For the second year in a row, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana assembled Midwest Mission Home Care Kits as a congregation. 

The total? 756 kits! WOW!

This project was part of St. Luke’s UMC’s “I Love My City” Day where all congregants (from two locations) are able to participate in several different mission projects to show their love in a practical way.

Tom Lange, who helped organize the project, said “the objective is to activate as many of the congregants as possible.” They picked Midwest Mission’s Home Care Kit as one of the projects because of the obvious need there is for basic cleaning supplies around the world after disasters.

Sixty people volunteered for this easy (yet impactful!), hands-on project from ages 6 to 80. And, they made all 756 Home Care Kits in four hours! 

When we asked Tom how serving has impacted their church community he said,

“For some, it’s an entry into service, for others it’s an opportunity to remember what Jesus calls us to do, and for others it’s a time to build community. This is a fun project with tangible results meeting an obvious need.”

Thank you, St. Luke’s UMC for partnering with Midwest Mission to send hope and empowerment around the world and around the corner.

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Your church can participate in a hands-on mission opportunity just like this! It can be as small or big as you’d like. Visit midwestmission.org/get-involved to see how your church can start making an impact today!

On Thursday, October 12, we sent another Angels of Hope shipment to Honduras. The supplies will serve children’s homes and orphanages around the country of Honduras, helping these organizations meet the basic needs of the children that are in their care.

The team at Midwest Mission crowded around the shipment and listened as staff members shared about the supplies on the container. Before the container left, we prayed over the shipment and sang the doxology. You can watch the shipment prayer circle here.

This was the 38th international shipment of the year, and it included:

• 432 Home Care Kits
• 840 Personal Dignity Kits
• Disinfectant Wipes

Value: $53,660.00 

October Church Bulletin Insert

We offer monthly church bulletin inserts that you can slide in your church's bulletin. These inserts keep your congregation up-to-date on our current needs and upcoming events!

You can purchase these items at your local store, or make them, and take them to Midwest Mission or a Collection Site near you. You can also buy items online and have them shipped right to Midwest Mission.

Day Pads

Patterns

Go to Feminine Hygiene Kit

Purchase

Select the first ones listed

Receiving Blankets

28"x28" - 32"x32"

Diaper Pins

Midwest Mission has been blessed with volunteers across the Midwest who give of their time, energy and resources to assist us in carrying out God’s mission to help those in need.  Some of these volunteers use the facilities God has blessed them with to provide a donation collection point for needed supplies. These are our Permanent Collection Sites!  You can find their contact information here.

What’s Happening @ Permanent Collection Sites?

We would like to welcome our newest Permanent Collection Sites added in September:

First UMC, Bedford, IN and  Bethlehem UMC, Hutchinson, MN 

Thank you, Mequon UMC, Mequon, WI for organizing collections from Cargill UMC and Lord’s UMC. They collected 44 school kits, 22 bed packs, a sewing machine and many other needed items. Great job!

Bethany UMC, Green Bay, WI worked hard and it paid off. They have collected 200 PDKs, 150 School kits, 40 Home Care kits, 2 sewing machines and 2 bicycles. Awesome!

Riverside UMC, Park Rapids, MN delivered a trailer full of sewing machines and other items to our location in Illinois. Thank you, Duane and Jennifer Gebhard, for bringing those to Midwest Mission. Riverside UMC also took home a Loom to begin weaving Sleeping Mats. Start recycling those grocery bags!

Thank you to Pat and Sharon Baumer, Emmanuel UMC, Noblesville, IN, who spent two weeks as Volunteer Leaders at Midwest Mission in Illinois. Part of that time was spent with a team of volunteers from their own church. 

Volunteer Leaders, Stan and Jennie Lowrey, Pattonsburg UMC, Pattonsburg, MO, along with Ray Trent, New Lenox UMC, New Lenox, IL, worked outside with the Nomads team during the hottest weeks of the summer. Thank you for all you do!

We have added several new sites in 2023 and hope to add even more. If your congregation is interested in becoming a Permanent Collection Site, please contact teresa@midwestmission.org for more information.

Midwest Mission Weekly Projects

Work of the Mission Volunteers

Work Done

• 240 Layette Kits
• 60 Home Care Kits
• Building Desks
• Sorting medical supplies
• Sewing
• Sorting outfits
• Counting items into inventory
• Taping shampoo
• Weaving Sleeping Mats with the Loom
• Bag wipes
• Refurbish sewing machines
• Refurbish Bikes
• Trace patterns
• Make Plarn (plastic yarn)

Rice Meal Packs

• 604 Rice Meals — LCMS, Springfield, IL

Disbursements

• CICIM, Decatur, IL: Redirect hygiene supplies, assorted linens, furniture, redirect school supplies Value: $1,260.00
• Hope Church, Springfield, IL: 8 bikes Value: $720.00
• Food For The Poor, Honduras: see story above

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



Ready to Get Involved?

Volunteer at Midwest Mission

Dates are available in 2023, 2024, and 2025

Need a Saturday option for team volunteering

or assistance in booking? Contact Pat Wright at pat@midwestmission.org or 217-697-4063

Click below to check calendar openings and to reserve your spots.

Volunteer Reservation Calendar



2025 Volunteer Calendar is open for dorm reservations!

Go to our Reservation Calendar, log in, reserve your rooms, and submit payment for your Non-refundable Reservation Fee via credit card or electronic check. We will email you the Access Code to reserve Volunteer Shifts for your team. You must complete this step for your team to volunteer at Midwest Mission.

For local teams and individuals: Volunteer Shifts will only be available 3 months ahead of time. Beginning October 1, 2023 you will be able to reserve Volunteer Shifts for January of 2024.

Thank you for your patience as we try to improve the reservation experience for both local teams and those staying in the dorm.

Ron and Sharon Monroe

Fairbury, IL

Douglas Avenue UMC

Springfield, IL

Springfield FUMC Sewing Group

Springfield, IL

Ruth and Robert Brown

New Haven, OH

Simpson Group

Springfield, IL

First UMC

Mt Vernon, IN

Great Plains Conference UWF

Nebraska and Kansas

Hope Church

Iowa

Sioux City Grace UMC

Iowa

Cedar Falls UMC

Iowa

St. Lukes UMC - River Bluff Center

Maryville, IL