| February 2025 Dear Friends. Quincy Saul is a valuable member of Daniel’s Starfish Ministries leadership team in Haiti. He is currently the supervisor of our school ministries. He is responsible for all aspects of our education programs. One of the challenges in Haiti is getting the payroll funds into the hands of the headmasters of the schools so they can pay the staff. Daniel has passed this responsibility to Quincy, and he is introducing banking to the school leaders so that he doesn’t have to handle the cash. This is a fairly new concept for many Haitians, and they are often skeptical of the safety of their money in a bank. They have more faith in putting their money in a coffee can and hiding it in their house. But Quincy works closely with these leaders and is making good progress toward the implementation of the banking approach. Although education supervision is the stated responsibility of Quincy, he is willing to do whatever Daniel asks of him. And so, Daniel turned over to Quincy the need to get our MannaPack Rice from Gonieves to Tricotte. Quincy’s hometown is Gonieves, so he has good contacts within the area and has a good handle on the integrity of potential delivery people. And Quincy was able to find a man in the area who delivers products and produce from the Gonieves area to the marketplace near Tricotte several times each week. He has a small pickup with a tall canopy and this past Wednesday, January 29, 138 boxes of MannaPack Rice were delivered to our warehouse in Tricotte! This is truly an answer to prayer. Last month we asked you to pray for us for several requests including to find save passage of our food in Gonieves to Tricotte. And God has brought it to pass! Thank you for your prayers. We don’t know the details of how this delivery man can make it through the gang blocked roads. It is likely that he pays for a monthly pass and therefore gets overlooked as he passes by. Our prayer request now extends to this delivery man and his safety and the security of our product being transported. Our plan is to continue to use him as often as possible without jeopardizing his safety. Our cost for this transporting of the 138 boxes is 35,000 Haitian Gourdes which converts to $270 US. God has already supplied the funding for this through your year-end giving. Thank you so much! Starfish Ministries receives an average of one container of food from FMSC (Feed My Starving Children) each month. The food is donated to us, and we then must pay for shipping, customs, and delivery within the country. This costs us approximately $8,000 US per container. Each container carries 1,296 boxes of MannaPack and each box has approximately 200 meals. So those 138 boxes equates to more than 25,000 meals. We are praising God for His provision! I copied the following information from the FMSC.org website.FMSC has three dried, fortified meal formulas addressing the world’s main hunger needs. Each culturally-neutral meal packet contains 6-12 servings, depending on the food formula.MannaPack™ Rice: Our original food formula consists of vitamin-packed flavoring, dried vegetables, soy protein and rice.MannaPack™ Potato-W: Our “baby food,” which meets WorldHealth Org. standards for infants 7-12 months, contains vitamin-packed sweet potato flavoring, potato granules, and soy flour.MannaPack™ Potato-D: The first and only food for people with severe diarrhea (a leading killer in the developing world) contains a specific sweet potato-flavored vitamin mix which aids rehydration, potato granules and soy flour.This partnership we have with FMSC is a tremendous blessing. When we can get the food to Tricotte we are able to use it in school feeding, elderly ministry, food relief and more. Thank you for your partnership with us to help make this possible as we navigate so many aspects of life as we serve God in Haiti. God has given us the privilege to serve the people of the Tricotte area of Haiti from birth to the very oldest of the population. Babies have been born safely in the medical clinic, and healthcare has been provided for people of all ages. Hopefully that will continue soon. 40 children, ages four through 17, are now cared for outside the orphanage setting. Many more children from preschool all the way through trade school and university are educated and fed through the school ministry with the help of FMSC. Children and adults alike are fed through the coffee and food program at the churches each Sunday morning. Many of the poorest families in the region have received help through Food Relief, also with the help of FMSC. The elderly and handicapped ministry meets needs for 86 previously-forgotten people. We are able to hold up our Haitian brothers and sisters in prayer as they go through various trials. And through every means possible, we present the gospel of Jesus Christ, trusting in Him to meet their greatest need. Oh, how much we appreciate your prayers and financial support! God has blessed this ministry with so many faithful supporters in prayer and finances. Serving the Lord together, Bernie, Sheryl & Philip Bovenkamp |
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