Shipping Containers and Customs Forms

If you regularly make online purchases, you’ve probably experienced times when everything didn’t go as planned. Maybe your package was delayed. Maybe it was sent to the wrong address. Maybe it arrived in a box that looked as if it had been forced to hitch-hike part of the way. Multiply those experiences by a bazillion and that’s sort of how it feels sometimes when Sowers4Pastors is waiting for a shipping container.

The container's contents have to be unloaded from the semi into smaller box trucks for the dirt road up to S4P's warehouse. This happens out on the main road of Gracias - so here's Russell directing traffic so one of the box trucks can get into position for loading.

Breaking the seal with a grinder

This year the Maryland and Florida containers were loaded on the same Saturday. They were both scheduled to be taken to their respective ports on the following Monday. The Maryland container left without a hitch. The Florida container had to wait for about ten additional days for a truck to take it to port. Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles, the ship had been delayed and the Florida container left on it's originally planned ship. It even made it to Honduras in record time. Everyone thought that boded well for the future of the Florida container. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of missionaries are no match for customs officials!

The Florida container arrived at the port in Honduras on Sunday, November 28th. For four days, a container can sit at the port for no additional charge. Unfortunately, because of the events which will be related below, the Florida container racked up a whopping $1800 in extra storage fees, through no fault of Sowers4Pastors.

There is a reason Sowers4Pastors stresses what items should not be packed as donations. While they remain grateful to all donors and understand that people donate with the best of intentions, the ministry has to follow the rules. When the customs officials first opened the container, they discovered that someone had donated something that was not on the dispensa (which is basically a carefully prepared declaration form that is supposed to list everything on the container). Specifically, someone had donated some medicines that had not been listed in the paperwork. As it turned out, some of the non-declared medicine was also expired. Honduras has very strict guidelines about expiration dates. There is absolutely no wiggle room where this rule is concerned. Expired is expired and it isn’t getting into the country even if it is declared!

Boxes getting passed from one truck to the other,
bucket brigade style.

The customs official was obligated to inform the Honduran equivalent to the FDA and do a much more thorough inspection of the container. Honduras currently has a ban on all meats coming in from Brazil. Trish had purchased cans of corned beef in the U.S., but unbeknownst to her they were packaged in Brazil. It’s sad enough that customs confiscated the corned beef, but they also took many of Allen and Trish’s precious cans of tuna. The tuna didn’t actually break any rules, but it still didn’t make it through. Now, Allen and Trish are looking at a corned beef free existence (with less tuna, to boot) in 2022. 

When the FDA-equivalent came to the port to collect the confiscated items, the items weren’t there. No one knew if the items were stolen, or if they were inadvertently reloaded onto the container. So the container was completely emptied and searched a second time.

Sorting the container by flashlight

The container arrived in Gracias at around 6:00 pm on December 21. After being transferred to smaller trucks, the boxes were moved to the property. Half of the boxes had been opened by customs. At the time of this writing, there’s no way of knowing if everything is there. Allen suspects that some things are missing because the container didn’t look as full as normal. They will know more in the coming weeks as they sort through the contents.

In other container news, the Maryland container is still hanging out in Colombia (South America) after it took a wrong turn on its way to Honduras - strangely enough, this is not the first time a container has gone to South America. Allen has been told to expect it on December 31. This wouldn't be the first time a container arrived on this particular holiday - last year the crew was unloading the container while most people were watching the ball drop. For the sake of enjoying New Years, the crew at S4P hopes it will arrive either a little before or a little after - but of course they'll just be happy to have it in their grubby little paws, and hopefully less disturbed than the FL container.

On a more positive note, don’t forget that there’s a matching funds challenge for a shipment of food! They are still about $12,500 shy of the $15,000 matching funds amount. The man who donated the food (in Minnesota) was unable to locate a container. He happens to be a commercial truck driver. He graciously volunteered to drive the food to Mississippi, where it is being stored in a warehouse near the port. He donated his time, fuel, and the use of his truck. It should be much easier to locate a container closer to port. Please consider donating to help with shipping costs. With the matching funds available, your dollars will go twice as far!

If you would like to donate, click on THIS link, put the donation as for "Feeding Center Program," and put in the note that it is for the matching funds challenge. 

- posted by Christi