http://deedandtruthministries.org/

Deed and Truth Ministries, Etowah, TN (2026)

12/26/2024

New post! See our latest update on our school in Haiti here:
https://deedandtruthministries.org/haiti-school-year-end-update-2024/

11/01/2024

Ukraine War Relief Project 2024 Update

More than a century ago, Leo Tolstoy, a Russian author, penned these words, "War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves."
The current war in Ukraine has been defended by both sides as a moral obligation. Yet an author esteemed in both countries reveals this fallacy by recognizing that the God given conscience of man must be quieted to justify it.
Missiles and bombs destroy much more than infrastructure and buildings. They destroy living routines, normal childhood, and healthy emotional stability. The work of God’s children is much more than just providing physical aid. In contrast to the not so obvious things destroyed by war, providing tangible aid has the potential to provide intangible necessities. Messages like “God cares”, “not everyone is evil”, “there is hope”, and “I am loved”, are intangible messages needed by all.
In the past year, AURA has endeavored to use the resources God has provided to address both the tangible and intangible needs. We are grateful to the donors in North America, grateful to the teams who have worked selflessly in Ukraine, and grateful to our heavenly Father who made it all possible. The following is a list of specific areas addressed in 2024:
1. Aid to villages close to the warzone remain the lion’s share of our efforts. Many of these villages have little to no access to necessities other than what AURA and other volunteer groups bring them. The work is dangerous and tiring, but our Ukrainian teams have demonstrated a commitment to do all they can to continue this work. Typical aid delivered includes food parcels, drinking water, hygiene items, medicine, blankets, flashlights, candles, and, where appropriate for community use, generators. We also include gospel literature and solar-powered audio players with the Bible and other gospel audio.
2. In 2024, we distributed approximately 60,000 combo packs of seeds containing 11 different varieties. The cost of this project was approximately $180,000.00.
3. AURA purchased one additional delivery vehicle and invested in substantial repairs and maintenance in 2024.
4. Due to many requests from widows, we initiated a program to provide aid and encouragement for widows, working with government officials and local churches. Although there have been some challenges to find creative ways to keep a sense of
fairness between deceased son’s mother groups and widow groups, we have endeavored to reach the neediest.
5. AURA has received numerous requests for help from various churches and schools for support. We evaluate these on an individual basis and seek to give help to the neediest. Help in 2024 has included school kits, funds for providing meals and lodging for refugees, church renovation for refugee support, appliances for refugee housing, transportation, and evacuation.
6. In conjunction with a few generous donors, we are in the process of providing solar off-grid Electric Generation systems for a number of churches. These will be used for the benefit of the local communities in areas where power has been lost.

We would like each of our donors to hear firsthand the gratitude expressed by recipients for the help provided. Although this is impossible, there are countless thank-you’ s and we want to pass those along. We would like to conclude with one personal thanks to allow you to hear the heartbeat…
A lot of people heard such beautiful singing of young people and said they were listening to such singing for the first time in their life. Next to me was a woman who was eating plain bread with nothing else. She told me, “How I miss such bread!” I thank God that there are those who sponsor these people that come and sing and talk about God. They tell people about salvation and God’s love for them. I personally thank and bless all who are involved in this matter. -Ivan Ivanovich
-Josh Eicher

08/22/2024

Our Mayangna sisters in Nicaragua want to thank everyone who donated to their seed project! 61 women are benefitting from rice and corn seeds and the plants are doing well!

08/12/2024

Check out our newest update on the many programs in Haiti run by Bethesda House of Mercy!

https://deedandtruthministries.org/bethesda-house-of-mercy-update-august-2024/

03/25/2024

Middle East Update:

During year 2023 I have continued to focus on language and local friends. I had the opportunity to take some classes specifically on the spiritual vocabulary that is not in the traditional classes. These classes taught us specific stories from the bible in the local language. We also discussed ideas of how to answer specific questions in a way that would possibly lead to more questions. These discussions have been helpful when friends have asked me, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?”
This year I transitioned from volunteering at the local community center to volunteering at a Special Education School. The school has classes for children with Autism, Down syndrome, and other special needs. They also have workshops for adults with disabilities to learn vocational skills.
That first day I volunteered, I was put into the class of 3- to 4-year-olds with autism. The children were all sitting at tables and were given a toy to play with. Later, I was given a puzzle to do with one of the children. “Try to get him to put in the puzzle pieces,” the teacher instructed me. The child wasn’t interested in doing the puzzle, he was interested in eating the pieces, or throwing them on the floor. In the end, we weren’t very successful in completing the puzzle. From that first day, I found it interesting that the classrooms only had two or three boxes of toys. Otherwise, it was simply chairs and tables in the room. I don’t know if it is the choice of the teacher, lack of funding, or simply a different teaching style. I am very interested to continue in this volunteering opportunity and learn more about Special Education in this country and getting to know the teachers, children and the parents.
This summer I will finish my last year of full-time (15 hours a week) language school. I will be transitioning to working with our team’s business. Its goal is to give people of all ages and skills a professional place to participate in recreational activities. We use these activities as a way of building relationships with the locals. Before I joined them, they had organized basketball and futsal tournaments for men and women (separately). After this summer, we are planning to do kids day camps, different tournaments, and possibly Zumba classes. In the future, we would like to do a day camp specifically for kids with special needs.
To finish off the final two months of this school year, I need $1,800. This coming year as I participate in the business, I also plan to continue in language 6-7 hours a week. To cover language costs, I will needing to raise $400/month.

03/24/2024

Bethesda House of Mercy 2023 Update

*See captions in photos.

So much has happened in the last year. We feel speechless, but we are full of thanks to God for all that He has done. Thanks also to you who continue to support this ministry with prayer and finances.

In June, heavy rain in the mountains sent rivers of water through the city overnight, resulting in a devastating flood that killed several thousand people. So many others lost their houses and possessions. The needs that followed this disaster were tremendous: children lost their parents; displaced people needed shelter, food, clothing, and money; unemployment increased; sickness increased. Cholera began to spread, killing several thousand more.
We kept busy visiting people, helping as many as we could. We shared food and the Gospel. We also built structures to shelter five families. Our meager efforts seemed like a drop in the bucket compared to the great need.

In August, while we were in the States, God moved in the hearts of those who attended a benefit auction, raising forty thousand dollars for the work in Haiti. This was a tremendous and much needed boost. In October, a large sum of money was given to finish paying off the mission house. We give thanks to God for His provision, and thanks to you who have given.

A very real hunger crisis exists right now in Haiti. Many people do not know where their next meal will come from. Some wait for multiple days before finding food again. When they smell food cooking, they follow the scent and gather outside the house, hoping to be given something to eat.
On most days last year, forty to fifty people came to our mission house seeking help. We gave food parcels to needy families and made nutritious meals for the homeless. We helped some of them with needed meds, and sent others to the hospital. Some of the people we helped would have died without our intervention. We shared the Gospel with some, and saw some lives significantly changed.
The little baby pictured below weighed 3.9 lbs. at six weeks old. His child mother had been feeding him tea and white crackers dissolved in water since he was born. He is growing now and getting stronger. We don’t know what his future holds, but we know God has an amazing plan and purpose for his life. We are honored to be a part of his journey.

The family pictured below came to us asking for formula for their newborn baby because the mother wasn’t producing enough milk. Instead, we put them on our Nutrition Program, where they received nutritious foods and vitamins. With a bit of education and encouragement, the mother has been successfully breastfeeding her little one. Now they have transitioned from the Nutrition Program to the Savings Program, where they will learn to provide for themselves instead of depending on handouts. They will be given a small loan to start a business and will be in a group learning how to save money and run their business successfully.

Our schoolhouse was much too small for our 400 rambunctious students. Made of wood and tin, the building had been severely damaged by a hurricane and an earthquake. It was no longer safe to use. Thanks to several generous donors, we were able to do some major renovations, building several new classrooms and remodeling the existing ones using rocks, cement blocks, and concrete. By November, we put in the doors, windows, and floor. Now the children are much more comfortable. Teachers and parents are happy.

Many families in this area cannot afford to buy the necessary books and school supplies. We constantly need funds to help purchase those items for the neediest children. When we have enough resources, we also provide a daily meal for each of our students. For some children, it’s the only meal they will get in a day. We are always grateful for donations to help buy food, books, and supplies for the students as well as to pay wages for the teachers and cooks.
Additional needs for the school:
• benches for the students
• desks for the teachers
• a bathroom where students can wash and take care of their needs
• a second cistern for adequate water supply

People who live in the Haitian mountains seldom have access to medical care when a need or emergency arises. Some must be carried for hours in order to find help. On occasion, we conduct mobile clinics, teaming with doctors and nurses to take medical supplies into these areas. We see the great need around us. While the crowd waits to be seen, we share the Gospel.
The clinic we are building is strategically located in the center of eight regions with a combined population of more than four hundred thousand people. In the recent cholera outbreak, around two hundred people from this area died. The locals are very excited about the clinic, since they do not even have access to pain relievers or adhesive bandages.
The basement of the clinic is nearly finished with a corridor and four rooms – two for supplies and two which we may use for seeing patients while we begin work on the main level of the building.

The Savings Program is still going strong with over 100 groups and nearly 6,000 members meeting regularly for accountability and teaching about their spiritual lives, finances, and business management. Participants in the program save money and loan to each other to help build their new businesses.
The young man pictured below is Abimaël. Before he joined the Savings Program, his life was very difficult. As he learned business principles, he began saving money a little at a time. Finally, he saved enough money to buy this motorcycle to use as a taxi. Now he is making more money and saving up for a bigger project. His face is happy, and his life is better. He thanks God for the Savings Program and asks Him to bless it and all the people who support it.

The lady pictured below received a loan through the Savings Program and started a successful business. Her business has progressed so much that she is able to pay school tuition for her children, help her family, and do even more.

Please pray with us:
• for peace and stability in Haiti
• that Haitians will be open to the Gospel
• that we will be effective tools in God’s hands

03/20/2024

Greetings from our small corner of Honduras! This past year has brought many changes. Until now, we have only accepted church member’s children in the school with only a few exceptions made. But last year God opened doors to make it possible to move ahead with our vision of opening school to start accepting children from the community. We hope to use this to reach more families with the Gospel and create more opportunities for contact with those around us. This year the school has twelve students and three teachers. Due to the bilingual aspect of teaching them English as well as the fact that most of our children come from difficult home situations, the teacher to student ratio is much lower. God has blessed us with three amazing teachers who are dedicated to working with these students. It has been a blessing to see the school grow this year, but along with that growth comes an increase in expenses.

Church attendance has also grown quite a bit over that last few months as four new families from another church have started attending here. It has been a huge blessing to have more people involved in the Lord’s work. There are so many people hungry for God’s word and the need for more laborers is still great.
Please pray for the church and school. Pray for the work here in Honduras, that we could continue to be a light in the darkness around us. The financial needs are many, and we are very grateful for those who have supported us financially in the past and continue bless us in this way. May God bless you all!

Hannah Yoder, Lighthouse Ministries, Honduras

03/19/2024

Update from our school in Haiti:

First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who is supporting our ministry to allow the kids of this community to have access to education, water, and food at school. Another positive impact is our young men do not have to go to the Dominican Republic because they have jobs. I could not have imagined how God is working in our community.

As you can see at this moment, everyone is focused on Haiti and the situation is difficult for people. But thanks to God, our school is working. I never known a moment like this before. Our country has no government, food is expensive, and the gangs have power to do what they want and when they want. A family is living with $2 or $3 every day. At this moment, a bag of rice is costing $42; before the death of President Jovenel Moise it cost $19. Gasoline is $16 a gallon and rising. We are so thankful for your assistance with food and income during this time and hope this program can continue.

Together we can, together everything is possible.
Chrisnet Fertilus, Passe Catabois, Haiti

03/13/2024

Update from Rekomachi, Mexico:

I want to express our gratitude for the financial help you have been to us here. I really don't know how we could do the things we do without your help. First of all, thank you for the money to help buy the pickup truck. I am not sure all the particulars, but I understand that you paid for more than half of it. We really need a truck that is dependable and this one has been perfect for our mission’s needs. We haul lots of people and stuff on very rugged dirt roads. We have used it to haul food for a distribution and patients to the hospital on several occasions. I’m sure that it will continue to be a blessing to the Tarahumara people for years.
Also, this past November, Deed and Truth Ministries helped finance our church's camp meetings. We hauled about 86 Christian Tarahumara from six villages some eight hours away to preach, share their testimonies, and sing. We also bought a cow and butchered it. Counting the unbelievers and all, there were a total of 280 Tarahumara. We fed them six meals Friday night through Sunday noon. There's no way we as a church here could have done it without your help. Thank you to each one for your continued help and belief in us here in Rekomachi.

Johnathan Pinkham

04/11/2023

These current Haiti facts are mind-blowing and heart-breaking! Many thanks for Haiti Health Network for putting this together. Please share!
https://tinyurl.com/HHNAdvocacy

03/22/2023

Scenes of war in Ukraine, March 2023.

03/21/2023

Our new Haiti food program went into effect on Sunday, and 40 families were blessed with rice and beans. Read the letter from our project manager below.

Hello Everyone!
I am Chrisnet Fertilus.
I always happy to serve my community Passe-Catabois.
I am very thankful too to work with Deed and Truth Ministries to support the families with food. As I asked to receive money to support 20 families, I strengthened the money to support 40 families. People are hungry, and that’s why I was trying to reach more families as long as I can. However, I want to support more families, but we have insufficient funds. Others continue send requests to me for food assistance; I told them they have to wait. If there is another distribution, they will be selected.
In the video I sent you can see how people are thankful. They wish for the project continue and wish to reach others.

If you would like to help with this project, please visit our website or send us a message to find out how to donate.

Deed and Truth Ministries