We Give Thanks October 2014
Front C
You are Invited
1st Annual “Meet the Mission” Event Monday, Nov 10 from 7:00-8:30 pm Held at House of James
2743 Emerson Street, Abbotsford Meet our new National Director in person and hear exciting news about present work and future plans for Mission Without Borders Canada! We’d love to meet all sponsors & donors personally, and find out how we can improve your experience with the Mission. Everyone is welcome – bring your family & friends! Enter our draw to win a gift certificate for House of James Coffee & refreshments will be available
ck Cover
Greetings and Blessings for this Thanksgiving Season It’s that time of year when we surround ourselves with friends and family and pause to thank the Lord for the blessings and bounty He has given us. We give thanks for the house over our heads, the safety and security we experience in our everyday lives and the abundant food available to us year round. I just returned from a field trip to Romania where the reality is a whole lot different. For many there, safety, security, decent housing and even food are scarce and hard to find. Even running water and indoor toilets hardly exist in many of the “homes” I visited. I met little 7 year old Katarina (not her real name) who cares for her twin baby sisters born this past spring because mom and dad spend their time being drunk. If it weren’t for the daily meals we give Katarina she would not eat at all. Money at home goes for booze, not food. I went to a soup kitchen at the train station in downtown Craiova. We partner gratefully with the Salvation Army there to provide meals on a daily basis for up to 300 homeless people. Without us these folks would starve. In the colder weather we also give out coats, sweaters, scarves, gloves, boots, even blankets trying to help these homeless people survive the
harsh winters. In Romania there is little of a social net for needy people to fall back on. I was told about one young couple who live in a sewer, literally. Lift the manhole cover and there is their home. You’d never know to look at them. I don’t know how they stay so clean and well dressed, even their “home” is immaculate. These folks haven’t given up, even though she is blind in one eye and has 5% vision in the other. Even though he can’t work because he lacks the papers to get a job and of course must care for his partner. These folks get their strength from their belief that God will not abandon them. And we won’t either. I was grateful to see how we are bringing the love of God to all these good people. People who are hungry to hear the Christian message. People who need to know that God cares for them and will provide for them. The highlight of my trip to Romania was in meeting people whose daily lives are so very difficult and yet they continue on. The love they share for each other is genuine, their belief in God strong and their hopes for the future optimistic despite their current desperate condition.
I met many families just struggling to stay alive. One man with one leg trying to support his wife and 6 children. And there was something in this family that I saw over and over again in every family I visited. The love they share for each other. The children in this family clearly adore their father. I saw a little boy bring his baby brother to the CRI lunch and feeding him with his share of the lunch because there was no food at home for him. The 12 year old blind girl doted on by her mother and brothers and sisters. When our worker gave this girl a few chocolate bars she immediately shared them with her brothers and sisters. My trip reminded me that God cares for all of us. It is a privilege to be His tool.
Face (f
Working With the Salvation Army through Street Mercy
Mission Without Borders 1-800-494-4454 | www.mwbca.org email: dinwood@mwbi.org
If you lived in Romania this could be your kitchen
F
P.O. Box 2007, Abbotsford, BC V2T 3T8 Untitled-1 65946 MWB1 Oct NL.indd 1
11-01-04 14-10-09 10:13 10:04 AM AM
FOLDRite™ Template Master: B-13 Vertical Letter [Side A]
“Winter is the most difficult time of the year for this family because it is too cold. The children do not have warm clothes and shoes; inside it is freezing and firewood is too expensive” Front C
ck Cover
OPERATION CHRISTMAS LOVE This is the story of what Operation Christmas Love meant to one family. It’s a story that will be repeated many times over this winter as we look to distribute about 34,000 Christmas Love parcels. Christmas is a special time when you can gather with your family around a nice table and just share those special moments. However, not so for the “Christov” (not their real name) family from Moldova. The older daughter left abroad to find a job, right on Christmas Eve. For the Christovs, family life “is very harsh and many times it seems like we are forgotten. We lost three children - all girls. Then poverty seems to be our very close friend,” the mother shared. The mother shared this with tears in her eyes that her childhood was also very difficult. She lost her mother at 12 years and she knows what hard work means. She knows what it means to wake up at 4 AM, work in the field together with her father and five other siblings, then come home, change clothes and go to school at 8 AM. Liudmila knows what it means to go to bed hungry, and to wear clothes that other people gave her. Victor was born in Ukraine. He also had a very difficult life. Although he had no siblings, they also shared a very poor life. He worked as a shepherd and in the summer worked for other people. Victor came to Moldova many years ago and met Liudmila. They liked each other from the first time they met. He moved to Moldova and it seemed that they would have a good life. Winter is the most difficult time of the year for this family because it is too cold. The children do not have warm clothes and shoes; inside it is freezing and firewood is too expensive. “We go to the fields and gather dry branches together with the children. It is too cold inside, but all seven of us sleep in two rooms, and when we are together it seems like it’s getting warmer,” shared the Mother . It is very frustrating for the parents when they see their children in broken shoes and very old clothes. They dream of offering their children a better childhood. “Detergent, shampoo, toothpaste and other toiletries are a luxury for us. We cannot afford to buy them, so we try to use just a little bit of shampoo for example, so that all will have their hair washed,” the mother explained. A few months ago this family was enrolled in the F2F program. “We were amazed that help could come to us from nowhere, and that such good and open people came to us, listen to us, talk to us and treat us like their friends. We are so happy to hear about God and His love towards us. For example today, we received these very useful things in the OCL parcels: food products that we really needed. It was like a miracle because yesterday, for example, we ran out of oil so I had to go to borrow a bit just to cook; we also got sugar, rice, pasta, tea, cereals. These things mean a lot to us, and also we cannot believe that we are
Delivering the OCL parcels
loved and that there are godly people who care about people like us,” the mother shared, with tears of joys in her eyes. Operation Christmas Love is very special. It brings joy and happiness to lives that have so little of both. It truly deserves your support. Just one final reminder. Christmas is coming quickly and the deadline for getting OCL packages prepared and ready for delivery is quickly approaching. You can choose who you wish to receive the parcel or leave it to us to get the parcel to a needy child or family. You can contribute more than the cost of one parcel if you like. See our September newsletter, check on our website www.mwbca.org or call us for full details. The deadline for orders will be October 29th and the parcels will be delivered between December 1st - 24th. You can make this is a very special Christmas for a child or family this year. Sponsor Tours Romania, Ukraine and Moldova Spring 2015 Are you interested in going on a sponsor tour next spring? If there is sufficient participation we will organize tours for late spring in Moldova, Ukraine and/ or Romania. Sponsors pay their air fares and living costs while in country. We will arrange the itinerary and act as your tour guides. Please call, email or write to let us know of your interest. It would be so special to meet your sponsored children and families, for them and you. Prayer Guide We invite you to look at our new prayer guide. You can find it on our website at http://www.mwbca.org/get-involved/ Look under the Prayer team entry. Thank you and God’s blessing on you all.
Face (f
David Inwood National Director PS: Don’t forget to mark Nov 10th on your calendar for our 1st Annual Meet the Mission event at House of James Christian Bookstore. I’m looking forward to seeing you there. Even inside it’s very cold but OCL brings warmth
1-800-494-4454 | www.mwbca.org Untitled-1 65946 MWB1 Oct NL.indd 2
11-01-04 14-10-09 10:13 10:04 AM AM
Students of the Culinary Arts FOLDRite™ Template Master: B-13 Vertical Letter [Side A]