History of LMO

In the past, our church has had "Ladies Meeting/Fellowships," where we would have a time of devotions, prayer, food and fellowship keeping the focus of these meetings God-centered and on track was a challenge. By changing the focus to missions and ministering to others, gossip and cliques became less of a temptation.

Our Ladies Missionary Outreach was instituted on June 4, 1993, to be a service to missionary wives and their children. You know the old saying, "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" -- well, we figured if we can keep the momma happy, there is less chance of the missionaries leaving the field due to discouragement. There are several aspects that we focus on:

1. Missionary Closet.  We keep in stock: toiletries, school supplies, laundry supplies, toys, baby items, first aid, stationary and greeting cards, books, tapes, music, teaching supplies, kitchen items and gifts. Each missionary wife who comes through is given a canvas bag to fill with whatever she wants and signs our guest book.
2. Correspondence.  Periodically sending out "Thinking of You" cards or letters.
3. Missionary Prayer Request Sheet. We read all letters from our missionaries and write down prayer requests on 3x5 cards, which are compiled to make a monthly list for our church bulletin.
4. Christmas Cards.  We send a card and money to each missionary child.
5. Baby Shower. We send a "Shower in a Box" to every missionary baby that is born unless they are here and then we give them a shower.
6. Care Packages and Cookie Exchange.  We send out a package to each college student and military person out of our church for the holidays.
7. Christmas Gift Packages.  We send out a Christmas package to each of the missionary families that was with us in our last conference.
8. Missions Conference.  We organize a ladies missionary brunch, and plan and decorate the church and banquet hall. For the hotel rooms we prepare fruit baskets, and send flowers. We provide welcoming committees and laundry services. We prepare biographies for the bulletin of each missionary family that will be with us prior to the conference.

We always tell our missionary wives to feel as though we are their best friend and not to hesitate to contact us if there is something that we may be able to help them with. Sometimes just knowing there is someone that really cares, makes a difference.

~ Nancy Smith