From Armadillo Eggs to Zucchini Ripieni, “Heavenly Delights” offers a variety of recipes for the beginner to the advanced cook. Many recipes have been passed down from generation to generation.

Filled with 745 recipes from appetizers to desserts, the cookbook includes many international recipes and seafood recipes, and even has recipes for the animal friends in your life.

Recipes have been contributed from some of the best cooks in Destin, and also from Washington to Maryland and from the Philippines Haiti and Singapore. The Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar family, of “19 Kids and Counting” fame, have contributed some of their family favorites, including a Tater Tot Casserole.

All proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will go to Mission Love Seeds, based in Destin, to help with the work they do locally and in the Philippines, Haiti, Appalachia, Kentucky and other places as needed.

“We sincerely appreciate the generosity of all those who placed an ad or submitted recipes for Heavenly Delights,” said Barbi Carroll – Hawbaker, president of Mission Love Seeds.

To Order:

Make check payable to:
Mission Love Seeds, Inc.

Mail order to:
Mission Love Seeds, Inc.
Att: Heavenly Delights Cookbooks
P.O.BOX 1717
Destin , FL 32540

Phone: 850-650-5583 Fax 850-650- 3523
E-mail misssionloveseeds@cox.net
Website missionloveseeds.org

Cost: $22.95
plus $5.50 ea. S/H per book for one or two books
$4.00 ea. for three or more books

Florida residents add 6% state and local sales tax to your order.

Books may also be purchased at the following locations.

Ace Hardware, 235 Main Street in Destin.
Ace Hardware of South Walton, 11176 U.S. 98 in Sandestin.
Doggy Bag, 34904 Emerald Coast Parkway in Destin.
Destin Pools Inc., 4014 Commons Drive W, Ste 104 in Destin.
Jewel Toffier Clothing, 30A Shops at Gulf Place in Santa Rosa Beach.
Magic Castle Laundry Mat, 104 Partin Drive in Niceville.

By ARLENE MANNLEIN
Decatur Herald and Review Staff Writer

The library in Pantay is filled with children and books.

DECATUR – Nancy Judd Hawbaker of Decatur never got to see the library that now honors her in Pantay, Philippines.

After Hawbaker’s death in 2009 at age 67, her husband, Stuart, his brother, John, and John’s wife, Barbi Carroll-Hawbaker, decided to build the structure in her honor.

The library sits in front of a church built in honor of the men’s mother, the late Jeanette Parker, who died in 2008. Both buildings were constructed through a mission founded by John Hawbaker and Barbi Carroll-Hawbaker, Mission Love Seeds Inc., which now has three churches and six water purification systems to its credit.

“The library is stocked with books. Most of them came from the Destin (Fla.) United Methodist Church,” said Carroll-Hawbaker.

The children of that church gathered books as part of a vacation Bible school project.

The library was built with local labor and materials, and many women of the village clean the library and help in its operation, Carroll-Hawbaker said.

“There is someone in charge who lives in the village,” she said.

Carroll-Hawbaker said she and her husband founded the mission after moving to Florida from Ohio.

“It’s a God thing. We did that (moved) to retire,” she said. “Now my husband says he’s ‘just tired.’–”

Once in Destin, they met a woman named Fely Zapanta, not knowing that encounter would lead them to found Mission Love Seeds. Zapanta shared photographs of children in her homeland, the Philippines, and Carroll-Hawbaker said she could not get the images out of her mind.

“I wanted to do something. I wanted to help the children.”

Her initial idea was to gather 600 pounds of rice to help feed some of those children.

“Long story short, the people I told said, ‘They (the children) can’t live on rice alone.’ We ended up having box after box.”

Zapanta had to return to the Philippines, but it was just in time to receive those boxes, distribute them before Christmas and become the Mission Love Seeds coordinator there.

Since then, the mission also has helped victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian earthquakes.

“I am very proud of this Monticello boy and his wife who are trying to help some very poor children in the Philippines,” said Stuart Hawbaker.

“I know Nancy would be very proud of this library we built in her honor,” he said. “She loved reading so much and would be thrilled to see the pictures of all the kids in the library.”

This article first appeared in the Decatur Herald Review on April 17, 2010.

Pam Griffin
850-654-8444
pgriffin@thedestinlog.com

Clothes, food and supplies from Destin have reached orphans in Haiti.

A team from Mission Love Seeds left early Monday morning, Feb. 8, to fly to Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Team member Earl Baumgardner reported on his Web site that there were many humanitarian teams on the flight. The Mission team spent the night in Santa Domingo before taking a bus to Port-Au-Prince, arriving 11 hours later at their destination. In Carrefour, just west of Port-Au-Prince, they met Martine and Jean Luc of Diakonos International at the orphanage.

Everyone slept outside because the building is unsafe. Children sleep on small mats on concrete, reports Baumgardner.

The next morning, members of the Mission group, Barbi Carroll, president of Mission Love Seeds, Baumgardner and Lisa Snuggs, all of Destin, distributed clothes and other items to the children in the orphanage.

“The streets in Haiti are lined with piles of rubble, some only wide enough for a single car to pass,” Baumgardner reports. “Homes have been abandoned and people have moved into the streets or in tent cities. There are no bulldozers or heavy equipment. People dig through the rubble with their bare hands.”

To see more pictures from Haiti, visit www.flickr.com/photos/jagerbb.

To donate for Haiti, call Carroll at 850-865-1055 or Snuggs at 850-830-2331. Monetary donations can also be made at www.missionloveseeds.org and are tax deductible.

This article ran in The Destin Log Feb. 13, 2010.

WANT TO HELP?
To donate, call Carroll at 850-865-1055 or Snuggs at 850-830-2331. Monetary donations can also be made at www.missionloveseeds.org and are tax deductible.

Pam Griffin
850-654-8444
pgriffin@thedestinlog.com

When Barbi Carroll founded Mission Love Seeds in 2004, it was her dream to help children around the world. The organization has helped the children in the Philippines, families in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina and local residents.

Now, God has opened the door for them to spread their love to help some children in Carrefour, Haiti, just outside Port-Au-Prince.

“Since starting Mission Love Seeds, it’s always been my dream to help the children of Africa and Haiti,” Carroll told The Log. “This has been in my heart. I have not been able to take my eyes off CNN. I knew God would send Mission Love Seeds, just not this soon.”

Destinites Lisa Snuggs and Earl Baumgardner will join Carroll when she leaves Monday, Feb. 8 to fly to the Dominican Republic. From there, it will be an 8-hour drive to reach orphans in Carrefour. While there, the group will live in tents.

Their destination is a makeshift orphanage where the staff cares for 35 children — 21 girls and 14 boys, ages three to 15. But the number of children is increasing daily.

“The orphanage is run by Diakonos International Organization and had 20 children before the earthquake,” Carroll said. “They help who they can, but hundreds keep coming and have had to be turned away because they have no food, clothing and water.
Although their building is not pancaked, like in Port-Au-Prince, it is cracked and not safe to live in. The children are sleeping outside, and many were hurt by falling debris.”

Carroll expects to see in Haiti much of what she saw when Mission Love Seeds was one of the first responders into Pearlington, Miss., after Hurricane Katrina.

“Going into Mississippi the first time was like a war zone,” she said. “But this will be much worse. We have been told to prepare ourselves for the odors — the smell of death, destruction.”

Last Friday, the Destin-based mission sent enough money to buy food for the children for one week. Now they will take supplies from Destin and buy food for the children in the Dominican Republic.

“We only have a short time to collect supplies, but we have faith that God will provide,” Carroll said.

Supplies needed include flashlights, batteries, children’s vitamins and aspirin, Neosporin, Band-Aids, bars of soap, washcloths, toothbrushes, toothpaste, diapers for 3-year olds, baby powder, shampoo and hair grease/oil sheen for black hair.

Clothing, gently used and clean or new, and shoes are also needed in small sizes.

“We need the community’s prayers because this is a big undertaking for us,” Carroll said. “We need to go and see for ourselves, see what the needs are and what we can do to help. We hope to also visit other orphanages. And people can know that all donations, supplies and money, will be used in Haiti.”

This article first appeared in The Destin Log Feb. 3, 2010.

Pam Griffin

A village in the Philippines now has a library — thanks to the children of Destin.

Mission Love Seeds, based in Destin, has just completed building its first library in the village of Pantay, and the children at Destin United Methodist Church donated the first books during vacation Bible school last summer.

The library next to Mission Love Seeds Pantay Church, built in memory of Mission vice-president John Hawbaker’s sister-in -law Nancy Hawbaker of Decatur, Il, will also serve the children of the village of Galilee.

Nancy was a woman who loved to read, and in her honor the children of the villages will know the laughter and joy that comes from reading, and they will have access to a world, and the people in it, which could change their lives forever.

The bookshelves and tables and chairs were handmade, and Fely Zapanta, Mission coordinator in the Philippines, and her family stained the furniture. The children of the village even helped with painting. There is also a playroom in the library where the children, especially the littlest ones, have access to small toys.

The library will also be used for Bible study classes, vacation Bible school and English classes for both children and adults.

Mission Love Seeds is now accepting donations of new or gently used books appropriate for children of all ages, including Bibles and Bible stories for children and adults. Also needed are monetary donations to help with the cost of shipping the books.

To donate or have books picked up, visit www.missionloveseeds.org, call Barbi Carroll, president of MLS, at 850-865-1055 or e-mail missionloveseeds@cox.net. Mission Love Seeds is a recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

“A library is a door to a future, a door that opens the mind of every individual.” — John Hawbaker, vice-president of Mission Love Seeds.

This article first appeared in The Destin Log newspaper on Jan. 16, 2010.

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.

Pam Griffin

On Saturday, Sept. 26, Typhoon Ketsana slammed into the Luzon region of the Philippines, and the villages supported by Destin’s Mission Love Seeds took a direct hit. Several villages had landslides where homes were destroyed and lives were lost.

Fely Zapanta talks with villagers where funerals will be held in the open-air sports center in Antipolo City.

The Mission’s coordinator in the Philippines is Fely Zapanta. She told Mission founders Barbi Carroll and John Hawbaker that her home in Antipolo City, about 45 minutes from Manila, was flooded up to her neck.

She and her family were able to survive in their attic, recently completed by Mission Love Seeds. She also said that she first saved her computer and Mission files so she could keep in touch with Destin.

Zapanta has sent pictures of the disaster and stories of the pain she has seen — parents weeping over caskets of their children, many children orphaned when their parents died.

Mission Love Seeds has started an Emergency Relief Fund at its Web site, www.missionloveseeds.org. Because of the expense in shipping to the Philippines, cash donations are being requested. The money will be sent to Zapanta, who will then purchase rice, $30 for 100 pounds, sleeping mats, $5.50 each and blankets, $3.50 each.

Monday, Oct. 5, $4,000 was sent to Zapanta to purchase food for the villages.

Temporary houses, made of tarps, bamboo, twine and nails, can be built for 10 families for $232.52.

“No donation is too small,” Barbi Carroll, president of Mission Love Seeds, said. “Every little bit will help these people who are hurting.”

Hundreds of people are in need of food, clothing and sleeping mats. Clothes can be donated to MLS to be shipped at a later date. A truck will accept donations in the parking lot by the Life Center at Destin United Methodist Church.

“We can’t help everyone in the world, even though in our hearts we want to,” Carroll said.

“But we can help one area, one person, one family, one village at a time.”

This article appeared Oct. 10, 2009, in the Northwest Florida Daily News and the Walton Sun.

By Pam Griffin

On Saturday, Sept. 26, Typhoon Ketsana slammed into the Luzon region of the Philippines, and the villages supported by Destin’s Mission Love Seeds took a direct hit. Several villages had landslides where homes were destroyed and lives were lost.

Video from the Philippines.

As of Wednesday, another tropical storm was making its way to the Philippines, with more death and destruction likely.

The MLS’s coordinator in the Philippines is Fely Zapanta. She told Mission founders Barbi Carroll and John Hawbaker that her home, in Antipolo City about 45 minutes from Manila, was flooded up to her neck. She and her family were able to survive in their attic, just recently completed by Mission Love Seeds. She also said that she first saved her computer and Mission files so that she could keep in touch with Destin.

In her first e-mail to Carrol, she said: “This morning we visit the casualties and its really sad for me to see this people and the orphans, the first casualties that we visit are a family, the disaster happen last Saturday morning, they did not mind the rains, they did not realize that the above level of land was start to collapse, the neighbors realize its already collapse… the woman is pregnant of 8 months, the mother is 27 years old and the father is 28, they have 3 siblings orphan, the eldest is in the picture with bandage at the forehead, second is 2 years old and the youngest is 1 and a half years old not including the 8 months who was got on the mothers womb dead… the rescuers found them at 5 p.m. Saturday … as I talk to the families of the wife the rescuers did all their best to get them but because of the tons of mud this family did not survive … I handed help to them because they need money for the funeral …”

Mission Love Seeds has started an Emergency Relief Fund at their Web site, www.missionloveseeds.org.

Because of the expense in shipping to the Philippines, they are asking that cash donations be made. The money will be sent to Zapanta who will then purchase rice, $30 for 100 pounds, sleeping mats, $5.50 each and blankets, $3.50 each.

Clothes can be donated to MLS to be shipped at a later date. A truck will accept donations in the parking lot by the Life Center at Destin United Methodist Church.

On a much happier note, MLS held their drawing for the condos fundraiser Sept. 30 at Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant.

Winners are:

•Grand prize: George Oliver of Lawrenceville, Ga., near Atlanta.

•2nd place: Amy Berry of Destin.

•3rd place: Beverly Henry of Alexander City, Al.

•4th place: Connie Butler of Harrisburg, Ark., who also has a home in Destin.

Almost $8,000 was raised from the sale of the raffle tickets and the monies raised will be of immense help to carry on the Mission’s work.

They want to thank all those who bought tickets or worked so hard to make the fundraiser a success.

To see photos, visit The Destin Log.

This article first appeared in The Destin Log, Oct. 3, 2009.

Mission Love Seeds raised almost $8,000 from the sale of raffle tickets for week’s stays in condos plus meals and would like to thank all those who bought tickets or worked so hard to make the fundraiser a success. The monies raised will be of immense help to carry on the Mission’s work.

The winning tickets were drawn Sept. 30 at Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant in Destin.

GRAND PRIZE: George Oliver of Lawrenceville, Georgia, near Atlanta.

2ND PLACE: Amy Berry of Destin.

3RD PLACE: Beverly Henry of Alexander City, Al.

4TH PLACE: Connie Butler of Harrisburg, Ark., who also has a home in Destin.

Congratulations to all the winners.