About
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M. Ellen Goodwin Freeling
Executive Director
In 2002, after the passing of Sister Mary in 1997, the Lord called her daughter, M. Ellen Goodwin Freeling, to take up the mantle of Friends for Missions, Inc. Sister Ellen, now the executive director of Friends for
Missions, Inc., worked side by side with her mother for many years and is very familiar with the inner workings of the organization. She is the mother of two grown sons, Christian and Lynel and the proud grandmother of one, Amari Christian. In May of 2015 she graduated,
with honors, from Clayton State University in Morrow GA with a Bachelors of Applied Science degree in Administrative Management and previously graduated with honors from Devry University with an AA in Health Information Technology. Her husband of 13 years, Kevin Freeling, works side by side with her. Sister Ellen ventures down to Haiti every two years and sends contributions from supporters to Haiti on a
quarterly basis. With everything that she does, working with Friends for Missions, Inc. is by far the most rewarding.
Jocelyn Dautruche and his sister Mona are the new Field Directors of our Friends for Missions office in Haiti and work as our liaisons between the U.S. and Haiti. They are responsible for the distribution of funds, food, correspondence and other necessary communications in Haiti as they relate to the Children’s Sponsorship Program and the Trinity Nutrition Center. They are the children of the late Bishop Lopez Dautruche and his wife, Sister Lise, our former and now retired, Field
Directors. We truly praise God for their faithfulness and willingness to take this responsibility into the second generation of mission ministry.
Our Founders
Sister Mary, as she was fondly referred to, had a true heart for missions. Anyone who knew her, knew about Friends for Missions and her work in Haiti. Her lifelong commitment to the people of Haiti started in 1968 when she and her husband, Dr. Bennie E. Goodwin, were asked to go to Haiti to check out a school run by her mother-in-law, Mrs. Odessa Goodwin. As a result of that trip, she came back burdened with the need to do something about the plight of the people there. She asked the Lord, “What can I do to help the people in Haiti?” He simply told her to write an appeal letter to her “friends”, and that is how Friends for Missions, Inc. began. Not knowing exactly what direction to take she consulted with two of the most notable pioneers of our time, Church of God in Christ missionaries, Dr. Dorothy Exume and Mrs. Mary E. Gullick, who were more than willing to give her the benefit of their experiences.
Although Haiti was her major focus, Sister Mary was also concerned about the plight of the children in Africa, Jamaica and right here in the United States. After more than 45 years her work is still going strong We thank God and many, many Haitians, thank God for Sister Mary’s vision and for all of her hard work that built the foundation of Friends for Missions, Inc.
“We must heal, we must feed, we must educate and we must teach people ways to help themselves to a better life before they can hear the message of salvation.” - Sister Mary Goodwin
Sister Mary & Dr. Bennie E. Goodwin