is a miracle because of the help this provides. Pastor John Reehl heads this program. He makes sure all funds are used correctly through an approved person. The great need to help the abandoned children and adults in the poorest rural regions in Russia and other Baltic countries is still there. Pastor Reehl and his wife June have served these countries as spiritual leaders for many years. He said that there are many more orphanages that need to be “adopted”. He will keep us posted. Some of the funds sent will almost for sure be used to purchase Bibles for the children. Connie Kuhlmann can be reached at 303-421-3951. Thank you for a great job well-done for these children. Approximately 29 families, individuals, and established groups are now reaching out.

Colorado West Division also reached out to blizzard-stricken ranchers in south-eastern Colorado in January of 2007. With the approval of the CWD members $2,000.00 was sent to the aid of the hurting ranchers. Cattle and other livestock were starving and freezing in the harsh conditions created there. These funds were routed through the disaster response office at Orphan Grain Train’s National Headquarters in Norfolk, Neb. to the Colorado’s Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) here in Arvada, Colo. The restricted funds to be used for help to the ranchers only. Lanelle Krueger, a member at Messiah Lutheran in Longmont and a member of CWD spoke with Terry Fankhauser, Executive Vice-President of the CCA earlier this month. Power was lost for days, reported Fankhauser, and approximately 345,000 head of cattle were at risk. Fortunately no one suffered major injuries and no deaths were reported. It did leave 15,000 head of cattle to perish.

Lanelle learned that the CCA did not have as a part of its mission a disaster response component. “We do now” Fankhauser said, explaining that the CCA, Colorado Farm Bureau and Colorado Livestock Association have together set up a permanent revolving fund for disaster response. The CCA did keep the farmers informed as to where the donations came from. “We are very appreciative of your organization,” said Fankhauser, adding that such generosity at the time gave the ranchers a “ray of hope” when needed.

Lou can be reached at 303-453-1270 for any questions.

Winter 2007-08 Report

Submitted by Anita Boette

Our Division under the leadership of Lou Boette has been able to fund shipments for several overseas containers, funds to the hurricane area, the transportation and collection of pianos and organs. Some of the later went to Bangalore, India. We have shipped over 760 quilts. Hotel linens from the Brown Palace and Doubletree hotels are being used in clinics in third world countries as are the medical supplies from Exempla- St. Joe’s. The Ysleta Mission in El Paso is benefiting too. Financial assistance was given to the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association for the blizzard-ravaged ranchers in southeastern Colorado last winter. The garage sales and Wisconsin-Style Fish Feeds are our biggest fund raisers.

A Satellite of Colorado West Division in Cortez, Colo. looks forward to expanding its efforts to the Grand Junction and Durango, Colo. areas. Pat and Bill Heinicke are the leaders there and are donating an industrial sewing machine to Orphan Grain Train.

We are asked many times about what you can do to help. Prayers are always needed - we especially have a need for a quality warehouse. We have a 501 (C) (3) status so a tax deduction could be worked out. Our prayers are that someone will answer these needs. We have an awesome God, a God that is constant, a God that never sleeps nor slumbers, a God of comfort and hope.

He has commanded us to extend our hands out to-the desperate and lost people that are without hope. Isn’t this what Christmas is all about? Isn’t this what Christians should be all about?

May you all have a peaceful and blessed Christmas and New Year. Thank you from all of those that have been helped by you. Prayers have been answered and hope has been given to so many. Thank you from the Colorado West Division Committee for making this possible.

Please call Lou for any questions at 303-453-1270 or e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

An added note, we had a great time at Trinity Lutheran Church in Greeley, Colo. A Wisconsin-Style Fish Feed was held on Nov. 4th at noon. Thank you all for coming and please plan to have us again. We are thankful for your prayers and hands-on help. Your generous contributions will help many in need.

Iowa West 2007 Activity Report

Iowa West Regional Division volunteers were involved in the following activities in 2007:

Feb. 27 - A 40-ft. container containing 6,000 Bibles, bedding, clothing and toys was shipped to Hyderabad, India.

March 20 - Hospital beds, mattresses, school desks, school supplies, medical equipment, bedding, clothing and 103 boxes of yarn were shipped by 40-ft. container to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

July - A fund-raiser softball tournament was hosted by Immanuel-Schleswig that brought $1,000 of support.

July-August - Spanish and English Bibles were taken to Lutheran Laymen’s booths for the fairs in Denison, Des Moines and Spencer.

Aug. 5 - Volunteers from Norfolk joined Iowa West for a Wisconsin-Style Fish Boil at the Lutheran Hour Festival, where Ken Klaus was a speaker. Over 400 people were fed and $3,700 raised with an additional $800 in support coming from Thrivent.

Aug. 7 - A container of clothing and bedding was shipped to Baku, Azerbaijan.

Nov. 3 - 200 Bibles were delivered to missions near Nairobi, Kenya, which distributed them to areas where it is believed there were none before.

Dec. - Backpacks with school supplies and new toys were packed for the Nehemiah Project in inner-city Los Angeles, to be distributed alongside the Christmas story by Iowa District West missionary Rev. Porter.

Dec. 11 - 1,222 boxes of clothing were shipped to Madona, Latvia.

Katrina Relief from Orphan Grain Train has now totaled over $3 million. OGT is still present in the area and has shipped 162 semi loads of food, cleaning supplies, mobile units and building materials thus far.

Indiana 2007 Activity Report

Indiana Regional Division closed out another big year in the amount of donated goods shipped out of the modest warehousing location between Seymour and Columbus, Indiana. In the past two months we have shipped a large volume of donated goods, both locally and to foreign countries.

Foreign shipments during November and December:

* A container of winter clothing and blankets to Armenia ;
* A container of clothing, school supplies, bicycles, sports equipment computers and bedding to Hyderabad, India.

Click here for Ghana relief shipment arrival - February 2007

Domestic shipments:

* A 53-food semi-trailer load of good-quality used furniture and appliances picked up in Tallmadge, Ohio and delivered to Camp Restore, New Orleans;
* A semi trailer of toys, stuffed animals, bicycles, sports equipment, clothing and blankets to Majestic, Kentucky that provided Christmas for the surrounding area near the West Virginia state line. The semi-trailer was left there for the community to use as a storage unit since they lost their storage building in a storm.;
* A semi load of school desks, white boards, folding chairs, 1 1/4 tons of food and other miscellaneous school supplies to Quemado, Texas for missions in the area;
* A semi load consisting of furniture, appliances, toys, household goods, clothing and school supplies was sent to Lutheran Social Services in Caldwell, Ohio for distribution in the area.

In addition, three local families who suffered loss due to fires were set up with all needed to go back to a normal way of life, which included clothing, furniture, appliances and toys. Also, five broken families were given goods of all kinds to help them through times of hardship and the holiday season.

Missouri-Illinois Winter 2007

From Marilyn Bertram:

The New Year is here, and now it is time for thinking and planning this year’s activities. Looking back, we thank God for the many blessings showered upon us: volunteers who have made so much possible and donors who have provided financial support to send four containers to needy people within a year’s time. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord!

The Mongolian container arrived in Ulaanbaatar in mid-December and was released by customs on Dec. 22.

Dorothy and Rudy arrived back to the U. S. after two weeks in the Far East. I am sure they are “loaded” with new ideas.

Another shipment of hats (about 2,000) was delivered to the Center Jan. 8.

Packing and sorting goods for Uganda is priority one, especially fabric and notions for their sewing cottage industry.

Carlinville had a collection of health kit supplies and is boxing them at their church rather than having a workday in St. Louis.

Most of the food pantry supplies have been sorted.

A total of 47 gifts amounting to $11,340.89 have been received by Missouri-Illinois Division since Fall. Of these, $1,575 has been or will be matched by Thrivent. I thank all of you who have helped to raise these funds and encourage you to keep up the pace. The Lord is surely blessing your efforts.

Minnesota South Winter 2007 Report

Minnesota South Regional Division shipped the following relief supplies in the second half of 2007:

Aug. 28: 12 pallets of canned corn purchased from Lakeside Foods, Plainview, MN sent to Norfolk to be shipped onto Ysleta mission. Hauled by Bill Brakebush of Wisconsin Division. Six pallets of corn will be shipped at a later date to Pastor Martin in Del Rio, TX.

Aug. 28: 40-ft. container of clothing, medical clothing, blankets and quilts from Rochester to Christopoulos, Belarus.

Sept. 7: 859 doors from Windom, MN to Cornerstone Children’s Ranch, Quemado TX, via Norfolk, NE.

Sept. 22: 30 doors from Windom, MN to Stockton and Eyota, MN, to be used in two churches in the flooded area.

Sept. 26: 40-ft. container of clothing, blankets, quilts and sheets from Rochester to Society of Disabled People, Moldova.

Nov. 14: 100 doors from Windom, MN to Rushford, MN for southeast Minnesota flood area.

December: Minn-Tex donated 4,468 apple boxes which were distributed to Minnesota North Division and Minnesota South Division warehouses in Fairmont, Eastern Heights and Mayer.

Fall 2007

From Harold Gessner:

Our volunteer workers meet each Friday at the warehouse and process used clothing. We have been delivering used clothing to contacts domestically as well as those in Liberia, Africa. A Christian congregation on the Spirit Lake reservation has been the recipient of clothing for some time.

A few weeks ago, Northwood, N.D. was hit by a tornado which did damage to the entire village of 1,200 people. All homes were damaged from minimal to completely destroyed. A call for quilts came to us from Lutheran Disaster Response.

Tornado damage in Northwood, N.D. Photos by Avonne Gessner.

We answered the call with some 300 quilts and with the help of local volunteers we drove from house to house delivering them. Many volunteers have entered the town and have cleared debris, broken trees, tossed about automobiles, houses and the like. Restoration is well in progress.

Volunteers distributing quilts.

Distributing quilts.

It warmed my heart to visit our local hospital, upon request, to witness and speak to a group of long-term residents in wheel chairs who gathered to put together sewing kits to be distributed to needy women in Liberia.

A new facility for the loading of containers in Minot, 80 miles from our Bottineau warehouse, will permit us to place our containers on rail and ship to the east and west coasts.

Our prayer is that all things work together for the good of the Kingdom.

ND-OGT Harold Gessner.

Fall 2007 Report

From John White:

Immediately after the Greensburg disaster in May, kits of personal hygiene items were delivered to the Red Cross at Pratt. These were followed by deliveries to Greensburg of two water tanker trucks, a mobile office and a modular chapel building built in Wayne, Neb. This was done with the help of Orphan Grain Train’s volunteer Disaster Relief Team in Norfolk, Neb., LCMS World Relief and Human Care and Laborers for Christ.

The mobile chapel unit is delivered to Greensburg. Photos provided by John White.

Mobile office unit on-site.

With flooding in southeast Kansas later in the summer, one of the water tankers was used to provide water for Fredonia, a community of approximately 2,500 people.

Clothes, school supplies, medical equipment and supplies continue to be collected and sent to the national OGT warehouse in Norfolk, Neb., and from there are shipped to needy people across the U.S. and around the world. Since Nov. 1, 2004, over 10,000 apple boxes’ worth of humanitarian aid has been packed and shipped by Kansas Division volunteers.

John White, Chairman, Kansas Regional Division

Fall 2007 Report

By God’s grace, our little division continues to move forward. We do not have a warehouse as of yet, but we have hope. We have some Lutheran real estate people looking on our behalf. We would be happy to use part of an existing warehouse. Real estate prices prevent us from attempting to purchase property.

We continue to support the Lutheran missions in Tijuana, Mexico with quilts, healthcare kits, educational supplies and Spanish Bibles. Quilters in Chandler and Sun City West in Arizona and groups in the Los Angeles area continue to provide beautiful quilts for the Mexico project as well as the Los Angeles Nehemiah Project.

Melissa Salomon, Director of the Lutheran Hour office in Tijuana, recently shared that a project intended to reach out to seniors in the area around the missions has been quite a blessing and that they only covered about half of the area they planned to cover so they will be continuing. Over 100 quilts were given out and the workers were greatly inspired.

Choir robes and undies from a church in Los Angeles were delivered to Melissa this past week.

Two loads of clothing have been delivered to the City Rescue Mission in San Diego, which provides a great deal of support to the homeless.

On February 17, 2008 all of our District churches will be encouraged to hold an Undie Sunday, gathering new socks and underwear for boys, girls, men and women, and/or money for shipping costs. This is the Sunday after Valentine’s Day, so it’s a way of truly “Being a Valentine,” sharing Christ’s love with hurting people.

We have hope of getting more activity started in the California-Nevada-Hawaii District in northern California. There is always the thought of another earthquake disaster in the back of our minds.

Please keep all of our division in your prayers that we might all be better prepared to reach out with Christ’s love in emergencies.

Colorado West Division Fall 2007

Orphan Grain Train Celebrates 15 Years of God’s Blessings at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Loveland, Colorado

Submitted by Lou & Anita Boette, Colorado West Division

In observance of 15 years of God’s blessings upon Orphan Grain Train, the Colorado West Division (CWD) recently returned to the birthplace of Orphan Grain Train activities in Colorado - Immanuel Lutheran Church in Loveland - to celebrate and acknowledge the congregation’s foundational role in establishing Orphan Grain Train. During the congregation’s annual Wisconsin-style Fish Feed OGT fundraiser held Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007, the 70 people attending enjoyed a formal program carried out under the theme, “Then and Now: Look How Far We’ve Come” presented by members of the Colorado West Division committee.

CWD Chairman Lou Boette of Thornton, Colo., longtime supporter of Orphan Grain Train, served as master of ceremonies for the program. It was designed to help those attending fondly recall Orphan Grain Train’s formative years, beginning in 1992, and capture the excitement of getting “on board” this newly formed humanitarian aid “train”, not knowing exactly where or how far the “train” would go, yet knowing they wanted to be a part of those “fueling” the growing movement.

In 1992, following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Rev. Ray S. Wilke of Grace Lutheran Church in Norfolk, Neb., joined fellow Lutherans on a mission trip to Latvia and Russia where they met people with “no hope” and in desperate need of spiritual, emotional, and humanitarian aid. In response to requests for help, Rev. Wilke envisioned a train traveling through America’s Midwest, picking up cars of donated grain along the way, until it reached a port from which the grain would be shipped to feed starving orphans in Eastern Europe.

Upon his return to the U.S., Rev. Wilke and Clayton Andrews, president of Andrews Van Lines, a worldwide transportation company, co-founded Orphan Grain Train. Railroad operating protocol prevented the original grain train concept from being practical, but Orphan Grain Train was born nonetheless. Within a year, ‘Grain Train’s first shipment, a container of clothing and quilts, arrived in Riga, Latvia.

Today, Orphan Grain Train is a 501(c)(3), recognized service organization (RSO) of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, built on a network of volunteers. Orphan Grain Train’s 18 regional divisions stretching coast to coast collect, pack and ship more than 150 semi-loads of donated clothing, relief supplies and humanitarian aid each year and raise funds to pay shipping costs.

Celebration activities at Immanuel’s Fish Feed began with the reading of a “letter of reminiscence” from former member Tim Sweeney, an early-day Orphan Grain Train activist now living in Arkansas, which relayed Immanuel’s initial success in recruiting volunteers, collecting items and securing a warehouse with the goal to ship a container of aid to Latvia - a feat accomplished in 1993. Francis Sedlacek, a member of Immanuel and Orphan Grain Train’s first Colorado “state representative,” added supplemental commentary.

Immanuel’s worship service on May 23, 1993, was designated as “Orphan Grain Train Sunday” and thus was founded the Rocky Mountain Division, which at that time encompassed the entire state of Colorado. After a period of inactivity, division headquarters were re-established at Julesburg, Colo.

Lanelle Krueger of Longmont, Colo., was on a volunteer team that followed Rev. Wilke’s team into Latvia in 1992. She showed slides of the trip at a potluck that followed Immanuel’s “OGT Sunday” worship service in 1993. She is currently a member of the Colorado West Division committee so returned to Immanuel to participate in the 15th anniversary celebration. Sporting a 1993-circa “OGT-Keep on Truckin’” pink lapel pin, Krueger showed slides of Colorado’s first warehouse in west Loveland and some of the items donated at that time. This prompted the audience to share a few stories of early-day efforts to collect items and medical equipment - very heavy medical equipment before they even had a warehouse!

The program continued with a PowerPoint presentation that, with several fun audience participation trivia questions, reflected OGT’s growth and progress over the years up through present-day CWD activities.

The presentation included pictures of Loveland’s first collection truck for donated items; early- and present-day warehouse facilities in Colorado and Norfolk; a quick overview of OGT’s website and disaster-response efforts; and several facts and figures such as: OGT began holding national conventions in 1999, shipped its 1,000th container in 2005, and has shipped aid to 40 countries on five continents.

It was further explained that the Rocky Mountain Division was divided in the fall of 2005, with the Colorado West Division being chartered at that time. Headquarters for the RMD remain in Julesburg, Colo., and the CWD is headquartered in Arvada, Colo., its warehouse in Thornton, a north-Denver suburb. The presentation also acknowledged those congregations that were particularly helpful in assisting the CWD at the time it was chartered.

CWD activities over the past two years include collecting and shipping aid to Ysleta Lutheran Mission in El Paso on a regular basis; shipping organs and pianos to the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina; assisting financially with shipments to the Gulf Coast, Kyrgyzstan and Ecuador; “adopting” students in India by providing them financial support; and providing a financial contribution to the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association to assist ranchers in southeast Colorado following the paralyzing blizzards in the winter of 2007.

Chairman Boette, speaking on future activities, encouraged support for OGT’s “Adopt-an-Orphanage” program. The program recruits individuals and groups to financially support orphanages in the former Soviet Union with monthly contributions. Hundreds of orphanages await adoption.

The celebratory program concluded with announcing the winning silent auction-bidder of a handmade quilt and the audience standing and singing the common doxology as its way of acknowledging from whom all blessing flow to, through and from Orphan Grain Train.

For additional information on how to actively engage with Colorado West Division, or to schedule a presentation or Fish Feed fundraiser, persons may contact Chairman Lou Boette at (303) 453-1270, or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Potatoes Sent to Ysleta Mission

On Sept. 4, 2007, 42,000 pounds of potatoes from Minnesota North Regional Division were delivered to Ysleta Lutheran Mission in El Paso, Texas.

Photos courtesy Elvira Viramontes, YLM.

The potatoes, donated by a farmer in Long Prarie, Minn., will be distributed by YLM to needy people in the area.

Fall 2007

From Jeannette Stensland:

We are thankful for all the help we are getting to serve God’s people!

South Dakota Regional Division recently was the recipient of a Thrivent award of $400 in supplemental funds for a benefit Wisconsin-style fish dinner held in September at Emanuel Lutheran Church, Milbank. In October a sausage dinner was held at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Watertown and money received there will also be supplemented by Thrivent.

Above: Dianne Hammond, representing Thrivent Chapter 30581, presents the check to Vernon Koopman, treasurer for the South Dakota Division of Orphan Grain Train Inc. Also shown are several of the volunteers who assist at the new packing site in Milbank.

Presentations about Orphan Grain Train were made to the South Dakota District Pastoral Conference in Spearfish as well as the LWML Milbank and Yankton zones’ fall rallies. The Milbank zone rally, held at Wilmot, included an ingathering of materials and funds greatly needed for shipping them.

Several quilts have been donated by St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wolsey and Mt. Calvary in Huron.

We have more people who are using the Thrivent GivingPlus forms for their donations.

Thank you all once again!

Colorado West Summer 2007

“We are assured all things work together for good to those who love the Lord.” Romans 8: 28

God has blessed the Colorado West Division of Orphan Grain Train with a new vision and some more volunteers.

Teamwork is the name of the game and we are anxiously awaiting our first pickup at our warehouse in Thornton, Colo. Working conditions are not as favorable as they were at Bethlehem. However all members are adjusting. SO PLEASE KEEP YOUR EYES AND EARS OPEN for us for better and larger warehouse space.

We did have a chance to ship all accumulated donations to Norfolk on Tuesday, August 7, 2007. After a trip to Ysleta Mission in El Paso, Texas, Lloyd Dennert stopped at the Thornton warehouse. His next stop was Loveland, Colo. at a paint store that has been donating paint to Orphan Grain Train. It is always a thrill to see the truck with the Orphan Grain Train logo. Many volunteers stepped up to help load.

We also had some special help from our grandsons Garrett and Nolan. Daniel and Steven, grandsons of Janet and Dave Gordon along with their friend Mitchell were put to work too. It opened the door to encourage more work for the Lord. The loading went very fast.

Now we can start over and hopefully do a good “housecleaning” before we get set to pack again. We shipped approximately 412 boxes and 60 bags of pillows and mattress pads. The later was a donation from the Doubletree Hotel. We sort directly to Ysleta Mission and 37 of the 412 boxes will be sent on the next trip to El Paso from Int’l Headquarters, Norfolk Neb.

Our fundraisers are continuing and another garage sale was held on July 20th and 21st. It requires much work for Dorothy Curtis and her family. More volunteers seem to be there when needed and the CWD of Orphan Grain Train thanks all of them. Another great success. Please call Dorothy if you would like to assist: (303) 424-4074. Some funds are realized with sale of Casserole carriers and potholders. Norman Nehrig is our seamstress for these. Quilt kits all assembled are available at our display table.

Mt. Hope in Boulder, Colo. came through as usual and hosted a Wisconsin-Style Fish Feed - the Christian Fellowship under Pastor George Hesse was a blessing. We are planning to go back next year.

July 29th was the long awaited Fish Feed in Cortez, Colo. at Trinity Lutheran. The event was to have been held at the City Park but a scheduling conflict meant it was moved to the church. Kurt Jostes from Norfolk made the trip with us as did Dick and Ursula Tuers and Arlene and Bob Swenning. We were thankful for all of the help that the congregation supplied.

We were all pleasantly surprised at the response to the “feed”. Bill and Pat Heinicke are the leaders of the CWD Orphan Grain Train satellite in the Four Corners area. A quilt was made by a member of Trinity Lutheran and auctioned off at the Fish Feed.

We hadn’t realized that Mesa Verde National Park was so close to Cortez. On the way back to Thornton we were able to stop by and see the ruins.

Lanelle Krueger our newest member from Messiah Lutheran in Longmont, Colo. is in Kampala, Uganda on a Mission Trip. She has been looking forward to this trip. They visited a village called Kateete and were greeted by 50-60 children who were very anxious to touch them and shake hands too. Lanelle has been sending updates almost every day and she will have a full account when she returns.

This is all for now. The summer is almost over and of course we pray for cooler weather and more energy to do the Lord’s work. The Annual International Convention for Orphan Grain Train will be held September 21 and 22, 2007 in Norfolk, NE. Click here for details and registration information.

“I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.” John 14:18

Submitted by Anita Boette- Public Relations

Summer 2007 Message

By Glenn Shermerhorn

So much has happened during the winter. And so much more continues to happen during the spring. First, to all of you who have not heard, our acting chairman since Elfie Eberle left for warmer climes has been Dave Thom. He resigned from the acting chairmanship and the board of directors effective at our February meeting. We give thanks to Dave for his unselfish service to us at a time when he was going through some hard times of his own. Even while acting as his own general contractor and primary labor force on building his new house, he was willing to give us probably more than he should have. The house is almost done and they are living comfortably in it. I am the new acting chairman and we are in search of a chairman to take over these duties.

We have reduced our overstock of used clothing to a manageable point and are staying on top of the packing thanks to many volunteers in many places. Edie Mohlenhoff has become a member of the board acting as our volunteer coordinator. We are now sorting clothing at the warehouse six days each month and wanting to do so much more. We also have remote sorting going on at several churches. Thanks to them for their willingness to share space and help accomplish our mission.

Three new members have joined our board from Vermont. Sandy Buggianni has taken over the duties of the secretary and is doing a great job. Blanche Lenser has become our corresponding secretary and sends out all those thank-you letters. Catherine Sheridan is now our treasurer. We know it is a jaunt to get to our monthly board meetings and truly do appreciate your efforts.

Thanks to the former officers who held those positions. Your contributions helped Orphan Grain Train carry on its mission in the Northeast.

We have been in our new warehouse on Central Avenue in Albany only since August last year, but it appears that we will have to find better quarters. The space we were using has been rented to another group for much more money than we are able to pay. They have only a small area left for us to use and it is too small for us to operate in successfully. We are currently searching for something near 10,000 square feet of space in a warehouse or large dry barn that we can use the forklift in. Even better, if you can think of some way for OGT to own a permanent warehouse, please contact us.

I know that from the sound of this message all seems dismal. That is not the case. Last year we shipped ten 40-ft. containers overseas to people who truly need the goods in them. At a minimum valuation of $80,000 per container, that makes us a pretty good-sized operation. And we do it all with volunteers. We have increased our volunteer staff a great deal. We have at least one new congregation helping us sort clothing. We have a new group of board members who have made tremendous efforts so far and have plans to do much more. We are in the thinking stage of organizing a group to travel to various churches with a video or CD presentation to help us ship materials to those locations where there is such great need. We are also working on establishing a better system for tracking our inventory and shipments. These things are all positive.

Even though we face large challenges in the future we know that with the Lord’s help we will accomplish and exceed all our needs. We have been in many different kinds of need in the past and the Lord has always blessed us richly. Please keep us in your prayers and tell your friends and neighbors about the work we do.

Glenn Schermerhorn

Acting Chairman
Orphan Grain Train New York Division

Missouri Valley, Iowa Flood Relief

June 1, 2007 - Iowa West Regional Division assessed the flooding in the town of Missouri Valley, Iowa and found 77 houses flooded.

Elroy Koch and disaster response coordinator Vern Steinman from Orphan Grain Train’s Norfolk, Neb. headquarters met with a disaster team in Missouri Valley. Iowa West Regional Division delivered 800 sheets of 4’ x 8’ x 1/2” sheet-rock on Friday, June 8th.

Other supplies provided by Iowa West included quilts and blankets, sheets, pillow cases, wash cloths and towels, men’s clothing, personal care products, garbage cans, five gallon pails, masks, rubber gloves and liquid bleach.

Summer 2007 Report

Minnesota South activity for the first half of 2007 was as follows:

Jan. 9: 50-sack pallets of potatoes (50 lbs. per sack), also 22 110 lb. bags of split pinto beans to El Cavario, Brownsville, TX. (Wisc. Div. hauled)

Jan. 16: Semi-trailer from Norfolk to Ysleta Mission, El Paso, TX; 100 cases, 12 29-oz. cans of tomato sauce purchased at “Affiliated” Gordy Foods, Windom, MN.

Jan. 30: 500 boxes summer clothes from Eastern Heights Lutheran warehouse; Global Care boxes from Rochester and Fairmont; 175 boxes of medical supplies to be sorted; medical equipment from Rochester; forwarded to Norfolk to be shipped where needed. The summer clothes went to Ecuador.

April 24: 40-ft. container of clothing, medical clothing, hospital beds, school supplies from Eastern Heights, Fairmont and Rochester to Baku, Azerbaijan Medical Institution, Project 39.

June 4: 500 boxes of medical supplies were hauled by Nelson Industries from Rochester to Norfolk to be sorted and distributed.

June 12: 40-ft. container from Rochester to Minsk, Belarus. OTKRYTYE RUKI (open hands) Project #13; soap, wheelchairs, hospital linens, other medical-related items.

Dec. 2006 To Mar. 2007: Minn-Tex donated 10,500 apple boxes for use in shipping; all have been delivered to the four warehouses located in Fairmont, Mayer, Eastern Heights, and Rochester. 2000 went to MN North Division.

Spring 2007

It is time again to update the Colorado West Division activities. Since the last writing we have moved to a different warehouse. We knew it was too good to be true to be able to stay much longer in Unit 14 at Bethlehem in Lakewood, Colo. The scramble was on to locate another warehouse and have Norfolk send a truck to empty us out. On March 15, one day before we were to be out of the warehouse, relief came from a driver making a return trip from the Ysleta Mission in El Paso, Texas. It was a fun day and the people helping will never forget that day. It was sad too but the memories will linger on. We had about 700 boxes plus some 60 boxes for the Texas mission.

We were quite by accident able to find a different place for our sorting and packing. The son of one of our members was given some information about a storage unit for rent. The address is 145th and Washington St., Thornton, Colo., just a hop and skip for some of us to get to. We did have quite a time moving and getting organized since this is one big room. All the packers do not seem to mind the change of pace and adjusted quite well to the new surroundings. This warehouse has a country atmosphere and it gives us a sense of freedom. However this will not last long as across I-25 about 1/4 mile away we can see the shopping mall coming our way.

Otherwise we are just moving forward. We have shipped over 500 quilts now since we became a division. We received 435 lbs. of canned items from Peace of Christ in Ft. Collins and were able to transfer this to the Road Runner Van for delivery to Ysleta. We have done two Fish Feeds this 2007 and will do the third on April 15th, at Peace Lutheran in Arvada, Colo. The next one will be held at Peace with Christ in Ft. Collins at noon. This is their third one and we hope to continue yearly.

Lest I forget the first Fish Feed for 2007 was done February 25, at Messiah Lutheran in Longmont, Colo. Lanelle Krueger did a PowerPoint presentation on her volunteer trip through LHM in the Katrina Area. She did an excellent job and everyone was quite inspired by it all. She was quite impressed by the work that Orphan Grain Train is doing in that area. Lanelle will join our Orphan Grain Train committee this June. She has many good ideas on promoting this division and so with God’s help we can grow much bigger yet.

Since the last update God chose to take Jim Curtis away from our midst and we really miss him. He was so fond of Orphan Grain Train and available at almost anytime. The garage sales have not been held yet as the weather has not been favorable. Jim and his family did the sales and the family will now carry on without him. Dorothy is anxious to get started as her storage items for the sales are overflowing.

The latest report from Bill and Pat Heinicke in Cortez, Colorado is as follows: Trinity Quilters put in 47 hours in the month of March. They will dedicate 50 plus quilts at Trinity Lutheran on April 29th for Orphan Grain Train. This extension of Colorado West Division also has ten big bags of good children’s clothing that will be shipped to the District Office too. The Fish Feed that we will hold in Cortez on July 29th is being advertised. It will be in the City Park and the whole day will be reserved for Orphan Grain Train. We welcome the enthusiasm from this group.

Lou and I will attend the board meeting in Norfolk, Nebraska on April 20th and 21, 2007. New opportunities are always coming to spread the good news about Orphan Grain Train. We are so happy and privileged to do so. God has used these two ordinary people to work for Him with the help of some extraordinary people.

Public Relations-Anita Boette

Kyrgyzstan shipment photos

May 3, 2007 - Orphan Grain Train’s Wisconsin Regional Division makes numerous shipments of clothing and medical supplies to Kyrgyzstan and other countries and areas of need each year. The following photos are from one of the most recent shipments this spring.

Boxes of relief from a storage trailer (right) will be transferred to the overseas container (left).

Each box has been carefully hand-packed by a volunteer at a Wisconsin Division sorting station.

Volunteers taking inventory.

The volunteer loading crew waiting for the next pallet to arrive.

Almost done! Each shipping container holds over 1,000 boxes of relief.

Loaded and ready to begin the trip halfway around the world.

Bundles Bound for Bishkek

On April 17, 2007, the Maryland Division of OGT will pack a container of clothes, hospital equipment, and other materials destined for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

In preparation for the shipment, the Boy Scouts of Troop 346 in Pasadena, Maryland sorted and packed winter and summer clothes for the people of this poor central Asian country. Guided by scout leaders David Phipps and David Ellis—and fortified by bagels and donuts—they worked together to pack over sixty boxes.

The tradition of teamwork found in scouting is shown in these pictures as each boy got the job done. We are very appreciative of their hard work and dedication. And we know the people of Kyrgyzstan will be thankful, too!

Lincoln (Neb.) Regional Division

On April 12th, 2007, our third container of relief supplies left the warehouse bound for Armenia. We thank and praise God for answering all of your prayers on our behalf which made this possible. And we thank God for answering the prayers of the people of Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Belarus through your support of Orphan Grain Train. Please keep us in your prayers.

We are now accepting donations of bedding, clothing, stuffed toys and medical equipment (that is, canes, crutches, walkers, wheelchairs) at our warehouse in Lincoln. Donations may be dropped off only on Fridays from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. The address is 2500 Kimco Ct. #103. This is two blocks west of the service road that runs alongside 27th St at the railroad overpass between Leighton and Teresa streets. Come in from Teresa St. or State Fair Park Dr.

If your congregation would like to sponsor a Wisconsin-Style Fish Feed fundraiser for the Orphan Grain Train Lincoln Division, and/or if you would like to have a speaker come talk about the work of the Orphan Grain Train, please contact Mr. LaVerne Thomas at (402) 423-3903.

Winter 2007

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10

Welcome 2007!

We have been a regional division for a little over a year. With the Lord’s help and guidance we pray that our effort has been God pleasing. We are a group of energized Christians working well together with great joy.

We love to do Fish Feeds!! We can also always fill in at LWML meetings, schools, Sunday School class etc. to tell the Orphan Grain Train story. We try to keep up with Katrina Relief and DVD’s are available as well. Call Lou Boette for a speaking or fish feed date at 303-453-1270 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

We continue to collect clothing. We are always in need but are concentrating mostly on children’s and men’s. We always take new and nearly new items and are also a drop site for Global Care Packages.

In addition to collections we are raising funds that make it possible to be of financial aid and will continue to support efforts such as Katrina Relief. We have funded the shipment of a container out of Norfolk to Kyrgyzstan and at our monthly meeting voted to send financial help to the blizzard stricken area in Colorado for losses suffered by the farmers and ranchers.

We also assist the Sudanese families that Bethlehem Lutheran is sponsoring with clothing as well. The Ysleta Lutheran Mission in El Paso, Texas is another of our recipients.

The Brown Palace and the Doubletree hotels in Denver continue to give us their linens that they no longer use. Of course we do still receive quilts as one of our top priorities. We are so blessed in having a charming volunteer that does much of our quilt tying. I do not want to exclude Exempla St. Joe’s Hospital for their donations of medical supplies.

Bill and Pat Heinicke in Cortez, Colo. (members of Trinity Lutheran) are keeping up their end of the Division. They are sharing the Katrina story with groups such as LWML women. Bill also is going to local hospitals. Pat has a group of women that are making fleece mittens and some quilts also. As soon as we receive a report we will share it with you.

It really is quite an event when Dorothy and Jim Curtis along with their daughter, Jana decide to hold a garage sale. The Lord is working through these people and has blessed Orphan Grain Train with funds to be used for various projects. Items that are in good condition can be donated for the sale.

We had a big scare about one month ago when we received a message that we might have to share our warehouse space with the pharmacy. It appears that the committee that oversees our space has rented all available units and now may need half of our area. We were very disturbed as that would be a definite negative for us.

Bethlehem Lutheran in Lakewood, Colo. has allowed us to use an unoccupied unit in their medical building just south of the church, rent free and with all utilities paid. However they were very concerned that we maybe could not carry on the Orphan Grain Train mission if our space was compromised. After some discussion and the possibilities of doing some minor remodeling they came up with some plans that will be passed on to their rental committee. If these plans are accepted then we can stay. Please keep us in your prayers.

Nicaragua Mission-Vision Trip - February 2007

Elfie Eberle, Chair

It’s hot, sticky, inspiring and deeply humbling. It’s Nicaragua.

I asked if I could have one Mama, one pot and six children out in one of the poorest barrios - Santa Patricia. I wanted to field-test and take some pictures. When I arrived, there were 15 mamas, one pot, and 35 children. My little packet of nutrition from “Kids Against Hunger” seemed sadly lacking. But we started anyway with the wood fire under a rusty grate out in the yard.

The 15 mamas chattered good-naturedly about what should go in the pot first then decided on some oil, chopped onion and the rice mixture from the packet. To my amazement all the children and the mamas watched this pot boil for 30 minutes - patiently and expectantly.

Empty bowls of all sizes and types were held out to gratefully receive a tablespoon of food. The conclusion was “rico” - tasty - and “send some soon.”

I must admit I could not help but think of our own children. We have in such abundance. Orphan Grain Train will be shipping a container of this food to Nicaragua in March. It will cost $4,000 to ship the container.

The Lutheran Mission headquartered in the city of Chinandega has 17 churches served by 12 ordained Pastors and 22 deaconesses. All this, through the mighty hand of God, has happened in 10 years. This is the very first Lutheran presence in this country.

Each church has a Christian school taught by the deaconess. These children learn the 3 R’s and, most for the very first time, hear that they have a Savior who loved them so much he died for them. And what’s more, he walks with them now. All this happens because generous people scholarship these children for $90 a year. There is always a long list of children waiting for scholarships, and you can help as well. Just send $90 for Nicaragua Scholarships to Orphan Grain Train - Maryland Division at 308 Oak Manor Drive, Glen Burnie, MD 21061. A list of the deaconesses’ needs is also available at the bottom of this page.

An ambitious building program is underway which will include an administration building, a church, a seminary with accompanying dining hall, classrooms and dormitories. This Seminary will serve all of Latin America. The Admin building has been completed and construction on the dormitories and sewing school has been begun. The pace of construction is always linked to the flow of donations. For example, the church, see picture, is just a shell and desperately needs a roof before the rainy season comes. The cost of the roof is $9,500.

Churches of cinder block are being built one by one in the 17 communities. These churches are a beacon of hope among the bleakness of 70% unemployment, abysmally substandard housing, hunger and disease. It stands as a sentinel of faith and love. There are churches currently in 5 communities. Each church costs approximately $20,000. Prices in Nicaragua are on a steep rise.

To go to Nicaragua is to meet people whose faces sparkle with the joy and hope of faith in their Lord Jesus Christ. This, in spite of the fact that they are abjectly poor. It is a high privilege to be among these people of God.

Nicaragua Deaconess Needs - 2007

$7 for a Bible - 2,500 needed
Construction paper
Paper
Pencils
Pens
Paint brushes
Watercolors
Crayons
Rulers
Flannel graph for teaching Bible stories
Bible Maps
Maps
Scissors
Toys
Hand puppets

Donations of any size are very much appreciated.

If you would like to help with any of these projects, please send your donation, indicating its goal, to the address listed below.

2006 Report

In February, 2006, a semi trailer loaded with appliances went to Lacombe, Louisiana from Redeemer Lutheran, Sioux City, Iowa.

Recently, a container was loaded at the Ida Grove warehouse for Dishanbe, Tajikistan, totaling 1,188 boxes of clothing.

The Iowa West Division remains busy in work, play and fund-raising. The small group continues its pledge to aid those in need all around the world.

A recent busy day at the Ida Grove, Iowa warehouse.

Boxes of donated clothing waiting to be sorted.

Volunteers hard at work sorting and folding clothes to be sent where needed most.

Minard Petersen, warehouse supervisor.

This group of volunteers meets every Tuesday.

Volunteers load a container to be shipped overseas.

Barb and Elroy Koch, warehouse assistant and Iowa West Regional Division President.

2006 Report

By Adolf Meyer

2006 has been a year full of surprises, challenges, periods of struggles, faith in our Lord and some of the miracles he has answered.

Let me explain: One of the toughest obstacles we faced was when we received notice that we had to leave our warehouse in Schenectady. We had to move out more quickly then expected to make room for tenants who were willing to pay $5,000 a month for the space we were using.

Eventually we were handed an eviction notice, in Glens Falls. We assured the property owners that we would be out by a certain time before their deadline. We fulfilled those promises. A wonderful gift from God was when one of our Board members, Dan Lukach, found us our current warehouse in Albany and successfully negotiated a contract with the owner.

The new warehouse in Albany has many advantages but a slight disadvantage in - that it is only 1/5 in size. At the time when we had to make the actual physical move between the warehouses, God sent us a miracle from the Lutheran Camp SON RISE in Pottersville. A Youth Service Group that was staying at SON RISE needed a work project. So Paul Marks, the director of Son Rise and Pastor Miller send us 30 teenagers and their adult leaders.

This group came to help us when we certainly needed them the most. It was a struggle and a heartache disposing some of our stuff we could not move to our new warehouse. The guys became a virtual wrecking crew: they threw out heaps of metal, helped to move 1,500 bags of clothes that we received from Plato’s Consignment Shop, which we stored in mini storage places. Then they helped us sort and pack boxes. These wonderful kids spent 490 hours of volunteer work. Hope & faith and a lot of prayers sent us additional help.

Tom Town, our Warehouse Manager and Board member spent a lot of hours picking up and delivering loads upon loads of clothes. He performed these services despite his health problems and nagging leg and back troubles. Edie Mohlenhoff, a very conscientious hard working person seems as if she has made her second home - our two warehouses. Edie has been organizing the volunteer groups and is always there to help as well as teach other volunteers the ropes. Behind the scenes, she is the magic behind the production of all the paper work for shipping and makes certain that each item that goes on the container is accounted for.

Another surprise and gift from God were all the volunteers that helped to load the 8x8x40 containers, 10 shipments this year - more than ever before since our start of OGT — New York Division. Our volunteers loaded thousands and thousand of very heavy boxes. They packed and squeezed in every inch of space in those containers with unbelievable care and precision. Driving the fork lifts - Glenn Schermerhorn or David Thom did a marvelous job, like pros. It was tricky for these guys with the some items like beds in these containers as they were constantly getting stuck in the ridges of the floor. Great job guys! These 10 shipments were sent to the following countries: Nicaragua, Somalia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Belarus.

Year In Review - 2006

The Wisconsin Division of Orphan Grain Train would like to express its sincere gratitude to all the wonderful people for their support financially and volunteering their time to gather, sort, pack and load shipments. The following shipments of clothes, medical supplies, household items, and food were shipped in 2006 to the following United States locations:

6 semi loads to Del Rio, Texas
1 semi load to Alamo & Mercedes, Texas
2 semi loads to Alamo, Texas
2 semi load to Mercedes, Texas
1 semi load to Laredo, Texas, from Wis. and Minn. So. Division
4 semi loads of blankets, clothes, coats, toys, and medical supplies to the Native American Heritage Foundation in Rapid City, S. D.
2 semi loads of lumber and building supplies to the hurricane-devastated area of Biloxi, Mississippi.
1 semi load of lumber and building supplies to the hurricane-devastated area of Ocean Springs, Miss.
Four shipments of hospital equipment were sent to Norfolk, Neb., for overseas shipments.

The Wisconsin Division of Orphan Grain Train sent the following shipments of clothes and medical supplies in 2006 to the following overseas locations:

1 semi load container to Haiti (Medical supplies and equipment)
3 semi load containers to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
1 semi load container to Valmiera, Latvia
1 semi load container to Kula, Bulgaria
2 semi load containers to Riga, Latvia
1 semi load container to Hyderabad, India

To become an Emergency Response Volunteer, contact Jim Flynn, Orphan Grain Train Emergency Response Coordinator at (winter: November 1st - March 31st): (815) 874-4833; (summer: April 1st - October 31st): (715) 228-2422. Alternate Coordinator: Myron Block, (715) 845-4022.

Contributions to the Orphan Grain Train, Wisconsin Division may be sent directly to:

William Frizzell, Treasurer
10067 County Rd. D
Amherst, WI 54406-9083
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
phone (715)824-3780

Please make checks payable to:
Orphan Grain Train-Wisconsin Division

Fall 2006 Report

Greetings in Christ’s name from the Southwest.

The main efforts from our Regional Division continue in support of the outreach efforts of the mission churches in Tijuana, Mexico, through the Lutheran Hour Office in Mexico and in support of the Los Angeles Nehemiah Project in the inner-city churches.

A propane commercial-style stove for use at a new day-care-for-adults facility in Tijuana, Mexico was recently donated by Lutheran Camp Caroline in Valley Center, Calif.

A CA-AZ-NV Regional Division truck and trailer provided by a grant from the Pacific Southwest District LWML.

The quilters in Phoenix and Chandler, Arizona, continue to provide a good supply of quilts for Mexico. The Chandler group also provides crocheted hats for the children in Tijuana. The Grand Canyon District of the Lutheran Laymen’s League honored the ladies from both churches at their District Convention in March.

Some of the Chandler, Ariz. quilters at Risen Savior Lutheran Church. Several hundred quilts have been donated from the group thus far.

Quilters with a van stuffed full. Dedicated workers for the Lord and his children!

Don Ruettinger (right) coordinates the gathering of quilts for OGT. Don Anderson (center), CA-AZ-NV Regional Division chairman, is preparing to take a load of quilts back to California.

Fall 2006

Health kits collected by the MN North LWML in 2005 for Hurricane Katrina recovery.

Collection of new socks and undies at the 2006 MN North District LCMS Convention in Brainerd, Minn.

Hospital beds donated by Eventide Lutheran Home in Moorhead, Minn.

A load of donated clothing from South Dakota Regional Division.

Volunteers pause for a group photo while loading boxes of sorted clothing to be shipped where needed most by Wisconsin Regional Division.

Volunteers after packing another load to be shipped by Wisconsin Regional Division.

Ohio Division Fall 2006

We continue to support the flood recovery of southeastern Ohio with volunteer time and multiple shipments of clothing, building supplies, household items and other necessities.

We also help support the Fort Wayne, Ind. seminary. A 16-foot trailer full of bedding, mattresses, lamps, dishes, kitchen sets, pots and pans was delivered in August. Items were taken right from the trailer into students’ homes.

A load of school desks will be sent to Indiana Division, who will ship them to India.

Missouri West Division

Fall 2008
Rev. Alfred Rodewald of the Missouri West Division (with clipboard) asked four members of his family to help him and Steve Krause load 810 filled boxes onto an Orphan Grain Train semi-trailer on November 8. The family had gathered from California, Iowa, Kansas City, and South Africa for his granddaughter’s wedding later in the day.

Winter 2008
Orphan Grain Train, Missouri West Division at Concordia transferred 900 boxes of humanitarian goods on Feb. 29 to Orphan Grain Train International at Norfolk, Neb., for distribution to where most needed worldwide. People in western Missouri had donated the men’s, women’s and children’s clothing. The clothing was sorted and packed by men and women volunteers in the Concordia area and at Jefferson City, Lone Elm and Norborne. Everet Hinck, Jim Evert, Homer Nierman and Robert Frerking of Concordia placed a total of 20 wrapped pallets each containing 45 boxes of goods onto an Orphan Grain Train semi-trailer from Norfolk.

Fall 2006
Orphan Grain Train Missouri-West Regional Division received 3,950 items of children’s clothing from the June 23-25, 2006, Lutheran Women’s Missionary League Missouri District convention ingathering in Columbia, Mo.

District Vice President Martha Kleindienst of Jefferson City, whose service committee arranged the ingathering, reported the items ranged from infant sizes to size six and most items were new or nearly new.

Also received through the ingathering were 177 new pairs of children’s shoes, donated by Darling Shoe Co. of St. Louis, and $262 in donations to help Orphan Grain Train with shipping costs.

The service committee sorted and boxed the donated items, then loaded the boxes into vehicles of women who would be returning to Concordia from the convention. The boxes were brought to the Concordia sorting center and were later trucked to Orphan Grain Train headquarters in Norfolk, Neb., for distribution.

The convention ingathering also brought in 4,025 skeins of yarn. The yarn was divided, with half of it going to the women’s prison at Vandalia and half to a women’s knitting group at Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in St. Louis. The women at Abiding Savior knit afghans for Orphan Grain Train and other humanitarian groups.

Missouri-West President Alfred Rodewald (left) and Roger Kammeyer in a recent photo with a trailer fully loaded with more than 1,200 boxes of winter clothing ready for delivery worldwide.

More Bundles Bound for Bishkek

On October 11, 2006, another container was sent to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from Maryland Division. This time the items included hospital beds, warm clothing, linens, shoes and warm boots. In addition, a slew of crutches and canes filled out the inventory.

Ed the packer taking a well-deserved break.

A hungry crew taking a pizza break.

Dean and Ellen happy about a job well done.

Packed and ready to be shipped.

Report - God’s Blessings During 2006

Orphan Grain Train’s Minnesota South Regional Division shipped the following relief in 2006:

Supplies for Katrina Relief

1 2/3 semi loads of bleach
2/3 semi load of quilts, work boots, food
3 semi loads of household doors

Medical supplies to Norfolk warehouse for distribution

1 semi load of 60 hospital and nursing home beds
2 1/3 semi loads medical equipment, medical supplies and linens, four dialysis machines

Texas missions - El Paso to Brownsville

1 semi load canned corn
2 semi loads potatoes
1 semi load refrigerators, sewing machines, desks, furniture, quilts, and clothing to Latin American Lutheran Mission, Laredo, Tx.
100 100lb bags of kidney beans
100 100lb bags of pinto beans
100 cases of tomato sauce
1 pallet food, cleaning material and medicines from Watkins

Overseas containers (Clothing, quilts, hospital beds, medical supplies and linens)

1 to Belarus
2 to Kyrgyzstan
2 to Uzbekistan

Fall 2006 Report

Aug. 28 - Six pallets canned corn to Christo El Salvadore Mission, Del Rio, Texas.

Aug. 28 - 46 beds from Colonial Manor, Lakefield, Minn. to Norfolk, Neb. warehouse for further disbursement.

Aug. 21 - Co-shipment with Wisconsin Division of refrigerators, sewing machines, desks, computers, drawers, quilts and clothes to Latin American Lutheran Mission in Laredo, Texas.

Aug. 9 - Semi trailer of potatoes donated by Zinter Bros., Long Prairie, Minn. to Ysleta Mission, El Paso, Texas.

Aug. 1 - Two pallets canned corn to El Calvario Mission, Brownsville, Texas, hauled by Wisconsin Division.

July 26 - Ten pallets canned corn for Ysleta Mission, El Paso, Texas.

July 18 - Semi trailer of 935 household doors for Katrina area.

Mid-summer 2006 Report

May 1 - Three pallets of food, medical supplies, cleaning materials, from Watkins and Winona, Minn. to Cristo El Salvador, Del Rio, Tex.

May 9 - Container of hospital linens, clothing, blankets, shoes, caps & mittens and school supplies from Rochester, Minn. to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

June 20 - Container of clothing, medical supplies and equipment, hospital beds and backpacks with school supplies from Rochester to Uzbekistan.

June 2006 Update

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men. - Ephesians 6:7

This passage serves as a good reminder when we begin to boast and take the credit for what the Lord really does through us. The Colorado West Division of Orphan Grain Train has such dedicated and faithful servants that as the days come and go the joy and pleasure of doing this mission does open more doors of opportunity. Praise the Lord!

Many thanks to the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) for providing a grant of $3,000 for Colorado West Regional Division!

We enjoyed having a visitor from the UEMI in India. Dick Tuers met him at Denver International Airport and Norma Nehrig provided an overnight stay. Both of them were amazed at the stories he had to tell. The Adult Sunday School Class at Peace Lutheran listened intently while the visitor from India spoke of his mission work with the UEMI (United Evangelical Mission of India), a relief partner of Orphan Grain Train. For more information about UEMI, visit http://www.uemi.org.

Word got around that organs were needed in the Gulf Coast for churches that are being rebuilt or restored. We now have five organs and five pianos, one altar, a baptismal font and pulpit. We have one more organ to pick up before they will be shipped south.

Moving pianos.

A special dinner was held at Bethlehem Lutheran on June 8th for Rev. Brandon Simoneaux and his wife Tricia. Rev. Simoneaux is the pastor of Christ our Savior Lutheran Church in Harvey, Louisiana. The Rocky Mountain District was very instrumental in helping renovate, repair, and return this congregation to operational status following Hurricane Katrina. Rev. George Hesse of Mt. Hope in Boulder, Colo. represented the Rocky Mountain District at the Rededication Service for the Harvey Church on April 30th.

Last but not least, the K-Wall Paint store in Thornton, Colo. has been donating gallons of paint that are returned for one reason or another. The total so far is 113 gallons and these will be used in the Gulf Coast area.

Check the Colorado West events page to see what special events and fund raisers are scheduled for the coming months.

Mid-Atlantic Division Activity

Boxes in the warehouse ready to ship.

The assembly line at work.

Putting the finishing touches.

Spring 2006

We shipped seven containers during the calendar year: one to Armenia; one to Guatemala; one to Tajikistan, two to India and two to Ghana.

We made 20-plus trips to the Katrina area, taking various types of donations to several locations.

We also made 20-plus trips to Southeastern Ohio, delivering to Mary Woodward, Director of Lutheran Charities of Southern Ohio. We delivered clothing, household and kitchen goods, appliances, bedding and related items. This will be an unending relationship to help this area with donations.

We continue to deliver to Majestic and Pikesville, Kentucky, and we also are taking goods to Louisa, Kentucky.

We make numerous deliveries to local people and organizations. People having fires, divorces, and other problems have received goods.

We estimate that we delivered over 175 tons of donated items including the food that was bought for the Katrina area. There were over 11,000 hours of donated time by nearly 1,000 different individuals that helped load and unload shipments. 100 different individuals made pickups and deliveries, driving over 40,000 miles, all in trucks owned by volunteers. We paid mileage or compensated for the out-of-pocket fuel charges. With the cost of fuel, that was a big expenditure.

The year 2006 started out where we left off. We are making trips to all the former locations and more are being added as needs arise.

We have added a pickup truck to our inventory - a 1998 Dodge 350 heavy-duty 3/4-ton with a Cummins. We thank God that He made this truck available to us. A volunteer who has spent several hours in the warehouse offered this truck to us at one half of the appraised value. We also have a 1975 Chevy delivery van, two cargo trailers - a 16ft. and an 18 ft., and one 48-ft. semi trailer that we have used for pick-up and delivery. There are 15 additional trailers that are used for storage of goods, both those needing sorting and packed and for goods awaiting shipment. We need more trailers.

We are currently using a building in Seymour, a big former hardware store that is approximately 12,000 sq. ft., whose use is donated until the owners either sell or rent the location.

We’re working on details to build a building for storage. This all takes time and does not go very fast. We will soon start a capital fund drive to cover our anticipated cost of a building. We hope to raise $50,000 to $60,000.

God has blessed this division very much; we have a lot of willing and entrusted people who are active in the work we do. Yes, we are constantly making pleas for sorters and packers. We are thankful for the ones we have but we can use many, many more.

We will be holding our annual vesper service-fish fry-annual meeting on Sunday, June 25 at our warehouse location.

One of the bigger projects that have been undertaken was the scrub-bucket project. We promoted a list of cleaning items that were needed to assist the people in Katrina area, and gave five-gallon buckets to people to take home and fill and bring back for us to take to Louisiana. To date, we have taken 3,500 buckets to locations in Louisiana. We have around 450 more ready to take down, plus the churches in the Evansville area are putting together 200 more which will be ready in a week. These have been a very popular item. We have received calls from many different groups asking for the filled buckets or how to get this project started. We have promoted this among several groups, both religious and some secular groups.

We have also promoted the “From Indiana Kids to Kids of the World” school student supply boxes. There were over 3,000 of these boxes put together. 400 were sent to Ghana and 200 to children in Eastern Kentucky. We are making plans to send a group of these boxes to schools in the Katrina-affected area and to Guatemala (the Spanish box version).

We have helped promote volunteers to go to Slidell and work. A member of the Friends congregation near our warehouse has made eight trips down to Louisiana, giving leadership and directing the work of several people that have volunteered. We sent a load of food supplies down to Bethany church that fed the volunteers that went down on their Spring Break (around 150 total) during the month of March. They have repaired many homes for people who did not qualify for any of the government programs.

We plan to make a trip to Slidell every two weeks or more often, taking down whatever supplies are needed. During the first week of April we took a 15-ft. cargo trailer a local person offered us to use for a storage unit at the Bethany location in Slidell.

A partial list of Indiana Regional Division hurricane relief loads shipped to the Gulf Coast in 14’, 16’, and 18’ trailers:

Equipment/Material	Origin	Delivery Point	Delivery Date
House doors, shower & tub doors, plumbing supplies, cleaning supplies, brooms, mops and buckets	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	4/12/2006
Paint, wallpaper, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, mops & brooms	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	3/25/2006
Groceries	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	2/27/2006
Cleaning materials, water,pampers, toiletry items	Seymour, Ind.	New Orleans, La.	1/17/2006
Water, food and cleaning supplies	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	11/8/2005
Cleaning supplies and food	Seymour, Ind.	New Liberia, La.	11/2/2005
Cleaning supplies and food	Seymour, Ind.	Biloxi, Miss.	10/13/2005
Cleaning supplies	Seymour, Ind.	Biloxi, Miss.	10/10/2005
Cleaning supplies	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	10/7/2005
Cleaning supplies	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	9/26/2005
Cleaning supplies	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	9/20/2005
Tool,building material	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	9/14/2005
Motor home	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	9/11/2005
Water,food and tools	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	9/11/2005
Water,food and misc.	Seymour, Ind.	Gonzales, La.	9/9/2005
Water, food and clothing	Seymour, Ind.	Pensacola, Fla.	9/8/2005
Clothing and food	Seymour, Ind.	Covington & Baton Rouge, La.	9/5/2005
Food and Water	Seymour, Ind.	Slidell, La.	9/4/2005

Spring 2006

Over 2,790 volunteer hours with a calculated value of over $28,000 of service time were contributed to Orphan Grain Train Missouri West Division in 2005. Warehouse hours are calculated at $9 an hour; pickup driver hours at $12; and semi driver hours at $15.

The teams that sorted and packed goods last year were from Concordia, Alma, Emma, Marshall, Malta Bend, Brunswick, Lone Elm and Jefferson City. Additional teams are organizing to sort and pack at Lockwood and Norborne. Large quantities of goods were brought to the Concordia sorting/packing center from Carthage, Carrollton, Malta Bend and Marshall in 2005.

Rasa Orchards at Lexington donated a semi load of 734 cases of apples to Orphan Grain Train in January and 800 cases in December for distribution at mission stations in Southwest U.S. This year, 2006, the Missouri West Division is geared to ship humanitarian goods to wherever needed worldwide. To achieve this, the division will welcome additional volunteers to sort and pack and will continue to look for bedding and new and good used clothing and shoes for all ages.

A transfer company in Sedalia has recently given Missouri West Division a 40-foot over-the-road trailer for use in temporarily storing goods. It is ready for shipping to where most needed by Orphan Grain Train. The trailer currently is filled with packaged winter goods. As soon as the Orphan Grain Train Transportation Department arranges for a shipping-container and a destination for the goods, the trailer will be unloaded of winter goods and become temporary storage for packaged summer goods.
Individuals interested in volunteering for humanitarian service with Orphan Grain Train are urged to contact Alfred Rodewald, division chairman.

Missouri-Illinois Spring 2006

From Marilyn Bertram:

We have received an interesting assortment of donations the past several months:

4,000 pairs of shoes and boots purchased by LCMS World Relief for $2 per pair. The winter boots were shipped to Mongolia; the summer boots will go to a warm climate.
2,000 pairs of shoes confiscated by a police department as a result of a patent infringement were given with the stipulation that they must be shipped overseas. These were mostly summer shoes; many of them will go to Trinidad.
20,000 to 30,000 summer and winter hats. These came by way of Basket of Hope, an organization that brings joy and hope to families with children suffering from cancer. That organization is distributing a portion of the hats; the winter hats will go to Mongolia. Some were also hand-carried to Uganda and Poland; from there they will be distributed in Ukraine.
Good office furniture and office pod dividers were received and are being donated to Norfolk for their new office building.

A container was shipped to Uganda Dec. 17 and arrived this past week. Its contents were 800 pounds of powdered milk, a special instant food supplement, computers, manual typewriters, school supplies, soccer balls, pastoral and religious material and churchware, clothing, blankets, and much more.

A container was sent to Mongolia Mar. 4 and is scheduled to arrive next week. Its contents were blankets, clothes, medical supplies, vitamins, and a 22 cubic foot 220volt/50Hz new refrigerator, school supplies, stuffed animals, etc.

Our next container will be shipped to Trinidad this summer.

A presentation was made to a local area Thrivent group, and they made a special ingathering. Displays featuring Orphan Grain Train will be at the Central Illinois District and Missouri District LWML conventions in June. A $10,000 grant request will be on the Northern Illinois LWML Convention ballot.

Another presentation and very successful yarn ingathering was made at an Illinois LLL Zone Rally.

Missouri-Illinois Katrina Relief Efforts Page

Minnesota North Spring 2006

Since January, 2006, the division has done the following:

* January - Collected Global Care Packages and brought them to Norfolk.
* January - Brought 28 boxes of health kits to Norfolk
* February - Our division emptied our trailer (800 or more boxes were sent to the Wisconsin Division for shipping. (Thank you Bill for your help)
* March - We are receiving lots of quilts at this time that the ladies in our District have made this past winter.
* We continue to work with South Dakota Division with receiving and storing boxes until shipping.
* As of April 10, we have 504 boxes in our warehouse.

Director of Minnesota North Division
Eugene Pasche

Buy a Shunt - Save a Life

Over 1,200 lives in Russia have been saved thanks to the “Buy a Shunt—Save a Life” program, which is administered for Orphan Grain Train by volunteers of the New York Regional Division.

Orphan Grain Train’s coordinator in St. Petersburg shared this note about another life was changed by the use of a shunt at the Russian Polenov Neurosurgical Hospital:

Volodya Y., a 12-year-old boy from Lipetsk, was very, very sick when I saw him the first time. He couldn’t speak, eat, felt poorly badly. His mother, Nina I., cried. ...He has tumor of the right vision zone and occlusive hydrocephalus. Volodya was a good son, a good student before. Nina has two other kids. Her husband died. Nina is very thankful to you for the shunt. She could never afford buying it. And the shunt is the last chance for her son to survive. After the operation, when a shunt was installed, Volodya came back to life; he is laughing, talking. He and his mother are happy.

Spring 2006 Report

A vanload of quilts for Mexico was brought down from the Sacramento area by Luther and Londa Skov. They had the opportunity to visit the Lutheran Hour Ministries office with Melissa Salomon and visit one of the missions and make an outreach visit with Melissa to see first hand how the quilts are used effectively to share the Gospel along with meeting humanitarian needs.

Melissa Salomon was the Lutheran Hour Ministries speaker for their convention and the ladies were quite thrilled to hear how the quilts are being used in the ministry there in Tijuana. Boxes and bags of health care kits and grooming kits have been delivered to Melissa. Backpacks filled with educational materials from the young people of the Iowa District West have been shared with Mexico through the Los Angeles Nehemiah Project. The youth and adults who make the trips out to Los Angeles in support of the Nehemiah Project also go to Tijuana to do mission support work while they are here. The Iowa-West Division of Orphan Grain Train volunteers pack the boxes of backpacks for shipment to California. All parts of the LCMS laity work closely in support of the outreach efforts around the world.

Several Lutheran Women’s Missionary League societies have purchased Spanish Bibles for Tijuana. These are used in Bible study and outreach by the missions. Lutheran Hour Ministries’ “Equipping the Saints” evangelism outreach program is being used very effectively in Tijuana.

Some of the quilts produced by the quilters in the Los Angeles area are being delivered to the Los Angeles Nehemiah Project. Dr. Lee Settgast and his group are using these quite effectively also. Dr. Settgast could use more quilts and good clothing but he has the same problem our regional division has—storage space.

About 50 large bags of good clothing have been brought down from Los Angeles to San Diego for use by the City Rescue Mission to take care of extremely needy people.

Since the last report, 54 boxes of health care kits from two churches in San Diego were delivered to Norfolk and were included in a shipment to the Gulf Coast for Katrina relief. Several boxes of quilts for Katrina Relief were taken to Norfolk this month.

We are continuing to explore avenues for opportunities to carry out the mission of Orphan Grain Train.

Spring 2006 Report

Jan. 19 - Semi trailer of bleach loaded at Woodbury Lutheran, Woodbury, Minn., for Katrina; organ, a “scooter”, “By Kids For Kids” school kits loaded at Rochester-shipped to Norfolk for distribution

Jan. 25 - Semi trailer of Katrina supplies, food, work boots from Woodbury Lutheran; blankets from Eastern Heights, Fairmont and Rochester; medical supplies and office furniture for Norfolk office, all loaded at Rochester, Minn. for distribution at Norfolk.

Feb. 6 - Semi trailer of cabinets, exam tables, medical supplies, chairs-Rochester to Norfolk for distribution

Mar. 2 - Purchased from Affiliated Foods at Norfolk, Neb. - 100 cans (12/26-oz. cans) tomato sauce; purchased 100 100-lb. bags light red kidney beans-both items shipped to Ysleta Mission, El Paso, Texas.

At present, our warehouse inventory is sufficient for two containers (blankets, sheets, medical linens and supplies, hospital beds, exam tables, clothing). The outlook for the balance of the year is promising- To date, 16 Fish Feeds have been scheduled for this season, beginning this past March 12. Proceeds raised at these events should allow the purchasing of beans, canned goods and possibly potatoes for the Texas Missions. God is gracious and merciful!

April 2006

From Harold Gessner:

We continue to work at the Bottineau warehouse each Friday, as needed, sorting and packing clothing in uniform boxes. We have eight to ten volunteers that are regulars each week. We receive many blankets made by several LWML units across N.D. for which we are very grateful. We have been delivering some clothing to two reservations. There has been a call for warm winter jackets as many children on the reservation are getting on the school buses insufficiently dressed for winter. We have had a very limited call for food boxes.

Liberia, West Africa, has new challenges as their world returns somewhat to normality. Sam Freeman and his people struggle to find employment so that they may once again become self sufficient. We hear much about President Ellen Johnston, the first women to serve as a national president in Africa.

Many prayers are being offered that she may lead their nation back to self sufficiency. We continue to support the Freeman family and the orphanage and the Christian school.

Don Brandenburg of Edgely, N.D., has gathered 33,000 lbs of beans, together with clothing, blankets, etc. and will be hauling this load, providing his own semi and driving it himself, often accompanied by his wife Marlene, to Ysleta Lutheran Mission. These gifts to needy people are helpful when declaring the love of Christ to those living in Mexico, near the border.

Avonne and I will attend the Montana District Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) convention in Missoula, where we will have our display and make a presentation.

Avonne has been working the Thrivent Giving Plus program which has been helpful in producing additional income for our regional division.

Maryland Division Ships First Container

As shown in the following pictures, the Maryland Division of Orphan Grain Train packed and shipped a 40-ft. shipping container full of materials to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in April 2006.

The items included 200 boxes of hospital clothing, 70 boxes of clothing for men, women, and children, 225 boxes of blankets and linens, 17 boxes of craft supplies, 13 boxes of school supplies, and 12 pieces of school furniture. In addition, 53 pairs of crutches, 12 canes, 11 walkers, and 4 wheelchairs were also part of the shipment. This was the first container shipped by the Maryland Division since its 2005 inception.

On top of that, Elfie Eberle, the chairperson of the Maryland Division, and her husband Bill went to Bishkek in April 2006. They carried with them over 165 aneurysm clips and 20 shunts, valued at $80,000, each of which will save a life. These devices were presented to the chief of neurosurgery, Dr. Mamytov.

Dr. Mamytov writes: “We have already had twelve operations and introduced shunts for hydrocephalic children and one aneurysm clip. This has been done free. Both relatives and neurosurgeons of our clinic highly appreciate your help and support. Clips and shunts are very expensive but very valuable. We want to assure you we use them only for poor and needy people of Kyrgyzstan.”

It is clear that God has blessed Orphan Grain Train!!

Maryland Regional Division board members at a recent meeting. From left: Chris Eberle, Elizabeth Stone, Ellen Phipps, Laura Hess, Ron Phipps, Dean Castle, Marilyn Spletzer, Karen Haynes, Elfie Eberle (Chairperson), Lisa Mackey.

Spring 2006

The S.D. Division office has been working with two thrift shops in the area. In March we sent 178 boxes of mostly clothing with a few quilts to the collection site in Morris, MN. To help cover the shipping costs for these boxes, $1,246 was sent to the Wisconsin Division.

Our warehouse is open Wednesday and Saturday mornings. We have been contacting our circuit churches for donations of clothing and especially quilts. Mt. Olive in Watertown sends the money from one of their Sunday AM coffee hours plus they have also contributed funds from rummage sales they have had.

On March 15 our Milbank LLL group served a soup supper before Lenten services that netted $228.00. We give out the film canisters often.

We plan to give a short presentation to the District LWML convention in Brookings in May. A fish boil dinner is scheduled in Milbank in September and a benefit dinner is scheduled at Tripp, S.D. also.

We are happy to see that we are attracting more volunteers to help!

Left to Right: Publicity, Mae Saeger, Milbank; President, Jeanette Stensland, Milbank;
Vice-President, Marilyn Koepke, Watertown; Treasurer, Vern Koopman, Milbank;
(not pictured-Secretary, Joyce Johnson, Milbank)

Colorado West Regional Division Chartered

Colorado West was chartered in December 2005. Since it was formed out of the existing Rocky Mountain Division, our work has really not changed much except we just keep growing! God somehow has taken us under his wing and that is a great feeling.

We continue to collect National Geographic Magazines, encyclopedias, and medical supplies from several sources, “linens and things” from the Historic Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, children’s clothing, new or near new underwear, and the old standby—quilts. What joy and satisfaction the women have found in sewing quilts for so many needy people. Clothing is donated on a regular basis as are school supplies, and hygiene items. Most of our donations go directly to Norfolk and local missions. We sort and pack in an unused dental office that was passed on to us from Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Lakewood, Co. We plan to service some more missions in Mexico and continue to give to Road Runner for Christ that delivers there donations to the Ysleta Lutheran Mission in El Paso, Texas as well as the Hopi Indians in Arizona.

The “Wisconsin Style Fish Dinners” are becoming famous. God has blessed us with many donated items that are quite appealing to the general public, but are not suitable for sending overseas or local missions. These items have been sold with permission from the donors at garage sales.

Now, under the leadership of Lou and Anita Boette, our committee members number approximately 35 people and we have many congregations involved. What a humbling feeling, that ever since we became part of the Orphan Grain Train in 1994 we realize that God does use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. As part of the very beginning of Orphan Grain Train in the Rocky Mountain area it has been quite a journey. Keep us in your prayers and we do know that in His time and when He is ready God answers prayers. We are ready to serve any new challenges that He sends our way.

Officers:

Lou Boette—Chairman
9706 Harris Court
Thornton, CO 80229-2431
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Ruth Young—Recording Secretary

Bonnie Musick—Treasurer

The rest of the members do speaking engagements, fish dinners, garage sales, sorting, packing, quilting, public relations or what ever is needed.

Please note: The Colorado West Division includes New Mexico and the state of Colorado west of U. S. Highways 85 and 285, and the Denver Metro within the 470 loop. The eastern half of Colorado is included in the Rocky Mountain Division.

2005 Report

1. February 1: #567 container clothes, blankets, medical supplies, and equipment from Fairmont to Baku, Azerbaijan;

2. February 28: 2 pallets (4896 cans) corn purchased from Lakeside Cannery, Plainview, Minn., to El Calvario Mission, Brownsville, Texas(hauled by Wisconsin);

3. Purchased a used forklift for Ysleta Mission, San Pablo, El Paso, Texas, for $2,500;

4. March 14: Partnered with Iowa West Division on two containers corn (1 to India and 1 to Nicaragua). Minnesota South share of the freight was $4,500;

5. March 21: one shipping container medical supplies from Rochester, Minn. to Norfolk, Neb., warehouse to break bulk and distribute;

6. May 6: sent shipping container #609 full of clothing and blankets from Eastern Heights Lutheran Warehouse in Saint Paul to Armenia;

7. May 9: one-half of shipping container #603 with clothing, blankets, medical linens to M.E.A.L. in Monrovia, Liberia, and one-half container clothing by Zion Lutheran, Hopkins, Minn. to Bethel Outreach, Monrovia, Liberia;

8. August 4: sent shipping container #646 full of clothing, blankets, and medical items from Eastern Heights Warehouse, Saint Paul, and Rochester, Minn. to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan;

9. August 29: one pallet load of cleaning materials, medicines, and assorted items from Watkins Co., Winona, Minn. (donated) to Cristo El Salvador, Del Rio, Texas, (hauled by the Wisconsin Division);

10. September 22: sent shipping container #656 clothes from Fairmont, and Eastern Heights, St. Paul, Minn., to Baku, Azerbaijan;

11. October 5: sent one shipping container of medical supplies from Rochester, Minn., to Baku, Azerbaijan;

12. October 10: shipped 4 pallets (10,472 cans) of corn purchased from Lakeside Cannery, Plainview, Minn., to Cristo El Salvador Mission, Del Rio, Texas (hauled by the Wisconsin Division);

13. October 22: one semi-trailer load to Norfolk, including 12 pallets of bleach plus other Katrina Relief items for Ocean Springs, Miss., from Woodbury Lutheran, Woodbury, Minn.; six pallets (2,016 gallon-cans) of corn purchased from Lakeside Cannery, Plainview for Ysleta Mission, El Paso, TX; and 500 boxes of medical supplies, Rochester, Minn., all to Norfolk, Nebraska for final distribution;

14. December 7: container #668 filled with clothing, hospital beds, exam tables, hospital linens from Rochester, Minn.; clothes and quilts from Fairmont and Eastern Heights, Minn., to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

We also accumulated one semi-load of Katrina supplies from Woodbury Lutheran, medical supplies and clinic office furniture from Rochester, Minn. These items were to go to the Norfolk, Neb., warehouse during December but no truck was available. They should move during early January 2006.
God has blessed us well with the riches of His Grace.

November 2005

Orphan Grain Train’s North Dakota Division has been very active with a number of different projects. The division’s warehouse has a corps of regular volunteers who process used clothing and packaged food on a weekly basis. LWML groups from around North Dakota have also been active volunteers for the division.

Projects in the past year include:

* Providing food and drink during the floods in the Bottineau, N. D. area while sandbag crews built dikes
* Shipping a container of beans, peas and blankets to India for tsunami relief
* Continued visits to Indian reservations in North Dakota, providing clothing and blankets
* Two truckloads of used clothing sent to Lutheran Social Services for over 100 African immigrants entering North Dakota this fall
* Fundraising for Sam Freeman’s ministry in Liberia
* Fundraising and collections of supplies for hurricane relief

LIBERIA WEST AFRICA TO RECEIVE CHURCH FURNISHINGS

As the agricultural economy takes its toll on rural American and North Dakota, church closings are the order of the day. A Lutheran church in Ruso, ND closes its door as its rural population dwindles. The building continues to stand only as a reminder of the past and a landmark.

However, it’s inner being shall have rebirth as the altar, lectern, baptismal font, pews and other church furnishings will find a new home in a newly constructed Lutheran Church in Liberia, Africa.

The new 30’ x 60’ church was built with cement blocks made by the hands of its own people. The Liberian people also built the rafters. North Dakota Lutherans purchased the metal roof covering. Additional pews are being built presently, and eventually will be paid for by the ND District Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

Rev. Sam Freeman, pastor of this church, continues to struggle with limited resources. We continue to support him with $500 per month. We pray that we will be able to continue to do this with our limited funds. Anyone with a heart for this “White Unto Harvest Mission Field”, can contact us at 701-228-5102.

The North Dakota Division of Orphan Grain Train also administers support for Christ the King Lutheran School in Liberia, West Africa. Tax-deductible donations may be sent to the address below or to the Norfolk, Nebraska International Office of Orphan Grain Train.

On July 28, 1999, North Dakota Orphan Grain Train teamed up with Books for Africa in shipping 30,000 pounds of educational books and 16,000 pounds of food, clothing, and hospital supplies to Liberia. Because the books were in Minneapolis two trucks with trailers brought the other supplies from our warehouse in Bottineau to Minneapolis to be loaded for further shipment. Also included was a mud pump and water cylinder for Lifewater International who is producing safe drinking water in Liberia.

Hurricane Katrina Response

Volunteers sort and pack relief supplies bound for Ocean Springs, Miss. in Sept. 2005.

Southeast Ohio Flood Recovery

Orphan Grain Train Has Come to Southeast Nebraska!

An organizational meeting took place May 19th, 2005 at Lincoln Lutheran Jr/Sr High School. Committees established included Warehousing, Fund Raising, Projects, and Disaster Services.

Elected Officers
Board of Directors

The Lincoln Division of the Orphan Grain Train thanks you for all of your prayers and other support for our mission. God has surely heard your prayers. The very first meeting of the board was held on May 19th, 2005 and on July 19th, 2006 the very first shipment of relief supplies left the new Lincoln warehouse bound for Rogachev, in southeastern Belarus (Belarus is located between Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland.). This is one of the poorest areas of Europe.

July 19, 2006 - Volunteers with Lincoln Division’s first overseas shipment loaded and ready to go.

On November 3rd, 2006, our second container pulled out of the warehouse bound for Tashkent in Uzbekistan.

The Board of Directors of the Lincoln Division thanks the congregations of south-eastern Nebraska for their support of our effort. We very much appreciate all of the donations, the work, and the prayers His people here have given in response to God’s command to have mercy on others.

Ohio Division Orphan Grain Train Board Members

President- Nancy Helmke
Vice President - John Arnos
Sec./Treas.- Diann Meyer
Transportation Coordinator- Vickie Grieser
Sunshine Lady - Marge Wachtman
Warehouse- Harold Behrman
Pastoral Advisor- Rev. Charles Kramer

A Special Message from our Pastoral Advisor…

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life -
only to take it up again.” John 10:17

Jesus was born to die on the cross at Golgotha. There we see love at its best. Why did Jesus not come down from the cross? That would have evidence that He was sent from God. Why did Jesus not do so? What held Him to that cross? Love, love for you and me and for those who crucified Him.

Jesus remained on that cross that you and I may find forgiveness and peace. While we were in sin, unlovable and full of hate, Christ died for us. Only because Jesus loved us so, remained on the cross that Friday, gave His life, is heaven opened to you and me. So. we see love at its best on Calvary’s cross. Let us fix our eyes on the cross of Christ to see God’s boundless love for us sinners displayed.

Rev. Charles Kramer

Monetary donations for projects or general donations to Orphan Grain Train’s Ohio Regional Division may be mailed to:

Ohio Division of Orphan Grain Train
c/o Diann Meyer
P.O. Box 74
Ridgeville Corners OH 43555

Please clearly indicate if your donation is for a specific project.

We encourage your prayers and if you desire any additional information or have any questions, please feel free to contact any of our Board Members.

Missouri-Illinois Regional Division Dedicates Historic Site

by Gerald Perschbacher

About 125 supporters and volunteers for Orphan Grain Train stood at a very historic moment on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2001, in south St. Louis, Missouri. It was the dedication of the new Missouri-Illinois Division and its work center. For about 75 years, the two-city-block area of St. Louis bordered by the streets of Miami to the north, Jefferson Ave., to the east, and Ohio to the west, was the hub of major activity for what we now know as The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

“Wow—to stand in this place, to hear how well you sing with that organ behind you—you sound like a thousand,” said the Rev. Ray Wilke, co-founder of Orphan Grain Train, who preached at the dedication.

“You’re sitting in an energetic place. I feel quite awestruck…standing in the same pulpit as C.F.W. Walther…and that an organization sprung from a little idea while walking along a beach in Riga, Latvia, should become a nationwide movement,” he noted, mentioning the blessings of God on Orphan Grain Train.

He also mentioned the early years of the organization and its close ties with the International Lutheran Laymen’s League.

“The geography you walk upon is holy geography,” added Wilke.

Visitors and volunteers learned that radio station KFUO sent its first official broadcast from the attic of the “sem” here on South Jefferson, at the southeast corner of the complex. The long and complex antenna ran to the roof of the Annex where it was mounted. Therefore, the Annex is the last remaining structure associated with that fledgling broadcast.

Wilke noted how Orphan Grain Train involves workers who sweat a lot, even its leaders who roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Liturgist for the service was Dr. Wallace Schulz, associate Lutheran Hour speaker, and now second vice president of the LCMS. Schulz was involved with Wilke in the dedication ceremony and the consecration of truck units which are being used in Orphan Grain Train efforts.

Marilyn Bertram, who chairs the new division, greeted visitors and volunteers and invited them to an open house of the facility that followed the service and dedication.

For more, call (636) 376-5113 or write to: Missouri-Illinois Division Orphan Grain Train, P. O. Box 29346, St. Louis, MO 63126-0346.

Dr. Oswald Hoffmann Commends the Work of Orphan Grain Train at Dedication of New Workcenter

Sept. 9, 2001 - Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, honorary Lutheran Hour speaker, was asked to share recollections about the historic site. Hoffmann was a seminary student at Concordia and visited the old seminary main structure just before it was taken down in the 1930s.

He traced Lutheran Church Missouri Synod history at the site and launched into a message based on the first chapter of John, where Christ is mentioned as the Light the world could never put out.

“Jesus was 100 percent human—altogether human—and at the same time He was 100 percent God…(we) take that as it is…and take people as they are,” said Hoffmann, as he applied the Gospel to the work of Orphan Grain Train and the historical significance of the site.

Flour for Haiti Mission

In 2000 we learned of a bakery that was part of the Haiti Mission, and how it was going into debt because its production was out-of-synch with its bills. By providing one 40-foot shipping container full of bagged flour, (several thousand pounds) from a mill in Nebraska, the New York Orphan Grain Train helped return the bakery to financial solvency, and back on the road to self-sufficiency! This has been a blessing to the Haiti Mission, and for the lives it touches, it is a miracle!

News from Kyrgyzstan

This story tells about the traveling hospital that Orphan Grain Train shipped to Kyrgyzstan in 1999 and how it is being used. The University of Wisconsin Medical School maintains the medical staff. (As reported in the Summer edition of the New York Division Orphan Grain Train newsletter.)

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod missionaries are using medical and dental care to share the love of Christ with people in Kyrgyzstan. Susan Pfiel and Marguerite Nickel, both nurses, work very closely with the new medical outreach in Kyrgyzstan, housed in a specially constructed trailer. Two alternating medical teams staff the trailer. Each team includes a pediatrician, a gynecologist, two dentists and three nurses.

On Sept. 1, 1999, the medical trailer arrived in its first village, Leninskoye, 20 minutes from the capital of Bishkek. Three months later it was still in that village and more than 4,000 people had been treated for complaints such as flu, hepatitis, food poisoning, parasites, toothaches and infertility. Pregnant women received prenatal care and education.

Dental care is especially appreciated. Marguerite Nickel says, “The families of the village love our dentists, because the children do not cry when they are treated.” When a government official had a toothache recently, he chose to come to the trailer for help.

As a part of the medical ministry, Timothy Nickel and Robert Pfiel have started a popular Bible study in the village. Villagers are also welcome to the medical staff’s Bible study on Sundays. The Kyrgyzstan doctors and nurses have become interested in learning about Christianity.

Marguerite recalls a story that sums up the reason for this special mission outreach: “A few weeks ago during our Sunday afternoon Bible study with the medical staff, our pediatrician, began to cry. After the study, we took her aside and asked what was the matter. She told us that two years ago her mother died. Before she died, she begged for someone, anyone, to tell her that there was a life after this one. There was no one who could tell her. She died afraid and not knowing about Jesus.

“Now the doctor knows there is eternal life for her and she can rejoice, but what about her mother? Our hope and prayer is that no one will ever again die in this country without someone to show them the Way - Jesus Christ.”

(For more information about the work of Orphan Grain Train in Kyrgyzstan , please click here.