Sending Relief After Midwest Tornadoes

March 21, 2025 Newsletter

On Friday, March 14, a line of severe weather pushed through the Midwest, bringing tornadoes, straight-line winds, and heavy rain, affecting millions of people. You or your loved ones, might have even been hunkered down, awaiting the terrible storm.

It’s a terrible feeling, preparing for the worst, and sometimes, the worst happens. Over 50 tornadoes were confirmed across the Midwestern United States. 

In Missouri multiple EF-3 tornadoes struck small towns, destroying everything in its path. Communities woke up to unrecognizable towns, with hundreds of homes and businesses affected. 

But, when disaster strikes, we are ready to respond!

Our partner, Convoy of Hope in Springfield, Missouri, was on the ground the day after the tornadoes, assessing the needs, and handing out food, water, and relief supplies.

Convoy of Hope called Brad Walton, Midwest Mission’s Director of Operations, over the weekend, to find out what supplies we had available to send. 

Because of your generosity after Hurricane Helene, we had almost completely replenished our disaster relief kits and supplies. Brad was able to tell Convoy that Midwest Mission had more than enough to help.

They requested:

• 936 Cleaning Kits to help families whose homes were damaged begin cleaning up the debris

• 130 Menstrual Hygiene kits and 1,020 Hygiene Kits to help those who lost everything, have been displaced from their homes, or don’t have the ability to purchase items in stores. 

• Games and puzzles to bring joy to children, even in the midst of some of their most difficult moments. 

The supplies will be picked up on Monday, March 24, and will be delivered to Convoy of Hope’s World Distribution Center in Springfield, MO. From there, the supplies will be sent out to the affected communities, such as Poplar Bluff, MO, West Plains, MO, and Cave City, Arkansas. The value of this shipment is $94,668.00.

You can be a part of bringing hope to people in crisis, by helping us have the supplies needed to quickly respond to disasters. Donate at midwestmission.org/donate, or send a check to 1001 Mission Dr, Pawnee, IL 62558. Your monetary donations will help us replenish supplies that we just sent, so that we are ready for the next ask, and the next disaster.

Shipment to the Dominican Republic

The 10th international shipment of the year went to the Dominican Republic! 

We partnered with Food For The Poor to send this load of supplies to the Fundación Cruz Jiminián. The shipment included:

• 840 Student Kits

• 20 Bikes

• 16 Wheelchairs

• 38 Stacking chairs

• 55 Tarps donated by Lamar Advertising

• 92 School desks (donated by a school)

• Blankets, disposable diapers, exam gloves, dry wipes, bed pads, and games!

The value of this shipment is $129,579.00.

Hundreds of hands made this shipment happen. From collecting wheelchairs at home, to assembling Kits at Midwest Mission, to helping load the shipment, each part of the process is vital — YOU are vital to this mission. Thank you for your generosity!

PCS News

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 at www.midwestmission.org/permanent-collection-sites.

What’s Happening @ Permanent Collection Sites?

Asbury UMC, Sioux Falls, SD – Lloyd Petersen is excited about bringing a group of volunteers to our Jefferson, IA location in June. He will also be heading that way in the next couple of weeks with donations.  Keep spreading the word!

Riverside UMC, Park Rapids, MN – Spike Wellman is working to create a “bike push” later this year. As part of our Micro Business core area, bicycles are needed around the world not only as transportation to work, but as a potential business.

Nebraska City FUMC, Nebraska City, NE – Howard Orndorff will be working with a team in May to tear down bleachers from a local school. The wood will be recycled and used to make school desks in our Illinois location. This is a hard job. Thank you for helping to plan this event.

Glenview UMC, Glenview, IL & New Lenox UMC, New Lenox, IL – Ethel Doyle has collected seven sewing machines at the Glenview location and is expecting more to come in. They also have a collection of Student kits waiting to make their way to our warehouse.  Every volunteer and every donor plays a part in helping those in need.

Forest Hill UMC, Peoria, IL – Deb Nuske shared that a local Mennonite School has asked her church to teach their students how to weave sleeping mats on the loom and how to make the one-handled school bags. The school needs ongoing projects for their students and we need volunteers. Win-win!

Trinity UMC, Elk Mound, WI – Joel Certa-Werner is leading his congregation and their four looms to challenge other local churches.  He is working to set up a sleeping mat competition with a prize for the winner. Thank you for sharing our vision with your community.

If your congregation is interested in becoming a New Permanent Collection Site, please contact teresa@midwestmission.org for more information. All you need is free space, and a willingness to be a part of the mission!