Dear Friends,
In 2023, we embarked on an exciting journey with Barnabas Aid, who generously provided us with a food dehydrator. This incredible gift allowed us to transform the fresh fruits and vegetables we receive into dehydrated items with a stable shelf life, perfect for international outreach. These dehydrated foods can be easily rehydrated into hearty soups or stews, delivering much-needed warmth and nutrition to those who lack access to fresh produce.
By September 2023, after nine months of meticulous preparation and learning, we sent our first shipment to Haiti. This soup blend included sweet potatoes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, celery, kale, onions, and spinach. The process involved a significant learning curve, with considerable trial and error around heating temperatures and cooking durations. Despite the challenges, the team persevered, and the shipment successfully reached its destination, providing vital nutrition to many in need.
With the lessons from our first endeavor fresh in our minds, we immediately began preparing a second international shipment. This time, the mix included sweet potatoes, carrots, beans, zucchini, and onions. In a remarkable instance of divine provision, we received a shipment of dehydrated refried beans just when we needed another vegetable to complete the mix.
Our community’s support didn’t stop there. One dedicated volunteer delivered a ton of sweet potatoes, followed by another volunteer bringing in 700 pounds the very next day. This spirit of teamwork and generosity was palpable as volunteers engaged in a friendly competition to see which group could fill the most buckets with soup during each shift.
Once the produce was dehydrated, our team spent days carefully placing equal scoops of each type into bags, creating easy, nutritious meals.
Dehydrated Shipment:
Before we sent off this precious shipment—a massive 6-pallet load—we took a moment to gather, reflect, and pray over it. Then, with hopeful hearts, we sent the shipment to Michigan, where it was loaded into a container and sent off to Cuba.
Just one day after the soup and dried apples reached Cuba, a significant event occurred: a major power plant in Cuba failed, resulting in a blackout across the island—the worst electricity crisis in recent history. In this critical moment, church leaders began cooking and distributing the soup, providing a much-needed source of sustenance. As always, God’s timing was perfect.
With this shipment, up to 114,000 meals will be created from food that would otherwise go to waste. We’re deeply grateful to every volunteer who helped make this shipment a reality.
We invite you to join this incredible community of volunteers. By giving a few hours of your time, you can help those in need, all while sharing in the spirit of teamwork and compassion that defines Blessings of Hope.
Ready to make a difference? Click HERE to sign up for a volunteer shift. Together, we can continue to nourish lives around the world, one meal at a time.
Warm regards,
Blessings of Hope
While you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11
