It’s Christmas time! While the work of United Methodist Mexican-American
Ministries is year-round, Christmas brings special need as well as special
joy! All of our Centers are in the midst of holiday activities----holiday food
boxes, children’s Christmas parties, Giving Trees and children’s
gift distribution, plus sharing Bibles, New Testaments, and Christmas tracts.
Nearly all area beef plants have reduced hours for their workers. While most
plants guarantee and pay for a minimum of 32 hours per week, employees normally
get 40 or more hours. As you can imagine, loss of at least eight hours’ pay
each week hits hard. MAM can help with warm clothing, blankets, food, affordable
medical care and prescriptions, and Christmas gifts for children. But our annual
budget for assistance with rent, utilities, and transportation has been expended.
Pastor and author Charles Swindoll writes “When the wrapping and ribbons
are in the trash can and the manger scene is back in the attic and the friends
and family have said good-bye and the house feels empty and so do you…..there
is One who waits to fill your heart and renew your hope. He was there on December
24. He’ll be there on the 26th.”*
MAM is here, too….filling food boxes, distributing clothing, providing
medical care, helping with emergency needs, and spreading the Gospel…before
and after December 25. With your help we can continue “Christ’s
work in the world,” renewing hope for the many, many families who have
overwhelming needs.
Please, prayerfully consider giving a generous financial gift to this ministry
that is so critical to people in Southwest Kansas. Checks may be designated
for any program or center and should be sent to: UMMAM, P.O. Box 766, Garden
City, KS 67846.
Best wishes for a blessed Christmas,
Penney Schwab, Executive Director
*Come Before Winter And….Share My Hope”, Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc. Wheaton, ILL, 1985
Dear Lord: I want to thank you for sending United Methodist Mexican-American
Ministries such wonderful donors and supporters.
…..I know the two year old who walked in a few weeks ago with her”blankie” that
had been given to her at birth feels the love when she touches it, THANK YOU.
Katie’s mom tells me that when our home visitor (Janie Ochoa) visited her
in the hospital she was delighted. Delighted to have a visitor, and to find out
a group of dedicated United Methodist Women had taken the time to personally
make a quilt for her child.
…..I know that Viridiana, Saul, and Ivan were thrilled that a United Methodist
Church was able to provide new backpacks for school this year. They marched off
to school proudly wearing the new backpacks, instead of their tattered ones from
two years ago.
…..I know that Sonja is grateful she received some utility assistance,
while awaiting disability and fighting breast cancer. A donation to my Helping
Hand Fund made this possible. She gave back to the agency by helping with the
Early Detection Works enchilada fundraiser.
….I know that the disabled gentleman who had to go into nursing care appreciated
the food from the pantry and continues to appreciate the clothing from the clothing
room, as well as the Bible and Upper Room reading materials.
…..I know that Jessie felt your love when the youngster attending vacation
Bible School was able to listen to him about his troubled home life and learned
of You for the first time from this experience.
…I know that the families who received the gifts from all of our donors
last year were grateful. I only wish every one of you could see the excitement
in the children’s eyes as they proudly carried their gifts home after our
annual Christmas party. When I see a child at the store throughout the year they
ask when our next Christmas party is. I tell them, “Wait until Christmastime”.
……I know that the father who is wheelchair bound humbly accepts the
Thanksgiving Ham and Christmas Turkey, knowing that a wonderful men and/or women’s
group worked hard to provide it
.
… I know that the newly arrived family from another state is elated to
receive brand new blankets and mattresses that a church from 2 1/2 hours away
drove to our care center to donate. With the price of gas, that is no small feat.
…I know that the distraught single unemployed mother of 2 boys, 11 and
16 will thank you when they receive Christmas gifts this year. The mother had
to quit her job to help her 16 year old cope with life. The sad story came out
when we were helping her fill out various disability forms. The woman’s
husband had abandoned her when the two boys were young. Mom has always worked
to support the boys. In the last few years she had to take a job on the night
shift, but would call the boys and was available for them. Her sixteen year old
has a learning disability and this has caused social problems for him. He seems
unable to make or keep friends. Mom thought this would pass as he matured. One
night he called her to come home but wouldn’t say why. Upon arriving home
she found that he had taken an overdose of sleeping pills. She rushed him to
the hospital. They saved his life but his spirit is broken.
He started medication for depression and is seeing a therapist on a weekly
basis. The therapist told the mother to either quit her job or plan to bury
her son. Now she has to watch him constantly and deal with her own guilt. They
told her it was not her fault….. she was and is the best mom for her
son. It just happened that his personality and life situations aggravated a
stressful situation that he could not handle. To add to her pressure she must
now face an unexpected illness without health insurance. Please pray for the
Lord to heal her son’s spirit, her physical ailment, and their lives.
I know that other countless families thank You, Lord, for letting us be here
to prove to them that You exist and that You care. You exist in the hearts
and actions of our donors, board, Penney Schwab, Mia Korbelik, Elva Dominguez,
Dora Ponce, Jose Olivas and all the other staff and volunteers who touch their
lives.
You are truly THE ONE behind the Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.
Consuelo Sandoval
Garden City
The Christmas season is always a special time for us at the Care Center. We
try our very best to give some of our most needy families a special Christmas.
Connie is a mother of three children who has been struggling all year. She
lost her job and had to undergo gallbladder surgery. Now they have no heat
and no one to turn to for help. With our Helping Hand funds we were able to
pay part of her heating bill to get her gas reconnected.
Connie was especially surprised when we told her that we had chosen her as
one of our Christmas families this year. This family will receive a Christmas
dinner and a small gift for the children to put under their Christmas tree.
This is possible because of the generosity of our wonderful donors.
Throughout the year we have helped many families like Connie’s. Some
have come to us needing food, shelter, clothing, blankets and many more of
services that we offer. Some have come to us just because they are lonely and
needed someone to care about them for a moment.
We feel greatly humbled and blessed to say that not one person was turned down
for food aid this year. Our food pantry sometimes looked bare but some angel
always seemed to come at the perfect moment with a load of groceries to fill
our pantry once again. On behalf of Connie and all the families Mexican American
Ministries helped this year, thank you for your Christian love and we wish
you and your families a blessed Christmas! God Bless.
Elva Dominquez
Community Developer, Dodge City
Here at the Liberal Care Center we again have an Angel star and bought a special
gift for a specific child and donated the gift to MAM. I cannot tell you how
much those gifts mean to the children who receive them. On December 22 we will
give Christmas Food boxes to nearly 100 families. Since many families in Seward
County have counted on USDA Commodities in the past to supplement their food
budgets and at this time it looks as if that program has become inactive, our
food pantry is very short. That is why I am so grateful to the church and to
our donors who have provided food for the Christmas boxes. I expect that our
food pantry will have greater use than ever before during 2007 because of the
end of commodity disbursements.
Recently a woman came to me for help. Her husband abused her. She didn’t
feel that she could call the police or go to some other agencies in our community
because her husband is a very prominent citizen in the area. He made her leave.
He also made her leave her children behind. She is very depressed because he
will not let her see or talk to her kids. When she came to United Methodist
Mexican American Ministries she didn’t even have a place to stay, any
money at all, and only the clothes on her back. Because of the wonderful people
who support MAM at Christmas and throughout the year I was able to find shelter
for her, give her food, and provide a change of clothes.
She reminded me of the Holy Family on Christmas Eve 2000 years ago. They couldn’t
find shelter, had little money, no food and yet the most momentous event in
human history was about to happen to that simple, poor, and shelterless family.
Please keep our clients in your prayers. May you have a blessed Christmas.
Dora Ponce
Community Developer, Dodge City
Greetings from Jose:
The United States Department of Agriculture hasn’t distributed any food
commodities since August 2006 and may not distribute any in 2007. This is going
to make it difficult for many families in Ulysses, Johnson, and Satanta. Families
are already asking for food. Our Food Banks are getting extremely low. Please
keep these families in your prayers.
Recently we received weatherization kits that we have been giving to our clients.
These kits include window insulation, light bulbs, rolls of rope caulk, self
adhesive door sweeps, switch/outlet gaskets, foam weather strips, and an energy
wheel with energy savings tips.
A lady from Ulysses had come into our office and said that her heater was not
working. It had just started to turn cold. What was she going to do? Most repairmen
wanted over $100.00 just to look at the problem. Just then a retired gentleman
whom I have known for many years came in to our office. He offered to look
at the heater. He was able to fix it and we paid him $50.00 out of our Helping
Hand Program. Isn’t it amazing how God uses every opportunity to make
saving angels out of ordinary people? I know God sent Dan to help this family.
Thank you so much for thinking of others, especially at this most joyous season.
Have happy holidays and may God bless you richly for sharing with others.
Yours in Christ’s Service,
Jose Olivas,
Community Developer
Ulysses, Satanta & Johnson
At this time of year our medical clinics are especially busy. We are delighted
Dr. Paul McDonald joined the MAM staff and is seeing patients in both Garden
City and Liberal. Dr. McDonald graduated from Finch University of Health Sciences/Chicago
Medical School. He completed an Internship in Internal Medicine at Martin Luther
King-Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles. He comes to us from Canton, Ohio.
Dr, Jorge Guillen joined the MAM medical staff in August and is seeing patients
in Dodge City. Dr. Guillen graduated from the University of Peru and completed
his residency in Family Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Center
in McAllen Texas.
It is a growing and exciting year and having two more physicians on staff help
us to see more clients and treat and prevent more illness and disease. At this
time of year I want to thank all who have prayed for and supported United Methodist
Mexican American Ministries during the year. I would also ask that you use
the envelope in this newsletter to send a Christmas Gift to MAM. Your gifts
to MAM work on the “Frontline” of Christ-centered care for the
poor and the sick.
Mia S. Korbelik
Director of Development