Tag Archives: seafarers

Seafarers Boxes for Christmas 2019

Posted by mllccarmine in Announcements, Men's Ministry and tagged with , , ,

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Loving Our Seafaring Neighbors

Every year at this time we gather items to pack and give to seafarers at the Port of Houston.  We have done this for several years in a row, and we have great joy in doing it.  Last year we packed 84 boxes.  This year our goal is 100 boxes.

The packing and wrapping of these boxes will be on Monday, November 25, at 6:00 p.m.  All are invited to help with this joyful time of service.  This even is sponsored by the Men in Mission of MLLC.

For this year, please gather items such as these for the men on the ships – you can buy things throughout the time leading up to the packing day, and drop these off at any time.   These need to be brought to the church no later than 6:00 p.m. on Monday, November 25, 2019.  If you can’t get the items to the church by that time, please donate them for the 2020 project.

There is a large blue storage bin for this purpose in the room directly across from the church office.  Here is the list:
We do not need boxes, for we have received sufficient plastic shoe boxes donated for this project

Address books
Band-aids (fabric)
Baseball caps
2020 Calendars
Comb
Dental Floss
Antiperspirant/deodorant
Disposable razors
Flashlight and batteries
Kleenex – small packs
Lip balm
Lotion
Nail clippers
Gold Bond cream
Gold Bond powder
Hot Chocolate (individual serving size)
Needles and thread
Q-tips
Shaving cream
Soap
Shampoo
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Gum and hard candy
Key chains
Pocket-sized notebooks
Mechanical pencils
Pens
Playing cards
Microwave popcorn (individual packages)
Socks
Sudoku books
Texas souvenirs
T-shirts
USB flash drives
Word search books

 

Christmas Boxes 2014 working 2

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Seafarers Boxes Report 2017

Posted by mllccarmine in Announcements, Men's Ministry and tagged with , , , ,

 

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Photo:  Boxes being unloaded at the Houston Seafarers Center.

 

Christmas Boxes for Port of Houston Seafarers 2017

We had a fantastic year of preparing, packing and delivering the Christmas Boxes for the Port of Houston Seafarers.  Thank you to the numerous people who donated items, sorted items, packed boxes, wrapped the shoe boxes, and brought the items to the Houston Seafarers Center.  Thank you to the Men in Mission of MLLC for sponsoring this program each year.

Here is a bit of history of our preparation and sending of boxes:

In 2014 there were 34 boxes assembled.

In 2015 there were 50 boxes assembled.

In 2016 there were 49 boxes assembled.

In 2017 there were 63 boxes assembled.  This is a record high since we revived our participation in this ministry.

 

The Port of Houston Chaplains are our ambassadors to these seafarers. They visit the ships and bring the boxes to the crews. On their web site the chaplains tell us: “Crew sizes vary between 8 and 30, with an average number of 22 seafarers to gift per ship. In 2015, we placed 12,278 gifts on board 538 ships which had seafarers from 65 different countries! These gifts had been donated to the seafarers by 246 churches and organizations! The Christmas boxes are personally carried to each ship by your staff of Port Chaplains.” Their web site is here – Click Link.

Here are some photos of the work of assembling the boxes in November 2017.

 

Here are some photos of the new Houston Seafarers Center and the delivery of the boxes on November 28.

 

 

Getting Ready for the Next Time

For this year (2018), please gather items such as these for the men on the ships – you can buy things throughout the year and drop these off at any time. We will be assembling the boxes on Monday, November 26, 2018, at 6:00 p.m.

There is a large blue storage bin for this purpose in the room directly across from the church office.  Here is the list:
Empty shoe boxes or purchased plastic shoe boxes to pack the items.
Address books
Band-aids (fabric)
Baseball caps
2019 Calendars
Comb
Dental Floss
Antiperspirant/deodorant
Disposable razors
Flashlight and batteries
Kleenex – small packs
Lip balm
Lotion
Nail clippers
Gold Bond cream
Gold Bond powder
Hot Chocolate (individual serving size)
Needles and thread
Q-tips
Shaving cream
Soap
Shampoo
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Gum and hard candy
Key chains
Pocket-sized notebooks
Mechanical pencils
Pens
Playing cards
Microwave popcorn (individual packages)
Socks
Sudoku books
Texas souvenirs
T-shirts
USB flash drives
Word search books

 

Seafarers Boxes Packing – November 27

Posted by mllccarmine in Announcements, Men's Ministry and tagged with , , ,

seafarers-2016-wrapping-2

We are looking forward to our packing day for the Christmas Boxes for the Port of Houston Seafarers.  This time of collecting items, packing, and then delivering the boxes has become a very positive part of our love for our neighbors.

The Packing Day is Monday, November 27.

We will gather in the Parlor – the room between the church offices and the sanctuary – at 7:00 p.m. with the Men in Mission to pack and wrap the boxes.  Every year friends of the Men in Mission participate.  That means that anybody who wants to gather for the fun, service and fellowship on this night are welcome.

You are also invited to gather items for the boxes.  Here is a link to our page about these items:  click this link.

Together we are sharing God’s goodness and love with others.  We look forward to seeing you on Monday, November 27, at 7:00 p.m.

2017 Christmas Boxes for Seafarers

Posted by mllccarmine in Men's Ministry and tagged with , , , , ,

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Photo:  The packing crew for the 2016 Christmas Boxes for Seafarers.

 

Christmas Boxes for Port of Houston Seafarers 2017

We are looking forward to another generous and joyful year of preparing and sending the Christmas Boxes for the Seafarers at the Port of Houston.  A few years ago we revived this ministry and it has gone quite well.  The Men in Mission organization of MLLC organizes this each year.  They are thankful for the congregational partnership in this caring ministry.

Here is a link to our special page about this project.  It will have the information from this page, plus updates as these become available.

Here is a bit of history of our preparation and sending of boxes:

In 2014 there were 34 boxes assembled.

In 2015 there were 50 boxes assembled.

In 2016 there were 49 boxes assembled.

 

The Port of Houston Chaplains are our ambassadors to these seafarers. They visit the ships and bring the boxes to the crews. On their web site the chaplains tell us: “Crew sizes vary between 8 and 30, with an average number of 22 seafarers to gift per ship. In 2015, we placed 12,278 gifts on board 538 ships which had seafarers from 65 different countries! These gifts had been donated to the seafarers by 246 churches and organizations! The Christmas boxes are personally carried to each ship by your staff of Port Chaplains.” Their web site is: http://houstonseafarers.com/

With our work together at MLLC we can help reach even more with the love of Jesus Christ.

Here is the official notice about this program from the Port of Houston Chaplains.  Click this link.

For this year (2017), please gather items such as these for the men on the ships – you can buy things throughout the year and drop these off at any time.  There is a large blue storage bin for this purpose in the room directly across from the church office:
Empty shoe boxes or purchased plastic shoe boxes to pack the items.
Address books
Band-aids (fabric)
Baseball caps
2018 Calendars
Comb
Dental Floss
Antiperspirant/deodorant
Disposable razors
Flashlight and batteries
Kleenex – small packs
Lip balm
Lotion
Nail clippers
Gold Bond cream
Gold Bond powder
Hot Chocolate (individual serving size)
Needles and thread
Q-tips
Shaving cream
Soap
Shampoo
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Gum and hard candy
Key chains
Pocket-sized notebooks
Mechanical pencils
Pens
Playing cards
Microwave popcorn (individual packages)
Socks
Sudoku books
Texas souvenirs
T-shirts
USB flash drives
Word search books

 

Here are some of the crew working, and some photos from when our boxes were delivered to the Houston International Seafarers Center.

Seafarer’s Boxes for Christmas 2016

Posted by mllccarmine in Announcements, Men's Ministry and tagged with , , ,

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Christmas Boxes for Port of Houston Seafarers 2016

Thank you to everybody who contributed to this project this year.  The Men in Mission truly appreciate the partnership with the people of MLLC.  They had another successful year in preparing and sending the Christmas Boxes for the Seafarers in 2016.

The boxes were assembled on Monday, November 28, at the regular meeting of the Men in Mission.  A few more were completed in the days following this.  The Men in Mission were able to prepare 49 boxes for the seafarers this year.

In 2014 there were 34 boxes assembled.

In 2015 there were 50 boxes assembled.

In 2016 there were 49 boxes assembled.

Here are photos from the packing and delivery of the boxes to the Port of Houston in late November and early December 2016. Thanks to Brick Peele for delivering the Christmas Boxes to the Seafarers Center, and for taking the photos of the delivery.  Thanks to the Tinker family for taking the photos of the packing on November 28.

Here are scenes from the Houston International Seafarers Center where the packages were delivered.  There are typically over 12,000 packages prepared for the seafarers each year.  These are delivered by the Center Chaplains to various ships which visit the port for loading and/or unloading each December.  These come from various churches and organizations in Texas.  The white bags are the ones ready for delivery.  The chapel and various storerooms are filled with these boxes in preparation for delivery.  The seafarers often have the opportunity to take a break for some friendly hospitality and a good meal at the Houston International Seafarers Center.

The men on the ships truly appreciate the love and hospitality offered by these Christmas Boxes. Think about your life. Most of us get to be home every night with family and/or near friendly neighbors. Those who work in shipping are away from home for months at a time. They are thankful for the work, but they miss their families, friends and home communities.

The Port of Houston Chaplains are our ambassadors to these seafarers. They visit the ships and bring the boxes to the crews. On their web site the chaplains tell us: “Crew sizes vary between 8 and 30, with an average number of 22 seafarers to gift per ship. In 2015, we placed 12,278 gifts on board 538 ships which had seafarers from 65 different countries! These gifts had been donated to the seafarers by 246 churches and organizations! The Christmas boxes are personally carried to each ship by your staff of Port Chaplains.” Their web site is: http://www.venturecd.net/SeafarersCenter.org/Home_Page.htm

With our work together at MLLC we can help reach even more with the love of Jesus Christ.

Here is the official notice about this program from the Port of Houston Chaplains.  Click this link.

For next year (2017) when we do this again, please gather items such as these for the men on the ships – you can buy things throughout the year and drop these off at any time.  There is a large blue storage bin for this purpose in the room directly across from the church office:
Empty shoe boxes or purchased plastic shoe boxes to pack the items.
Address books
Band-aids (fabric)
Baseball caps
2018 Calendars
Comb
Dental Floss
Antiperspirant/deodorant
Disposable razors
Flashlight and batteries
Kleenex – small packs
Lip balm
Lotion
Nail clippers
Gold Bond cream
Gold Bond powder
Hot Chocolate (individual serving size)
Needles and thread
Q-tips
Shaving cream
Soap
Shampoo
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Gum and hard candy
Key chains
Pocket-sized notebooks
Mechanical pencils
Pens
Playing cards
Microwave popcorn (individual packages)
Socks
Sudoku books
Texas souvenirs
T-shirts
USB flash drives
Word search books

 

 

 

Seafarers Boxes 2016

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Men's Ministry and tagged with , , , ,

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An Invitation to Love our Neighbors at the Port of Houston

We have begun gathering items for the 2016 Seafarers Boxes.  This annual program brings Christian Care and Christmas Cheer to the men who work on ships.  Our Christmas Boxes are distributed through the Seafarers Center Chaplains at the Port of Houston.  The MLLC Men in Mission group organizes this program each year.

Click this the link to the page which describes this annual ministry, and how you can participate.

The photo above shows an abundance of boxes which are ready to be given to the seafarers in Houston.

Christmas Boxes for Houston Seafarers

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Men's Ministry and tagged with , , , , , ,

Christmas Boxes 2014 working

A caring tradition of MLLC was revived this year.  The Lutheran Men in Mission of MLLC resumed filling and distributing Christmas Boxes for the Port of Houston Seafarers.  This had been done by the Men in Mission of MLLC for several years in the past, but the practice was set aside for a few years.   In 2014 we resumed the preparation of Christmas Boxes.  Check out this link to learn more about what our chaplains at the Port of Houston do for the seafarers from around the world.

During the past few months people of MLLC have been donating items for the boxes.  On December 1 the men and friends worked together to pack and then wrap the boxes.

Christmas Boxes 2014 Carol

Christmas Boxes 2014 filling

Christmas Boxes 2014 boxes

On Thursday, December 4, these 34 Christmas boxes were brought to the port chaplains office for distribution.  Pastor David Tinker and his son presented the boxes to Chaplain Lacey Largent.  By the time our boxes arrived another 5,500 boxes had been donated.  The expected total for 2014 is about 11,000.  Check out the photos of scenes from around the Seafarers Center.

Christmas Boxes 2014 out front

Christmas Boxes 2014 chapel

Christmas Boxes 2014 nativity

Christmas Boxes 2014 rec room

Christmas Boxes 2014 sign inside

Our boxes were immediately packed up for delivery to the next ship in the port.

Christmas Boxes 2014 Off to ship

Thank you very much for donating to this cause.  Thank you to all the team who put these together for delivery to our seafarer friends who visit the port at this time of year.