International Shipments #46 + #47 to the Dominican Republic and Honduras

October 28, 2022

On Oct. 21, we were blessed with two shipping containers arriving back to back!

It has been harder and harder to get shipping containers on time. This has made it difficult to get resources to those who need it in a timely manner. We would appreciate your prayers for available shipping containers, trucks, and drivers so that we can continue doing what we do here as efficiently as possible.

With both containers arriving last Friday, we sent off two international shipments - #46 and #47 for the year.

Shipment #46 went to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and included:

15 Bikes
54 lbs of fabric
45 Student Desks
55 Electric Sewing Machines
6 Treadle Sewing Machines
196 Layette Kits
280 Personal Dignity Kits
2,755 tarps
560 Student Kits
Redirect tools, medical supplies, and other items.

The shipment was valued at $196,614.56.

Shipment #47 went to San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

This shipment was an Angels of Hope shipment. The items will go to children’s homes in Honduras.

Included:

384 Home Care Kits
560 Personal Dignity Kits
Disinfectant wipes
Antibacterial hand cleaner

This shipment was valued at $54,630.00

Thank you to everyone who contributed to these shipments - whether by prayer, donations, or volunteering. It was an exciting day!

Catholic Charities Green Bay Distributes Midwest Mission Kits to Local Wisconsin Organizations

On Oct. 4, Midwest Mission sent a shipment to Catholic Charities of Green Bay, WI. This shipment included 672 UMCOR Hygiene Kits and toothpaste and 560 Midwest Mission Student Kits.

Catholic Charities works in 16 counties in northeastern Wisconsin. Kellie Dekarske, their community engagement specialist, described the work in a follow-up report to us at Midwest Mission.

She said, “As Missionary Disciples, Catholic Charities labors in our communities inviting and serving those who have often been left out or felt alone to know and experience the tremendous and abundant love of God through his son Jesus Christ. Faithful to the teachings of the Church in the areas of social justice, we stand with the poor, advocate for life, and break down barriers of injustice.”

Their mission is lived out through the several different services they offer. The Midwest Mission kits they received were distributed by the partners they work with through their programs.

Midwest Mission was first connected with the Catholic Charities in 2021 during their Afghan Resettlement Project. In five months, they helped resettle 127 Afghanistan individuals to the Green Bay area. Some of the Student Kits from the recent shipment will go to the children of the families they resettled last year.

Catholic Charities also noted that they will be giving a Hygiene Kit to refugees upon arrival. They have worked with refugees from places such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Burmese, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.

The kits were distributed to at least 9 organizations in Wisconsin, helping a diverse group of people in a variety of circumstances.

According to Kellie, the homeless shelters received many of the Hygiene and Student kits. Many people don’t have basic resources when they arrive at the shelter, and children still continue to go to school. “This allows those kids to have new items for themselves to help them feel more like a regular kid.” These kits were very helpful as they moved their clients toward self-sufficiency.

“We also work with GRACE schools to provide scholarships to students to attend the Catholic Schools,” Kellie said. “Most of the school kits were given to GRACE to give out in the lower income schools where many of the kids live below the poverty line. We also had a local neighborhood association in the poorer area of Green Bay help us to distribute the school kits to one of the poorer local schools as well.”

Some of the kits were distributed through their office in Northern Wisconsin. “Resources for low-income individuals are very limited in the most northern part of the state as many of the counties are rural and the population is sparse,” she said.

The work you do - the kits you put together, the items you collect, the money you send, the shipments you pray over - are impacting people from all over the world, in all walks of life. Although you may never meet them, they know they are loved and cared for by God’s people.

Prayers to Lift Up

Please pray that we will be able to get shipping containers in on time. Pray that resources will get to the people who need them most, and that they know they are loved and cared for.

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil."

Luke 6:35

Midwest Mission Weekly Project

Work of the Mission Volunteers

Projects completed

252 UMCOR Cleaning Kits
512 Birthing Kits
500 Personal Dignity Kits (PDKs)
30 Student Kits
2640 Rice Meals
2400 Chatham UMC - Chatham, IL
240 Midwest Mission - Pawnee, IL

Other work done

Student Desks - sanded, & applied polyurethane
Bikes - repaired
Cleaned facility
Sewing machines - repaired

Counted items into inventory
Painted
Sorted outfits
Traced patterns
Rolled trash bags

Disbursements

CICIM - Decatur, IL: 20 twin hospital bed mattresses Value: $2,000.00
Trinity Lutheran Church, Springfield, IL: redirected cleaning supplies Value: $576.00
Food for the Poor, Honduras Value: $54,630.00 See the above story
Food for the Poor, Dominican Republic Value: $196, 614.56 See the above story
Bidwell Riverside Community Food Pantry, Des Moines, IA: redirected cleaning and hygiene supplies Value: $56.00
Murrayville Food Pantry, Murrayville, IL: redirected cleaning and hygiene supplies Value: $280.00
St. Martin de Porres, Springfield, IL: redirected cleaning, hygiene, and school supplies Value: $10,928.80

*Redirected items are those items received that do not fit into the parameters of our kits and projects.

Midwest Mission is able to do this work because of your generous donations and willingness to volunteer. Thank you!

Share some GOD news with those you love!

Do you have family or friends that need some GOOD News - GOD News - to uplift them? If so please click on the button below and share the link provided. The more we can spread the word about the work God is doing here, the more we can make the world a happier place.

Link to Share the Midwest Mission Newsletter