Dear Friends,

As I mentioned last time: the last five years, we've seen remarkable growth as the Lord moved upon us to begin two new outreaches: Joel's Army and CedarWood Int'l. Last week I focused on Joel’s Army. This week, I'd like to focus on CedarWood Int'l: 

CedarWood Int’l serves the community in the Seattle and nearby areas. We provide clothing, shoes, food, and even housewares to those who come to our CedarWood Pantry/Coat’s & Clothes each Monday –our CW Pantry is open Monday’s from 1-2:30. This is only ninety minutes, but what goes into the preparation for our CW Pantry begins long before:
We have “pick-ups" of donated supplies seven days a week. The Lord opened these doors for us through the diligence of our team reaching out to store managers to inform them of our CW Pantry operations. God certainly gave us favor along this journey and enabled us to receive primarily organic, non-GMO foods to provide for our Pantry families. The supplies are brought back to Bethel and unloaded into our storage areas. We have six team members working part and full-time to handle this hefty load. 

 
Thursday is our "work day." During these hours, our paid staff members along with a few volunteers gather the whole grains, dairy products, meats, and so on to divide them up according to family size and assemble in bags to ensure quick distribution during our CW Pantry. We rotate and inventory our stock to ensure we have enough supplies to meet the needs of the upcoming Pantry. While much of our food is donated, there are items we feel are necessary to the health of our families that we will purchase as well. The shopping list is created and assigned. 

Monday is our CedarWood Pantry Event—what an exciting day! We start early, setting up tables, putting out dry goods, bread, grains, etc., and organizing the dairy and meats for easy access during distribution. We have several pickups on Monday, most of which involve produce. The first delivery comes in around 9 A.M., and the team of staff and volunteers begin the sorting process to weed out all expired produce and organize the remaining items in the Bethel Chapel Gym. The next delivery comes in, and the process continues until everything is set up and we are ready for clients to come in and receive the blessing of the Lord. 

Prior to opening the doors, our team always prays—giving thanks, and asking the Lord to bless each client as they come to our CW Pantry. We do not require people to hear the Gospel to receive food, nor do we have income requirements; we open our hearts and arms to anyone in need. However, our CW Pantry results in much more than full bellies. Countless souls have entered the Kingdom as they watch our team demonstrate the love and unconditional acceptance of the Lord to each other, and to them when they walk through our doors. Prayers for healing, jobs, reconciliation between family members, and much more have been answered because they trusted us enough to share their lives with us and allow us to pray for them. 

As I wrote you a few weeks ago, we also deliver backpack kits to 152 children per week. BackPack Kids Assemblies occur every 2-4 weeks – we box them up and deliver them to our dear friend Kelly who heads up "Operation Full Bellies" for distribution. Together, we care for children in the rural areas of Sultan/Gold Bar in Washington. The poverty in these areas is substantial and through our combined efforts, we not only provide food for children when they aren't in school, but we provide food for their families as well. 

Much of our staff responsibility involves sorting and stocking. It takes over two-hundred and fifty paid man-hours, coupled with dozens of volunteer hours, to provide each and every 90-minute CW Pantry and Coats & Clothes operation. 

 
Why am I sharing so many little details I haven't share before? Because, my friends, we need your help. We've outgrown our current facility. We started this operation renting the gym of Bethel Chapel - Pastor Matt and Su's Church. Since then, we expanded so much our CW operation is in every nook and cranny of their two-story building with additional storage set up off-site as well. Complete set up and tear down of each Pantry event is required because Bethel Chapel needs their gym during the week. If we had our a dedicated building, dry goods, shelving, tables, etc. would stay in place reducing the physical wear and tear on our team. They work so hard every day to make our CW Pantry events successful, and it's physically demanding work - work that we could cut by more than half with a facility of our own. We also need to hire two more part-time employees who would be dedicated drivers for our food collections as well as a van. 

Our CedarWood Int'l outreach doesn't just provide for a few hundred people each week through our CW events; we provide for 5-7 other ministries who provide food throughout the week to various individuals. This is bigger than us; God caused CW Int'l to grow quickly because He wanted us ready for any crisis that comes our way. So, whether it's providing a bag of food for a child in need, coats for the elderly, food for lunch counter operations serving the elderly, meals for homeless, or a week’s worth of nutritious foods for a family of 13, it's all valuable in His eyes. 

Jesus ministered to thousands; they hungered for the messages He gave and followed Him into the wilderness, the deserts, wherever He went... they followed. Often there was no food where they journeyed, and after feeding their spirits, the Bible tells us He took pity on their physical needs. As we all know, in spite of the disciple's attempt to send the multitudes on their way, Jesus understood the importance of caring for the physical needs of our brothers and sisters and did so Himself. He multiplied the loaves of bread and fish to feed them. (Matt 14, Mark 6)
When the Lord called us to begin our outreach to the poor – CedarWood Int’l, I was hesitant – we are a prayer ministry, why would He call us to take on such a monumental task? I’ve since repented for my hesitation as I’ve seen lives forever changed as a result of our obedience. The ripple effect of CW is beyond the space I have here, but it reaches through the temporal and into the eternal. I encourage you to consider joining our efforts, seeing health and vitality return to the faces of those living in difficult situations is beyond rewarding. Starvation is one of those horrific and deadly societal epidemics that's 100% preventable when people are willing to step up take action. 

What do we need?

• Our own facility or the funding to rent our own facility
• Cargo Van
• Two part-time employees
• Volunteers
• Prayer support to obtain the above

Thank you for your faithfulness to stand with us!

Blessings & love,
Ricci Wilson

Please note, Nita and Ricci’s message from Friday night is available in our media log!

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