Friend Ships March 2014 Activities ReportFRIEND SHIPS at PORT MERCY, 1019 North First Avenue, Lake Charles, LA 70601

Tel: 337-433-5022 Fax: 337-433-3433 Email: info@friendships.org Website: www.friendships.org

Dear Friend Ships Family:

Thank you for your amazing support to our operations here at Friend Ships. The past few months we have been able to donate many items from Friend Ships Village in Roatán. Heavy duty vinyl has been given to many churches for a variety of uses on the island and the mainland including roofing for several family homes, churches and a children’s church. We donated an ambulance and two fire trucks to the local municipality; sinks, thousands of tiles, pipe and art supplies to various church projects. This month our January group of Sea Hawks graduated with honors from boot camp, a great accomplishment! The Sea Hawks participated in many community programs including walks and bike rides for various charitable causes and were given a booth at a large, local food fair where they were able to minister to children who attended. Our team at Port Mercy is working on many projects including building a boat lift so that we can dry dock our own boats and preparing our equipment and supplies for the upcoming hurricane season. We distributed vinyl to a rehabilitation ministry here in Louisiana and gave medical supplies and clothing to a mission in Mexico. Looking ahead, we would like to ask you to join us in prayer about direction, provision and staff for these plans we have for the future of Friend Ships:

• To continue to carry out and expand the Sea Hawk Training Program, preparing young Christian men and women with discipline and skills for their futures. The program includes weekly missions into the local community and we would like to enlarge this aspect by obtaining the former YMCA building here in Lake Charles and using it to reach all aspects of the local community with fitness and spiritual activities for children, teenagers, young adults, families, singles, the elderly and any other segment of society we can think of!

Sea Hawks - 2nd Battalion

• To build our Disaster Relief Operations by being equipped to perform Search and Rescue in floods, as well as hurricanes and earthquakes-by air, land and water. Our three new heavy cargo military trucks can drive into five feet of flood water to rescue people in their homes and bring feed to starving livestock (horses, cattle, etc.) while being directed from the air by our Bell Jet Helicopter to seek out high roads and map the way. We will continue with our post-disaster operations that includes food service, commodity distribution, spiritual support and house to house restoration.

• We are also considering new projects for our two former Coast Guard Cutters- one ship to serve as a base of operations in Haiti for Pastor Leadership Training and one ship to serve as a permanent base in Tel Aviv, providing food service to people in need and a base for relief workers to assist with needs in Israel. The vision is growing for Tel Aviv, expanding (with birth pains) We are seeking serious prayer. Please pray for long term volunteers to establish a living base in Israel. If you can pray in faith for us on this matter, please do. (If not, please remain neutral.)

Thank you for your love, your prayers, your support and your friendship! You are a huge blessing to us!

Love,

Don and Sondra Tipton and the Friend Ships Teams