On Some Have Compassion, Making A Difference
Look who met us at the pier. The twins, Bob & Channa, are doing great.
Dear Friends of Sea Hope
Mary and I went home in early November for a granddaughter’s wedding and to spend the holidays with family. While there we were blessed to present the Sea Hope ministry at two churches and attend a mission’s conference at a third. It is always refreshing to be with fellow believers. Thankfully all three churches partnered with us. What a privilege and blessing to have those 3 new congregations praying for us! Additionally, I recently went to a church here in Puerto Rico and they also partnered with us, and several of the men want to serve on Sea Hope. Praise the Lord.
Working At Crossing All Borders
The Medical Missions Outreach trip to Haiti scheduled for January was postponed due to the security situation. However, the Lord had already provided a container of medical equipment and supplies to take to Haiti for Emmanuel Medical Center, so Mary and I spent several days at Crossing All Borders packing some of that material.
Grace Bible Church, Trinidad Needs Help
While we were doing that, I received a text from Pastor Wayne Balchan of Penal, Trinidad about severe flooding from torrential rains. I explained the situation to Joeth Strickland at Crossing All Borders and she donated a tremendous amount of clothing, small kitchen appliances and other material to send a container to Trinidad, and she called Samaritan’s Purse and they donated about 16 pallets of material to help. We went from having nothing to having a full 40 foot container of supplies almost instantly. God is so good.
New Door Opens
The cost of taking Sea Hope from Puerto Rico to Trinidad was about twice the cost of shipping a container directly from the US. We have not had a chance to work out all the details of taking Sea Hope into Trinidad, so we made the decision to ship a container directly, with Sea Hope paying for it. Pastor Barton and the good folks at Anchor Baptist Missions International collected the material from Crossing All Borders and Samaritan’s Purse and then packed the container.
This was a new and valuable learning experience for us, and gives us an additional way of helping churches in the Caribbean.
Trinidad
After returning to Puerto Rico in January and checking on Sea Hope, Mary and I headed to Trinidad to meet with Pastor Balchan and Grace Bible Baptist Church to better understand the situation and needs there. Pastor Balchan serves in a heavily Hindu and Muslim area and the material we sent will not only allow him to meet the needs of his congregation but also help in an outreach to those around them.
Haiti - Hosanna Baptist / Emmanuel Medical Center
Once we returned from Trinidad, we prepared to carry the medical supplies and equipment to Emmanuel Medical Center in Haiti, leaving February 2nd. We also took Pastor Cherubin of Hosanna Baptist Church 12,500 pounds of rice to help him alleviate the food shortage his people are facing. In the midst of “ashes”, people are flocking to Hosanna Baptist, to the point they have standing room only. We were also blessed to be able to take him a wireless microphone system. What a Mighty God we serve, pray for Haiti.
Next for Sea Hope is a trip to the BVI for annual ship's haul out in late March. Please pray that this will be a successful time as we have several things to repair.
Our next scheduled mission is in late June taking a medical missions team back to Haiti. We covet your prayers for that as well.
Our crew for Haiti Mission #6….Puerto Rico, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Connecticut, and Nebraska
Serving HIM Joyfully,
Buddy and Mary Puryear