The students at Alabama Christian Academy (Montgomery, AL) were challenged to help the bucket and personal hygiene bag collection in the past two weeks. Their collection ended yesterday, on Friday March 11, and look at the compassionate collection of the students, families and staff at the school! (Pictured on right and featured image). THANK YOU ACA!! We were able to get these buckets to the warehouse this morning and add to our growing collection this month from our area churches and community.
The events of the week continued to be fast & furious and Friday was no different. As usual, my Friday morning started the same way my days have for the past couple of weeks — the phone and emails began arriving around 5:00 am and constantly continued all day long. It is amazing the number of States and foreign countries are found in each day’s communication. It is exhausting but it is also invigorating! There are so many amazing good developments that it seems surreal.
I have been working yesterday and today trying to draw things together here before I deploy on Sunday for actions in Poland and surrounding precincts! I will be sending out reports as often as possible during this time.
Nashville, TN
The congregations in greater Nashville, TN are not only accepting the 10,000-bucket challenge but they are involved in a number of other positive actions supporting the War Relief efforts being coordinated by the Lord’s Church. The congregations are getting their buckets, filling them and then taking to the Healing Hands International warehouse where we will schedule a container for loading. Joe & Jana have been energetic in helping and offering good ideas! We will have at least five containers out of Nashville and someone has already committed to sponsoring the shipping costs on four! The wonderful fact is that Nashville’s excellence is outstanding and is one of many brightly beaming lamps!
Hey John –
Keeping you in the loop here. John D heard from the Church in Munich today and they are able to buy good sleeping bags for $27 USD/each and ship them directly to Gdansk. SeaStar Kids is prepared to buy 200 sleeping bags immediately (talking with Healing Hands to see how to quickly transfer funds to Munich Church of Christ), but wanted to circle back with you to confirm that the urgent need still exists. I’ve also emailed Tanya. Once we determine this is ‘a go,’ we’ll need a specific address and contact name for the shipment.
Thanks, John!
Marcille
Work in Montgomery, AL
2,000 5-gallon Buckets and Lids Donated have been donated and will be transported to Montgomery, AL to be used in our relief efforts. Yesterday, I received a message from Nick Revels (Dalraida church of Christ):
Just heard from my father-in-law, they will be bringing the truck with the buckets on Monday. I’ve given him the address of the warehouse and they have my phone # and are supposed to be calling me with the time.”
Nick Revels
Nick followed up saying The Mauser Packaging Solution (Newnan, GA) are donating the buckets & lids. Vaughan Xpress (LaGrange, GA) is donating the transportation to get them to Montgomery. These are scheduled to be in Montgomery this coming Monday! We want to send a huge “THANK YOU” to these companies for their help in this work.
Today, we received a great load of buckets and bags at the warehouse from LaGrange, GA delivered by Mel & Pam Major (Elizabeth Revel’s parents)! It was so great to meet this Christian couple and see how much the brethren in GA have been collecting for our relief efforts.
We also received about 89 hygiene bags and supplies from the Liberty Church of Christ (Hope Hull, AL) this afternoon that will be great to add to our shipment of buckets that will be sent later this month from Montgomery, AL.
The love and response in the Montgomery area continues to be tremendous as we get calls, emails and donations on a daily basis to help meet the needs of our relief efforts.
Work in Columbia, TN
Yesterday was a memorable day for the Columbia, TN collection site. They have collected sufficient numbers of commodities to fill an entire container. Today they received 500 MORE empty buckets to fill. At this point they have over 2,000 buckets, hygiene bags, food, clothing, baby formula, baby food, and medical supplies.
Scheduling containers has been a challenge BUT our Charita is doing fantastic!
Hello Brian and Bekah,
Charita Shteynberg
One more favor is cashed and we have a booking for you as well. Please see attached. Your loading is on March 16.
I will be in Poland at the time so please call or email to confirm your loading with the trucking company one day prior to the scheduled time. I am sure John provided all instructions on the loading process and how to record the inventory.
Today, Brian and Bekah helped unload a delivery of buckets and other donations from Portland, TN that included items that were sent from Bowling Green KY and congregations in western Kentucky (See photos below). Some of the churches involved in collecting these items and donations in western Kentucky include: Melber Church of Christ, Cuba church of Christ, Folsomdale church of Christ, Northside church of Christ, Pottsville church of Christ, Central church of Christ, Houser church of Christ, Broadway church of Christ, Lowes church of Christ and Glendale Road church of Christ.
Northside church of Christ (Mayfield, KY) sent a check for $10,000 and these funds will be used to help pay for items and shipping of the next container sent from Columbia (the one loading next week has already been paid for)! What a blessing to be a part of the Lord’s Church and know the generosity of our Christian family!
Update on Romania Opportunity
The opportunities to work with the Church in Romania vigorously sprung back Friday. Our first container is now in Port Constanta, Romania. The Church is very eager to receive the container and use its contents to meet refugees from Ukraine at the border. Each day about 100 brethren go to the border and offer help, encouragement and assistance to those suffering from this present evil. We have brethren that are working with churches in Romania and we continue to hope that we can send help to them there to assist with the Ukrainian refugees in that country.
Here is a snippet of communication that frames recent developments:
Ady,
Charita Shteynberg
I was just notified, they couldn’t wait anymore and already rerouted this cargo to Romania. Once documents are issued to you, you will be able to pick container up from the port. I still need the name and address of the Church of Christ that will be responsible for distribution reports. We have submitted all changes to Hapag Lloyd to issue a new consignment to your company. If you have a possibility to call Hapag Lloyd and advise them that USA Hapag Lloyd has issued changes, and this cargo is humanitarian aid to Ukraine, so they can update on the Romanian side, that will speed up the process.
Thank you all.
The shipping situation into Romania continues to be fluid. Please keep this in your prayers as we have some strong congregations there that want to be part of our relief efforts. Overnight reports have indicated that shipping into the Black Sea — which would include Romania — may be shut down due to the Russian aggression in those areas. If this is shut down then we will not be able to ship into Romania as easily (if at all).
12 Pallets of Food Ready to Ship
We are thankful for Kathy Cadden’s knack at securing critically needed commodities. Yesterday, Kathy arranged for 12 pallets of fortified protein meals to be delivered to the Montgomery, AL warehouse. These will be loaded into a container loading at the end of this month along with medical supplies, Family Buckets and personal Hygiene bags.
Wonderful Generosity
John, are there any other items that are really needed more than others? The farmers would really like to know. We Will be loading Tuesday, March 15, 2022. We have another load that could be ready next week. There has been lots of interest in helping… How many first aid kits and baby buckets are you wanting? Also diapers, socks, comforters, etc.?
Trying to ask for what is needed most. Our center in Fairbury has a load they would donate as soon as you’d be ready for it. Possible items would be: Bar Soap, Rice pilaf with beans, Beans – black, kidney, pinto, Comforters, etc.
Linda GreenE, IMPACT
On the Other End of Shipping
“Three containers valuing over $486,000 were shipped March 9-10 with the help of volunteers. The three containers, loaded with hygiene products, was donated by Holly Springs Church of Christ, Mississippi. Thank you, Jerry Moore and Jerry Morgan, for your sponsorship and taking action after the start of the war. Great thanks to our recipient, Maria Lomosova, for her helping hand in setting up refugee sites at which allowed the distribution of products throughout the area. The loads plan to be carried across the border into Ukraine to their next destination. The container’s arrivals are estimated to April 15th of 2022.” (https://worldofconnections.org/home/f/first-response-to-ukraine-refugees)
Good News
Perhaps the first email on Friday morning came from our Christian sisters in Wroclaw, Poland, that had fled Ivano-Frankivsk. They found a one-room apartment and were paying monthly rent. With a rent payment coming due for the coming month, the ladies had discussed their options and had a dilemma of paying high rent, looking for a cheaper place, or returning to Ivano-Frankivsk.
Tanya said they prayed about the dilemma and would decide tomorrow what to do.
Then they received a phone call that changed everything…
Heard from the owner this morning and he wants to let us stay FREE!!! Amazing!! We were talking about lodging and what we should do and right when we finished he called us and said we could stay free. God is so good!!!
Tanya Zozulina
This is indeed a sacrifice by the apartment owner who is not getting subsidized payments for taking in refugees. This is a wonderfully compassionate expression. After receiving the owner’s message the ladies from Ivano-Frankivsk told the owner they appreciated his offer and would stay rent-free but they wanted to pay utilities (which had been included in the rent).
Leaving Tomorrow
Please keep me in your prayers as I prepare to leave tomorrow for Poland and areas unknown to me. I will be traveling with Jerry Morgan (Holly Springs, MS) and Charita to Warsaw, Poland and from there go to various areas including Gdansk, Poland (where we will be shipping containers into) and other refugee locations. My trip is to lay the appropriate foundations for our shipments, make sure we have the organizations ready to receive and distribute, meet with Christians who will be intimately involved with these efforts, and hopefully present Bible lessons to refugees and others in Poland.
Thank you for all you do…and for your love and support of Ukraine!
John Kachelman Jr.
(Montgomery, AL)
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