In This Edition . . .

Orphan Grain Train, Inc.

SUMMER 2015 VOLUME 22, ISSUE 2

OGT helping Nepal.............................1 Nepal Earthquake................................2 One Girls Dream...................................3 Direct Deposit Option.......................3 How Can I Help.................................4-5 Hope for the Children....................6-7 “Warm Boots” Thank you..................7

Two precious, scared siblings waiting for help after the Nepal earthquake.

Orphan Grain Train helping Nepal

Following the recent destruction and devastation caused by the earthquake that hit Nepal, Orphan Grain Train is preparing to ship relief supplies to the area and see how we can best assist in the relief effort there. As soon as we have a list of needed items, we will post it on our website and our Facebook page. At the time of writing this, we have a recipient in Nepal and plan to send our first shipment to Kathmandu. OGT has partnered with Midwest Food Bank of Indiana, which is donating 14,256 processed rice meals and OGT is arranging and funding the transportation. We are sure this will be the first of many shipments to help the hurting, devastated families. We know this will be a costly endeavor, so if you would like to make a donation to help offset the cost, you can do so on our website, www.ogt.org. Make checks payable to Orphan Grain Train, marked “International Disaster Fund” and mailed to PO Box 1466, Norfolk, NE 68702-1466. Read more on page 2

Nepal’s Deadliest Earthquake

The earthquake occurred on April 25, 2015 at 11:56 a.m. NST. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said two powerful quakes were registered in Nepal. The first quake measured 7.9 Mw and the second was somewhat less powerful at 6.6 Mw. Over thirty-five aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 Mw or greater occurred in

the day following the initial earthquake, including the one of magnitude 6.6 Mw. The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 19, making it the deadliest day on the mountain in history. It triggered another huge avalanche in Langtang Valley, where 250 were reported missing. The earthquake killed more than 7,500 and injured more than 15,000 as of May 1, 2015. The number of deaths could reach 10,000. Hundreds

A boy and his grandmother sit outside their destroyed home.

of thousands of people were made homeless with entire villages flattened across many districts of the country. The UN estimates around 3.5 million people in need of food assistance. An estimated 8 million people across the country’s Western and Central Regions are affected by the disaster. The numbers are astronomical and too hard to conceptualize. Orphan Grain Train prays that hope is given to the hurting people of Nepal and may God bless all the children, families and rescue workers.

The sorrow and pain fills this person.

OGT will Celebrate 25 Years —

This young girl is rescued from the earthquake rubble.

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Save The Date —

Orphan Grain Train will be celebrating 25 years of ministry, disaster relief and shipping humanitarian aid worldwide. We hope you will join us September 15 & 16, 2017 at the DeVent Center in Norfolk, NE. Exciting details of speakers, entertainment and activities will be announced soon.

One GIrls Dream

Sentia Jean-Frantz with her life-changing sewing machine.

Sentia Jean-Frantz was born in Cite Soleil, Haiti, the world’s largest slum of over one million people. Most residents that are born there, die there, never able to break the cycle of poverty afflicting most of the residents. The area is saturated with gang wars and gunfire. Sentia was able to attend Salesians Vocational Center where she learned sewing as a trade. She finished school but could not locate a job. Day after day her skill training went unused and her hope for a future diminished. Until one day…….

Help For Haiti was in Cite Soleil and met Sentia.  After speaking with her, they saw that all this young woman needed was a sewing machine and she could have a business. Orphan Grain Train had sent sewing machines in one of their relief containers to Haiti. Help For Haiti gave Sentia a sewing machine, two large boxes of fabric and sewing supplies, all donated by Orphan Grain Train. Help for Haiti also gave her $10.00 to buy thread and scissors and sent one of their workers with her on the tap tap (taxi cab) to make

Dress made from the donated OGT sewing machine and fabric.

sure she got the things safely into her house and not robbed. One month later, Sentia proudly came to display the beautiful white dress she had created and sewn. Her countenance was uplifted. She now has her own business and is able to take care of herself. All it took to change one young woman’s life from dismal to bright was one sewing machine from Orphan Grain Train. Sentia wants to say THANK YOU to all the people who made it possible for her to have her dream fulfilled.

Direct Deposit Option Orphan Grain Train is offering another way to make donating easy and convenient for you. We now offer Direct Deposit from either your checking or savings account, which can be set up monthly, quarterly or annually. To get started, just fill it out the enclosed application and mail it to Orphan Grain Train. If you have any questions, please call us at (402) 371-7393 or toll free at (877) 371-7393.

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How can I help?

People often ask me “How can I help?” At Orphan Grain Train, people can help in many different ways. There are 22 locations from coast to coast that need volunteers to help sort and pack donations, load trucks, or drive trucks (with or without CDL). • How else can I help… Some people like to volunteer their time and others share their talents. We have Special Projects that people, organizations

A Filipino girl that received a Kids Kare gift.

or churches can help with by making pillowcase dresses, sleeping mats, hygiene kits, quilts and school kits. OGT ships these items all over the world including the US, Philippines, Haiti, Nicaragua, Latvia, etc. • How else can I help…donate your gently used clothing, blankets, miscellaneous items, and stuffed toys. • How else can I help…Financial gifts help keep the doors open and the trucks transporting donations to people in need. Orphan Grain Train also helps victims of natural disasters such as floods, tornadoes, drought

3rd graders show their personalized Kids Kare pizza boxes they made for another child.

Kids make Kid Kare packages Last January, the 3rd graders from the Norfolk Public Schools in Nebraska packed pizza boxes with personal mementos and school supplies after a Mercy Meals packing event. OGT shipped the Kids Kare pizza boxes to Kids International Ministries (KIM) in the Philippines. KIM distributed the Kids Kare packages to children in need. Only 3 pennies of every dollar OGT spends go to administrative and marketing costs. Orphan Grain Train is very proud that every dollar we spend, 97 cents go for the mission of helping disaster victims and other needy people in this country and around the world. OGT has only 11 paid employees, the majority of the work and success is from our volunteers and donations! Thank you to all that make this ministry possible! 4

and wildfires in the US. • How else can I help…pray for our ministry to continue to serve God by helping His children in need of physical, emotional and spiritual aid. Orphan Grain Train would not exist without the help from volunteers and donations from people like you. For more information of where and how you can help, please go to our website at www.ogt.org or call (877) 3717393. Thank you for your support and may God continue to bless the Orphan Grain Train.

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The Norfolk Warehouse helps local programs when needed. One of these programs is the Norfolk Rescue Mission, which is a homeless shelter that offers rooms, meals, ministry and assistance to men, women and families. Roxann and George Fox have worked at the Mission for 9 years as women’s director and as men’s ministry and maintenance. Roxann shared this about Orphan Grain Train “We are very honored to have a partnership with the Orphan Grain Train. We are able to share our needs with the warehouse guys and they supply us with what is needed at the Rescue Mission. We are both ministering to those in need and it is a privilege for us to have this relationship.” Orphan Grain Train helps those in need locally and across oceans.

When it comes to fighting poverty, the question is… Where do we start? Education is a critical building block that communities and nations are built from. Education offers the key that can unlock any door for a future. Millions of children are too poor to go to school and miss the opportunity for a life changing education. This continues the cycle of poverty and prevents countries from developing. Orphan Grain Train ships necessary school supplies, pencils, crayons, paper, scissors, backpacks to children in the US, Philippines, Nicaragua, Haiti, Latvia, etc. to offer the opportunity to learn and break

the cycle of poverty. Some of these schools do not even have paper for the children to use for learning. OGT purchases large white Melamine boards, cut them in 8x11 pieces, and ships them with erasable markers. For about $1 per board, children use these instead of paper and think they are like magic. Education is a gift you can help provide to

Frances Heermann has volunteered at OGT’s Norfolk warehouse ever week since 2009. She comes in every Tuesday to mend donated clothes. She uses her talent of sewing buttons, stitching seams and mending holes. Thank you for your dedication and help to Orphan Grain Train!

Orphan Grain Train is in need of school desks and hospital beds for use in the Philippines, Haiti, Nicaragua and other 3rd world countries. Monetary gifts would be helpful with the costs of shipping the items. For more information please call toll free 877-371-7393. Thank you for your support of Orphan Grain Train and its mission.

a child by donating supplies or cash to Orphan Grain Train. Monetary gifts help to purchase the white boards and markers and ship the school supplies to the children. Your loving support can help provide a meaningful education and food for destitute children worldwide. Orphan Grain Train appreciates your support!

How can I help?

School Supplies needed

Companies Volunteer The Day Company employees along with their children volunteered at the Norfolk warehouse. They sorted and packed clothes and laughed lots. Thank you for your time and help!

A Special Project to help women Orphan Grain Train has added a Special Project to help females everywhere and we need your help to get this project off the ground running. Young girls and women in developing countries and those living in poverty do not have access to sanitary products. This makes it extremely difficult to attend school, work or even leave their home. Orphan Grain Train is asking for help with sewing homemade feminine kits to ship to desperate women around the world. For more information and a sewing pattern, please go to our website www.ogt.org, click on How You Can Help, then Special Projects and then click on Feminine Kits w w w.ogt.org

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Hope for the Children

The Philippine Islands are still rebuilding from the destruction of Typhoon Yolanda that hit in November of 2013. The storm killed more than 6,300 people and closed or destroyed over 7,000 schools. Kids International Ministries (KIM) is opening a new preschool and is planning their first day

of class for July 6th! Orphan Grain Train has collaborated with KIM and shipped a container with preschool supplies and furniture in it, which is expected to arrive mid-June. The shipping container, which was purchased by KIM, left loaded from the Norfolk warehouse on April 30 for the southern island of Mindanao through the port of Cagayan de Oro. This is OGT’s first shipment to this island in the Philippines. From there, it will be transported to Malaybalay, where the school is located. The container will store items necessary for the school and used to protect supplies from any future storms. So far, Orphan Grain Train has donated 31,304 Kids Against Hunger meals, 12 plastic totes, 400 plastic cereal bowls, soap, bassinette and new recreational clothing.

Previously, the Norfolk warehouse shipped sleeping cots and benches for the school. The preschool will offer lunch, which is an incentive to attend since they may not get a daily meal at home. OGT helps to provide the rice fortified lunch. The school got its name after much thought and prayer. ‘Paglaum Preschool.’ Paglaum in Visayan (the language spoken there) means “hope”. It is the perfect name for the preschool because the goal from the start for this preschool is to give the children hope for a better future. Hope that their education in this preschool will help them for the rest of their school years and for the rest of their lives. Hope that they have an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and that every single little child that comes to Paglaum Preschool will have hope in Jesus and will know His never-ending love for them.

There is room here for something else. I would have made the images bigger to fill the space, but they are already low res and at 72 ppi.

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The Photos are from our Russian co-workers, Nikolai and Valentina.

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Use my gift for Solar Ovens

“Warm Boots” thank you

The “Warm Boots” program of Orphan Grain Train provided necessary footwear for numerous orphans in Eastern Europe this winter. Without proper footwear, children cannot go out-doors, walk to school, etc. We want to thank everyone who supported the “Warm Boots” program in 2014. May the Lord bless you for your caring and sharing, Pastor John Reehl

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Longtime employee retires Faythe Jaroska retired on April 17, 2015 after 15 years of dedicated service.  She started on February 23, 2000, in a one-room office at Grace Lutheran Church, working very closely with Pastor Ray Wilke and Clayton Andrews and wearing the hats of receptionist, secretary, and bookkeeper.  Faythe also took on the position of scheduling international and domestic shipments and worked closely with the recipients. As OGT has grown and expanded, she has worked in almost every capacity within the organization and has influenced many aspects of it.  Faythe’s presence and dedication will be missed.

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Orphan Grain Train

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

P.O. Box 1466 Norfolk, NE 68702-1466 Telephone: 402-371-7393 www.ogt.org

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PAID

Norfolk, NE Permit No. 9

Orphan Grain Train P.O. Box 1466 Norfolk, NE 68702-1466 Telephone: 402-371-7393 www.ogt.org

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camp restore is open for volunteers

camp restore is open for volunteers Rev. Ray S. Wilke shakes Rev. Matt Harrison’s hand after delivering the new mobile kitchen to Camp Restore in New Orleans last September. Camp Restore is a four-way partnership represented (left-to-right) by Rev. Ray S. Wilke, President of Orphan Grain Train, Rev. Kurtis Schultz, President of the Southern District Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, Rev. Matthew Harrison, LCMS World Relief Human Care, and Mr. Dan Baker, Laborers for Christ.

Rev. Ray S. Wilke sh after delivering the n Restore in New Orle is a four-way partne Rev. Ray S. Wilke, P Rev. Kurtis Schultz, P Lutheran Church--Mi Harrison, LCMS Wo Read on the front page how you can help Orphan Grain Train help the children and families of this horrific disaster. Mr. Dan Baker, Labo

u learn how you can volunteer on the G  lf coast.   please turn to “camp restore” on page three.

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