February 2017
Battling his own war, Nikola receives a helping hand. Nikola still remembers riding his bike through the rural outskirts of Mostar as grenades fell all around him. He was five years old at the time, and the bloodiest war in Europe since World War Two had just begun. “I remember the grenades and the chaos and knowing that we had to leave,” Nikola says. His family fled for a refugee town in what is today Bosnia-Herzegovina. When the war finished they returned to Mostar, most of which had been damaged or destroyed. Nikola’s father had abandoned them, and as a Serbian family now in the minority they struggled to find any employment. Nikola married and had a family, but two years ago his wife left him and their two children. Desperate and helpless, he approached Mission Without Borders seeking help. “It means so much to receive support,” Branka, the grandmother of the family says. “We didn’t expect it from anybody, as we are often rejected here, but you are different. Apart from having peace, day-to-day living here is as difficult as it was 20 years ago. Your help is the only chance we have.” “In their rural setting, once we enrolled the family into our Family to Family program, I saw they had potential to launch an agriculture project as they have some land and some goats,” Drazan Jarak, MWB’s coordinator in the region says. “All they needed was a helping hand to get started. Now this family are making great progress albeit under stressful circumstances, but we are here to support them, step by step.” The impact for Nikola and his family is plain to see, as their garden is now full of salad vegetables, peas, spinach, potatoes, onions, carrots, and parsley. The products help them provide for themselves while also giving the opportunity to make an income by selling them at the market in the city. “We always have hope,” Nikola says holding his two shy children closely. “We are getting there.” Last spring, MWB in Bosnia-Herzegovina provided 250 Seeds of Hope boxes to local families in the region. By supporting MWB’s ministry you can provide them with the chance to take the first step towards self-sufficiency. By sponsoring a family your donation provides monthly food and hygiene parcels, plus clothes, shoes and emotional and spiritual support from our passionate Christian coordinators.
Andrei Ciochina, a father of seven sons living on the outskirts of Chisinau, Moldova, stands with his arms folded, staring at the floor. As his wife, Viorica, explains how Mission Without Borders (MWB) has supported his family, the factory worker does not say a word, and seems ashamed that he has not been able to provide for his family himself. However, when Iurie Munteanu, MWB’s Family to Family coordinator, said: ‘Can you show us the tractor?’ Andrei bursts to life, taking a lead and directing his sons. “We were living in the city in a soviet apartment block,” Andrei says. “There was one kitchen for 16 families. We were desperate to find a better life and to provide enough food for our sons. We have always had faith, and we prayed.” The family were able to move to a bigger place, but it was still very small with no electricity and they would often go hungry. The local church referred the family to MWB and our coordinator asked them what they needed to become self-sufficient.
Leading a family to self-sufficiency is one of the best gifts you can give. Whilst self-sufficiency doesn’t happen immediately, the journey is just as important. It provides families with dignity, empowers them to work hard and achieve what they only ever thought was impossible.
The family’s eldest son, Victor, 23, had an interest in farming, so they said that they wanted to start a cow farm. MWB provided them with materials to build a cow shed and bought them a cow. Now they have six cows and with the support of their Family to Family sponsors they have received regular food and hygiene parcels, seeds to grow vegetables, clothes, shoes and now a tractor! “The biggest challenge, is feeding the cows during winter. When the tractor arrived we were so excited. It helps us collect grass to feed the cows, plus the 150 litres of milk the cows produce a month helps us to feed ourselves. We also sell the excess and make cheese so that we can buy fodder to feed the cows all year round. We would like to enlarge the farm in the future, but we need to buy some land to be able to graze more cows,” Victor said. Andrei shared: “Through this help my sons are gaining new skills and as they get older they can help themselves and support each other. Our God has never left us even though there were times when we had nothing and I felt hopeless. Now, the farm is growing, another calf was born last week. My sons are not hungry, and thanks to your help, we have been able to do it ourselves.” A recent study stated that 64% of Moldovan families live below the poverty line. In response, Mission Without Borders supports over 500 families on its Family to Family program across Moldova, providing material, emotional and spiritual support, and educational opportunities. Help us empower and equip more families, like Andrei’s, to become self-sufficient and to find Christian hope out of poverty.
How you can sow seeds that bring hope to needy families: 1. Give a donation to enable us to empower more families through our ministry. 2. Sponsor a family ($40/month) contact our office or indicate on the return slip. 3. Contact our office on 02 9647 2022 to find out how you can fund a complete self-sufficiency project (like providing for a tractor or cows) 4. Pray for our ministry and all involved, that God will continue to light the way for us to help those in need.
The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. Psalm 67:6
Farewells are never easy... You may remember the Sanduta family, who we have written about previously on their journey through the Family to Family program. Over 5 years ago, a box of seeds and the love and prayers of 4 sponsors from Australia began this family’s road to self-sufficiency. Today we say goodbye with so much pride and adoration for what they have achieved and how far they have come. Veaceslav and Ana Sanduta and their growing family have been part of the Family to Family sponsorship program since 2011. They live in Moldova and reside in a small old house with just 2 rooms. Until recently their home had no bathroom facilities other than an outside pit toilet. Their only heating in the harsh winter months is from the gas stove where they also cook their daily meals. Despite their poverty, the Sanduta Family praises God each day for their health and the love they receive from their four Australian Sponsors. Without the Family to Family sponsorship program their lives would be very different. Thanks to several self sufficiency projects, they now have a greenhouse where they grow fruit and vegetables for their family and, if blessed with a good crop, there is often enough produce left over to sell at the market. They have also been provided with construction tools so the father Veaceslav can earn an income to support his family. He is now also the Pastor of the local Pentecostal church and will be able to serve in the church much more. The purpose of the Mission Without Borders Family to Family program is to meet the basic needs of poor, disadvantaged families, with the aim that they are eventually led to self-sufficiency. It is also our hope that they come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, just like the Sanduta Family! We leave you with the final farewell letter written by the Sanduta family to their wonderful Australian Sponsors. It really emulates the journey from a box of seeds and a small amount of hope given to a family who now can support themselves and flourish in God’s love. This is the reason we serve the poor of Eastern Europe and nurture them through their journey, so more families currently living in a world of pain and despair may also see that they are loved, valued and worthy of a life outside of the poverty cycle. MISSIONWITHOUTBORDERSAUSTRALIA PO Box 7533 Silverwater NSW 1811 | 10 Stubbs Street Auburn NSW 2144 Website mwb.org.au Phone 02 9647 2022 Email australia@mwbi.org
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