Mission Blog

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GMSM Featured in Fellowship! Magazine

Thanks to your support over the years, Give Me Shelter Ministries has been involved in so many projects that Kenny has been asked to assist other organizations with recovery efforts. Here is an article by one of those organizations, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, regarding the work that has been done this year in Steinhatchee (steen-HATCH-ee). Your contributions to this project have helped people in this small Florida town tremendously.

With hurricane season just a couple months away, WE STILL NEED HELP IN STEINHATCHEE!

Your ability to volunteer is greatly needed. Please contact Kenny Phillips at surfklp (gmail.com) or text at 850 496 7398

If you can support financially, please do so HERE.

We praise God for all of you supporters who have helped us in our mission to serve.

You can view the magazine online or download the PDF here

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A Different Request from GMSM

Not our usual area of service, but a member of GMSM has a friend whose family has lost their mother unexpectedly, and this family does not have the resources to give their mother a proper burial. If anyone is blessed during these difficult economic times, please prayerfully consider a donation so that Give Me Shelter Ministries may contribute to this family.

All donors will receive an update and a thank you from the family.

Please click here to safely donate through PayPal.

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New Year, New Hope!

Happy New Years from Give Me Shelter Ministries. Thank you for the support for this past year and all the previous years. Through prayer, donations, and just plain encouragement you enable us to move forward and continue to stay in the fight for humanity.

This past year has been hard on a lot of communities due to hurricane Helene, and your support did make a difference! While there is still a long way to go, the efforts of our volunteers gave not only shelter and supplies to the hurricane’s victims, but also provided much-needed hope. We will continue to do our part with disaster response and humanitarian aid in Steinhatchee and other affected areas.

As in all tough times, we can still find reasons to be joyful and celebrate. With your help, we were able to be a part of two Christmas parties for churches and families in two communities that GMSM has been supporting for almost 25 years.

Iglesia Bautista Camino Nuevo, a church pastored by Nataniel Hernandez, has been like a second family to Kenny for many years. They minister to the poverty stricken colonias in Nuevo Laredo. Here are photos from their Christmas party that you helped support!

You also helped sponsor a Christmas party at our school in Croix des Bouquet Haiti, The Evangelical Baptist School of Trinity. We started this school almost 15 years ago.

Thank you, praise God from whom ALL blessings flow. Please continue your support to keep our purpose and vision alive. Peace and blessings,

Kenny

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Steinhatchee Florida, Still in Great Need

Kenny and volunteers have been serving in Steinhatchee since Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on this small community on September 26, 2024.

Thank you to many of you who have already donated and volunteered, but there is still a great need for help. We have raised over $9000 for this effort, but much more is needed to help repair these homes.

We still have a long way to go to get people back into their homes, and we ask you to prayerfully consider volunteering or donating to this mission this Christmas season. Please donate today or contact Kenny directly at surfklp(gmail.com) or text at 850 496 7398

Here is the latest note from Kenny:

The need is plentiful and the laborers are few. Now is the time when we are past the need for tarps, food, clothing etc. At this time, most of the focus will be repair work due to the impact of this historical storm. I’ve been working on a porch by myself at the parsonage except for the day that my buddy Crow came with me to help with the heavy stuff. Please consider volunteering, we need assistance of all sorts. Age doesn’t matter nor do skill sets. All we have to offer is 3 hots and a cot, a hot shower and blessings to over fill any cup. There is enough work for everyone with debris removal and carpentry of all sorts. We are not rebuilding homes we are just trying to get folks back into their homes that are reparable. We are reaching out to churches, mission organizations, businesses, individuals and community partners.

Please help us help!

Praise God From Whom all blessings Flow.

Kenny

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Steinhatchee – We are just getting started

It’s been a little over 3 weeks since Helene blasted through wreaking havoc in four states. CBF FL landed in Steinhatchee, Florida to start our disaster response.

Steinhatchee is a remote, out of the way community. The damage to this area is horrific.

We are working with a small community church, Friendship Chapel Church of God as a base of operations. Pastor Davey Cannon has opened his doors for us to bring in much needed supplies of non perishable foods, clothing, water, gas, hygiene products, pillows, sheets, blankets, tarps……the list goes on and nothing sits on the shelves for long. This community is reeling and it’s so cool to see the community working together. They are not waiting on help, they are the help.

We have cut countless trees and removed tons of debris. To date we’ve been to the area 6 times since Helene made landfall in the big bend area.

Please keep us in your prayers as we move one step at a time.

Thank you for your generous donations. We know there are so many people in need right now as a result of these storms, and we know we cannot help them all. But we found one off-the-beaten-path little town with few resources and a big heart, for our relief efforts. Please prayerfully consider continuing to support this one community. We are just getting started.

You may donate through our secure PayPal account, or if you would like to join us as a volunteer, please email us at info@givemeshelterministries.org

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Hurricane Helene – Steinhatchee Update

Praise God that Hurricane Milton had little effect on Steinhatchee. It slowed the effort down, but we are headed back this morning (Saturday, Oct 12) with a pallet of tarps and donated supplies.

This coming week we will be collecting non perishable food, paper goods and hygiene products. There is also a need for jackets and blankets for the cooler weather coming this week. Drop off locations are open Monday- Thursday 9:00-5:00, and are 151 Mary Esther Blvd. suite 503 and the Santa Rosa Beach Ace Hardware

Goods are then delivered on Friday to Friendship Chapel Church of God and we deliver from there. We always can use volunteers at drop off points and for loading supplies, so if you would like to help in person, please send us an email at info@givemeshelterministries.org and let us know your availability.

Thank you all for all you’ve done for His people. For this storm recovery effort, you have donated over $8500, including kind strangers walking up in the hardware store and pitching in as we bought supplies. We have a long way to go, so please continue to share and help us find contributors who want to help out. Our PayPal donation page is here.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we move forward one step at a time. Steinhatchee is so grateful for all the help.

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Hurricane Helene Update – September 28

On September 26th Hurricane Helene poured through the Big Bend area in the late evening. Give Me Shelter Ministries started mobilizing relief effort on Friday the 27th with the help of Calvary Chapel of Destin and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

By 2:30 AM on the 28th we headed to Steinhatchee which was close to where the eye of Helene made landfall. We trucked in water, tarps, ice, gas, muck-out buckets and chainsaws. We will add hygiene products on this next trip down. I have dealt with disasters and response on many levels and for many years. This area is almost 100% done. People are bewildered and desperate. As all know, this destruction continued through many states leaving many homeless.

We spent the day giving out our supplies and cutting paths so people could get in or out of their homes. After an 18 hour day we headed back to Destin and Fort Walton Beach. I’m spending today gathering supplies and making plans for another 18 hour trip tomorrow.

Props to ACE Hardware of South Walton  for supplying all tarps, water, gas cans and chainsaw supplies. Thanks to the crew, Garrett, Riley, Lance and Tristan.

We need your help! Please consider a financial gift or a gift of labor. Prayers are also appreciated.

Kenny Phillips Founder/Director GMSM



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Hurricane Helene Relief

Give Me Shelter Ministries is heading to Florida’s Big Bend Saturday, September 28, to provide tarps, ice, muck-out buckets, and gas and oil for chainsaws. We will be with members from Calvary Chapel Santa Rosa and Coastline Calvary Chapel Destin, with support from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

We are very thankful to ACE Hardware of South Walton for donating tarps and chainsaw oil.

If you are available to join us and bring ice and water, please contact Kenny at surfklp (gmail).

We are assessing the area and will find smaller communities to serve over the next several weeks. Please prayerfully consider donating to this effort. We will need to purchase many tarps, tools, chainsaws and parts, and gas.

To donate, please click here:



Please share this with your family, friends, and church. Every dollar donated goes DIRECTLY to the people affected by Hurricane Helene.

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Report from Turkey – April 18

Today was my last day. I woke up and the sun was out, weather warm and the villagers scurrying around making preparations to start planting. Tobacco is the cash crop all else is for survival. We visited several families to complete our 25 family assessments. The next team shows up on Thursday to start assembling the shelters. I know beyond doubt that the team will find that all is ready to go. Looking forward for the return trip for phase two. Thank you to all who has helped support this effort.

Kenny

A meal at every turn. 
My host family was stunning. This was breakfast every morning.
The snow is beginning to melt on the mountains. Water will soon come to the fields.
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Report from Turkey – April 17, 2023

One of the main reasons I am here is to help train and be trained on the building of a shelter designed by a German engineer. These shelters have at least a seven year lifespan and can carry a three foot snow load on top.

Unfortunately the gentleman’s mother in law passed away and he will show up after I leave. The first phase is 25 shelters and the second phase (I’m sure I will be back) another 25 at a later date.

The project will continue as funds are available from the generous hearts around the world.

We started a list with the most vulnerable villagers. Elderly, handicapped and families with small children. We had a large truck deliver all the material and the local men helped unload and put all the components in a depot. The shelter needs a fairly flat surface that the owners of the land are responsible to prepare. People are helping each which to me is a beautiful thing. The shelters cost about $1000.00 each. Once news came that the engineer was delayed we started encouraging the people to prepare the land and I started gathering materials for each site and delivering it to the family. By staging the material it will help the engineer have a faster start and people can start gaining some dignity back in their lives. We have made three teams of workers with a foreman for each team.

All I know is God is good. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

What can you say
I found this lady up the mountain. When you don’t have anything and you lose what little you have this is how it works
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