Good News Florida

A total of 261 nonviolent prisoners will be home for the holidays, thanks to Food For The Poor and the generous donors who support the char- ity’s prison ministry. For 19 years, Food For The Poor has honored the tradition of secur- ing the release of nonviolent offenders in Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Jamaica by paying their accumulated fines for Christmas. This year’s prisoner re- lease is especially meaningful for 18 former inmates in Hon- duras. The city of San Pedro Sula is considered to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Some of the most hardened inmates are incar- cerated in Honduras, but many arrested for petty crimes are locked up with them be- cause of their inability to pay even modest jail fines. Denis, 41, was arrested in September 2016 after attend- ing a party in San Pedro Sula. He took a cell phone from an- other partygoer, and the police were called. Denis, who says he had never done anything like that before, was captured 10 minutes later. The phone was returned, but he was jailed anyway. Unable to pay the fee, one night turned into more than a year with Denis’ fine totaling $10,090 lempiras, which is approximately $430 U.S. dollars, too much for the poor carpenter and his family to pay. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org. GoodNewsFL.org 21 JANUARY 2018 OUT AND ABOUT $*$3( $,0 $'',&7,21 $1' ,17(*5$7,9( 0(',&,1( 2XU PHQ V UHKDELOLWDWLRQ FHQWHU IRU VXEVWDQFH DEXVH HPEUDFHV D XQLYHUVDO XQFRQGLWLRQDO ORYH WKDW WUDQVFHQGV WKDW VHUYHV UHJDUGOHVV RI FLUFXPVWDQFHV :H SURYLGH PHQ DOO RYHU WKH FRXQWU\ ZLWK WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR DFKLHYH WKH JLIW RI ODVWLQJ VREULHW\ 285 0,66,21 7R SURYLGH H[FHSWLRQDO ORQJ WHUP ZHOOQHVV WR RXU FOLHQWV DV ZHOO DV WKHLU IDPLOLHV ZZZ DJDSHDLP FRP &DOO $JDSH LV /RYH Charity Frees Nonviolent Prisoners for Christmas Denis in San Pedro Sula Honduras. Cross International, head- quartered in Pompano Beach, collaborates each Christmas with Joe White’s Kanakuk Kamps (Joe was a founding board member of Cross Inter- national) to distribute Christmas gifts to orphans and vulnerable children in Haiti. The project expresses Cross International’s mission of mobilizing the global Church to transform the poor and their communities materi- ally and spiritually for the glory of Jesus Christ. President James J. Cav- nar explained, “Giving Christ- mas gifts to the disadvantaged youth in Haiti brings them deep joy, but the gifts are really a way to share Christ with them. To more deeply accomplish this, we employ ‘integral develop- ment,’ sharing the hope and good news of the Gospel with them as well as material gifts.” Cross International Commu- nity Initiative Coordinator Gus Cruz adds, “The Mission Trips are powerful and healing for all. Those of us on the Mission Team have everything we need to survive in the U.S. When we help those who don’t, both giver and receiver encounter Christ more deeply and our faith is nourished.” Cross International Brings Christmas Joy to Haiti 4KIDS displaying their generosity this Christmas Season by providing an op- portunity for foster and adop- tive families to pick out free games, toys, books and cloth- ing to bring a big smile and some relief to children in need of Love, Hope and Forever Families. Volunteers helped point out the best gifts and then offered to gift wrap them all, while families enjoyed re- freshments. This is another example of how 4KIDS is for Families in the way that they follow through from the beginning of the foster and adoptive process and then take single moms, single dads and fami- lies by the hands and con- tinue to guide and support them. 4KIDS Give Gifts High school quarterback star Jace Ruder, who will begin his freshman year with the University of North Carolina Football team, brings joy and the spirit of Christ to Haitian children. s s 4KIDS volunteersDaniella Bolla , Rachel Dowling and Lauren Burr