Special to The Log
Destin-based Mission Love Seeds has been very busy getting ready for the holidays.
They have been collecting food for Destin’s Harvest House, as well as continuing their efforts to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina who still struggle in Pearlington, Miss.
Household items, clothes and supplies are sent to families in the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky on a regular basis and needed items continue to be sent to the villages in the Philippines that were hard hit during recent typhoons.
MLS has been ministering to the families in Admiral, Sitio Pantay, Sitio Gallilee, Sitio Binuyou and Sitio Dumpsite for more than five years. They bring the word of God, food, clothing, medical doctors and dental treatment to these poverty stricken villages. The lives of the families there have been enriched through the churches, water purification systems, community centers, schools, homes and now a library that MLS has built through generous donations from churches, organizations and supporters. The needs there are huge, but the plans are even greater.
Each Christmas, Mission Love Seeds has provided dinner and gifts for the children in the Philippines through their Adopt-A-Family program. This year, their hope is to feed every person in each of the five sponsored villages, where there has been horrible suffering. Homes, possessions and family members have been lost. Nothing is back to normal, and people are starving.
Fely Zapanta, MLS coordinator, and her family will prepare the food and take it to the villages where a buffet-style meal will be served. This year the need is desperate and the masses must be fed. The villages range in size from around 600 people In Dumpsite to more than 3,000 in Admiral.
It takes $1,000 or more to feed every person in one village a Christmas meal, complete with meat, vegetables, rice, fruit and all the trimmings, and MLS’s quest is to feed every person in all five villages. Plus, each child will receive a Christmas stocking — filled with candy, a small toy and a lot of love.
All donations are tax deductible and any donation will be accepted and appreciated. Please donate generously, either at www.MissionLoveSeeds.org or send your check made out to Mission Love Seeds to 55 Country Club Drive, Destin, FL 32541. For more information, call 850-865-1055, 850-650-5583 or e-mail missionloveseeds@cox.net. Donations are requested by Dec. 20.
MLS is made up of volunteers, and there are no administrative fees or salaries. Every penny reaches its destination in the form of food, clothing and medical relief. A hungry child is a hungry child, no matter the color of their skin, nationality, geographic location or economic status. MLS is reaching far and wide to fill the needs both here and abroad. But they can’t do it alone. They need our community support.
“Let each one give as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7
This article first appeared in The Destin Log Nov. 28, 2009.
