Table of Contents: - Shipping News / Extracurricular Activities / Thanks!

Shipping News

After two months of bureaucratic red tape we finally saw container number forty-nine off on its long voyage to Guatemala on April 28, 2006. New and unexpected changes in import regulations governing what we may and may not ship have been put in place in Guatemala; hence the delay in sending #49. We were forced to remove several hundred cases of valuable medicines and vitamins because they had less than a year of expiration date remaining. Fortunately there are other ministries that we are working with that can use these short dated goods in other parts of the world, so they wont go to waste.

Container number forty-nine was filled mostly with supplies and there was very little space taken up by equipment, which translates to an unusually high item count of over three-thousand cases of medical supplies and nutritional supplements. Normally our item count will be somewhere in the neighborhood of one-thousand. Don't get me wrong - hospital beds and X-ray machines are great, but considering how bare our shelves tend to stay in our Guatemalan bodega it makes me glad to see a container leave here with so many cases of good basic supplies.

If you are receiving Bodega Update via the postal service here is some recent developments. Container number fifty is now ready to go and we've just received our approval to ship from the Guatemalan government.  The container will leave early next week. Container number fifty-one will leave directly from Samaritan's Purse. We sent some supplies and equipment to Samaritan's Purse this week to help fill that container.

(Pictured: One of our containers as it leaves Puerto Barrios bound for our bodega in Quetzaltenango.)

Extracurricular Activities

Many of you will remember that I joined the choir at Church last year. Learning to sing classical and baroque music was far more difficult than I originally anticipated, and over the past few months I've been feeling that perhaps I could be using my time and talents more effectively in other ways. With that in mind I've left the choir and have applied for membership with the local chapter of the Christian Motorcycle Association, which is an evangelistic ministry to the motorcycling community. There’s been talk of me joining their praise and worship band, which performs at Church services and motorcycle events. Please pray for me as I explore this new area of ministry.

Melissa is still working in child care through the YMCA. Please pray for her during the upcoming summer months as the “Y” tends to have an overabundance of children.

Thanks!

With the prayerful and financial support of people like you we've been able to provide free medical aid and share the Gospel with some folks who suffer in poverty far greater than many of us will ever have to experience. For myself and for them I say, THANK YOU for your prayers and support. It truly means a lot, and I pray that God will bless you richly for your kindness. (Pictured below: Some of the folks who have been ministered to by Vine over the years.

Your humble servant,

Bodega Bruce

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As a faith ministry we are totally dependent on the prayers and financial gifts of people like you. All gifts are tax deducible.

Vine International
P.O.Box 52086
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