|
The Sleeping Mat Project, one of our newer adventures at Midwest Mission, has really taken off! Churches big and small, community groups, and student groups have latched on to it. It meets the needs of those who sleep on the hard, wet ground, and also keeps plastic bags out of the landfill.
Kanawha UMC in Iowa has gotten their whole community involved. They received a Loom to make Sleeping Mats out of plastic grocery bags, with the idea that their Bible Study Group could work on it each week. But, the excitement spread! People loved the weaving, and the fellowship that came with it.
Soon, the weaving expanded beyond the Bible Study to their Coffee Group before church. Several ladies began coming to their Bible Study as well to join in on the weaving. Then, a husband and wife started taking bags home to cut and prepare them into strips, and would bring them every Sunday morning.
But, it doesn’t stop there. Kanawha UMC shared that, “the whole community has generously donated bags in a tote provided outside our Sunday School wing, or have dropped them by our homes on their way somewhere in town.”
It’s a collaborative project, too. When they started, Kanawha UMC received tips and tricks from Garner UMC who already had been weaving Sleeping Mats on a loom. “We made new friends and formed a bond with a sister church through the project,” they shared.
“We are currently half way done on our second mat. The church members have come together and take great pride in this mission project. We thank you for starting this mission and giving us this outlet to help others.”
Thank you, Kanawha UMC and Garner UMC, for working together to transform the items that would go to the landfill into a useful, hope-giving Sleeping Mat!
| 
