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Current News Briefs
Woody will be in Guatemala – June 19-28 - traveling with Dennis & Doris Rice (Vine’s Guatemala distribution managers) for development meetings - including:
> SOSEP (the First Lady’s Office) to discuss shipping & importing issues.
> Researching more central distribution warehouse space near Guatemala City.
> Board meeting for Vine’s Guatemalan, non-profit association.
> Travel with some folks from the US to visit projects they support.
> Discuss assisting in a nation-wide de-worming program with Refuge International.
Bodega Bruce has another container of aid ready to ship to Guatemala June 16. It should arrive in our warehouse in Guatemala about 30 days later. In spite of the difficulties we’ve been having with new import regulations, the pipeline keeps working.
Vine just received notice from our US landlord that’s we’re going to have to move from our current collection center. From the “Dungeon”? Please don’t throw us in that briar-patch. It’s something that’s needed to be done for a long-time – but the cheap rent kept us second-guessing. God must have something in mind.
In July or August, a container will be sent through Vine’s pipeline from Samaritan’s Purse to the Hospital Shalom-Peten project. Primary is getting the electrical supplies on site to hook up the transformers to the hospital by Bill Wright from Samaritan’s Purse in October. They’ll also be sending other equipment that they & Vine have gathered – as well as donating the 40-foot container box for storage.
Vine’s last container was received into our distribution center in Quetzaltenango on May 30 & high-fives were sent 3,000 miles to Bruce White in the US for the 40-foot, well organized load – taking only 45-minutes to off-load. The Rice’s will be distributing over 1 million Vine-Vites for Kids to our project covering over 30 orphanages & feeding programs for over 3,000 children. The shipment & vitamin project were frustratingly delayed because of new importing regulations.
The final tally of aid sent to Guatemala for Hurricane Stan was valued at $1.8 million from a budget of $50,000. We love to see how God multiplies those dollars. We did have to pull 4 pallets of medicines from that load because of the new import regulations requiring a minimum 1-year expiration date. We’ve worked on a 6-month minimum for 13 years & there was no advance notice of the change. Fortunately, Brenda Sutton at the Servant’s House in Georgia was able to use them all for their overseas mission teams.
Last February, Vine & Joni & Friends-Knoxville combined our medical team with their wheelchair distribution team – serving in 3 locations in Guatemala. It was such an incredible experience that it looks to become an annual event.
In spite of the Guatemala importing difficulties that began in the spring of 2005, we were still able to ship more aid in 2005 than any previous year. There’s a lesson in there & it gives us hope for 2006. With the Rice’s managing our distribution fulltime, the number of recipient projects supported in 2005 in Guatemala rose to about 100.
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