FRIEND SHIPS ACTIVITIES REPORT

Park West Children’s Fund, Inc. P.O. Box 1056 Galveston, Texas  77553 Tel: (409) 762-6060 Fax: (409) 762-5665  http://www.friendships.org   frndships@aol.com

August - September 2002

STOREHOUSE ONE -LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA     The warehouse crew has been very busy sending out supplies!  In July, our newest ship,  "Hope" arrived in Los Angeles and was loaded with tons of  food and other items for delivery to the team in Roatán.  Then, we were able to load two boxcars with supplies for the mission to Israel and food stores for the "Spirit of Grace" crew. We were happy to have church teams, youth groups and faithful friends to help us prepare pallets, load the ship and the boxcars.  We collected and distributed tons of fruits, vegetables, dairy products and bread through local outreaches. We received donations of 99-Cent Store goods, computer equipment and thousands of baseball shoes we hope to be able to deliver to Cuba. We visited a  ministry in Mexico that Storehouse One supports with food.  Our team helped distribute supplies and minister to two orphanages, a prison and 1200 local people in need.

FRIEND SHIP "HOPE" -GALVESTON, TEXAS       The ”HOPE” loaded supplies in Los Angeles, sailed through the Panama Canal and arrived at the Village in Roatán. She was loaded with wonderful food to feed the team, two trucks, one for setting poles and one for the agricultural department.  We also delivered an air-conditioned diesel bus that will be used to pick up single Moms and their children when the Village trade school opens its doors. We were able to deliver some gifts from special friends who had visited Roatán with church teams.  They had spotted our specific needs, then went home and gathered them up.  Thanks friends!   The ship and crew had a great stay in our own harbor at the Village where we worked on putting away food stores and mapping out the harbor for future visits.  “Hope” sailed for Galveston with a brief swim call at Cozumel.  When the ship arrived home in Galveston, "Angel of Hope" her new helicopter flew in to meet her, setting down on Spirits helicopter pad.  It was an exciting day.  Then, unexpectedly we received permission from the Port of Galveston for all three ships to tie up side by side.  This has made things very convenient and allows the three crews to combine efforts.  In September, Hurricane Isidore swept over Cuba, into Mexico and threatened the U.S. Gulf Coast.  The staff prepared to load "Hope" and respond, should the storm have hit any one area with a huge force.  Fortunately, Isidore lost power before making landfall, however, Tropical Storm Lili soon followed in Isidore's path, building up strength to Hurricane force.  As we go to press, we are again standing ready to respond while preparing to install "Hope's" helicopter pad and preparing her to sail in mid October to the Honduran mainland with tons of corn, cereal and beans.  There, many are victims of a massive drought and a plummeting coffee market that has left them without food or income.  The Honduran government has been evacuating thousands of families from regions that can no longer sustain them because there has only been one day of rain in an entire year.

FRIEND SHIPS VILLAGE -ROATAN HONDURAS  During "Hope’s" stay in Roatán, Friend Ships leaders had ground breaking meetings with Honduran officials that promise to lead to great cooperation for future voyages and ongoing projects.  One thing promised is an end to all immigration fees for Friend Ships so thank you for your prayers!  We have had two new Honduran crewmembers join our ranks.  We also plan to bring in a team of artists with the next "Hope" voyage in order to initiate our first ongoing trade school program.  The program will bring in poverty stricken single mothers to learn to create top quality "made on the island" souvenirs to market to the island's many tourists as a means to support their families.  At present, there are virtually no local items to purchase.  While the Moms are being trained, we intend to host their children who will receive nourishing meals and hours of play and education.  We are eager to begin this exciting program!  This month we have been very involved in community outreach.  The team has graded community roads and set city power poles.  We have hosted a wonderful dental team from the States who filled 253 teeth and extracted 193!  Our team showed the films "God's Story", "Jesus" and health care videos to patients while they awaited treatment and also gave out toys, vacation Bible school materials and tracts.  At the Village, we planted and harvested fruits and vegetables.  We harvested gourds we are growing to make birdhouses and other objects as part of the art school programs.  We are looking and praying for long-term crewmembers to serve at the Village in Roatán as a language teacher (Spanish and English), a Emergency Medical Technician and a Fire Fighter to operate our ambulance and to conduct a fire fighting outreach and train staff and students.  Contact the Personnel Department at (409) 762-6060 if you are interested. 

FRIEND SHIP "SPIRIT OF GRACE" -GALVESTON, TEXAS     The crew of "Grace" continues to prepare the ship for her long and important upcoming journey to Israel.  We have accomplished many engine and deck repairs and improvements.   We received and prepared to load truckloads of beans, dried fruit and medical supplies as well as the two boxcars sent from Friend Ships Los Angeles. The boxcars included thousands of pounds of supplies including about 50 tons of food such as pasta, dry milk, dehydrated potatoes, matzo crackers, tomato products and dried fruit.  The boxcars also included nine tons of brand new clothes.  There are packets of shampoo, toothbrushes, eyeglasses, toys, school binders and paper, medical supplies and used clothing.

FRIEND SHIP "SPIRIT"/HOMEBASE -GALVESTON, TEXAS (“SPIRIT” is currently serving as our home base here in Galveston).     We received 53,000 pounds of corn and beans for Central America to add to the 400,000 pounds of corn ready to go.  A generous trucking company delivered these items to us free of charge.  We have decided to run the first load of supplies with "Hope" while Spirit stays temporarily in port at Galveston.  We have recently welcomed 16 new crewmembers to our team.  We have received two truckloads of tarp material and donations of marine cleaner, paper products, barrels, printer cartridges, scba units, air tanks, lens cleaning stations and grinding wheels.  We have increased our office staff in order to help locate more potential supplies and equipment donations.   We have accomplished warehouse projects, web site improvements and have conducted navigation training classes.  An exciting addition to operations is the newly formed disaster tarp department.  We have been very blessed to have a donor who provides tons of first class, heavy-duty vinyl that can be used for many purposes in disaster response.  Captain Stan Langaker of the "Hope" and his team have been busy at work designing new products.  We are planning to manufacturer thousands of tents, rain ponchos and other items for distribution to disaster victims.

Please join us in continuing to believe God for just the right supplies and fuel for Israel, the new crew we need at each facility, fuel for the missions to Central America and just the right church groups to distribute there, divine health for the crew and a financial breakthrough

for ongoing expenses. 

Thank you!  We love and appreciate you more than you will know!

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Updated December, 2002