2019–2021 Mission Grant — Teach Me Too — Preschoolers with Learning Needs — Lutheran Special Education Ministries — $100,000

One of the most incredible experiences of my life was supervising a staff who worked with exceptional children ages two months to five years old who were born with physical challenges. To support these children and their families, our staff went to their homes and assisted their parents with exercises and techniques to help them crawl, walk, eat, socialize, and learn. Research indicates that the biggest increase in improving developmental skills in children is during the preschool years. When the right strategies and techniques are employed, children learn mobility, self-feeding, how to interact with others, and become successful learners.

Missing from the agency I worked for was the ability to share God’s Word with the children and families we served. My heart leapt for joy when I learned about the Let it Shine Academy sponsored by Lutheran Special Education Ministries (LSEM)! This organization works directly with children, equipping them with the tools and strategies needed to become successful learners. In addition, the staff trains preschool educators around the country, assisting them with the strategies and skills needed to work with exceptional children. They do this while sharing the hope of salvation found in Christ Jesus.

Praise God that He moved the delegates at the LWML Convention in Mobile to support the mission grant, “Teach Me Too – Preschoolers with Learning Needs.” To learn more about this grant, go to http://www.lwml.org/2019-2021-mission-grant-2. Please prayerfully consider supporting exceptional children this Giving Tuesday, December 3 with your mite offerings.

Michelle Jenks

Strategic Plan Facilitator
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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2019-2021 Mission Grant #16 — Preparing Leaders for Tomorrow — LCMS School Ministries — $80,000

My children were blessed to attend Lutheran schools where administrators promoted a culture of keeping Jesus at the core of all activities for both teachers and students. I sent my children to school confident they were not only in a loving environment where they would receive a great education, but I also knew they would participate in devotions, pray, and be reminded each day that Jesus died for their sins.

One afternoon I received a call from our Lutheran school principal. My nine-year-old daughter Kristen was having a severe reaction to a medication. The principal took her to his office and calmed her until help arrived. One of her classmates, who did not come from a Christian home, later told us the class had immediately prayed for her health and the next morning had said a prayer of thanks for her recovery. What a comfort to know others were praying on Kristen’s behalf and her classmate was learning about Jesus through everyday experiences! Those teachers and students were in an atmosphere where they were encouraged to pray and trust God in all circumstances.

Your donations on Giving Tuesday, December 3, 2019 will help support Mission Grant #16, Preparing Leaders for Tomorrow and will help assure Lutheran schools will be adequately staffed with well-trained administrators who create school environments where Jesus Christ is at the center of all endeavors.

Susan Brunkow

Vice President of Christian Life
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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2017–2019 Mission Grant — Christ for Veterans and their Families — $27,750

I am always amazed by the men and women who serve in the armed forces. They train, fight, and perhaps give their lives, oftentimes for people they will never know. Similarly, I will never get a chance to meet all of the people who stand ready to make sure our country is safe and protect our freedoms. We are blessed by the work of these service men and women in ways we don’t always see or fully appreciate.

They are not the only ones who sacrifice for us, however. Our military personnel live in families, many are married and have children, and so their parents, spouses, and children share their loved one with us. They, too, are in need of support while their relative serves, when they return home, or when the supreme sacrifice has been made.

The 2017-2019 LWML Mission Grant, Christ for Veterans and Their Families, was able to provide training for congregations to work directly with veterans and their families to give them support, not just in a physical way, but also with the love of Christ. Through your generosity, the LWML was able to help serve those who work so tirelessly to serve us. Your continued support of our new Mission Goal will allow us to provide care and support to others with the Gospel of Christ, that they may know His love for all. Remember our veterans as you donate your dollars on this year’s Giving Tuesday, December 3.

Rev. Brian Noack

Junior Pastoral Counselor
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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2019-2021 LWML Mission Grant — Ministry in Motion, Trinity Lutheran Church, Mobile, AL — $58,000

“Ministry in Motion – Trinity Lutheran Church, Mobile, Alabama,” is one of the grant recipients for this biennium; $58,000 was requested to purchase a handicapped accessible church bus. Why do they need this grant?

What would you do if you knew that children in your community did not know Christ, did not have Christ-centered care, and were not able to receive these things because they could not get to where the care is provided? This grant makes it possible for Trinity Lutheran Church in Mobile to reach children who need to hear about Jesus. These children will be shown Christ Jesus and given the care that they so desperately need.

Giving Tuesday is December 3. Your mites will help Trinity reach out into the community so the children may hear of Jesus their Savior, grow in faith in Him, as well as touch the lives of their families. As you drop your mites into your box, say this prayer:

Lord God, please use these mites to bring the children of the Mobile, Alabama, community into fellowship with You. We pray that Trinity Lutheran Church will be able to purchase the vehicle that they need in order to reach these families. Amen.

Rev. Mitch Schuessler

Senior Pastoral Counselor
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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2019-2021 Mission Grant #18 — Sri Lanka Multipurpose Building Construction — Office of International Mission — $50,000

Construction Site

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has flourished in Sri Lanka since the 1920s, with four active congregations and seven preaching stations. The Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church has purchased land to construct a building that will house the sanctuary, administrative offices, and theological classrooms, funded with our mites.

Over the years, Lutherans in Sri Lanka have suffered great persecution. Recently Pastor Edward Naumann wrote to us about the deadly bombings at Christian churches on the island. Learning about the bombings during his Easter service, he preached, “We rejoice for these newly baptized infants, no matter what hardships, persecutions, or difficulties they may face because of their baptism, because we know that an everlasting inheritance is prepared for all who are in Christ.”

Pre seminary students praying

After arriving home safely with his family, he wrote to Lutheran Women in Mission: “Please continue to pray for Sri Lanka, commending us to the care of our loving Father. Lord, have mercy! In these last days, may the light of the Gospel of Christ shine into the darkness, and may we be a light to the nations. Amen.”

Even with all that was happening at the time, Rev. Naumann took time to write to us, asking for prayers. Maybe he knew we’re especially good at prayers. And we are. We’re also good at supporting ministries such as this one through our mite offerings. Pray that Rev. Naumann, his family, and his country be lifted up to God’s care. Thank you for giving this Giving Tuesday, December 3.

Susan Donnelly

Public Relations Director
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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2017-2019 LWML Mission Grant
Lutheran Children’s Books for Families Worldwide, Lutheran Heritage Foundation
$100,000

As a little girl, one of the first Christian books I received was a set of comic books covering the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. It was an easy read, with illustrations, and I delighted in reading the Bible stories as well as many of Jesus’ parables. A 2017-2019 LWML Mission Grant, Lutheran Children’s Books for Families Worldwide, Lutheran Heritage Foundation, provided the same thing: Bible story books for children. These children live in many countries around the world; the books were written in their own language and introduced them to Jesus.

Your mite offerings made publishing books possible in these languages:

•  Bahasa (Indonesia)
•  Farsi, Western (Iran/Germany)
•  Jingpho, Kachin (Burma)       
•  Russian (Russia)
•  Spanish (Americas)
•  Chinese (China)
•  Swahili (Kenya/Tanzania)
•  Kusaal, Komba, Bimoba, Akan (Ghana)
•  Somali (Somalia)
•  Thai, Bahasa, Vietnamese, Hill Tribe Dialects (Southeast Asia)

On Giving Tuesday, December 3, your donation will be matched. Please donate at www.lwml.org/givingtuesday; your support is needed. Continue to pray for all mission grant recipients.

Marie Chow

Vice President of Organizational Resources
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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2019–2021 Mission Grant — Hope and Healing Hub of Downtown Lincoln — University Lutheran Chapel — $50,000

What really matters to you? Chances are, it’s your home, job, church, family, friends, and, most important, your relationship with our Savior. But what if someone doesn’t know Jesus?

With God working through the funds we collect in our Mite Boxes, people can learn about Jesus’ saving power. The University Lutheran Chapel in Lincoln, Nebraska, the recipient of our 2019–2021 LWML Mission Grant #14, Hope & Healing Hub of Downtown Lincoln ($50,000), serves the area through worship, Bible study, and service opportunities.

Many young adults struggle with loneliness, anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide. As Lutheran parents, we raised our children in the faith through God’s Word and Sacraments. Others, however, were not brought up in Christian homes and have never heard the hope of the Gospel. I became acutely aware of this situation through family members who have personal connections with them.

The University Chapel will use grant funds to renovate their building, making it more inviting as they offer Christian counseling services through GracePoint Institute for Relational Health. Your mites and prayers can make a difference in the lives of young adults as they are provided hope through Jesus Christ. Give generously this Giving Tuesday, December 3.

Karla Koehler

Treasurer
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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