September 2, 2004 Welcome to the 15th issue of Lutheran Women in Mission e-News! Please forward and share this news and encourage others to stay in touch with LWML by email. To date, there are almost 1400 subscribers to e-News receiving LWML news and updates. Grant Fulfilled The $70,000 grant for training pastors in high risk areas in the Philippines was paid in full in August. See story and photos at http://www.lwml.org/committees/mag/mission_month.html This will make a total of five grants paid in full for the 2003-2005 biennium. There are two more requests totaling $114,000 pending payment at this time. Maximize your Mites There is a new, fun, alternative look for Mites collecting! Stick this colorful label on a Pringles chip can and stash your drive-through change! Follow the lead of South Wisconsin District Missions Chairman and place another smaller label on this colorful label with a prayer, or your own district project endeavors. Kids Mites Help A group of Sunday school children in the Chicago area have spent 10 minutes every Sunday learning about and praying for the mite projects of the LWML. They set a goal of collecting $1000 and with God's grace they were able to achieve that goal. The LWML has just received a check from them in the amount of $1007 for mission grants. Human Care at Work! The North Dakota District Human Care committee recently held a "Willing Hands Workshop." Over 100 women gathered for devotion, Bible Study, prayer, fellowship and WORK. During the day the women worked together to help others. As a result of their hard work: 32 boxes of clothing were sorted and packed for Orphan Grain Train 41 boxes of used Sunday school material were sorted and packed, 2099 Campbell Soup labels were trimmed and sorted, 6 quilt tops were completed, 121 Midwife kits were assembled, 23 Braille books were assembled, 6 Hospice gowns were sewn. Many hands made the work light. Consider having a workshop in your zone or district. For further information contact the Human Care Committee. dephc@lwml.org Diana's Angels Project The death of an infant or a miscarriage is a difficult situation that many people face. One problem parents face at such a time is finding burial clothing for their child that is small enough to fit the tiny child. Such a situation caused the women of St. John's Lutheran Church in Waverly, Iowa to organize the Diana's Angels Project. Since then many other groups have joined them and have made hundreds of burial outfits which are distributed to their local hospitals and mortuaries. The women of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Aurora, CO are just one of the groups that have taken on this caring project. One day in January 2004 they gathered to distribute patterns and fabrics. Some garments were cut out that day and others were taken home to sew. In February the outfits were returned to the church and in July they were packaged. It was then time to give this gift of love to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital in Denver. Within a week the first gift was given to a family who lost their tiny 11 ounce infant. Their gratitude was overwhelming. Since that time the outfits continue to be given to families in need. Reach out to the hurting families in your area with these gifts of love. Patterns for Preemies are available from the LWML Catalog, # 59598 at a cost of $10. http://www.lwml.org/catalog/new_items.html Prepare to Serve! Video Study Series Price Reduction - now through September 30 only $15 per unit. Presented in a lively, entertaining style, the "Prepare to Serve" video study series emphasizes Scripture and real-life stories from both "everyday" and well-known people. Each session includes Bible study, prayer and opportunities for discussion. This material has been used to train new leaders in churches and LWML groups. For more details, go to http://www.lwml.org/catalog/servant_resources.html THE LUTHERAN WOMEN'S MISSIONARY LEAGUE The Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML), with a membership of over 250,000, is the official women's auxiliary of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The LWML focuses on affirming each woman in her relationship with Christ to enable her to be in ministry among the people of the world. For over 60 years the LWML has been encouraging and equipping women to live out their Christian lives in active mission ministries and to financially support global mission. The first issues of LWML e-News are available as text documents; click here: http://www.lwml.org/e_news.html . To subscribe, click the link below and follow instructions to add your email to the LWML subscription list under "Mission and Ministry." "Full Text Version" will include LWML graphics and logo. The "Weekly Summary" version comes on Friday in a weekly abbreviated version with links to the entire text without graphics. Refer to your Internet provider about enabling images and links embedded in email.