I just returned from delivering a very full SUV of food for 19 of our families. Our community leaders determined which families in our programs were in the greatest need due to not having the identification required for the trickles of government support that some are receiving. The same leaders also suggested which foods we should buy and the quantities for the different sized families. I personally would have never chosen sardines or thought to buy as much rice. It’s a mighty good thing we have Carmencita, Marcelina and Valentina! As I’m writing this they are delivering the groceries to the families. These three have upped their leadership game tremendously during this crazy time of COVID.
Buying in bulk and repackaging has made it possible to keep the costs quite reasonable. We were able to provide a week of staples for approximately $30 usd per family.
By buying in bulk and repackaging last week, we were able to give the 19 families laundry detergent, a bar of soap and some bleach for approx $2 per family. Being able to wash clothes after more than a month without detergent was quite a treat for several of our families.
Manna Packs are pre-packaged nutritional meals that only require water. Handsful of Hope here in the DR shared some of their packs with us. This is especially generous during a time when their communities are also in great need. We hope to be able to secure more of these packs from another source. Please pray for that
An inspiring verse is added to each bag of groceries.
Each week I make a packet of children’s activities. This week’s is about the life of Joseph.
I am thankful for so many people who have been helping meet physical needs of our communities.
- Handsful of Hope for sharing Manna Packs
- Pastor Alberto Felix who is always looking for a little extra to share with us. He has called different times to share extra bags of food he obtained while trying to secure food for his community.
- Peaksville Christian Youth Group for providing the funds for today’s groceries.
- Bravo supermarket and PriceSmart for allowing us to buy in the quantity we needed.
- Keny Paredes for picking up the groceries and manhandling those 100+ lb bags into my house so I could repackage the contents.
- Our community ladies who are continuing to make face masks for their neighbors or even strangers.
- And of course, I’m thankful for you! I couldn’t be here doing what I love to do without your multi-faceted support.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that the communities will be guarded from COVID. As of this morning there were 13,989 reported cases of COVID in the DR and 456 reported deaths. We are unaware of any cases amongst our people. I have great concern about how quickly it could spread due to their living conditions.
- Summer. It seems that our summer, like yours, is going to be quite different. We have cancelled our camps, after a 12 summer run. Pray that we will find new ways to serve the children and youth this summer.
- Ryan and Cayla Quinley are planning to arrive in late August. Please pray for their month of pre-training and for their visa process.
- Housing/Mission Base. This has been on hold due to the quarantine that has been in place since mid-March. It is still a necessity, but is on a back burn for a bit longer due to closed offices, etc.
