Indi Kristjansson set to travel to Costa Rica

Indi will be leaving on Wednesday, February 29 for an 11 day trip to Costa Rica; he will be traveling with Darcey Dube of Kingdom Harvest Ministries. The purpose of the trip will be to participate in a regional conference, meet with regional directors and to minster in various places in the country. As he travels the country he will be able to gather firsthand information on the needs in Costa Rica and make vital contacts with those who need humanitarian aid.

Wheel Chairs for Guatemala

A container was loaded today in Abbotsford bound for Chimaltenango, Guatemala. The main focus was the 175 wheelchairs including a number of electric scooters but it also contained school supplies, sewing machines and other humanitarian items.

Hope Haven Ministries from Surrey BC collect and refurbish wheelchairs to be donated to third world countries. Upon arriving in the country they pre-screen recipients to make sure they match up the right wheelchair to the person in need.

The container will leave the port of Vancouver in approximately one week and take about three weeks to arrive.

Ministering in El Salvador

The team has been travelling throughout El Salvador and is set to return in the next few days. They have spent time speaking at various churches and seeing first hand some of the hard hit areas from the flooding in the past month. The container that was sent ahead of them was held up for a few days but has been released and is being distributed, the team is assisting in those efforts.

They had the opportunity to go to the Mayor’s office in the town of Jiquilisco, El Salvador and speak with the Mayor, the council and a number of city workers. Pastor Darcy Dube and pastor Douglas spoke with the Mayor who was very appreciative of the help that was given.

Abbotsford Connect 2011

Abbotsford Connect 2011 was held on October 1st at the Seven Oaks Alliance Church in Abbotsford BC.

This event brought together governmental and community services to assist people who are homeless or living on the margins of our community. Many services were offered including public health care, dental and optical examination, and social and legal aid, haircuts, free food, clothing and shoes. A breakfast was served along with lunch and snacks throughout the day.

GEMS was also there in partnership with Jubilee ministries distributing clothes and shoes. Through events such as these we connect with people in various communities and help meet needs.

Container Sent to Zambia

A container destined for Zambia was loaded on September 24, 2011 and will depart the port of Vancouver on October 9, 2011. This shipment is a joint effort by the Seeds of Hope Children’s Ministry through GEMS and for Grace Academy. It will sail across the Pacific through Asia and land at Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania – which indecently means “harbour of peace”. From there it will be trucked to Lusaka, Zambia and then on to N’dola for unloading.

The 40 foot container, which was donated by Big Steel Box Company of Abbotsford, is filled with: educational supplies, clothing and building materials for the new facility and home for HIV infected children erected by the Grace Academy and will land there near the end of December 2011.

For more information please go to; www.seedsofhopecm.com/index.php

Needs in Chile and Haiti

When earthquakes struck Haiti and Chile last year, GEMS was able to send much needed supplies. As time passes, the attention of the world drifts, but dire needs still remain. We’ve been asked to send a container to each country. All the goods have been donated and collected. We are waiting for partners to finance the transportation. We need $7000 for each container, a total of $14,000.