APRIL 2005 REPORT

Time continues to pass quickly for us.  It is hard to believe that 25% of the year has already passed.  Perhaps time is going so fast for us because we are busy as bees serving our Lord through material donations to global missions.  Fifteen shipments have been processed and we are working on several more.

Currently we have shipments planned or being prepared for India, Chad, Liberia, Romania, Mexico and Eastern Europe [2 areas].   Three shipments were sent in the last quarter to Sri Lanka, India in response to the Tsunami disaster.  We are almost ready to send a fourth container.  The primary items on the Sri Lanka containers are water purification systems, medical supplies and food.  The current shipment will have tarps that will enable them to make over 100 temporary shelters.

We were blessed this month with the donation of a 26 ft cargo van truck from a Christian brother in Pensacola.  This truck has a lift gate and can carry up to 33,000 pounds.  The truck was caught up in the last hurricane that hit Florida.  It sat in water for a period of time, which ruined the motors for the lift gate.  It will cost about $200 to repair the system.  Also there was about $1,000 damage to the roof caused by a tree falling on the truck.  For  $1200 in repairs and $800 down payment on the insurance we will have a great road worthy truck.  It drives very well.

Last month I was honored to visit Fellowship Tract League in Lebanon, Ohio.  What a wonderful group of people.  In the past we have received in excess of 85 million Gospel tracts from these folks and they have never charged us for them.  We have about 600,000 waiting to be picked up now for Romania and other areas.  Once the truck is up and running we can get them.  To make the trip more economical they will fill the truck to the load limit.  We also asked them for 8 million tracts to be shipped directly to the Philippines, Dr. Wash Pennington was happy to receive the request.  What a blessing these folks are.   I will be sending a special letter out about Fellowship Tract League soon sharing with you how you can have a part in their being able to print over ONE BILLION Gospel tracts a year.

We continue to support the troops.  The only need right now is more New Testaments [KJV] and postage funds.  Amazing Grace Ministries in Baldwin Florida has a matching fund program that for every $1.00 donated to purchase a New Testament, they will match it with a second New Testament.  A case of 100 New Testaments only costs $50.00 using their matching fund program.   They only do this for us since we are supporting the troops.  We were just about out of items to send the troops when I got a call from Feed the Children.  FTC promoted a program to support the troops and had so much success they had more volume than they could move.  They asked for our help and of course we said YES.  However, when their excesses showed up at our dock it was four tractor-trailer loads or some 16,000 care packages.  We hope to be able to send these by container to each of the three war countries of Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.  It cost approximately $8000 for each shipment.  To send the same amount by U. S. Postage [as we do now] would cost over $73,000.00.  Economics says the container shipments are the best way to go.  We are working with several large military commands who want to also use the donated materials to share with the children of schools they are restoring.  A missionary in Afghanistan working with an orphanage there will also receive a good amount of the supplies.  Yes, we are supporting the troops.  However, at their request we are allowing them use the materials to reach out and bless the people.  We have great troops.  So far we have sent over 50,400 care packages to troops deployed since Desert Storm.  Until they come home we will continue to support them.

We are beginning a series of Mission Leadership Conference in various areas. The next one will be May 20-22 here in Jacksonville.  Each of the conferences will be centered on certain areas of the world or ethnic groups that need to be reached with the Gospel.  The May conference will be centered on Liberia and Haiti as well as other parts of Africa.  The next conference will be on Latino countries with Eastern Europe and Asia as the last two conferences.  Each conference is held on Friday-Sunday at churches who are willing to host the events.  We do the preparation and promotion with the host church hosting the event with their facilities and volunteers as needed.  If you are interested in the May conference, or any of the future conferences, please let us know.

One of the greatest needs we have is for workers.  If you are retired or semi-retired and you are looking for a place to serve God, then Mission Harvest America could be the place for you.  We also need full time missionaries who are willing to go on deputation and raise their support.  We help them with the deputation.  Right now we need three key people to help take some of the workload off of Dr. Painter and Harold Jewell.  We need a warehouse supervisor, a processing area supervisor and an Administrative Director.  These areas have grown so much that it is most difficult to complete the workload.  God has blessed this ministry.  We do not have any funds needed for operations and we have no paid staff, only faith missionaries, yet we did receive and process over 33 million pounds of materials to aid missionaries and churches in 58 countries and 46 states since we began this adventure in 1994.

Throughout the year church groups come to help us.  We have a youth group from Lebanon Ohio that tries to come every year.  There is a church in Blackshear GA where several of the ladies and men come down periodically throughout the year just to do “Whatever”.  Another church in Inverness Florida has a men’s group and their Pastor that also periodically come to help.  This is hands on missions so come and bring your hands knowing that when you pack or move a box the next person to unpack that box will be a missionary somewhere in the world using the materials to reach the lost for Christ.

We would love to come and put one of our Mission Leadership Conferences on at your church, please contact me for details.

Sincerely in Christ,

Dewey E. Painter, Sr.