Thank you for your prayers, gifts, and service throughout 2005! We praise God
for you, our partners in ministry, as we begin our 33th year of service in the
name of Christ and the United Methodist Church. Our services are reaching more
people in more places than ever before! People from 88 different zip codes were
seen at the medical clinics alone
In 2005 Care Centers provided food boxes for over 7,000 people and clothing
for 12,000. Over 1,800 Bibles, New Testaments, and Upper Rooms were distributed
to people hungry for spiritual nourishment. Holiday projects were bigger than
ever, with 750 gifts distributed along with Christmas and Thanksgiving food
boxes for 136 families.
Medical clinics provided 23,980 primary care visits and 9,864 immunizations
for over 6,000 unduplicated clients. The Lifetime Smiles Oral Health Project
screened 9,121 children in 40 southwest Kansas schools. A Wellness Program enrolled
62 staff and 117 clients, and 677 women received mammograms through the Early
Detection Works program.
The complete 2005 statistical and community activity report is posted on our
website, www.ummam.org. Please, take a few minutes and see what you have done
in partnership with MAM “for the least of these.”
We are grateful for each of you and hope you will continue serving with us in
2006.
Grace and Joy,
Penney Schwab
Executive Director
THANK YOU!!!!!!! Thank you for what you ask? Well let me tell
you how some of our clients spent their Christmas. We distributed 51 food boxes
for Christmas. No one in need was turned away. A developmentally delayed adult
lady now enjoys music in her new portable CD player; 5 other families received
gifts from various groups or individuals who adopted them; 175 families received
gifts this Christmas season. I can only imagine the joy in the hearts of the
children who expected nothing and received your blessings in the form of gifts.
Gifts ranged from shoe boxes full of items to board games; from bicycles to
Bibles. ALL donations of toys, clothing, household items, quilts, mittens, hats,
Bibles, and cash donations are appreciated and put to good use at all of our
centers. A big thanks to all of you (you know who you are) that make my job
easier because I don’t have to turn away hungry families or desperate
single mothers needing assistance with a bill. What a great season!!!!! Pray
for us in the year to come that the Lord will continue to bless us.
God Bless
Consuelo Sandoval
Community Developer, Garden City
The Hispanic Leadership Program in Dodge City was another success this year.
A total of 30 Hispanic Citizens participated! The principal objective of the
leadership program is to promote and facilitate constructive dialogue and interaction
between Hispanic citizens and public officials who are responsible for administering
local, city, county and school governments. Each weekly seminar is three hours
long for a total of 30 hours.
All participants successfully completed the program and attended all sessions.
They received a registration scholarship to the 24th annual United States Hispanic
Leadership Conference in Chicago IL. It was a great learning experience and
we look forward to next year for another successful Hispanic Leadership program
in Dodge City.
God bless you,
Elva Dominguez
Community Developer, Dodge City
Dear Friends:
I always have something to say THANK YOU about.
We started a new year and we again have new and continuing challenges to our
ministry. I see my ministry as helping individuals, families and my community,
so please continue your many efforts to help MAM during the next year.
In the Liberal Care Center, December is the busiest month of our year. We took
applications for 336 kids for Christmas presents. We found programs and donors
for all 336 children. They all received a Christmas gift. What is most important
is that you made smiles on the faces of so many little children when they received
their gifts and we know that God, in his infinite love, helped to find a gift
match for every one of these kids.
Every day we have more people come to our office looking for different needs.
We try to provide each of them at least a portion of what they need. Most requests
are for food, clothing, and emergency assistance. Recently we are receiving
more requests for assistance on immigration issues. We see more need for immigration
assistance now as the issues surrounding immigration are becoming very controversial.
Please do not forget to include us into your prayers. We see many sad histories
in our agency, and we want to at least hear them and love them, when they share
their experiences with us. Sometimes my best day is when someone in need enters
our Care Center and immediately upon entering I see relief on their face.
God Bless,
Dora Ponce
Community Developer, Liberal
Greetings from Jose:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by
the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13
Recently we have been approached by several families needing help with rent
and utility payments. It seems that gas prices continue to rise.
I am grateful our Ministry is here to help people when they seem so desperate
and hopeless. In some of these cases we were able to help them with some of
their bills via our Helping Hand Program. We also gave some suggestions about
turning down the temperature at night and to wear sweaters or coats. We ask
people to check on each other and their neighbors. We have also directed some
people to the SRS (Welfare ) Office to apply for a program that assists those
that qualify for the LIEAP (Low Income Energy Assistance Program ).
Please pray for all who need help with their utility payments and that we might
be able to offer some assistance. Thank you to all who continue to help MAM
with your gifts, donations, and service. We also thank you for the winter coats,
sweaters, and blankets. Also thank you for your monetary donations to our Helping
Hand Fund.
We are especially grateful for your continued prayers. God bless you all for
thinking of others in all seasons.
Jose Olivas
Community Developer, Ulysses, Satanta & Johnson
The Board of Directors of United Methodist Mexican American Ministries made
the decision several years ago to set a policy that a percentage of any undesignated
memorial gifts given to the Ministries would be placed in the Dial Endowment
at the United Methodist Foundation in Hutchinson.
For a Ministry that has forever been unable to meet all the needs of our burgeoning
client base, no matter how much or how fast MAM grows; I think this decision
was one of the bravest and probably hardest the Directors have ever made.
The Board of Directors of United Methodist Mexican American Ministries are loving,
caring and compassionate individuals who seek to provide the most and highest
quality services to our clients They struggle every month to find ways to serve
more children, to help more families, and to do God’s will. But this group
of dedicated individuals is also far-sighted and they are good planners. They
believe that United Methodist Mexican American Ministries is doing vital and
important work and that MAM can and should meet the needs of people in SW Kansas
for many, many years to come. And so the Board of Directors work to help assure
that MAM will serve people for another 33 years. By creating an endowment fund,
the Board hopes that MAM can have another resource to serve the individuals
who come each day for services and for a moment of caring and loving support.
If you know someone in Dodge City, or Scott City, or Mullinville, or Liberal,
or Ulysses, or Garden City who serves on the Board of Directors for United Methodist
Mexican American Ministries, please take a moment to thank them for their competent
and loving service through MAM to their fellow man. May God’s many and
continued blessings be poured out on you and yours.
Mia S. Korbelik
Director of Development