Hurricane Felix Update Sept. 25

Hurricane Felix Disaster Relief Update – September 25, 2007

Update on First Project – The relief team has had to make some adaptations to the pump system they will be using for the well-cleaning project for which they need to wait for parts. This has caused a further delay in that part of the project. However some volunteers went ahead with the distribution of the first group of food packets instead of waiting for the pumps. The distribution of the food of the first project was done this past week, and is complete. It went very well, and the volunteers report much encouragement and gratitude on the part of the recipients in the first 13 communities.

Initiating the Second Project - Volunteers in the Christian community in Puerto Cabezas are spending time these next few days in putting together 200 more packets of emergency supplies similar to the packets of the first round of food distribution in the remaining 22 communities. Some of the supplies (e.g. mosquito nets, lanterns, boots) are not available in Puerto Cabezas in the quantities (and the bulk price) that they need, so they are arranging for those supplies to be sent in from Managua. But there is a lot of enthusiasm and community effort amongst those who are putting the food packets together.

Calgary Bike/Walk-a-thon a great success!

Members from five churches in the Calgary area as well as a number of young riders from Monarch in southern Alberta, combined to raise over $11,600 for Christian Education in Nigeria this past Saturday, September 22, 2007.

Congratulations to all the organizers, riders, walkers and sponsors!




I'm told the day was beautiful, the trails were great, the burgers were delicious and everyone had a wonderful time.

May this love offering be used by the Lord to the benefit of the students attending the Word & Deed Christian schools in Nigeria. May they learn to develop the talents the Lord has given them and, most importantly, may they also come to know the Lord and be filled with the marvellous hope of eternal life with Him.

Word & Deed would like to thank everyone who participated. See you all next year!

Introducing Members of the Felix Response Team

When a disaster strikes, our response is only as good as the men we have on the ground. Word & Deed, together with MINTS, is very blessed to have six gifted men on the Hurricane disaster response team in Nicaragua. They need our prayers as they, together with others, work long hours to help the many victims of the storm.

The Hurricane Felix response is being coordinated through the local MINTS Study Centre in Nicaragua which is known as SETIMN-MINTS where:

SETIMN = Interdemoninational Theological Seminary of Miskitia-Nicaragua

MINTS = Miami International Seminary

Pastor Héctor Willians: He is the older gentleman in the above picture, the one in the green shirt. He is the Director of SETIMN-MINTS. He is serving as the Resource person of the disaster relief program. He is widely known in the Miskito indigenous community and considered to be one of their most respected community leaders. He knows key community leaders and has contact with government officials. He is also serving as the pastor of mother church of the Assembly of Christian Churches in Puerto Cabezas of which Carlos is a member. He was in his home village of Dakur when the Hurricane struck. Tragically, eight members of his family lost their lives in the storm and he conducted their funerals before joining the rest of the response team.

Carlos Coffin: He is the younger man in the above picture, the one in the white shirt. He is the secretary of the board of SETIMN-MINTS. He is serving as the Coordinator of the disaster relief program. Carlos is student of MINTS and a key leader in the “mother church” of the Asamblea de Iglesias Cristianas (Assembly of Christian Churches) which has 12 daughter churches in the Puerto Cabezas area. The church he attends is the supervising church of SETIMN-MINTS. In May, 2007 Carlos received a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. He is currently employed as an administrator in the public school system in Puerto Cabezas.

Pastor Jonatan Radiz (above): He is a student of MINTS and the pastor of a church in Puerto Cabezas area. He is on the board of SETIMN-MINTS. He is serving as an assistant to the coordinator of the disaster relief program.

Pastor Joseph Lacayo (above far right) – A student of MINTS and pastor of the Church of God in Puerto Cabezas. He is one of the three team members who will be doing the “well-cleaning” project in the affected communities. He has been helping out with the project “full time” since the first day.

Pastor Santiago Curbelo (above far left) – A student of APOYO and pastor of one of the AIC churches with which Hector is serving as pastor of the “mother church”. He is one of the three team members who will be doing the “well-cleaning” project in the affected communities. He has been helping out with the project “full time” since the first day.

APOYO – APOYO is a partner training ministry MINTS is working with among the Miskito population. They provide informal studies through seminars for church leaders. It is through their invitation that Rev. Eric Pennings was able to introduce MINTS as a formal leadership training program of studies.

Pastor Nieves Benjamin (no picture) – A student of APOYO and pastor of one of the AIC churches with which Hector is serving as pastor of the “mother church”. He is one of the three team members who will be doing the “well-cleaning” project in the affected communities. He has had other commitments during the first three weeks, so he has not been as involved so far. However he has committed himself to be part of the “well-cleaning” team.

Hurricane Felix Update - September 21

Hurricane Felix Disaster Relief Update – September 21, 2007

We are thankful that the pumps finally arrived after a lengthy delay in shipment from Managua, the capital City of Nicaragua. Yesterday the three team members who will be doing the well-cleaning project did a “training run” on a couple of wells in Pto Cabezas that were contaminated. They plan to leave today for the 13 affected communities originally identified as most needing the relief. Please pray for safety in the travel, effectiveness in the cleaning of the well, and a blessing for the services of worship that they will be conducting each evening during what is expected to be an 18-day trip.

Hurricane Felix Update

Hurricane Felix Disaster Relief Update – September 19, 2007

Delays Result in Adjusted Plan – Carlos Coffin, local relief coordinator, reports that the pumps have still not arrived in Pto Cabezas from Managua. If the pumps do not come in today, he will take the time to travel to Managua personally in order to oversee the order and expedite the shipment of them. The well-cleaning is a critical part of the relief plan. However, the food has been packaged and the communities are in need of the supplies, so they have decided not to wait for the pumps. They have sent a team into the thirteen communities targeted for the initial project and are distributing the food already. Meanwhile they are putting the “second round” of food packages together for the remaining communities that are in need. Carlos reports that in addition to providing the necessary relief for the affected area, many of the volunteers find their effort helps them in dealing with the grief resulting from the "shock" of the effects of the hurricane (loss of friends, family members and material goods, etc).

Community Effort – As soon as the pumps arrive, the plan is to start going through the communities in the cleaning of the wells. The “well-cleaning team” plans to function as coordinators in the cleaning of each well and in the digging of new ones (should we eventually move into that phase). They plan to solicit volunteers in each community to help them with the task. They believe that each community that receives aid should be involved personally as much as possible so that they will have a sense of pride in the completed project. They believe that these projects can help to build community spirit as a side-benefit to clean water and food distribution.

Hurricane Felix Update

Using expertise gained through bringing relief to victims of the Tsunami (India and Sri Lanka) as well as victims of Hurricane Stan and other disasters, Bernie Pennings has been heavily involved in overseeing Word and Deed's relief efforts in Nicaragua in partnership with MINTS (Miami International Seminary). The highest priority following a disaster, according to Bernie, is clean water followed by food. Bernie has been working closely with Rev. Eric Pennings of MINTS (Miami International Seminary) to bring food and clean water to victims of Hurricane Felix via students enrolled in the MINTS program in Nicaragua. Rev. Eric Pennings, who is fluent in Spanish and just recently returned to Canada from a trip to Nicaragua, provides another update on the work below - $23,000 has been sent to Nicaragua in two weeks with more likely in the near future with the hope that churches and individuals will respond with loving generosity as they have for previous disasters.

Rick Postma

Hurricane Felix Disaster Relief Update – September 17, 2007

First Project of Emergency Phase Ready to Go - This morning the local relief coordinator reported that everything is prepared for the first project of the emergency phase. The only thing they are waiting for is the three pumps which are expected to come in today from Managua (the capital of Nicaragua). When the pumps come in, the three volunteers will initiate the first project. They have a government sponsored engineer who will train the three volunteers in the specific details of the pumps. The community wells currently are contaminated with debris, dead animals, etc. The pumps will be used to "drain" the contaminated water. When the wells fill up, they will be treated with the appropriate chemicals. Each of the community wells services a group of 10-20 families. The three volunteers have an appointment with a government official of the Ministry of Health who will be training them in how to treat the water. These three volunteers will in turn be training community leaders of each group of families as to exactly how to treat the wells on a regular basis. They will be left with the instructions and the treatment products.

Second Project of Emergency Phase Being Planned – An additional $13,000 has been wired to Nicaragua for a total of $23,000 so far. The local relief coordinator reports that there are others who have volunteered to duplicate the first project. There are about 35 communities that need to receive the same "relief project". In the second project, the additional volunteers will travel by land to the communities with 200 packets as with the first project. They will distribute them to the pastors of the affected communities and have the pastors distribute the food in each packet through the deacons of their local churches. They believe they can reach each of the other 35 communities with the prepared packets of food within ten days. The “well-cleaning” crew will follow up in these communities after they have come back from their first project.

Rev. Eric Pennings

Hurricane Felix Update

Hurricane Felix Disaster Relief Update – September 15, 2007

The following is a part of a verbal (phone) report I received from the relief coordinator in Nicaragua:

The Emergency Phase – The disaster relief team is in the middle of preparations for the first project in the “emergency phase” of disaster relief which is a project to provide food and clean water to 13 Miskito communities. If all goes according to schedule, the three volunteers will leave on Tuesday, September 18 to the thirteen communities that are furthest out and least likely to get immediate aid. These communities are accessible only (or most easily … all are accessible by foot path too) by boat, for which reason they will be renting a boat with a motor. One of the volunteers (a pastor) is familiar with boats and motors. Actually, most of the community is familiar with boats since it is a major means of transportation to the outlying communities.

Volunteers – Today they have a team of 15-20 adults, mostly MINTS students and their families, working on putting the food packets together today at Rev. Hector Willians’ house. Children, youth, etc are all helping out. It’s a marvellous display of how members of different church communities can work together in a common ministry project directed by MINTS students.

Rising Costs of Goods - Yesterday they sent groups of volunteers into town with a “shopping list”. Some things they are “dickering” with yet to get a good price, but the prices of all goods have gone up 20-30% since Hurricane Felix came ashore. For example, purchasing a quantity of 100 lanterns, 100 mosquito nets, 100 sheets, etc. for each of the 100 initial emergency packets that they are putting together.

Rev. Eric Pennings

Hurricane Felix Relief Update (Nicaragua)

On Thursday Rev. Hector Williams, a Miskito indigenous pastor and director of the Study Centre for the local Miami International Seminary (MINTS), returned to Puerto Cabezas from his “home village” of Dákura. He reports that eight of his family members were killed in his village. Three others, including the pastor of a Moravian church, were also killed. He reports that every building (house, church, school, etc) in his village was either damaged or destroyed. Other Miskito villages were similarly affected. Six MINTS students have formed a temporary “relief committee” to respond to the disaster. Emergency funds provided by Word & Deed have been sent to initiate a “first phase” disaster recovery plan in which 13 Miskito communities will be provided with basic food. Materials have also been purchased to provide clean water in the community wells of these same communities. The team plans to do an 18 day tour of the communities by boat, providing the emergency relief. By day they will be distributing the food and cleaning the wells from the contaminated water supplies. In the evenings they plan to have services of worship in the same communities. Please pray for the safety of the “relief team” members and for the name of Christ to be proclaimed in Word and Deed.

Rev. Eric Pennings
Miami International Seminary (MINTS)
Central American Regional Coordinator

Emergency Assistance Needed for victims of Hurricane Felix

Word and Deed Ministries Partners with Miami International Seminary After Hurricane Felix

On Monday, September 3, Hurricane Felix came ashore on the Eastern Coast of Southern Honduras and Northern Nicaragua as a (most powerfully registered) category five hurricane. These shores are the home of the indigenous Miskito population of about 150,000, living mostly in very basic wooden homes built off the ground with zinc roofs.



The hurricane already has caused 100 deaths. Another 120 people are missing. Latest reports indicate nearly 10,000 homes have been destroyed and another 9,000 partially destroyed. An estimated 50,000 people have lost everything they own. Thousands of acres of agricultural product have been lost in the affected area. People from 52 locations near the coast are currently staying in 101 shelters.

Rev. Eric Pennings, a missionary with the United Reformed Churches of North America, has been travelling to this area providing a ministry of leadership development among church leaders as the Central American Regional Coordinator for Miami International Seminary (MINTS). The main MINTS Study Centres in this area is located in Puerto Cabezas, home to about 30,000 residents, with a surrounding area population of an additional 30,000, representing about 12,000 homes, almost all of which were either damaged or destroyed by the hurricane. He had just been there for a week in August, visiting with pastors in homes and preaching and teaching in churches that only two weeks later were damaged or destroyed.

One of the courses that he taught was a course on "Worldview" for which he gave an eight hour conference. A primary focus of the course presented a challenge for Christians to make a difference in society particularly through a "wholistic" ministry of Word and Deed. Little did the students know that within weeks, the destruction of Hurricane Felix would provide an opportunity to put the course into practice.

Word and Deed Ministries, a distinctively Reformed Christian relief agency, has agreed to partner with MINTS in providing disaster relief through the local churches with which Rev. Pennings is training pastors in the Puerto Cabezas area. With the contacts provided by Rev. Pennings and the distinguished record of relief projects coordinated by Word and Deed, we hope to provide relief to the affected area.

We would ask you to prayerfully consider joining us in our resolve to help the churches in the affected communities demonstrate the love of Christ by providing short-term (initially) and long-term relief as the Lord provides the means. An emergency transfer of $10,000 has already been sent. These funds are being used by local pastors well known to MINTS to prepare 100 packets of emergency food supplies, each of which will provide the basic needs of one extended family for one week. The funds will also be used to purchase pumps and transportation so that the community wells in thirteen affected communities can be purified. As funds are raised, many more food packages and other emergency supplies will be provided to more families and communities.

You can donate online by selecting the appropriate link below:

Donate to Word and Deed USA

Donate to Word and Deed Canada

Churches and individuals may make donation cheques out to "Word & Deed" which should be designated "Hurricane Felix Relief Fund". These funds can be sent either to the US or Canadian office of Word and Deed:

WORD AND DEED - CANADA
Word & Deed Ministries
P.O. Box 20100
St. Thomas, On
N5P 4H4
Phone: 519-633-2333
Toll -Free: 1-877-375-9673
Fax: 519-633-7181
E-mail: office@wordanddeed.org

WORD AND DEED - USA
Word & Deed Ministries
C/O Mrs. H. Pronk
P. O. Box 157
Hudsonville, MI
49426 USA
Phone: 616-896-3160
Toll-Free: 1-866-391-5728
Fax: 616-896-9219
E-mail: usoffice@wordanddeed


Bulletin Announcement
Hurricane Felix Disaster Relief - Word and Deed Ministries and Miami International Seminary (MINTS) are partnering in providing disaster relief to the victims and affected communities of Hurricane Felix in Nicaragua. Two weeks before the hurricane, Rev. Eric Pennings, Central American Regional Coordinator for MINTS, taught several courses to pastors of churches that have since been either damaged or destroyed. Emergeny funds have already been sent to Nicaragua to provide food and clean water to some communities. A relief fund is being administered through Word and Deed. For more information about sending a gift, please contact your deacons or office@wordanddeed.org or mailto:ericp@mints.edu.