Missions

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This month we are helping to restock the food pantry of Youth Haven.

Ushers will have a Publix bag available as you leave the Sanctuary the first Sunday of November. Food donations will be collected at the 6th Street church entrance on the second Sunday of the month, November 13. If you prefer, monetary donations can be made online at www.fpcnaples.org/give or checks may be made payable to "First Presbyterian Church" with the memo marked "Feed the 5,000" and placed in the collection plate. Suggested items are:

Cereal Oatmeal Pancake mix Syrup Fruit cups Dried fruit Jello Dried fruit Granola bars Juice boxes Microwave popcorn Fat-free pudding cups Graham crackers Animal crackers Canned vegetables Macaroni and cheese Peanut butter Jam or jelly Dried beans Dried rice Pasta Pasta sauce Boxed stuffing Canned tomatoes

Habitat for humanity

From Habitat for Humanity Habitat Collier will be part of the long-term rebuilding efforts from Hurricane Ian. Of the 2,440 Habitat homes in Collier County, only three experienced mild water intrusion. All other homes weathered the storm and provided the families living in them with safety and security. Homes near Habitat Collier homes not built to our standards did not fare as well. Habitat homes became a refuge for neighbors. The need for affordable homes, already at a critical point, will only be exacerbated by the new group of people displaced in Collier County because of Hurricane Ian. With so many needing repairs and the price and availability of building supplies already impacted by the pandemic, we expect even more people to turn to Habitat Collier desperate for an affordable, safe home. In our last fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, more than 1,500 families inquired about whether they would qualify for a Habitat home. We anticipate that number to skyrocket. When disaster hits, the most vulnerable struggle the most. Those are the families that Habitat Collier serves. Displaced families, especially those living in trailers and substandard structures, places where our applicant families typically live, are wondering where to turn. With support from our partners, Habitat Collier will continue to build strong homes and partner with families in desperate need of a safe, affordable home.

L to R: Jill Gilbertson, Bob Guyett, Amy Manley, Yancey Brame, Doug Borland. Present but missed photo: Scott Macdonough and Susan Kogan

Join our work crew on Thursday, November 10 at 7:30 a.m. and ride the bus to our worksite. We will return to church by 12:30 p.m. Sign up in Spencer Hall at the Missions table or contact Yancy Brame at 239.331.7731 or jybrame@gmail.com.

Carleton Cleveland, Committee Chair, carleton_cleveland@hotmail.com Rev. Rex Childs, Associate Pastor, rexc@fpcnaples.org 9

International Mission Update

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Christ at First Presbyterian Church! Liz and I have been fortunate to get to know many of you already despite the pandemic since joining the church in the Fall of 2019. I have been wanting to personally reach out to you to explain why I am periodically on the prayer page of the church bulletin. Those of you who know me well know that I have been making annual medical mission trips to Camotan in southern Guatemala, near the borders of Honduras and El Salvador since 2006 with a 2-year hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. I have been blessed to share in this ministry, returning this past May with tears of joy in my eyes as the plane's wheels touched down on the runway in Guatemala City. We provide medical care and the much-needed medications to our people up in the mountains as well as to those that are able to attend the free clinic in Camotan (https://camotanclinic.com). Since moving to Naples in September 2019 I have been employed by NCH as a primary care provider. Last year, NCH offered me a new position teaching our Internal Medicine residents along with the responsibility for a Global Health Elective. I took 3 of our residents and 1 of my good friends with me on my most recent trip from October 9-16. God has been SO good to me since missions and teaching along with fishing are my passions. Sitting in the pews this summer I was reading the prayer page and the Spirit got my attention regarding our sister church in Matanzas, Cuba and their need for medications. Knowing that I could help, I approached Pat Nordbrock since she will be traveling to Cuba in November for the annual Cuba Partner Network Conference. I asked Pat to ascertain the specific medication needs of the church there since I was already placing an order for medications with Blessings, a Christian organization that supplies medications at a discounted cost to Christian groups going on medical mission trips. With the Mission team’s blessing, Pat and I placed a medication order for our sister church in Matanzas as well as for our people in Camotan. The medications were so needed for our brothers and sisters in Guatemala and they will be for those in Cuba, as well. Pat will be taking approximately 20 pounds of over the counter and prescription medications with her (Cuba allows 22 pounds)! Thank you so much for your continued prayer support, not just for me but for our sister church in Matanzas as well. I welcome you to seek me out in Spencer Hall after church on Sundays or even give me a call at 570-490-3681 or e-mail me at markspeake58@gmail.com. In gratitude, Mark Speake

Misión Peniel Christmas Toy Drive

This year we have been asked to collect toys for the children at Misión Peniel.

Tags with gender and age will be available on Sunday, November 20. Toys should be approximately $20—$25 in value and returned in a gift bag. Please bring gifts to Spencer Hall by Sunday, December 11. Our goal this year is to be able to provide gifts for 125 children.

Some suggestions include: 0 - 4 years: tactile, plush or educational toys, large legos, playdoh sets 5 - 7 years: hot wheels, dolls, cars, educational kits 8 - 10 years: science projects, doll sets, cars, action figures