Friend Ships - Activities Report November 2006

November 2006 Activities Report

FRIEND SHIPS at PORT MERCY, 1019 North First Avenue, Lake Charles, LA 70601

Tel: 337-433-5022 Fax: 337-433-3433 Email: info@friendships.org PRINTABLE .PDF FILE

SPIRIT OF GRACE, at sea

On November 15^th, after exactly 40 days in Israel, Spirit of Grace started the five week sail home. We expect the ship and crew to arrive at Port Mercy in mid-December. The supplies we carried was delivered to many places throughout the nation. Israeli humanitarian aid group, Joseph Project now has a more than full warehouse, stacked with tons and tons of clothing, furniture, linens and other goods to distribute through their network of wonderful organizations. The first point of concentration for their distribution will be in the community in the area of Kiryat Shmona in the North of Israel. Two thousand homes were lost and the area was heavily damaged in the recent war with Lebanon. Goods that were distributed directly from the Port went to many different groups including ones that help the homeless in Tel Aviv, provide aid to new immigrants throughout the country, deliver goods directly to needy households, help Arab families in Bethlehem and Jericho, and provide sporting activities for children. Also helped were “lone” soldiers, those young men and women who serve in the military but have no families to support their personal needs.

On one of our final nights in Israel, a group of soldiers who had been injured in the war and have formed a chorus, brought their wives to the ship and sang for us. It was a very special, touching and wonderful evening.

The Port of Ashdod treated us throughout our stay as honored guests, waiving a great portion of the fees. AMA and NewLog, our ship and customs agents, gave all their services for free and provided for all of our many, many needs. We had good news coverage and received love and appreciation wherever we went. The crew was able to see many sites and a great time was had by all.

Thank you friends for sending us. Hundreds of thousands of lives will be touched as the goods we delivered are distributed with love for months to come.

PORT MERCY, Lake Charles, LA

The crew at Port Mercy has been busy keeping up with all aspects of the ministry while Grace has been at sea. This month we attended a medical mission’s tradeshow in order to meet doctors and nurses interested in joining us on future missions. We also attended the annual Workboat Show in New Orleans at the end of November. This is an opportunity to thank corporations who contribute to our needs and meet new companies who may be interested in helping us in the future. We loaded a sea container with rice, beans and mattresses for Global Mission in Haiti to support orphanages throughout the country. We sent humanitarian aid to an educational and medical ministry in Guatemala, operated by former crew members Bio and Derida Ochaeta.

A group of men from Tyler, Texas came for a long week end to begin a long-awaited project. Our RV Park is having sewer lines laid and the fresh water lines and electrical cables are being buried underground. Great progress was made and we are so grateful for the help of this hard working group. Additional warehouse space is being added by the construction of a lean-to building attached to an already established warehouse. A group of nine from Texarkana, Texas came especially to bless the crew by cooking us a beautiful Thanksgiving Day meal.

STOREHOUSE ONE, Los Angeles

The team in Los Angeles continued the regular food outreach and sent supplies to Port Mercy via boxcar and truck. We also loaded a shipping container of medical supplies and other humanitarian aid to be delivered to ministries in the Philippines.

THE VILLAGE, Roatán, Honduras

In November we hosted several church conferences with 150 - 200 people attending each session. We also had a meeting with all Pastors interested in booking days at the facility for the upcoming year to create a master schedule. The church groups will each be providing teams on a regular basis to help us with our maintenance chores at “The Village”.

CAMPAIGN PORT MERCY

If you would like to help us purchase our home base Port Mercy, please make a gift and mark it “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

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2: 10-11

Have a wonderful Christmas, from your friends at Friend Ships!

Thank you for all you have done for Jesus this year.

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.

Supplies- See website or request a brochure on how you can pack boxes of supplies to be shipped.

Finances- To support general operations and help purchase the Port Mercy property.

Thank you so much for standing with us. Together we are able to do so much to glorify God. We appreciate you more than you could know!