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Warm Greetings!
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Don and Sondra Tipton and all the staff at Friend Ships, wish you a
very Merry Christmas. May the peace of the Lord be with you and your
families as you celebrate the birth of Jesus.
We are so grateful
to you, our friends and support team that allow Friend Ships to carry
on year after year and continue to grow. We couldn't do it without
you! All of our crew here at Friend Ships are so very appreciative.
THANK YOU! |
A
family in Jericho shops for clothing & a woman in Bethlehem happily
makes a decision on new furniture. |
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2007
began with Spirit of Grace returning from a great mission to Israel.
As the year progressed, we received wonderful reports that the tens of
thousands of items that we delivered were being a blessing to many
people in need. |
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Here at Home!
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At
home in the U.S., we were able to distribute food on a weekly basis to
36 organizations in California and Louisiana that care for the poor.
Unwed mothers, impoverished families, the ill, the homeless, the
elderly and those recovering from addictions were provided with food
and prayer. We were also able to distribute heavy duty vinyl, medicine
and household items to churches, ministries, clinics and individuals.

In November, Friend Ships
Los Angeles helped to provide food for the fire fighters and others
working to contain the massive wild fires that were burning in several
locations throughout California. The Friend Ships team delivered to
San Diego, fruit, baked goods, hamburgers and hot dogs. They joined in
to cook, serve and minister to the Firemen, Marines, Army personnel
and Policemen and also to evacuees being housed in a near-by shelter.
In addition, we established
two brand new departments at our Headquarters. Radio Friend Ships was
born! The Port Mercy team now broadcasts daily programs on three
Southwest Louisiana stations and podcasts globally over the website.
These programs inform listeners of the wonderful Christian work taking
place around the world and encourage participation in the work of the
Kingdom!
We gave birth to RAMP (Relief Apprenticeship Missions Program) a
course for recent high school graduates who want to learn about relief
missions and who are serious about seeking the Lord for His will in
their lives.
We completed construction on many Medical Super Clinics. The remainder
of the 22 clinics are near completion. They are to be sent aboard ship
in order to provide a place to give first class medical care to those
in need. We also made significant progress on a Mobile Medical Truck
that will provide laser surgery for eyes and skin.
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Late last year, we started to ask for
help to collect $450,000 needed for a balloon payment on our
wonderful home base, PORT MERCY. Since then we have been blessed
with more than $277,000! We have to raise about another $170,000
before May 2008. We have saved a few thousand dollars on interest
by making some early payments. Thank you so much for your
tremendous help this last year. Please help us cross the finish
line. We look forward to giving you a gigantic praise report in a
few months as our great and mighty God gives us the victory of
paying off the mortgage entirely on Port Mercy! |
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Worldwide
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This year, Friend Ships at Port Mercy
sent aid to many regions of the world -
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Village boys receiving tarp to keep rain from their homes. |
*
PERU: Thousands and thousands of pounds of relief was sent
to Lima, Peru for earthquake relief. |
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Praise
the Lord! We are preparing loads of aid now to help disaster victims
of the Caribbean - to the Dominican Republic for help from the recent
Tropical Storm Noel, more aid to Cuba and also to Tabasco, Mexico for
flood relief where an entire region has been devastated.
We are also preparing ships Hope and Mersea for the mission to the
West Indies and Central America that was postponed from the fall and
will now take place in spring 2008.
Friend Ships International in Roatán, Honduras hosted 47, two to three
day meetings, attended by thousands of people! These people received
intense ministry that by all reports richly enhanced their walk with
the Lord. |
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We simply could not do it without your prayers,
love, support and gifts. YOUR handprints are throughout Friend
Ships, pushing us toward the mark. It is the greatest blessing of
all to do God’s work Thank you for helping to make all of this
possible! |
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WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP?
If you would like to be involved with
supporting Friend Ships programs,
we have ongoing needs for:
Prayer-
Join “Special Forces”, our team of
prayer warriors.
Crew-
Long and short term individuals and teams.
Finances-
To
support general operations and help purchase the Port Mercy
property.
Supplies-
See website or request a brochure on how you can pack boxes of
supplies to be shipped.
Port Mercy Campaign
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Help us
purchase PORT MERCY, you can help contribute by giving to this wonderful
home base that sends aid all over the world, bringing hope and restoring
dreams...
If you would like to help us purchase our home base, Port Mercy,
please mark your gift “Port Mercy”. We are collecting funds in
order to meet a balloon payment of $450,000.00 we have coming up in
early 2008. For about 50 cents a square foot we can permanently
own this invaluable property in Lake Charles, LA where we house our
ships and crew, have warehousing and administrative headquarters. As
of November 2007, 302 donations have been received giving a total of
$277,704.93 buying approximately 1389 squares.
Thank
you friends for your awesome support!
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The above map is of Port Mercy, and is representing
the $ 450,000.00 balloon payment needed. A gift of $200.00
will buy 400 square feet of property, filling 1 square on the map. |
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If you would like to donate to Friend Ships and have questions about estate
planning, residual interest of a charitable remainder trust, death proceeds
or cash value life insurance, gift annuity, proceeds received at maturity of
a bond or retirement funds designated for Friend Ships, we now work with a
financial planner who can advise you concerning these issues. Call, write or
email our office for more information.
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Corporate
Information
MISSION STATEMENT: Friend Ships Unlimited (AKA Park West
Children’s Fund, Inc.) is dedicated to fulfilling the Biblical
scriptures that teach us to help people in times of need and to
encouraging others to do likewise. The organization works through the
collection, delivery and distribution of food, medical supplies,
clothing, and building materials and by providing medical services and
trade school education. We provide aid to people of all races,
nationalities, and religion. Programs give help to children, families
and individuals who are impoverished, refugees and/or victims of
natural disaster and to the institutions who assist them. Friend
Ships operates with an all volunteer full and part staff, works within
the US and in many areas around the world. |
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Donald Tipton, Executive Director, Secretary
Sandra Tipton, Director, President
Raymond George, Director, Treasurer |
Please
Note:
Our fiscal year ends on the last day of February, so we will post the
financial report 2007 in March.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY FOR FISCAL YEAR
ENDING FEBRUARY 2006
| Income- |
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| Cash Donations |
$936,331 |
| Non-Cash
Donations |
$6,066,037 |
| Other Revenue |
$18,624 |
| Total Income |
$7,020,999 |
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| Expenses- |
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| Domestic Program |
$1,588,186 |
| International
Program |
$4,406,360 |
| Management &
General |
$107,982 |
| Total
Expenses |
$6,111,774 |
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| Compensation of 5
Highest Paid Employees: |
NONE |
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Compensation of 5 Highest Paid Independent Contractors for
Professional Services: |
NONE |
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Friend Ships Unlimited, PORT
MERCY
1019
North
First
Avenue,
Lake
Charles,
LA
70601 USA
E-mail:
info@friendships.org,
Tel:
(337) 433-5022,
Fax:
(337) 433-3433 |
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