Newsletter, July 2005UNITED METHODIST MINISTRIES P. O. Box 448
July 25, 2005 Dear Friends, “Where is the hope?” Recently while sharing about the struggles of some low-income persons with whom I work, I was asked that question. It is a good question. It is difficult for persons to have hope when they are overwhelmed just trying to pay their basic bills such as electric and water. Several families have needed assistance when they haven’t had any income for six months because the husbands have been injured and cannot work. Persons can get behind on their bills from just one thing happening, such as someone in the hospital, a death, vehicle needing repair, etc. When persons are struggling to survive, they can become depressed and overwhelmed and feel like they are in a hopeless situation “with no way out.” “Where is the hope?” Paying an electric or water bill for persons can remove a burden that has been weighing on them. As they receive help, they begin to feel like someone does care about them. Let me share some stories where helping has provided some hope as persons experience God’s love not only from the monetary assistance but also through the relationships established when receiving assistance. – Sue came into the office and asked for help with an electric bill so that her electricity would not be disconnected. Sue was a 33-year-old single mother with two children. She said that usually she was able to pay her bills with her $634 monthly income from child support. However, during the past several months, her mother had been in and out of a hospital about an hour and half from where Sue lived. Her mother was back in the hospital and near death. Since Sue didn’t have a car, she had to pay people to take her to visit her mother. That was the reason she didn’t have the money to pay her electric bill. When he finished, Chuck, the staff person who completed the necessary forms for her to receive assistance, told Sue that I should be able to help her. She began to cry and said, “I don’t have any money, but what can I do for you.” He responded, “ You can pray for me, and I will pray for you.” Because of Sue’s situation, I paid her past due bill and her current bill by using funds both from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program and from United Methodist Ministries. – A family service worker with Head Start called me asking for help to get the electricity reconnected for a 20-year-old single mother with no income. Karen had given birth to twins a couple of months earlier, and one baby was still in a hospital about five hours away. Karen herself had just gotten out of the hospital from having a cyst removed. When she came home, she found that her electricity had been disconnected. The family service worker took Karen to the welfare office to sign up for a welfare check and to ask if Karen could receive help with her electric bill. The welfare office agreed to pay part of the bill July 25, and the reconnect fee, if she could find someone to pay the remainder. The family service worker paid a small amount herself. I paid the remaining amount needed by using funds from three different sources – Emergency Food and Shelter Program, Parish Emergency Fund, and United Methodist Ministries. – A caseworker from the health clinic called me asking for help buying formula for a baby. The grandmother called the caseworker when her son and his wife moved back in with her from another state. Just before they returned to West Virginia, the doctor told the mother that she needed to start feeding the baby a special formula instead of breast milk. The grand-mother was able to buy only one can of the powdered formula since it cost $24 a can. The caseworker contacted WIC to get the mother and baby set up on the voucher program for the formula, but it would be two weeks before the first available appointment. The second option was for a doctor to see the baby and sign a form. This would allow WIC to give the mother three cans on an emergency basis. However, the first available appointment with the doctor was a week away. This would leave the baby without any formula for a week. Since each can will feed the baby for about two days, I bought four cans which would last until the mother received the three emergency cans. The three cans would last until her appointment with WIC. The caseworker met me at the grocery store to pick up the formula and drive the half an hour to deliver it in time for the baby’s noon feeding. – A caseworker from the clinic called asking for help paying the last payment for a LPN course so that Ann could graduate. Ann’s husband worked in a minimum wage job. They had managed to pay $2,000 of the $3,000 cost for the course. Ann had become pregnant but was determined to finish the course. I paid her last payment for the course using a scholarship fund given a couple in one of my supporting churches and money from a United Methodist Women’s group in another church. A month later, Ann had a miscarriage and lost her baby. Ann and her husband were devastated, but Ann continued in the LPN course. About a week after Ann lost the baby, Ann’s husband told her he had to move out, because he could no longer be around her. Six months before, he had returned from serving in Iraq. He said that between what he saw in Iraq and losing the baby, he was really angry and that nobody could understand. With her husband leaving her, Ann was even more devastated and bitter, but she continued with the course and graduated. The caseworker has been one of the few persons with whom Ann has continued to share her feelings. “Where is the hope?” Rays of hope come as people receive monetary assistance, thereby experiencing God’s love through relationships. It takes all of us working together to bring hope. Thanks for your support of United Methodist Ministries. Your support contributes to making hope a reality. With much appreciation, |